Finalizing Paris Itinerary - Several Questions

I’m assuming you are staying in Rue Cler?
7) Several of us here on the forum like Cafe Roussillon in that area
8) yes, buy your train tickets in advance. It will save you some money
9) Luxembourg park is an obvious one, but Parc Monceau is lovely as well
Just my opinion, but 3 day trips seems like a lot for such a short stay. I spent 16 days in Paris last year and the only other place we went was up to Bayeux for 2 nights.

1) We will hopefully buy the Paris museum pass on arrival at the airport. Where is the best place to purchase this? Tourist office at the airport (Terminal 2??), big and red. You can also buy at any place that accepts it, I bought mine at the Pantheon.
2) I have made timed reservations for the Louvre and Sainte Chappelle. It appears on the D'Orsay website that we can not make a reserved time with the museum pass. Do we need to make reserved times online for L'Orangerie and Arch de Triomphe or do we just get into a different queue at these sights with our pass? Orsay there's no NEED to make reservations w the PMP. Arc de T is the same line, they just scan your pass, don't know about L'orangerie.
5) Uber or taxi from hotel? We will need to uber to our tour meeting spots and to the train station. Will I be able to easily get an uber from our hotel in the the 7th Arr.? On the Loire Valley tour day we will need an uber at 6:15am and I am a bit nervous about making our 6:45am group tour meeting time at the Catacombes. At CDG, official taxi rank is better; download G7 taxi app for other usage, and you can get ubers, too. I called an uber at the Eiffel Tower and it was a G7 taxi...
6) We plan to do either Chartres, Reims or Rouen one day to get a totally different feel than Paris and to escape from the crowded city. I understand Rouen is more a small city - my daughter is interested in St. Joan of Arc. Just want to make sure we are getting more of a relaxed pace day and totally different feel than Paris. There's also a Joan of Arc statue in Reims; it's also 45 minutes by TGV, cute little city, needs more coffee places.
7) Train tickets: Do I need to buy in advance now for any of the above locations before we travel to Paris or can we buy them on the same day that we travel? TGV needs advance purchase for it to be cheaper. As time moves on, they'll be more expensive.

10) Any suggestions for parks or green space to relax in Paris, especially within walking distance of Rue Cler? there are just loads, almost all the parks in Paris are great.

11) Any other suggestions for Paris in July? Hydrate. Check out wallace drinking fountains too. Plan for extra time because you'll want to move slower due to the heat

Dinner in 7th near Rue Cler… small, friendly, reasonably priced: Au Bon Accueil

I'll second Tammy's suggestion of the Roussillon. We ate there last time even though we were staying in another part of the city. Good food, great staff. (And a good place to meet up with Forum friends!)

We also like La Terasse du 7éme, an easy walk from Rue Cler hotels.

Here's the information about which sites need timed entry:
https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/t-en/r%C3%89servation/cr%C3%89neaux-horaires

If you click on the pdf at the bottom, it gives you a nice rundown. L'Orangerie does require a timed entry reservation.

I would download the G7 app and use it to book a taxi for your early mornings. The licensed cabs are allowed to use the bus lanes where the Uber/Bolt/etc cannot. It won't make much difference that early in the AM but it can later in the day.

Here is my favorite little pocket park near Rue Cler. It's in a carved out corner of the Army Museum/Les Invalides complex. It has a low green fence around it with a gate but it is a public space so do go in.

https://goo.gl/maps/TVaCK67Ff1Fk6NhXA

And laughing because I see it actually has a name - Square Santiago du Chili

If I am having a relaxed day I'll pickup a sandwich at this boulangerie and take it to the park. DO pack a plastic bag to sit on because there is a lot of pigeon poop on Paris park benches!! I settled on the heavier plastic bags from Trader Joes which I fold up in a ziplock bag and just leave in my purse!

https://goo.gl/maps/4zbMQsRJq57zU5oW8

And um, let's see, 3rd recommendation for Cafe Roussillon? And you might just meet up with Tammy and Jane and me there, lol!!

And what a great evening that was! I have pictures! Too bad we can't post them here.

Hotels often have large plastic laundry bags which also make good seat protectors from damp ground or pigeon benches.

janettravels44, great idea!

6) We plan to do either Chartres, Reims or Rouen one day to get a totally different feel than Paris and to escape from the crowded city. I understand Rouen is more a small city - my daughter is interested in St. Joan of Arc. Just want to make sure we are getting more of a relaxed pace day and totally different feel than Paris.

I can only speak to Rouen, other than the many cathedrals I found wandering the traffic free center it to be largely shopping. I know RS loves it but sadly I did not. We were unable to visit Joan of Arc Museum. On the other hand, I loved Giverny. We did go on our own exploring and had a lovely courtyard lunch up the hill. Do take a little time to wander up. It is a wonderfully peaceful place, even with the crowds.

I'll be in Paris 21 September on way to Loire & So of France tour and I've sent myself the google map to get to Cafe Rousillon. It sounds and looks so good. Wish I could have a meet up with Pam and Jane.

Laurie Beth, we're going to be in Paris in October. If you'll be there after your tour, send me a PM.

Do you need reservations for lunch at Cafe Roussillon? We are a family of 10 and it will be after spending morning at the Eiffel and a photo shoot nearby. TIA

I love Paris! We did miss out on L'Orangerie because it was fully booked the day we planned to go--so I would reserve a time. I loved the museum pass (bought mine online and printed it at home before we left). We sometimes had a hard time getting an uber or taxi early in the morning so you may want to plan ahead--the concierge at your hotel hopefully can guide you. Stayed in the 7th also. Rodin Museum is not far from D'Orsay and I really love it. Not usually crowded and very beautiful. Enjoy your trip!

Think about doing LESS. you are going to spend most of your time moving between places. Thing and check on travel times between places. You can do this easily on Google Maps. Nice to look out of the window of a bus/train but I would rather stroll along a side street in Paris. Always leave something to come back to do on your next trip. PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE do less.

mark_arleneleewond,

Do you need reservations for lunch at Cafe Roussillon? We are a family of 10

I think with that large a group I'd make a reservation. I will say that we showed up at Roussillon one night with a group of 7 for dinner, no reservation, and were welcomed. They did have to shuffle some tables and chairs for us, though.

Just to add...if you're going to Rouen, there's an interesting restaurant there. It's where Julia Child first fell in love with French cuisine (per Wikipedia and the movie "Julie and Julia.") - The La Couronne.

And, of course, Monet painted the Rouen Cathedral more than 30 times.

We're going there, too, in a few weeks on a day trip from Paris.

I’ve done the Fat tire bike tour to Giverny ( actually I have done them all - over many trips not at once lol ) ! I enjoyed it a lot - and it’s easy cycling .

However I’ve also taken a few private tours with French Mystique and they are absolutely superior - well worth a bit more money and you can choose from an array of torus for the fat waddled like me - or something a lot more challenging that your daughter would likely love ! https://www.frenchmystiquetours.com/

I wish we could post photos here - we took his ray Marne River bike tour and loved it - so nice being outside Paris