Here is what we are planning to do on our seven day (Oct. 25 - Nov. 1) vacation in Paris, did we miss anything?

Walk around Marais and Bastille area
Go to the Los Trois Maillets club
Accordianist at St. Medard on Sunday
Sacre Coeur
Musee Carnavalet
Arc de Triomph
Eiffel Tower
Versailles
Chartres
Giverney
Musee d' Orsay
Pete Lachaise Cemetary
Louve
Notre Dame
St. Chappelle

Thank you in advance.

Versailles, Chartres and Giverny can be all-day excursions in themselves, so you should pick one (Versailles) and save the others for another trip. Giverny is getting ready to close up at the end of October.

You should included some time to wander around the Latin Quarter (see the Pantheon) and St. Germain, and the Grand Boulevards area has all the ritzy shops, as well as the Opera Garnier and Madeleine church. When you visit Sacre Coeur, talk a walk around the Montmartre area.

I agree with LarryJG62. I have spent 2 weeks in Paris and still did not have enough time to see all I wanted. You will only be there seven days and with a day taken out for Versailes (I also recommend), a day arriving and a day leaving, you just don't have a lot of time for a city like Paris that has so much to offer. And don't forget, while you are there you are going to discover things you never thought of that will take your time and you might not get to see some of the things on your list. If you take the bus tour to Giveney you have to remember that you will be spending 3 or 4 hours just getting there and back for maybe and hour or two at Giveney. Where could you accomplish more with the same amount of time. But of course, if Giverney is important to you, do it!

If you have a sunny nicer day, take a bateau mouche in mid afternoon. When you are at Notre consider going over to Semaritaine Dept store if the view cafe on the roof is open for another great view.

Hi donnae

One more vote for dropping 2 of your three daytrips.

Take walk down the Champs Elysee from The Arc to Place Concorde.

Wander through the old streets of the Ile St Louis.

Visit the 5th and 6th for the Cluny Museum, Eglise St Germain de Pres, Eglise St Sulpice, pastries at Laduree and Pierre Hermes and the atmosphere.

Eat crepes, ice cream and croissants. Try confit de canard. Have a creme brulee. Drink pastis at Les Deux Magots.

Enjoy your trip.

Definitely save Giverny for a more appropriate time of the year, like late spring. I agree with previous posters that with only a week, 3 day trips is too much.
I would also add the Rodin Museum and lots of time for just strolling the city!

Try to at least do your own tour inside the Opera Garnier (walk around for an hour); it is truly grand. The Gallerie Lafayette fashion show is fun and less than an hour (Tues at 11 a.m. I believe it is); free but need reservations (via e:mail from its website). The canal ride is different, relaxing and fun going thru the locks and mile-long tunnel; this takes 3 hours, either a.m. or p.m. depending on where you board (near the d'Orsay or at the Parc Villette); with Paris Canals, you get both the canal and the Seine; also need reservations (can do by e:mail). I think once you start in Paris, you won't want to take those three day trips. Except for Giverny, the others always ended up working their way to the bottom of our list and are still there for the "next" trip. We just couldn't pull ourselves away from the city itself.

We just returned from Paris Saturday. The gardens at Giverny were still well-flowered, and we really enjoyed our trip there (we took the train), but it does take a full day. If you do go to Giverny, I would suggest that you also visit Musee Marmottan in Paris, which has a large collection of Monets, including the water lillies. It was interesting seeing the paintings after seeing the very gardens on which they were based, but I would consider that museum a must-see even if you don't get to Giverny.

Suggest you develop a daily event flow plan to ensure you see/do things that are close together and not waste time and energy back-tracking all over Paris.

Why so many daytrips? I'd do maybe Versailles and skip the others.

Wandering neighborhoods. Sitting in sidewalk cafes with coffee or a glass of wine. If the weather is nice, central public gardens with a picnic in hand. Walking tours. Watching street performers. What I'd say you might be missing is relaxation and time to soak up the local ambiance. You can decide once you arrive, but personally I'd scale back a bit, for 'more' of less.

I actually don't think what you're planning is overly ambitious IF you make a few considerations and really plan ahead (and drop Giverny); I know I saw most of the things on your itinerary on just a 3 day trip (granted, I was 20 and had lots of energy). The main thing is to plan what are daytime activities vs. nighttime activities, when so many other things are closed.

If you love art, heck, even if you don't, plan at least 1/2 a day for the Musee D'Orsay. Definitely take the audio guide tour, too. October is a great time of year b/c it won't be too crowded, and you can see orignial Monets, Degas, etc.

If you got o the Louvre, go through the subway entrance (if that's still an option, it's been awhile). You'll beat any crowds and can avoid standing on line. The Louvre really is so enormous that I recommend seeing the "biggies" (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, etc) and then picking one section to look at--I personally liked the enormous paintings near the Mona Lisa and spent time there. More than 1/2 day at the Louvre will be criminally painful on your feet, as it's all marble floor. Not sure what it is at the D'Orsay but it was much more bearable.

The Eiffel Tower is another sight you can see at night..I know it was definitely dark when I went up, and all of Paris was beautifully lit. I think it closed at 10 pm then. Double check; I'm sure you can find the opening/closing times on the web.

I LOVED Chartres, and highly recommend that you make the trip if you can. There is an excellent Pakistani restaurant in town there that was one of the most pehnomenal places I've ever eaten at.

If you know what you're doing with the train & bus, you can wake up early, go to Versailles and see a great deal of it and be back in Paris at a decent time...Sacre Couer/Montmartre would be a good contrasting sight after a day trip to Versailles, as it's the sunset that is the big thrill there anyway.

Arc de Triomphe, unless you plan on climbing to the top of it, can also be seen at night. I didn't find anything great about going to the top of it, but your mileage may vary.

St. Chappelle is a pretty quick sight to see; I belive that and Notre Dame are easily seen on the same day.

Like Degas says, please make sure to note where the different sights are, and opening and closing times for all, so that you can maximize your time and not spend needless time backtracking.

Good luck.

My opinion is that you're going to Paris and you shouldn't shortchange it. I would also drop at least one daytrip.

I think that going to Chartres on a fair day is a consideration (Ste Chapelle, too)--if it's very overcast and there's no light coming through any of the windows, you may wonder what all the fuss is about.
If you are an aficionado of architecture and stained glass, try to plan your Chartres visit, if you go, to coincide with one of Malcolm Miller's informative tours.

I'm not sure I would go to Giverny this late in the season only because fall flowers don't thrill me as much as those of spring and summer, but that's up to you. It's a beautiful place, and probably won't be too crowded, which is an advantage.

Versailles is a wonder, as long as you can be interested and impressesd with
sumptuous decor, beautiful, over-the-top, furnishings, and long walks. Again, try to go on a pleasant day.

Unless you have a special pilgrimage in mind, if you find yourself running out of time and still want to do the daytrips, you could save Pere Lachaise for another time. It's fascinating, but not necessarily a must-see on a first visit.

I agree with Elaine about Pete Lachaise Cemetary. Takes a long time to get out there and return.

Also see there is no mention of the latin quarter: Cluny museum, St. Germain-des-pres, St Sulpice, Luxembourg Gardens, historic cafes of montparnasse, Pantheon, St. Etienne.

donnae_b, lots of good inputs here, did you revise your plans?

Don't miss all the public urination! I haven't seen any in Paris, but apparently it is all the rage! :0

Your itinerary is great but you are missing the real Paris outside the tourist haunts. Take the metro to an ordinary district and walk the streets. A good time to do this is on a Sunday morning when these areas are mobbed, with people flocking to cafes. Pick about any metro spot outside the tourist area, such as Belleville to see a Paris far different from the Latin Quarter.

A truly macabre and historic experience is the Catacombs - something you're not likely to see anywhere else.

I would like to thank all of you for your input. We went everywhere on our list except Chartres and Giverney. Once we arrived in Paris I did not want to leave. WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE! We went to a few more places than we listed.
I am looking forward to a return visit there.