Any suggestions based on following Paris itinerary?
 

I will be leaving for Paris on Sunday and have listed below the majority of the sights I'd like to see in my roughly 4 days there. Based on this, does anyone have suggestions in terms of special discounts, passes, metro tickets (Mobilis, perhaps), or anything that I'm clearly missing?

I'm a student studying abroad for the semester, so I'm hoping to receive discounts at some of these places.. but would the Paris Museum Pass for example be a good choice considering my itinerary?

Arc de Triomphe
Basilique du Sacré Coeur de Montmartre
Centre d'Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou
Chateau de Versailles
Cimetiere du Père Lachaise
Église Saint-Eustache
Grande Arche de la Défense
La Tour Eiffel
La Tour Montparnasse
L'Opéra Garnier
Musée de l'Orangerie
Musée d'Orsay
Musée du Louvre
Musée Cluny
Musée Rodin
Notre-Dame de Paris
Palais de Chaillot
Palais Royal
Pantheon
Sainte-Chapelle
Tuileries Gardens

Thanks in advance!

make sure to get a paris museum pass that will let you avoid long ticket lines and can be used on consecutive days for entry into most museums and monuments. Check out the info on line and it will tell you were you can purchase and what museums it covers; www.parismuseumpass.com ; There are two, four and six day passes just remember you have to use the pass on consecutive days. I would buy it a less busy museum rather than somewhere like the Louve. I don't think it covers the Eiffel Tower (not sure about that) but it does cover pretty much everything else. It looks like you have the "must" sites covered. Enjoy the trip! Oh, and I would buy a carnet of tickets for the Metro...ten tickets that you can use as needed.

You need to consult a good guide book that describes where these places are located and how long it takes to get to them and to do them any justice.
This list, with a few exceptions, is good for a much longer trip. Some places, the Grande Arche de la Defense and Tour Montparnasse would never make my list. Chacun a son gout.

You're arriving in Paris on Monday? Most museums are closed either Monday or Tuesday. That means that if you do buy a museum pass you can only use a two-day pass.

Put together a daily itinerary, based on museum openings and location (combine sights that are near each other on the same day). Then check the student discounts for each museum and figure how many museums you can see in a day and then compare cost with the museum pass. You will then know if the pass is worth the money.

Where are you staying? You should be able to walk to most of the sights. Why spend your time underground when you can experience Paris while walking from one place to the next. Versailles needs a separate ticket since it's outside Paris - you cannot use a standard metro ticket. Same with La Defense - and do not try to cheat at La Defense since they often have metro police checking to see if people have the correct ticket. Otherwise, a carnet of 10 tickets is more than enough for 4 days. You can buy the tickets in any metro station.

To put it simply, you cannot do even an eighth of this. If you are a student, I suggest you read some guide books and get an idea of what on earth you are seeing--unless, of course you are talking about walking by these. Ridiculous. First post for a troll.

I think you're probably going to have to pare down your list quite a bit. If you don't, you'll end up not doing any of the places on your list justice in terms of how much time you give them. When my husband and I made our first trip (for a week) we had a long list too. After one day we knew we loved Paris and would be coming back and decided to slow down and savor what we were seeing. We still saw a great deal, but took the pressure off to see everything on our first trip.
Versailles will take a minimum of a half day (although that would be pushing it); Pere Lachaise is huge; if you just want to walk around it won't take too much time, but if you intend to search out all the famous grave sites, it takes a good chunk of time. You've got a good list, but my suggestion would be do your research and prioritize it. Paris is more than a list of must-see sights and you want to give yourself time to just wander, see what's around the next corner. You're young, so I'm sure you'll have the energy to see a good many things on your list, but give yourself the opportunity to be spontaneous. When you do your research, in addition to finding out what days certain museums are closed, also note that some museums are open late one night a week.
(We went our first time in 2006 and again in 2007 and just got back from our third trip).

Thanks for suggestions everyone. I should have been clearer: these are only rough ideas.. I certainly don't expect to see every single one of these while I'm in Paris. It's a list of sights I'd "like to see," not that I necessarily expect to.

@adrienne: I'm arriving Sunday afternoon.

@Gretchen: I find it hard to believe that out of the 20 or so things I have listed I can do only 3 of them in the 4 FULL days I will be there.

You can still use a 4 day museum pass. Many, but not all, museums are closed Monday or Tuesday. There will still be places on your list, Versailles for example, where you can use the pass.

SRV124, you made a good start by having a list, and it will be naturally pared down by the ones that are open on the days you are there.

This webpage has a list of the days museums are closed to make planning easier for you:
http://www.parislogue.com/museums

That website also tells you about some free stuff, too. Speaking of free, some museums are free on the first Sunday, so if that is the day you arrive, take it into consideration.

I am a big fan of the museum pass not only because of the times savings but also because on a budget, it mentally allowed me to LEAVE any museum I hated and easily return to a museum I like.

There are certainly different pass combinations (some one-day things, etc) that you could do, but I'm have always been and probably always will be in the "carnet" camp. If you don't use all ten, then you can either save them for a return trip or give them to one of your student buddies.

Ignore the grouchy people here. I find it refreshing that a young person is asking about museums rather than "best nightlife. :)

I think you should cross off a few things as they wouldn't be at the top of most people's lists for a first-timer, and your list is too long. If you had some special reason for going there, sure, but otherwise, no. That would be La Defense, Montparnasse Tower (no reason to go there at all except the view, but since you are going to the Eiffel Tower, I don't see why you put it on here), Palais de Chaillot, Palais Royal (at least that is central), and I'd add Pere Lachaise. It's a cemetery. Yeah, I know, it is listed in guidebooks and it can be an interesting diversion if you have a lot of time and some particular reason for going, such as to see someone's grave you have a long interest in, but I wouldn't put it at the top of any list, and it's out of the way.

I don't buy museum passes myself but I don't go to more than one a day (two tops, but then smaller ones). It might pay in your case, but you'd have to figure it out with all those places and the days. They are not cheap.

I wouldn't count on any student discount, if you aren't an EU student or studying art or art history or something related to the museum. I think those are the two usual criteria.

Of course you can buy a Mobilis if you want, that's up to you. It sounds like you will be getting around a lot, so should be a good idea.

Then I am wrong, but you DID say "I want to see these in 4 days".
We like to spend at least 3 hours in museums and usually consult the Michelin Green Guides to plan what we want to see in each museum, since none can be done in that time.
You can "see" the Arc. do you want to go up in it? I've been to Paris numerous times and haven't done that, but everyone has their preferences. The same is true of the going up in the Eiffel Tower. It takes time in line, up and down, etc.
Versailles will take 3/4 of a day.

I'd recommend the 4 day Museum Pass even if you'll be there on a Monday and Tuesday when some of the museums are closed. There are plenty of things open on both days.

I would suggust that you schedule your days and pair up the big indoor places (Louvre, Orsay, Pompidou, Orangerie) with outdoor places (Notre Dame Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Pere Lachaise). This way you won't spend the whole day either indoors or out.

If you're not into spending a lot of time eating dinner, you could visit the Louvre and the Orsay on the evenings they are open late - Wednesday and Thursday, I think. Also if you're really into museums, you'll probably want to visit the Louvre and Orsay more than once.

Pere Lachaise is a bit of a metro ride to get to and will take up 1/2 day. I didn't get there my first visit to Paris but really enjoyed it when I finally made it out there and would recommend it over Sacre Coeur.

If you're leaving Sunday, I assume you're arriving Monday morning, yes? We had a similar schedule, and after we took a break to eat breakfast and have some coffee, we walked across the Seine, through the Tuileries, into the L'Orangerie, and over to the Arc de Triomphe. If money is no object, then by all means buy the museum pass, for the convenience and to give yourself options. If not, at least buy the joint L'Orangerie-d'Orsay admittance if you do go to the L'Orangerie on Monday.

And I really enjoyed Pere Lachaise. To me it was more than just a cemetery. It's a garden, a window into French culture and pop culture, beautiful sculptures, history, etc.

And I like cwra's recommendation about combining inside and outside activities on the same day.

WE ARE TRAVELING SOON AFTER YOU AND ARE TRYING TO RENT A MOTOR SCOOTER TO GET AROUND FASTER. DID YOU CHECK THIS OUT? I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO FIND A SOURCE YET

This is a ton of stuff to see in only four days. You'll have to group things by area first, check closing days for some attractions (as adrienne said above, most museums close one day a week, usually Monday or Tuesday), and then probably winnow some things out. For example, grouping all the Left Bank attractions into one day makes logistical sense (Eiffel Tower, Rodin Museum, Musee Cluny, Pantheon, Musee d'Orsay), especially if you do so on a day the d'Orsay is open in the evening. I too think cwra's suggestion to combine indoor and outdoor attractions is a good one, but again takes some advance planning to put together.

It's possible that a few attractions (like the Louvre) may be open in the evening on Wednesday, and if memory serves Sacre Coeur is usually open into the early evening.

The Palace at Versailles can easily take a half day, and note well that the Louvre is huge and you'll have to pick and choose sections here. The Pompidou Center Museum is also good-sized and one can spend half a day there easily.

Will also second Pere Lachaise, as interesting a cemetery as I've ever visited. A lovely spot with some really stunning tombs, and scads of famous folks buried there (Wilde, Chopin, Bizet, S. Bernhardt, Piaf, Moliere, Jim Morrison, Gericault, M. Marceau, Delacroix, Modigliani, Balzac, Proust, and G. Stein, among others).

Not sure what the attraction is to see the Tour Montparnasse. It's a bit out of the way from all else here, and not exactly the most attractive building in Paris. And the best thing about the Palais de Chaillot is the view of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero.