Paris Itinerary Thoughts?

Sounds reasonable to me. You may find in arrival day that the Historic Paris Walk will be enough especially if you tour all of the sites along the way. I would schedule the Louvre even later if you can. We took a tour at 4 pm on the day it was open late and emerged at 7 pm, just in time to head to dinner. It was less chaotic.

Looks like you’ll have time to go back to your hotel most days for a couple of hours to recharge. That always helps us,

Good that you are not showing up at the standard tour group times 10 am to 1 pm. Just do research in guide books and go where you interested in going. It is a big city with crime like cities in the USA like New York or Chicago or Nashville so don't sit cell phones or pocket books on empty seats or put cash in a back pocket and just ignore anyone asking for money or other solicitations especially at the Sacre Coeur and at the Eiffel Tower

To me Day 2 sounds like a lot although your geographical reasoning is sound. Both museums are big.

I really like the Army Museums but it can overwhelm. I’d study the website and make a targeted visit depending on your interests. I’d do Napoleon’s Tomb and then perhaps the WWI and WWII galleries and call it a day.

I stay in the Rue Cler area and enjoy the neighborhood but it’s not a destination in my view. However, it’s an easy connector between Invalides and the Eiffel Tower and a good spot for a glass of wine or a meal either before or after your Tower visit.

Looks good. On day 1 if you are not up to a second walk I would recommend a Seine cruise (sit in the fresh air, look at pretty buildings.) We like the boat that starts at Pont Neuf, very convenient to Latin Quarter hotels.

It seems like good/ very doable itinerary. I only concern I have it where are you flying from? If you're going to be jet-lagged then your first day is going to be rough if you trying to take a shower, get ready, and go on a tour quickly. Maybe a self-guided tour will be better.

I believe the walks indicated for the first day are self-guided walks -- in RS books and/or audio. So they can stop to rest at any time.

That looks like a very reasonable itinerary, in fact, it's very similar to the one I had when I visited with my fiancee in August 2017.
It was the second time to visit Paris for both of us, but our first trips were separately 10-15 years prior. Is it the first time you and your husband will visit? There are certain things for people on a "must do/see" or "must repeat" list (for me, it was the Louvre, I missed it my first trip, for her it was the Champs-Elysees experience).

This was our schedule, although given the summer hours, we could extend things much later in the day than you can in October:

Fri: (arrived CDG 9:30am from Seattle) Montmartre/Sacre-Coeur/Dali Museum/Moulin Rouge

Note: after dropping off our bags at our hotel near Opera, we didn't get to Montmartre until 3:30. It takes longer than you would think to get out of customs and the airport and into the city.

Sat: Sainte-Chapelle/Conciergerie/Notre Dame (inside and bell tower)/Ile St Louis/Latin Quarter/Cluny Museum/Pantheon

Arc de Triomphe/Champs Elysees/Eiffel Tower (11:30pm climb time): yes, this was a very long day!

Sun: Catacombs/Louvre/Seine River evening cruise

Monday Normandy full day

Tuesday Disneyland full day (we moved our Disney trip to this day due to an inclement weather forecast)

Wed: Army Museum/Napoleon's Tomb/Rodin Museum/Rue Cler/Orangerie
I went back to the Louvre late night, she went back to the Champs Elysees (alone time!)

Thu: Versailles (left at 3, it was roasting hot this day, so we didn't get too far into the gardens)/Orsay

Obviously, we got the Paris Museum Pass (6 day, started on Day 2), and a couple carnets of Metro tickets. Yes, I know we wasted 2 full museum pass days in the middle, but you can't avoid the Monday closings, and it was only 12 Euros more for the 6 day.

The Place de la Concorde and Tulieries really weren't that impressive, especially Concorde. You could probably open up your Wed morning a bit more. Rue Cler is an area I would predict Rick Steves would like, but it wasn't our thing (it seemed like everyone there was an American expat). Your Notre Dame experience will be a whole lot shorter than ours, so maybe you can fit a river cruise that first night. I probably would've wanted to spend more time exploring deeper into the Left Bank. But that'll be for another trip!

On day 3 I would change the order - start with Printemps and Galerie Lafayette, then proceed to Montmarte / canal st Martin. Or in reverse unless you really want to have dinner in that area. Just makes more geographical sense to me.

Pam said basically what I would have in regards to rue Cler. Meh.

I enjoy a walk through Jardin des Tuileries and the view down the Champs Elysée to the arch is interesting, but not an attraction so to speak - you could just keep this morning light like this, have a leisurely breakfast, meander your way there. The Louvre is a big undertaking, so a nice light morning isn’t a bad thing, in my humble :-)

The boat company at Pont Neuf (which I also prefer) is Vedettes du Pont Neuf. No need to book ahead. My favorite time to take this 1 hour cruise is at sunset or early evening when everything is lit up. They time their boats to pass the Eiffel Tower when it is twinkling. You can also bring your own drink and snacks aboard if you want. https://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn9vgmtLz5AIVh56fCh3iWgU6EAAYASAAEgLx_vD_BwE

This is just a personal opinion but I wouldn’t take the time to go up the Eiffel Tower. I’d skip that and do the boat cruise instead - you get an amazing view of the ET on that cruise. I feel you get a much better view of the city (with the ET in it) from the top of the Arch (which I also love to do at sunset).

Have a wonderful trip!!!

This looks nicely thought through and logical.

My only thing would be I wouldn’t care to walk the Champs-Elysees at any time, I would just go straight to the Arc. I find it overly commercial with huge global brands, totally crowded, and not attractive. But everyone has to see for themselves, I guess.

Hope you will have a great trip!

If you have time and the inclination on day 3, you may wish to add a visit to Palais Garnier Opera House. Beautiful inside with a Marc Chagall painted ceiling. It is very near (1 block maybe) Galeries Lafayette.

Also, if you only go to one department store, I’d choose Galeries Lafayette. Much prettier than Printemps IMO. Beautiful glass domed ceiling. They also have a very nice cafeteria on the top floor. You can also take escalators all the way to the roof and enjoy great views of Paris for free.

When we went to Galeries Lafayette, I was amazed at one entire floor devoted to just women’s shoes. I don’t remember anything else on that floor. It was something to see and marvel at (for me). Maybe not my husband. Didn’t buy anything. I have never seen anything like it and enjoyed seeing it.

Your itinerary looks lovely. Have a wonderful time.

I’m planning a very similar trip in late November (same duration, many of the same sites, staying in St. Germain). I hope you post a trip report!

I highly recommend A French Frye in Paris. He’s an American tour guide in Paris who posts videos of walks through neighborhoods. Lots of great info, and if you aren’t already excited about your trip, you will be after watching his videos!

I will second the suggestion for Opera Garnier. In fact, I would choose that over Canal St. Martin.

Agree that Galerie Lafayette is a jaw-dropping department store. Nice observation deck as mentioned. However, at Printemps, not many know that there is a gorgeous restaurant - Brassarie Printemps - that is under a massive stunning stained glass dome. Lovely spot for lunch. It is located in the Women's store on the 6th floor (there are 2 side by side Printemps - one is Women's and the other is housewares etc)

Thank you all SO much for the wonderful feedback and suggestions. It is exactly what I was looking for.

I will definitely opt for Galleries Lafayette and add the Opera building. I was thinking Rue Cler might be a good place for lunch or dinner that day, but won’t plan on needing much time beyond that unless we love it. I’m thinking the river cruise would be a wonderful thing to do our first evening!

As far as Invalides, it turns out neither my husband nor myself really care too much about it, so that will be the first thing we drop if we need to. I like keeping our last morning light, so that if we missed something from our earlier itinerary we can try to squeeze it in then.

I debated skipping tickets to go up in the Eiffel Tower, but it just seems wrong to go and not go up, right? Or will it be a letdown?

“As far as Invalides, it turns out neither my husband nor myself really care too much about it”

That’s good. You can walk from d’Orsay to the ET along the river and get a view of Les Invalides up the Esplanade if you wind up short of time.

Some enjoy the view from the ET. You should do what sounds fun to you. I don’t like heights so no way! Others find it exhilarating!

If going up the ET is something you really really want to do, then absolutely do it. But if it is something you just think you have to do because you’re in Paris....that’s a different story. If you think you’ll be sorry you didn’t do it, then you should do it.

"If going up the ET is something you really really want to do, then absolutely do it. But if it is something you just think you have to do because you’re in Paris....that’s a different story. If you think you’ll be sorry you didn’t do it, then you should do it."

Extremely well put.

I'll just say that I went up the Eiffel Tower on my first visit, in 1989, but haven't been up since. However, I go up the Arc de Triomphe once or twice on each trip (by day and by night), and go once or twice to the Trocadero at night. Both of these have great views of the Eiffel Tower. The Trocadero is free, and the Arc de Triomphe is included with the Museum Pass.