I'd scratch the walk down the Champs-Elysees--it's nothing like the movies and kinda tacky! Instead go over to the left bank. Take a half-hour walk from Notre Dame over to Rue St. Andre-des-Arts via Rue de Bucherie. This will give you a real flavor of the Latin Quarter, with tiny crooked streets, etc. I'd also take the previous poster's advice and do a Bateau Mouche ride.

Vanessa, <BR>You're getting lots of advice here but I'm going to disagree with the previous poster and say definitely do the Champs-Elysse walk. It's the liveliest scene with some of the most interesting people. If you can time it right, do the Eiffel Tower at dusk. It is so beautiful then and when I was there at that time, the line was manageable (i.e. walked right up and got a ticket and got right on the lift vs. waiting in a line all the way around the corner). <BR> <BR>Forget too much sleep, you won't need it. If you can, definitely head over to Latin Quarter. Check out Rue Mouffetard, a wonderful area in the 5th with all kinds of neat restaurants, crepe stands and shops. Very good, un-touristy souvenirs to be had.

I know we all enjoy different things, but I'm going to agree with Carol on this one. We found the Champs Elysee to be somewhat of a disappointment, much like any commercial street, complete with chain stores and restaurants. With limited time, I would much prefer strolling through other areas of the city, such as the Latin Quarter, which we found charming, and where we did some wonderful people-watching.

Based on all of your excellent advice we have decided to skip the night trip to the Arc. Now we're at another problem. based on your advice we have decided to go ahead and do the night boat trip on the Seine, which leads to this question...We also want to do the night trip to the Eiffel Tower...how lomg do the boat trips take? If we eat at 7:00PM and tentatively attempt the boats at 9:00PM will we have trouble making the Tower also? Do you run into problems getting up the Tower if we purchase one of the Carte Musees et Monuments (still have to wait in line?). <BR>Thanks again for the help. <BR> <BR>Vanessa

The pass doesn't cover the Eiffel Tower, so you can't use it to avoid the lines. If I remember correctly, the boat trip lasts somewhere around an hour. My own suggestion would be to do the boat trip, then the tower, then eat (or you could do the tower, then the boat trip - if photography is a major concern, I would do it this way). By the way, if you want to see the Diana site, the Pont de l'Alma is where the bateaux mouches depart.

Dan, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the quick reply...talk me through this...if we want Tower at dusk for best pictures what time would we need to be at the Tower (will be June 6th)? Also, if Seine at night is the best choice, what time would we need to do this? Doesn't it get dark late (9ish) this time of year? We are probably going to eat at Le Petit Troquet, Le 6 Bosquet, or Le Petit Nicois and do they serve after say 10ish?

It is going to be a challenge, but here is one option. First of all, the sun is supposed to set about 8:50 in Paris on that date. I don't think you need to be taking photos at that time unless you really want to film the sunset itself. You should get great colors in the sky up to 2 hours or more prior. So I would aim to be there between 6:00 and 8:15. Some of the best colors in the sky may actually come right after the sun sets and up to 30 minutes or more afterward. However, this is pretty hard to do, given your schedule. If you are lucky, you will have some clouds too to make the sky interesting. Still searching for the closing times for these restaurants. Generally, according to my travel guides, restaurants stay open until around 10:30, but I know this is not a strict rule. I have eaten way past midnight in a well-known cafe on the Champs Elysees, and the cafe near my hotel on Rue Cler was almost always open when we returned late at night. The Bateaux-Mouches run until 11:00 pm in June. They depart every 30 minutes and last 1:15. So maybe do it this way (a little differently than I originally said). 6:00 - 6:30 photos. 6:30 - 8:00 for tower (the golden light on the buildings below makes for lovely shots); 8:00 to 8:30 to get to boats; either take the 8:30 or 9:00 boat; you may want to consider eating in the area around the Alma bridge too. I know there were a few places there. Eat a late meal, and then back to the hotel. The metro runs until 12:45 with trains reaching their final destinations by 1:15. I know this seems hectic, and it is. If you want to shift things to earlier in the day by an hour or so, that should work pretty well too - maybe better. It won't be easy to fit all three things into one evening, but I think you can do it.

Dan, <BR> <BR>Thank you SO MUCH (and all others too!!) for your help. This is appreciated more than you know. I have very quickly realized that 36 DAYS may not be enough in Paris, let alone 36 hours!! We are already planning trip #2 to do all the things we are gonna miss this time. I hope things are less STRESSED in Germany for us!!

Dear Vanessa, <BR> <BR>RELAX! As a seasoned traveller, I'm here to tell you that the best thing about detailed planning and making schedules is that you know exactly what you're missing when you decide that you're having too much fun doing what you're doing at that very moment to leave! IMO, you're doing exactly the right thing now, and you only need to remember that whatever you miss will be something to look forward to on your next trip.

Carol, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the encouragement!! We have decided to attempt Dan's evening picture/eat/boat trip schedule and I have decided, well, if we miss the boats, so be it. We'll do it next time, I suspect they're not going anywhere. Also decided to stick with our original day 2 itinerary. This is, afterall, our 11th Anniversary and we want to have a good time, not worry that we may not be able to see and do all in the City of Lights in 36 hours!!

Way to go Vanessa--Bravo!!