Paris Itinerary based on people watching

I like it! Sounds fun and has a good pace. One thing I might add - have a few back up sites, in case you find yourself with a lot of extra time - it's hard to know how long each thing will take. I do a lot of planning and a couple of times I've run through my list of sites with time left over (Prague and Boston, recently). While I am sure there was A LOT more to see in both cities, because I "ran out" of sites while I was out walking around the city, I somehow could not summon the energy to figure out a new site and then figure out how to work it in. I think I lose brain cells and IQ points as the day goes on, and I like having the extras ready to go.

In Prague we ended up taking an extremely long and aimless walk, which was interesting, but now I see other posters here talking about sites I wish I'd had in reserve.

If you are planning on going up the Eiffel Tower, reserve your ticket exactly 3 months is advance on their website as the tickets sell out almost immediately. Or be prepared for long lines ............

I'm glad to hear you are interested in experiencing the ambiance of Paris. The days you visit Montmartre and the Marais will probably be your prime days for experiencing Paris cafe culture and shopping (aside from street markets you encounter). Both areas have many cafes, shops and people -- sure to be packed on a nice June day. I'm not sure how much will be open in the Marais on Sunday... try to get over to the nearby Place des Vosges if you can. A great place to picnic and hang out with the people of Paris. Cafes will be open there. The day you go to the Orangerie, you might want to stroll through the Tulleries (where it is located), perhaps sit on a bench and watch the world go buy, it is a prime strolling spot in the city. I have often strolled a couple blocks of the Champs Elysees, to Laduree, which I like to go to, or the Sephora, but that's all. The Arc is great of course, but walking the entire length of the street is good wasted time in my opinion, unless you want to see a lot of chain stores, incredibly priced restaurants or unappealing hamburger places, and about every other tourist in Paris. Not really a fun hangout area. If you have time on Tuesday after touring the Opera Garnier, and still need to shop -- Printemps and Galleries Lafayette department stores are not far from it.
Have a great time!

The Orsay is huge and you need a full half day - which might be a problem if you are visiting Montmartre which is some distance away, and especially if you then need to head off for a performance at the Opera in the evening. My personal suggestion would be to do it on Sunday. It will be busy then but the Orsay is also busy on Tuesdays because the Louvre and Orangerie are closed that day.

High point of people watching:

Sit next to the Seine, bottle of wine, cheese, bread.........

Go to Luxembourg gardens- wander, sit, watch the kids in the play area, watch the men play bocca ball... smell the fragrance...

I love seeing locals run the perimeters of Luxembourg Gardens and the square at Place des Vosges. They lap around. Fun people watching---then I feel guilty that I'm not running too! Next time in Paris, I'm taking my exercise wear and joining them! :). Have a great trip!

All great advice. I will reconsider Montmartre for Sunday. It's work exploring right?

Your plan sounds great. It's nice to see someone with a reasonable agenda. You mentioned walking along the river to see the lights, the light show at the Arc and seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. I just wanted to point out that it won't get dark until pretty late in June. I also consider the Champs-Elysees to be a waste of time. I'm sure you can find something more interesting to do. While many stores, etc. in Paris are closed on Sunday's I think you will find plenty of things open in the Marais.

Have you heard of the Paris Greeter Program? A volunteer guide will take you on a private tour of something that interests you. It doesn't cost anything, though the program welcomes donations to the program. I've done it twice and highly recommend it. I really enjoyed getting a local persons prospective. If you're interested I would suggest submitting the online application about 3 weeks before your trip. If you skip the Champs-Elysees on Monday you would have time that day.

The Marais is positively a place to be on the weekends. They close many of the streets to motor traffic and turn the area into a pedestrian mall and the Parisians come out to enjoy this trendy area. Some of the boutique shops will be closed, but a some are open even on Sunday.

The Champs Elysees is boring. It's enough to see it from the Arc de Triomphe. Then take the metro to wherever you're going next.

Enjoy the Place de la Concorde before/after the Orangerie and walk through the Tuileries to the Louvre. Lots of people watching, especially at lunchtime when the locals are enjoying the park.

Plan ahead to see Paris at night. In June, sunset is late. The Eiffel Tower doesn't begin to light up until after sunset and it takes a few minutes (nice to watch this from the Arc de Triomphe). A good way to see the lights is to take a 1-hour Seine cruise (I like Vedettes du Pont Neuf) around sunset. You'll see the lights begin to go on at the start, watch the city change from dusk to dark. The floodlights on the buildings go off just after midnight.

Look at the Paris Walks schedule. They are usually good.

Get to the opera house early. You'll find there are a lot of people having drinks before the performance. If you want to have a drink during the intermission, order it when you get there and it will be waiting for you. Otherwise you'll be in line forever to get it.

Whatever you do, do not get the over-priced ripoff Paris Pass. It's just a waste of money - I'm not even sure what you would use it for.

Perhaps you meant to say the Paris Museum Pass? It can be a good value if you want to visit several museums.

I always set aside time for cafe people watching. Often I have coffee mid-morning if I am in need of a sit down and a bathroom break. Near the Eiffel Tower, just outside the Ecole Militaire metro stop is a cafe La Terrasse. Tourists and locals both eat and drink there. It is really cool to watch locals going home with their baguettes. I have eaten some lovely meals there for a decent price, from a simple omelette to mussels and fries (moules frites). Lovely house wines by the glass too!

I have visited Paris several times, initially staying in hotels and now I stay in apartments. When I stay in hotels, I try to have breakfast out of the hotel, trying different cafes for breakfast and coffee. When using apartments, I will have breakfast in but my coffee out in a cafe for people watching.

I also love the markets. My favourites are the Grenelle, President Wilson, Saxe-Breteuil. The city of Paris website will show the times and locations of all the markets. Last fall I picked up lunch at the Grenelle market (easy to find under the elevated Metro starting at the Motte-Piquet metro stop), then walked to the Seine and sat on a bench eating ham with mustard and roasted potatoes, HEAVENLY! On other occasions, I purchased some cheese and fruit, bought a knife from either the market or Monoprix and had a lovely lunch in one of the small parks that are everywhere. Locals often eat their lunches outside and nannys minding the little ones; it is great people watching.

Enjoy Paris, my favourite place in the world.

You did not state which week you will be there but if your Tuesday happens to be June 21....not to be missed is Fete de la Musique. There are free concerts all over the city, well into the night. These range in size from single performers to symphony orchestras and are a great opportunity for people watching. You might want to just choose a neighborhood and wander, as I did in the Marais in 2014, when I was treated to a variety of performances ranging from an American style gospel choir to a marching drum band.

Ohhh....Fete de la Musique is really spectacular. I've had the good (dumb) luck to be in Paris twice for this. It's so fun to wander at night...there is music everywhere. Maybe you'll be able to catch this!

Wow I appreciate these suggestions! I arrive June 4-9. I've been watching the Eiffel tower page, I anticipate my dates to go on sale this week and I will reserve the last time possible which is 2000 to get the last light and then the twinkle 😉
On my "add" list is an evening seine cruise to see paris lit up. It sounds like I can just show up at the dock and get a ticket that evening is that right or will I have to plan that?

Where word I get roast chicken with potatoes for a picnic? One of Rick's pod casts says you can get 1/4 chicken. (i love food lolol)

any rotisserie will have the roast chicken and potatoes . . .you won't be able to miss them as most of them put their rotisseries out on the sidewalk precisely to attract hungry customers!