My husband and I leave on November 3rd for our first trip to Paris. Unfortunately this is a very short 3 night stay. Because its so short, we want to make the most out of our trip but also have time to simply enjoy Paris. Here is my tentative itinerary. Please feel free to give me some constructive critizm, comments, opinion, etc. I'd greatly appreciate it!

Here goes:

<b>Day 1</b>
Drop off luggage

Take L’Open Tour (hop on/hop off open bus tour) of Paris (this is 2.5 hours; should we do the whole thing?)

Do the Rick Steves’ Historic Paris Walk (4 hours according to his guidebook, although I really don't think it will take us as long as we are skipping a few things) covering:
- Notre Dame
- Ile St. Louis
- Left Bank area
- St. Severin
- Latin Quarter area
- Saint-Chapelle
- Conciergerie

Evening cruise on the Siene

<b>Day 2</b>
Paris Walks Le Marais Tour (2 hours)

Rick Steves' Champs-Elysses walk/Arc de Triomphe

Probably back to the hotel for a little nap!

Check out the St. German-des-Pres area and have dinner

<b>Day 3</b>
Les Invalides (we are both history buffs and really looking forward to this; how long should it take to see it?)

Catacombs (definitely not my thing, but hubby really wants to do this tour)

Sacre Couer? I understand it can take awhile to get to? I'm thinking will be play it by ear and visit if we have time, unless its a &quot;must see&quot;?

Eiffel Tower at sunset

<b>Some thoughts</b>
The first day looks kind of hectic, although we do like to get going once we arrive. We will both take Ambien on the plane and will get some sleep, so I think we will be okay. It's usually the second day that kills us!

We know we left out the louvre, a biggie. We are just not huge art lovers, to tell you the truth. While we would like to see the Egyptian section (I believe I read that there is one?), I just don't think we will have time on this trip.

Oh, and if it helps, we are staying at the Hotel du Champ de Mars in the 7th.

Thanks so much for reviewing!
Tracy

The Conciergerie, while having historical interest, is not a must-see on such a short trip. Sacre Coeur isn't really a must-see, either, although the views from the terrace can be nice. It's best to combine it with other exploration of Montmartre, since it does lie a bit away from most other sites.

Your Day 1 'Left Bank' item can be left for your Day 2 'explore St Germain / dinner' item.

Saint Chapelle is best on a sunny day - it's been a long time since I was in there, not sure if you'd enjoy it as much on a gloomy day.

I'd change Day 2 to do the Marais tour, then go straight to the Arc de Triomphe to see it, skip any walk on the Champs, and use your remaining time in St Germain.

What time do the Catacombs open? I'd go there first - there are cafes right across from the entrance if you need to get a coffee while you wait for it to open. Then on to Invalides - stay as long as you like; I think you could spend 2-3 hours easily there (Musee de l'Armee). Stop by the hotel if you need a rest. Eiffel at sunset.

Hi, tcreath.

Regarading Les Invalides, it really doesn't take more than a few minutes to run in and see all the tombs. Now, if you're planning to visit the Mus&eacute;e de l'Arm&eacute;e or the little resistance museum that are behind and to the side of Les Invalides, those can take some serious time if &yacute;ou're a real history buff - up to half a day, I'd say, or at least a couple of hours.

I'd keep Sacr&eacute; Coeur on the if-there's-time list, as it is out of mainstream Paris and your time is short.

Since you're staying in the rue Cler area I hope you'll have a chance to eat at some of the great restaurants there that are always mentioned on Fodors.

Have a great trip!

Restaurants in the 7th threads:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34653853

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34695971

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494701

I can't thank you both enough for your help. Planning this trip has been somewhat overwhelming as I didn't know there was so much to do in Paris until I started doing my research!

St. Cirq, my mistake on calling it Invalides. Yes, I was talking about the museum. I believe its mostly a war museum? My husband and I are both looking forward to visiting. I'm definitely hoping to visit Sacre Couer if there is time.

Travelnut, thank you so much for the links! That was so kind of you! I did print off some hotel info, but I don' think I had any of those so I just printed them off to bring with us. I am definitely looking forward to eating at some of the restaurants in our area.

I will be honest; the only thing I really wanted to do on the Champs-Elysees is visit Laduree! I believe this is along the Champs-Elysees? It looks like there are several metro stops along the Champs-Elysees. Perhaps I can just go to Laduree and then get back on the Metro and head down to the Arc de Triomphe?

Thank you again for your help, and sorry for my asking so many questions!

Tracy

Agree with StCirq re Invalides. I liked it, but a French friend dismissed it. &quot;Who wants to see Napoleon's tomb? It's like a New Yorker going to see Empire State building.&quot;

That was funny.

Thought the WWII section of the museum is interesting (WWI was closed, or under renovation when I was there last year (?)). Don't care much for the military gear stuff at all and skipped most of that.

If you're not spending much time in the museum, Day 3 looks pretty easy. Day 1 looks like a lot. Why not move some of that to Day 3?

I still haven't been to Sacre Coeur, but I've made it to Montmartre on my most recent trip (a friend even drove past the Amelie cafe). So I'm getting there.

But then I've not made it inside Notre Dame either.

I'd go to the Louvre. Consider taking their standard guided tour, which I think lasts 90 minutes. It will take you to the big three. I've recommended that a couple of times here, but I remember that the others who've done it are less enthused.

I believe that there's an Egyptian section in the Louvre (after all, it was a Frenchman, Champollion, who deciphered hieroglyphics), but I've not really looked at it closely. There's a sphinx structure (?) of some sort in the basement of the Louvre, near the medieval castle foundations. I think it's widely regarded as a highlight.

Have a great trip.

I think it's pretty good, although don't know about that 4 hour walk on day 1. I would not do that, that sounds insane (sorry). Mainly because it is your first day after an all night flight (I think?) and you will have jet lag etc. Even if you don't think you will, I think you'll have some. Of cousre, you can just start out on the walk and see when you get tired, no problem there.

It doesn't take too terribly long to get up to Sacre Coeur, but a bit. I think it is sort of a must-see, but depends what you are doing. I went there first time in Paris but also spent time walking around the environs of Montmartre (to see where Van Gogh lived, Lapin Agile, etc), not just to see the church.

I really like the museums at Invalides, and you can easily spend a half day or more there. That may be too much, so you may want to pick a period you are particularly interested in (ie, WWII and then early periods or something). I agree if you just want to see Napoleon's tomb, that's not long at all.

I'd agree with going to Catacombs first, then Invalides. I don't think you'll get to Sacre Coeur that day. Do you know when the sun sets in November?

You could visit a Laduree that is also in one of the areas you are already exploring..

http://www.laduree.com/public_en/mai...te_accueil.htm

Champs-Elysees is a very long street, obviously. I think that the line 1 stop at George V is the closest stop to that Laduree, even though ratp.fr tells me to use the stop at Franklin D. Roosevelt. Maybe someone else can comment (the place is between the two stops, I think).

Anyway, it shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to walk to Arc de Triomphe from there. (It's also the Etoile stop of line 1.)

I wouldn't take the Metro again.

I believe the original Laduree is the one on r. Royale. It's the only one I've been to. I must say that I find Laduree overrated, but don't let that discourage you from trying it yourself.

Actually, you know what, maybe 15 min is too short. I'm not sure if I can do this myself.

ratp says that it takes 7 min to walk from the FDR station of line 1 to Laduree.

But the walk should pleasant enough.

Thank you all again for your help. Travelnut, thanks for the link! I didn't even think about Laduree having another location. I'll just go to that one, as it makes the most sense.

Christina, I really don't think the entire walk will take 4 hours. Rick Steves tends to linger longer than we do, and I am planning on skipping some sections of the walk that he included in the four hour time slot. I'm thinking it will be more like 2.5 - 3 hours, especially if we skip the conciergerie. We've traveled to Europe many times, and honestly seem to have the most problems with jet lag on the morning of the second day. Not sure why, but its happened every trip, so I'm not too worried about the walk. Actually, I think that it helps to get out and walk the first day to keep jet lag at bay.

Thanks again! I'm printing this out!
Tracy

The Egyptian section of the Louvre is wonderful-you can see it in an hour probably, just get a map upon entering and head straight there and enjoy what's on the way! There are great restaurants, etc. in the 7th. The chef Christian Constant has several, including a couple that are pretty reasonable-pick up the latest Zagat guide and maybe the Patricia Wells book. You will love Paris even if all you do is walk and sit in cafes.