Arabella

We are arriving on a Saturday (staying in the Latin Quarter) and leaving on a Monday nine days later. Can we do all this ~ and spend a day in the Loire Valley? If so, any ideas of how to group these into a sensible itinerary?

Riverboat cruise, preferably in the evening. Any suggestions on which one?
Garnier Opera house ~ unguided tour of public areas
Jardin de Luxembourg
Parc de Monceau
Lourve/L'Orangerie
Musee D'Orsay
Musee Rodin
Notre Dame/Ste Chapelle
Palais Royal
Marias
Pere Lachaise Cemetary
Eiffel Tower
Versailles

joannay

Paris is just not that big a city and every place you might want to go can be reached fairly easily from every other place. So rather than sacrifice yourself to a self-imposed schedule why not just add open days and times to the list as it is and then go to places as you're moved to go each day. If you come to the end of your time before you come to the end of your list you'll have the beginning of a list for your next visit. Conversely, if you have more days than list then you may find your best memories are made of aimless wanderings.

michele_d

Yes Arabella,
You can easily see all that is on your list. That is only two sites per day plus a day for Versailles and a day for the Loire if your have time. Get a good map and group your daily activities so that you are not bouncing around the city. Be sure to check your guidebook for days that sites are closed.

Versailles is really the only one that needs a day to itself, or at least a vast majority of a day.

We were in Paris for 7 days and accomplished all of the above. You might want to save the Loire for one of your last days to be sure you have done all you want in Paris.

We took this night time cruise: http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/bateaux.htm

Remember also that just strolling around Paris and the Seine is an attraction in itself. If you don't get to everything don't worry, you will still have some wonderful memories.
Happy planning,
Michele

Arabella

Thank you, Joannay and Michele_d!

ardithl

A 6 day museum pass will probably work well for you, since it includes 7 of your places (and many more). The pass is good for 6 consecutive days, so decide when you want to start it (keeping the Louvre and Orsay closure days in mind, and whether the Versailles fountains are operating or not). Sunday is a good day for the Marais. Sunday morning is also a good time to ride the velib bikes because traffic is very light. We did a BikeAbout bike tour and really enjoyed it, too.

My approach was to decide which places were most important to me and start with one of them first thing in the morning. Then we'd decide what to do in the afternoons on a day by day basis. I created a google map so i could see which places were nearby, or on the same metro line. There were several things on our list that we didn't get to, but we did everything we really wanted to. One museum a day was enough for me, but we did use our pass once every day.

You can save time in line by buying your Eiffel tower tickets online in advance, but then you are stuck with that time even if the weather is bad.

Arabella

Hi, Ardithl ~ great info, thanks! Would add anything to our list? Is there a place you'd recommend to buy the museum pass that might not have long lines?

ardithl

The Orsay is not a good place to buy a museum pass, but the other museums might have shorter lines. The Louvre has entrances other than the pyramid where the lines may not be as long.

We bought our passes at a FNAC store. There are several in Paris and the store on the Champs Elysees is open until midnight every day. You can find the store locations by using the pulldown list on this site and then a box with the hours and address will pop up.
http://www.fnac.com/localiser-magasin-fnac/w-4

The Paris museum pass website lists other points of sale too, including a souvenir store that is across the street from St Chappelle.

I would add a walk on Ile St Louis to your list. And a visit to Galeries Lafayette to see the view from the roof and perhaps a little shopping.

Perhaps Monmartre (although that was a place on our list we didn't get to). Maybe a street market, like Rue Mouffetard, Rue de Buci or Rue Cler, for picnic food before you visit a park.

If the weather is nice, the HopOn HopOff bus is a good way to sightsee for a day or two. The 2 day pass is only a few euros more and makes it more leisurely. You might want to hop off to visit the Arc de Triomphe, which is on the museum pass, if you are using your pass that day.

When you consider the time you will spend just walking around St Germain, the Latin Quarter, etc. I think your plan is very reasonable. We spent 9 days in Paris (excluding arrival/departure) and our schedule was very similar to yours (except we skipped the Louvre to ride velib bikes because the weather was so nice that day!).

denisea

You can do all this but pay attention to the museums and monuments and find out which days they are closed (for example, the Louvre is closed on Tuesday) and which days have extended hours, so you can plan to maximize your time. Group your museum visits on days open (and know that when the Louvre is closed, D'Orsay will be busier) and area, so you can hit 2 or 3 together.

Definitely get a museum pass and understand that once you date it and start using it, it must be used on consecutive days.

The website will tell you which museums accept it (most do). There are many places to purchase the pass but don't do it the day you want to start using it, so that you don't have to wait in line. I would look for a tabac, FNAC store or small museum, late in the day to avoid lines. (We got ours late in the day at Musee Rodin the day before we wanted to start using it.

The opera house is beautiful but without the guided tour you will see very little of it. The boat on the Seine at night will be a great way to see the monuments all lit up.

For the Louvre, the entrance in the underground mall (enter on rue de Rivoli, red awning) has shorter lines. L'Orangerie is close so you can easily see those two the same day. I might hit Luxembourg Gardens and D'Orsay together...if the weather is nice the gardens would be great place to take lunch and enjoy it there.

You will want to get Ste Chapelle early as the lines can be long for security and you will have to wait in the security line even with the museum pass. You can see Notre Dame afterward. If you wanted to climb the towers though, the pass can be used but will not get you to the front of the line and there will be a line. The towers are another place you want to be early for.

joannay

Just a comment concerning the itinerary described above. If what one wants is to "hit" the high points of these places, fine. The Louvre is vast and you may not want to see all the eras represented or if you do then you may want to take it easy and visit more than once to avoid art fatigue.

I'm using the Louvre as an example but you may find that doing all the museums on your list is just too much for 1 visit in which case give yourself a break, go at your own pace and keep in mind the list can also be thrown away.