Paris: 10 day's visit - Photos and Planning

 VISITED: Musée du Louvre, Musée de Cluny,  Sainte-Chapelle,  Conciergerie,  Château de Versailles,  Hôtel de la Marine,
 Musée de l'Orangerie,  Musée d'Orsay,  Musée Rodin, Tour Effiel , Tours de Notre Dame (400 stairs to the top of the tower) ,
Nortre Dame cathedral,  Arc de Triomphe, Monte Martre, Sacre Coeur.
NOT VISITED: Crypte Archéologique de l'Île de la Cité(closed), Les Invalides , Panthéon,
Musée de l'Ancien Evêché / Alternative: Musée de l'Art Décoratif, Musée Carnavalet, River Cruise, les Passages

I had scheduled my visit to the Pantheon the same day as the Pope ! Guess which one of us saw it ?
Security was ridiculous !  Almost all of the bridges across the islands were closed.

Louvre    Versailes   Arc de Triomphe    Eiffel Tower sunset     Notre Dame Tower (400 steps to the top) 

musee d'Orsay   Hotel Marine    Paris misc.

The PLANNING

Google Earth overlay of destinations and walking routes and some bus routes

Google Earth overlay of relevant bus routes

These overlays work also on Google Maps and on an open source APP called "Organic Maps" which runs offline and
contains all of the Paris area and its overlay so you don't have to rely on WIFI to see a map with overlay.
 I had it on my cheap Tablet ( which I carried in a Hands-free Crossbody Sling Bag
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSTT8VTS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1&psc=1  ).

BUSES v METRO

The plan was to go almost everywhere by bus ( using the NAVIGO pass).
I bought 20 trips on my pass, it cost 50 euros and it lasted all 10 days.
But after so many times, buses either never came or drove right by
( route 38, 75 on rue Beaubourg, and route 69(east-west) and 40 to MontMartre  ),
the bus stop invariably showed "Arrete ne deserve" which I took personally as "you don't deserve a bus to stop for you" !

 I ended up taking the Metro. Ask at a Metro for a paper map of the Metro ( it has Bus routes on the back side).

The trick is to know  the terminal destination of the train -- as that shows up in the signage that tells you which platform to be on.

Ignore AI+Google -- you can use  the NAVIGO for metro, bus and the RER to Versailles. But not the RER to Charles De Gaule airport.

Note  that big metro stations like Chatelet - les Halles and Sainte Michel have on their wall a map of all their exits ( which can be many).
 Don't exit and find you are walking back all that you did underground.

Don't even think about NOT taking the elevator at the Abbesses Metro station ( to MontMartre) . I think there's about 200 steps otherwise.
NAVIGO works on the Funiculaire train to climb the hill to Sacre Coeur.

APPs :- https://www.bonjour-ratp.fr/en/itineraires/  
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.translate&hl=en_US

VERSAILLES

I had reserved a bike rental for 7 euros ( included in 1st hour - 10 euros per hour) for 2pm and
just made it on time after touring the Chateau and walking quite far ( tho downhill) to the rental area.

No bikes in theTrianon estate as well as the upper gardens.

All I could do with the bike  was  cycle round all the water  and
leave it at the Trianon Estate entrance while touring inside the Trianon and spending an hour walking round the Hamlet.

By that time I had run out of energy + time to walk uphill to see a Musical Fountain display :(  Bikes not allowed up the hill )

So I just spent the remains of the day in the la Flottille restaurant.

(The far left icon is a faucet to fill your water bottle) .

Musee d'Orsay

You had to walk the  length  of the museum to get the  Audio Guide.

Many other museums have Audio Guides  -- ALWAYS use the  audio guides.

I, having concluded that Renoir outdid all the impressionism and surrelism --
 was disappointed that all the Renoirs had been lent to a London museum. !

Renoir :- "“About 1883 something like a break occurred in my work.
 I had reached the end of 'impressionism,' and I had come to realize that I did not know how to paint or draw". [1]

Musée de l'Orangerie

I was not impressed by the eight ~36 feet wide Monet water lillies . In my opinion they were not as colorful + impressive as his others.

APPs :- 

Miscellaneous

Print the  address + cross street  of your  residence in Paris for the taxi driver.