Paris for 1 1/2 days...

I've never heard of Adventure Tours France. On your first day you will likely be tired. I always try to stay outdoors and keep moving on arrival day, eating at a normal dinner time, then going to bed. I'm generally good to go when I wake up in the morning. Paris Walks is a recommended walking tour company and you don't have to reserve ahead. https://www.paris-walks.com/ For a private guide, I've heard good things about Corey Frye. https://afrenchfryeinparis.com/ You can watch some of the walks he has done on YouTube.

You don't say when you are going. You might want to get Eiffel Tower tickets for before sunset, so that you can enjoy the view both during daylight and at night. If you do that on your full day, you could do an evening river cruise after you leave the Eiffel Tower. There are cruises that depart from the river there.

The days of the week you are there will matter regarding museums.

What day of the week do you arrive? Note that many museums in Paris are closed either on Monday or Tuesday (Musee d'Orsay with the Impressionists is closed Monday, Louvre is closed Tuesday) so advice may vary based on the days you are there.

I'm not familiar with Adventure Tours France altho I do see his posts on the Paris Trip Advisor forum.

What kind of museums do you think you might be interested in?

I’m sorry I did not include our days of the week. Indeed we will be arriving on a Monday and departing on Wednesday.

Unless you have been to Europe before and are certain that you will both get a reasonable amount of sleep on the plane, I wouldn't pre-pay for anything on the arrival day. One or both of you may be walking zombies. If I managed to remain vertical until time for a river cruise on Day 1, I would certainly fall asleep as soon as I sat down on the boat.

I'd check into the availability of just-show-up walking tours you can opt for if you're in the mood after dropping off your luggage. Or you could set out on your own, using Rick's suggestions. Being outdoors will help you adjust to your new time zone.

If I had 1.5 days in Paris I wouldn't spend any time in a museum (and I love some types of museums). However, if you tell us what sort of museum might appeal to you, our Paris experts may be able to suggest something suitable where you wouldn't waste time in a mob scene.

For me Paris is so much more than 'sites'. I love the essence of Paris, which I don't feel you find inside the tourist sites. If this were my trip for this little amount of time, I'd mostly wander, eventually making it down to the Seine, the Eiffel Tower from a distance(don't go up), the Louvre(don't go in) and take the metro up to Sacre Cour, and wander some more. I'd walk down the streets that run parallel to the Champs Elysee after walking that, walking by the Palace where Macron presently resides, etc. Almost near the Seine on the Champs Elysee you can see a few of the old exposition buildings if you look hard. I like Rue Saint-Honore' as well.

However, the neighborhood that I usually stay in is not too far behind your hotel. Most, if not all, days there is a street market of food vendors on Rue Poncelet at the corner with Avenue des Ternes. This is in a neighborhood where people live more than tourists visit. We've spent entire evenings at restaurants with not a bother to move on...of course, that is Paris anywhere, but no tourists joined us. LOL Hold Harmless: I haven't been there for several years so I'm hoping it hasn't remarkably changed. Writing this reminds me that I need a trip back to Paris... Oh, and you are near Parc Monceau, which is one of my favorite Parisian Parks.

This being said, I don't travel like a lot of people on here, running from site to site. I don't get that or enjoy that. However, through my many visits, I've seen most sites, one at a time...as Paris is so.much.more if you just slow down and look.

We have a similar schedule, and we are just planning walking by the big three (tower, arch, Notre Dame) and if we have any energy left thst first day, check out the louvre at night (some days it's open late)

Basically we know we may be zombies that first day. If we see stuff in Paris, great. If we don't, it gives us a reason to return someday. Making plans to combat jet lag by every means nessesary. Might work, might not

Thank you for the bold statement regarding museums. In all honesty, they are not a must-do for us but feel it’s what we are supposed to do while there. I’m totally okay with seeing them up close but not necessarily experiencing all they have to offer due to our limited time.

In regards to travel, we’ve both been to Europe a number of times and understand the value of sleeping during the flight. We’ve got an action plan so hopefully we will both feel good enough to make it through our first day.

I’ve ordered Rick’s Paris travel guide and will look forward to gaining knowledge of our trip using that tool. I also reached out to Corey Frye regarding a private guided tour.

In regards to dining, we love experiencing off-the-beaten-path type places. Sitting and enjoying a good meal while taking in the culture is quite a pleasure. Please advise if you can recommend some in the vicinity of our hotel.

Can you recommend a good time to go up the Eiffel Tower? Apparently the second floor is all that is available for our dates. I’m thinking the morning of our first full day may be best.

Also, what about the cruises at twilight? So many to choose from with reviews all over the place. Vedette’s seems to be where it’s at for the cost/experience. Is that true?

Thanks so much for the worthwhile responses! This is a great forum!

I had a similar time frame for my first visit to Paris. It was actually the exit point for a bigger trip elsewhere.

I was traveling with my sister and we each picked the one thing that interested us most and then we both did those items.
I wanted to ride bikes along the Seine and my sister wanted to visit the Pasteur Museum. We did those two activities and managed to sneak in a trip up the Eiffel Tower as well. We also enjoyed just walking around Paris.

I think the key to a short visit is to choose what is really the most important to you (not neccesarily what other people say is important), and to realize that you can come back and see more another time. If you don't do something on this trip it doesn't necessarily mean you won't do it on another trip.

"Thank you for the bold statement regarding museums. In all honesty, they are not a must-do for us but feel it’s what we are supposed to do while there. I’m totally okay with seeing them up close but not necessarily experiencing all they have to offer due to our limited time."

If museums are not on YOUR must-do list, ignore anyone else's "must do". You are supposed to do only what you think you might enjoy, lol! I AM a museum person so nothing thrills me more than a 6-day Museum Pass in my hot little hand, hahaha. I know that would bore others to death. OTOH, many love sitting in cafes and watching Paris. I'm good with that while I'm eating a meal but otherwise that bores the life out of me!

I'm also not big on the concept of "must-do". Do what you find interesting! Someone will always say "Oh, you didn't see "XX" or "YY"...well you didn't see Paris." Poo on them.

No recommendations from me on cruises or going up in the ET as those are not things that interest me!

I concur with others who recommend choosing the attractions that speak to you. RS guidebook has excellent self guided walking tours. We took two guided tours with www.sightseekersdelight.com. They offer many interesting walking tours. Knowledgeable tour guides. We enjoyed taking the Batobus on the Seine. We especially enjoyed it on our last night to capture the magic of the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks. www.batobus.com. Bon Voyage!

I agree wholeheartedly with Wray. For me, the charm of Paris is definitely not found at any tourist site. I enjoy just walking and exploring... especially the two islands, the Marais, the Latin Quarter (5th arrondissement), St Germain (the 6th) and west from Notre Dame along the river - passing the Orsay and the Louvre. I don’t care for Montmartre and Sacre Coeur.

I love sitting at outdoor cafés eating / drinking and watching Paris go by.

My favorite park is the Luxembourg Gardens - well worth 2 hrs. You get a beautiful park and being around Parisians who are relaxed and enjoying themselves vs rushing past you on the street. It’s a very enjoyable Paris experience.

I say forget the tourist sites and the museums since you have so little time, just enjoy the charm of Paris by being outside, walking, exploring and eating pastries... : )

For a river cruise i like Vedettes du Pont Neuf, across from Notre Dame on the Left Bank the best. In fact, it’s the only one i’d go on. A real person does the audio, it’s not a scratchy recording in 5 languages. I’d also only do it if i could sit on the top level on an open-air boat. Not worth it to sit inside at street level looking through dirty windows imo.

Check museum websites the week ahead - some have evening opening hours - It can break the day to eat "early" by French standards and wander a bit afterwards.

After you drop your bags at your hotel, you could plan to walk up and down the Seine, walk over to the Île de la Cité, walk by Sainte Chapelle, find a place to have a cafe, a glass of wine, a gelato.

In the evening, since you're staying near the Arc de Triomphe, you could plan to walk to the top of that and you'll get a beautiful view of Paris...one that includes the Eiffel Tower - rather than waiting in line to go up the elevator, even with pre-purchased tickets. Even though we've been to Paris many times, we still like to walk over there and see our old friend. and then walk over to the Trocadero for a view from that perspective.

Enjoy!

Thank you for the wonderful feedback! I now have some great ideas of how we will spend our short time in Paris. For now, I've reserved Thor for a short tour on our full day there. Still trying to decide on a river tour - whether it's a dinner cruise, or not.

Are there any pre-purchased tickets I need to secure before our arrival?

Dinner reservations?

Thanks again!

A good dinner river cruise is: Calife

http://www.calife.com/english/index.html