Best plan for short stay in Paris

There is so much to see in Paris I think you should really figure out your own personal top 5 sites/things you want to see/do and go from there on how to make the logistics work.

Just some random thoughts:
There are a couple of hop on / hop off buses. Given the size of Paris and your time I think a 2 day pass to one of them may make sense. They don't run in the evenings but likely will make logistics easier for you.
L'Open Tour is one
You don't need to buy in advance but I would print out their map so you know where the stops are ahead of time as well as the route, since they all go 1 direction so you can map out your days and what are must sees for you.
L'Open Tour also has a combined ticket option which combines their buses with BatoBus boat tours which are similar, hop on hop off boats.

Buying the museum pass will save you time on lines which will be important for your schedule, depends on how many museums you plan on seeing though for the costs I imagine.
I would pick a date and time and buy your Eiffel tower tickets online assuming they are not sold out. If you are fine walking the stairs there is no reason to but otherwise you will likely avoid wasting hours online.

Stay somewhere as central as possible so you don't spend your short time backtracking. ideally make your top 5 first add pins for each on a map and then try to pick a hotel/apartment that is centrally located to see these 5.

Linda,

It would help to know what your interests are but here are some thoughts...

The Paris Museum Pass is a great idea but only if your intent is to visit many of the beautiful museums.
A two day pass costs €48 per person, so you'll need to do the math to see if it's worth it for you depending on what museums & monuments you plan to visit during your short visit.

The EiffelTower is a must, IMO, & would definitely recommend booking your tickets in advance to avoid wasting time waiting in a possibly long line.

You may also enjoy a cruise on the Seine!

Make sure to download the RATP app to help you figure out the fastest way to travel to your destinations, via Metro, bus or RER train while in Paris,

Enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the good ideas. We are staying at the Hotel Westminster which is centrally located. Another question: Has anyone used the app "Citymapper" in Paris? It shows times and prices of various modes of transportation throughout the city. I wonder how useful it is on the fly.
I'd also like advice on the best choice for traveling between the hotel and CDG. We will be arriving in Paris on the Eurostar, so won't need a round trip service.

It would help to know your interests, but based on mine and your available time I would suggest you see:

Start at Louve Pyramid, stroll through the Tuilleries and go to the Orangerie museum
See Place de Concorde (perhaps have hot chocolate at Angelina's not far from there)
Go to D'Orsay museum
Stroll the Marais (particularly if you like to shop) - perhaps do the Picasso Museum & Place des Vosges
Or stroll the Ile de la Cite and St. Louis, go inside Notre Dame and/or St. Chappelle
Eiffel Tower (go up if you can, and be sure to see the nighttime twinkling lights)
Boat cruise on the Seine
Stop in as many cafes as you can and sit and enjoy the Paris scene

When leaving Paris, I always take a taxi, which my hotel books for me. My flights out are usually in late morning, so I leave Paris quite early when there is virtually no traffic. Never have had a problem after doing this for many years.

Priscilla,
We certainly want to see portions of the Louvre and d'Orsay. Also l'Orangerie. We may not have time to do others, because we'll want to see other sights as well.

BG, great suggestions! Thanks. Makes me want to leave today.
Priscilla, I think I saw your post before you had finished it. Thanks for the suggestion about cost of pass vs individual museum costs. I think we'll have a wonderful time whatever we get to see but I worried that there was some important site I was overlooking. No doubt when we get home we'll say "Why didn't we go to....?" LOL.

You can start practicing by using the RAPT website to figure out how to get to CDG via RER B train ;-)

I also like to take a taxi to the airport at the end of my trips, especially since I'm tired & don't want to lug around the extra weight (from souvenirs) I've added to my siutcase!

Make sure you arrive at CDG at least 3 hours before your flight, since it's a very busy airport & you may have to wait in several long lines, prior to reaching your departure gate.

Edit to add... My apologies for my unfinished response... I just received a tablet (a gift from my children) and still trying to get used to it. I had written my response then somehow the whole thing got deleted, then I tried again & accidentally hit the wrong button!

Don't miss the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens, walking around the Jewish Quarter, & Sainte Chapelle (my favorite) & Berthillon ice cream on Ile St.Louis!

Keep in mind that some museums are closed on Mondays & some on Tuesdays.
The Louvre & d' Orsay are open till evening on some days. Check the Paris Museum Pass website for more information.

We visited Paris for only a day longer than you have this past summer. We took a friend who had never been to Europe on the Best of Spain tour. I thought, if you have never been to Europe, what better place to see than Paris? I was forced to look at the city as a newbie, even though I've been there many times. The Rick Steve's Paris book was a terrific time saver and really helped focus our days. We did a lot of walking, saw a lot, and we did get tired. The RS Lourve tour is quick, you see the "biggies" and you're out of there. Otherwise it's a madhouse. The D'Orsay was limited to the impressionists which, I believe, are on the top floor, and a special exhibit. Orangerie is short, but, do see the downstairs gallery in addition to the Monet water lilies. We breezed through Notre Dame, really enjoyed Saint Chappele. Very time consuming, and, in my estimate not worth it, was the Eiffell Tower. I know, I know, but that is my honest opinion. Despite having timed tickets, lots of time in line, both up and down. You get to the summit and it's a great view, but, I would rather have spent the time resting up at a sidewalk cafe. This was the one thing I had never done in my prior trips to Paris. Now I did. If you are going the advance tickets are a must. The museum pass- definitely worth it. The metro is a breeze to navigate, so take advantage of it.

Day #1
--Metro Line 7 from Opera to Pont Neuf--
Saint Chapelle
Notre Dame
Pantheon or Cluny Museum
Luxembourg Gardens
Louvre

Day #2
--Metro Line 8 from Opera to Ecole Militaire--
Eiffel Tower
Invalides or Rodin Museum
Orangerie
Tuileries
Musee d'Orsay

Half Day
--Metro Line 1 from Tuileries to Etoile--
Arc de Triomphe
--Metro Line 2 from Etoile to Anvers--
Sacre Coeur & Montmartre

We just got back from our first trip, 6 days. If you like museums, the Orsay is the way to go. You could spend a whole day at the Louvre and not see it all, and are you really there to see ancient art or are you there to see PARIS?!?!

Our first few days might be perfect for your few days.

Arrived totally exhausted from flight in the morning. Walked to the Orsay, pretty cool, accidentally found the impressionist exhibit on the top floor, just keep following escalators. Then stopped at a cafe for my very first Paris croissant and a glass of wine. Then had to walk right back past the Louvre and I didn't want to spend a day there but REALLY wanted to see 3 things. So we popped in 20 minutes before close and grabbed a map and found the three things, Mona Lisa wasn't one of them but accidentally walked right in front of it on my way to see something else...was like "Oh hello lady!"

(When thinking about museums, think about what you really want to see, with a museum pass and the EASY metro, you could hit several quickly without walking the whole thing)

The museum we loved most was the Musee Marmottan Monet in the 16th.

The Le Cariffe dinner on the Seine was the biggest surprise, I thought it would be cheesy and touristy but the food and wine were amazing and I'm so glad we did it. You see all of Paris. You can book online.

Every minute in Paris is precious real estate, but we carved out 3 hours for a croissant cooking class at La Cuisine. I'm glad we did because that's the best way we brought Paris home, we now make our own pastries on the weekends.

The metro is so easy, take it to St Germain, or Le Marais, and just walk your way back to the hotel and discover the city. We tried to stay away from the really touristy spots, they're crowded, but the neighborhoods are divine.

Not sure I would spend the hours trying to get up the Eiffel Tower with that limited time. But take the metro to the Ecole Militaire station, find Rue De Cler, buy some cheese and meats and wine and walk a few blocks to picnic right in front of it, yes you can drink wine there.

Hope some of this helps. Don't overbook yourself. Live like a Parisienne.

Musee d'Orsay

Louvre - start at the underground Carrousel entrance for a sometimes quicker line, plus there are shops and eating places inside the underground space. Decide ahead of time what galleries you want to visit. You'll save time that way.

Walking through any of the gardens - Luxembourg, Tuileries

Angelina's hot chocolate and Laduree macarons

A Kir Royale for cocktail hour at 360 Cafe at the Tour Montparnasse. The view at twilight is spectacular and in THIS view you see the Eiffel Tower, instead of being in it.

An impromptu picnic on the Champ du Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower

Be careful around the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Pickpockets abound. Keep everything important under wraps or in a undergarments wallet. Also, try to be first in line or as close as you can be to the opening of the Tower. You can also go by bus to CDG. See: http://www.francetravelplanner.com/go/paris/trans/air/roissybus.html

I so appreciate all these replies, and wish we had more days to enjoy everything Paris has to offer. Your suggestions give me some really good ideas about what to see and what to skip. And hot chocolate at Angelina's? Sounds perfect. David, thanks for giving me Metro lines to take from our hotel. Everyone's help has given me a lot more confidence that we can make the most of our time.

You're welcome.
Definitely buy a 2 day Paris Museum Pass.
Note that ...
Louvre open til 9.45pm on Wed, Fri
Orsay open til 9.45pm on Thu

You might want to skip the hot chocolate at Angelina, which is now made in a factory and is only a distant memory. A few years ago, it was still made by putting a dark chocolate bar in a pot of hot cream - but that was then, and it isn't done anymore. There are better pastries almost anywhere else, and you would be very close to Laduree on the Champs-Elysees, which would be a much better choice for a very nice experience.

If you're not museum people on a regular basis, I would recommend that you just walk around, take the Metro or the HOHO bus and take in the atmosphere that Paris has to offer.

It's true that tourism is way down, and there are far fewer people in Paris than in years past.

For three adults, you might as well just take a cab to the airport. The tickets to go on the RER are something like 10 euros a piece -- 30 euros total. For just 20 euros more (that is, 7 euros per person), you can go all the way in a taxi and not fight with the metro, luggage, crowded trains, etc. Cabs are 50 euros to CDG from the Right Bank (where your hotel is).

If you are going in a few weeks, it may be hard to get advance tix for the Eiffel Tower. Many people on here report that they try to get them ASA they are available (I think 3 mos ahead?) and a lot of times run into sold out or limited time slots. You could always buy walk up tix to the 2nd level. We stood in line the first time we went to Paris - it was about an hour. When we were there last year in late Sept, there didn't seem to be much of a line after 7pm or so, but maybe that was a fluke (we didn't go back up - once was enough)

If you like light as air meringue pastries, you may want to check out Aux Merveilleux de Fred if you are near to it.

http://www.auxmerveilleux.com/the-story/ (Ranked 8 out of 312 dessert in Paris on TA...lol).

I believe we went to the one on rue Saint-Dominique as it was nearby to where we were staying. (Invalides area) I also found their shop when we went to NYC last year, and had planned to find them in London but we ran out of time (I wanted the trifecta last year-NYC, PAris and London, but alas, did not reach my goal...sigh ;) ). Delicious little confections!

We also enjoyed the Vendettes du Pont Neuf Seine boat ride. A nice way to relax for an hour or so and take in the sights from the Seine.

I guess I didn't realize the Eiffel Tower could get sold out! Just assumed it would be a long wait vs a short one. Somewhere online I read advice saying not to buy tickets in advance because the weather might not be good on the chosen day. Ah well.
I did think we might do the boat ride. Our half day in Paris is the first one, after arriving early afternoon from London. I know we won't have a lot of sightseeing time, and I thought an after-dark cruise on the Seine would be a great introduction to Paris. Hopefully we'll have time for at least one other excursion too. I'm so glad to hear about the evening hours for the Louvre and Orsay.

Somehow we'll fit it all in, or not, and hopefully have a wonderful trip.

Thanks also for the RER vs taxi comparison. Sounds like a taxi is the clear winner there. I thought taking the Metro from Gare du Nord to the hotel seems reasonable.

Get out early in the morning -- we were at St Chapelle at 9 a.m. today (Saturday) and strolled right in -- at 1 p.m. the line was down the block! Similarly, we dropped in at Notre Dame the prior day at about 9 since we were walking by on the way to the Louvre -- quiet, uncrowded -- and mid-day today there was a line across the courtyard.

As celebrated as the Eiffel Tower is---if I only had 2 days in Paris I wouldn't take the time to climb it. Unless that's a bucket list item. I've gone up twice and I've been to Paris many, many times (the last time was with my French students and frankly they were more impressed with the Montparnasse tower). To each his own! Good luck planning!

Only advance tickets for certain time slots (or maybe even the whole day) can be sold out - you can certainly stand in line with no worries - just may not be possible at this date to get online tix - and personally I'd rather see what the weather is doing myself before committing...

On the flip side - if you want to do the Vendettes du Pont Neuf Seine cruise, you can buy those tickets ahead of time if you want to save a few euro and print at home. They don't tie you down to a certain date/time (I think there are morning and rest of the day prices tho and are good for a year)...but again - you may want to see what the weather is like before you commit.

There are perhaps 4 considerations when thinking Eiffel Tower.

1. Marvelling at the structure close up.
2. Making the ascent to the top, a 'bucket list' item.
3. Taking in the breathtaking view of Paris.
4. Obtaining tickets or waiting in line.

If 4. Is an obstacle, then remember 1. and 3. still remain possibilities. Can you live without 2. then becomes the issue.

Oh - maybe you do or don't know and I don't see that anyone mentioned it - be at the Eiffel Tower on the hour after it gets dark to see it all lit up and twinkling. I believe it goes for about 5 min or so - lovely.

I don't know if there is a schedule online of when it is lit, but last year when we were there, it was all lit up in pink for Breast Cancer awareness (there was a gala nearby). It also turned to golden yellow and at 9:50, there was a light show on the tower and music playing to accompany for 10 min. We watched from Trocadero. We didn't know it was going to happen, but were just there at the right time.

Nicole, what a cool idea and I didn't know about the twinkling lights at the tower. I wonder if we could see them from the Seine cruise? If not, we'll plan to be in a good spot another night. David, I'm pondering all 4 of your points. :)

Linda -- There are several places all around the city from which you can see the lights twinkle if you happen to be outside and looking in the right direction at the right time. It's a lovely surprise to look up and see it. You may see it from your boat, depending on where your boat is at the top of the hour, but if not you'll certainly see it after.

You'll get a sense once you get here of how often in the city center you'll get a glimpse of the Tower.

OK, ten days till we leave and I have another question about roaming Paris. Planning to take the Vedettes cruise and other activities after dark, can we feel pretty safe on the Metro or unfamiliar streets? What about near d'Orsay and Louvre? We will probably visit those in the evening and try to find a nearby cafe for dinner afterward.

We never had any qualms about walking around those areas at night. Last year after our Vendettes cruise, we ate near the Conciergerie and walked over to Notre Dame in the evening. There seemed to be a lot of other tourists about. I don't think I'd want to walk away from the tourist areas too much. Our first visit we walked from the Moulin Rouge area to Montmartre where we were staying - that was a bit of an eyeopener and not something I was 100% comfortable with. And we've gone over to the Louvre area after dark (it's really nice lit up)...again - lots of tourists.

Now, not that I would do it all the time, but last year I walked from our airbnb over to the Eiffel Tower at 3am to take photos of the lunar eclipse! About a 10 min walk thru residential area. First person I saw was a traffic cop writing parking tickets, so I thought...OK...if someone approaches me. I did it all on my own - no way hubby was getting up. (I'm not really recommending doing that, but the blood moon in Paris was a once in a lifetime event for me :) )

Again - just be aware of your surroundings. The metro can be a fav spot for pickpockets. Keep ahold of your purse/backpack - sling it - don't leave it sitting in your lap as it makes an easy target for those who would grab it and run out the doors. There are some good stories on here about scams to watch out for - last time we saw the 'petition girls' in the Tulleries garden harassing people, so we steered a wide berth.

Nicole, thanks for the reassurance. I figured as much, but then thought whoa! We're going down by a river in a strange city after dark and have no clue where to go next. Talk about looking like tourists! And I give you huge credit for wandering the streets at 3 am! Not sure I would, but I've done weirder things.
And good advice about the scams too!

I don't know if I'd walk along the actual river after dark - as in, along the path/walkway that runs along the river - too many dark 'under bridges' areas for me. I'd stick to the sidewalks 'up top' by the road...but maybe that's just me. I can't rem how well lit they are - we stuck to the sidewalks.

Watch out for the 'gold ring' scam - I can't believe I actually met someone who fell for that (fellow Canadians...sigh). And the 'friendship bracelet' ones that seem to congregate around Sacre Coeur if you are in that area. If you toss money into the cup of the little old ladies outside the churches, they will just bother you for more (learnt that after doing it a few times).

And I still can't believe myself I went out at 3am! But my chutzpah outweighed my nervousness. I actually woke at 2am and knew it was too soon, so I said to myself...self - if you wake up in an hour, you go out...and my inner alarm went off. I had my camera tripod, so I figured I could smack someone if need be. A couple came up to me while I was by the Eiffel Tower taking pics and I thought - uh oh - are they gonna grab my camera and tripod? But they were just commenting how many other people were just taking photos with their phones and they had just flown in and arrived that morning. I'm used to meeting strangers (we host couchsurfers in our home) but I still kept a grip on my tripod tho they seemed nice enough. Then I tried to get back into the wrong building - I forgot which street we were on...lol - moment of panic! Next corner over.

You've got guts, Nicole. I love it. And I'll watch out for the little old ladies! Thanks again.

I agree with most of what has been written here. With the short amount of time that you have I would not however try to go up the Eiffel Tower. Even with a reservation, it takes several hours. By all means go see it - both day and night if you can, but I would save the top for when you have more time. Enjoy sue

To disagree, I think Laduree on Champs-Elysees is a smelly overcrowded hole. Go to the original one at Madeleine. Or Jacques Genin instead.

If you get a Museum Pass, you'll be able to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We did that and had a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower and everything else all lit up at twilight.

If you are in the Marais, Jacques Genin is definitely worth a stop. The boutique was like a museum of beautiful chocolates and caramels. The little café there is lovely. We actually got to meet Jacques Genin on two different occasions there, which was wonderfully memorable for me. Last summer, we went to see his newer boutique in the 6th, which had no café, and just seemed like a store to us. The sales person wasn't too thrilled to answer questions, unlike our experience in the other place. The Marais location has a lot of charm, and is much less trafficked than any Champs Elyssees cafė would be.

Laurie

We have just returned from our whirlwind trip, which included three days in London and three in Paris. A couple of observations: As someone said, it's hard to find bad food in Paris! We walked so much and did so much in our short time that we ate each night at a different sidewalk cafe. With wine, I don't think we spent more than 110 Euros for the three of us anytime. As a dramatic contrast, the cost of a taxi from our hotel near the Louvre to CDG cost 60 Euros! And after getting there, our flight was delayed five hours. Spending the day at CDG is not too much fun! We determined that we woke at 12:30 am EDT and got to the airport at 2:00 am EDT. The plane left at 11:00 am EDT! After a connecting flight, we got home to Ohio just before 10:30 at night. I may sleep for a week!
We climbed the Arch de Triomphe, a must if you can do the steps, took the Vedettes Pont Neuf cruise after dark, explored much of the Louvre, D'Orsay and the hidden gem L'Orangerie, went through Notre Dame (not the tower) and Ste. Chappelle, and stood near the Eiffel Tower but did not go in. We walked nearly everywhere, seeing more tourists than Parisians and marveling at the lack of accidents from the chaotic traffic. We walked several times through the Tuileries gardens, along Rue de Rivoli and the Seine. We never felt worried about pickpockets although there were signs warning us in several places and we felt safe and comfortable both day and night. A fabulous trip!

Thanks for posting your follow up!

Glad you enjoyed it - now...are you already planning your next trip? ;)