Oh, and I've thought of something else. If you decide to visit the Louvre in the morning, breakfast at Café Marly on the terrace overlooking the glass pyramids of the Louvre is worth the surly waiters! Another wonderful breakfast venue is Angelina's on rue de Rivoli, too full and touristy the rest of the time, but lovely in the morning. This is the area I live in so I'm a bit biaised.

My daughter and I will be there the same week you are and also staying in Marais. We are also going to Versailles but on Sunday. I have gotten great suggestions from this site but on certain topics such as HOHO bus and the Louvre, you really must just go with what YOU feel you need. They really are personal preferences and you will get tons of opinions for and against them. I too only want to spend a small amount of time in the Louvre, and I know you can spend days in there alone but my daughter wants to see some of the things she has studied in school but not spend the entire day there. Again, just personal preference. I hope we have great weather when we are there!

What about doing the Fat Tire evening bike tour the first day you arrive or Wednesday night? It was a great tour and gave us an overall perspective of the city (or at least a few of the major sites). The evening ride down the Seine was lovely with the Eiffel Tower lit up.

Rent bikes at Versailles. Marie Antoinette's house is quite far and bikes allow you to see more of the gardens.

In Montmarte, check out the Musee Gustave Moreau. Museum is in the house he lived/painted and a great way to check out the interior of a Parisian residence, plus great art. About a 15-20 min walk from Sacre Couer.

Thank you for the additional thoughts and recs. I'm going to do some more w

Mamcalice, You make a good point. I think based on Seamus's input we might not do the flea market at all. I'm not really into junk :) We will plan something else for the afternoon.

Seamus, good advice to check a map. I've checked out Monday and I can see now how it would be time consuming to walk 50 minutes to the eiffel tower, then back about the same to go to the louvre in the afternoon. We will have to shift some things around.

StCirq, is there anything else that does not seem reasonable? You weren't specific so I'm not sure if you were referring to Sunday or something else. Thursday is just a list of possible things to do, not as much a strict plan for the day. Although, I think I will take Seamus's advice and see if any of those are near other things on the itinerary and maybe they can fit in other days.

I've got to do some work on this itinerary and will reply again with another update.

coachdj5, thanks for your thoughts. It's so overwhelming to try and plan an itinerary for a place you've never been. I've never even done a HOHO bus before so who knows whether it will be good for us! I guess if we didn't have a plan it makes sense to use it to just roam around and check out the lay of the land, but if we have a day planned out I can see it being a waste of time. We'll see. I'm crossing my fingers for great weather too!

My point was the same as Seamus's. You seem to have picked out destinations without looking at a map and grouping things based on their locations. Paris is an easy, compact city to navigate, and you have a million more resources available to you than anyone did before the Internet. It needn't be overwhelming if you use good maps, good guidebooks, and the Web to visualize the city ahead of time, learn where things are in relation to each other, and get to know the transport system.

As for the HOHO bus, it isn't meant to be used simply for transport from A to B. It's a dedicated sightseeing bus, with stops at places people are likely to want to visit. You seem to have planned to use it to hop off, but not on again, which would be a big waste of money since Paris buses and métros and cheap and fast and go everywhere.

jmkay, love the idea to get bikes at versailles. We will definately do that. I liked the night fat bike tour idea until I went to their site and see it's 4 hours long. Yikes! We will have to think whether we want to use up that much time with one activity, although it looks like it would be a great experience.

The HOHO bus is ONLY good for a quick overview of the city, and maybe not even that. I think it works for someone who has never been, but you aren't going to want to use it as a way to get between things. Buy a ticket for one day and do the main part of Paris (maybe an hour total). THEN if you want to use it for another part, do so, but it really isn't very good for the other 2 lines, in my opinion--and we HAVE done it.
One day out of 5 in Versailles may or may not be a good use of time--IMO.
Someone can correct me, but museum passes may be sold in the gift shop at the Orsay, for example, not in the main entrance line. You could also begin at a small museum like the Rodin.
the Champs is just a big wide avenue lined with franchise stores. I don't know what your "plan" for doing the Champs, but you can hop a bus that goes either toward the Arc or away from it (to Pl. Concorde) and see the Champs quicker and easier, if that is a must for you.
There are shops to buy a sandwich almost anywhere.
For the Louvre, I suggest you get the Michelin Green Guide and choose the area(s) you want to visit. Two hours will require a REAL plan, not just "drop in".
It really seems you have not seen much of Paris by your present planning. Sorry.
I don't agree about the Luxembourg Garden being nicer than the Champs de Mars for a picnic--and I have done both.
The St.Ouen Marche is not in Montmartre, and it is far from junk. It is called a "flea market" only because of its history of actually being one in the 20's. It is HIGH end antique shops that would take days to navigate. If you are not looking for something in particular, you will not find it!!
You are spending a lot of time in Montmartre. it is interesting and fun, but not the most interesting part of Paris.
If you get a DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris I think you will see much better what is in different areas and be able to consolidate your navigation. At the moment, not so much.

Please add a bit of time for just sitting at a great spot enjoying a glass of wine or champagne and watching Paris!
loveyblue

A lot of people do actually use the HOHO bus for transporation around Paris, as I took it once and heard them talking. The kind of people who are afraid to figure out the local transportation system in a foreign city. I took it as I've been to Paris a lot and had some free time and a nice day, so just thought it would be a nice tour around the city with a different view of the buildings. It was that, except it really did suck up a lot of time -- you get stuck in traffic sometimes, of course (especially Right Bank), and it waits at some bus stops for maybe 15 minutes. IN short, it really is NOT a good way to get around the city in any efficient manner.

I do think the Luxembourg Gardens are a nicer park/gardens than the Champs de Mars, quite a bit nicer, actually. I assume you are using the term "picnic" quite loosely and merely mean you buy some take-out food and sit on a bench and eat it. I don't call that a picnic, but you cannot sit on the grounds with a blanket or anything like that in Luxembourg Gardens, you aren't allowed on the grass.

I also think you should see the Champs-Elysees, it is an integral and important part of the city in terms of planning and history, but it shouldn't take up a lot of time, just kind of walking around a bit or if you want to see the Arc.

I don't really like DK Eyewitness Guidebooks and don't think they are very good for figuring out cities myself. I just think they are a very bad guidebook.

Thank you, Gretchen. I believe we will pass on the HOHO. The champs elysees part of our itinerary was really just to walk around that area. I have never been to Paris so I'm not sure what to expect. Maybe our revised itinerary below will make more sense. We will have to do some additional planning for the louvre itself. I will also try to get a DK eyewitness guide to paris.

Here's the revised itinerary. I've also taken note of many of the restaurant suggestions in this thread and the marais thread, which was very useful. Lovelyblue, I definitely want to have time to just relax. It's so hard to fit everything you want to do into such a short period of time. We may have to make some sacrifices once we are there and just cancel an afternoon activity here and there. Any thoughts about the revisions? I hope it makes a little more sense. Does anyone else have an opinion about versailles? Merci!

Saturday, 5/25:
-Arrive CDG in AM. Drop off luggage at hotel.
-Wander & shop le marais. Make dinner res.
-Lunch in le marais with some celebratory champ
-check-in to hotel 2pm if early check-in not possible
-board Bus 72 at hotel de ville to eiffel tower (bir hakeim stop)
-wine/cheese picnic near eiffel tower
-walk back to hotel from eiffel through champs elysees area, then through tuileries garden (about 1.5 hours total)
-Dinner in le marais

Sunday, 5/26:
-Have breakfast at specialty food shops in Montmartre
-Visit Sacre-Coeur (church on hilltop in Montmartre)
-Head back to Le Marais and go to the marché des Enfants Rouges for lunch.
-take metro to visit catacombs
-dinner in Latin Quarter (5th)? (le Cosi at 9 rue Cujas)

Monday, 5/27:
-Grab breakfast somewhere local or on way to Notre Dame
-Visit Notre Dame (20 min walk from hotel).
-Visit St. Chapelle (7 min walk from Notre Dame).
-Lunch at Sorza in Ile Saint-Louis. Amorino gelato after.
-Visit the Louvre
-Drink at Café Diane
-Head back to Marais to clean up before dinner.
-dinner where?
-evening fat tour bike tour?

Tuesday, 5/28:
-Stop at a market and pickup wine and food for lunch picnic. Also grab breakfast
-Take M8 toward Balard to Invalides and connect to RER C train toward Versailles-Rive-Gauche (totals to 1 hr and 11 mins).
-Gardens 1st
-Fountain musical show from 11am-12pm (need to buy a ticket for this). We’ll have our picnic at some point during our time at the gardens.
-Rent bikes for visiting M.A.'s home
-Marie Antoinette’s Home (opens at noon).
-Tour the Chateau around 3pm to avoid crowds.
-Head back to the city.
-Dinner in Le Marais?

Wednesday, 5/29:
-Morning open for whatever we might feel like doing (see thursday list). Maybe a later breakfast at Angelina's or Cafe Marly and wander a bit before lunch?
-Reservations at 1215pm for wine and cheese lunch at O’Chateau (75E each) near the Louvre.
-Pere Lachaise Cemetery (20th - take M3)
-Dinner at Le Chateaubriand or Le Dauphin in the 11th
-Party in Oberkampf area after dinner or hit up Le Baron Rouge wine bar?

Thursday, 5/30:
-Leaving day open for:
§ Wandering around St. Germain (6th)
§ picnic at Jardin du Luxembourg (5th)
§ Shopping
§ free fashion retrospective at the Hotel du Ville

Friday, 5/31:
o Depart early for Provence

I will just say the the DK guide serves the purpose of very visually showing sites in an area, in relationship to the sort of geography of the whole city--just that. I think the Michelin Green Guide is better for specific information. I think it would be helpful to someone who has never been to Paris and is having a problem fitting in distances.

getting better, meredith!
Is day one your first after overnight flight? Don't forget to allow for the inevitable jet lag. Getting out and walking around in sunlight is important, but after the trek from the ET to the Champs and on through Tuileries to your hotel it may be overly optimistic to plan for dinner.

Sunday - Not sure what specialty food shops you refer to - do you have something specific in mind? Also, believe that Le Cosi is closed on Sundays so need an alternative for dinner.

At Versailles, the Hameau de la Reine is a trek from the main chateau. It is a very cool place, and a lovely hike, but takes time to get to and from so figure accordingly. If you get tired there is a mini tram transport for which you can purchase tickets but IIRC you must do so up by the main chateau. Bike rental is a great idea, though we have never done it (may try it next visit.)

The following suggestion is contrary to my general thought that you seem to be somewhat overplanning, but do note (if you haven't already) locations of places to pick up cheese and wine. I know the places we've gone to around where we stay in Paris, in the 6th (Androuet has great cheese), but don't know about Le Marais. Also, their open hours; you may not find what you want to be open on Tuesday morning. And BTW, you'll probably be able to find half-sized bottles of wine if you don't think you'll finish (and/or don't want to carry) a full bottle. Also, if you'll have a pocket knife to cut cheese and open the wine, I'm not sure how that will work if you have to go through any museum security lines with it. I can't remember what we did about this.

Also, on Versailles, I would STRONGLY suggest not going on Tuesday. After numerous trips to Paris over the years, and having skipped visiting Versailles each time since my very first trip to Paris, we decided to take the kids to Versailles on a Tuesday last May (they had never been). Versailles tends to be VERY busy on a Tuesday, because it's closed on Monday and they run the fountains on Tuesday. Like you, we elected to visit the gardens first, which is a good decision, because even though we'd purchased our tickets in advance, even the security line for the palace was humongous. That worked out well, and we had a wonderful picnic lunch out by the hameau. By the time we got back to the palace, the security line was quite short. But the palace itself was jam-packed with people, primarily large tour groups that took up, it seemed, every available inch of space in each room. It was stuffy and warm - I can't imagine what it would be like on a hot day.

Bookmarking! I'm going about the same time that you are,and have found some wonderful suggestions here.

I've got a thread on Parish that you might be interested in - great suggestions regarding restaurants and other topics.

Just click on my username and look for it under my topics.

Have a great trip!

BTW, we are actually skipping the Louvre in favor of some of the smaller museums. We'll see the outside, but the inside can wait for another trip.

Okay, glad it's getting better. Saturday will be right after an overnight flight. We walk a lot living in downtown Chicago so we should be okay, but with jet lag might be another story. We will just have to see how we feel I guess regarding our plans for day 1.

The specialty food shop thing came from my friend. I'm not sure what that's about. I figured we would just get there and see places for breakfast. I'll have to check with her to figure that out.

Lexma90, what part do you think I'm over planning? Deciding on where to eat what meal/day? I don't want to over-plan, but don't want to under-plan either. I might be driving myself mad here. How specific do you usually get with your planning?

There's a great thread about wine bars with "younger crowds" on chowhound.com now. Some some suggestions you might find helpful, especially from the poster parnassien.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/897246

If you do picnic in Luxembourg Gardens, Pierre Oteiza and Laurent Dubois are both nearby. The first has fantastic Basque sausages (sandwiches too); the second some excellent cheeses.

http://www.pierreoteiza.com/reseau/paris-1

http://www.fromageslaurentdubois.fr/

My favorite thing is to pick up lunch at bakery/pastry shop Gerard Mulot (fabulous!)and have a picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens just a couple of blocks away. Now that is real Paris!

Of all the museums, I enjoyed most the Jacquemart Andre Museum in a beautiful mansion. (be sure to get the earphones). After an hour and a half to 2 hours, stop for lunch or tea in the elegant yet reasonable cafe. Easy metro ride there. You could hop the metro afterwards and go a few minutes further to the big, elegant department stores, Printemps and Galeries Laffayette.(great view of Paris from 9th floor.)

Easy and fast right in G. Laffayette is RER ride back to the Marais .A very full, nice day.

Thanks for the recs, Leely2 and MAP. I will check those out. I cannot wait for the food in france!

I'm not understanding the connection between breakfast and specialty food shops. Breakfast in Paris, with few exceptions, means a quick stop for a croissant or tartine and a coffee at a café. Specialty food shops are...just that, and you wouldn't go to one for breakfast. I can see going to a patisserie or boulangerie to pick up something to nibble on for breakfast, but they don't have seating, so you'd have to eat walking around or sitting on a bench - something you don't often see Parisians doing at breakfast time. Anyway, I'm sure you'll figure something out.