Great info on this site and on Trip Advisor. This is my first trip to Paris and I'm planning a surprise trip for my partner (shes been before). Arrive Wed am from US depart Monday early Dec '05. Would like to know if I'm on the right track for planning --

DAY 1 Wednesday - walk around neighborhood,
night cruise to see the major sights in lights
DAY 2 Thursday- Off the beaten track/smaller Museums - Cluny, Rodin Museum, Musee D'Orsay. Nice dinner
Day 3 Friday - Major must do tourists sites. Casual dinner, music
Day 4 Saturday -PArk picnic - WHERE?
Day 5 Sunday Flea Market
Monday - long breakfast

Are these good parks, greenspaces: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and Promenade Plantee?
Suggestions for good local traditional music -female vocalists?
Not certain on hotel -perhaps a vacation rental by owner - planning on the Left Bank 5th, 6th, or 7th.

Comments/suggestions? Thanks

OK - I am just curious. Where did you get the idea the Musee D'Orsay was an off the beaten track/smaller museum?

Your plan is basically fine - but you can't see the "major must do tourists sites" in one day.

And it is hard doing multiple museums on the same day as well.

If I were you, I'd just make a list of the sites/museums you wanted to see and spread them over your 5 days. Sort of play it by ear w/ your master list to help you out.

Thanks for the comments. Compiling many lists of museums, but haven't done much reading about them - thus the error. Suggestions on small interesting museums/galleries? I'm sure my partner has gone to the major ones - so suggestions helpful. I like your idea of spreading the museum visits throughout the trip. Thanks!

A picnic in December in Paris might be a bad idea. The weather might not be conducive for picnics or wandering throug a park.

If I were you, I would spread my museum visits out a bit, and try and see some major sites each day, as well as a museum.

If you are going to the Marche aux Puces Clingnacourt, make sure you keep on walking past the bras and tube socks until you get to the real markets. I am always surprised when people report a sub-par flea market, when in reality this is one of the greatest antiques and collectibles markets in the world.

And although the general collection of antiques can be expensive, we have purchased fabric, beads, odd furniture decorations (a brass lion's paw from a table leg), nice prints, kitchen things, and relegious articles for great prices.

Oh, and consider the three day Carte d'Musees, as it will let you skip the line at the D'Orsay, which is so worth the price, IMO.

I really liked some of the (smaller) museums that are located in the Marais (4th) district:

Musee Carnavalet
Musee Cognaq-Jay
Musee Victor Hugo

I'm not sure if you checked the Paris museums website already. It lists the museums by area. http://www.museums-of-paris.com/

Don't forget Musee Picasso in the Marais. It was one of my favorites because it was small and easy to navigate Also a Picasso fan LOL!

sbWilson - Parks for picnics: I thought it would be fffffreeeeezing?
Anyway...........
I found Buttes-Chaumont very undulating.
Promenade Plantee is for walking - far from loos etc. Also a few homeless hanging about.
My suggestion is:
Parc Monceau - Jardin du Luxembourg -
Jardin des Tuilleries - Palais Royal -
and everyones favourite Champs-de-Mars.
I personally like Square de Vert-Galant as after the picnic you just stroll right onto Vedettes Pont Neuf for a lovely relaxing cruise.

Hi sb,

I suggest a walk in the Parc Monceau followed by Sunday brunch at the Jaquemart Andre museum, a visit to the museum, a walk to the Arc de Triomph and a stroll down the Champs Elysee to the Louvre in lieu of a flea market.

You can get fleas anywhere in the world.

I meant to ask - just how much of a "surprise" is this trip? If it is truly a surprise - she won't know about it before travelling - you need some way to ensure she has the right clothing. It will most likely be cold and wet - maybe even snow.

Second ira's suggestion. Jacquemart Andre is one of the best small museums of Paris. And Parc Monseau is one of the prettiest parks, just might be a bit cold while you're there.

Well, call me unromantic, but I wouldn't want anyone to spring a "surprise" trip on me. I'd definitely want to be clued in far enough in ADVANCE to do some research and thinking about what I wanted to see. It seems to me that it would be more fun to plan the trip together. Since she's been to Paris before, I imagine she would have definite ideas about what she'd like to see. You know her, of course, so maybe this doesn't apply.

I'll add a vote for the Jacquemart Andre Museum. I also loved the Cluny museum.

Does she have pictures from her prior Paris trip? You might get a clue as to where she has been and what she is still missing.

Check the cruise websites, I dont know how many are still running in the winter.

If she worries about wardrobe issues make sure to tell her at least a week before you leave - and that MUST include a weekend in case she feels the need to shop for something special to wear/use.

Have you checked to verify that her passport is still valid? This could horribly spoil a nice surprise!

People don't picnic in December in climates like that. It is likely to have similar weather to NYC or Washington DC at that time. Are you familiar with that type of climate?Other than that, it sounds fine. I really like the Jacquemart-Andre museum, also. Another good small museum is the Maillol Foundation on rue de Bac in the 7th -- lots of sculptures by Aristide Maillol and some other Impressionist and Modern paintings. Sometimes they have good special exhibits (I saw one by Frida Kahlo there). Your ideas are fine, just the Orsay isn't small or off the track.

What kind of traditional music do you want? I'm used to that term for Irish music, but there isn't that much of old French chanson around, if that's what you mean.

Spreading out the "main attractions" is a good idea,since it gets tiring standing in line all that time (and you will be!) and you're going to want to spend more time at places like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and the other museums. Also, travel between the main sites can take a while sometimes. The Metro is definitely the fastest way to go through.

Also, check and see opening times and closed dates. It's not always the same as it would be in the U.S. and it can be a bad suprise to show up and have something closed.