Visiting Paris can seem overwhelming at the best of times when travelers have a week or so to see everything they want in the City of Lights. It’s a large city with a great deal to see and do–so what do you do if you don’t, in fact have a week? What if your time is actually incredibly limited?
When it comes to making a small but fulfilling Paris itinerary, prioritization is key, followed closely by arrangements. What do you really want to see, and if you arrange it in a sensible order, can you see all of it? What’s the best way to have your peak Paris experiences within a small pocket of time?
Ultimately, how you manage your time in Paris is up to you, but we’ve put together a sample itinerary for Paris trips ranging from 24 hours up to three days. Feel free to rearrange to your preferences, but we hope this is a great jumping off point for the perfect Paris mini-break.
Pro Tip: For any attraction you plan to visit, especially on a time crunch, the best idea is always, always to book any required tickets or restaurant reservations in advance. While you can in theory gain entry on arrival without booking ahead, the reality is that places in Paris are often popular and busy. It’s easy to book early and avoid possible disappointment or derailment of plans, so go ahead and reserve your spot well before you arrive–you’re welcome!
24 Hours in Paris
With only the span of a day at our disposal, let’s have your Paris itinerary focus on seeing what we can in central Paris. From Charles de Gaulle Airport, you can take a taxi or, more affordably, the RER train to Saint-Michel Notre Dame (your first temptation might be to go directly to that icon of the city, La Tour Eiffel. But we’re going to ask you to hold off: you’ve got a full day, after all, and some things are best left for later)
First, grab a delectable pastry, because French pastry is of course top of any list of what to eat in Paris! For this first pastry in Paris, on the banks of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement (aka the Latin Quarter, worth a bit of an exploration in itself), you’ll find Patisserie A. Lacroix, where delicious coffee and beautiful handmade desserts and snacks can be had. Grab something gorgeous to go and go sit on a nearby bench to admire the stunning view of the newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité while savoring your bounty.
Finished? Good, because next you’ll visit the Cathedral proper; entrance is free, but you must book ahead of time at the Notre-Dame website. Prepare to spend 35 minutes to an hour here at the least, feasting your eyes on the ornate architecture, the sculptures, and the spellbinding expanse of the cathedral’s iconic rose windows.
When leaving Notre Dame, head towards the Right Bank and stroll along the Seine until you get to the Jardin des Tuileries. You’ll pass the Louvre; that’s for early tomorrow morning, when crowds are a bit thinner. Today, enjoy the lovely historic gardens of the Tuileries, or if you prefer, walk along the nearby Rue de Rivoli and admire the wonderful old buildings there. Exploring the architecture of Paris is a worthwhile pastime in itself, a great free thing to do in the city.
Should your feet need a rest, hop onto a city bus headed towards the Arc de Triomphe; it’s a direct shot up the Champs-Elysees from the Place de la Concorde. If you like, you can ascend to the pavilion at the top by yourself to simply take in the sweeping views of the city, or you can book a tour that will tell you all about the monument’s history.
From here, you might pop into one of Paris’ many non-Louvre museums; if you buy a Paris Museum Pass, you gain discounted or free access to a huge number of museums in the city. Heading south from the Arc de Triomphe will lead you to a number of such cultural treasures while you slowly make your way to the Eiffel Tower, such as the Army Museum and the Guimet Museum of Asian Art.
As for the Tower herself, if you want to view the city from her platforms, we recommend going up during the daytime. But if you want to see the Tower sparkling with thousands of lights, stay on the ground and enjoy the show after nightfall. The Trocadero is a popular viewpoint, but the nearby Pont de bir Hakeim offers a fantastic–maybe even superior!–viewing experience that may be less crowded.
Come morning, grab breakfast–the Café San José on Petit Champs has incredible coffee for just €1, and at the nearby Boulangerie Joseph you can pick up a pastry or two to go–and then it’s time to visit the Louvre. Those in the know will tell you to admire the glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei, but for actually accessing the museum, you’re better off entering through the Galerie du Carrousel or the Porte des Lions. And if you time your visit right, you could even visit for free–and saving a few pennies in Paris is nothing to sneeze at.
Our last stop before you head back to the airport is the Palais Garnier. This masterpiece of 19th-century architecture is more than just a performance venue, it’s a work of art on its own. Inside and out, you’ll find intricate mosaics, fantastic sculptural details, and beautiful paintings, as well as a library and museum dedicated to the history of the Paris Opéra. This collection of Opéra costumes, music, artwork and more is a breathtaking archive of culture.
Staying a little longer? Excellent! Onward…
1 Day in Paris
So you’ve been able to arrange an afternoon, evening, and then a full day in the city before you have to leave. You can maintain your 24 hour Paris itinerary, and then if you’re up for it, you can add an afternoon jaunt to Montmartre to your plans after visiting the Palais Garnier–if you’ve got the RATP app, you know you’ll be able to take the Metro and be in Montmartre in less than thirty minutes.
Top of any list of travel tips for Paris, this nexus of art history really deserves a fair amount of time for exploring her crooked little streets, historical haunts, and tiny bistros, and if you’re going to focus on one arrondissement in your brief visit, this is the one to pick. For decades, many of the world’s most celebrated artists flocked to Montmartre to live, love, and create some of their most iconic works. To walk through Montmartre today is to follow their footsteps, and in so many cases, to see what they saw.
Fans of the dreamy French film Amélie will also know Montmartre as the quirky protagonist’s playing ground–keep your eyes peeled for her favorite rock-skipping bridge, her café, and in cheeky nearby Pigalle, the adult shop her love interest Nino worked at!
After a bit of wandering, you can have a nice lunch at Café des Deux Moulin in honor of the film, but a cozier alternative is the rustic little Café Tabac, just a few blocks away. Tabac offers a lovely light menu for reasonable prices, perfect for fueling up before you continue your rambles through the neighborhood.
For evening plans, you could book a dinner showing at the Moulin Rouge, the classic French cabaret. If you’d like a lower-key experience, however, Montmartre has many brasseries worth visiting–La Boîte aux Lettres on Rue Lepic comes highly recommended for their simple yet excellent menu and unpretentious atmosphere.
Is this the end, or have been able to arrange yet another day for yourself? In that case, let’s venture out from the city just a bit…
2 Days in Paris
Two whole days and three nights at our disposal gives us some time to fit something big into your Paris itinerary. Most notably, a visit to the beautiful Palace of Versailles is in order. After all, you can’t miss one of the most visited attractions in the world!
Getting to Versailles is relatively simple; the RER C train line and the 171 bus line both drop visitors off within a ten minute walk of the palace’s ornate gates, at which point you could get lost for an entire afternoon in the palace complex, the sculpted gardens and of course the adjacent Parc de Versailles.
Before arrival, book a table to treat yourself to a marvelous dinner in one of the park restaurants, La Petite Venise for Italian fare or La Flottille for French cuisine. Both restaurants offer fresh, delicious dishes made with care, and a meal here will be a lovely cap to a day in Versailles.
Oh, you have one more day? Wonderful! Grab your reusable tote bags and a stack of euros, we’re going shopping.
3 Days in Paris
Paris is full of markets, groceries, and flea markets ripe for exploring. This is a day for picking up souvenirs. Not sure what to buy in Paris? Well, the city can be expensive, so we suggest shopping small or second-hand; it’s a great way to minimize the hit to your wallet.
To start, the biggest, most famous flea market in the city is Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, located just north of the 18th arrondissement. It’s an amazing place to prowl through, with literally everything you can think of available from vintage vinyl to antique silver to rare secondhand designer fashions and so, so much more. But if you prefer to stay a bit closer to the city center, there’s Puces d’Aligre in the 12th arrondissement. This almost hidden gem of a Parisian flea market is also adjacent to the Marché Beauvau, where you can purchase delicious condiments and oils to take home with you.
Also read: Where to stay in Paris
Clotheshounds, Le Marais in the 4th arrondissement is rife with some of Paris’ best vintage stores and thrift shops. This is where you can find real designer treasures to add to your stylish wardrobes. There are chain shops and little independent boutiques all over, so lots of places for you to poke around in and find precious secondhand prizes.
Love books? You can’t go wrong with the Bouquinistes of Paris. Situated all along the banks of the Seine–on the Right Bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the Left Bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire–these green booksellers’ boxes are so synonymous with the city that they have protected historical status; how’s that for a fun fact about Paris? Here, you can find used books, antique postcards, and little art prints available for sale. What a wonderful memory you’ll make when you pick up your pre-loved literary gems on the banks of the Seine!
The foodie souvenir du jour is good French butter. It makes a great affordable little gift you can bring to your friends to share the tastes of Paris! And it’s remarkably easy to transport home–just pick out your butter at La Grande Epicerie in the 7th arrondissement or Le Gourmet at Galeries Lafayette in the 9th arrondissement, and the shops will vacuum seal it for you for a small additional fee. If you can, freeze the butter overnight, then pack it in your checked luggage. It will arrive home with you still fresh and ready to distribute to your lucky friends. Or to keep for yourself… it is, after all, very good butter.
Whew, that’s a lot of stuff! You did leave room in your suitcase, right? If you’ve kept up with our top Europe travel tips, we know you did!
Lasting Memories
Is this a bit of an ambitious Paris itinerary? Oh, yes! But will it also give you a perfect little capsule of a full Paris experience? Also yes. With a bit of planning, some advance booking, and a pair of supportive shoes, you can see more of Paris in just a handful of days than you ever imagined–and that will stay with you forever.