Paris Itinerary: Strategic Bookings & Lots of Downtime to Fill

We only have 3 days in Paris, and there's a lot to see. I'm trying to plan this part of the trip so we can see it all and have some unique experiences, while still leaving enough downtime that we can be relaxed and enjoy the city's vibes. Wingbuddy provides a hop-on, hop-off bus tour on the 2nd day we are there. They also provide a Seine River cruise on our last evening there. With these two activities in mind, I set off to book some other activities.

See Prices for Wingbuddy's Paris & the French Riviera Tour

Versailles

We are arriving in Paris around noon. The first activity we're going to do after checking in to our hotel is to find a Cafe Pierre Herme by 2pm, which is our meeting point for a Skip-the-line Versailles Palace & Garden Tour.

The palace is 10 miles south of Paris and is renowned for being one of the most opulent, aristocratic places in the world. We have a guide that will show us the palace, and after that we have as much free time as we want to explore the gardens because the package includes free train transport back to Paris.

When we get back, our first night in Paris will probably be spent exploring the area around our hotel.

The Louvre

We know the Louvre is going to be one of the stops on our hop-on, hop-off bus tour. It appears on the itinerary for both bus companies I found. We have booked this activity for the second day we're in Paris. We chose the Louvre Priority Access Mona Lisa & Museum Icons Guided Tour. Apparently, as the largest museum in the world, it takes over 200 days if you want to look at every piece in the Louvre. For this reason, a guide will be ideal because we can see all the highlights, then have some time to explore by ourselves after the tour ends.

Other Activities in the Works

Two other things we want to do for sure include: ascending the Eiffel Tower and descending into the Paris Catacombs. Both activities cost about $50 per person if you book them direct from the official websites for each. Booking this way, can only be done a week out of the arrival date, so we will just have to remember that we still have to book these during the last week of August.

Some optional activities I found on GetYourGuide include:

• Paris: Paint and sip near the Eiffel Tower

• From Paris: Giverny, Monet's Home and Gardens Half Day Trip

• Paris: Cruise on the Saint-Martin Canal and Seine River

• Paris: WWII Occupation & Liberation Walking Tour

• Paris: French Revolution Tour Relive the 14th July 1789

• Paris: Montmartre Guided Walking Tour; and

• Paris: Big Bus Panoramic Night Tour by Open Top Bus

There are so many options in Paris, and we can't do it all. So we will have to see what strikes our fancy when we're in the city.

Our Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

The companies I found for hop-on, hop off tours don't seem to have many stops. There only seems to be one line, so it won't take us all over the city. Some places it will go, in addition to the Louvre, include:

• Champs Elysees

• Trocadero

• Eiffel Tower; and,

• Notre Dame

It does seem convenient that we can see all these places within a few hours. There are a few others I would like to see in Paris that aren't included on these tours. I'd like to see Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. We can probably handle these two places if we do the Montmartre Walking Tour. Sadly, our bus tour is not a one and done sort of deal, but it will get us to the Eiffel Tower so our second evening in Paris is probably the best time to do that.

Our Stay

Wingbuddy selected our hotel for us. It's rated as Good on Expedia and is called Hotel Berne Opera. It looks like it costs about $250 per night, so while we can't expect luxury, we can expect a nice clean location that is central, with Saint Lazare train station close by.

Restaurants

Trip planning websites do mention that Paris is the type of city where you'll want dinner reservations. I'm just not sure where we'll want to eat yet, so these details will likely get ironed out the last week of August, when I have to be on my toes to book other activities. Dean spent some time in Japan and I was happy to find that there is quite the Japanese culinary scene in Paris. That might be something we will make reservations for.

Can You Help?

Have you been to Paris? Are there any activities we've missed that we absolutely must fit in? Anything we should skip? I feel like the large swaths of our time are planned, but we can definitely fit in more. Are there any restaurants that we'd be fools to not try? We'd appreciate your input, just Comment below.