Paris, FranceBy ArrivLast checked
Plan a trip to Paris
Twenty arrondissements spiraling out from the Seine. Book the two or three timed-entry sights you care about most, and then leave the rest of each day to one neighborhood and a long lunch. That is the trip.
- Couples
- First-timers
- Food trips
- Art
Free to run, and you keep editing after. Add who's coming or a pace like “slow mornings” to shape the result.
Paris at a glance
Most people come for the headline sight, Louvre, and that decides the shape of everything else. Three more stops hold up their end, and you will sleep in Le Marais (3rd/4th), Saint-Germain (6th), or Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th). The month notes say when Paris earns the airfare, so give it 4 to 6 days and put the whole thing on a map.
- How long
- 4–6 days
- When to go
- April to June, then September to October. August empties of locals and a lot of restaurants close for the whole month, so the move is to check before you book. Museums are quietest on the weekday evenings when they stay open late, which is the most useful trick on this page.
- Getting around
- The metro reaches everywhere, and a carnet or Navigo Easy card pays for itself in a day, though you should walk between adjacent arrondissements because that is where the city happens. Skip taxis in traffic.
What to build the plan around
- 1
Louvre
Book a timed slot and enter through the Carrousel, because that skips the pyramid line. Closed Tuesdays.
- 2
Eiffel Tower
Summit tickets sell out weeks ahead, though the better photograph is of the tower, taken from Trocadéro or Rue de l'Université, and it costs nothing.
- 3
Musée d'Orsay
Impressionists in a converted railway station, and a far more manageable half-day than the Louvre if you are museum-tired.
- 4
Le Marais
The best walking in the city: Place des Vosges, falafel on Rue des Rosiers, and shops that open on Sunday, which is when much of Paris closes.
Where to stay in Paris
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- Le Marais (3rd/4th)
- Central and walkable to Notre-Dame and the Seine, and the liveliest of the three once the evening starts. Browse stays in Le Marais (3rd/4th)
- Saint-Germain (6th)
- Classic Left Bank cafés and bookshops, close to the Orsay and the Luxembourg gardens, so the morning is easy. Browse stays in Saint-Germain (6th)
- Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th)
- Younger and cheaper, with the best casual food, though it is twenty minutes to the center by metro. Browse stays in Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th)
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More itineraries to copy
Each one opens as a map with every stop already placed.
Paris planning questions
- How many days do you need in Paris?
- Plan on 4 to 6 days, though how you split them matters more than the total. Four days covers two big museums and three neighborhoods. Six lets you add Versailles and still eat at the pace the city expects, which is slower than you think and most of the reason to come.
- What is the best time to visit Paris?
- April to June, then September to October. August empties of locals and a lot of restaurants close for the whole month, so the move is to check before you book. Museums are quietest on the weekday evenings when they stay open late, which is the most useful trick on this page.
- Where should I stay in Paris?
- Le Marais (3rd/4th), Saint-Germain (6th), and Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th), in roughly that order of convenience, though convenience and rate rarely move together. Le Marais (3rd/4th): Central and walkable to Notre-Dame and the Seine, and the liveliest of the three once the evening starts. Saint-Germain (6th): Classic Left Bank cafés and bookshops, close to the Orsay and the Luxembourg gardens, so the morning is easy. Canal Saint-Martin (10th/11th): Younger and cheaper, with the best casual food, though it is twenty minutes to the center by metro. Any of them beats booking out by the airport.
- How do you get around Paris?
- The metro reaches everywhere, and a carnet or Navigo Easy card pays for itself in a day, though you should walk between adjacent arrondissements because that is where the city happens. Skip taxis in traffic.
- What should I see first in Paris?
- Start with Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay. Schedule the first of those before anything else, because it is the one that suffers most from a late start. Book a timed slot and enter through the Carrousel, because that skips the pyramid line. Closed Tuesdays.
- Is there a free Paris itinerary I can copy?
- Yes, and you can read it without an account. The Paris itinerary on Arriv puts every stop on a map in a suggested order. Duplicate it and you get an editable copy for your own dates and your own group, so you can cut whatever you would skip.