In 28 days I will have 12 hours in Paris!

Amy, I know you want to see as much as you can, but Notre Dame, Sainte .Chapelle, and the Louvre in less than 12 Hours? I say less than 12 hours because you have booked the Tour Eiffel and there goes a couple of hours at least. You also need to take time to eat and find toilets, plus you need to get back to Gare du Nord with plenty of time to board or you will be looking for a hotel room. It seems to me you will have at most 8.5 Hours. Maybe choose smaller museums, such as the Jacquemart-Andre, or the Nissim Camondo, or the Musee de Montmartre. You could also take bus rides on the No 42 or 69, both great for sightseeing. Buy your bus tickets (or a one-day Mobils pass) at the Gare du Nord when you arrive.

Anyway, all very exciting and .i hope it all works out for you!

Monday? Ouch! So much is closed on Monday, but there are so many wonderful ways to spend your limited time. Strictly speaking for myself, I would start with breakfast at Les Deux Magots (opens at 7:30) then head to Les Invalides (a great place to pick up your "pass") and say "hi" to Napoleon. From there stroll over to the Louvre and bypass all the people who don't have a pass and check out the biggies, as noted in your RS book. Still in the museum mode? Head to Centre Pompidou which opens at 11am. There are several nice lunch spots in that beautiful neighborhood. If you'd rather shop, all the major department stores (like Galeries Lafayette) are open. For the off-the-beaten-path shopping experience there is the St.-Ouen flea market which is open on Mondays. For a street market experience, I prefer rue Montorgueil. Rue Cler is okay, but it doesn't have Patisserie Stohrer!
I hope you have a great time!!!

For me, a trip to Paris is not complete without a Seine cruise ... which you can pick up from the Eiffel Tower area or at Pont Neuf near Notre Dame. Or at least a short stroll along the river. No ticket needed for visiting the church of Notre Dame, and you wouldn't have time to wait in the long line to climb the tower.
Don't try to see everything, just soak up being in Paris!

It appears these are your timings ...
Arrives 09:32 on Mon, 30 Jan
Departs 21:13 on Mon, 30 Jan

I would break the day in to blocks ...
1000-1200 Notre Dame
1200-1300 Seine River Cruise (Vedettes du Pont Neuf)
1300-1500 Louvre (have lunch in one of the cafes)
1500-1700 Right Bank Walk (this is 5-6km and takes approx 2 hours with short photo stops)
Pyramid du Louvre >> Orangerie >> Tuileries Gardens >> Place Vendome >> Opera >> Madeleine >> Place de la Concorde >> Grand+Petit Palais >> Pont Alexandre III >> Invalides (Dome Church)
1700-1900 Eiffel Tower
1900-2000 Arc de Triomphe (as a quick stop while returning to Gare du Nord)

You all are amazing! I love your ideas and feedback! Some day I will return to Paris and have long days to explore. More than anything I don't want to waste a moment in line for tickets since every second will be precious. At the end of January will there be lines? I guess the Louvre is my main concern. If I only have 2 hours there I don't want to spend 30 minutes waiting to get a ticket. Should I get the 2 day museum pass? Buy tickets online?

Regarding the Louvre -- figure out what it is you want to see there and whether two hours (including a half hour getting lunch) is enough, or too little or too much. And worth two hours of your very limited time that day. Timed online ticket is €17 and per postings from others it gets you in faster than a $75 museum pass.

A lot depends on the weather, as well -- cruise and walk are wonderful on a beautiful day, but if it's rainy the inside of a museum may be a better bet.

There won't be a wait to get into the Louvre in January. There may be a few people at the Pyramid entrance, but not enough to avoid it. The Carousel entrance should be clear.

Besides your stated interest in a quick visit to the Louvre, I really don't think you will have time for anything else in terms of a Paris Museum Pass, unless you want to miss Notre Dame, for example. The Orangerie, Invalides, Arc de Triomphe would be possibilities, but it really depends on how your time pans out.

Monday? Sunset's at 5.45 so you'll be on the Eiffel Tower then. Be sure to allow time for the security check.

There probably won't be a long security line for the Louvre if you go to the Carousel entrance, but you may want to spend the money on a timed entry to make sure you don't have a wait. A good way to visit is to follow a thematic trail (self-guided tour) - look for them on their website. I did the Palace to Museum tour which took me past all the highlights. The audio guide is good - use a driver's license for photo ID and remember which kiosk you took the guides from so you know where to return them and redeem your ID.

You won't avoid the security line at Sainte-Chapelle or to climb the Notre Dame tower (no ticket for the cathedral itself), so the Pass isn't worth it, even if you buy don't by the Louvre tickets in advance.

Les Vedettes du Pont Neuf are a good company for a Seine cruise. You can buy online (anytime) tickets a few days ahead of time - once you have an idea of the weather - and save a few euro. They dock very close to Sainte-Chapelle.

I'd plan on using the metro a lot, since it's faster than surface transportation during the day. Pick up a carnet of 10 tickets at the Gare du Nord. You may want to plan on a taxi back to the train station and allow at least a half hour for security and immigration (yes, you go through immigration in and out of Paris).

I think your plan of the walking tour, seeing the highlights at the Louvre & the Eiffel Tower visit are about all you will have time for, considering you will need to block out some time to eat as well as your transportation time. I wouldn't bother with the museum pass. Relax and enjoy the time in beautiful Paris rather than scurrying around to check things off a list.

1. do not go to the top of the tower--the view's the same on level 2.
2. one can spend a month in the Louvre. It houses so many masterpieces that you're going to have trouble selecting the few you want given your time limitations. Perhaps Musee d' Orsay would be a better choice. It's right across the river.
3. Notre Dame and St. Chapelle are interesting and fit in with a boat tour that is cheap and informative and timely.
4. enjoy lunch at a cafe.
5. you really don't have time for much else, but it will be enough to whet your appetite for a longer visit. I've been to Paris 4 times for a total of one month and still haven't seen it all.