Daily itinerary-free time- Rome and Paris city tours

I did the Best of Paris in October 2022. You will usually meet as a group in the morning outside the hotel at 9a.m. The morning activities were normally over between noon and 1p.m. You will meet for group dinners outside the hotel around 6p.m.

The only museum I did on my own that I bought a timed ticket for before I left home was for the Dior museum. I just had to see it after watching “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.” I loved that museum and I think it was the most fun and fascinating thing I did in Paris.

Do try to take a tour of the Palais Garnier (the Opera house). It is mind boggling beautiful. You will be right around the corner from the Gallerie Lafayette so you definitely have to check that out. It is stunning. Go up to the roof for a wonderful view of Paris.

Père Lachaise cemetery is definitely not to be missed. I enjoyed that much more than I ever thought I would. It sounds so weird to tour a cemetery, doesn’t it?

This is a very active tour. My iPhone clocked 18,000 steps a day. They aren’t joking when they say you will do 5 to 8 miles a day. Some of my tour mates did more! There are a ton of stairs in the Metro, the Louvre, Versailles and at the Sacré Couer. I hope you are in shape!

Excellent advice from Lori! I'll just add that I hope you are going to arrive a day or so ahead of time but if you are doing them soon then you probably already have your flights booked.

Are you doing them back to back?

I have taken both of these RS tours (pre-pandemic) and they were wonderful! In both cases, I added a day or two before each tour and a day after each tour. If you can swing some extra days, you will have more flexibility in planning your own excursions. The “first” day of the tour generally starts late in the afternoon, so you can easily fit something in earlier on that day if you arrive a day or two ahead of time.

The itineraries for these tours may have changed a bit since I took them. Read the itineraries closely and you will get a better idea of the schedule. I would not schedule anything on afternoons that have an included activity, but that should leave several free afternoons.

Breakfasts at the hotels were generally available from 7:00 on - you go whenever it works for you. It’s not a “group “ meal. I think we met for touring at 8:30-9:00. Morning activities were usually done by 12:00-1:00. Most lunches are “on your own,” so if you are in a rush, you can just grab something or even skip it. As you make friends on the tour, you may want to have lunch with them, and of course, that will take more time. Occasionally, a lunch is included and that eats up more of the afternoon (but so worth it!) On the Versailles day, you can spend the afternoon seeing more of the palace grounds or head back early to Paris to do something else. Just be sure to build in time on the train, etc. I think group dinners were at about 6:00. When we had dinners on our own, we could eat much later - in Paris, many restaurants don’t even open until 7:00.

Keep in mind that the Paris tour includes a 6-day museum pass, so you don’t want to pay for museums individually in advance if they will be included. Granted I traveled before the pandemic but, except for the really super-popular sites (and those are generally included in the tour with the notable exception of the Eiffel Tower), I could get admission tickets for most places at the last minute, or just walk up. I came prepared with a list of possible things I wanted to do, but organized my days as the tour went along based on the tour schedule, weather, what others were doing, my energy level and so on. Yes, your tour guide can give you more specifics about the schedule once you are there. Guides usually post the next day’s schedule in the lobby around dinner time, so you know what to expect the next day.

Excellent suggestions. Yes doing Rome then Paris back to back in October. I am arriving a day early for Rome and then traveling between Rome and Paris on day Rome tour ends before Paris tour starts so will have a partial day then plus the morning/early afternoon before official start of Paris tour. I have booked myself for the Eiffel Tower the evening in between the two tours.

I only have a couple extra things I am thinking of doing in Rome. Otherwise mostly walking and seeing things as I go. In Paris I would like to go to the Orangier Museum and the Pompidou Center which we don't do on the tour. I was also going to do one of the RS guidebook planned walks for places not visited on the tour.

Any suggestions for Rome?

In Rome, you might want to spend one of your afternoons with a trip out to Ostia Antica. Very easy to get there using public transit, usually not crowded at all, and only takes three to four hours from the time you leave until you return. It some ways it's better than Pompeii.

The Rome tour takes a day trip to Ostia Antica.

Oops, did not realize tour went to Ostia Antica.

I haven't done these two tours but I've done others, and Lori and other posters have given good info and suggestions. I always try to have at least a tentative plan for free time so I'm not wondering what to do or having to depend too much on the guide for ideas. That said, your guide will offer suggestions for how to spend whatever time you have after the day's activities and before the next event. You are also free to skip anything on the tour, including a group meal, as long as you notify the guide and your "buddy" beforehand. In Florence I skipped a cooking class + lunch to visit another museum. You mustn't be late for the bus or other group departures, but I doubt if those city tours use buses anyway.

Smart to book the ET the evening before your Paris tour starts. A great introduction to another great city.