YouGoGirl

Please help with the following itinerary.
I have read lots of posts and other websites, but we've never been to Paris before and want to make sure we see all the sights we want to see (without rushing around) and well as just wander the streets.
We have four full days in Paris...

Day One
Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe
Place de la Concorde
Tuileries
Louvre
(we are not big museum or art people
so we would only spend a couple hours)

Day Two
Ile de Cite
Notre Dame
St. Chapelle
Place des Vosges

Day Three
Wander streets of Saint Germain
Luxembourg Gardens
Pantheon

Day Four
Monmarte
Sacre-Coeur
Surrounding area

Do I have too much in any day?
We also just want to be able to walk
the Seine on any give day.
Please make any suggestions/changes to
the itinerary.
Also...
which park is better for picnic..
Tuileries or Luxembourg?
We also want to do a nightime
Seine cruise.
Thanks for your help.

Ian

Slow down. You experience Paris, you don't attack it.

Take your time & you will see most if not all of those sights. With time left for a cafe, or a crepe or . . .

Ian

dcd

Looks pretty good with the possible exception of Day 1. If that's your day of arrival and if you have travelled from afar, such as from the US, you may well be too tired to do all that you have planned, especially the Lourve. The Lourve can exhaust a well rested person. On the other hand, if your Day 1 is technically your second day in Paris, you should be fine with what you've planned. Personally, I think Luxembourg Gardens would be a bit prettier for a picnic but you can't go wrong with either. Have fun!!

Christina

Days 2-4 are fine, not crowded at all. I think day one is okay if it's a full day, like the one after you arrive. I don't think you are doing too much at all, this looks like a pretty relaxed schedule to me.

I think Luxumbourg gardens is far preferable for a picnic to the Tuileries, which I don't particularly like that much.

YouGoGirl

Yes, I agree.
We will do the Eiffel Tower/Louvre
day on Day 2 or 3.
Which night would you recommend doing
Taillevent for dinner (I don't want to fall asleep!) and which night doing
a Seine river cruise (not dinner cruise).
Thanks

nbujic

skip going in to Louvre the first day, just take a look at the building
day 3 you may wish to spend 1-2 hours at the Orsay - it is fantastic.

JoeTro

I think it's very good, except maybe for day 1. I'd recommend the Louvre on the night it is open late (Friday?).

I know you aren't into art/museums very much, but I would suggest the Orsay. It's amazing.

I'd also walk a bit more around the Marais on day 2 and especially the Latin Quarter on day 3. I love Shakespeare and Company there and always visit when in Paris.

dcd

For the Seine cruise, I'd skip the first nite but after that I'd monitor the weather and pick the next nite that has good weather. I'd also recommend doing the sunset cruise which will allow you to see Paris in daylight and at nite. You can google a sunset calendar before leaving to learn which tour to shoot for.

aliced

Definitely sounds do-able; if you're not big into museums, stay outside of the Louvre and opt instead for the Orsay and most definitely the Orangerie, where are the gorgeous Monet waterlily huge panels. Luxemburg is prettier, but if it's hard to plan where you'll be when. You might cross over into the Marais from your Ile de la Cite day too. Recommend lunch at Angelina along Rue Rivoli having the delish Chocolat L'Africain (their version of hot chocolate but more like choc mousse). There is always more to see in Paris-- we just returned from our 4th visit!

jdraper

This sounds more than perfect to me. I do agree that you may have to much going on day one so you may want to move the Louvre. Make sure you are willing to adjust and drop certain sites if you happen upon something you find interesting along the way. The Seine river cruise can be done on any night that you have the energy so just wait until you have good weather and go for it. I am so jealous. It's been two years since I was last in Paris and I have been missing it lately. Enjoy.

AGM_Cape_Cod

Hi YouGoGirl. You don't say when you will be traveling but if it is in high season get a museum pass. Then you won't spend precious time standing in line. It will allow you to bypass lines at Saint Chapelle, the Louvre, the Orsay and other museums and monuments.

Leely

Looks good. My vote goes to Luxembourg Gardens.

tomassocroccante

Girl, I AM a museum person but I don't like to do more than 2 hrs at a shot anyway - being in a great museum is like sitting down to fabulous food. After a couple of hours you need to go get hungry again! The eyes can get overloaded, just like any other sense -

So with just two hrs in the Louvre, the one thing I'd SKIP is: The Mona Lisa. Sure, if I could get a real good look at her, I'd love it. But between the crowd, the protective glass, etc, it's not optimal.

On the other hand, there is a room full of sculpture (embarassment of riches) that happens to contain two Michelangelo marbles, including THe Slave, close enough to touch, and surprisingly dirty last time I saw them, but at such an intimate view, such as you are unlikely to find the master anywhere else.

Then there are the Napoleon apartments. And the Winged Victory on the stair (a must for ancient art fans and Audrey Hepburn fans alike - see FUNNY FACE)

Plenty more, too. Check out http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/det...mp;bmLocale=en and see a book on the Louvre in your local library to pick out things you'd like in advance.

By the way, there are other museums in Paris that some people prefer to the great Louvre. I really like the Musee Picasso, in the Marais - though it seems out of the way for you. But the Rodin museum (and garden) is one almost everyone is crazy about.

YouGoGirl

Thanks for all the great info...
I really appreciate it and am feeling
much less stressed.

A few more questions if you don't mind...

1) Which Seine cruise company should
we use? Looks like a lot of people
like Vedettes du Pont Neuf.
We want to be on an open boat, with
room to move around.
2) Looks like sunset in mid May
will be around 9:30.
Would you suggest a 9:00 cruise so
we can experience sunset and
the lighting of the buildings?
3) Was thinking of going to Trocadero
Square one night to see the
lighting of the tower and then dinner afterward...worth it?
Is there a better spot?
Thanks for all your help.

YouGoGirl

Sorry, one more thing I forgot.
I thought I read somewhere that a
lot of shops in St. Germain are closed
on Sunday but a lot of shops in Marais
are open on Sunday...true?

dcd

I would recommend the 9pm cruise. We used the Vedettes du Pont Neif boat and were pleased. The upper deck is open and is the place to be on a nice night. The best seats IMHO are on the side. Don't know how busy the 9pm cruise will be but you might get there a little early (20 minutes or so) to start standing in line to give yourself the best chance of getting good seats on the upper deck.

Can't help you with your other questions.

tomassocroccante

Your question re: opening hours and days of shops relates to museums, too, of course. How you plan your museum days and hours will be in regard to that, too. Most seem to have websites now, and certainly guidebooks contain info.
One thing I do suggest: get a copy of TIME OUT: PARIS on arrival. It's a smallish magazine, always current, and a good source for finding what's new, as well as phone numbers, addresses, etc/ Cheap and a handy souvenir, too, if you care to bring it home.

amwosu

I think you've done a good job grouping sites each day but I agree with other posters about visiting the Louvre a different day OR consider doing your "Day One" schedule on a day when the Louvre is open late.

Have you considered the evening Fat Tire Bike tour which includes a river cruise? I have done the day tour and hear the evening tour is lots of fun.

On the day you tour the Marais stop by the Pompidou just to see the outside of the building and the fountain and all the people milling about beside the museum.

YouGoGirl

We arrive on a Thursday morning and
leave on Monday morning.
Which day would you do on our arrival day?
Is it wise to get a lunch reservation in the Eiffel Tower to try to avoid
some of the lines?

amwosu

Just an opinion- you've stacked the heavy hitters into the first two days and have more relaxed days at the end. I'd change that up a bit.

Thursday- Do your Day Three while you are jetlagged (Is jetlag an issue? Are you traveling from the states?). Get out and walk.

Possibly get oriented with the city with a Fat Tire Bike Tour http://www.fattirebiketoursparis.com...day-tour.shtml which you can take most of the year at either 11am or 3pm. I did the tour on my last day in Paris on my most recent trip but wish I'd done it on the first day to get a feel for the size and scope of the 1-8 arrondisements.

You'll pedal past Place de la Concorde, Pont Alexander, the Grand & Petit Palais, as well as the Louvre, Tuileries, Arc de Triomphe, Ecole Militaire, and Napoleon's Tomb. With your short time frame just pedaling past may be enough for a couple of those sites.

Friday- Do your Day One
Get up early and be at the Eiffel Tower 15 minutes prior to opening. I've done this in both June and July with great success- little to no wait to buy tickets or to get to the top.

The Louvre is open until 10pm on Fridays so do everything else and maybe take a siesta then head out to the Louvre before dinner. I think they probably stop admitting people to the museum an hour before closing time.

Saturday- Do your Day Four including Place du Tetre. You've still got time to hit up another area in my opinion on that day.

You might go to rue Honore and Montaigne for obscene shopping opportunities or head out to the 20th to Cimetiere du Pere- Lachaise to visit the final addresses of Jim Morrison, Isadora Duncan, ex pat writer Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice Toklas, Abelard and Heloise (12th century graves!), artists Delacroix, Pissarro, & Seurat, writer Oscar Wilde and on and on and on...

Hit the Oberkampf that night if you're young, if not so young hit the fancier and more expensive places in the 8th.

Sunday- Do your Day Two when the Marais is hopping and other areas of the city sleep a little more. Eat kosher Jewish delicacies somewhere along rue des Rosiers (old Jewish quarter). I haven't been but I hear often of Chez Jo Goldenberg.

The Ille de la Cite has a rare bird market on Sunday at place Louis Lepine (where the flower market takes place other days of the week).