Paris for 1 week in December

Monday les invalides Napoleans tomb, Gold Dome Eiffel champs de mars Park between Eiffle Tower and Ecole Militaire ecoile de militare Southeast in champs de mars Military school==walk by? Tuesday Ile de la cite point neuf oldest bridge across river Seine notre dame// archaeological crypt saint chapelle Wednesday Versailles Thursday montmarte sacre coeur place du terte A few streets from Sacre Coeur local artist orsay//orangerie Night Thursday Friday Paris Science Museum Louvre // palais royale Night Friday Saturday Opera De Paris - Sat 11.30 and 14.30 The Paris Tropical Aquarium€4.50 Tue–Fri 10.00–17.15 Sat & Sun 10.00-19.00 Left Over trying to fit in the plan tuilleries garden 1st arrondissement nest to the Louvre pantheon 5th arrondissement Latin quarter 10:00 to 18:00 7 euro jardin du luxemburg 6th arrondissement bastille market 11th arrondissement arc de triomphe
champs elysee

I didn't notice a question about the Paris museum pass, but, a high percentage of the attractions you list are included. I am looking at only the first post as the original is all that shows on the reply screen, but I don't recall seeing the Cluny. If it is not on your list, it should be. It is covered by the pass. Same for Rodin museum and Versailles.

Very detailed! And looks like you have really done your research. I would consider including the Carnevalet Museum - both because it is free and because it is jam-packed with all manner of incredible things related to the history of the city, including a death mask of Napoleon, and some AMAZING 18th century political cartoons that have to be seen to be believed. Place des Vosges is also lovely and very worth a stroll, and not on your list. More to the point, you don't seem to have included time to just sit at a cafe and do the whole absorb-the-atmosphere thing. You could easily fit the Tuilleries in by grabbing a cup of cafe creme there before you go into the Louvre. There's a place called Cafe Diane right in the gardens, pretty near the entrance to the Museum, where you could experience the superb people-watching, have an excellent coffee, and enjoy a little relaxing time-out. The Arc de Triompe and Champs Elysees are easily fit in by simply taking the Metro to l'Etoile, getting out, seeing the Arc, and then strolling down the Champs Elysees. Paris is a very, VERY walkable city, and many things are surprisingly close together.

Melissa, check this out to get a daily little taste of Paris before your trip:
http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

Hi, I will be traveling to Paris in December as well, and one way I will get in some of the must-see sights is by taking Rick's self-guided taxi tour. It makes a circuit around the center of the city so you can see a lot of the showy buildings, the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe. It is in his Paris guide book. I will be there Christmas week, so my itinerary is made more complicated by the fact that my Monday and Tuesday (Christmas Eve and Christmas day ) will be faced with a lot of closures. I won't be seeing nearly as much as you will.

Almost all the sites you cover (including Versailles and Fontainebleu) are included in the Paris Museum Pass, about the only ones that aren't are the tours, the Montparnasse Tower and the Opera. It sounds definitely as if you should get it. Don't bother with any other Paris passes, they aren't good value for money. Don't bother buying it in advance and paying mailing fees, get it at one of the smaller museums within the scheme (ie NOT the Louvre or Orsay) and you won't have to wait very long. As you are staying from Sunday to Sunday it would be worth getting a Navigo Decouverte transport pass, which is a weekly pass for bus, tram, metro and RER (though not as far out as Versailles or Fontainebleu) that is only available for a Mon-Sun calendar week. Don't bother getting any other travel pass as they aren't good value for money.

The weekly Navigo is currently 19 Euro 50, with an extra 5 Euro charge for the smartcard (which you can use again if you go back to Paris). A small photo is required.

Map out your desired locations by vicinity using www.viamichelin.com and www.maps.google.com to increase the efficiency of your commutes.
BUT I urge you to be anti-efficient and slow down. "Seeing" an attraction is not the same as getting a feel for what it is about and understanding what it means. The Louvre, for instance, needs at least a half-day just to scratch the surface of its significance in the history of art. Going up the Eiffel Tower is a been-there-done-that experience, but the line-ups can be lengthy. And to really appreciate it you need to cross the river and climb up to the Trocadero to gaze at the panorama. So there's most of a half-day gone. You will learn just as much sitting in a cafe sipping expresso for a morning and watching Paris walk by. Slow down and smell the fleur-de-lys.

Nicely planned. Unless you have a specific interest in science and marine life, I would skip the science museum and acquarium for some of the other suggestions which are more specific to Paris: Rodin Museum, Carnavalet, Picasso Museum....