The three angles share one geometry: the Michelin dinner is the fixed point and the rest of the weekend gets timed around it. That coupling produces consequences none of the individual sub-topics surfaces alone.
The Saturday-closure rule prunes the restaurant shortlist. Four of Paris’s nine three-star tables — Arpège, Pierre Gagnaire, La Scène and David Toutain — are dark Saturday and Sunday (see michelin-2-and-3-star-restaurants-in-paris). A Saturday-night anchor sits with Le Pré Catelan, Le Cinq, Plénitude, Le Gabriel, Épicure, Kei or Alléno Paris — six tables, not nine. The new 2⭐ Hakuba at Cheval Blanc is the kaiseki alternative on the same date [Nouvelles Gastronomiques]. If a 2025 mental shortlist still has L’Ambroisie at three stars, revise — it fell to two in the March 2026 guide after Bernard Pacaud’s retirement [France In English].
Giverny is the only day-trip that doesn’t fight the dinner. Late May / early June is its single best window — water-lilies start blooming late May and peak through June, irises and late wisteria still in flower, and the garden closes November to April [Fondation Monet]. The ~5h door-to-door circuit from Saint-Lazare (Line J to Vernon + €3 SNGo shuttle) leaves Saturday evening intact for a 3-hour tasting menu; Versailles or Fontainebleau eat 4–8h and Versailles is officially worst on Saturday/Sunday [Magicways]. Sunday-morning Giverny + Saturday-night Michelin is the unique non-conflicting pairing inside 48 hours.
The IT-conference layer is a pivot, not a constraint. May 28–31 2026 has no headline tech conference (it-conferences-and-tech-events-in-paris) — only AI Tinkerers evenings and Station F’s rolling programme [Station F]. If the dates flex, +3 weeks to VivaTech (Jun 17–20, Porte de Versailles) is the obvious shift [VivaTech]; the 15e floor closes early enough to make a 7e/8e Michelin dinner work the same night. Devoxx France (Apr 22–24, Palais des Congrès) pairs the same way for the 8e three-stars — Le Cinq, Le Gabriel, Épicure, Pierre Gagnaire are all walkable from Porte Maillot [Devoxx France].
2026 logistics broke a few stale plans. Notre-Dame is back to walk-in standby under 12 minutes after its 7 Dec 2024 reopening [Notre-Dame de Paris]; Centre Pompidou is closed through 2030 [Centre Pompidou]; magnetic paper Métro tickets stop on buses May 2026 and rail June 2026, so Navigo Easy or the Bonjour RATP app is mandatory [The Local]; Roissybus shut 1 March 2026, leaving CDG → city as RER B or fixed-fare taxi (€56 Right Bank, €65 Left Bank) [Bonjour Guide].
Recommendation. Book Plénitude 6–8 months out for the trophy; if it’s gone, take Le Gabriel’s €148 four-course lunch on Saturday [The Fine Dining Journal] and use Saturday afternoon for the Orsay + Orangerie combo (€20, valid six days) [Art Visit Guide]. Sunday morning to Giverny, then Père Lachaise or a Marais brunch before departure. The one decision the research can’t make for you: lock May 28–31 and accept the tech dead-zone, or slip three weeks for VivaTech and accept the Plénitude waitlist risk.