Because this was my third trip to Paris I was ready to bypass the big name sights, most of which I had already seen. Also, I discovered that for most of these sights, the Louvre or the Eifel Tower for example, you’ll want to book timed entry ahead. The lines of people at these sights were very long.
I purchased a 4 day Museum Pass for 80 Euros for this visit at the Tourist Office at Charles Degaulle Airport. (Also buy your RER ticket into Paris here.) With it I visited The Army Museum/Napoleon’s tomb, St. Denis Cathedral, Chateau Fountainbleau, The Cluny Museum and The Conciergerie. There are many other sites that subscribe to the Museum Pass, for example St. Chapelle and the Orsay. If you plan on visiting these big name sites be sure to check their websites for entry rules and sign up for timed entry if it is possible. There were no lines at any of the sights I visited.
You have to move fast to get your 80 Euros of value from your various visits. I believe I slightly overpaid compared to paying for individual entry at the places I saw. I wondered if purchasing the 2 day pass would have been better.
I also booked ahead to join a tour group to visit the Opera Garnier. This visit was fantastic, I highly recommend it. The Opera Garnier is not included in the Museum Pass sights.
If you do travel to Chateau Fountainbleau you take a train from Gare Lyon. The ticket you will buy at Gare Lyon says Fountainbleau Avon, Avon is the adjacent village. Stay on the train to the Fountainbleau Avon train station. You then take a local bus through the village to the Chateau, maybe a 10 minute ride. The bus is 2.50 Euros (I think) cash only or use your Paris Metro Navigo Card as I did.
Google maps had me get off the train from Gare Lyon train at Melun to take a bus trip of 5 miles or so to Fountainbleau. This is wrong. I got off at Melun, luckily the man at the ticket counter spoke English and told me to get on the next train to complete my trip, a bit of travelers luck there. On this detour I did discover where one of the gates to hell is, that is the restroom at the Melun station.
Upon returning from Chateau Fountainbleau I took the Metro to visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery. The cemetery is quite interesting and I did deliberately avoid Jim Morrison’s grave.
After the cemetery I attempted to follow RS’s suggestion to take a bus and see more of the city. Bus #69 runs from the cemetery past many famous sites to the Eifel Tower near my hotel. The trip through town was great but once we got into the Marais, on a busy Saturday late afternoon, the driver made an announcement in French at a stop and all passengers exited. The driver did not speak English. I walked along the bus route as far as the Hotel de Ville but another #69 never did come along so it was back to the Metro for me. In a future visit I will attempt to make more use of the buses vs. the Metro.
The hotel I was staying in was a 10 minute walk from the Eifel Tower very close to the La Motte-Picquet Grenelle Metro station where 3 metro lines meet. The hotel was up a side street and it was very quite. I didn’t realize until this visit that, all other things being equal, having your hotel near a metro stop where multiple lines converge can speed your metro trips throughout Paris. The main streets in this area have plenty of cafes, restaurants, and shops. I would stay in this area again.