Paris in 3 days

"We mostly want to do - Arc de triumph, Notredame, Lourve, Versailles"

Depending on what time of year you travel and how much of the Louvre you want to see, the addition of Versailles makes this itinerary a little tight, but feasible.

Thanks..we will be there May 10th through May 13th in the afternoon.
We are thinking of spending may be a couple of hrs when the baby is napping in Lourve...not more than that.
would the batobus or open bus tour be helpful for us rather than taking the metro?

I would consider carefully before deciding on using one of your only two full days for Versailles.

At the Louvre they have a section,, Napoleons Apartments, see it, it will give you a good taste of gilding and palace decor.(n same area has a section on Crown Jewels, so you can get your "opulence hit" LOL) I LOVE Versailles, but its worth more then a few hours,, you need at least 5 ( an hour door to door from you hotel), a quick walk through Palace( where it is hard to be quick because of the crowds in front of you) and a quick walk throught ht grounds,, (not even able to get to Maries Hamlet) and you are done.. it is nicer to allow more of a full day. So, for only a short visit perhaps save it for next time) since there is so much to see in Paris!

I have taken the HOHO bus , ( L'Open Tour) and the Batobus,, I prefered the bus, as with the boat you only see sites up and down the river,, but with the bus ( one route in pariticular is very good, the "green " one) you get to drive right through neighborhoods. Metro IS faster and cheaper, but you see nothing and just pop up like a gopher at sites. LOL Fine, but the bus allows you to see alot,, but, one thing, I would only take the bus on a nice day,, its only fun to sit up top!

Take toddler to Luxembourg Park, it is lovely for tots,, and you will enjoy it also, a nice break after a few hours in a museum! Grab picnic stuff and eat lunch in park, child can play etc..

We took a toddler to Paris and I would definitely bring a lightweight folding stroller (umbrella stroller) even if he/she prefers to walk. You can use the stroller for naptime and mealtime if there is no high chair and best of all we got special treatment because we had the stroller. Like no waiting and getting to use the very cool open elevator at the Louvre. Read all the websites of the places you want to see - it will make things go more smoothly on a tight timeline. See Versailles next time unless it is #1 on your list. Consider another location other than the E Tower to get a good view. The E Tower is very crowded and once you are up top you can see all of Paris except its most famous sight! I would suggest you start at the Notre Dame and take a walk up heh river to the Louvre and the Arch. Nice walk and you see everything. There are a few spots with play ground equipment on the way. Louxembourg Gardens is also great! I prefer to picnic in Paris. Give some bread, cheese and wine and I am good to go. Crepes on the street are fantastic and the ham and cheese ones make a nice dinner. Restaurants have sandwiches to go that are cheaper than ordering at a table. Paris is fun and family friendly - enjoy!

We took our daughter when she was 5 months old and again when she was 4 years old. A folding umbrella stroller is your friend.

I would take the HOHO bus instead of boat. Less distance to the major sites. I also agree that on a short trip, Versailles isn't worth it.

Paris has many playgrounds scattered about. Also carousels. Allow yourself plenty of time to see the city through a kid's eyes.

Versailles is going to be hard to squeeze in due to travel time and stuff. I would save it for next time. Other wise I would hit your other sites via metro and if you would like to take a boat in the seine than why not? It's a good way to get the layout of the city... maybe a good thing to start with on your jet lag day. You could get the boat bus deal.... basically a day pass on the seine. It's a nice break from the metro and a good tip if the metro goes on strike!

And remember the most important fact about Europe:
IF there is an escalator, it likely is under repair. If it happens not to be, there will be only one - and it goes up so you have to get down by stairs.

I agree with most of above posters, especially for such a short visit to skip Versailles this time...and DO bring a lightweight umbrella stroller, even if the child would rather walk. Unless the child has recently done the Boston Marathon you won't get to see much at toddler speed. I agree with Pat, L'Open Tour for the hop on /hop off is best (tested by friends, not myself) www.paris-opentour.com. And for the river view, take a bateaux mouche at night. Our favorite is the Vedettes du Pont Neuf, smaller but a bit more expensive than the Bateaux Mouches at Pont de l'Alma. And yes, Metro is good and inexpensive, but i have "fond" memories of carrying kids up and down a lot of stairs when we went into the city to see MéMé(grandma)

Good point about the stairs and toddlers... I didn't consider that. There are many, many, many stairs to navigate on the metro system and that could pose a problem with a stroller and a stampede of commuting Parisians. I like the idea of the batobus on the Seine. That would be an easy and fun way to get to most of the major sites even with a stroller(most are on the Seine)

You guys are the best!!
Thank you very much for all your pointers.

We just returned from Paris with our children. They are much, much older than your little one, but as a mother of twins, I don't think I will ever forget the "almost 2 year old" stage. There is a very nice playground for young children in the Tuilleries Gardens, which is outside the Louvre. It is on the Rue de Rivoli side of the Gardens.

I really like the idea of you being able to take the Open Air Bus, particularly the green line, because you will be able to see the things that you might not be able to see this trip with a toddler. You might not be able to go INTO the Arc de Triomphe because there are about a million stairs, but you can at least see it and wonder at it. You may not want to go to the Eiffel Tower as the lines are frequently 2+ hours long (there is no way to get online tickets or advance tickets) ---with a toddler I can't imagine doing that or even spending your precious time in that way. But you will see the Tower in all its glory from the bus. You will get to see the sights (and hear about them, you will get a set of earphones and a guided tour), and then you can decide what you might want to go back to see. YOu can also get on & off the bus all day, based on your toddler's mood, the time of day, etc. Your child will probably love the feeling of the wind in his/her face on the top of the bus! By the way, I like the Batobus, too, but I think the bus is better for variety, sights, and especially with a toddler the feel of the wind! Good luck! SuzieeQQ in San Diego CA

PS:

Info re Open Air Bus and the different routes:

http://goparis.about.com/od/paristours/ss/Parisbustours_3.htm