Paris Itinerary (3.5 days)

The Champs Elysees is really a waste of time. The stores are mostly chain, the cafes and restaurants along it over-priced and mediocre. Save your mom's limited energy and spend that time doing something else - if you are wanting to do some shopping, try one of the larger French department stores - Printemps or Galeries Lafayette - both of which have great views from their rooftop terraces that are open to the public and cafes if your mom needs to take a break and you want to keep shopping. Additionally, while the Paris Metro is excellent and easy to navigate, there are lots of stairs, long corridors, etc. - with a 70 year old in tow, you might want to look at taking buses or taxis when it's reasonable to do so.

As for the Museum Pass, I'd say out of the choices you have listed for your first day, I'd purchase it at the Arc over the Louvre. Or look at some of the smaller museums that are included with the Pass and try to pop into one of those first and get your pass (the Cluny is not far from the St. Michel area where you are staying).

One suggestion on transportation.. Not sure how agile your mother is, perhaps taking the buses might work better for a few reasons.

• Metro is generally easy and fast. However, climbing stairs and long transfers between lines, especially between RER and Metro. are unavoidable.

• You're underground taking Metro.. missing out on the views/scenery you might otherwise get traveling by bus.

The "RATP" app you can download onto your smart phone is very easy to use for trip planning via foot/bus/metro/rail. With that, I plan to use buses a lot more on my next trip!

I bought my museum pass at the tourist info office at the airport - I believe they have tourist info desks at all the main train stations also. or you can buy it on your entry into the first museum or site you go into.
Hope you and your Mom have a wonderful trip.
I would also suggest the hop-on-hop-off bus as a great way to see all over Paris and all the sites.
We got on near Notre Dame - then rode the entire route (the company was "The Big Bus") - there are several HOHO bus companies.
We went on the Seine River Cruise in the evening - Paris is magical at night. We boarded the boat at the Quay at the foot of the Eiffel Tour.

With the schedule below you will only need the 2 day Museum Pass.
Take advantage of the late openings - Orsay on Thursday + Louvre on Friday.
Wednesday
1600 Eurostar from London,
1800 Champs Elysees, Arc de Triomphe
2000 Eiffel Tower (booked)
Thursday
0900 Versailles 9am-6:30pm. Closed on Mondays.
??? 1400 Invalides (Napoleons tomb) 10am-6pm (late opening until 9 pm on Tuesdays).
1600 Musee Rodin 10am-5:45pm (late opening on Wednesdays until 8:45 pm). Closed on Mondays.
1800 Musee d'Orsay 9:30am-6pm (late opening on Thursdays until 9:45pm). Closed on Mondays.
Friday
0900 Orangerie (Monet's waterlillies) 9am-6pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
1100 St Chapelle (amazing stained glass) 9:30am-6pm (late opening until 9:30pm on Wednesday).
1300 Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette imprisoned) 9:30am-6pm.
1500 Pompidou Centre (modern art collection) 11am-9pm. Closed on Tuesdays.
1800 Louvre 9am-5:45pm (late opening until 9:45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays). Closed on Tuesdays.
Saturday
0900 Notre Dame
1100 Picasso Museum (not on Museum Pass)
1300 Carnavalet Museum (free)
1500 Sacre Coeur & Montmartre
1800 Seine River Cruise

I can't proudly say that I have never used a McDonalds or Starbucks while travelling.
I can proudly say, however, that I have never used a HopOn HopOff Bus.
For some people I am sure they are great.

Take into account that a lot of the people on the Eurostar will be be lining up to take taxis, so you may have a somewhat long wait if that's your plan. You may be better off taking the metro (or a bus is better) to somewhere closer to St. Michel and then a shorter taxi ride to your hotel. I would not plan to do anything else before the Eiffel Tower. If you are staying close to Place St. Michel, you'll walk to Notre Dame (it's about 7 minutes, maybe 8 if the traffic lights are long).

Arc de Triomphe - there is an elevator. Mom will then have about 2 flights to climb from the gift shop to the top. You generally get there by taking the metro to Charles-deGaulle-Etoile, then walking a long corridor. If you are buying your Paris Museum Pass ("PMP") there, the ticket office is underground just before the stairs up to street-level. With PMP in hand go to the entrance to the Arc and ask to use the elevator. After enjoying the view up top, go back to the gift shop and if there's no one at the elevator, ask where the operator is. The only reason to go to the top is for the view. If you just want to see the Arc (worth it), you don't need the PMP here. After you walk around the Arc, go back down to the tunnel and take the metro to your next sight.

Sunset on June 10 is at about 9.55 p.m. If you want Paris after dark, you'll have to wait until about 10.30. It's stunning, but it's after dinner and maybe after an afternoon nap too. Any time is good for a Seine cruise. Do it twice, once in daylight and once after dark. If you only go once, make it after dark! My recommendation is the Vedettes du Pont Neuf (you can get a discount online in advance).

The Picasso Museum is not included in the PMP and you would have to get tickets in advance (and lock into a timed entry).

I'm not sure you need a 4-day PMP. You only have 3 days to use it, so maybe rearrange your schedule to do those things in 2 days? Besides the Picasso, the Opera is not on the PMP. Entry to Notre Dame is free. The PMP is only to climb the hundreds of steps to the bell tower.

Versailles is a long day. The site is huge and you will want to see the outlying buildings and the gardens as well as the palace. Take advantage of the tram/shuttle (whatever it is) that takes you around the grounds. It is too far to walk. I would not plan anything intensive that evening. Might be a good time to relax on the Seine cruise. On Saturdays, there are fountain shows. If you want to see the fountains, you need to buy tickets in advance. It is likely to be much more crowded on Saturday because of the fountains. You may want to skip them and go earlier in your stay.

Sainte-Chapelle is one of my faves. It's on the PMP, a 5-minute walk from Notre Dame (less from Place St. Michel). To maximize your time, forget the PMP and, instead, buy tickets to an evening concert (they cost €34 or €29 - I prefer the stlightly more expensive ones - but don't waste money on the VIP tickets). Get there before the doors open and have time to walk around and take photos, then relax and enjoy the stained glass windows while listening to the music. Then you save waiting in the usually very long security line during the day. There are two a night, one at 7 p.m. and one at 8.30 p.m. I think it's better at 8.30, as the sun is lowering in the sky and the angle of the light through the stained glass changes. Then you can walk another 5-10 minutes to Pont Neuf for the 10 p.m. Seine cruise beginning at sunset and ending after dark.

continued . . .

Bus vs. metro. The bus is definitely better. Use the RATP website to plan. From the Rive Gauche where you'll be to the sights on the other side of the Seine, you'd probably need to change trains, lots of stairs and long walks.

The best time to see the Orsay is first thing in the morning. Be in line with PMP in hand a few minutes before they open. Note that there are two lines, one for people buying tickets and one for those, like you, who don't need them. Your line is on the right side of the building as you face the entrance. When you get inside, go past the shops to the museum itself and go directly to the top floor using the elevator. It's not real easy to find - it's on the left as you enter, behind the staircase to the left and through one of the doors. ASK. When you exit the elevator you walk through the cafe into the Impressionist rooms. They'll be crowded soon, so enjoy them early. The only drawback here is that you are going in reverse to the "planned route" through the museum. You will probably have to backtrack through the Impressionists (not the worst place to walk through twice) to the elevator to go to the lower floors to see more.

The Pompidou is an okay building to walk around to see. I was not very impressed by the outside elevator ride up. If you want to visit the Modern Art Museum (on the PMP) it's worth it - but only if the permanent exhibition rooms are reopened. They were closed when I was there, so check ahead.

Getting to CDG on Sunday morning. I learned on my last trip (just a couple weeks ago) that there is a comfortable bus service "Les Cars Air France" from Montparnasse, not far from St Michel. You could take a taxi to the bus stop from your hotel. The buses leave every half hour from 6.00 a.m. The trip takes about 1.25 hours. Someone loads and unloads your luggage, the bus is comfy and airconditioned. It's €17.50 each and you can buy your tickets on the bus. It's more comfortable than the train and cheaper than a taxi.

I'm planning a trip to Paris in about a month, and according to their website the Pompidou permanent museum is reopening in the last week of May.

"The Pompidou is an okay building " ??

From the New York Times (03/29/07) ...
Three decades after his Pompidou Center in Paris turned the architecture world upside down and brought him global fame, the British architect Richard Rogers has been named the 2007 winner of the Pritzker Prize, the profession’s highest honor.
.... Mr. Rogers earned a reputation as a high-tech iconoclast with the completion of the 1977 Pompidou Center, with its exposed skeleton of brightly colored tubes for mechanical systems. The Pompidou “revolutionized museums,” the Pritzker jury said, “transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city.”

Not a bad rap for an okay building.

The permanent collection display reopens May 27 and is well worth it to see the Picassos and Braques alone.

Friday: balance the museums with something outdoors - possibly Luxembourg Garden. I would select either the Orsay or the Orangerie - not both.

Versailles is usually very crowded with long lines. Weigh that option with what you both feel like doing that day.

Thank you everyone very much for the tips and suggestions! All is very helpful and I really appreciate it. Thanks to Chani for the detailed information. This is a great community! My hotel is very close to St Michel station and I thought I am all set in terms of public transportation but I feel I need to do more research about the bus route (or taxi). Also, my mom is very interested in arts so that's why I have all major museums - Louvre, Orsay, and Orangeries. I wasn't able to think of a way to fit all of them including Versailles with 2 day PMP - thanks to dip_syd for the great idea (To be honest, I still wonder it would be safe to purchase 4 day PMP in case things are not as planned but thank you again!).

Crunch the numbers. Maybe it's cheaper to buy the 2-day PMP and pay for one or two entrances on the other day for sights that don't have long lines (Arc de Triomphe, Orangerie).

The Arc de Triomphe is part victory arch and part war memorial.
Take in its grand sculptural relief and take time for reflection whilst at its base.
If you are heading up the Eiffel Tower, I wouldn't bother ascending here also.
In fact, in my opinion, by doing so you detract from its sombre nature.