An honest itinerary review for an over planner.

The Cluny Museum is actually still closed for remodel according to the website. The English language site says come back early 2022 but the French website mentions “printemps” which is spring.

https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/

Is your walking tour on your first full day an organized one or DIY?

It also looks like Atelier des Lumieres is closed from Jan 3- Feb 17 when the Cezanne show opens. I know many enjoy this venue but honestly I was just lukewarm about it.

https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en

You fit in Rodin and Carnavalet around your other activities. Carnavalet is free but you will need a timed entry reservation from their website.

I love Paris even though I am not a food person, so your days look good to me.

You might want to include some churches as you go by them - Saint-Sulpice or Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Have you seen Midnight in Paris? Saint-Etienne-du-Mont plays a part in it, lol.

It looks like one of Rick Steves suggested tours that he prints in his guides. Nothing wrong with being organized.

I read excitement in your email. Go for what you have planned. Everyone is different here. Some are foodies, others could care less. Some are art freaks, others have never set foot in an art museum. Some like small villages and towns, others like big metro cities. Like I said, you seemed excited with your plan. I'll bet a Euro you will have a great vacation. Enjoy!

You have done a great job. February in the countryside can be gray and bleak. Paris is a good choice.

Wow! Thank you all so much for your very quick and insightful replies! I love to be organized for traveling. The more you know, the more you can appreciate what you are seeing. I love to have tons of things in mind, but not too much to feel like you are strangled by your itinerary.

@Pam, thank you so much for your reply and extra research! I have a big travel document where I put all of the opening/closing times of museums and days closed, but I didn't even think to go one step further to make sure there weren't any restorations or ACTUAL closures! The walking tour is an organized tour with a local through Airbnb. I love to get the local perspective and I always think you get so much more information from an organized tour that you would have never experienced just by yourself. It is always my secret goal to try to meet people and make friends on tours abroad. We met some of our favorite travel friends on our tour of the Colosseum in Rome 3 years ago. And we have foodie friends from our food tour in Portugal in Feb, 2020 (oh to go back to when we thought 2020 was going to be a great travel year).
P.S. for Pam. I'm from Boise so I was excited to see you were from CDA! Much love from Idaho.

@Threadwear, thank you for seeing my excitement. I think that's why I love this forum. I'm sure most travel bugs just have that terrible feeling... like I'm not living if I'm not traveling. Being triple vaxxed, I'm just ready to get out of Idaho and start living again.

I agree, you've got a good plan. Paris is your best bet for this time of year. Hopefully you'll have good weather to bike around Versailles -- if not, just go inside. Museums will be very crowded as well as free on the first Sunday of the month, though Covid probably means timed entries to keep numbers down. If so, you should firm up that day's plan and get those time slots as soon as you can. Carnavalet is excellent, and probably better now that the renovations are done. Rodin has a great garden full of his work, you could skip the inside unless you're a big fan.

You've probably encountered Paris Walks, but if not you might consider whatever they're offering. And since you're staying on rue des Martyrs, you might enjoy this book by Elaine Sciolino, who has lived in Paris for many years.

Have a wonderful time on this trip. But stay flexible, and, in the words of our host, "assume you will return."

I agree with everyone! You will not get bored in Paris. It is a beautiful city and it should be savored and enjoyed. Don't rush through Paris! The advantage to staying in a big city is that if you do have rainy/snowy days, which can certainly happen in February, there is always something to do indoors. Not so much in the countryside. Save the countryside for warmer months.

Another site you can add if you wish is the Paris Opera House, the one where Phantom of the Opera takes place. The D'Orsay is one of my favorite museums! And I especially love the Orangerie! All the museums are great. It's too bad the Cluny won't be open when you are there. We really enjoyed the unicorn tapestries.

We spent a full week in Paris and I would have enjoyed more time.

Your plan looks great, and you have obviously put a lot of thought and care into it. It would tire me out, but you are younger than I am with more energy !!!

My only bad news is that I don't think there is anyway you have enough time to have breakfast at Holybelly on the day you fly out. They open at 9; say you take an hour for breakfast, then it takes about an hour to get out to the airport - 11 am is WAY too late to be arriving for a 1:15 pm flight.

I had a 1 pm flight last month and I got to the airport four hours ahead. Maybe that is excessive, but read through a few threads of people's experience and see what you think.

(I would definitely make time for Holybelly earlier in the trip!)

Have a wonderful time.

There's nothing at Holybelly that you cannot have at home in the US, and the line tends to be long, so I would skip that!
Also, I'm not sure about the difference between a food tour of St Martin and a food tour of Le Marais; those are adjacent neighbourhoods. Maybe just pick one tour? Preferably Marais, since you will be staying there after.
No major comments otherwise.

Looks like a thoughtfully planned trip! Bravo!
When you say "wine and cheese tasting" do you have places in mind? Or simply going to a restaurant/bar that has charcuterie and fromage boards?

My favorite is when places offer a "mixte" board with both charcuterie and cheese. Talk about heaven.

Now I am feeling homesick for France.

I mostly booked the experiences through airbnb. I think you might be right, maybe ditch the St. Martin food tour. It seems like the Le Marais food tour is more quintessential French food, while the St. Martin is more like a local food tour. If we ditched St Martin would you hit Reims, Normandy, or stay in town and just explore the unexplored for another day? I do like the idea of having a full day of no plans and I have quite a few restaurants that would be great to book or stop into for lunch and dinner that day while exploring.

Tasting tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/349

All day tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/308291

St Martin food tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/963857

Market tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/425

Le Marais food tour: https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/148925

The wine and cheese is with a sommelier.

Thank you for the tips on Hollybelly. I've got a pretty extensive list of restaurants so I'd love to squeeze a in few big hitters if I can. Actually, while I'm on the subject, here are some I have in mind if anyone has any opinions. Obviously, I'm not insane so I know I can't hit everything but I love having a ton on my Google maps so if we are in the area we don't have to wander too far to get some great food. I think from this list you can see I'm really looking for little, delicious bistros and wine bars. Maybe one Michelin Star type plated menu to splurge and some great ethnic food (Vietnamese, Lebanese, Korean, Chinese, etc) to make up for the money we spend on the Michelin ;P

Le Bon Georges
Se'bon
Miznon
Hebe
Kodawari Ramen
Willies Wine Bar
Frenchie
Juveniles
Bistrot Instinct
Mumi
Septime
Grandcoeur
L'avant Comptoir
Caractere de cochon
Forty Six and Third
Sunday in Soho
Restaurant David Toutain
L'Escudella
Yam T'cha
Blue Elephant
Chez Le Libanais
Deux Fois Plus De Piment
Double Dragon
ABRI
PHO 14
Song Heng
Maison Zhang
OKUDA

Flea markets tend to be weekend activities, and sometimes only one day of the weekend. I don't know the current situation in Paris, but I would definitely check the current schedules so you don't miss getting to one of the major flea markets. (There have been discussions on the forum comparing the markets at Porte de Clignancourt/Les Puces de Saint-Ouen and Porte de Vanves/Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves.)

Your arrival day and next two days look exhausting to me, given the potential for arriving sleep-deprived and jetlagged and needing to adjust your sleep schedule, but I'm more than twice your age.

The usual advice is to avoid the most popular museums on their free days. I don't know whether COVID-related capacity controls will reduce crowding at the major museums on the free Sunday.

I would not take a day-trip to Normandy, if that is what you're considering. I suppose if you just went to Rouen (which has a lovely, rebuilt-post-war historic center) it might not be too bad. But there's lots to see in Normandy. Reims makes more sense to me as a daytrip in that I didn't find it as attractive. I did make two trips to the cathedral, though, and there's enough to see to fill a full day.

I agree with Acraven, I would not try to do a day trip to Normandy - too far and too much to see there for a day trip.

Many do Reims as a day trip - Chartres is also good if you want to see a Gothic Cathedral. Giverny is another one that is an easy day trip but is closed during your visit (just putting that in for the lurkers, lol!).

I'm glad you added a location! There are a number of forum folks from the Boise area!

On your list of restaurants, I strongly recommend Hébé. I do not care for Blue Elephant (overpriced and many years past its best days). 46 and 3rd is fine, but basically serves American breakfast food, so I wouldn't bother. And Deux fois plus de Piment serves good, but ultimately standard Sichuan fare: you might have good access to that in the US, but I am not sure.
I have not been to the other places in your long list.

Your itinerary looks great! My only suggestion is to not schedule an organized tour your first evening, as you may too tired to enjoy it after such a long travel day. Also, since the tour begins at 4pm and your flight arrives at 12pm, you may be cutting it a bit close if your flight is delayed and/or you have to pick up checked luggage. You can easily explore the neighborhood on your own that evening. Have a wonderful trip!

I wonder if you are counting on free admissions on the Sunday if the rest of Paris will be thinking the same thing? And given covid if many will still require reservations? Two sides of a lumpy coin.

If you have not yet watched Alice in Paris on Hulu, you absolutely HAVE to do that this weekend, and have a notepad at hand to write down all the places she goes to eat. I think then you will not have a second thought about spending so long in Paris. : ) Also, make sure you see the Musee Rodin. And beware of the free Sunday at the Orsay...my memories of that museum back in the 90s were of a quiet, half-empty place to pause and ponder Degas. You might get that experience on a weekday in February. On a free admissions Sunday in July 2019 the place was unrecognizable to me.

Madlori....on a early weekday AM in October the Orsay was quite deserted, including the 5th floor galleries of the Impressionists. I literally shared the space with many of the Monets in the room closest to the gift shop with one other woman plus a guard. I agree, thought, I would not go on a free Sunday at all.

Some of the restaurants you'd like to try, including Yam'Tcha and Septime, may already be fully booked for your February dates. Some of these places open their reservations three months ahead etc.

So with the upper-end, chic, or bistronomique places you have in mind, you should check out their websites now to see if there is any availability. Keeping in mind it can be easier to get a lunch reservation sometimes than a dinner reservation.

L'avant comptoir is an exception in that it doesn’t take reservations — you might find a few like that.

I haven’t done the airbnb tours. I would recommend Paris by Mouth. Go to food markets on your own, Grenelle and President Wilson are my favourites. Monge market is great and visit rue Mouffetard. Enjoy

I looked at the neighborhood food tours and the market tour. The market tour will feature quality French products. It looks interesting. The two neighborhood tours, St. Martin and the Marais are featuring more ordinary international snack food ( falafel, croque monsieur). You can find a lot of this everywhere. Rue des Martyres, where you have a tour set up, is excellent.

Is Paris Walks doing its chocolate tour? It’s excellent.

One thing my 30-something son said after a couple of weeks in Paris: his wife had chosen the restaurants based on blogs and reviews.He said too many resembled what they were already eating in Brooklyn. Having spent time at his French grandparents growing up, he wished for a more distinctive cuisine he remembered. Maybe he learned to be part of the planning next time.

Hi! I am planning a first time trip to Paris for 7 days in March with my husband and 2 teens. Your itinerary caught my attention (I'm a serious planner). Could you PLEASE come back after your trip and update what classes/spots/tours you loved (and didn't) and maybe what you would do differently? Also how it was with Covid and the Pass Sanitaire. Thank you!

Aw, thanks Elizabeth! Over planners unite haha! I will definitely make sure to check back in! We leave on Thursday so we are basically just staying away from everyone to not get sick and keeping all of our fingers crossed that we can still go!

Per some excellent feedback I did end up cutting the food tour on Wednesday and replaced it with a poultry cooking class through La Cuisine: https://lacuisineparis.com/paris-cooking-classes/french-technical-courses/poultry-cooking/86943

I made reservations at some of the fancier restaurants to make sure we could get in:
Seb'on
Jean-Yves Le Chef (https://www.jeanyveslechef.com/)
Hebe
Mumi
Bistrot Instinct

The rest I think we are just going to try to hit some street food/ethnic foods while we are wondering.

Your itinerary makes my mouth water and I cannot add much to the comments and suggestions of others except to say you might want to do the Carvavalet when you are staying in the Marais instead of 2/6. I used Iceland Air on my last trip to Paris (have spent 9 months there and it still was not long enough) from Seattle and now do not want to go with any other airline. Passport control in Reykjavik to enter the EU took about 5 minutes and it was nice to be able to walk around before catching the flight to Paris. It may have changed since Covid but everyone just lined up at the designated gate close to departure time. Have a great time.

What a fun itinerary you have planned! I took a croissant pastry class from this one several years ago, and I still make them regularly. My souvenir that year was one of their huge, beautiful pastry brushes that looks like an oversized hair brush. I’ve never seen one in the US, and I love it!

https://lacuisineparis.com

I would recommend buying the metro Navigo pass. If I remember correctly, they go from Monday-to-Monday, but that may have changed since I was there last in 2019. Then you won’t hesitate to stop over at the Luxembourg Garden or over to the Eiffel Tower to watch it twinkle each evening, etc.

It may be cold, but I still always go on the evening Seine boat tour (not the dinner one) each trip; sit outside. The city is lovely lit up at night with the views as the boat travels through the city.

I love Paris, and after several trips to France, I think I love some of the smaller towns even more. If you get a day of great weather, you might want to catch a train to Rouen - just to see some quaint architecture and a different ambiance.

Have a great time!

Oh, and be sure to leave some empty space in your luggage. You will definitely want to stop in some of the famous cooking stores and feast your eyes and fill up those spaces in your suitcase! ; )

We spent 14 days in Paris – Dec. 2021 into Jan. 2022. The custom lines at CDG airport was super long - be prepared. By 7pm the first day you will be exhausted. We found a pharmacy that does health pass fairly quickly as we walked our neighborhood (not all pharmacies do them – had the app already downloaded on our phones - #TousAntiCovid). We love the Metro - get a 'Navigo Easy' card at a station with a cashier – super easy to reload. We used Google Maps constantly. Brought an old phone with us and purchased a sim card. Also purchased a phone in Paris (there were six persons in our group) and one person had an international plan.
We loved our wine and cheese tasting – O’Chateau. The only museum that needs a tour guide is the Louvre – we used WithLocals (Fernanda). Orsay, Orangerie, Pompidou, Picasso and Marmottan Museums can all be done with the audioguides. Found the Catacombs very interesting. Climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for the wonderful view and the other great view is from Galeries Layfayette. Do Eiffel Tower early am because it gets crowded. The dinner boat cruise was great. We did get reservations to everything before we left. Great that you have time for strolls – we discovered so many quaint shops while strolling. Inside Versailles is super crowded. We did a day trip to Mont St. Michel with Clewel Tours (Cyrus).

WOW, sounds perfect....IMHO, something fairly new not to be missed and easy to get to-at the end of the Tuilleries...
hoteldelamarine.com on Pl.de la Conncorde...an ABSOLUTELY stunning monument that was the seat of the Ministry of the Navy. Might not sound that interesting, but can rival Versaille...and fabulous views of Paris. Just the interior alone is breathtaking. Timed tickets on line...truly enjoyed it, and so accessable while in Paris. Have a fabulous time!

I am over planner too and I related so hard to your opening paragraph. I think your itinerary is well-balanced and leaves room for sponteneity. You've made time for breaks and time to take it all in, which is very important.

I think you can absolutely slide in flea market visits, I think they'd take a maximum of 40 minutes but it depends on how large the flea market is. I personally cannot shop for longer than an hour.

Personally, after the 3rd day tour on any trip, I feel like I just want to be left alone to explore. So I'd cap it to 3 tours. Same with baking classes, you might be tired of learning to bake after the 3rd class. Everyone is different, and I don't know what your capacity is for tours and classes, but I was ready to escape the tour group by the 3rd one because every tour always had a wild/annoying person that ruined the experience.