Paris Itinerary Question

Hi Cary, I'll "bump" you up to the top of the list. First, unless she is experiencing morning sickness or other less common condition, she should be able to walk an almost normal distance at 4 1/2 months. But it is kind of you to worry about it. I don't have a slick answer for you other than to put dots on a map representing the places you "must" go and then put them into 5 logistically convenient groupings. I say five because you'll have six days and you should set one aside as a free day. If you were planning to leave the city for day-trips, then subtract those from your available Paris days and regroup things accordingly. Once you have sights in groups that are close enough together to walk from one to the other, then you can take the Metro if you have to at the beginning and end of each day. Heck, take it any time it will save you walking if you want to. Just be aware that sometimes there is a lot of walking involved in just getting from the street to the platform, so any distance less than a mile or so might be better to stay above ground. There are busses, too. Another approach might be to plan each day in two parts - an early itinerary and a late itinerary, with a nap back at the hotel or a significant "sit at the cafe" break to rest and recharge. You could go in two opposite directions in the same day that way without feeling like you were being inefficient. For example, you could do Montmartre from 9-2PM and Eiffel Tower from 5-8PM on the same day even though they are no where near each other (we did that). You've given yourself a nice amount of time, so I don't think you have to stress too much over it.

Well Paris is pretty easy,, just as said before, pick your must sees, mark on a map, and just do the ones closest to each other each day.
Keep in mind, many museums close on a monday or tuesday, so check that you don't plan a visit to a museum thats closed,, I have done it and it sucks to go across town only to discover you are there on the wrong day! Some sites are close to each other, Notre Dame, St Chapelle, the Concierge are all within a few blocks of each other . Louvre and Tuilleries Gardens, Place Concord, are side by side. You can then walk up the Champs to the Arc D'Triomphe. The Orsay and Rodin , Invalids War Museum and Napoleons Tomb are all close together. Consider using the Hop on and Off buses for first two days( two day ticket is only a few euros more then the one day, purchase as you board) L'Open Tour is a good one. You can get on and off as you wish, see a site, hop back on,, if wife is tired stay on and enjoy a snack( buy at a store) while bus rides around,, there is a basic taped commentary to listen to with provided earphones. You will get the lay of the land, and perhaps decide to visit a site again another day.

I know you want to minimize walking, but I'm going to suggest Paris Walks anyway. I found they were not too strenuous, and there were places to sit at times. They last about 2 hours. http://www.paris-walks.com/

Pat I think you answered his question!! I agree with only 2 big sites/day, that way if you want to stay longer at something you can. Maybe plan a day where it's only one sight, then if you feel you need to go back to something or you just want to sit at a cafe and relax you can. Also ask at your hotel, sometimes they're very helpful with things like this. Sorry, don't know of any links.

Another hint: have plans for more outdoor sites and for more indoor sites. The weather can be lovely one day and rainy the next. With 7 days, it's easier to juggle them. Most sights are standing/walking experiences. Try to find opportunities to see some of them sitting down: go to an evening concert at Sainte Chapelle instead of being with the crowds during the day. Several churches have organ concerts - Notre Dame usually has 1/2 hour organ recitals on Sundays at 4.00. An easy way to start grouping sites geographically is to look at their zip codes. The last 2 digits are the arrondissement. All those in the same arr. will be reasonable close to each other and to those in the next arr. number. And once you know the arr., it's easier to spot them on the map.

In addition to the helpful advice already given, you could start with a Paris "Streetwise" map. The map indicates all the major (and minor) tourist sites, so you could use the map to confirm which are closer to each other.

One thing not mentioned so far: Museum Pass. You might want to check out what is covered and which of those places you want to see. If you find you want to purchase the pass, you would want to group those places in terms of time in order to minimize the number of days to purchase. Then you can list the remaining sights and allocate time according to geography.

We spent a lot of time in Paris. I organized an itinerary using post-it notes (free, pay, Paris pass) I also put all the museums times in an Excel spread sheet as museums aren't always open. I looked at a map and tried to organize all the free stuff before we bought the pass. Doing it this way let me set some priorities. Crowds, heat, or rain will absolutely destroy your itinerary so matter how flexible. With the post-it notes, we could just readjust each day and reprioritize.

Previous poster mentions Post It Note itinerary for easy changes. Would you explain how that works? What do you put on the Post It Note? I am fairly organized but I don't think I would do the Excel Spreadsheet. In RS Paris/France Guides, he has a "box" which shows the days and times the museums and other important sighteeing places are open/closed. Bobbie