I’ve enjoyed reading other itinerary plans here, and am aware that input from all of the more experienced travelers can be quite valuable. The skeleton of our itinerary is pretty much set, but some of the windows might be improved by suggestions from everyone here.
We are West Coasters, working on acclimating our sleep schedules ahead of time. In two weeks, we fly to NYC for 4 nights, and will continue our time adjustments there. We have a red eye flight to Paris out of Newark in Polaris (scored on great flight pricing months ago and was able to upgrade our seats for a steal) so hopefully arrive in Paris slightly less jet lagged than we might otherwise be. Also using the Timeshifter app.
Day one is basic — train to hotel, drop bags, then head out to lunch, visit the Arc de Triomphe (order will depend on what time we actually get to this point and when we are hungry). After that, metro to Galeries Lafayette Haussmann for some light shopping (mostly for charcuterie supplies for the evening), enjoy the dome, and rooftop terrace. And keep my husband from taking a nap. Late afternoon return to hotel for check in — and stay in the first night. I was able to book 2 nights at the Hotel Raphael in the Tower Duplex Suite, so we have a 30m private rooftop terrace with Eiffel and Arc views.
Day 2: Day trip to Brussels (why, you ask. We have to visit a friend who lives in Belgium and my husband really wanted to go there and see him for the first time in 30+ years.) I am not making any plans there, just having our friend play local tour guide for the day. Return to Paris around 5pm, to enjoy our terrace some more, and grab dinner nearby
Day 3: Relaxed breakfast and terrace until noon checkout. Sadly, we have too many hotel changes for our time in Paris, but I couldn’t pass up the rate i got for the room at Hotel Raphael so added it in. Metro to Hyatt Paris Etoile, drop bags. Spend afternoon exploring towards the Eiffel Tower (we have 6:30 pm tickets to the top). Prior to going up the Eiffel is fairly flexible and open to suggestions - cafes, beautiful doors, ?? Looking for a relaxed afternoon with no additional time sensitive things
Day 4: Day trip to Loire Valley via a tour
Day 5: Change to the Hotel du Louvre, drop bags early morning, then explore the Latin Quarter. I have lunch reservations at noon for Les Antiquaries, then Musee d’Orsay at 2pm, and Sainte Chapelle at 4:30. A tight schedule but that’s how it evolved. After Sainte Chapelle we can continue exploring, or go back to hotel to check in and rest a bit before our dinner at L’Initial at 8pm
Day 6: Sunday, May 1st (this messed up our museum schedule a bit due to holiday closures). Early morning explore around our hotel — Palais Royal, Louvre exterior, possibly hop on the metro to visit the Marche Bastille for a little bit to see if they have peonies. 11:30 Brunch at our hotel. Afternoon free to wander the Tuileries, towards Pont Alexandre. I booked a dinner cruise (Bateaux Mouches) for that evening (it’s our anniversary) but I’m still iffy on that. Reviews are all over the place, and we might prefer a casual meal at a crepe cart or cafe and a simple viewing cruise instead of the expensive dinner version. The dinner version also puts us back to out hotel later than I would like, as we have a very early morning the next day
Day 7: Monday —sunrise photo session so that we have some pics that aren’t selfies. Should be done around 8 am, then this day is free except for 7:30 dinner reservations at our hotel, in the L’Officine. Lots of places are closed on Monday, so maybe a good day to visit the Marais area? Maybe Jardin du Luxembourg?
Day 8: visit Montmartre in the early morning (hubby wants to see Moulin Rouge exterior) so basic walk between there and Sacre Coeur. Return to hotel for quick lunch at Eric Kayser if we didn’t eat in Montmartre, grab bags and head off to the train station for our overnight to Italy.