Paris is one of our favourite cities in Europe, and one we come back to time and again. We’ve visited for long weekends like this one and for longer stays as part of a wider European itinerary, and over those trips we’ve worked out what a two-day visit can realistically hold.
Two days is enough to see the Paris you came for, but only if you accept that a weekend forces a few trade-offs. You cannot give the Louvre its due, give the Musée d’Orsay its due, and climb both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe in 48 hours. Something gives. The job of a good two-day itinerary is to make those choices for you, or at least to be straight about where they are.
So that’s what this one does. Below is a two-day spine that works geographically, so you’re not crossing the city twice, with the busy day front-loaded and the lighter day second. After the itinerary we cover what to cut if time is tight, how to choose between the big sights, where to eat, where to stay, and how the city passes stack up.
If two days isn’t quite your trip, we also have a 3-day Paris itinerary for a more relaxed pace, and a guide to spending one day in Paris if you’re really pushed.
Table of Contents:
Your 2 Days in Paris at a Glance
Short on time and just want the shape of it? Here’s the weekend in brief.
- Day 1 covers Île de la Cité (Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame), the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, and finishes at the Arc de Triomphe after dark. It’s the heavier day, so start early.
- Day 2 is lighter: the Opéra Garnier, the Musée d’Orsay, a Left Bank walk, and sunset over the city from Montmartre.
- Expect a couple of trade-offs along the way: how long to spend in each museum, and whether to climb the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, or both. We cover how to choose further down.
- The best-value pass for this itinerary is the 2-day Paris Pass Plus, at €179, which covers the museums, monuments and experiences below in one purchase.
- You’ll get around on foot and by Metro. Paris has gone fully electronic for tickets, so you’ll need a Navigo Easy card or the IDF Mobilités app rather than paper tickets.
- The best months to visit are May, June and September, for the balance of decent weather and thinner crowds. Paris works year-round, but winter days are short.
Day 1: Île de la Cité, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower
Day 1 is the heavier of the two, and it rewards an early start. Before you set off, grab a coffee and a pain au chocolat from a local boulangerie. There are good bakeries near almost every Metro station, and if you’re staying near the Île de la Cité, the ones along Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île are worth the short detour.
In summer this is a day that runs comfortably from a 9am start through to an evening finish at the Arc de Triomphe. In winter, when the light goes by about 5pm, it’s tighter, and you’ll want to treat the two optional stops near the end as exactly that. The route runs broadly east to west, from Île de la Cité across to the Louvre, on to the Eiffel Tower, and up to the Arc, so you’re always moving in one direction rather than doubling back.
Sainte-Chapelle
It took me several visits to Paris before I actually set foot inside Sainte-Chapelle. That was a mistake. This 13th-century Gothic chapel has almost floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows, and when the sun comes through them on a clear morning the whole place glows. I stood there with my mouth open for a good minute before I remembered to pick up my camera.
Sainte-Chapelle is on the Île de la Cité, a couple of minutes’ walk from the Cité Metro station on line 4. It opens at 9am, and I’d recommend being in the queue ten to fifteen minutes before that. It’s a small space and the security line builds quickly, so arriving early saves a lot of standing around.
Entry costs €22, or €16 for EEA nationals and residents. One thing worth knowing if you’re coming from the UK: the UK and Switzerland are not in the EEA, so British visitors pay the higher €22 rate. You can buy tickets on the official site or browse guided tour options on the GetYourGuide Sainte-Chapelle page. Entry is also included on the Paris Pass Plus and the Paris Museum Pass (see our review of the Paris Pass and our review of the Paris Museum Pass).
The nearby Conciergerie is worth a visit if you have time. This is where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her execution, and it’s well worth an hour if the French Revolution interests you. A combined ticket covering both is available on the official site.
A quick note on buying tickets generally. We usually prefer booking direct through an attraction’s official site for the best price, but third-party sites like GetYourGuide often include free cancellation, which can be handy for peace of mind. Compare prices and policies before you book.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
A five-minute walk from Sainte-Chapelle, on the same island, brings you to Notre-Dame Cathedral, one of the most recognisable buildings in the world. Completed in 1345 after nearly 200 years of construction, its huge towers and flying buttresses make it an icon of Gothic architecture.
A devastating fire seriously damaged Notre-Dame in April 2019, but the cathedral reopened in December 2024 after a remarkable five-year restoration. It’s free to visit the interior, and on busy days you can book a free timed slot online to skip the queue, which we’d recommend doing.
The Notre-Dame towers have also reopened, with a new route taking you up 424 steps for the close-up view of the gargoyles and the rooftops. The tower climb is a separate ticketed visit, priced at €16 and free for EEA residents under 26, booked through the official monuments-nationaux ticketing site. On a tight two-day schedule the towers are an add-on rather than a must, but if you love a view and a climb, they’re a good one.
While you’re on the island, it’s worth crossing the river to Shakespeare and Company. The current shop opened in 1951 (it’s not the original Sylvia Beach shop, which closed during the war) and has been a gathering place for English-language writers and readers ever since. Good for a browse.
From here it’s about a twenty-minute walk west along the Seine to the Louvre, which is the nicer option on a fine day, or a short hop on the Metro if the weather isn’t playing along.
The Louvre
The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world, and it holds a collection of roughly 500,000 objects, with around 35,000 on display at any one time. Most visitors make a beeline for the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, but there’s far more here than those two, including Islamic art, Greek antiquities, and the extravagantly decorated apartments of Napoleon III.
You could easily spend a full day here, but on a two-day trip that would swallow everything else. We’d suggest giving it two to three hours. Pick the wings that interest you most, see the big highlights, and don’t feel guilty about walking straight past entire sections. You can always come back.
The Louvre is one of the city’s busiest attractions, and the entry lines outside the glass pyramid can be very long. Book your ticket online in advance, direct from the official site, and book a timed entry slot when you do. On-site tickets are sometimes available when the museum is quiet, but turning up without a slot during peak periods risks a long wait or no entry at all, so we always book ahead. Entry costs €32, or €22 for EEA nationals and residents. It’s free for under-18s regardless of nationality, and for EEA residents under 26.
If you’d prefer a guided visit, both Take Walks and GetYourGuide run tours that include entry. We’ve done several Louvre tours with Take Walks over the years and have always appreciated their small groups and knowledgeable guides. A guided tour is also a useful backup if the official site is sold out, as operators hold their own ticket allocations.
One scheduling point that catches people out: the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, and the Musée d’Orsay on Day 2 is closed on Mondays. If your weekend falls on a Monday and Tuesday, simply swap the days, do the Louvre on the Monday and the d’Orsay on the Tuesday, and both land on an open day. If you’re holding a Paris Museum Pass or Paris Pass Plus, you still need to reserve a timed entry slot on the Louvre site; the pass covers entry, but not the booking.
From the Louvre, the walk to the Eiffel Tower runs the length of the Jardin des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde, which is a pleasant stretch in its own right, with chairs scattered around the fountains if you want to rest. It’s too far to walk comfortably end to end, though, so pick up the Metro at Concorde. Line 6 from Bir-Hakeim brings you out a short walk from the tower; for the classic view first, lines 6 and 9 stop at Trocadéro.
The Eiffel Tower
You’ve been seeing it on the skyline all morning, and now it’s time to visit. Nothing quite prepares you for standing underneath the Eiffel Tower and looking straight up. I promise you, it’s bigger than you think.
You can experience the tower in a few ways. For the best photos, cross the river to the Trocadéro on the opposite bank. The view from there, looking back across the fountains to the tower, is the classic Paris shot. The Champ de Mars gardens on the other side are another favourite spot of ours. In the warmer months Parisians come here with wine and a picnic to watch the sun set behind the tower, and it’s one of the most pleasant free things you can do in the city of an evening.
If you want to go up, book your tickets in advance. The on-site queues get extremely long, and from late September 2026 advance booking becomes mandatory even for stairs tickets, so booking ahead is the plan whatever you intend to do. Tickets to the second floor cost €14.80 by the stairs or €23.50 by the lift; going right up to the summit costs more again. Guided-tour tickets, which also skip you past the worst of the queues, start at around €40. The official website has the best prices, though official tickets are non-refundable. For a guided climb with free cancellation, this tour on GetYourGuide is a good option, and a guided second-floor climb is included on the Paris Pass.
Going up is something everyone should do at least once. The top observation deck sits 276 metres above the ground, and on a clear day the views run for miles.
There are also restaurants in the tower, which make for a memorable, if pricey, meal. We’ve eaten at all of them over the years, and if you want something really special, we can recommend the Jules Verne. Request a window seat when you book. For more detail on visiting, see our complete guide to the Eiffel Tower.
From the tower, the Arc de Triomphe is a few minutes away on Metro line 6 from Trocadéro to Charles de Gaulle-Étoile, or about a 25-minute walk up Avenue Kléber if you’ve energy left in your legs.
The Arc de Triomphe
The last stop on Day 1 is one of our favourite viewpoints in Paris. The Arc de Triomphe sits at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, and from its rooftop you look out over twelve avenues radiating away like the spokes of a wheel.
You can admire the arch from below for free, and watching the traffic negotiate the roundabout is entertainment in itself. But for the best of it, climb the steps, or take the lift, to the top. The Eiffel Tower looks particularly good from up here, and on a clear evening you can see all the way to La Défense.
One tip: if you take the stairs on the way down, look back up the spiral stairwell from the bottom. It makes a great photo. For more ideas like that, see my guide to the best photography locations in Paris. And to reach the arch itself, always use the pedestrian underpass. Do not try to cross the traffic roundabout on foot.
Entry costs €22 from April to September and €16 from October to March, with the lower €16 price also applying on Wednesdays through the high season. It’s free for under-18s and for EEA residents under 26, and it’s included on the Paris Pass Plus and the Paris Museum Pass. You can also book a skip-the-line ticket on GetYourGuide. The Arc stays open well into the evening, which is exactly why it works as the Day 1 finale. Last admission is some time before closing, so check the day’s closing time before you set out, especially in winter when it shuts earlier.
Two Optional Extras: Wine Tasting and a Seine Cruise
Day 1 as written is already a full day. But there are two more things we’d happily recommend in Paris, and if you’ve got the energy, or you’re trimming a museum and have time spare, here’s where they fit.
The first is a wine tasting at the Caves du Louvre, which sits right by the Louvre and slots in neatly after lunch. Set in historic cellars that once held a royal wine collection, the hour-long tasting takes you through three French wines with a grounding in grape varieties and terroir. You can do it self-guided with an app or with a guide. There’s a charge of €36, it’s included on the Paris Pass, and you can book online here. Not a wine person? The nearby Angelina does a famously thick hot chocolate that’s worth the detour, or have a look at Jess’s guide to the best afternoon tea in Paris.
The second is a Seine river cruise. Several operators depart from right beside the Eiffel Tower, so it’s an easy add-on late in the afternoon. A standard sightseeing cruise lasts about an hour and floats you past Notre-Dame, the Louvre and back, and it’s a restful way to see a lot of Paris with no effort at all.
Prices start from around €17, and a cruise is included on the Paris Pass and the Paris City Card. You can book ahead on GetYourGuide, and Jess has a detailed post comparing Seine River cruises if you want to weigh up operators.
If you’d rather make an evening of it, some operators run dinner cruises, which would be a lovely way to round off the day in place of the Arc. You can browse dinner cruise options on GetYourGuide, and we’ve a full guide to the best Seine River dinner cruises too.
Day 2: Opéra Garnier, Musée d’Orsay and Montmartre
Day 2 is the gentler of the two. There’s one major museum, and the rest of the day is walking, neighbourhoods and a sunset, so it fits both summer and winter comfortably. The one thing to plan around is the Musée d’Orsay, which is closed on Mondays, the same way the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. If your weekend lands on a Monday and Tuesday, run Day 2 first and Day 1 second so each museum falls on an open day.
Opéra Garnier
The second day starts at the Palais Garnier, one of the most opulent buildings in Paris. This is the opera house that inspired The Phantom of the Opera, and one look at the grand staircase tells you why.
A self-guided visit gives you the 2,000-seat auditorium, that staircase, the seven-tonne chandelier and the grand foyer. It costs €25, or €15 for EEA nationals and residents, with reduced rates again for under-26s and free entry for children under 12. Last admission is an hour before closing. You can book a self-guided visit on GetYourGuide, and entry is included on the Paris Pass. Guided tours, which run about ninety minutes and are offered in English, are also available; check times on the official website. If you’d like to actually see a performance, Jess has a detailed post on booking tickets for the Paris Opera.
The Opéra has its own Metro station, served by lines 3, 7 and 8.
Musée d’Orsay
From the Opéra it’s about a twenty-minute walk south to the Musée d’Orsay, a route that takes you through Place Vendôme and across the river. If you’d rather ride, Metro line 12 runs most of the way. Housed in a former railway station on the Left Bank, the d’Orsay picks up roughly where the Louvre leaves off, concentrating on art from 1848 to the early 20th century.
The building itself makes the visit worthwhile. The old platform hall is now a vast exhibition space, and the great station clocks are some of the most photographed features in the city. The collection runs deep on the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, with Monet, Van Gogh, Cézanne and Renoir among many others.
Entry costs €17.50 when booked online, the same price for everyone, with free entry for under-18s and for EEA residents under 26. It’s included on the Paris Pass Plus and the Paris Museum Pass, and the museum is closed on Mondays. Buy tickets on the official site or browse tour options on Tiqets. Give it a good hour and a half to two hours.
A Left Bank Stroll and Lunch
From the Musée d’Orsay, head east along the Left Bank, the south side of the Seine, so named because it’s on your left as you look downstream. This is one of our favourite walks in Paris, especially on a sunny afternoon.
As you go, you’ll get views of the Louvre across the water, the Pont des Arts, and eventually Notre-Dame. The walk from the d’Orsay to Notre-Dame takes about twenty-five minutes if you don’t stop, but the whole point is to stop. This is also a natural moment for lunch. Saint-Germain and the Latin Quarter sit just inland from the river, both full of bistros and cafés. Le Procope, in Saint-Germain, is a fine choice if you’d like a few centuries of history with your meal, and we’ve gathered more picks in the where to eat section below.
Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre
The weekend finishes in Montmartre, with the Sacré-Cœur Basilica as its centrepiece. Montmartre sits high on the city’s northern edge, and the easiest way up from the Left Bank is Metro line 12, which runs more or less directly to Abbesses, a journey of around thirty to forty minutes.
Aim to be here in the late afternoon, so you can watch the sun go down over the city from the basilica steps. The view from up here is one of the best in Paris, looking out across an ocean of zinc rooftops. The basilica itself is relatively new, completed in 1914, but its white domes have become one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. Entry to the basilica is free, and it’s open from early morning until late evening. If you want to climb to the dome for a higher view still, there’s a small charge, around €8.
After the basilica, give yourself time to explore the neighbourhood. Montmartre has long drawn artists, and many painters of the Belle Époque had studios here. Today you can have your portrait or caricature drawn at the Place du Tertre, a short walk from the basilica. The square is always busy with artists and tourists, but that bustle is part of its character. Beyond the square, the quieter streets are the real reward, with a village feel quite unlike the rest of Paris, small galleries, bakeries and good restaurants tucked down the side streets. If you’re a Dalí fan, the small Dalí Paris museum (€16) holds over 300 original works, though it’s not an essential stop. For a guided introduction to the area, this Montmartre walking tour covers the highlights with a local guide.
One word of warning. The basilica steps attract “bracelet makers” who try to tie a string bracelet on your wrist and then demand payment for it. Politely decline and keep walking. For more on this and other common scams, see our guide to avoiding scams in Paris.
What We’ve Learned About a Paris Weekend
We’ve put this itinerary together over a lot of visits, and the single most useful thing we can pass on is this: 48 hours fills up faster than you expect. The plan above works, but it works best when you treat it as a menu rather than a checklist. Here’s how we’d flex it.
Don’t try to climb everything. Going up both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe means the better part of three hours spent queueing and climbing, and by the second one the novelty has worn thin. We’d pick one. Climb the Eiffel Tower for the experience of being up it, and enjoy the Arc from street level at night, when it’s lit and the Champs-Élysées is glowing. Or, if photographs matter more to you, climb the Arc instead, because the view from there includes the Eiffel Tower itself, and keep the tower as a Trocadéro picnic stop. Either way you save an afternoon.
Two big museums in two days is a lot. The Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay are both superb, but doing both properly in two days will wear you out, and if you’re travelling with children or you simply don’t want to spend half your weekend indoors, do one well rather than both in a hurry. The Louvre is the one for the famous pieces and sheer breadth, so it tends to win for a first visit. The d’Orsay is smaller, easier to enjoy in one go, and hard to beat if the Impressionists are your thing. There’s no wrong answer, only the one that suits your trip.
If you need to cut, do it in this order. The two optional Day 1 stops, the wine tasting and the Seine cruise, come out first; they’re lovely but they’re extras. After that, trim time inside the museums before you trim the neighbourhoods. Wandering Montmartre and strolling the Left Bank cost nothing, happen outdoors, and give you the feel of Paris that a gallery can’t. They’re the last things we’d sacrifice.
Leave Versailles for another trip. Plenty of readers ask how to fit Versailles into two days, and our answer is gently not to. It’s a half-day at the palace plus the better part of an hour each way, and wedging it in means giving up something central. Versailles earns its place on a 3-day Paris itinerary, where there’s room to do it justice. On two days, keep the plan inside the city.
If you’re visiting with younger children, the same logic applies, just more so. Lean on the outdoor parts of the plan, the Champ de Mars, the Trocadéro, the Montmartre streets, and take the museums in shorter bursts. Nobody, of any age, enjoys a forced march through the Louvre.
2 Days in Paris: Itinerary Map
To help you picture how the two days join up, here’s a map showing every stop. You can also open the map on Google Maps to use on your phone as you go.
Where to Eat in Paris
Paris is packed with brilliant places to eat at every price point, and we’ve tried a lot of them over the years. Here are some of our favourites.
For a proper Parisian brasserie experience, we love Terminus Nord near Gare du Nord. The bouillabaisse is excellent and the art deco interior is gorgeous. Le Procope in Saint-Germain opened in 1686 as Paris’s first literary café, counting Voltaire, Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin among its regulars. It’s been through several incarnations since (the current one, a restaurant rather than a café, opened in 1957 in the original building). The food is solid traditional French, but the history is the real reason to go.
Bouillon Chartier is the classic budget option. They don’t take reservations, so be prepared to queue, but the food is good and the prices are very hard to beat for Paris.
In Le Marais, Le Café des Musées does a beef bourguignon that we come back to every visit. It’s on a quiet side street and feels like a proper neighbourhood bistro. If you’re after something a bit different, Homer does a very good lobster roll, though it isn’t cheap.
Near the Eiffel Tower, La Fontaine de Mars is a lovely traditional restaurant with a cassoulet worth ordering. Book ahead if you can.
We’ve also done the Take Walks food tour through Le Marais, which includes stops at the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in Paris. If you enjoy food tours, it’s a great introduction to the city’s food culture.
For booking restaurants, we recommend TheFork (La Fourchette), the most popular restaurant booking platform in France, which makes the process easy even if you don’t speak French.
When to Visit Paris
Paris is good year-round. Summer, from June to August, has the best weather but also the longest queues and the biggest crowds. If you want decent weather with fewer people around, May and September are the sweet spot.
We also love visiting in autumn and winter. Paris in October, when the leaves turn golden along the Seine, is beautiful. And in December the city lights itself up for Christmas, which is magical. Just remember that winter daylight is short, so the two days will feel tighter and you’ll want an earlier start.
How to Get Around Paris
Paris has an excellent public transport network. The Metro is fast and covers the whole city, and there are buses and RER trains too. Taxis and ride-hailing apps are widely available. For this itinerary you’ll mostly walk, with the Metro filling in the longer hops between districts.
Paris runs a fully electronic ticketing system. Paper tickets are no longer sold, so you’ll need either a Navigo Easy card, a reusable card you load with journeys for a small one-off charge, or the IDF Mobilités smartphone app. Both can be topped up at machines in any Metro station, which take cards and cash and have an English-language option. For a fuller rundown of tickets, lines and routes, see our detailed guide to how to get around Paris.
Getting In From the Airport
Most visitors arrive at one of the two main airports, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to the northeast or Orly to the south. On a two-day trip the transfer eats into your time at both ends, so it’s worth knowing your options before you land.
From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B train is the direct route into the centre, reaching stations like Gare du Nord and Châtelet-Les Halles in around 35 minutes. From Orly, Metro line 14 now runs straight into the city after being extended to the airport, which makes it the simplest choice; the RER also connects Orly to central Paris. Public transport to and from either airport uses a dedicated airport fare, higher than a standard Metro journey and currently €14, bought from station machines or the app.
If you’d rather take a taxi, both airports have official ranks with a fixed, regulated flat fare into the city, so there’s no meter and no haggling. Expect €56 to €65 from Charles de Gaulle and €32 to €37 from Orly, depending on which side of the river you’re staying. Always use the official taxi rank rather than anyone who approaches you inside the terminal. Pre-booked private transfers are another option, and a comfortable one if you’d rather not deal with luggage on a train.
How to Save Money on Your Paris Trip
This itinerary packs a lot into two days, and most of the attractions charge for entry. The good news is that a city pass can take a real bite out of the total.
Our recommendation for this itinerary is the 2-day Paris Pass Plus (€179). The Paris Pass Plus combines the standard Paris Pass, which covers experiences like the Eiffel Tower guided climb, a Seine cruise, the wine tasting and the Opéra Garnier, with a Paris Museum Pass, which covers museums and monuments including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Arc de Triomphe. For a two-day visit doing everything in this itinerary, it’s the best-value single purchase.
Here’s what the attractions cost individually, as of May 2026. Many French national monuments now use two-tier pricing: a standard price for non-EEA visitors and a reduced price for EEA nationals and residents. The prices below are for non-EEA visitors unless noted.
- Sainte-Chapelle: €22, or €16 for EEA visitors. Included on the Paris Pass Plus and Paris Museum Pass.
- The Louvre: €32, or €22 for EEA visitors. Included on the Paris Pass Plus and Paris Museum Pass. Book ahead online and reserve a timed entry slot.
- Caves du Louvre wine tasting: €36. Included on the Paris Pass.
- Eiffel Tower: €14.80 by the stairs or €23.50 by lift to the second floor, with guided climbs from around €40. The guided second-floor climb is included on the Paris Pass and Paris City Card.
- Seine river cruise: from around €17. Included on the Paris Pass and Paris City Card.
- Arc de Triomphe: €22 from April to September, €16 from October to March. Included on the Paris Pass Plus and Paris Museum Pass.
- Opéra Garnier self-guided visit: €25, or €15 for EEA visitors. Included on the Paris Pass.
- Musée d’Orsay: €17.50 booked online. Included on the Paris Pass Plus and Paris Museum Pass.
- Sacré-Cœur dome climb: around €8. Not included on any pass.
Add the pass-covered attractions up and you’re at around €210 bought separately, against €179 for the 2-day Paris Pass Plus, so the saving is clear. Even for EEA residents paying the lower rates, the pass still tends to come out ahead once you’re visiting this many attractions.
One thing to watch: the Paris Pass Plus already includes a Paris Museum Pass, so you don’t need to buy both. We’ve seen visitors accidentally buy a standard Paris Pass and a separate Museum Pass without realising the Plus version bundles museum access in. Check what’s included before you pay.
If you don’t plan to visit everything here, or you’d rather pick and choose, other options include the Go Paris Explorer Pass, which lets you pick 3, 4 or 5 attractions from a set list, and the Paris City Card from Tiqets, which bundles a choice of attractions, including the Eiffel Tower, a Seine cruise and the Arc de Triomphe, with a discount on others.
As for where to buy them, you can get the Paris Pass and Paris Pass Plus here. For the Paris Museum Pass on its own, we’d buy direct from the official site, where the 2-day pass is €85 plus a small booking fee. It’s also sold on GetYourGuide, which costs more but adds free cancellation, so there’s a trade-off if your plans might change.
Another route some visitors prefer is to skip the Paris Pass and instead buy a 2-day Paris Museum Pass (€85) plus a Navigo Jour day pass for unlimited Metro, bus and RER travel, which runs at around €12 a day. At roughly €110 all in, that covers every museum and monument in this itinerary plus your transport, though it leaves out the experiences like the Eiffel Tower guided climb, the wine tasting and the Seine cruise, which you’d then book separately. It can work out cheaper if you’re planning to take the stairs up the Eiffel Tower and skip the wine tasting.
A couple of other ways to save. The Louvre offers free entry on the first Friday evening of the month, after 6pm, outside July and August. Some national monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe and Sainte-Chapelle, are free on the first Sunday of the month, but only from November to March. These free slots draw big crowds, so weigh the saving against the queues. EEA residents under 26 get free entry to many attractions with ID, and it’s always worth checking opening days before you buy a pass so you don’t lose one of your two days to a closed museum.
For a fuller breakdown of which pass suits your trip, see our review of the Paris Pass and our review of the Paris Museum Pass.
Where to Stay in Paris
We’ve stayed in all sorts of places in Paris over the years, from apartments to hotels to homestays. For this itinerary the thing that matters most is being within easy walking distance of a Metro station, so you can get to and from the stops without a fuss. Our go-to tool for finding somewhere is Booking.com, which usually has the widest choice across every price point. Here’s a pick across three budgets.
At the budget end, The People – Paris Marais is a well-reviewed hostel in Le Marais, one of our favourite parts of the city to be based in. It’s a sociable, central choice that keeps your accommodation cost down so there’s more left for the museums.
For a comfortable mid-range stay, there are three we’d happily point you to. Hôtel Eiffel Turenne is a well-rated 3-star within a ten-minute walk of the Eiffel Tower. Hotel France Louvre is another solid 3-star, on Rue de Rivoli near both Le Marais and the Louvre. And if you’d like a bit more space, Ateliers de Montmartre is an apartment in Montmartre with views of the Sacré-Cœur.
To treat yourself, Hôtel Dress Code is a highly reviewed 4-star just a few hundred metres from the Opéra Garnier, which puts you right on the Day 2 route.
If you’d prefer an apartment, we recommend Plum Guide. They curate their listings carefully, so quality tends to be high across all price points. We’ve stayed in a number of their places around the world, including a lovely apartment in Paris with Eiffel Tower views. If none of the above suits, we’ve a whole post on Airbnb alternatives with more ideas.
Practicalities for Visiting Paris
Safety in Paris
We’ve never had any real problems in Paris, though there are a few common scams worth knowing about, the Sacré-Cœur bracelet sellers among them. Read our guide to avoiding Paris scams before you go.
Power in Paris
France uses the 220v standard with 2-pin European plugs, so travellers from the UK and US will need an adapter. We travel with the Epicka universal adapter, which has handled every trip we’ve thrown at it. US travellers should also check their devices support 220v, which is usually printed on the charger. As a rule, most laptop, phone and camera chargers are dual-voltage and will work fine. Larger devices like hair dryers and straighteners often aren’t, and will need a voltage converter or a dual-voltage replacement.
For more on choosing the right one, see our guide to the best travel adapters.
Currency in Paris
Paris uses the Euro. You can get Euros from ATMs, banks and currency exchanges, and credit cards are widely accepted across the city.
Internet Access in Paris
WiFi is widely available in hotels, cafés and public spaces around the city, so getting online shouldn’t be a problem. If you want mobile data while you’re out, check with your carrier about roaming before you travel; many now include European roaming at no extra cost, which has made things far easier than they used to be.
If your carrier doesn’t offer good roaming, or you want a dedicated data plan, an eSIM is a good option. We’ve used Airalo and found it a reliable way to stay connected without swapping SIM cards. You can also pick up a local SIM if you have an unlocked phone. For more, see our guide to getting online when travelling, and our guide to the best travel router, which can help spread a weak hotel signal across several devices.
Drinking Water in Paris
Tap water is safe to drink unless a sign says otherwise. We usually travel with a reusable water bottle, and we love our Klean Kanteen bottles for trips like this, as they’re lightweight, easy to clean, and made by a certified B Corp.
Walking Tours of Paris
If you’d like a guided experience for part of your trip, we recommend Take Walks. We’ve used them for tours in cities around the world, and we’re always impressed by the small groups and knowledgeable guides. A few of their Paris tours we’ve done and can recommend:
- A full-day walking tour of Paris covering the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and a Seine cruise
- A three-hour tour of Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame
- Their Ultimate Paris Food Tour through Le Marais
Other options include this food tour on GetYourGuide and this Hemingway walking tour with Context Travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 2 days enough to see Paris?
Two days is enough to see the major highlights of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur and the Arc de Triomphe. You won’t cover everything, but with good planning you’ll come away with a proper feel for the city.
The trick is accepting a few trade-offs rather than trying to do it all. If you have closer to a day and a half, drop the two optional Day 1 stops and keep your museum visits short. If you have three days, you can add Versailles or slow the whole thing down.
What is the best pass for 2 days in Paris?
For a two-day visit covering the main museums and experiences in this itinerary, we recommend the 2-day Paris Pass Plus (€179 as of May 2026). It combines the Paris Pass, for experiences like the Eiffel Tower guided climb, a Seine cruise and the Opéra Garnier, with a Paris Museum Pass, for the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe and Sainte-Chapelle.
If you only want museum access, the standalone 2-day Paris Museum Pass (€85 from the official site) is a good choice. The Paris City Card from Tiqets is worth a look if you mainly want the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and a Seine cruise bundled together.
Can a Paris Pass be used on non-consecutive days?
No. The Paris Pass, Paris Pass Plus and Paris Museum Pass all run as one continuous window from the moment you first use them. You can’t pause a pass or split it across, say, a Monday and a Wednesday with a gap in between.
If you need that kind of flexibility, the Go Paris Explorer Pass is the one to look at instead. It lets you pick a set number of attractions and use them over a much longer period, rather than on fixed back-to-back days.
Is the Paris Pass worth buying for children and teenagers?
For the museum side of things, usually not. Under-18s enter France’s national museums and monuments free regardless of nationality, and that includes the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Arc de Triomphe. A paid pass adds little for a child at those attractions.
It’s worth knowing that a child still needs a free timed-entry reservation at the Louvre, so book one even though entry is free. A pass can still earn its place for a teenager through the transport and any non-national-museum inclusions, but for the big-name museums, children are already free.
Is the Louvre free on the first Sunday of the month?
No, not any more. The Louvre’s old first-Sunday free scheme has been discontinued. The Louvre is now free on the first Friday of the month, after 6pm, except in July and August.
Entry is also free year-round for under-18s of any nationality and for EEA residents under 26. The free Friday evening is popular, so expect queues if you go then.
Do I need to book Louvre tickets in advance?
You should. Book online ahead of your visit, direct from the official site at ticket.louvre.fr, and reserve a timed entry slot when you do.
Tickets are sometimes available to buy on site when the museum is quiet, but during busy periods turning up without a slot risks a long wait or no entry at all, so we always book ahead. If you’re using a Paris Museum Pass, you still need to reserve a timed slot; the pass covers entry, not the booking.
Is the Tour Montparnasse still open?
No. Tour Montparnasse closed on 31 March 2026 for a major renovation expected to last several years, and there’s no confirmed reopening date. It has also been removed from the Paris Pass.
For sunset views instead, we recommend the Trocadéro, which is free and looks straight at the Eiffel Tower, or the rooftop of the Arc de Triomphe.
Where are the best spots for photos in Paris?
Our go-to spots are the Trocadéro for the head-on Eiffel Tower shot, the Champ de Mars for the tower rising behind the gardens, the Sacré-Cœur steps for the city panorama, and the spiral stairwell inside the Arc de Triomphe.
For a fuller list, with the best times of day and exact vantage points, see my guide to the best photography locations in Paris.
Further Reading for Your Paris Trip
We’ve visited Paris many times and put together a lot of guides from our trips. Here are the most useful for planning:
- Our 3-day Paris itinerary if you have more time, and our 1-day Paris itinerary if you have less
- My guide to the best photography locations in Paris, plus a photo essay of Paris
- Guides to choosing a Seine River cruise and Seine River dinner cruises
- How to buy Paris Opera tickets, attend a fashion show at Galeries Lafayette, and save on Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris
- Our Paris Pass review and Paris Museum Pass review
- A complete guide to visiting Galeries Lafayette
- The definitive guide to the best afternoon tea in Paris
- Our Moulin Rouge guide
- If you’d like a guidebook, we recommend Rick Steves Paris and Lonely Planet Paris
And that’s our guide to a weekend in Paris. We’d love to hear how your trip goes, so if you have any questions or suggestions, let us know in the comments below.
Freddie says
Love how this itinerary balances sightseeing and local experiences! A weekend in Paris sounds magical. Can’t wait to visit!
Laurence Norah says
Thanks very much Freddie 🙂
Michelle says
Hi Laurence, thanks for the great information you provide in your posts. I have enjoyed reading your London and Paris tips and itineraries for months to help plan. My sister and I are visiting Paris as a part of our European getaway to London, Paris and Amsterdam from June 16-27th. We will be in Paris from June 21st to the 24th. We have purchased the 2 day Paris Pass because we will be arriving by train from London around 13:00. We are staying at Hotel Duquesne Eiffel. What should we do first after settling in on our first day? Also, is following your 2-day itinerary realistic from our hotel? Do you suggest any possible changes? How can I incorporate afternoon tea at a hotel? Thanks for any advice.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Michelle,
It’s our pleasure! So first, obviously you will want to adjust the itinerary based on your specific interests. Your hotel is definitely well located, you should be able to do the itinerary as laid out. The only thing you will want to check is the timing for the Eiffel Tower tour that is included on the Paris Pass, as that might affect your itinerary. As you are so close to the Eiffel Tower, you may want to do the Eiffel Tower / Seine River cruise first, and then the rest of the days activities following on from that. Otherwise though, yes, you should be fine following the itinerary from the hotel.
For your first day (when you arrive) you could definitely do the afternoon tea if you wanted, most afternoon teas in Paris are available fairly late. You are not too far from the Four Seasons George V which is one of my favourite afternoon tea locations in Paris. Alternatively, you could see if there are any activities not included on your Paris Pass that you want to do. Finally, you might just like to take a walk perhaps up to the Seine and then along to the Eiffel Tower.
Have a great time in Paris and let me know if you have any more questions!
Laurence
Lisa Gonçalves says
Hi! We will be in Paris from 7-10th of December with 2 teenagers (15 and 13 years olds), was wondering if the Paris Pass is worth buying for them as some of the attractions are free for under 18. Is there anything that you recommend at this time of the year?
I am also a little confused. I have tried to buy eifel tour tickets on the oficial site, but there are none available for the dates we are in Paris. But the site states that for stairs tickets you can book 15 dyas before, does this mena that I may still be able to book 15 days before or as they are not showing on the site, this will never be a possibility? Many thanks, Lisa.
many thbab
Laurence Norah says
Hi Lisa,
It’s lovely to hear from you, it sounds like you a have a fun trip coming up! So the Paris Pass is likely not going to be great value for your teenagers as most of the museums are free as you say. I would also add that you need to check exactly what is included on the Paris Pass currently, even if buying for adults. Normally it comes as a two part pass, but they have been having inventory issues with the Paris Museum Pass component so it has not been including that for some of the versions recently. You might instead consider one of the Paris City Cards, they come in different versions and account for under 18 access being free.
Normally we would always recommend a Seine River Cruise (just bring warm clothing!) and of course the Eiffel Tower. The Galleries Lafayette department store should also be nicely decorated at this time of year.
For the Eiffel Tower, I think it is unlikely the stairs will have sold out this far in advance, so I think it is likely not showing availability because it is too far out. You’ll want to come back 14 days before your trip which is when sales should show.
Let me know if you have any more questions, we’re happy to help!
Best
Laurence
Tina Mills says
I will be visiting Paris in November for my daughter’s 21st birthday. We will be coming from London on a Monday and will be leaving back to London on Wednesday. I enjoyed reading Paris in two days and will be using it for our trip. We will be staying at a hotel in the rue Casimir Delavigne. Is that a central location? I would love to take a dinner siene river cruise and a do a photo shoot. Do you think we will have time and where would be a great place to shoot. My daughter also loves food. Is there any cooking class around that we could fit in our schedule?
Thanks in advance!
Tina
Laurence Norah says
Hi Tina,
I would say that yes, Rue Casimir is definitely in a central location, you are about 10 minutes walk from Sainte Chapelle / Notre Dame and the highlights of that area. You are also about 30 minutes metro ride to the Eiffel Tower.
You can easily take a dinner Seine river cruise in the evening of one of these days. We have a guide to Seine River cruises here which includes a section on dinner cruises. Some of these depart from near the Musee d’Orsay so would be easy to reach from your apartment.
We have done the Macaron making class at the Galleries Lafayette, that was a lot of fun and you should be able to fit that into the schedule, perhaps instead of the wine tasting. Alternatively, you could do it on the second day. It will depend a bit on your priorities and what you really want to see. You can see more cooking classes here.
In terms of photography, I personally think the Trocadero opposite the Eiffel Tower makes for a good location as you can get lovely photos with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Have a great trip, and let me know if you have any more questions!
Best
Laurence
RAJA CHIALAKAMARRI says
Hi Laurence, Best wishes.
Excited to find your website is very informative. Would you help our family first trip to Europe. We vegetarians and like to find a place safe and comfortable for around $100-150 per night. Hotel stay is preferred but Ainbnb is also an option.
We 3 adults are thinking for flying in on Tuesday April 26th by noon. We take train to Amsterdam on 28th evening.
One evening our son 24year old youth may be curious to spend a few hours night life.
What we should see? How we can go around? any minor details like holidays, timings and buying in advance ( passes or booking tickets)
Would you suggest for Madrid (4 full days) and Amsterdam(2 full days) too? Our entire trip is between April 22-May1st.
Thanks in advance
Regards
raja
Laurence Norah says
Hi Raja,
Thanks for your comment! So we don’t currently offer personalised itinerary planning services. In terms of where to stay, if the recommended options don’t work for you, I’d recommend using the booking.com filter system to find something that suits. I like to filter by rating (usually 8+) and then you can filter by price. I’ve put that search together for you here. It currently shows around 8-10 properties (it will change based on availability). One option to consider is the Hotel Du Lion, which has good reviews and is quite well located.
In terms of what to see and do, as you are in Paris for two days this guide should cover everything you need to know, including the pass options and how to get around. If you have specific questions I am happy to help, but I think most of your current questions are answered in this guide. We haven’t visited Madrid but we hear it is very nice. I have visited Amsterdam and it is a lovely city, very pretty, although we haven’t written any guides yet as we have not visited for a while.
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Jenny Smith says
Admiring the time and energy you put into your blog and detailed information you provide.
Laurence Norah says
Thanks Jenny!
Minal says
Hi Laurence,
I need some help, for Day 2 – I want to cover below attractions :
1. Opera Garnier,
2. Musee d’Orsay,
3. Left Bank,
4. Tour Montparnasse,
5. Stroll around Champs-Élysées avenue
6. Moulin Rouge at night (not to attend the show)
I have booked my stay in the 14th ARR. so it’s a bit far and hence the confusion.
I wanted help to plan above attractions at best possible time of the day, can you please help me?
I also don’t want to miss the Tour Montparnasse sunset view. 🙂
Laurence Norah says
Hi Minal,
So this should be easy enough to do in a day. The only thing is I don’t know when you are visiting exactly, as some attractions have specific closures. So you should definitely check when each attraction is open specific to your visit.
The Opera Garnier has some closures on certain days and also some days it’s only open in the morning or afternoon. You can see that here: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/visits/palais-garnier
The Musee d’Orsay is closed on Mondays.
Personally I think the Tour Montparnasses is best at sunset as you can see Paris going from day to night which is really lovely to watch. However, sunset varies depending on time of year, so again this will depend on when you visit. If you’re in the 14th, this will be the closest attraction to you.
Assuming you are visiting when everything is open, I’d suggest starting with Musee d’Orsay. Then Opera Garnier (self guided tour). If you want to do a guided tour, you’ll have to adjust your plan as these only run at certain times, and not every day of the week depending on the time of year.
Then I’d go to Champs Elysees, across to the left bank, and down to the Tour Montparnasse. Finally up to the Moulin Rouge.
This is definitely heading around a bit, but that’s kind of inevitable. I’d also say that you are really close to the Paris Catacombs in the 14th, so you might want to check those out too.
Let me know if I can be of any more help!
Laurence
Minal says
Thanks Laurence 🙂
I am travelling to Paris in June and would be considering this schedule for Sunday. I just checked the Opera Garnier would be closed for Sunday morning – so it would be open around 2.00 PM
thanks again for your detailed answer 🙂
you really helped me a lot!
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure – have an amazing time in Paris!
Minal says
Hi Laurence, Jessica,
Your post helped me a lot in planning in our 2 days in Paris 🙂
Thank you for writing this!
Laurence Norah says
Our pleasure Minal – thanks so much for taking the time to comment and let us know, it means a lot! Have a great time in Paris and let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Laurence
Jennifer says
Hi,
The itinerary that you have provided is so helpful to give me the top sights to see in the most efficient way. I’m looking at the 3 day Paris pass because I will be arriving on a Monday late afternoon, 4 pm and departing on Wednesday at 2 pm.
Is it better to get the 2 day or 3 day pass because of the dates and time?
I also saw that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and not sure how to accommodate the itinerary as to when best to fit that in.
Thanks Jennifer
Laurence Norah says
Hi Jennifer!
So I would recommend getting the 2 day Paris pass. The reason being that the pass is made up of two components, a Paris Pass and a Paris Museum Pass. They cover slightly different things, and they can actually be activated separately. In addition, there is no 3 day Paris Museum Pass, so the 3 day Paris Pass only comes with a 2 day Paris Museum pass anyway!
Now, on to your itinerary conundrum. So you have a little less than two full days due to your arrival time, and because the Louvre is closed on Tuesday, you might not get absolutely everything in. Based on your timings, I would probably suggest something like the following:
Monday – Eiffel Tower (it opens late, but reserve your ticket in advance online to skip the lines!), Seine River Cruise, Left Bank. Only activate the Paris Pass for the Seine River Cruise.
Tuesday – Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame (optional as it is closed but you are close so might as well take a peep), wine tasting, Sacre Coeur, Dali Museum, Opera Garnier, Tour Montparnasse, Centre Pompidou. Use both Paris Pass and Paris Museum Pass.
Now, honestly it is going to be a lot to try and do all that. You might want to skip the wine tasting, or the trip out to Montmartre, depending on your specific interests. I’m also not quite sure where to put the Arc de Triomphe. If you just want to view it that would be on your first day, however if you want to climb it you’d have to do it with the Museum Pass on day 2 or 3.
Wednesday – the Louvre, Musee D’orsay. Could also do the Arc de Triomphe if you are feeling quick!
I hope this helps. Happy to help you hone this a bit more if you let me know any “must-see” sights, or things you don’t mind skipping 🙂 Finally, don’t forget the 2 day version of the pass only comes with a 2 day travel card, which is valid for consecutive days rather than a 48h period. So if you start that at 4pm on the Monday, it will stop working at 5.30am on the Wednesday (they are valid for 5.30am -5.30am, regardless of which time of day you activate them).
Laurence
Jennifer says
Thanks so much for responding and giving me great suggestions. Really awesome.
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure – have a great trip 😀
Michelle says
This is a great breakdown! Thank you very much for sharing your expertise. My husband and I will be visiting for the first time at the end of March. We will have some time on arrival day, but figured we would be jet-lagged, but after reading your blog, I’m thinking we should still get a 3-day Paris Pass and after possibly a small nap on our first day, try and visit some of the sights. We then would have two full days to explore before returning home on the following day. Should we rule out the Palace of Versailles on this short trip as I hear it can take much of the day? We will be staying in the Saint Germain area. Also, would you recommend bringing Euros with us or getting them there in Paris? Again, thank you very much!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Michelle!
Sounds like a plan! Just be aware that the 3 day Paris Pass only comes with a 2 day Paris Museum Pass. The two passes can however be used and activated separately. So my tip if you do as you plan would be to visit only those attractions on the Paris Pass itself. That would include things like a Seine River Cruise, wine tasting and a walking tour, which would all be good options for your first day.
For Versailles – obviously this is up to you, but yes, to make the most out of a visit you will want to give it most of a day, especially to explore the gardens and out to the Marie Antoinette area, which is my favourite part. So I’d say as this is your first visit you might want to focus on the main sights in the city itself.
For Euros, this will depend very much on what credit / debit cards you have. Some banks will let you withdraw euros fee free from foreign ATMs, whilst others will charge a hefty fee. So you should check with your bank, and maybe look into getting a card which doesn’t charge fees. Usually if you can order euros in advance before you travel you will get a better rate. Just avoid money exchange at the airport as the rates are going to be dire 🙂
Have a great trip – let me know if you have any more questions!
Laurence
Chanchal says
Hi,
Your post is really good to understand the each and every aspect of paris tour.
I would be really keen to know if you can put tentatively time on each place for 2 days itinerary so that i can plan my start time and end time of these two days.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Chancal,
Sure thing!
Sainte Chapelle, opens at 9am. I recommend arriving around 8.30am to get to the front of the line. Leave by 9.45am
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris – this is closed, so a brief photo stop only. Done by 10am.
Louvre 10.30am – 12.30
WIne Tasting, 12.30 – 1.30
Arc de Triomphe, 2 – 2.30
Eiffel Tower, 3 – 4.30
Seine River Cruise 5pm +
Day 2:
Sacre Coeur opens at 8.30am, so be here then 🙂 allow an hour.
Dalí Museum, opens at 10am. allow 45min – 1 hour
Opera Garnier, 11.30 – 12.30
Musee d’Orsay, 1 – 3
Left Bank, 3 – 4
Tour Montparnasse 5 – 6 (although recommend you adjust timing to be here for sunset)
Centre Pompidou – either before or after Tour Montparnasse. It’s open until quite late usually.
I hope this helps – obviously adjust timings to suit but you should get an idea.
Best
Laurence
Hamid says
Hi there,
I hope you are doing fine.
I want to know your idea whether it is OK to visit paris on 31th Dec to 2nd Jan.
Cheers,
Hamid
Laurence Norah says
Hi Hamid!
Thanks for your message. So the main issue with this is that nearly every attraction in Paris will close on New Years Day (1st January). So you should expect many attractions to be closed on the 1st, and possibly close early on the 31st December.
So if there are specific attractions you want to visit, you will want to check their websites to see when they are open.
In addition, hotel accommodation tends to be more expensive over the New Year period, so you will want to consider that as well.
I hope this helps! I wouldn’t say not to visit, but just to be prepared in advance and have a plan 🙂
Laurence
johnmark says
My wife and I really enjoyed our 4 days in Paris with the Paris Pass. It was very helpful and saved a lot of money. Thank you!
Laurence Norah says
Our pleasure!
Laurence Norah says
Our pleasure 😀
Ketan says
Hi, What are options available for vegetarian traveller? (No egg, meat, seafood).?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Ketan,
I believe there’s a wide range of vegetarian options, most restaurants will have vegetarian or vegan options to choose from 🙂
Have a great trip!
Laurence
KULKARNI says
Hi. I am quite impressed with your itinerary for 2 days in Paris. I just want to to know are there tour operator’s available who can fulfill this itinerary? If so please share this information, if you can.
Regards
U S KULKARNI
Laurence Norah says
Hi Kulkarni,
I’m not sure to be honest – our itineraries are designed for independent travellers. The closest I can suggest are the walking tours we list in the article, the full day Paris tour by Take Walks is likely your best option if you want a guided experience. However if you want the full two days with accommodation you would need to talk to a travel agent I think.
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Melanie Burgess says
Hi there
Awesome itinary I’m going to take on the 2 day one and see how far I will come. I’ve been up the eiffel Tower so will skip the trip up. I’ll be staying in Mont martre and I would like to know if the Paris pass covers that area for transport.
Many thanks
Melanie
Laurence Norah says
Hi Melania!
It covers zones 1-3 if I remember correctly, which includes Montmartre 🙂
Enjoy your time in Paris!
Laurence
Lisa Duncan says
Hi Laurence,
This is a fantastic resource and was exactly what I was looking for to help plan my visit to Paris, including the photography tips ( my hobby). I will also be looking at your London itinerary. We are coming from a stay in Disneyland Paris and will be coming to the city to stay for 2 nights and then heading to CDL.
Can you recommend the train station that is closest to the attractions on your Day 1 itinerary?
I am also looking for a centrally located place to stay that will be close enough to drop off luggage and then start our day.
Are their special precautions when carrying my professional camera throughout Europe. Should I try and find an anti theft camera strap?
Thank you so much
Laurence Norah says
Hi Lisa!
Thanks very much 🙂
So I would say probably Gare Montparnasse, but Gare du Nord is not too far away either. For your camera, my suggestion is to get a sling strap that goes across your body like this Peak Design strap, which is what I use. Holding your camera across your body means it’s a lot harder to grab, and it’s also more comfortable. I cart my full frame Canon cameras around on these straps in cities throughout Europe and have never had a problem (touch wood!)
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Lisa says
Thank you for the advice. One more question- we are going to stay in the Disneyland area for our entire stay and take the train into Paris for our sightseeing days. If I buy the 2 day Paris Pass with the metro option. Can I use it from the RER at the Disneyland station? The Paris pass appears to be the best deal to see most of the tips attractions listed on your itinerary.
Thank you again.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Lisa,
The Paris Pass doesn’t include transport from Disneyland – it’s just for Zones 1 – 3. That covers pretty much everywhere on our itinerary, but not all the way out to Disneyland. So the best option would be to buy tickets at the RER train station for the journey to and from Paris.
Enjoy!
Laurence
Gabrielle says
Hi there! Thanks for your recommendations. I’m trying to find information on how to deal with rental cars while in Paris. Do you know if there’s parking availability in certain areas to leave vehicles? Any input is most appreciated!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Gabrielle,
There are plenty of paid parking structures, but not many free locations. We’d generally advise against driving in Paris though, it’s not very quick!
Best
Laurence
Krish says
Thank for very much for the guidance.Very informative to novice travellers.
Really appreciate taking time to build this website.
Can you please suggest us a good/safe place to stay (Hotel) close to Eiffel tower for a family of 4.
thanks
Krish
Laurence Norah says
Hi Krish!
My pleasure 🙂 So we actually have a full guide to visiting the Eiffel Tower which also has a number of hotel recommendations. I’d suggest checking that out as there are a wide range of options listed 🙂 You can see that here:
https://independenttravelcats.com/eiffel-tower-paris-france/#Where-to-Stay-in-Paris-Near-the-Eiffel-Tower
Enjoy!
Laurence
Carrie says
Hi Laurence,
Great information! I plan on using several of your suggested itineraries when we travel to Europe for a month in June. Technically, we will be in Paris for 2 days, but it’s stretched across 1 full day and two half days: arriving on a Friday around 2pm and departing on Sunday at 1:30pm. Do you think this itinerary is still doable across this split? How would you suggest we go about it? Also, I think the Paris Pass would work for us, as we want to visit most everything you have listed (if we can!). Thank you!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Carrie!
Thanks very much! So I think this will be doable. I would perhaps suggest the following:
Friday arrival:
Seine River Cruise
Eiffel Tower
Walk along the left bank
Tour Montparnasse for sunset
Saturday:
Saint Chapelle
Notre Dame
Opera Garnier Tour
Louvre
Musee d’Orsay
Arc de Triomphe
Sunday:
Dali Museum
Sacre Coeur
Centre Pompidou
Wine tasting
The Opera Garnier Tour runs every day at 11am and 2.30pm, so you would need to figure out where to put this, I suspect the Saturday would be the best day.
For the Paris Pass this has to be used on consecutive days. So if you activate it on the Friday, it would only be valid until the Saturday evening. So you would need the three day Paris Pass in this case.
Let me know if I can help any more!
Laurence
Thang Bui says
Hi Laurence
Love the writing, very insightful. Can i ask: does Paris Explorer Card include public transportation in Paris and 2 ways transport to airport?
Thanks much
Thang
Laurence Norah says
Hi Thang,
Thanks very much! The Paris Explorer Pass does not include public transport in Paris or transport to the airport. It’s just for attractions and sightseeing. This pass (https://paris.ticketbar.eu/en/discountcards/paris-online-city-pass-/) includes one airport transfer and public transport, but you then have to decide on the attractions. So everything has a bit of a compromise!
Best
Laurence
Thang Bui says
Thanks Laurence, much appreciated
Thang
Olaniyi Olatunji says
Hello,
I will be in Paris on 30 – April to 3 – May 2019.
Considering it will be my first time in Europe, I was hoping to find a partner we can take this tour with. I don’t know if i can achieve all of these alone as i do not know anywhere.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Olaniyi!
we’ve never looked for a partner to travel with, however, I have asked around, and folks recommend trying the Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forums or the Couchsurfing community. You could also try Nomadic Matt’s Nomadic Network facebook group: https://facebook.com/groups/nomadicnetwork
As always, practice safety and caution when arranging meet ups and arrangements with strangers 🙂
Laurence
Louise Garrett says
We’ve only got a few days free in the school summer holidays due to my work so thought Paris would be a good place to take our 13 & 16 year old what do you think? Also do you think we could add on Disneyland at the end? Your blog is so well written and as an adult it sounds great just wondering if a teenager would enjoy it? Thanks
Laurence Norah says
Hey Louise!
So we don’t have children of our own, so the only experience I can give is that that when I was a teenager my parents took me on an adventure across Europe, and it’s still one of the best trips I remember having. Jess also visited Paris for the first time when she was 16 and had a wonderful time.
However, everyone is different, so our experiences aren’t of course guaranteed!
That said, Paris is a pretty special place, and I think anyone would love the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and so on.
I definitely can’t speak to Disneyland as I’ve never been, but I have heard good things.
I’m not sure this has helped too much, but hopefully it has been of some use! Have a wonderful trip, whatever you decide to do!
Laurence
Ken says
Great itinerary unfortunately I see no way to do this in two days. We attempted this itinerary in early January when there should have been smaller crowds and had no luck given the lines to get into the various venues. We even had the Paris pass that supposedly got us into venues fast, with no luck.
I would say that you could potentially do all this in three days. By the way, those venues we did get into including LaSalle cathedral were amazing.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Ken!
Thanks for the feedback, that is much appreciated. It is certainly a busy day, but the first day in particular is perhaps a bit optimistic. As such, I’ve updated the text to make it clearer which I’d suggest skipping if you don’t want to feel too rushed. I’m pleased you had a good time though and were able to see everything you wanted!
LAurence
Maynel Alvarez-Requejo says
Hello,
I stumbled across this while looking for the major things to do during a short stay in Paris.
We are doing England and Ireland for my 40th birthday in June and doing a quick side trip to París from London. This is exactly the type of guidance I was hoping to find and thank you so much for being so detailed ans helpful.
Any similar itinerary recommendations for London and southern / central England and southern / western Ireland? Going for almost 3 weeks in June
Laurence Norah says
Hi Maynel!
Certainly, we have quite a few guides to help you out on both our sites 🙂
We have a 6 day London itinerary and a 2 day London itinerary
We have a 1 week, 10 day and 2 week UK itinerary.
We also have content on Ireland 🙂 You can see all our UK content here and our Ireland content here 🙂
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Shakerra Joseph says
I stumbled across your blog today, looking for a pretty good Paris itinerary and I have to say that I am so impressed. This was so well written and gave so much great information. I was so unsure about purchasing the Paris Pass, but after reading your post, I might end up buying it! Thanks so much. – From a new reader!
Laurence Norah says
Thanks Shakerra! I hope the itinerary helps – if you do visit Paris, do come back and let us know how your trip was 😀
Elly says
Hi Laurence and Jess, I am taking my husband on a surprise weekend trip to Paris next month and am so glad to come across your blog. I have never seen a travel blog so extensive, thorough, flexible and enjoyable!! You guys are super talented. Thank you so much!
Laurence Norah says
Gosh Elly, that is so kind of you. Also, you have a very lucky husband obviously – to be surprising him with such a lovely trip 😀 Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, it means a great deal! Have a fabulous time!
anna chana Weinberg says
thank you so much for this post!! we just got back from our 2 day vacation in Paris and had such an amazing time because of all of your advice!!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Anna! Thanks so much for letting us know! We’re thrilled we were able to help you have a great trip 😀
Soham says
Me and my colleague will be coming to Paris from Brussels on Thursday lunch time and will be leaving on Saturday morning (around eleven). Will come by train and will fly out. What can be the area for stay in Paris? We are okay with some b&b options.
Also one of us have flight at Saturday night. So after checkout in the morning can he dump the luggage somewhere (some cloak room facility) and roam around for the day?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Soham 🙂
We would advise staying in central Paris if you can. You could try this hotel, it is well rated and fairly central. Otherwise you might want to try AirBnB to see what you can find.
In terms of luggage storage, most hotels will let you leave your luggage. if you choose an AirBnb, then you can take your luggage to the train stations, all of the major train stations have left luggage facilities in Paris, for a fairly reasonable fee.
I hope this helps!
Laurence
allie says
Hi, My husband and I will be in Paris for 2 1/2 days. We will arrive on a Sunday after a 15 hour flight. I’d love to wander some of the flea markets on that day. Any suggestions on a good one? On our two full days we would like to go to Giverny one morning. This will take up 5 hours, arriving back in Paris around 1:15 p.m. We are planning to visit the Eiffel Tower at 9:00 p.m., on one of the days and, of course want to go to the Louvre. So many of the places on your 2 day itinerary sound like must dos, but I’m afraid our visit to Giverny is going to cut in to things. Do you have any suggestions as to what we might cut out and any thoughts on how to maximize our time. It’s kind of a blur to me as to how to organize our time. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Allie
The most famous fleamarkets in Paris are the Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, on a Sunday they will be open until 6pm. So that would be my suggestion. I’ve actually drafted a one day itinerary for Paris that will be going live in the next few weeks, which would probably help clarify your thinking, depending on when you go. But my must-do’s would probably be Saint Chapelle, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Seine River Cruise, and Montmartre. Beyond that it really depends on your interests 🙂
Hope this helps a bit – happy to provide more direction if I can!
Laurence
allie says
Thank You!!
Philip says
Hi … really nice write up…I’ve not stumbled upon such a great guide to Paris… extensive and super informative…
I was actually lost …abt how to plan out 2 days in Paris.
We reach 18th May evening 19.00hrs. and leave on 20th evening 16.30 to Brussels. We are a family with 2 kids 7 &4 yrs….was wondering how to go about…what would be interesting for them and amount of walking they can do…
We maynot be able to cover a lot as per your iterinary…
As you have been there multiple times…can I have your thoughts on it…
Thanks a ton again for the great write-up ..it does make a big difference to first-timers like us…
Regards
Philip
Laurence Norah says
Hi Philip,
Thanks very much! I have to say it’s a bit hard to provide specific advice – partly because we don’t have children, but mostly because everyone’s interests are difference – including kids 🙂 So I’m not sure exactly what they might be into. My suggestion would be to pick those items on the list that you think you and your kids would both enjoy, for example, everyone enjoys the views from the Eiffel tower, and a seine river cruise can be a nice way to let your feet relax and take a break- whilst the Louvre might not be quite so appealing 🙂
Generally, I’d suggest cutting the itinerary in half at least to give you lots of time to rest and take breaks and not be too rushed when travelling with younger people, so this might be a good rule of thumb. Then a mix of activities for everyone. I hope this helps a bit!
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Annemarie Hood says
My boyfriend and I are excited to be spending a day and a half in Paris in early October.
It is the last leg of a trip to Scotland and Ireland and we arriving early afternoon on a Friday and have all day Saturday in Paris.
Your 2-day itinerary was so helpful in deciding what we want to do — just wondering if what we have come up with is doable in a day and a half?
Day One – Notre Dame / Dinner on the Seine River / walk on Left Bank
Day Two – Champs Elysees / Arc de Triomphe / Eiffel Tower / Latin Quarter / The Louvre / Marais / Dinner in Bastille
Laurence Norah says
Hi Annemarie!
That does sound do-able yes! Your second day will be quite busy, but certainly manageable 😀 Definitely for the Eiffel Tower make sure you book your tickets in advance so as not to have to waste time queuing. You can do it on the official website 🙂 Same with the Louvre, although you might find a 1 day Paris pass or 1 day paris museum pass will help – although I’m not sure if you’re going to be seeing enough to make the savings too great – you’ll have to do the math and figure it out 🙂
Have a wonderful trip!
Sharen says
Hi there, this is great info. THANK YOU. I will be travelling to Paris in May with my 14 year old daughter. We are both EU citizens. Do I need to purchase a Paris Pass for her? If I purchase one for myself will she be able to go through the Fast track lane with me?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Sharen!
Thanks very much 🙂 As your daughter is under 26 and an EU citizen, she won’t need to pay to access the majority of Paris’s attractions – just make sure you bring your passport with you 🙂 In terms of fast track access, I’ve done some research and can’t find a definitive answer, but I think if she is with you then you should be ok to use the fast track lane together.
Have a great trip!
Melanie says
My husband and I are hopping up from San Sebastián next week and will only have 2 days so this itinerary is perfect and full of great advice! Wouldn’t have thought to see Saint Chapelle. Would be curious to know your thoughts on dining? Thanks again for putting together such an informative blog!
Laurence Norah says
Hi Melanie! To be honest we usually just google the local restaurants to wherever we are and find options with high recent reviews, or wander around the neighbourhood we’re staying at and check out the menus of the day. We find that restaurants can change in quality so much that recommendations can be a bit hit and miss. I hope you have a wonderful trip!
VL says
Hi – great writeup ! My first time to Paris with my husband and teenage daughter. Your writeup helped me come up with my itinerary of two days. I was wondering why have you not included Palace of Versailles? I am planning to opt out of few attractions for second day especially Sacre Coeur and
Musee d’Orsay. Can I include Palace of Versailles instead? Is it doable?
Laurence Norah says
Thanks very much! For two days, I thought that Versailles would be a challenge (it’s on my three day itinerary: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/3-day-paris-itinerary/).
However if you wanted to opt out of some of the other attractions, you could definitely do Versailles – it’s your trip so it’s important you do what you want 😀 Just be aware it’ll take you around half a day, and you definitely want to get there early – plan to arrive as soon as it opens so you can make the most of your day.
Have a wonderful time in Paris!
Jennifer says
Hello! This itinerary is amazing! Thank you so much for all the work that went into it! Our questions is…we are thinking about going in Nov. 2018…to celebrate my 5oth birthday and our 20th anniversary. We would fly on a Friday but not get in until Saturday mid morning. We would leave on a Wed. Monday is Veteran’s Day and although that won’t be a factor in Paris, we read that many things are closed on Mondays anyway. Our question is…is there a way to split up the 2 day Paris Pass and use it on non-consecutive days? That way we could relax on Saturday, tour on Sunday, relax on Monday and use the pass again on Tuesday?
Thanks so much for your help. 🙂
Laurence Norah says
Hi Jennifer! Thanks very much and congratulations on your milestones 😀
Great question! So, the “easy” answer is that no, you can’t split up the pass as it is for consecutive days, and once activated can’t be paused. So you have a couple of options. The easiest of course would be to buy a longer pass, which comes with longer travel cards and would be easier to manage.
The other options is to get a bit creative. The Paris Pass actually comes as two different passes, which can in fact be activated separately. These are the Paris Museum Pass, and the Paris Attractions Pass. These cover different attractions, and you could activate these separately from each. Of course, the travel pass will only last for two days from activation date, so plan your timing on that based on your transport needs.
So, going through the itinerary, the following attractions are covered by the Paris Museum pass:
Saint Chapelle
Cathedrale Notre Dame towers / crypt
Louvre
Arc de Triomphe
Musee d’Orsay
Centre Pompidou
And the Paris Attractions Pass covers:
Wine tasting
Seine River Cruise
Dali Museum
Opera Garnier Tour
Tour Montparnasse
It also includes the hop on hop off bus, which you could do on one of your days.
The Eiffel Tower isn’t on any pass, neither is the Sacre Couer tower.
So my suggestion would be to split up your days in Paris across the attractions, and see the different attractions for the correct passes. I’d also suggest maybe taking one of the days and visiting Versailles, which is wonderful. That’s included on the Paris Museum Pass. For more ideas, check out my 3 day Paris itinerary here: https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/3-day-paris-itinerary/
Also, just for reference, here’s a handy listing of days that different sites are open:
https://en.parisinfo.com/what-to-see-in-paris/info/guides/weekly-closing-days-of-cultural-sites-in-Paris
Have a great trip!
Val says
Hi
Going to Paris in the first week of April for 3 days
Staying in and area called Boulouge.
Got a few places would like to visit,
How do you recommend we do this ?
Laurence Norah says
Hi Val,
My suggestion would be to check out my just published 3 Day Paris itinerary 🙂
https://www.findingtheuniverse.com/3-day-paris-itinerary/
If you could be more specific about what help you need I will try to help out!
Jenny Smith says
Gosh…. the city of Love ?
I am going next month and your pictures are making me excited to go there soon!
Can’t wait!!
Laurence Norah says
have a wonderful trip!
Vicks says
Hi Laurence ,
Are all the Museums open on Saturday and Sunday as well ?
Thank You
Laurence Norah says
Hi Vicks!
The majority of museums are open on Saturday / Sunday – Monday is a more common day for museums to close in Paris 😉
here’s handy list to save you looking through museums individually:
https://en.parisinfo.com/what-to-see-in-paris/info/guides/weekly-closing-days-of-cultural-sites-in-Paris
best
Laurence
Liza says
Me and my girlfriend will be traveling in Paris around 1st week of May. Just a question the Paris pass (2 day) will give you unlimited access to transportation as well?
Thank you.
Laurence Norah says
Hi Liza,
Yes, the Paris Pass includes free transport for the duration of the pass. It actually comes as a 2 day metrocard ticket, which is good for zones 1-3. So you can’t use it to get to the airport, or outside of those zones (Versailles for example is not included), but everywhere in this itinerary is covered. You can see more here:
https://prf.hn/click/camref:1101lbZC/pubref:FTU2DayParis/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.parispass.com%2Fparis-transport%2F
Have a great trip!
Laurence
Melanie Moore says
I was just in Paris in December and had only 24 hours! Luckily, it was my third visit so I didn’t feel like I had to squeeze everything in. (I wrote about what I did here: mywanderlustblog.me) I am making note from your post to see Saint Chapelle on my next visit. Wow, looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
Laurence Norah says
24 hours is a short time but I’m pleased you saw a lot still. And yes, definitely make time for Saint Chapelle next time!
Christine says
Thanks for all the tips! I’ll be visiting Paris for the first time in March! I’ll be sure to read the other posts mentioned.
Laurence Norah says
My pleasure! Paris is one of our favourite cities – have a wonderful time!