Itinerary for 3 1/2 days in Paris in August

I will be visiting Paris in August with my husband and 14 year old son, staying near La Defense.

I have made a rough itinerary for our stay and would be glad to have any comments as to whether this seems OK.

Thanks for any advice!

Day 1: Arc de Triumphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde.

Boat trip from Pont Neuf (Vedettes).

Pompidou Centre area - walk around there.

Notre Dame Cathedral.

Luxembourg Gardens.

Evening - visit friends near Place d%26#39;Italie.

Day 2; Musee d%26#39;Orsay

See Louvre - from outside (visited there before).

Pont des Arts.

Palais Royal - area outside there.

Tuileries Gardens.

Trocadero Gardens for view of Eiffel Tower.

Sit in Champs Elysees - people watching.

Day 3: Walk around Marais area - Place des Vosges and Jewish Quarter.

Visit Sacre Coeur and Montmartre - Place du Tertre.

Sit by Seine to relax or rest at hotel.

Evening - go up the Eiffel Tower.

Day 4: Morning - La Defense arch and shopping centre.

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I think your itinerary looks pretty good. A couple of suggestions with the aim of avoiding back tracking:

Day 1: Do the Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, Jardin des Tuileries and the outside of the Louvre and the Palais Royal, then take the boat tour.

Early evening: Jardin Luxembourg on your way to the Place de la Italie.

Day 2: If you want to do the bell tower tour of Notre Dame, go there first and get there early because the queue builds up quickly and moves slowly (they only let smallish groups in at a time). Saint-Chapelle is worth a visit if you haven’t been there before.

Spend some time on the Ile de la Cite and Ile St Louis, head across the Pont Marie and visit the Marais and then wander back towards the Centre Pompidou.

Walk along the Left Bank (or catch a bus) towards the Pont Alexandre III for a view of the Hotel Invalides, with the gilded dome of the Tombeau de Napoleon rising behind it.

From there, head back up the avenue Franklin D Roosevelt, spend some time people watching in the Champs Elysees before heading to the Trocadero for a view of the Eiffel Tower.

Day 3: Musee d’Orsay in the morning.

Head to the Montmartre, visit the Place du Tetre and Sacre Couer.

Spend some time shopping and hanging out near the Seine, heading towards the Parc du Champ de Mars for your tour of the Eiffel Tower.

Of course, this depends on whether Day 3 is a Monday – the day the Musee d’Orsay is closed. In which case, I would swap Day 2 and 3.

Hope this is of some use – and have a fantastic time in la belle France.

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