To make this story a little more manageable, I thought I'd break it up into things to see and places to eat, which pretty much sums up Paris.
Because we are here for a week and both of us have visited Paris before, we took a more measured approach to seeing the sites here in Paris, than in Italy. It felt like one or two big things in a day were enough, excluding the Louvre and Versailles which we have both seen. So, those two things should be top of your list along with the Eiffel Tower if you have never been here.
A great way to get started is at the Arc de Triomphe, this is the monument built to celebrate Napoleon's victories, but it is now an amusing roundabout where you can watch how the French make driving a contact sport. From there you can walk downhill along the Avenue des Champs-Elysées as it turns from super overpriced stores to a tree lined boulevard ending at the Tuileries Gardens. If it's a hot day, and if you are here in July or August it probably will be, you can grab a chair and take a quick nap in the shade or get a snack at one of the many stands throughout the garden. There are also dozens of old statues and new sculputes in the garden, so it's a easy to spend an hour taking it all in.
If you have eaten a little lunch, you can continue down the road a few steps to the Louvre. The day we were there the line was not too long and it looked like it was moving fast. I prefer to go in the afternoon, but most experts recommend getting there early before it opens so it's not so crowded.
Day two we revisited the Cathedral Notre Dame. Don't be daunted by the very long line, as it moves really fast and it's free to get in. The only problem is there is no shade as you wait in line, so be prepared to get poked by a lot of ladies with umbrellas. My first thought is that the cathedral seems smaller than I remember, but it is a lot longer than it first appears. While we have seen a lot of churches, you still can't help but be impressed by the stained glass in this building. They also have installed a nice little history lesson with pictures (in English) that shows how the cathedral expanded over the years. After Notre Dame, you can take a nice walk through the Latin Quarter and after lunch take a walk along the Seine River.
Day three we started out at the Rodin Museum, which was under renovation, so we only saw a small part of the works. As a conciliation, they had a lot of early casts, and behind the scenes pictures of their most famous works on display. The good news is, they did have The Kiss on display and the sculpture garden, which contains The Thinker, was open. The garden is a great place to spend an hour or so relaxing and taking in the art. They also have a great cafe in the garden if you want to get a light lunch. After the Rodin, we visited the Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb, which are close by, and the answer to the question, what is that large gold dome? Of course the tomb is so big, not because Napoleon was a big guy (he was not), but because they had to fit his ego in there as well. The Tomb is an amazing site, and it also has the best air conditioning in Paris. At this point we called it a day, but if you are a trooper you'll fit the Orsay Museum in too.
Day four was modern art day. We spent the afternoon in the Musee National d'Art Modern housed in the controversial Centre Pompidou. This is a very unique and much maligned building, every time I have come to Paris I have heard people making fun of it. I think it is beautiful and in a city fully of classic architecture, the museum of modern art had to do something to stand out. If you go to the museum, you should be prepared to spend several hours there as there is a lot to cover. The good news is there is a nice cafe on the top floor so you can take a break for lunch. There are a temporary exhibits on the top floor and the permanent exhibit is on the fourth floor, arranged chronologically. On the third floor they have works from the 1990's and 2000's. You'll see everyone from Matisse to Picasso to Jasper Johns, as well as sculptures, furniture, videos and of course paintings.
If you have not gotten your fill of modern art, you should also check out The Louis Vuitton Foundation: http://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr, they have a very cool Frank Gehry building.
Lastly, we had a few great things right in our neighborhood. The Raspail Market was a great place to grab some food on a Sunday and take a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens. We were also right next to the Montparnasse Cemetery, although not as famous as Père Lachaise, which has the graves of Oscar Wilde, Edith Paif and Jim Morrison among others, it is still worth visiting. The cemetery received its first ‘lodger’ in 1824, and contains the tombs of playwright Samuel Beckett, photographer Man Ray, philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre and his lover, writer Simone de Beauvoir.
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