8 Day Itinerary - Please advise!

Okay, TripAdvisors, please critique my itinerary!! My husband and I are leaving in less than 2 weeks for our first trip to Paris! We will be in Paris for 9 days – Sun Mar 29 to Mon Apr 6. The last day will just be a travel day, hence, the 8-day itinerary.

I have been reading this forum and my travel guides to come up with an itinerary, which is a first in vacation planning for me. Early plans mostly involved eating pastries and wandering, which is still the plan advocated by one friend! But, with so many fabulous sites, I felt I had to narrow it down before landing in Paris.

We are pretty flexible and don’t intend to see every inch of each museum. I am wondering if my Saturday plan is too much, but wanted to keep Sunday pretty open. We are planning to get the Decouverte metro pass for Mon-Sun, and the 4 day museum pass for Mon-Thur.

Any advice is welcome! Thanks!

Sun

Arrive 6:10am

Walk around neighborhood- Rue Montorgueil

Seine River %26amp; Bridges

Boat Ride

Eifel Tower

Mon

Louvre

Picnic Jardin des Tuileries

Musee de l’Orangerie

Place de la Concorde

Arc de Triompe

Champ Elysees

Tues

Versailles

Wed

Notre Dame

St Chapelle

Ile Saint Louis

Marais

Thurs

Rodin

Invalides

Musee d’Orsay (Open till 9:45)

Picnic Jardin Du Luxenbourg

Latin Quarter

Fri

Reims (Have train tickets and appointments at 3 Champagne houses)

Sat

Catacombes

Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise

Sacre Coeur

Montmarte Neighborhood

Sun

Marche Raspail (Organic Market)

Revisit any Sights

Mon

Depart 4:00pm

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A quick glance over the list - looks quite good to me, nicely geographically planned.

Re: the picnics - - I can%26#39;t think of a part of the Tuileries where you can have a picnic %26#39;spread%26#39; on the ground / grass. Maybe in one of the treed %26#39;alleys%26#39; that lines the north and south borders?(1) You%26#39;ll probably have to go to the %26#39;finger%26#39; pointing toward l%26#39;Observatoire to be on the grass at J. Luxembourg. Otherwise, there are chairs and benches at both gardens.

(1) http://www.flickr.com/photos/9520063@N08/3016966869/

(2)

flickr.com/photos/alainbachellier/2497827198/

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Thank you for the picnic tip, travelnutty. I%26#39;ll check out the maps of Luxenbourg.

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For a first trip to Paris, your itinerary looks great! Well paced, and as travelnutty said, you seem to have grouped together the appropriate things geographically.

Have a wonderful trip!!

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Great itinerary! The one thing I would add is a vist--at least a self-tour--of Opera Garnier. It is so spectacular that, in my view, it just isn%26#39;t to be missed. Perhaps you could do it on Sunday. Just be sure there won%26#39;t be a matinee at the Opera Garnier that day because I don%26#39;t think you can do tours then. Monday morning, first thing, might work too. If you get to the airport by 1-2pm for a 4pm flight you should be fine.

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Regarding the picnics, we were just there. People were eating all over both the Tuileries and Luxembourg gardens even though it was March. People were sitting on the benches eating sandwiches and drinking water or fruit juice. I would guess people would sit on the ground in the warmer months. It was glorious sitting around the basin closest to the Louvre watching people, enjoying the ducks and the sun.

I also suggest adding in rue Mouffetard and rue Cler if you like markets and are a foodie. They are great to people watch and marvel at the diffences between the US and France.

I might also add the Musee d%26#39;Cluny off St. Michel Boulevard. It is wonderful and small.

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Great itinerary. Very well balanced.

You can get discounted tickets or vouchers for a seine cruise here

http://www.vedettesdupontneuf.com/

I%26#39;m so glad you have picked out a few things you want to do and will not be rushing around trying to see EVERYTHING.

I am sure you will fit in the eating of pastries and wandering inbetween.

Here is alist of free museums and art galleries you may want to pop into on your way.

…parisinfo.com/guide-paris/money/free-admiss…

Have a good time.

Denise

Love from England xx

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Thank you for the tip about the Opera. I%26#39;ll research the schedule for Sunday. And, thank you for the link to the free museums. I won%26#39;t have an problems filling my final day!!

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Dear eea7818,

My hubby has an appreciation for bubbly. Hence I am interested in your outing to Reims. Could you pls share the how-tos?

thks %26amp; rgds.

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There is a champagne bar in Paris (2 branches in NYC too) called Flute L%26#39;Etoile. They have over 100 champagnes which you can %26quot;taste,%26quot; drink by the glass or by the bottle. They also have jazz there certain evenings. They also offer various classes which last a few hours. It is located in the XVIIeme.

www.flutebar.com/fr/

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zoe75s,

I also enjoy the bubbly, and some friends recommended a day trip to Reims. I booked tours at Ruinart, Pommery and Vevue Clicquot through their websites. If you are interested in planning, there are two sites that I found very helpful.

http://www.ville-reims.fr/index.php?id=931

maisons-champagne.com/traduction/english/lim…

Good luck!

Emily