Historic walk by Rick Steves

Anyone with half-decent attire can walk into Notre Dame anytime it is open.
If you are near there and it is a sunny day, St. Chapelle church 2 blocks away is a Must See with its famous stained glass windows.

I don't like the term "must see" because it depends on the person. The Louvre is Must See if you love art, but a waste of time if you hate art.

Are you arriving from Tex. on an overnight flight?

I do not know what audio tour covers, but after an over night flight a 'flexible' plan without big expectations is the order of the day.

I have done RS audio tours in Italy and found them to be well done, just not right after getting off an airplane

Thanks for information. We thought a walk through the city with no rush to get a feel of Paris might be a nice intro! Plan to retire early! If line is too long we could do next day!

I've been to the places on the RS "Historic Paris" walk, though without the sound of his voice in my ear. Notre Dame is well worth visiting, almost always open, and surrounded by beautiful and historic buildings and vistas. Spending your introductory jet-lagged day walking along the Seine would be a fine introduction to the city. Do try to stay outside, mostly, and keep moving, mostly, until your early dinner and bedtime.

I have the impression that you will have only this one day -- Monday -- in Paris. If so, then the prescribed walk would be as good a choice as any. If that's just the first day of a multi-day stay, then you're lucky enough to have a lot more choices.

EDIT -- Wrong again, I should have read your last post more closely, apparently you have more than one day. Don't worry about the line into Notre Dame, it moves fast. Going up to the towers would be another story, probably best left to a later day when you can get there early.

Yes, the line for the cathedral itself, not the towers, can be very long. But if you watch for a minute, you'll see that it's moving at walking speed. And even with all of those people, there's still room inside to find a quiet moment.

Must sees-

St Chapelle for stained glass windows.
Arc de Triomphe-for the views. It's a climb but IMO, the views from the Arc are just as nice as the Eiffel Tower without the crowds, I liked looking at the Eiffel Tower from the outside.
I thought the Louvre was interesting but for me it was the lower level with the foundation of the building and the Egyptian art. Couldn't get near the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa was a bit underwhelming.

For your first day in Paris, you are likely to be tired from jet lag, so staying outdoors and on the move is best to combat jet lag. Taking a walking tour, whether it is using the RS audio tour or taking a more formal tour is a good way to use your first day. Since you will be in Paris for more than one day, I would avoid seeing a musuem, at least for me, it is too much for a jet lagged brain.

Have a great trip,
Sandy

You could also take a Seine River cruise if you're not afraid of going to sleep. You may also want to be aware that you can get tickets for a concert at Sainte Chapelle. I had been to Paris 3 times before I found out about the concerts.

If you want a great view of Notre Dame you might consider going up to the roof terrace of the Institut du monde arabe https://www.imarabe.org/en/architecture

It's a wonderful modern building on the banks of the Seine, with lots of fascinating art from the islamic world, but also fantastic views across Paris. I never really understand why people climb to the top of Notre Dame or the Arc du Triomphe, when you can get better views of both from other vantage points.

Another good view point is the balcony/terrace of the Musee d'Orsay. Superb views across Paris including Sacre Coeur.

You could also think about the Bateau Bus (a much more convivial atmosphere than the over priced, noisy Bateau Mouches). http://www.batobus.com/en.html

I like Rick’s historic Paris walk. We did it by book, not audio, and we skipped some interiors on our initial walk just to stay outdoors, enjoy the weather, and get a feel,for where we wanted to return. Do stop for a coffee now and then, don’t push yourselves. We find an hour’s nap (set an alarm) about 5pm on arrival day allows us to function through dinner, stay up until 9pm, and not be too wiped when we invariably wake up about 4am the next day.