Paris for 3 days

We spent four nights (three full days) in Paris last month. After driving through the Loire Valley and Brittany, we then spent several nights in Normandy, so our itinerary was about the same as yours. Here is what we did: (be sure you check for which days museums are closed.)

Tuesday in Paris: Notre Dame towers (highlight) and crypt , walk through Ile St. Louis to Marais (Place Vosges and Carnevalet museum), Ile St. Louis return (Berthillon ice cream is just as good as all the tour books say!), more of Ile de Cite, Latin Quarter walkies (where our hotel was). Dinner every night Cafe Montebello--reasonable prices and Notre Dame view.Every night after dinner we walked back to Notre Dame and watched the fire twirlers and drummers.
Wednesday:; St. Chapelle (buy 2-day museum pass here), Montemartre, Opera Garnier tour , Louvre, buy Batobus (Seine hop-on, hop-off boat)two day ticket, Batobus to Eiffel Tower (no ascent yet) More Latin Quarter walkies.
Thursday: Luxembourg Gardens, Cluny Museum, St. Sulpice (rose line), D'Orsay museum, Rodin gardens, Rue Cler, Eiffel Tower (late afternoon ascent), Trocadero.

We deliberately skipped Arc de Triomphe/ Champs Elysses and went to Montmartre in the daytime, although most prefer evening. The Batobus takes you near most tourist attractions except Montmartre and is a cheaper alternative to the Seine boat tours.

Will do Normandy info in another post.

The batobus is a fantastic way to get around. Almost anywhere you will want to go is an easy walk from the river, and there are multiple stops on both sides. If you do get a ticket or pass for the batobus, take a trip at night. The bridges and everything else are lit up and you get the same view as if you take the much more expensive boat tour. Paris is magical at night. Don't forget to make time to just experience the city. Sit at a sidewalk cafe and people watch while you rest your feet. Wander around. What time of year are you going?

I leave next week, and he will join me the following week! We are staying in the Rue Cler area. The night boat sounds fun...never done it myself. I told him he needs to watch "Saving Private Ryan" prior to visiting Normandie, he's too young to have any idea about the invasion.
He will probably want to go out alone later in the evening. I'm not sure where he should go for a drink with younger people.

Here is what we did recently in Normandy: We started in the west at Dinan (not in Normandy, but only about twenty miles across the border) and moved east. You might be able to rework this into a circular tour starting from a northwest of Paris pick-up rental car point. I will also give you minimum times for each..we move at a fairly quick but not frenetic pace...
Dinan (2-3 hrs) has a great medieval core, especially Rue Jezebel. St. Malo (2-3 hrs with lunch), 20 miles north, is also very old and fascinating and big enough to have lots of good shops for quality souvenirs.
St. Michel's Mount is just east of St. Malo. Go after 4:00 to avoid all the tours. We found three hours there was plentyi.
Two nearby castles that we did not have time for but were highly recommended were at Fougeres and Vitre.
Bayeaux (1 hr to view--might be a line to enter) has the wonderful 1066 tapestry with a good audio commentary.
We went to Omaha Beach (l hr) and the American cemetery(l hr). We aren't "into" WW II history, so that was an adequate sample for us.
We stayed at Les Andeleys two nights. From here, we saw Giverney (2-3 hrs) (wonderful gardens, closed Monday, get there at 9:30 to beat most of the crowds), Les Andeleys has a superb ruined castle up on the hill, built by Richard the Lion-Hearted (1-2 hrs).
Rouen (3 hrs. with lunch)has the cathedral Monet painted, St. Ouen plague cemetery, and the site of Joan of Arc's burning.

We wanted to see Jumieges Monastery but didn't have time.
We stopped at Honfleur (2-3 hrs)(superb wharf area) for lunch on our way north. Also, briefly at Etretat (l hr) to see the famous cliffs that Monet painted.

Regarding Paris--the Batobus stops running at 9:30.

I don't know if it is too late, but I really recommend going to Bayeux and doing the Battlebus tours. They are just fantastic and even if people are not familiar with the history of D-Day, they will still be impressed and fascinated by the tours that Battlebus offers. You get to see so much more than if you were just on your own. They take you back in the hedgerows, to the cemeteries, the museums and the beaches. But it is the personal stories from the soldiers that they tell, that make this tour so meaningful.
For Paris, I would also suggest going to Sacre Cour and walk up in the dome, as it offers a marvelous view of Paris and is an amazing church in itself.

http://troi.cc.rochester.edu/~tdip/tomsguidetoparis.htm

Hi Marilyn,... the above link is Tom's Guide to Paris. Tom lives in Paris. If you have questions the guide does not fully answer, just send Tom an email. To do that, click on CONTACT ME. bon voyage...P

I was in Paris in August '06 and stayed in the Rue Cler area. The nearest batobus stop is by the Eiffel Tower, an easy walk. It is the beginning of the line, so to speak. If you take the last one that leaves the Eiffel Tower, it will return you there. If the lights aren't on when you leave, they will turn on during the time you will be on board. When we were there they had turned part of the riverfront into a "beach" and it was very cool the way they had it set up. There is another stretch that there are people dancing at night. Your pass gets you on and off all day. Have a fantastic trip!