Finalizing the itinerary - tell me what you think!!

Do you have a recommendation on which Seine dinner cruise to do? We are thinking about doing one as well.

No input to your itinerary, it looks amazing and I wish we had a week in Paris!

Actually I do have a suggestion, I have spent a good amount of time researching restaurants and am surprised you don't have many plans for dinners aside from the cruise. It was hard to narrow my choices down to our 4 nights! Maybe on your anniversary plan a nice dinner? Le Souffle and La Veraison are on my list :)

Bonjour Fellow French Traveller!

My husband and I just spent 4 nights in Paris, transitioning between Colmar and Bayeux (Normandy area). I cannot comment on your entire itnerary but I do want to impart that the view from the top of Printemps is so much more impressive than from the Sacre Coeur (Montmarte). The view from Montmarte/Sacre Coeur is certainly impressive and well worth the trip but the major sites of interest are far away, whereas many of the major sites of interest, when viewed from the top of Printemps, are right there. I loved it! We actually ate petit dejunier (breakfast) on the 2nd floor of Printemps (in the beautiful housewares section) two days in a row, as they have the BEST croissants, the freshest juices and the BEST coffee I have experienced in France (we have been in France a total of one month now so I have a bit of perspective on that). The price was also quite reasonable, at just 6 and a half Euros. Food offerings on the observation level are more pre-packaged/fast-food like so we did not stay for a meal but they had no issue with us just taking a look., none the less. We went at about 9:45 am and were two of just 6 people up there so the viewing opportunity was very good. I imagine it gets busier as the day goes on. There is also a restaurant under the beautiful stained-glass dome in one of the adjoinging wings of Printemps. We did not eat there but the menu looked good and reasonably priced.

Happy Travels!

That's a good list of stuff to do. I say list and not itinerary because you need to be flexible. Weather can affect plans as well as long lines, jet lag, getting lost and any other number of unforeseen circumstances. Don't leave out sitting at a cafe and watching the world go by, it's one of the best things you can do in Paris. You should also not just focus on tourist things you read about here or in guidebooks. Most of the memorable things from my travels were not at major attractions but from more mundane activities like asking for directions or doing laundry.

As for a dinner cruise....check out Bateau le Calife. Unlike some dinner cruises they cook onboard as opposed to bringing the food which seems more like an airplane meal than a restaurant. While it's not a Michelin rated restaurant the food was good, the boat wasn't too large and the Captain timed the trip so we were right at the Eiffel Tower when it lit up (10pm). Compared to all the large boats we saw all week on the river we were sure we picked one of the good ones. If you are gonna splurge on anything in Paris, this is one worth going for. Book early to make sure you get on the main deck and not below near the bar.

I also love the view from the rooftop at Printemps. It's a great place to hang out and take photos. You get a very good view of Sacre Coeur up there, if you don't make it up to Montmartre.

Sounds like a wonderful if ambitious plan. Remember to be flexible. I too had planned some day trips into our itinerary but scrapped them all due to my husband getting sick in Rome (just a nasty cough cold but it made for late starts most days while in Paris). We went to Paris last year too so we did some of the lesser museums & loved them. Monmarten Monet, Nissan de Camondo, Garnier Opera House to name a few. These were not busy at all, compared to the Louvre or Orsay so we happily browsed their wonderful artwork. We also did the Picasso Museum & loved it. Montmarte is wonderful, I wouldn't skip it. We went on a Sunday and it didn't seem any busier than a weekday. Have a wonderful trip!

Some ideas ...

Sunday
Eiffel Tower
Musee Marmottan (not included in pass) or Musee Carnavalet (free)
Sacre Coeur & Montmartre

Monday
Reims

Tuesday (First Day of 4 day Paris Museum Pass)
Versailles

Wednesday
Orangerie (Monet's waterlillies) ...opens 9am
Les Egouts (the sewer tour) ...closed Thu, Fri
Musee Quai Branly (artifacts from Africa, Americas, Asia, Oceania)
Arc de Triomphe (must see view from top)
Louvre ...closes 9.45pm Wed, Fri

Thursday
St Chapelle (amazing stained glass) ...opens 9.30am (summer)
Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette imprisoned)
Musee Rodin (famous bronzes in beautiful gardens)
Invalides (Napoleons tomb)
Musee d'Orsay (Impressionism) ...closes 9.45pm Thu

Friday
Tours de Notre Dame (walk up the towers to get up close and personal with the gargoyles) ...opens 10am
Musee Cluny (museum of the middle ages)
Pantheon (dedicated to the greats of France)
Musee Picasso
Pompidou Centre (modern art collection) ...closes 9pm

@Lauren - you know - I just thought we'd wing it and ask our hotel staff for recs. I think that I should make that my next phase of research. I had been just trying to group sights. The plans it to make sure we see the main highlights for us - we have never been to Paris, with a lot of café time/people watching. In your research did you find that places like the ones you mentioned need reservations? THANKS! for the cruise - I've looked into the main ones. Since our parents will be treating, I think we may go for Bateaux. They seem the most reasonable (although food not cooked on board it seems - as suggested).

@Rich and Diana - yes, I know what you mean. we are flexible people - and as I get to see a bit of the Louvre, Orsay, Orangerie, the churches and ET, and linger the rest of the time - then our time was well spent.

@DJP - thank you - that's a arrangements . our plans make use of a 4 day pass - that may work well for us too.

Thank you all for the ideas and suggestions!

Bateaux is French for Boats so that doesn't really tell us which one you chose, they all start with Bateaux.
As for restaurants...You did get Ricks book on France didn't you? I suggest you cut out the Paris section and carry it with you. I found it to be better than the Paris book which really is a lot of color plates and not great for day to day use on the fly. Plan your meals ahead of time because you won't always be near your hotel and while they may have a couple of good recommendations I wouldn't count on one hotel person for all my meals. Avoid going somewhere because you are tired and hungry and it seems OK, that is the recipe for a bad meal. Try and plan ahead or at least pick something from the book that is close by where you are at the time, Rick's suggestions are a safe bet for a decent meal. Trip Advisor, Yelp and several other guides are also a good source of information.
We spent as much time planning our meals as we did our sightseeing, maybe more since enjoying our meals is an important part of traveling for us.

I agree with the writer who suggested Musee Marmottan -- where there is an entire wing devoted to all of Monet's family collection -- around 137 pieces from the beginning of his career to the end. There are water lily (nymphes) murals that make the l'Orangerie seem anticlimactic.

The Marmottan is a bit out of the way in the 16th near the Bois de Bologne. But it was one of the highlights of my trip last fall. I took a taxi in order to save time getting there. It was challenging to find a taxi back, but after walking a few blocks down the avenue back towards the center of Paris, I found a taxi queue.

Bateux Parisien - sorry. I purchased RS Paris book. Absolutely - the hotel staff shouldn't be the only resource. Since we have the Paris book - he has lots of great rec for dining - next phase of planning. Thanks Richard!