Help with night and day

An evening cruise on the Seine might be a nice first evening.

My choice for daytime would be the louvre, particularly since it's on your list of two items. Perhaps, if you're concerned about museum burnout, schedule a small-group tour. I've used Context Paris to do a 3-hour highlights tour through the Italian Renaissance collection of the museum. It was amazing – there were only three of us in the group, and the guide was a PhD-level art historian who worked as a collection manager at the Louvre. He did a great job of adapting the tour to our interests. That type of tour would leave you with half a day to see other sites.

Regarding your other interest, the Eiffel Tower, I can't really comment – I've only seen it through the windows at the Louvre and in other distance views. However, that was enough for me.

Seconding the Seine cruise at night -- you can see the Eiffel Tower and buildings lit up. Relaxing hour.

The Champs Elysee gets a really bad rap - kind of. If you ignore the crappy retail chain stores and over-priced cafes with waiters with bad attitudes it still is one of the Grand Boulevards of Paris. I think any visitor to Paris should do it at least once - start at the Arc de Triomphe and go all the way through Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries to the Louvre.

Unless you have your tickets already for the Eiffel Tower I would not not spend a couple of hours in line to go to the top.

Big Bus Tours is HOHO by day until about 9pm and has a night tour as well - not HOHO just a once around.

Bike tours or Segway tours are also another great way to see the city.

Walk around the Ile St. Louis

Search this forum for Paris restaurants - lots of great ideas.

Don't forget to take some time to just "be" in Paris!

In Gare du Nord follow the signs to metro line 2 - there is a passage that connects La Chapelle to Gare du Nord - take the M2 direction Porte Dauphine to the Charles de Gaulle Etoile stop - exit the side opposite the Arc de Triomphe - your hotel is on the street two streets clockwise from the exit

I find the Champs Elysees a tedious place filled with big box chain stores and auto dealers -- but a stroll from Concord towards the Arc du Triomphe at night might be pleasant -- especially if you take this detour. When you get to the Grand Palais (giant building with glass roof at Clemenceau metro stop) turn left and walk across the Seine on Pont Alexandre. This is the ornate bridge from Midnight in Paris. Time it for the top of the hour when the Eiffel Tower twinkles for 5 minutes. You have gorgeous views of the Tower, Invalides and its illuminated golden dome, and back towards the Grand and Petit Palais with their illuminated glass roofs.

A Seine cruise could be a great way to enjoy that first evening as well. And a walk around Notre Dame at night is lovely.

IN any case, if the weather is decent I'd be out and walking around as Paris is lovely at night and this is YOUR one night.

To find the route from Gare du Nord, just go to Google maps, enter Gare du Nord; once you get the map showing the location, enter your hotel name and it'll give you the route including which Metro line to take.

A walk on the Champs is OK. Personally, I'd take the Metro from Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadero stop just across the Seine from Le Tour. Gaze at it and take in the feeling that you're in PARIS!!! Cross the bridge and, if you've chosen to do so, visit Le Tour. If not, just walk down the Champ de Mars and slowly make your way to Rue Cler. Perhaps sitting outside at the Cafe du Marche and just taking it all in and enjoying a moderately priced bistro meal. From here, you can easily walk to the Seine for a night-time cruise but please don't take a dinner cruise.

What a shame only an evening and a day in the City of Light. Definitely visit Notre Dame and also Sainte Chappelle which is a few steps away. Check Rick's guide book and apps for excellent walking tours and downloadable tours of historic Paris, the Louvre and the Orsay.

I'll be returning to Paris in November for visit #6. Bon journee!

Leave enough time to just sit outside at a restaurant with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and watch the world go by.

I agree that seeing the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero, going up in the Arc de Triomphe for the views, and taking a Seine cruise are all great activities. They are great day or night (and different enough that I enjoy doing them both ways, even on the same trip), and if you really wanted to, you could do all three in one night! And walking around Paris at night is great, but the Champs-Elysees is just meh. Janet's suggested route with the Pont Des Arts is a great alternative.

You can use www.ratp.fr/en for mass transit directions from Gare du Nord to your hotel. Google mass transit directions for Paris are not great. I would probably take a taxi for your trip unless you are familiar with mass transit and do not have a lot of luggage. If your hotel is the Hotel Cecilia on Avenue Mac-Mahon, you can catch Metro Line 2 to Etoile; to get to Metro LIne 2 from Gare du Nord, you would follow the signs to Metro Line 2's La Chapelle stop.