4 Days In Paris

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is walk - especially through Ile St. Louis (little island east of Notre Dame), Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame is) and along the river to Place de la Concorde and back. Another favorite are the Luxembourg Gardens... a beautiful, wonderful park well worth your time. There are places on your list I would skip... Pantheon, Catacombs, Champs-Elysee, Moulin Rouge and rue Cler... but that's just me.

As someone else said group things together and while ambitious it will be doable. for example: Start at the Arc de Triomphe, walk down the Champs Elysses, through the garden, and you will be at the Louvre. Depending on your ticket time or the Eiffel Tower you can probably add it into this one.
Your best bet is to grab a map and see how one thing can lead into another.

This is a fairly ambitious schedule for four days, but not impossible. I guess it depends on your energy level, what time you get started and if you take meal breaks. I think Place de Vosges is missable, but if you're there, the entire Marais is worth wandering through. The Louvre is not missable and you can spend a whole day there and only make a dent in it (as I found out only a few days ago). My 2 centimes worth.

Group it and it's easy. Group One: Sainte Chapelle (first thing), Concierge, Notre Dame, Vosques. Group Two: Saint Sulpice, Pantheon, Catacombs. Group Three: Louvre, Concorde, Champs, Arc. Group Four: Moulin Rouge, Sacre Cour. Rue Cler and ET - - whenever No group can take more than a half day (maybe an hour each and probably more for the Louvre, but that segment is just a long walk from the museum to the Arc). Group Four is more transportation logisitics than anything else.

I think this is doable, assuming you have a good energy level. You might consider a hop-on-hop-off bus for a day to see places where you don't need to spend a lot of time (Arc de Triomphe, Pantheon, Place des Vosges, Champs, Place de la Concorde, St. Sulpice). Notre Dame, Ste. Chappelle, and Concergerie are close together on the Ile de la Cite. The Louvre is worth at least a whole day, best to get there when it opens and you'll have to be ive. You've got the Eiffel Tower covered already. Note which sights are closed which days and time your visits accordingly. I've only been outside the Moulin Rouge and I'm not sure what the appeal is. Rue Cler is nice but there are many pedestrian market streets like it (Rue Mouffetard, Rue Daguerre, Rue Levis, others), so you could pick any of them based on convenience or where you're staying. You might find the Catacombs a stretch, though they are pretty amazing. Long lines and off-center location could eat up more time than you want to use in a short trip. Use a map to group these places so you don't backtrack too much, take advantage of the HOHO bus to see the street scenes between sites, and walk in neighborhoods near the sights you'll be seeing (Marais for Place des Vosges, Latin Quarter and Luxembourg Gardens for Pantheon, Ile de la Cite, etc.) You might also consider an evening boat ride on the Seine to see things lit up. I haven't done this but people on this board recommend the evening cruise (but not necessarily the dinner that sometimes accompanies at higher cost). Save some time to sit in cafes and watch the people go by (your feet and bladders will thank you). Save time and $ by having bread-and-cheese picnic lunches in beautiful parks. And assume you will return. Edit -- Just saw Ed's plan above, makes much sense, as he always does.

My 2 euro-cents worth? Forget rue Cler.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! We definitely planned on spending a morning seeing Notre Dame, Concierge, and Chapelle. Ed - your plan looks easy and doable, thanks for putting it together! I think the Catacombs are a bit far out (and not my thing) but DH is looking forward to them, if we have the time. They are at the bottom of the list right now. I didn't know about the other pedestrian market streets, was just going by RS's suggestion... so thanks for the heads up! Moulin Rouge is just a photo opportunity if we're close.. I loved the movie, so I wanted to see it.

The Moulin Rouge is a huge disappointment if you like the movie, it's very small and in a boring yet seedy area. That said, if you're going to Sacre-Coeur already, just walk down from it to the Moulin Rouge, and then hop on the Metro at Pigalle to your next destination. It's a nice enough walk so you might as well. I saw most of these things in a lazy, non-ambitious trip to Paris in 3 days, without even meaning to, just because we were walking all over (total: 20 miles, yipes!) I wouldn't spend a full day at the Louvre, and I love art. It's just too big and exhausting. Instead, focus on first thing in the morning (or seeing it during one of the late nights - Wednesday and Friday I believe?) and focus on just the "highlights" as outlined by Rick Steves (audio guide available on this website) OR pick a section or two (Greece? Egypt? Italian Renaissance Masters?) and cover those only and ignore the other stuff, as hard as it is. After 3-4 hours in the Louvre you'll be exhausted and need a break. There's no reason to turn it into the Baatan Death March of museum trips. Assume you will return. The Catacombs are cool, but if you don't care, why not split up with your husband? You can see something else you want to, or just enjoy some down time in a cafe. Don't miss the Palais du Luxembourg (that is the gardens there) if you're going to be at the Patheon. It's just a few blocks away and is really lovely. Place des Vosges isn't that amazing, but seeing Hugo's house is cool, and the walk through the Marais to get there is very interesting.

On this Memorial Day, I must recommend that if you can work the timing, do your best to be at the Arc in time to see the rekindling of the eternal flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier. It's done every evening at 18:30, but it's good to be a bit early to see the traffic stopped and the veterans and others carrying the flags and flowers in the short procession over to the Arc for the ceremony. After everyone in the procession has crossed the street, the traffic starts up again and you can take the underground passage to the Arc to see the ceremony up close.

Jenn, I would echo's Ed's suggestions as well as other's opinion of the Moulin Rouge (not a big deal). Advice regarding Sunday mass at Notre Dame - if you arrive early (7 am) you will likely have the cathedral to yourself and mass will start at 8 am. Tour buses begin arriving soon there after!