@StCirq,
I really need to spend more time on this board...
I think I want it all, but reality is I can't. Not in a few days only, so I'll need to accept that there will be other trips to Paris. Not a bad thing to think of :-)

Good point, yes, there is a shuttle. Directions - Vaux le Vicomte

Heck, xyz99, I did read that you were someplace else first! It slmply slipped through my sieve-like mind. I still dunno about skipping Versailles--it really is incredibly huge. DH and I returned to it twice and still never saw the show! I believe the name of the RER train is 'Vick'.

Jacquemart just isn't as well-known and as physically large, I suppose. So much to see.

I'd suggest a whole day for Versailles if you have time - not for the congested palace tour but on a nice day for the vast grounds and walk or take the people mover or rent bikes to look around - research that a bit as there are so many eclectic things - like vast plant nurseries and research places on plants - the huge water basin - can rent a kayak or canoe - especially hit Le Hameau where Marie-Antoinette allegedly played peasant shepherd not sure about that but it did resemble a little farm and she did entertain her friends there to get away from the formality of the Court I guess. (Just saw film Marie-Antoinette - great for anyone going to Versailles for background on the times.)

And the city of Versailles is a thriving regional town with large wrought-iron market shed a la old Les halles in Paris. Just southeast of the chateau area is an old square with neat buildings on it and in the diplomatic corp area there are more neat old buildings - like the one Benjamin Franklin and others stayed in. This is a lovely part of Versailles many never see and it is really close to the RER C station.

There used to be several years ago a Versailles Tourist Office right opposite the RER C exit with walking tour maps of these areas.

This is a very detailed itinerary. I suspect you'll adjust it as you go. You'll have to rush. I would bet that you won't get it all done...but it'll be fun trying. Our first trip to Paris (we've now done 8) was five days, and we nearly ran from place to place...and it was a blast!!

Remember to get your Vedettes de Pont Neuf tix in advance on their website. Discounted rate, and it's really only a voucher that you can use at any time (rather than a specific date/time tix as the other boat companies do). So you can use your voucher on a day when the weather is good.

ssander

We really need to think about Versailles. If we go, I would like to do it on a Sun for the fountains, but I realize that's the most crowded. Would love to rent bikes and take our time to explore the grounds..in addition to seeing the King's apartments and the interior. So much to see...

If your six days are all in the same Mon-Sun week, consider investing 5 Euro in a Navajo card, then loading a 1-week pass on it for about 22E (not sure of the exact price). You'll have unlimited Metro, Bus and RER travel for the week...including Versailles and CDG airport. A real bargain!!

You'll need a small passport type photo and you can get them at most Metro stations.

ssander

@ssander,
Thanks for the Vedettes de Pont Neuf tix tip,I thought those were timed.
You are right, we'll adjust as we go. But I'll move things around so we do what's important (to us) earlier in the day, and leave the "would be nice" for the afternoon.

Our days are Sun-Fri, so I'll need to do some math. Do you get the 5 euros back when you return the card? We plan to mostly walk, but will still need at least 2 metro rides each day, some days 4.

Card is called Navigo, and you don't get those 5 euros back. With the amount of metro travel you state, it might be cheaper than buying Carnets. Also, take buses, not only metro.

thibaut -- are you perhaps confusing St Eustache and St Sulpice?? Both are fantastic, but St Sulpice is about 20 minutes by foot from Les Halles...
s

I love churches of any denomination, so we always visit a few in every place we visit. Sometimes we happen to be there when there is a concert, and the visit becomes a totally different experience.

A few tips for you:

Look at Paris/France trip reports on this site for a bit of intel. My TR from last year has a lot of restaurant reviews, for instance. [sound of my own horn tooting]

The view from the Eiffel Tower does not include the Eiffel Tower. Go to the Montparnasse Tower instead, as its view is better and does not include the Montparnasse Tower. Another view is available to you now: www.paris-26-gigapixels.com/

Some of your planned things to do are weather dependent. Make lists of things for rainy days and things for sunny days and make up your daily plan on the fly. No sense in going to see stained glass on a grey day.

Be sure to note closure days for sites on your lists.

Sign up with The Fork (La Fourchette) for discounts at restaurants and easy reservations on line.

Don't miss Cluny - Musee des Moyens Ages: Musée de Cluny | musée national du Moyen Âge Paris The Unicorn Tapestries are amazing. Also, since they don't have any significant waiting line, it's a good place to buy your museum pass on the first day.

Buses are slower than the Metro but let you see the city between the trip beginning to end. Also the buses can have routes that are much more efficient than multiple Metro changes.

Montparnasse Tower will be closing in 2019 for the grand renovation. I have not found the exact date.

https://www.sortiraparis.com/news/in...change/lang/en

If you have an interest in architecture, I can't imagine forgoing Versailles. Apparently, many think it is a long way out. For example, if you are staying in the 7th Arr. area say near Invalides station, you are looking at a total of 8 minutes travel time difference to say Lamarck-Caulaincourt (nearest station on the hilltop for the Sacre-Couer) versus to Versailles Rive Gauche station. Comparing Sacre Couer and the Chateau de Versailles architecturally isn't even close, and those horrible16 minutes extra on the train are nothing. I would agree with skipping the fountain show and the crowds given your expressed interest in architecture, as the Chateau is amazing. It is also full of art.

FWIW, I'd incorporate the military museum into your Napoleon's Tomb tour. If you are interested in just the tomb, I'd plan on about 45 minutes total, if adding the military museum, add 2.5 hours to that.

And I saw one of Napoleon's dogs in Military Museum - stuffed.

I missed that you are doing a dinner cruise, no need to repeat with the Vedettes du Pont Neuf unless you want to take a similar route to take photos and not worry about dinner.
I am one who loves the Jacquemart-Andre. It could be grouped with a stroll through the exquisite Parc Monceau and is not too far from Galerie
Lafayette.
When we visit Paris we try to group two major sites each day so they are geographically close to one another. We may squeeze in something else or wander. Last year on our way to the Musee d'Art Moderne near the Pont l'Alma we passed an antique shop with lovely plates in the window and decided to stop in when we returned to our hotel in the 7th that afternoon. I bought a couple of plates, explored the shop and chatted with the owner and another customer. You need to leave time to enjoy life in the city.

I admit, I love this forum and the your generosity. Thank you all!!!

@AJP, your restaurant reviews are fantastic, and now my list of restaurants is so long, I could stay for months in Paris and still find new ones to try. Plus, I realized that not having a hotel that includes breakfast would be a blessing.

@apersuader65, I'm really torn about Versilles. It's not the long way to get there that I find a problem, but spending a full day for 1 objective only. And that will reduce the number of other things we can do/see there.

I think I need a major reorg of this trip, some better balance between trying to see a lot and allowing time for just enjoying Paris. Scootoir, I really get what you're saying...

Wandering in Paris is great - and what you see between the main sights by walking between them may be as interesting as the sights themselves. Stop at an outdoor cafe (in cool weather many have warming heaters) and watch the Parisian world go by. Never will forget the yelling match between a delivery truck driver and a young lady he had blocked into her legal parking spot to make a delivery - after asking him to move to let her out and he said she'd have to wait until he delivered his stuff she started screaming at him and he simply yelled back 'a seche, a seche' -pointing to his pants zipper area. To me that was more whatever than the museum I was walking to. Anyway instead of taking metro between museums and sights try to make walking tour also and see Parisian life! (Usually a lot more polite and modest than that example!)

We went to Versailles three of our four trips to Paris. Each time, we caught the first train out to Rive Gauche, walked to the queue. Upon opening, were some of the first in the Palace (well before the buses of tourists arrived 30+ minutes later) and took a leisurely pace to the Hall of Mirrors. By the time we left that Hall, the crowd began to catch us, but it wasn't horrible. IF you want to see Marie's Hameau, or the Grand and Petit Trianon, you can make most of a day of it. If not, it is about the same as a trip to the Louvre (assuming you see more than the standard top 3 at the Louvre). If you make it back to Paris proper by 1:30 or 2:00, you still have plenty to see or do in the p.m.