First time in Paris 6 1/2 days

Bonjour😊 I will be in Paris for the first time this June for 5 days. Im pretty sure I will be taking the fat tire trip to Versailles as the grounds are so large I look forward to seeing more this way.

Will you be doing all of the 'big' museums? I am letting myself 'miss' one or two biggies and hope to return one day. I want to savour the cafés, just not enough time to do it all. .

I did a Fat Tire Segway evening tour of Paris - great fun and a good way to start a visit to Paris is by taking one of their bike or Segway tours, day or evening, to get oriented.

I've only visited Versailles on my own, very easy to do. You may want to book a palace tour first thing in the morning, so you get to see it before it becomes crowded. You can rent bikes there - a good way to get around the gardens (huge) and see the outlying buildings (beautiful). I would definitely choose Versailles (DIY or Fat Tire) over the Loire Valley.

When are you going?

Are you more interested in seeing castles or a palace? Do you know what places are included in the Loire Valley tour? Most of the castles have gardens open to the public.

We're planning to go at the end of September. The Loire Valley tour goes to the Chateau de Blois and Chateau de Chambord. Do you think it's too much to do both? The other thing that concerns me is that the Loire Valley tours only run on Wednesdays . . . and we are arriving on Tuesday (leaving the next Tuesday) so that's the only one we can attend. I am hoping that the beautiful French castles and countryside will offset any jet lag . . .

If not, at least you can catch up on sleep on the bus :-) Sometimes those catnaps are very refreshing.

Haha Chani! I think a bus tour on (full) day one would be deadly, at least to me. But if it calls to you, go! I would say only do one big day trip: Loire Valley OR Versailles. Too much to do in Paris itself.

When planning a trip, I like to list everything I want to do, then wedge those things into the time I have, making an effort to not plan too many things on one day. Usually, we do a major site (museum, walking tour) in the morning, then after lunch have some downtime and do something else late afternoon. Or we might do another short tour after lunch, but take some downtime before a late dinner. In a week's city trip, we would usually only spend one day outside the city, i.e., go to Versailles. We did this exact thing a year ago for a week in Paris and left with a long list of sights still to be seen. So we must go back!

I was really being serious. It's not such a bad idea to nod off for a while on the bus. If you're in the city, it's not so easy. Whether or not to see the Loire Valley, I can't say. It's (sadly) still on my to-do list.

I'm not sure, but I'm inferring from your post that Fat Tire bike tours are the company which only goes from Paris to the Loire Valley on Wednesdays. But in September, there will be multiple tour companies, and you should have a choice of days. You may not get a bike tour company, however.

For instance, Paris Vision is a major operator of daytrips - here are their Loire Valley tours:
http://www.pariscityvision.com/en/france/loire-valley-castles

That's a good point. I was so impressed with their tours that I just kind of got stuck there . . . but yeah, I should look at some other tours and see what else I like. Thanks!

Arrival Day (Tuesday)
Eiffel Tower or Sacre Coeur + Montmartre

Wednesday
Fat Bike Tour Versailles (much less cycling than Loire Valley)
https://www.fattiretours.com/paris/tours/Versailles-Bike-Tour

Thursday to Sunday
Explore Paris with a 4 day Paris Museum Pass

Monday
With only one day in the Loire Valley you may want to see more than 2 chateaux.
Catch an early morning TGV from Paris Montparnasse (07:09) to Tours (08:30)
The station in Tours is close to the Tourist Office from where this tour leaves every day at 9am.
Visit - Azay, Villandry, Chenonceau, Chambord.
http://www.tours-tourism.co.uk/see-and-do/excursions-weekends/all-inclusive-days-out/lumineuse-day-out-122-eu

IMHO - go to Versailles and skip the Loire. Plan another trip to Loire and spend a few days. Reason to skip - Blois is a lovely little town, but the castle, is not nearly at the top of the castles to see. Chambord is great, but you are missing so many other great castles. If you want to spend another day 'out of Paris' and if you like Monet, try a quick train trip to Giverney. Whatever you see, it's 'all good'!

Hi Kristin, I suggest that you do a Fat Tire Bike Tour to Versailles, get a 2-day Museum Pass, and do the Eiffel Tower. That's plenty for a first visit.

With the Museum Pass you can take the steps to the top of Notre Dame (very cool), and maybe spend some time at the Louvre, Orsay, and Rodin. The museums are open late some nights, use that advantage to get the most out of your 2 day pass.

Love Paris! Have a great time!

I have to start by saying your ideal trip might not be my ideal trip. But I want to echo the advice from @mschonekas about dropping the Loire Valley tour. IMHO 6 days in Paris will go by fast, and I would not give up one of them to see the Loire Valley, a place where you can spend several days alone visiting castles, towns, cave paintings, canoeing, etc. And if you go to Versailles as well you'd be down to 4 days in Paris proper. I find that we can see 2, maybe 3 in a pinch, major sites a day. I'll put it this way; over the years I've probably spent 15-20 days in Paris, not all that much duplication (except for the Musée d'Orsay, have to see that every time!) and I still have plenty on the list. There are certainly 10 sites worth visiting in Paris, enough to fill the time you have. I like to have time to smell the roses, so to speak; not just go to the Eiffel tower but explore the surrounding area a bit, have lunch at a leisurely pace, etc. And Paris is wonderful for strolling, for visiting parks, etc.

Options in Paris utilising a 4 day Paris Museum Pass

Thursday
Tours de Notre Dame (walk up the towers to get up close and personal with the gargoyles) ...opens 10am
Crypt Archeologique (dig site in front of Notre Dame)
Musee Picasso (recently renovated)
Musee Nissim de Camondo (lavish city home with art and furnishing from early 20th century)
Musee d'Orsay (Impressionism) ...closes 9.45pm Thu

Friday
St Chapelle (amazing stained glass) ...opens 9.30am (summer)
Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette imprisoned)
Decorative Arts (furniture)
Mode & Textile Museum (fashion)
Louvre ...closes 9.45pm Wed, Fri

Saturday
Arc de Triomphe (must see view from top) ...opens 10am
Musee Rodin (famous bronzes in beautiful gardens)
Invalides (Napoleons tomb)
Les Egouts (the sewer tour) ...closed Thu, Fri
Musee Quai Branly (artefacts from Africa, Americas, Asia, Oceania) ...closes 9pm Thu, Fri, Sat

Sunday
Musee Cluny (museum of the middle ages) ...opens 9.15am
Pantheon (dedicated to the greats of France)
Musee Delacroix (the artist’s former house + studio)
Orangerie (Monet's waterlillies)
Pompidou Centre (modern art collection) ...closes 9pm

Please note: This is a 3 month-old post, resurrected by 'davelincoln' who appears to be advertising!!

Syd: my God. I like art museums more than most people, and that itinerary would leave me stressed out.

Yes Chani, I reported them on another thread. How silly of me not to notice. Sometimes I have difficulty noting the correct date with the American 'month/date' format.

Kristin, I took the Paris City Vision tour in Oct 2014 of the Chambord, Chennoceau & Cheverny Chateaux w/Lunch, http://www.pariscityvision.com/en/france/loire-valley-castles, and really enjoyed it. Paris City Vision offers different packages for the Chateaux.

Enjoy.

Kristin, think about what you really want to see. Just the two of you. Maybe the day trips around Paris are more interesting to you, or at least as interesting, as sites in Paris. If so, I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy both Versailles and a Loire chateau excursion. I agree with mschonekas that Chateau de Blois is really not one of the top Loire chateaux you should target. See what other tour companies have to offer. brushtim took one and there are others as well.

I fully agree with Phillip's reaction to the four day Paris Museum Pass schedule. Waaay too many museums. Waaay too many sites for that matter. Unless one were just collecting "been there" stickers, it would be hard to enjoy that itinerary.

Kristin, on your first (half) day, you could go for a walk near where you're staying and maybe see some iconic Paris sight, or just enjoy the thrill of being in Paris. It's a good idea to get out in the sunlight and move around to combat jet lag.

Chani, what am I missing about the advertising? I don't see any service or place being advertised.

Hi,

You could also do the bus route...take different bus routes with your Metro carnet, instead of the Metro to get good overview of street and city life. The buses serving the train stations...Lyon, Nord, Lazare, etc travel the routes worth seeing.