Too many stairs! Help with 3-day Paris itinerary, please

If you like climbing, then I would climb to the top of the dome at the Sacre Couer (sp). This gives you such a fantastic view of the city.

It looks like a good schedule. One thing that got my attention is: "Eiffel Tower. Climb the stairs?" The tower is almost exactly 1000 feet high, climbing it would be the equivalent of climbing an 85-story building, almost the same as climbing the Empire State Building in NYC. Many people take the elevator to the top and then walk down, at least part way down.

Feasible, yes. Day three is a bit tight, but doable, provided you don't linger too long at any one site. You may consider the 2-day Paris Museum Pass, using it on days two and three. It won't save you much time on day 2, but will allow you to bypass the long lines at the Louvre and Orsay on day three. Unfortunately, there isn't a 1-day pass, which would have likely been the most useful for you.

Sadly I do not think we will have time to make it out to the Sacre Couer. Climbing the Eiffel Tower: the one other time we have been to Paris, we ended up with the "stairs" ticket (completely by accident, my daughter claims, but I am not so sure). If I remember correctly, it is 700 steps to the landing where you take the elevator to the very top (as far as I know, there is no way to walk all the way to the very top). The climb was not as bad as I thought it would be--you get to really see how the tower is constructed. I do plan to get the museum pass even though it is not the most cost-effective. And we do plan to spend only about two hours in each of the museums. We have been to the Louvre before but we spent a lot of time being lost, so this time we have a step-by-step plan.

Thanks for the advice!

Actually, if you use the pass on days two and three, you probably will save some money. The Orsay, Louvre, Sainte Chapelle and bell tower of Notre Dame (not the cathedral, which is free) are all included on the pass. So is the Arc de Triomphe, but it probably would not be worth your money to use the pass on this day. After a quick check, it doesn't look like the pass covers the Opera Garnier.

No! Don't climb the stairs at the E. Tower - take the elevator, maybe in the evening; you could even go to the Rue Cler and get a picnic to eat on the grounds first. Save your climbing for places with no elevator - definitely climb them at N. Dame. Your Wed. is awfully busy, especially b/c there could be lines at both museums.