What if you only have a day or two to visit Paris?  What should you see?  Where should you go?

Here is my itinerary for a quick visit to see the highlights of Paris:

Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral)
Métro:  Cité or St-Michel Notre Dame.  Bus: 21, 24, 27, 38, 47, 85, 96.  RER:  B and C lines.
Over 10 million people visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame every year, so why shouldn’t you?  Admission is free to the cathedral itself.  If there is a line to get inside, it usually moves quickly.  However, there is usually a long and slow queue to climb the towers.  Opt to skip that part if time is short.  A visit to the cathedral on Île de la Cité is the perfect place to get your bearings and visit the center of Paris.  Behind the cathedral is the Pont Saint-Louis leading to the charming Île Saint Louis. 

Musée du Louvre
Métro: Louvre or Palais Royal Musée du Louvre.  Bus:  21, 24, 27, 39, 48, 68, 69, 72, 81, 95. 
Don’t leave Paris without a smile from Mona.  However, strategize a visit to the Louvre carefully.  It is the largest museum in the world and it is easy to wander aimlessly unless you have a plan for your visit.  The Louvre is open every day but Tuesday.  It is open late on Wednesday and Fridays.  Prioritize what you wish to see.  Most visitors look for these masterpieces:  Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Nike (Winged Victory of Samothrace), the Coronation of Napoleon (painting) and the Greek & Etruscan sculptures.  There is an excellent website to help plan thematic tours of the Louvre with specific directions:  www.louvre.fr/llv/activite/liste_parcours.jsp?bmLocale=en

Arc de Triomphe
Métro: Charles De Gaulle – Étoile.  Bus: 22, 30, 31, 73, 82, 92. 
If time permits, walk through the Tuileries Gardens to the Concorde Métro station.  Otherwise hop on board the métro directly to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt station and walk the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe.  Take the underground tunnels to get to the Arc de Triomphe itself.  Climb to the top and get a panoramic view of Paris.

For more on my small group tours of Paris see www.travelingprofessor.com or my FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TravelingProfessor