Itinerary help for Paris desperately needed

I have really enjoyed the YouTube channel Les Frenchies. They have a LOT of content for visiting Paris, including recommended places to eat and shop. https://www.youtube.com/@LesFrenchiesTravel

I have watched many of their videos. They definitely helped with WHAT we want to see, but not what order to do them in.

I think you have to select your most important site & go there first thing in the morning when they open. Then proceed to other sites that are close by.
For example, you could go to the Eiffel Tower in the morning on your first day. You might need timed tickets to go to the top. From there you’re close to Arc d’triumph & Rue de Cler.

I did Musee d’Orsay in the afternoon around 3 pm. I had a timed ticket. It took me about 2 hrs.

Your second morning you could do Montmartre & Sacre Cour (same area). From there, you could take the metro to your afternoon destination.

Notre Dame doesn’t require advanced tickets as the line moves fairly quickly so you can pop over there whenever it’s convenient.

The concert and the scenic cruise are in the evening so just fit them in whenever you want to.

I would try to group things by location. Get on Google Map & plot out where everything is.

I love the Relais Bosquet and stay there every year. You can mark “seeing Rue Cler” off the to-do list because you’ll undoubtedly be walking up and down the street every evening when you are going to dinner. Three of my favorite places are Cafe Central, Le Petit Cler and Cafe Roussillon. If you want good Italian I recommend Di Felice on Rue de Grenelle about a block east of Rue Cler.

Here is one way to group things, others will have suggestions too.

Musee d’Orsay/Arc de Triomphe/Eiffel Tower/maybe a seine cruise this night from one of the boats that leaves from the ET area

Montmartre/Sacre Coeur/

Opera Garnier/food tour (no suggestions as that’s not my thing)

Notre Dame/Sainte-Chapelle during the day time. Maybe a walk thru Ile de la Cite where they are located. I like to pick up a sandwich from a bakery on Rue d’Arcole which dead ends into Notre Dame and take it to the small park at the west end of the island called Square du Vert Galant. It’s fun to watch the boats go by. One of the cruise boats leaves from here as well.

Seine Cruise or concert can be done any night that works

I see the planning difficulty and will explain. But you'll be fine. Several activites are easy to group. And, Paris is easy to cross from site to site.

Keep in mind which sites have daytime only opening and closing hours and which sites have evening hours. You can build around that.
These have longer or extra open hours:
Eiffel Tower closes at 12:45 am
Montmartre neighborhood
Rue Cler
Arch de Triomphe open 24 hours
Musée d'Orsay open Thursday evenings

Your activities with daytime hours are--Notre Dame, Musée d'Orsay, Sacre Coeur, Opera Garnier, food tour

Your activites with a fixed entry and that sell out quickly in descending order: Eiffel Tower, food tour, Saint Chapelle concert, Opera Garnier

Start your plan by buying the difficult tickets first, Build everything else around the inflexible tickets.

Group: Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle daytime visit, and Shakespeare bookstore together. They are adjacent. You'll still have plenty of free time for something else that day/evening.

Opera Garnier (which is next to the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps stores for shopping), Sacre Coeur, which is on Montmartre, and other wandering on Montmartre. Have a meal on Montmartre. You'll still have evening time.

Musée d'Orsay (closed on Mondays), and ET, or Arc, or. Again, you'll still have free time.

Food tour on another day.

Evening activities: cruise, concert

Everything else is flexible.

As tickets go on sale next year, you'll be able to fill it all in.

Elisabeth is giving good advice. I'd do things a little different, but not much.

The Musee d'Orsay is one of my favorite museums, and I've never spent less than 6 hours inside at a time. I like to actually look at the displays and read the placards. If there's a special exhibit you want to see buy your tickets for that, they will include entry to the rest of the museum. And I ALWAYS try to be in the first group to enter; this is my entire focus for that day.

It's going to be June, so the days are long. If you take the Metro to the Arc d' Triumph and the walk down the Ave. Kleber you can do your shopping, stop and people watch, etc. It leads to the Trocadero, and from there you can visit the Eiffel Tower. This is easy to do in an afternoon/evening.

Shakespeare and Co. is one of the places that tourists have ruined. As someone who actually reads, and while living in Europe finds bookstores with a significant volume of English titles rare you'd think I'd be happy to visit. But the lines go out the door, and the vast majority aren't going in for a book, they're checking off another "must do" on the list. There are a number of better bookstores within easy walking distance that actually sell books, not trinkets, bags, and souvenirs. Don't bother.

That’s interesting, and sad, about the bookstore. My husband loves to read and loves bookstores, and he was looking forward to it. But we will definitely find some smaller ones that are more our speed. If you could suggest any, that would be great. Also, are there any stationary stores around? He loves getting new pens or new leather journals and stuff like that.

You could combine Montmartre with an Eating Paris food tour (remember to enter RICKSTEVES for a discount when you book). Our guide was great and taught us a lot about the history of Montmartre as well as about the food. We got to try a lot of food — no need for lunch! We got there early and were able to walk around without any crowds. Our tour started at 10:30 and lasted about 3 hours. The tour ends at Sacre Coeur. So you could go there in the afternoon. I’m not sure whether you can get timed tickets but you might want to if possible because the line is long.

I didn’t know Opera Garnier will be under construction so this might not be an option, but we paid a little extra for the “Mysteries” tour that takes place after the opera house is closed for the day and I’m SO glad we did! No crowds! You can take in the grandeur of the staircase and foyer (and get amazing photos since there won’t be anyone there) and get to spend a good amount of time in the auditorium and box seats. I think the tour starts at five or 5:30.

Near to Shakespeare and Co is The Abbey, which is a really good bookstore. And over by Place d' Concorde is Smith and Sons, which is an English chain and I never leave there without something to read. Pick up something there and then go sit in the Tuileries and people watch; I do.

Smith and Sons will have some stationary, but near the Notre Dame look for Grimart.

And since most of the guys I know who collect pens also are into pocket knives go visit Laguiole en Aubrac, the last true craftman cutlery shop in Paris.

Regarding bookstores: We found The Red Wheelbarrow, an independent bookstore near the Luxembourg Gardens at 11 Rue de Medicis, that I would also recommend. It's small but the area is lovely. They have a second store two doors down for children's books.

https://theredwheelbarrowbookstore.com/

Regarding bookstores: We found The Red Wheelbarrow, an independent bookstore near the Luxembourg Gardens at 11 Rue de Medicis, that I would also recommend. It's small but the area is lovely. They have a second store two doors down for children's books.

Oh yes, I've been there! I stayed at a friend's apartment just a few doors down from there on one of my trips. Nice area of town.

“Also, are there any stationary stores around? He loves getting new pens or new leather journals and stuff like that.”

Oh gosh, there is a good stationery store near Relais Bosquet. It’s packed with stuff! I got some very cool art supplies (Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water soluable crayons) there time before last, lol. It’s the Papeterie de l’Ecole Militaire and is right next to the Ecole Militaire Metro Entrance.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3mJQUT17RG7KaNiW8

BTW this is what I would call a local-focused store. While they do have postcards in racks outside, inside it feels much more like their inventory is to appeal to folks who live in the area, if that makes sense.

What helps me plan my days is to take a map, mark the sites I want to see & the hotel I'm staying at & then sometimes the closest metro line near them. Then I group the sites together that show to be close on the map. Finally, I make the timed reservations needed to ensure I can get in on the day I planned. By doing it in steps it really helps me make the most efficient use of my time.

Laurie Beth gives good advice. We plan the same way, whether Paris or any other city.
Enjoy the wonderful city of Paris!