Need your help in our trip to Paris. Going also to Versailles - how long should I plan to be there?

Add Musee l’Orangerie! It is a small museum largely focused on Monet’s water lily paintings. I go there every time I visit Paris. A gem.
Musee d’ Orsay- filled with the art of the French Impressionists! A do not miss!
Also, include Musee Rodin. His large sculptures including “The Thinker” are in an outdoor gallery. Another must see!
You do not need an extra day for Versailles.One is enough.
I hope your Louvre tour is not all day long! You’ll be exhausted!
What arrondisement of Paris is your hotel located in? Walking around the various Paris neighborhoods is wonderful and one of the best activities especially for a first time visit.
You could do an overnight by train to Normandy to visit the D-Day Beaches if that interested you. Stay in charming Bayeaux. Or take a day trip to Chartres to see the cathedral.

Welcome to the forum!

Here are my thoughts:

Day 1: Do you already have the ET and Madame Brasserie booked? If not, I'd move them to another day. ARe you flying from the US? Many experieice travel tiredness and you might not be able to enjoy a really special restaurant meal this evening. Since you've got a LOT of time, I'd defer this by a day.

Day 2: This looks good but light. I'd probably add the Conciergerie to Sainte-Chapelle as it is right next door. What day of the week is this? you might want to walk over to the flower or bird market by the Cite Metro stop then head to Notre Dame to see it with the scaffold coming down. You can pick up a sandwich at Hure which is right down the street from Notre Dame and eat somewhere facing the Seine or in the park across the river. Any interest in the Crypte Archeologique or the Deportation Memorial? Those are at either end of Notre Dame. Are you attending a performance at Opera Garnier or doing a visit. Boat trip on the Seine?

Day 3: Jardin du Palais Royale will take about 15 minutes. It is quite small and not really as much of a garden as you might think. Are you interested in gardens? If so Jardin des Plantes is excellent as is Luxembourg Gardens. Vivienne Gallery is also fairly small. If you are a shopper you might be able to spend an afternoon here. There are other covered arcades in the area as well. I would have this site in your back pocket for a rainy day. It can be slotted in any time but if the day is lovely, you might consider an outside venue. You could easily move ET and Madame Brasserie today and juggle the other sights around your timing for those things.

Day 4: Looks good. All day in the Louvre is over my max but you might be younger and stronger than I, hahah! DO stop and take breaks at the various food outlets inside the Louvre. A cafe and Croissant about 10, lunch later. I can usually last for 3 hours and then the crowds get to me. If it's nice I head out to the Tuileries, grab a sandwich and drink from the Eric Kayser kiosk right next to the Carroussel Arch and pull up one of the green chairs and people watch. OR I eat lunch in one of the restaurants on their umbrella covered terrasse.

Day 5/6: Are you interested in any other museums? Musee d'Orsay? Orangerie? Cluny (Museum of the Middle Ages)?, Marmottan ( Monet)?

Day 7: I'd plan to spend a full day at Versailles but to me it would not need 2 days

Day 8: Check out Paris Walks (www.paris-walks.com ) to see if any of the walks they offer appeal to you for today or any day.

Day 9: Day trip? Are you interested in Gothic Cathedrals like Chartres? Gardens like Giverny? Champagne tasting at Reims?

Day 10: I'd do museums in Paris today if that is of interest to you. Resistance and Liberation Museum? Army Museum? Catacombs?

Day 11: I'd do another day trip from the ideas mentioned above

Day 12: Finish up any museums and gardens that might be of interest. Maybe a final Paris Walk or a food tour? There is a Julia Child food tour I've got my eye on for next time.

What a terrific amount of time you have!!

It will help others to know what your interests are. What I love about Paris might not be what interests you!

Hi Anabel; welcome to the forum!
A few more we enjoyed to add to your list:
Yes to Suki's suggestion for Musee l’Orangerie
A definite yes also to Musee d’ Orsay
Musée Carnavalet (for the history of Paris)
Musée de Cluny (National Museum of the Middle Ages)
The Conciergerie (near Sainte-Chappelle). Hi Pam!!!
A ramble around both Île de la Cité (where Sainte-Chappelle and Conciergerie are) and Île Saint-Louis
Jardin du Luxembourg
Sacré-Cœur (basilica of the Sacred Heart) and a walk about Montmartre
Montmartre cemetery
Saint-Sulpice Church
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church
Saint-Etienne-du-Monte Church
Saint-Séverin Church
Les Invalides; Dome church and tomb of Napoleon
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Arc de Triomphe
Panthéon
Jardin des Tuileries (when you go to the Louvre). We had good sammies at an outdoor cafe here. Hi again, Pam!!!

We skipped Versailles in favor of more time in Paris but no, you don't need 2 days.
Whether any or all of the above will appeal is entirely up to you so do some reading about them to add to your own wish list or not. I would look at where they're located, the visiting hours, and try to group them by area. Whatever you choose, Paris is such a great city just to wander and gaze!

anabeltorressanchez,
Lucky you to be spending 13 days in Paris! You have some good plans. Going to the Eiffel Tower on arrival day is not the best idea, however. Try that and the special dinner on another day. I concur that Versailles is a one-day trip. Make it a full day. All the museums and churches are worthy of your interest, but don't try to see all of them. I have spent most of a full day in the Louvre, taking frequent breaks to ease my back and overloaded senses. Go for it, but make it a relaxed day with about 3-4 stops for a coffee or snack (and lunch).

Not mentioned, but a visit to one or two of the grand department stores of Paris is a good change of pace. The flagship Galeries Lafayette is just beautiful. The BHV Le Marais has a very cool rooftop bar and lovely facade. It was founded in the 1850s. Also worth checking out for a possible visit are La Samaritaine, and Printemps, where you get a nice view of the Eiffel Tower and Paris rooftops from the store's roof. In the same "shopping" vein, stroll along the left bank of the Seine near the bouquinistes. Classic French!

Yes to Sainte Chapelle and the Cluny Museum, and the Musee Rodin also. The Invalides is interesting, especially their collection of suits of armor. With that, I would stop at Napoleon's Tomb. (The Eiffel Tower, Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb and Musee Rodin are sort of clustered within walking distance of each other, and can make up a one day mini-tour.) Oh yes, if you are at the Rodin Museum at lunchtime, we had a nice and relatively inexpensive lunch at the cafe there. And the Pont Alexandre III is closeby It is one of the loveliest bridges in the world!

Try to find a Paris map that highlights the major attractions to get an idea of distance between places. It will go a long way to making your visit to Paris smooth and free of backtracking.

Bonne chance et bon voyage!

We enjoyed an outdoor lunch at Musee Rodin too.

anabeltorressanchez,
Another suggestion is a day trip to Giverny. Flowers should be lovely in June. You get back to Paris in time to wander along the Seine among the bouquinists (quintessentially Paris!), or stroll in Luxembourg Gardens, or take a Vedettes de Pont Neuf cruise on the river, or have that special dinner.

Just a thought!

Bonne chance et bon voyage!

• Sacre Coeur and St. Pierre Church, just to the west of it, along with a stroll through Montmartre.
• The Marais, along with the Museum of the Art and History of Judaism and the Musee Carnlavet.
  
• Covered Passages of Paris. You could walk four of them in a half day, stopping at galleries, book stores and other shops. We did the Passage Jouffroy, Passage Verdeau, Passage Vivienne and Galerie Colbert as a lovely morning walk. Agree that the Jardins du Palais are nothing special, except as a spot to maybe have a sandwich from a nearby boulangerie before or after walking through a series of passages couvertes.
• Musee Rodin
• Petit Palais, depending on what is showing.
• Musee d’Orsay
• Musee Orangerie
• in and near the 16th Arrondissement: the Maison Balzac, Musee Marmottan Monet and the Bois de Boulogne
• a bicycle tour of Paris
• Along with the Luxembourg gardens as Kathy suggested, wander over to the nearby Pantheon.
• Kathy also mentioned churches, including St. Sulpice. We went there Sunday morning - not for mass, but to hear the organ being played. The gathering of families for a communion service was interesting and enjoyable , as well.
• Pompidou Center (modern art)
• Wander through neighbourhoods.
• Two days for Versailles is too much. One could say Versailles itself is too much. If you want a two day excursion that includes Versailles, go to Versailles and then take an afternoon train on to Chartres and spend the night there. Chartres en Lumieres was stunning. You can tour the inside of the Cathedral the next day. And, drop into the Mediatheque L’Apostrophe, the public library in Chartres before you grab a train back to Paris. It is a remarkable building, designed 100+ years ago by Eiffel and his firm.
• Other day trips: Monet’s gardens at Giverney. Fontainebleau.

Fantastic...you have 4 extra days open for suggestions. Aside from those worthy places suggested above, I would also add going to Fontainebleau, the Chateau de Fontainebleau is older that that in Versailles.

If you're interested in Napoleonic history, Fontainebleau is the site not to be missed. The Napoleonic Museum is ca 35 mins walk from the Chateau.

I went back this last trip in June, hadn't seen it in 5 or 6 years. The Napoleonic historical reenactments take place there based on anniversaries of major French historical events pertaining to Napoleon as is this current year of 2024.

Another thought, is find out when the market near your hotel is going to take place they are delightful to stroll through sometimes buy a little something to munch on, sometimes you can find cute little souvenir type things there as well. Some of the things that I enjoy most that I bought at the market have been dish towels, scarves, some dresses, I even bought a pair of underwear this last time to match a new bra I bought in Paris. But the display of current produce and all the other items on sale is lovely, fascinating, and just thoroughly enjoyable.

This Forum is AMAZING!! As your messages keep coming up, my husband & I are searching the places you are mentioning and starting to book some hotels, Airbnb and organizing some activities. You're definitely keeping us busy :) We're so excited! We're going to share our list of activities during those 13 days. Heads up...we have decided not to go to the French Riviera, but rather to stay in Paris, so we can fully immerse ourselves in this captivating, magical and romantic city during our stay.
Suki, Pam, Kathy, Judy, Fred-Seattle Fred-San Francisco, Rosiecaro, hope i didn't forget someone, we can't thank you enough for your help! We're grateful for each and every one of you and will keep you posted with how our agenda is looking so far.
Merci beaucoup!
Anabel

Amusez-vous bien!

Another idea would be to go up the Tour de Montparnasse.
It has views from the top of all over Paris, and you can see the Eiffel Tower from a different perspective.
It has a 360 degree roof terrace.

The Petit Palais is another interesting gallery/museum that few tourists go to. And it’s free!
Don’t know if anyone mentioned the Cluny Museum, it’s really wonderful.

Thank you S J! I will definitely add those places to our agenda :-) Once is complete, I will share it with all of you.

anabeltorressanchez,
An afterthought......

You could bookend a bit of French history. At the Basilica of St. Denis in Paris you will find the tombs of numerous French kings and queens. The church is beautiful in itself, but the number of royal tombs there is amazing. Preface this visit with a day trip to Reims. There you could visit a champagne house for a tour and tasting, see the Musee de Rendittion, and go to the glorious cathedral. Almost every French king was crowned there, beginning in the early middle ages. It is an awe-inspiring experience to see the French royal houses as they began and ended.
Reims is an easy day trip from Paris and there are numerous tasting tour options available. But the cathedral is, to me, the main reason for a visit there, both architecturally and historically.
The Basilica St. Denis is not in the greatest part of town, but definitely worth seeing. We took the metro there and back without any problems. (These two visits were in 2017 however.) The St. Denis visit will take no more than an hour probably. I don't know of anything else nearby to see. Perhaps someone else could add to that.
Just a thought.

We were at Epcot in the bakery of the France pavilion getting some baguettes before our first trip to Europe. The young lady helping us was, according to her name tag, from Paris. I asked her what we should make sure to do while we were there. Her response was three-fold: Buy baguettes, eat a croissant (punctuated by "a real one"), and walk along the Seine (either left or right bank would be fine). This is to say that no matter what you choose from all the excellent thoughts above, do make sure to take time for the simpler pleasures of Paris. For some this is sitting in a cafe with a drink. For us, that's the pleasures of the farmers markets. Enjoy!

Donna and Dennis,
D'accord!

You’ve received some great suggestions so far. I’ll add taking a street art tour walking tour in Montmarte. My husband and I (in our late 40s/early 50’s took this tour with our teenager in July 2022. It was one of the highlights of our 12 day stay in Paris. https://www.streetarttourparis.com/tours/montmartre-street-art-and-art-history/

We also enjoyed this e-bike tour! https://www.parischarmssecrets.com/homepage-an