Will be in Paris for the first time next weekend for 4 days. Arriving Thurs afternoon staying at Place Vendome.Planning on staying in the area on Thurs...Tuilleries. Going to skip Louvre this trip on advice from friends and do the Musee d'orsay and maybe Pompideu if we have time.FRi we have a segway tour from 10:30am -2:30 pm. Dinner plans are already made. We want to see main attractions and walk around some neighborhoods ..especially the Marais. Anyone wanna take a shot? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Scooter, it's a little difficult to try to give you some itinerary advice since we're not sure exactly what you're interested in. What type of art do you like (Impression v. Expressionism v. modern art v. Renaissance art)? It appears you like Impressionist & post-Impressionist works. Are you a history buff and if so what era? What brought you to Paris? What's your budget? Did you come for the food and if so what do you want to try? Are you here to shop?

But off the top of my head, I think that first afternoon I'd do some shopping on the Place Vendôme, so much to choose from. You could have tea at the Ritz for your lunch (I think they serve afternoon tea until 4-ish). I went last trip & really enjoyed it. Then I'd walk up to the Opéra Garnier & tour the inside (you might like seeing the beautiful Marc Chagall ceiling). Then you could walk over to the Galeries Lafayette & Printemps to do a little shopping.

For Thursday, I would recommend Angélina at 226 rue de Rivoli across from the Tuileries for what some people think is the best chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) in Paris; you could also shop for cool French foodstuffs at Fauchon & Hèdiard nearby (behind la Madeleine church). Of course, there's all kinds of great shopping along the rue de Rivoli including many places to pick up souvenirs. And I highly recommend picking up Fodor's Gold Guide to look at the walking tours in the different neighborhoods. They have an excellent Marais walking tour. Rick Steves' Paris also has a great short walking tour.

Besides the Marais, I'd recommend walking around Montmartre. Here's a link with photos of a short travelogue I did titled "Moonstruck in Montmartre". You can look at it to see if this area might be for you.
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/5a348/#TL

Other than that ,maybe you could do a Bateaux Mouche ride? Or maybe you want to view the sunset from the Eiffel Tower? Or watch the bridges light up one by one from the vantage point of Sacré-Coeur? I understand that each arrondissement lights up one by one in the evenings, too.

Hey, these are things I would do. Tell us what you're interested in and we can help you better.

One recommendation (esp for your first trip) is to take the 90-minute guided tour at the Orsay. The English guided tour is at 11:30a Tues-Sat. It is an extra 6 euros (I think) in addition to the regular admission price, but well worth it in my opinion.

I reccommend walking around Marais, when you are there get a falafel for lunch.......AWESOME!!!!

Also Notre Dame and St Chappelle can be done in the same morning or afternoon, should only take 2 hours or so, unless there are long lines!!!!

If you do the hot chocolate at Angelina's DON'T order anything with it...it is sooooo INCREDIBLY rich on its own. It is not hot chocolate but rather melted chocolate with whipped cream served on the side. The also give you a big pitcher of water, that is how decadent it is!!!

Have fun,
Brenda
ENJOY.

We just did the Segway tour about three weeks ago and loved it! It was one of the highlights of our trip. Hopefully, Marcus will be your guide - he was wonderful.

Enjoy Paris!

I have only been to Paris once for a 5 day stay in the Latin Quarter.

Our method... We got a free city map from the hotel lobby (which was better than the ones we had purchased beforehand) and wandered around each day. We mostly walked, used the Metro a couple times.

We made a general plan over breakfast, based around different things like Eiffel Tower, the Arc, Notre Dame, Louvre (from the outside only), St. Chappelle, Luxembourg Gardens, Tuilleries, etc. etc.

So I guess my suggesion is simply find the heart/center of the district (example Marais) on a map and go there!

Thanks for all the responses ... I checked the RIck Steves website and got some really usefull information...also the pics of Momamarte added that area to the list. Angelinas was alrerady on there especially after i ran across this...http://www.gridskipper.com/travel/pa...nas-103386.php
The idea of heading to the middle of a district and wandering also really appeals to me. I heard Sunday is the best day to go to the Marais because everywhere else is shut down..any comments?
Also did you return to the sights you saw on the Segway tour.For instance to you go into Notre Dame or just glide past it?
We have a reservation at the Crazy Horse for Sat night (show only), I have read numerous posts here and they are decidedly mixed. Any input or alternatives are welcome.
One last question...any advice on how to mellow out before the trip...we are so excited our heads are about to explode.

Oui, because the Marais is a predominantly Jewish district (for centuries) then you'll find many of the shops open as that is not the Jewish "day of rest".

The falafel shops mentioned by brenda_s are mostly found on the rue des Rosiers.

scooter, sounds like you've got a great start on your itinerary! Have a great trip!!