My turn!!! Itinerary advise

Leaving for Paris in less then 3 weeks! Travelling with my 11 year old daughter for what we hope is a trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to TA and google, I have put together this itinerary. I plan to be somewhat flexible but at least we will know where we are heading each morning.

Any comments or corrections would be much appreciated! Please note daughter is a ballet and art affienado therefore the museums will be pleasurable for her (within limits)

Saturday April 4:

Check in noon (Latin Quarter)

HOHO bus

nap, dinner

evening boat cruise

Sunday: (marathon day)

Louis Lepine flower market next to Notre Dame, 10am Mass if arrive on time. Towers.

La Charlotte de l%26#39;Isle on Ile St. Louis for tea.

Berthillon for ice cream.

Luxembourg gardens, Pantheon

Monday:

Train to Vernon - rent bikes to Giverny and Monet%26#39;s gardens.

In the evening, try to get tickets outside @ Opera Garnier (ballet school performance sold out)

Tuesday:

Louvre for one hour tour, musee d%26#39;orangerie, musee d%26#39;orsay. Eiffel Tower in the evening

Wednesday:

Versailles, attempt opera garnier again if we can%26#39;t get in to ballet on Monday

Thursday:

Bastille market and Place Vosages in the morning

Marais and Picasso Museum in the afternoon

Friday:

Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysees then Galeries Lfayette for 3pm fashion show (if I get confirmation)

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Be careful planning much on your arrival day. After flying all night, and with the time changes you%26#39;ll be exhausted. We never nap on arrival day, but try to stay up until about 8-9 pm, then crash. It helps us adjust to the time difference more quickly.

The Louvre and two museums in one day might be a bit much even for for an 11 yr old who likes art - it would for me! Maybe intersperse them with other sights?

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Days one and two seem fine.

I would be too tired after cycling to go to the opéra.

Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, PLUS three museums on the same day is my idea of hell (and i love art) it is just way too much. You can combine Orsay and Orangerie on same day, as Orangerie is small.

The rest of the itinerary looks fine.

Except i would add Montmartre, maybe on last day, as Champs ELysées shouldn%26#39;t take too long.

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The Louvre is closed on Tuesday, so that solves that problem.

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You might be too wiped out for the boat cruise on Saturday night: maybe reschedule for the Friday night for a last hurrah.

I%26#39;ve never been a big fan of the HOHO buses (though I%26#39;ve never travelled with an 11 year old).

I think I%26#39;d be more inclined to spend Saturday exploring the Latin Quarter/Saint Germain des Pres area - the Jardin du Luxembourg, Saint Sulspice, the Pantheon, maybe head up to the Ile St Louis for a glace from Amorino (so you can compare it with Berthillon) and have an early night.

That could open Sunday afternoon/evening up to explore Montmarte and Sacre-Couer.

Visiting the Towers of Notre Dame can mean long waits in queues - we waited a couple of hours on our first visit to Paris in April/May 2005 and it didn%26#39;t look any better when we returned in September 2007. We didn%26#39;t mind the wait - but then we were in Paris for 3 weeks.

So, I%26#39;d be there early if I were you (it opens at 10:00).

Also: don%26#39;t miss Saint-Chappelle (on the Ile de la Cite and close to Notre Dame). The stained glass windows are breathtakingly beautiful.

Tuesday you might find yourself suffering from art overload if you try to do all three museums in one hit - and, in any case, the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.

Maybe start with d%26#39;Orsay and then wander to the rue Varenne to visit the Musee Rodin and the pomp Tombeau Napoleon (amazingly OTT) on the way to the Eiffel Tower - with a detour to check out the Pont Alexandre III, Paris%26#39; most ornate bridge.

You could then check out l%26#39;Oranagerie on the way to see the Arc de Triomphe on Friday and fit your tour of the Louvre in on either Wednesday or Friday night, when it%26#39;s open late.

Whatever you end up doing, have a great trip...

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Is Berthillon open on Sundays?

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Berthillon is closed Mon %26amp; Tue.

Pantheon closes at 6 or 6:30pm (last entry%26#39;s 45 min. before closing).

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Will you just take the HOHO bus on Sat between noon and the before dinner nap? It might not be worth it. It%26#39;s better value to get it for 2 days (just a few dollar difference) and use it. I usually do a tour and then use it as transportation.

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Giverny is wonderful. You will love it.

Thank heavens the Louvre is closed on Tuesday because doing the Louvre and the D%26#39;Orsay on the same day is a %26quot;killer.%26quot; You will be fine doing D%26#39;Orsay and D%26#39;Orangerie on the same day. Perhaps on Tuesday you can add the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe to your day. Then do the Louvre on Friday before you go to Galeries Lafayette for the fashion show.

If you are looking for any other evening entertainment, I recommend the evening segway tour through either Fat Tire Bikes or viator.com (it is the same tour group). Kids might have to be 12 to do this however--I am not sure. It is really fun.

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...and I thought I did my research! Louvre being closed on Tuesdays alter things. Switching Louvre to Friday and Champs Elyees to Tuesday.

DD has a list of must do%26#39;s which includes climbing the Notre Dame towers and touching the velvet rope around the Mona Lisa :)

I chose the HOHO bus and the boat cruise for the first day for daughters sake also - she will have the energy to go, go, go and will soooo want to see a glimpse of everything right away (as do I) but I may not have the energy to walk as much....

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...forgot about Saint-Chapelle and Musse Rodin - will add those in also.

Unfortuneatley you must be 12 for the segways. I really wanted to do that with her.

Thank you all for all the posts - much appreciated!