This walk is very easily doable (from someone who has plenty of years on you) assuming two things:

You are already walkers and enjoy it (we do long walks - 3/4 city miles - almost every sunday after lunch)

You have really comfy broken in shoes (that you have alredy walked this far in - not just comfy for the mall)

I have gone to Paris, France in 2002. It is very easy to walk from place to place. Look on a map and make sure you go in order so you don't have to back track your way. Once you get to your final destination you might want to take the Metro back. If you like to walk and can handle it, I would suggest it because it is very beautiful in Paris. If you need a break the metros are all over the place. The Metros have a map in the inside cars and can take you place to place.

If you really like hot dogs I would suggest trying one over there. The hot dogs in Paris are wonderful. They use a big long bread and use a spike to make a center hole for the hot dog, then they drop it in. The mustard sauce is to die for!!! It is very yummy and a fast lunch. You will find most hotdog stands in or around the parks.

I would also suggest going in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa and the other paintings are really nice to look at. Word to the wise... Say hello in French first then ask if they speak english. All most of all people there can speak english but won't if you dont say hello in French... some french people dont like americans.

For Notre Dame, if you go to chruch I would also suggest going to service one day there. I went to 2-3 services while I was there and its amazing. If you are thinking about doing that get there pently of time before mass starts because seats fill up fast.

The Arc de Triomphe. There is actually TWO of them. They have the newer one and an older one. The one where the Le Tour de france is held is the new one (champs elysees). You can actually walk up the arc de triomphe (it doesnt cost much) it was sprial stairs and once you get to the top its really interesting to look down.

My only thing is you might want to do this the second day of your trip because you will be jet legged. When I arrived in Paris it was suppose to be night time where I came from (twin cities) and it was day there.

I think your days adventure is totally doable on foot. HAVE FUN & good luck!
Sorry for the novel.. I could go on and on. If you want to know more or ask me some questions feel free to email me at [email protected]

I agree with ira--do the walk from the Arc down the champs, but definitely take the metro from the Eiffel tower to the Arc. I did this very walk a few years ago with my brother, who is/was out of shape and portly. He did accuse me of conspiring with his wife to make him walk his @** off, but other than that it was nice.

I was 28 and my wife 26 when we took our first trip to Europe by railpass.
When we'd get to a city or town, we walked everywhere, never used a taxi, but did use the public transportation only occasionally.
We walked everywhere in places like Paris, Munich, Rome, and Florence.
Plan your walking tour to meander from one end of the city to the other, then take the subway back to the hotel at the end of the day.

I've done this walk. It's a day trip and tough. Connect via metro where possible.

hawaii - I would liken the walk from the Louvre to Arc de Triomphe aboutlie from Port Authority to the Met. I think it took me about 45 minutes to make the walk in April, tho I agree with Joe it's a little dull, there are more interesting walks. I did the walk you described all in one day, minus Latin Quarter at the end. I had missed the Arc last year, and on the way back I stopped at a cafe for an entrecote frites and a 1664 beef. Lunch prices at cafes along the Champs Elysee were surprisingly reasonable and of course the people-watching is fine.

First, let me clarify something. I'm assuming "first day in Paris" means your first FULL day, not your day of arrival. Use your day of arrival to orient yourself to the neighborhood around your hotel and/or only see one major site.

That said, if it were my 1st full day in Paris, AND it was my honeymoon, AND I were staying at Invalides...this is what I would do.

Start out toward the Seine and cross Pont Alexander III. Approach Champs Elysees at the Grande Palais/Petit Palais grounds. You'll have great views of the Eiffel Tower throughout this walk. (We were totally uninspired by our LONG walk all the way down Champs Elysees---totally boring.) You'll see the Arc in the distance--visit it another day if you have time.

Stroll the short distance to Place de la Concorde, thru the Jardin des Tuileries and up to the Louvre. Cross Pont Neuf to the Ile de la Cite. (At Pont Neuf, buy tickets for sunset river cruise...http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/va/index.htm.) By now you'll be more than ready for lunch and a rest at one of the nearby cafes.

Spend the afternoon wandering through the Iles and/or seeing Notre Dame. Pick up some cold champagne for your romantic sunset cruise.

After the cruise, have dinner and then decide whether you want to walk or taxi back to the hotel. The walk back to Les Invalide along the Seine would be beautiful at night, with the Tour Eiffel and the golden dome of the Invalides in front of you.

Sigh. Can you tell I'm jealous?!

I meant to add: On a sunny day, you could do Musee Rodin in the morning--it's right near Invalides. Then have a picnic at Champs de Mars under the Eiffel Tower and go up the tower after lunch.

We have done this walk, and with children. It is no problem. Just take your time to see things you happen upon and enjoy yourself:)

I have walked that route and more in a single day in Paris -- often. Sure it's doable.
One day this last trip we started at our place on St. Germaine in the 6th right by Rue de Seine, walked to the Eiffel Tower, then Arc, down Champs Elysees, curving over to St. Honore, then to Marais. We walked down and across St. Louis, then across to Latin Quarter and up to Luxembourg Gardens, then returned to our place on St. Germaine -- considerably more than you're talking about. By the way, we were back in our apartment around 5 or 6, rested and then walked up near the Pantheon for dinner and back.

thanks for ALL the reponses! WOW! to clear up some of the misconceptions - no its NOT our honeymoon - that was last year in Hawaii - it is just my username. And by 1st day - yes i do mean day or arrival. i know i know - what are we thinking?

well we arrive pretty early and have been waiting months and months for this trip. I think the excitement alone will keep us going the whole day! Hopefully. Its not a big deal - this is just a plan. And if we dont get to do it all in one day - we have the following day to make up for it. I just wanted to get some feedback regarding how strenuous the walk can be. But coming from the New York region - we are definitely used to walking everywhere. Thanks again!

Thanks for clearing that up. Yes, I think you can do it even on your arrival day. Visiting museums on that first day leave me more bleary eyed than anything. But walking keeps me awake and able to retire early in the evening and avoid the jet lag the second day. I think your plan is good, especially if you mean "walk through the Louvre area", not visit the Louvre museum.

We did a similar, but longer walk, in one day. We stopped a few times to rest and people watch. We started at the tower, then walked to the Marmotan museum (I would guess we spent three hours there; it was wonderful), then to the arc (we didn't go in) then down the champs Elysee (we lunched at one of the restaurants there, more for the view than the food, which was less expensive than I had anticipated) through the place de Concorde and the Jardin de Tuileries and the carousel, then along the Right bank to the Hotel de la Cite, then north to our apartment in the Marais. It was a full day, but very interesting. I would suggest you try to return to the arc some evening to see the lights.

Walking from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc, then down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre and then over to Notre Dame is very doable. Unless you linger for a long time in each area, you should have no problem beginning at the Tower in the morning and ending with dinner in the Latin Quarter.

Hi there -

We did the exact walk in reverse a couple of months ago (also went up the Tower on foot!). It was a long day, but doable and fun. Make sure you stretch out and have a nice warm bath at the end of it!