We are leaving for Paris ….tomorrow!!! We are doing a TakeWalks Marais food and wine tour and a Seine dinner River Cruise. Versailles, Louvre. We are staying in Montmartre, which is an area (the 18th district).
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If you plan to walk much in Old Town Prague, wear really good shoes. I had on walking shoes that were very comfortable usually, but the historic area of Prague is all cobblestones. By the end of the day, my feet were miserable (we walked all day long), but D1 was fine (she wore shoes that could be considered hiking boots almost).
In Paris, I always recommend doing the really “touristy things” on a first visit-there is a reason those places are so beloved. You’ve gotten great recommendations. Yet another recommendation for Musee D’Orsay. It’s my favorite.
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Thanks for the takes walk recommendation. We used that company in Italy but I couldn’t remember the name. 
looking into the tours.
@Nrdsb4 thanks for the cobblestone reminder. I have a pair of adidas superboost and swear by them when it’s a long walking day.
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In Prague, we especially enjoyed the Museum of Communism, the Jewish Quarter, the Kafka museum(s), and the slivovitz factory.
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Take the time to enjoy spontaneous finds. We typically have each day planned to the hour (not necessarily minute). But, some of our best memories resulted from serendipity: an art festival in Prague; a small courtyard cafe in Paris that we just stumbled upon.
When visiting the Louvre, we chose 5 pieces to visit (and ONLY 5). We knew it could be overwhelming, so anything beyond the 5 was ‘gravy’. As fate would have it, we chose a Vermeer painting, but could not find it. Turns out it was on loan to a USA museum. The MonaLisa was packed (sadly by most patrons taking selfies rather than enjoying the art), but just outside in the hallway was another painting attributed to Da Vinci. I had it entirely to myself. We purchased the 5-day museum pass, and with any extra time, visited lesser-known museums, which were all a delight.
I love these inquiry posts, as they allow us to mentally revisit past trips, and enjoy the memories all over again 
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Good idea. I forgot about a museum pass, so thanks for that suggestion.
We saw a Vermeer at the rjiksmuseum, it was a painting to be remembered. We were too early for the Vermeer exhibition but I suspect it was amazing.
If you ever get to DC, the national Gallery has a DaVinci. No crowds!
I like these posts also!
I’ll put in another vote for Musee d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum.
If you’re interested in modern architecture and want to see a really amazing structrure go to the Centre Pompidou. It also houses a modern art collection–there’s a fairly large Picasso collection and other 20th century artists.
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St Chapelle is a jewel box of a small chapel near Notre Dame with beautiful tall stained glass surrounding visitors. They sometimes schedule classical concerts (small number of instruments) in the early evening. Have gone a couple of times and found the music as enjoyable as the chance to soak up the ambience before dinner.
Have fun!
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Second the recommendation to have ice cream at Bertillon. It’s out of this world. It’s on the Isle St. Louis along with St. Chapelle which my then six year old pronounced the most beautiful building in the world!
I like the idea of limiting your time at the Louvre. It’s got some great stuff, but it’s so overwhelming and there are rooms and rooms of horrific stuff. Well actually so horrific they are almost worth looking at. (Especially the series of enormous paintings known as the Marie de Medici cycle by Rubens.)
Personally I think the Mona Lisa is overrated.
My favorite thing at Versailles was going to see the fountains turned on, but they turn them off at the end of October.
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I booked this hotel for Prague.
https://www.podvezi.com/en/
It’s a small hotel at the foot of the Charles Bridge.
I really wanted to book this hotel.
But the room I wanted sold out and decided to 
take my chances at the first. It was cheaper by quite a bit. I read lots and lots of reviews. We are not fussy. Both hotels were almost sold out for our dates, probably because the start of Christmas Markets.
Also ordered Rick Steves guides and will go through every post here. Thanks so much.
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Oh yes, St. Chapelle is gorgeous.
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My wife and I went to the St. Chappelle when we visited Paris in 2019. I remember walking inside, and then about halfway through turning around and looking up at all of the blue and green stained glass in a huge circular window – it blew me away. All of the stained glass in St. Chappelle was pretty amazing, actually.
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As mentioned upthread, get a museum pass and visit Versailles later in the day starting with the gardens. I took teen daughter to Paris for her first time back in 2019. The museum pass saved us so much time standing in line (no need for timed Louvre tickets). Just check that what you want to see is covered and then do the math to see if it makes sense. Also at Versailles, we rented bikes and explored all of the gardens, it was amazing. Highly recommend. Also, my favorite cafe in Paris is the St. Regis on Ile St. Louis, it’s behind Notre Dame, just over the footbridge. I’ve had breakfast, dinner and drinks here, I go there every time I’m in Paris. Bonus is that Berthillon is just down the street.
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I bought the online Paris museum pass and saw things I would not have paid for separately. Versailles is included. We saw the Unicorn tapestry at Cluny museum. Must see St. Chapelle. At muse Dorsey and Louvre we booked the 90 minute tour in English. Was great for both. You should plan to stay longer at Dorsey afterwards (30 extra minutes on your own should do it) but will have had almost enough of the Louvre after the tour. Walk around Le Marais- so many cute shops and restaurants. If you can get to Le Orangerie for the Monet room, it is worth the effort but you only need about 30 minutes for that museum.
We had a great meal at Le Parraudin for lunch (made a reservation) which was amazing and affordable near pantheon and Luxembourg gardens. Great dinner at Le antiquaries.
Even with the Paris pass you must schedule an entry time for Louvre and orangeries and the Dorsey .
If you have a tour and pass, you don’t need an entry time scheduled for Dorsay.
No matter what you schedule you will have a great trip!
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Oh yes the Christmas markets! Do that, too. We were there at the end of them. We ate a lot of street food.
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There’s a lot of cobblestone in Prague, so I suggest bringing some durable footwear. My Bass shoes were torn to pieces after five days walking in Prague.
Be sure to check out Wenceslas Square.
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@deb922 I know you enjoy sports… I’d be on the lookout for some possible “Paris 2024 Olympics” gear to bring home!!! Might be fun! (also, wonder if you might see some possible construction…or closures due to construction of Olympic venues (depending if you don’t stay Paris “central”.
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Cemeteries full of the graves of famous people are interesting. That’s something we did in Paris.
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Signed up for a guided tours for the Louvre, St Chappelle and a Seine cruise. Also Versailles. Want to go to the Musee d’Orsay but trying to fit in the time to go. There’s a Van Gogh exhibit but too many things, not enough time.
Need to get tickets for the Eiffel Tower, wondering if that’s possible to do the day we arrive, jet lagged.
It’s actually kinda nice to be on an abbreviated timetable. Book and go!
Thanks for all the help!
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The best views of Paris we had were from the top of this place:
Breathtaking! We skipped the Eiffel Tower crowds all together after that experience.
Try to reserve a window seat on the Seine cruise boat. Well worth it.
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