Paris trip Almost Here - Itinerary !!!!
 

Please critique our itinerary, staying in Latin Quarter, meals will be as we get hungry.

Day One
Arrive at Sully St Germain Hotel from US at 11:00 am
Walk to Notre Dame go in (not the Towers, yet)
Back to hotel, take long nap.
In the evening, walk along the Seine up to the Lourve at night.

Day Two
Visit Sainte Chappell
Visit Notre Dame Gargoyles
Metro to and lunch in Tuillerie Gardens
Walk up Champs Elysee (have a drink along the way)
To the top of the Arc de Triomphe
Metro to Eiffel Tower and up to top.

Day Three
Metro to Musee d’Orsay and tour it
Walk to and tour St Sulpice
Walk to and visit Louvre after hours entrance

Day Four
Walk to Luxembourg Gardens
Metro to Pigalle
Walk to Montmartre
Visit Sacre Coeur
Visit Artists Village
Metro to Calife dinner boat cruise on the Seine

Day Five
Walk to and visit Musee Picasso
Walk to Pompidou Center
Walk to Hotel de Ville
Walk back to hotel and check out
Taxi to Gare de Lyon
TGV to Dijon
Walk around Dijon and stay at Kyriad near train station

Day Five
Pick-up Rental car at Dijon train station
Drive south along 17 thru The Route des Grand Crus
Stopping along the Route
Drive to Beaune
Dinner in Beaune and stay at Hotel de la Paix

Day Six
Walk around Beaune
Drive back to Dijon
Drop off car at train station
TGV to Paris
Stay at Hotel Terminus near Gare de Lyon station
Maybe visit Eiffel Tower one more time

Day Seven
Air France Bus to CDG

sorry for 2 "Day Fives"...really Six, Seven and Eight!

I can't comment on your itinterary (though it sounds pretty wonderful!) as I am planning my first trip to Paris soon myself, however, I have found out that the Picasso museum has recently closed for a few years for renovations. So you may want to think of something else to replace that. Have a great trip!

Try The Carnavalet Museum in the Marais---one of our favorites.

Yes just read the news about Picasso...we'll find something else to do...maybe sleep late!

You are not going to get as much out of Ste Chappelle on a rainy day as a sunny one, and likewise the rest of Day 2's plans, so if you wake up to rain on Day 2, switch around 2 and 3.

I would add a visit to St Denis in the middle of Day 4 and come back to Sacre Couer for the sunset (if you can see it without missing the dinner boat cruise). Mind your wallet in the Place du Tetre!

Sad as it sounds, I think you do need a few more rainy day options (and perhaps you already have them.) I like strolling thorugh the covered passages or spending more time at the Louvre.

Paris should not be overplanned. As zeppole points out, weather can change what is best to do and when to do it. And some of the best things in Paris are almost always unexpected unplanned activities.

Definitely allow time to get lost. Abundant time. Wander aimlessly. When you are tired, stop for a coffee or have a drink. Take a rest, make a journal entry, discreetly look at a map and figure out where you are. Then press on.
On Day 1: perhaps consider a late afternoon boat trip on the Seine, and skip the dinner trip. Or, rather than going to Notre Dame, go instead to the Arab Institue, the view from the observation area of Notre Dame is jaw dropping. Day 3, the Rodin is a easy walk from the D'Orsay. Rue de Bac and surrounding area is a fun area to walk/shop/etc. Day 4: allow time to enjoy/explore Montmartre. Visit shops along LePic and winding side streets. The "Artist Village" may prove a disappointment, the artists aparently are there solely for tourists, a lot of the work is unremarkable. Maybe add the Dali Museum instead? Day 5: if time allows definitely try to add Carnavalet, also you will be a short walk from Place des Voges, a beautiful square in the heart of the Marais. I definitely agree with zeppole regarding adding Bacillica St. Denis; the surrounding area is a tad edgy, however, it is an easy walk from the metro. Historically significant and magestic. Also, if time allows, the view from the top of the tower at Monparnesse, on a clear day, is stunning.

Unless my memory is faulty I think that the walk from the Latin Quarter to the Tuileries is not very long so I don't think you'll need the metro for that.

I do clearly remember enjoying the walk from our Latin Quarter hotel near the Seine to the Musee d'Orsay. It was a pleasant walk.

I agree with the advice to wander and would add a visit to the Deportation Memorial near the back of Notre Dame -- also a walk around Ile St Louis with a stop in Amorino for gelato.

Enjoy Paris and have fun.

On your day 1, you might want to forgo the long nap and wander around the Notre Dame streets and Ile St. Louis. You'll find some nice shops to window shop and be sure to get some ice cream! You may not be able to check into the hotel at 11, so start by finding lunch nearby and getting to know the immediate area, then check in and then walk to Notre Dame.

I find that if I take a nap on the first day, it takes me several days to adjust to the time difference. But if I stay awake until a "normal" bedtime and sleep in the next day, I don't have any jet lag. So, I usually walk and walk and walk, find dinner around 7, be in bed by 10 and sleep until 10 the next day - my body is pretty well adjusted to the new time zone. This is what works for me, but I know that there are differing thoughts on this topic.

You will love being in Paris! And I second the comment above about creating time to just wander with no real time constraint on the walk. I have a rule when I travel that at 5:00, I stop somewhere for "happy hour" and give myself time relax and enjoy the people watching and just soaking in the atmosphere.

I would visit the Musee d'Orsay and Louvre on 2 different days, because I would be absolutely fried seeing both in one day.

Day 3 - I would add the Rodin Museum gardens on the way from the Orsay Museum. There are some of his works in a lovely setting with a cafe behind the museum. There's a small admission fee for the garden only.

Stop at St-Germain-des-Pres church (corner of Blvd St-Germain and Rue Bonaparte) and then continue up Rue Bonaparte to St-Sulpice, stopping along the way for a pastry at Pierre Herme (right side of Rue Bonaparte,just before St-Sulpice). Sit on the St-Sulpice fountain and indulge.

Day 4 - you can take the funicular rather than walking up the stairs - 1 metro ticket.

Day 5 - Since the Picasso Museum is closed, I recommend either the fascinating Jewish Museum or the Cognacq-Jay Museum, set in a 16th century building with a mostly 18th century collection of painting, statuary, furniture, and objets.

don't mind caps
here is an it I used to show someone Paris
SUGGESTED Itinerary -
(Musee D’Orsay, Carnavalet, Rodin, Versailles  closed on Monday
Louvre closed on Tuesday)
SATURDAY
MONTMARTRE METRO ABBESSES OR PIGALE
METRO TO  MONTMARTRE/SACRE  COEUR
WALK AROUND PLACE DU TERTRE
MUSEE MONTMARTRE (11-5:30) 12 RUE CORTOT  METRO LAMARCK
DINNER AT THE RESTAURANT NEAR THE SQUARE OR
STOP AT CAFE LE 2 MOULINS 15 RUE LEPIC METRO BLANCHE
METRO TO THE EIFFEL TOWER METRO BIR HAKEIM
SUNDAY
AM MASS AT NOTRE DAME  METRO CITE
VISIT TO ST. CHAPELLE
THEN BACK TO WALK AROUND ILE ST.  LOUIS  VISIT CHURCH ST. LOUIS
COFFEE AND A PASTRY AT #24  OR #40 RUE ST. LOUIS   AND/OR
METRO TO THE MARAIS  METRO ST. PAUL
MUSEE CARNAVALET (OPEN 10-5:40PM)23 RUE DE SEVIGNE  AND/OR
METRO MONTPARNASSE
VISIT TO MARKET (8:30-6:30)MARCHE BIOLOGIQUE BLVD RASPAIL
BETWEEN RUE RENNES AND RUE CHERCHE MIDI
DINNER AT LA COUPOLE   102 BLVD DU MONTPARNASSE
MONDAY
METRO TO  ETOILE
WALK FROM L’ARC DU TRIOMPHE DOWN  CHAMPS ELYSEES
NAPOLEON EXHIBITION AT MUSEE JAQUEMART ANDRE 158 BLVD HAUSSMAN
THROUGH THE TUILLERIES TO THE LOUVRE  VISIT TO THE LOUVRE
WALK AROUND THE LATIN QUARTER
TUESDAY
METRO SOLFERINO TO VISIT THE MUSEE D’ORSAY
RER  TRAIN TO PALAIS DU  VERSAILLES
WEDNESDAY
METRO VARENNE TO VISIT LES INVALIDES/MUSEE DES ARMEES
METRO RABUTEAU OR CHATELET TO POIMPIDOU /FOUNTAINS
METRO TO BOIS DE BOULOGNE PARC DE LA BAGATELLE OR BOIS DE VINCENNES TO
SEETHE PARC FLORAL

SHOPPING/THEATRE/CONCERT/MOVIE...........................................
Enjoy

I have been to Paris 6 times, (7th trip is in 21 days!!! I can't wait!)and always stay in the Latin Quarter, great choice. I do recommend having a reservation for at least one or two restaurants for dinner,(vs eating at will) as the good ones can fill up. A few of my favorites below.

Also, if you are by the Tullieries, you must have the hot cholcolate at Angelinas, and whatever pastries you want!!!

As far as jet lag, I have found that if I get off the plane and hit the Paris streets immediately, take a brief nap between 5-6 PM each day (and rest my feet!!) and then have dinner French-time at 9PM, and go to bed at around midnight, it works well.

I stay near Notre Dame and all but as listed are walkable from there.

La Rotisserie du Beaujolais
19, quai de las Tournells (FAB coq au vin and a lamb stew with puff pastry…my mouth waters thinking of it…a resident cat (named Beaujolais of course). Charming.

Brasserie Balzar
49, rue des Ecoles
Excellent moderately priced food. If you like steak tartare, it is really good here, made fresh. Wait staff engaging and nice!

La Poule au Pot (not walkable from Latin Quarter)
9.rue Vauvilliers- of course you must have poule au pot, chicken in a pot, seved in a huge bowl…watch waiters going up and down stairs w/ 2 or 3 of these in arms!!!Amazing to watch them.

Le Procope
Very popular historic place.
13 rue de l’Ancienne Comedie (nearby is the oldest street in Paris, quite lovely). A lot of folks like to eat the bone marow with toast, must say I have not tried it (yet). Excellent french onion soup.

Le Coupe Chou
Rue Lanneau (menu on line in English).
A beautiful old home fronted in ivy with many rooms and nooks and crannies. Waiters may not speak much English. Atmosphere 5 star. Food same.

Enjoy! And don't worry about calories, you will walk them ALL off :) Gotta love Paris.