Please critique my 5 day Paris Itinerary
 

Thanks folks. Spent 2 days in Paris last year which whet the appetite for a longer stay this year. The focus is on art, good food & wine and leisurely strolls this time. We did a lot of general sightseeing last visit (Eiffel, Arc, Sacre Couer) and are looking forward to a more relaxed pace:

10th, Friday
Travel to Paris
Check in Apartment @ approx 15:30
Buy 3 day museum pass at local store / metro
Late afternoon / evening in Latin Quarter (Musee D’Orsay if open, Jardins Luxembourg, stroll streets)
Dinner @ bistro in Latin Quarter

11th, Saturday
Early start, breakfast in apartment or en route to..
Half day in Louvre
Big Lunch @ Café Marly
Jardins de Tulieries
Palace de Vendome
Light Dinner followed by stroll (location to be decided)

12th Sunday
Breakfast
Notre Dame & the Islands (St. Chapelle, Conciergerie, Ille de Citie, Ille St Louis)
Light Lunch
Seine River cruise
Home to change for night out…
Birthday Dinner @ a nice brasserie

13th, Monday
Breakfast
Half day Shopping (dept stores in Blv Housemann, Reciproque and walk through thru the passages)
Big Lunch @
Evening stroll around Montemarte
Light dinner in Montemarte


14th Tuesday
Breakfast
Pere Lachaise Cemetery (half day)
Light Lunch
La Defense
George Pompidou Centre
Dinner in 3rd Arrondissement / Marais

15th Wednesday
Breakfast
Museum/Monument/Excursion that we’ve missed
Big Lunch @ ?
Final stroll around the streets of the Marais
Home to pack…
Depart for Porte Maillot for shuttle bus to Beauvais @ approx 18:30

Looks good...except:

What are you planning to see/do in La Defense? Are there other neighborhoods havn't explored or are interested in that you could substitute?

Plan to zip over for a quick tour, more as an antidote to all the 18th century architecture (which I love). Anybody any good restaurant recommendations to compliment the itinerary above? Forgot to mention, we'll be based in in an apartment in the Marais district.

If you haven't seen the Opera Garnier, it's worth a visit. Really beautiful inside. Plus, it's easy to get to and the self-guided tour is inexpensive. And afterward, world-famous Cafe de la Paix is across the street for your refreshment.

Hi Duckie,

La Defense is a large, sterile office center. As Baedeker would say, "There is little to delay the casual visitor".

May I suggest that you wander the Marais neighborhood your first day?

((I))

I can't see why you are buying a 3 day museum pass..since you only have the D'Orsay on Fri and the Louvre on Sat.
The d'Orsay closes at 6 on Fridays, by the time you check into the apt, get settled and get from le Marais to the museum, you could probably just get in without waiting. I'd go for a 1 day pass for the Louvre , if only to bypass the lines.

I missed that you were also going to the Conciergerie and St chapelle.I've never waited more than 5 minutes for a ticket to either.you can buy a combined ticket for admittance to both. At 44 E for a 3 day pass , I don't think you are saving any money and the only place you'll save time is at the Louvre.

Many thanks for all your helpful comments. Allthetime, I think you may have a point about the 3 day pass - we've a few gaps in our itinerary, I guess I thought having the pass would be useful if we encounter museums we like en route. Dont think we'll make it to D'Orsay on the friday night so its really the Louvre on sat, Chapelle, Conciergerie & Notre Dame on Sun and maybe one or two places on Monday between shopping. Thanks for that!

Ira, Is La Defense really that forgetable?

La Defense is a big open plaza with skyscraper/modern office buildings, a mall (like back home), a fountain and some modern sculptures dotting the plaza here and there. The big 'arch' has a terrace on top (which I didn't go up). It's definitely 'dead' on the weekends, and I don't think it's that interesting for a newer visitor when there is so much of romantic/historic/picturesque Paris to discover.

The oft-derided Rick Steves has decent 'walks' in his Paris guidebook - good areas are around the Latin Quarter, Marais, and Montmartre (see Place du Tertre but go beyond for wind-y streets, the vineyard, little houses, and the other two windmills/moulins).

Another voice to chime in telling you that La Defense is indeed forgettable. You might get a break from 18th C Paris architecture by going the other direction - to the middle ages - and visit the Cluny. It is on the museum pass.

Why not include a day trip or half-day trip to some regional city, such as Chartres and Reims, both nice busy towns with stunning cathedrals and a short enough train ride away. Maybe you've seen regional French towns - if not get out of Paris and see the real France. chartres is a great one as trains get there in about an hour and spit you out within eye-shot of what is called the world's finest Gothic cathedral with the world's finest stained glass windows, and, arguably, Malcom Miller and the world's finest cathedral tours.