joining a tour for partial days

I don't believe that is possible, since the Rick Steves tours are all booked as a package tour, not a partial one. However, the definitive answer would come to you if you call or email the Rick Steves travel office.

Rick does offer Best of Paris tours which run Sun-Sat or sometimes Mon-Sun, but it looks like all the ones in October are filled except the Oct 19 start date which is on sale right now.

Patricia and Pam have you on the right track. We don't book partial stays on the longer tours but do have one-week tours available for specific dates. You also could put your names on a waiting list, in case of cancellations. Every one books their own flight arrivals, so you're not different from other tour members in that respect. http://www.ricksteves.com/tours/france/paris

If you can't join a RS tour at this point, you can still get a lot of guiding and info from Paris Walks. Many on this board would recommend them. No reservations needed, just show up when and where indicated.

Thank you all for your feedback. We are in great shape now and are developing our trip details. Using all the positive resources here at RSE is terrific. Cheers.