Help planning a short trip to Paris

Wednesday is going to be very exhausting or at least it would be for me. And so is Tuesday if you are planning to go to Montmartre and ride the hop on hop off bus and go across town to the Eiffel Tower. I’d probably skip the Orsay on Wednesday and do the river cruise after getting back from Versailles. Versailles is IMO very exhausting. I’d skip it but you have tickets already so I’d skip the museum that day and do something easy like the cruise afterwards.

Stick to Paris, skip Versailles on this very short trip.

Oops, I just noticed you already booked Versailles...oh well...good luck.

Too much? Yes. I would have picked just one of the big museums - for me, the Orsay - and not 2. And I would not have set aside what is a one half to 3/4 day trip to Versailles in this tight schedule.

I also would "skip" Montmartre on this tight schedule. Instead of Montmartre, maybe the Marais and St Germain des Pres, the Jardin du Luxembourg...more Left Bank...

Spend more time outdoors, strolling in the parks, neighborhoods, cafes...experience Paris more, plan to go back. We are returning in October, our 15th trip...

Thanks both for your responses. I guess I got a little carried away looking at itineraries suggested on the internet. On Wednesday, we will just to Versailles and Seine river cruise. On Tuesday, we will just do either Montmartre or Musee D'Orsay and some walking around to explore.

For me too much. I would skip the hop on/off bus, Paris is one big traffic jam you will see way more on foot than you will via bus stuck at a red light. You have already booked Versailles or I would suggest leaving that for another trip too. The joy of Paris is walking around seeing the beautiful buildings and parks, jazz bars at night. One thing per day is enough. Versailles and Musee D'Orsay in the same day is too much. J

Too much overlap. The Arc is at the head of the Champs Elysees so don't make a Champs stop and an Arc stop.

If you aren't going up the ET then you will see it on the Seine cruise and on that first evening. So not point in doing that again on Tuesday.

HoHO buses are not transportation - -they are slow, you wait forever for the next one. Use the metro and walk to get quickly from place to place. For Montmartre -- go to Lamarck Caulaincourt. Walk up to Caulaincourt (up the stairs above the metro entrance or go to the right up a gradual slop and turn right) Walk up a block or two and cross the street and walk up Avenue Junot. Great architecture, gradual slope. At the top is the little square with the statue of the man walking through the wall -- which is a good photo op. At that point you can proceed to Place du Tertre (my personal candidate for tourist hell, but YMMV) or you can head down the steep hill to the Vineyard and then turn right and walk down the pretty street to Sacre Coeur and then wak along the church to the front steps with the great view over Paris.

The d'Orsay is a lot after the energy required for Versailles but you do what you can with the time you have.

but bag the HOHO and organize your stops to avoid overlap.

Your itinerary is busy, but nothing in it ishould be overwhelming to accomplish. However, I agree that it is not the most efficient way to connect your dots, and I also would recommend skipping the hoho bus (I had trouble staying awake as the bus sat endlessly in Paris traffic). On the first full day of our very first trip to Europe (we’ve now done 22), my wife and I did a full day bike tour of Versailles and still got back to Paris on the RER in plenty of time for a Seine dinner cruise in the evening. If your tour is just a half day, you’ll have lots of time for the Musee D’Orsay. I don’t know when you are planning to travel, but Norte Dame remains closed until at least December, so a visit there is just a walk-past, and can be combined with walking around in the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germaine or the Marais. Your Thursday walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe you will walk straight down the Champs Élysées, so no need for a hoho bus to see the Champs. The only problem I see with your Thursday plan is that you may be finished both the Louvre and Arc way before late afternoon/evening, so plan a nice two hour Parisienne lunch along the way.

Paris is easy to get around in on foot, but it’s even easier to hop from one area to another by Metro. If you’re staying near the Eiffel Tower, save yourself some time by riding a few stops at the start and/or end of your day. Before you go, familiarize yourself with the Paris Metro system. The YouTube channel by “Les Frenchies” has a good tutorial on buying tickets - https://youtu.be/_aHzrKnutAU?si=jwfiLgun17cMRr9s - as well as loads of other videos on Paris.

New Traveler,
I may be wrong, but I believe the walk from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe is uphill, gradual, but long. Okay for the young and fit, but I would reverse the walk. And, as others have said, Versailles really takes a whole day, unless you want to rush through the palace and not see the gardens or hameau or trianons. Save the Orsay for a different day. However, a Seine cruise after Versailles would fit very well.
Have fun!

Orsay is open until 945 on Thursdays.... last entry at 9. You can maybe fit it in if you really want to on Thursday.

Thanks so much for all the responses. Revisiting and finalizing the itinerary based on all the suggestions!