Paris Itinerary Help

People vary a lot in the way they deal with overnight flights. I am not one of the lucky ones. If I sat down on a tour bus (HO/HO or otherwise) on my arrival day, I'd be asleep within 5 or 10 minutes. I think planning to walk around outside is a better idea, because it helps you fight off jetlag. I don't know whether the HO/HOs in Paris have open tops or not; that might or might not be comfortable in March.

I have no comment to make on a HO/HO in Paris, never having take one. I always prefer to get oriented with my feet on the ground.

If you are in Paris for just three days, I wouldn't think the Navigo Decouverte weekly pass would be a cost-effective purchase, but perhaps I don't understand all its advantages.

Hi Murphy,

Sounds like a nice trip! I don't think you'll get your money's worth out of the Navigo Decouverte, though. Last I heard they were for a week that begins on Monday. You don't seem to be using the metro much.

I'm not a big fan of hop-on hop-off buses and riding one would put me to sleep on my arrival day. I found the Seine cruise wonderful, though. Big fan of the Vedettes du Pont Neuf near Sainte-Chapelle.

I loved the Louvre, D'Orsay and l'Orangerie, but if I were you I'd pick one and visit it on the day with the worst weather. Too much art wears me out. Visit Versailles on the day with the best weather because the grounds are wonderful and you can walk to the Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet.

When I was there (April 2018) it was too cold for outdoor dining so I don't have a recommendation for your sidewalk cafe.

Have fun,
Marty

Thanks all! I will consider using another form of transport. Since I will be using the card to get to Versailles and then on Sunday on the RER to get back to CDG along with a few trips throughout central Paris, I thought the pricing came close (maybe a few euros more expensive).

Thanks!

The Louvre has now introduced timeslot tickets only due to overcrowding and reported cases of ticket fraud. If you have a Paris Museum Pass you still need to book a timeslot on their website, which you can only do once you have the Pass as you need the serial number on it.

Thank you for that information! I had no idea but do now. We will book our time slot as soon as we have purchased the museum pass.

Here are my thoughts:

Thursday - I always take a taxi to the hotel as well. TBH, the Rue Cler area is harder to get to by public transport from the airport but I just want to be delivered to the door of my hotel, lol! Be sure to go to the official taxi rank outside baggage claim and don't pay any attention to anyone who comes up to you in the airport. Stand in line and the taxi manager at the head of the line will motion you to a cab when it's your turn. It will be 58E. Have your address typed out on a 3x5 card to hand to the taxi driver - I usually write 58E out beside the address so he knows I know how much the flat rate is. If you want to pay with a CC, ask him before he loads your luggage or show him your card and say OK? After you drop your luggage and maybe have breakfast or lunch, then walk over to the Eiffel Tower. I like to head to the Ecole Militaire end and walk all the way down the Champ de Mars. If anyone comes up asking you to sign a petition just ignore them. This is a scam.

Friday - You're probably OK thru the Louvre plan (with a timed entry) but I would not have enough energy to do another museum after I do the Louvre - or if I do it's a small one. Still, with all you are doing, 1 museum is plenty.

Saturday - I'd only do Versailles if this is important to you. It's crowded and can be a bit overwhelming unless you really want to be there. If you decide against spending this day at Versailles, do the d'Orsay and maybe the Orangerie (partially closed but you can see Monet's water lilies) today.

There are tons of sidewalk cafes down Rue Cler. I've had good meals at most of them so just look at a menu and see what sounds good. Here's a googlemap street view link to the corner of Rue Cler and Rue du Champ de Mars.

https://goo.gl/maps/jzJq489d4Hz5UZNo6

I'm with the others re the HOHO bus, probably not a good idea any time but especially on arrival day. Vedettes du Pont Neuf is the best Seine cruise, I think, but there are others. Some leave from near the Eiffel Tower, Do this whenever you have time and the weather is good. Choose the Louvre or the Orsay, not both on the same day, you'll be exhausted and art-ed out. I wouldn't go to Versailles on such a short trip, there's so much else to see and do in Paris itself.

You didn't say your hotel was in the Rue Cler neighborhood, just in the 7th. Rue Cler is nice and you'll surely meet a lot of other Rick Steves fans there, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it. There are many other street markets and many many sidewalk cafes, just shake a stick and you'll see one. You didn't mention the Eiffel Tower. For many it's a high point (literally) of their trip, but for an easier bird's-eye view you could try the Tour Montparnasse, not quite as high but high enough and easier to get to the top, plus it has a view of the Eiffel that you can't get from the Eiffel.

We are on the last day of our first Paris trip. We actually did L’Orangerie, the Orsay, and the Louvre all in the same day and it was fine for us, but we also skipped major sections. We did a “highlights” version based on the handful of artists we cared to see in each.

I became very ill later that evening, which necessitated a change in plans for our remaining days. We chose a hop on hop off bus tour (L’Open Air) because it has loops through three sections of the city. We used it yesterday to see the Luxembourg Gardens area and then a huge swath of monuments and buildings along the Seine (both banks). Today we rode the third line. We toured the Garnier Opera House and Sacre Coeur. It was more convenient to us than the metro and we are lucky enough to be staying near one of the bus stops. My medication does make me sleepy and I did nearly fall asleep on the bus yesterday, but I managed to stay awake.

We are hoping to catch one of the evening cruises tonight using Vedettes du Pont Neuf.

You don't actually have to have your museum pass before you book your Louvre time slot. A number of people in this forum have done it by just entering a random number when it asks for your museum pass number, then changing this number online later when they have their pass.

Not a fan of HOHO, but especially not in a very walkable city like Paris. Doing it the first day...seems like it might be a bit of a snooze opportunity. Get out on the streets and rub elbows with the locals. It is such fun to browse the shop windows and ponder the menus outside the corner cafes. Maybe you’ll find time to wander down a side street and be surprised by what you find!
Sainte Chappelle takes a good hour between waiting to get inside and giving it the attention deserved. Such a treasure!
Don’t miss a stroll through the Jardin des Tuilleries after the Louvre. To me it one of the most charming parts of the central city any time of year. I think two museums in one day is pushing it unless you are very focused on what you will see at each, but if you want two...go to the Orangerie after a stroll through the Jardin and maybe lunch from one of the cafes in the park. L’Orangerie is nice sized and nowhere near as crowded as Musee D’Orsay.
L’Arc de Triomphe would be a great place to watch the lights go on all over Paris as the sun sets, but so would Le Tour Eiffel! Maybe you can fit in both if....you skip Versailles.
I’m with the others that question the Versailles day trip. You don’t have a lot of time especially if you want to sit at a sidewalk cafe and people watch! That can take hours!
Favorite sidewalk cafe for us would be one of the two very famous older ones...they can be crowded with tourists at times, but there will also be lots of French office workers using their meal allowance to lunch at Les Deux Magots or Cafe des Flore. Both places serve tasty traditional French food and an atmosphere reminiscent of Paris in the Golden Age. Plus the neighborhood of St. Germain-des-Pres where they are located is so charming. Parting words: Do give yourselves time to relax and soak in the beauty of the city. Too often, we get caught up in wanting to see everything on our life list. You can’t do that in one short trip. Hubby and I just made our 18th trip to Paris and finally got to the Musee Picasso and Picasso is one of our favorite artists! So, take some time to breathe and experience a little serendipity! PS: Double check on-line museum open days and times!

The evening hours at the Louvre and Orsay were so much less crowded so I would try to hit those times. I believe Louvre is W and F and Orsay is Thursday.
We saw Mona Lisa twice (we went to Louvre 3 days) and on both night visits we got as close as you can get! Once, the room was almost empty except for guards. Beats a crowded room of people.
The Louvre is quite large so plan on what you want to see before you go. And make sure to eat first. It can be draining. They can tell you at the info desk where any specific art is located. We did Ricks audio tour and it was helpful!.
Be careful about going too late to the Arc de Triomphe. It took us 3 nights to actually make it there in time to go up. I believe the last entrance is about 9pm(?) but we underestimated bus and walking times. (Not sure when the sun sets in March but we wanted the view with the city lights in May so we wanted to wait to go til later.)
The Orangerie was definitely worthwhile and didn’t take to long to get through and wasn’t as draining. I think you could do that the same day as the Orsay. Same with Rodin Museum. If you have the museum pass you may want to check the Rodin out after Rue Cler on your first day.
Try to do Sainte Chappelle when it is sunny-it’s beautiful!!!
I’m with the skip Versailles crowd. It’ll be crowded on Saturday and the extra travel eats up time and energy. We were in Paris 6 days last year and while we could have squeezed it in, we felt it was too much. Paris is such a chill city. You need to just wander the streets, especially walk along the Seine, sit at cafes, soak it all in...