Help with itinerary please

Perhaps it's making you a little crazy because you are trying to cram a great number of activities into your time.

Wouldn't you enjoy Paris more if you wake up each morning and, over a breakfast of cafe au lait and croissants, you and your friend look at your guide book together and discuss what you would like to do today?

All of Paris is a great big museum. You don't have to rush from place to place to have an authentic and wonderful Paris experience. In fact, I think if you do that, you will miss out on the authentic experience.

I'm not suggesting you do that every day of your trip. It's certainly fine to have some days planned out (as you already do). But leave your days open and fill them as the mood strikes you. Maybe you'll just want to sit in a cafe and watch the world go buy. What a great time you could have doing that!

Enjoy!

I usually make better use of the morning if I have a plan set by the night before. I often leave my afternoon more flexible, in case I get tired or run into something unexpected, but with a list of options in the neighborhood, as you have. It sounds like the items you have question marks about are those that are lesser priorities and your attitude toward them may change as you go, or they may get pushed aside if a higher priority did not get accomplished on the day scheduled. Fitting the Orangerie together with the nearby Louvre or Orsay makes sense for using the Paris Museum Pass and minimizing distances. However, if I'm happily exploring the Louvre and still have any foot stamina left at all, I'm more likely to stay in the Louvre (huge) than to move on to another museum.

First of all, plan to buy the Navigo passes (good for unlimited travel on metro and buses) to use from Monday morning to Sunday. It even includes the RER to CDG if that's relevant. It does include the RER to Versailles.

When I plan a trip to Paris, I make a list (I use a spreadsheet) of all the sights I want to see (always many more than I can manage). I note the days and hours and the arrondissement. Sorting by arrondissement makes it easy to group them geographically (look at the zip codes - the last 2 digits are the arron. number). Many of the sights are open one or two evenings a week, some are open late every evening.

It may be good to buy the 4-day or 6-day Museum Pass. The pro rata daily price drops for the longer passes and even if you break even, you come out ahead because you save some time (even buying tickets without a long line can take time) and you can pop in to a sight without stopping to consider if it's worth the entrance fee - and you can leave without seeing it all, no regrets at "not getting your money's worth."

Check the Giverny website. It may be too early in the year for the gardens. I wouldn't schlep out there, even on a tour, unless the gardens were going to be beautiful.

Go to a concert at Sainte-Chapelle instead of visiting during the day. Be flexible with your days - if you've planned an "indoor" day and you have a warm sunny day, don't waste it in buildings. If you have an outdoor day and lousy weather, have a back-up plan.

Don't use all your time visiting sights. Take a walk or two with Paris Walks and/or Paris Greeters.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will buy a museum pass but I'm wondering if I should get a 4-day or 6-day. Should I buy it on Sunday?

The following groupings of sights work well given their proximity, opening times and the days you have available.
Buy a 6 day PMP to give you maximum flexibility - Sunday to Friday.
">>" ... indicates a short walk to your next sight.
I am assuming Versailles entry etc is included in your booked tour.

Saturday –
Arrive 11am, checkin to hotel
Sacre Coeur & Montmartre

Sunday –
Rodin Museum >> Invalides >> Pont Alexandre III >> Grand+Petit Palais >> Champs Elysees >> Arc de Triomphe
Seine River Cruise in evening

Monday –
Towers of ND >> Notre Dame >> Ile St Louis >> Place des Vosges >> Marais >> Pompidou (closes 9pm)

Tuesday –
Pont Neuf >> Saint Chapelle >> Conciergerie >> Hotel de Ville >> Picasso Museum >> Carnavalet Museum
Notre Dame concert in evening

Wednesday –
Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Quai Branly Museum
Eiffel Tour at 5pm

Thursday –
Musee Cluny >> Sorbonne >> Pantheon >> Jardin de Luxembourg >> St Sulpice >> Delacroix Museum >> St Germain de Pres >> Musee d’Orsay (closes 9.45pm)

Friday –
Jacquemart-Andre Museum
Place de la Concorde >> Madeleine >> Opera >> Place Vendome >> Tuileries Gardens >> Orangerie >> Pyramid du Louvre >> Palais Royal >> Louvre (closes 9.45pm)

Saturday - Giverny/Versailles

I prefer an approach between having everything planned and nothing planned. I pick two major sights per day - one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Then, I fill in the remaining time as it works out on the fly. Chani's method, of grouping things by location, is good to use for your "fill-ins."

I also like the idea of figuring out what you can do at night instead of by day (late museum openings, Seine cruise, concerts, movies).

If you're on the fence about the 4 day vs. the 6 day pass, figure out how many covered and non-covered sights are must sees for you. The point about the per day cost going down with longer passes is important, but if you're seeing a lot of non-covered things (like your Monday activities list), you may do better with a shorter pass.

To clarify, you can buy the pass any time in Paris. The countdown begins with your first use, when you write in the date you start. The 6-day pass at €74 is €12 more than the 4-day pass at €62.

Make sure you are looking at the Paris Museum Pass here

David - that is quite an itinerary! Thanks for taking the time to do that.
Harold - I agree with you. I had an itinerary when I was in Rome and Florence so I wouldn't miss opening times and closed days but I was still able to be flexible. My feet tired very quickly. :)
Chani - Thanks. I was just wondering which is the best day to start my first use of the card.

This message board has been SO helpful. Since this is my 2nd trip to Paris, I had planned to skip the museums and sites I had previously visited and focus on lesser-known sites. I had planned to stay in small, boutique hotel. But now with my friend deciding to come along, having never been to Paris, we are seeing all the sites again and using points to stay in the Hilton Opera. So... my trip has changed entirely. But I'm really looking forward to it!

After multiple 1-2 week visits, there are still places on my list I haven't seen. And there are places I go back to again and again.

Once you narrow down and organize your choices, it should be pretty easy to figure out which days you want the pass. Note that for an additional €12 each, you can have 6-day passes and not be stressed. Think of the pass as a convenience, not a money-saver. And know where it will save you time and where it won't. If you walk passed Sainte-Chapelle and there's only a short line, pop in. Otherwise, buy tickets to a concert there, arrive when the doors open and you'll have lots of time to walk around and take photos of the stained glass windows, then continue to enjoy them during the concert. Binoculars are very useful. There's a separate security entrance at the Orsay. Use the Carousel entrance for the Louvre.

The Jacquemart-Andre is not included in the pass, but the Nissim Camondo is. Different, but it will still give you a good look at a wealthy collector's home.

Thanks, Chani, for your suggestions. I agree that the 6-day pass may be the best bet.

Does anyone know if there are already crowds in Paris the last week in March?

No one can tell. It's Easter week so there will be more vacationers than usual for March, though perhaps less than usual for Easter. It's possible that security concerns may keep significant numbers of people from traveling. There are always lots of tourists in Paris, but many more in summer than spring. Don't worry, even when it's very busy, it's still Paris and still wonderful.