Leaving to Paris in a week. What to book in advance?

First, get the RS Paris book and read it. It will give you a wealth of information. I have been to Paris several times and there are no major museums or any that I know of in Paris to book in advance. Rome and Florence have some museums that you need to reserve but not Paris. My suggestion if you intend to go to several museums would be to buy the Museum Pass when you arrive in Paris and date it the day you are going to a museum that takes the pass. Do not date it, if you are not going that day to a musuem. RS has more detailed instructions on this.
I like to going to the The Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum) is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. It is served by Paris Métro stations Invalides, Varenne, and La Tour-Maubourg. This is where Napoleon's tomb is and a must see. I find this to be a great place to buy your museum pass. There are other places to buy the pass, but if you are going to a museum this is a good place to start. Rodin museum is right across the street. Don't buy it at the Lourve or the D'Orsay ( which are both must see museums) as the lines are too long.

Paris is always crowded, so having a game plan and knowing where you are going and look at a map to map out the places near each other is important. Do make reservartions for places to eat as soon as possible because most restaurants are small. You can ask your hotel to make reservations for you in advance. Do make reservations for Sunday night dinners because many restaurants are closed on a Sunday night. You can go on restaurant websites and make reservations sometimes. I learned that the hard way and had to scramble to find a nice place, which I did and it is a keeper.

You don't choose a specific time slot and print out tickets for the museums, again that does happen for a few museums in Rome and Florence but not Paris. The museum pass is very important to have, it allows you to skip the main line but no timed tickets.

There is tons of places to see in Paris, Notre Dame, all the museums, Monet's Gardens (outside of Paris). Read the guide book, pm me if you have more specific questions. Don't wing things as you will wait in long lines. Did you make your Eiffel Tower reservations, that is important. I could go on and on about all the museums and sights and walking about Paris and the restuaurants and shops and the Shopping Passages and the Seine River boat ride and how lovely Paris is. Palace of Versailles,
Must go to Palace of Versailles which is covered by the museum pass.

I have not done this, but if you are in Paris two weeks, check out places to go outside of Paris, the RS Paris guide book as a section of where to go and how to get there including Monet's Gardens and some churches and Chateaus (castles) right outside of Paris. that look wonderful http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr Musee Fountainebleau is a castle that is supposed to amazing. There are others right outside Paris. Have a wonderful and safe trip. Take some time and plan out your days, things happen during the day, but at least you will know where you want to go to first thing in the morning and you will know what is nearby and you will have a more structured day with room for things to see as you are passing by. Have a fun time.

You can book a specific time slot for the Louvre and print out a ticket; I am not sure if you can do that for the Orsay. With a two week visit (great time for a first visit) I would not bother with a Museum Pass. I would however be sure to have a ticket ahead for the Orsay and for Versailles. Get a ticket for the Orsay that also includes one for the Orangerie. You can pick those up at a FNAC store (get an anytime ticket) Or you could get a 6 day Museum Pass and bunch up museum going in one week. Some Museums have special security entrance for ticket/pass holders: this is important at the Orsay and useful at the Louvre, Orangerie and some others.

It is too late to book the Eiffel Tower if you haven't already done it. If there is a restaurant you particularly want to visit, try to book that now although it is too late for highly sought after restaurants. For ordinary neighborhood places a day in advance usually suffices or a few days for popular but not iconic places like Dumonet Chez Josephing or La Cordonnerie.

With two weeks plane to do a couple of day trips; here are a few:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/day-trips-from-paris/
Other great trips include Chartres (do the Malcolm Miller lecture if he is working that day); Versailles; Auvers sur Oise where Van Gogh lived out his life; Rouen. There are dozens within an hour or so by train in Paris. One I would not miss and it is on the Paris metro so not even really a 'day trip' is Basilica St. Denis. This is where the Kings of France were buried (they were dug up and trashed during the revolution) and is the first gothic church in Europe. During the revolution the kings were trashed but their stunning tombs were preserved by a revolutionary who understood what great art they were; IMHO the most overlooked great site in Paris (just over the border but on the metro.)

Get a Navigo Decouverte -- this is the most cost effective transport and is a nice option during a time when weather is likely to be rainy since you won't hesitate to jump on a bus for a short stint if it is pouring. These run Mon-Sun of a week and the card is 5 Euro and the charge will take you anywhere in all 5 zones of the Ile du France including to CDG for about 22 Euro per week. Bring a postage size head shot; you can just print it on your printer; 25/30 mm.

Thanks Ann for the tip to buy the pass at the Army Museum. It's one of the things I'm planning to see whole in Paris.

I DID download the RS guide, and Rick suggests to book your ticket online if I'm you're not gonna buy a museum pass. But booking online requires picking a time slot for your visit, which isn't very convenient.

I'm trying to decide whether I should buy two 6-day passes or use online booking.
I want to make the most of my time by hitting museums only when it's raining, and doing day trips (Versailles and Giverny) on sunny days.

Thanks Janet. I will make sure to check out St Denis Basilica.

Fortunately, there are still a few tickets available for the Eiffel Tower on the 27th and 28th

I'd grab the Eiffel tickets. The downside is that you get what you get in terms of weather; we had October 5 and it was the only day we were in Paris where it absolutely poured all day and evening. We went anyway -- it was cool --but a little less wet would have been nice.

I don't think a Museum Pass is necessary for lines but if you don't then get tickets for the Orsay and Versailles -- but you don't need to buy timed tickets. You can get tickets for the Orsay that are good any time for a year. Get a bunch of such tickets at a FNAC ticket counter once you are in Paris. I have been to the louvre a couple dozen times and only had a line of any significance once. We just don't enter at the Pyramid. Unfortunately with heightened security concerns I believe they have closed some of the entrances and the Caroussel entrance is now better known and so there may be security lines there as well. In April I doubt they will be significant enough to worry about. Buying Louvre tickets from the many machines under the Pyramid is quick and easy. At Versailles you still stand in the security line so get there half an hour or more before the chateau opens and you won't have too much longer a wait; you skip the ticket line inside.

I am glad that I could be of help. Yes, if the Eiffel Tickets are still available, buy them. If not, if you are in the area see how the lines are and you could still go to the top without a timed ticket. Worth going to see the Eiffel tower even if you don't go up to the top. But you know that already. You can decide if you want to buy two museum passes when you are in Paris. Great that you downloaded the guide book.

Take a look at the Paris week long tour and you will see how the Paris tour plans out the days and you can get ideas of what to see and do.

I've decided to buy a museum pass for the first week, and see the sights that aren't covered by the pass on the second week, such as Eiffel Tower, Palais Garnier, Musée Marmottan, and Musée Jacquemart-André.

After having tallied up the entry fees, I found the pass to be of great value.

Thanks everyone for your tips.

Hi, glad you decided to purchase a Paris Museum Pass. I think it's a great deal and it allows you to pop into places that you might not normally visit if you had to pay for a regular ticket. Also, many museums/sites have a café where you can stop in for a drink or snack and/or a rest room break. Check out the website for the Pass and you can see what's covered in each neighborhood. Plan what you want to see to make the most of your time.

I'm not aware of many things that need advance reservations, maybe the Opera or a guided tour of something, but not much else. Grab the Eiffel Tower tickets! Hope you have a great time in Paris!