Critique My Itinerary for Paris

My thoughts:
Day 2: if pressed for time, do Napoleon's tomb rather than D'Orsay -- though you should try to work it in sometime.

Day 3: walking through the Tuilleries is great, and a great ending to the stroll is a visit to the Orangerie musuem - if you are into museums.

See the Arch De Triomphe, but skip walking all the way down the Champs Elysee -- take metro, bus or cab instead.

Idea for day 4: If nice weather -- walk the islands: la Cite and St. Louis, the Marais, and Place des Vosges -- great area for shopping, eating.

Congrats, Sarah, you have posted one of the most feasible proposed itineraries we have seen on this website (especially because you seem to have allowed for jetlag/travel fatigue). My only suggestion would be that the Musee D'Orsay is a little too extensive to fit in your second day. Certainly, you can see Napoleon's tomb in about 30 minutes. If you have extra time, you can stop by the adjacent Army Museum, or if that's not your flavor, the Rodin Museum sits nearly across the street.

Dear Sarah:

If it is a sunny day, go to Sainte Chappelle right when it opens at 9:30 a.m. on Day 2 - the effect of the sunlight on the stained glass is breathtaking and it is enhanced by the angle of the early morning light.

Enjoy your trip - in my mind, Paris is enjoyed more at a leisurely pace and remember - you will be back. Make sure you get a Paris Museum Pass - it will save you valuable time - we usually buy ours at St. Chappelle since it's the first place we go in Paris.

Very good itinerary. My only recommendation is that sometimes the line for the Eiffel Tower during the day is extremely long (and the tickets sell out really fast for the top tier), so you might want to consider going first thing in the morning on Day 4 and then spend time in Montmartre/Sacre-Couer later in the day.

Just check the weather forecast for the entire week before you plan anything you'll do outside (like the Eiffel Tower or Versailles). If it's raining, you'll need to adjust.

The Musee d'Orsay is excellent. I'd pass up shopping to spend more time there or at another museum. If all you want to shop for is small souvenirs, you can pick up some decent ones as you walk along the Seine between Notre Dame and Musee D'Orsay and check out the bouquinistes stalls (though they aren't open every day).

Looks like a good itinerary to me - I may have to copy some of it for my upcoming trip ;)

My only suggestion would be to work in the Rodin Museum. Just seeing the garden portion would be worth it and it is cheap - 1 euro last fall. The garden also stays open after the indoor museum has closed.

I agree with previous replies for the most part. If you have time, the Jardin du Luxembourg is one of the most popular 'parks' in Paris. if you like food shopping/browsing, Rue Mouffetard has lots of fresh fish and produce shops and is very quaint.

When you leave the Louvre, stop at Angelina down the rue de Rivoli for the world's best hot chocolate(africaine). But order extra hot milk to thin it. Even I, a chocolate queen, couldn't do a straight shot!

Christine -- I cut the Angelina hot chocolate with whipped cream!