3 Nights in Paris

I think you have a well-paced itinerary. That said, you'll be concentrating on the big tourist sites and leaving yourself little time for aimless wandering in neighborhood Paris (and the Rue Cler is not neighborhood Paris). I don't think the Rodin is worth the time unless you are into sculpture (I've beem there twice).

Don't spend the money for a dinner cruise. But the cruise itself is worthwhile. Pack a picnic.

I'm not familiar with what's on Rick's walk, but I don't see Notre Dame listed....surely you want to go check it out, no?

I agree that it's worth planning some time just to wander and soak up the atmosphere, stroll along the river, etc. But otherwise it sounds like a good pace to me.

I'd swap out visiting Napoleon's Tomb/Army Museum on Sunday and do that on Monday or Tuesday instead. Then you can see it free with your 2 Day Museum Pass.

Spend the time on Sunday walking through Tuileries and then part of Champs Elysees (though, personally, I think this street is so overly commercialized it isn't worth any time).

On Monday, you can take the Metro straight from the Louvre to the Arc.

Thanks for the replies everyone! We thought about Napoleon's Tomb on Monday or Tuesday, but the drawback is the Monday we're there is the 1st Monday of the month and it's closed then. Maybe we swap this out with the Rodin on Tuesday? We'll talk about that and about just wandering Tuileries and Champs Elysees on Sunday.

David-Notre Dame is on the first part of Rick's walk. We figured we'd start with that in the AM and work our way out from there. The only part that worries me is moving Napoleon's Tomb to Tuesday as Rick's book says plan for 4 hours for the Walk though I'm guessing 5-6 for us. Then the Orsay probably a couple hours? Maybe do the Tomb on Wednesday but not sure if we do just that, go to Sacre Coeur, or both?

Thanks again for the itinerary feedback everyone!

A couple of suggestions for dining...one night try a neighborhood bistro in the St Germain de Pres area (heading north from the Metro) then follow that up with a dinner on Isle St Louis.

Mmmm....sounds good Bill!

What dates will you be there? We are arriving in Paris on Monday, June 16, leaving for Chartres, Friday, June 20. We return home July 4, so I will post "how it went" then.

Here is our tentative plan (It probably has too many things on it each day, but I like to have more than we can do instead of not enough; I'm a teacher, so I always overplan!)

Monday: arrive on Eurostar about 6 P.M. Since we will have just flown SFO to London, we will not do much that evening except eat and enjoy the views from the left bank of Notre Dame.

Tuesday: Notre Dame towers and crypt, Ile St. Louis, Marais (Place Vosges), maybe a bit of Promenade Plantee, recross the river, Jardin de Plantes, Lutece Arena, Luxembourg Gardens time permitting. Dinner, maybe a picnic.

Wednesday: Montmartre early morning( we like quiet, not glitz), lunch Printemps dept. store (view cafe on top), Opera Garnier tour, St.Chapelle, Louvre , dinner.

Thursday: Cluny museum (tapestries), St. Suplice, see Eiffel Tower (may not go up--haven't decided yet), Rodin gardens for lunch, D'Orsay, dinner.

We like to walk, but will also be using the Batobus for transportation.

If you'd like more detail, PM me.

Go to Sace Coeur at sunset and sit on the hillside and take in the beautiful views. Some people take a picnic or a bottle of wine. You can also eat somewhere around the area.

We leave in a few weeks...sounds like a great trip! I too will post how it went for us. We're going to talk some more tonight about some of the suggestions. We haven't planned too much our meals as we may just "explore" some for that, though my wife has found a few places in Rick's book she likes. We may do our more sit down meals for lunch to save a bit of money and to take advantage of some relaxation in the middle of the day. Then picnic at night while others are in the restaurant.

This plan is feasible, but do yourself a favor... relax a bit when you get to Normandy!

Thanks Tom! We will! We have a D-Day tour on one day, but the evening we get there and the day we leave (don't leave Caen until 3:30) is pretty much unplanned. We have some ideas, but we're going to play it by ear. Staying at Hotel D'Argouges in Bayeux and can't wait!

I second Paul's advice to visit Sacre Coeur late in the day. It was a little hectic at that time but the views in sunlight and later sunset were worth it.

I third the Sacre Coeur evening picnic with wine. It's a beautiful view in a fantastic setting. You won't be alone, but that's part of the fun. You might wander around the artist areas just past the church when you're done soaking in the wine and view.
Musee de Orsay is great too. I like the Notre Dame area and Isle de St Louis and Rue Moufetard for just walking around. Bob Voyage! Paris is an AMAZING city!!! My favorite.

I third the Sacre Coeur evening picnic with wine. It's a beautiful view in a fantastic setting. You won't be alone, but that's part of the fun. You might wander around the artist areas just past the church when you're done soaking in the wine and view.
Musee de Orsay is great too. I like the Notre Dame area and Isle de St Louis and Rue Moufetard for just walking around. Bon Voyage! Paris is an AMAZING city!!! My favorite.

Looks like a picnic at Sacre Coeur is in order! We're going to sit down and tweak the schedule a bit over the weekend. Thanks again to all who have posted suggestions! It's been a big help posting our tentative itinerary and having people provide feedback. Next week...Germany! :-)

Don't forget to see the Eiffel Tower light up at 11pm. Everyone comes out to see it. It's a great people watching /picnic time