Itinerary

3 Days in Paris: A Day-by-Day Itinerary

Three days in Paris is enough to see the icons, eat ridiculously well, and get lost in at least one neighborhood you didn’t plan on visiting. This itinerary skips the bus tours and the queues at mediocre cafes, and focuses on the Paris that keeps people coming back. Best time to go: April–June or September–October. Summer is crowded and hot. Winter is grey but moody and beautiful if you don’t mind 4 PM sunsets.

Quick Overview

Day 1: Eiffel Tower, Invalides & Saint-Germain

Morning — Eiffel Tower

Go early. Book your timed ticket online (€29.40 to the summit) at least two weeks ahead — walk-up lines can be 2+ hours. The 9 AM slot is ideal: manageable crowds, good light for photos.

Standing 330 meters tall, built in just 2 years for the 1889 World Exhibition, and attracting roughly 7 million visitors per year, the Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world. Take the elevator to the second floor, then the summit. On a clear day, you can see 70 km in every direction. Budget 90 minutes total.

After, walk across the Champ de Mars to Rue Cler — a market street where Parisians actually shop. Pick up a baguette, some cheese, and sit in the small park at the end of the street. That’s a better Paris experience than any sit-down restaurant at the tower.

Where to eat: Café Constant on Rue Saint-Dominique — the €18 lunch formule is excellent. Duck confit, wine, and a dessert. It’s run by a former Michelin-starred chef who got tired of the fuss.

Afternoon — Musée d’Orsay

Walk along the Seine (20 minutes from the Eiffel Tower area) to the Musée d’Orsay. Housed in the former Gare d’Orsay railway station (built 1898–1900), it holds the world’s largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art — over 3,000 paintings by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, and others. Less overwhelming than the Louvre and more enjoyable if you only have a couple of hours. Book online (€16). Don’t miss the giant clock window on the top floor — the view through it is iconic.

Where to eat: Skip the museum cafe. Walk 5 minutes to Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots on Boulevard Saint-Germain — both are famous and overpriced, but the terrace people-watching is worth one €6 espresso.

Evening — Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Stay in the neighborhood. Saint-Germain is Paris at its most Parisian — bookshops, galleries, narrow streets, candlelit restaurants. Walk through the Luxembourg Gardens if the gates are still open (closes at sunset). Browse the shelves at Shakespeare and Company across the river (it’s touristy but genuinely charming).

Where to eat: Le Comptoir du Panthéon for a classic French dinner — steak frites, a carafe of red wine, crème brûlée. About €35–45 per person. No reservation needed on weeknights.

Pro tip: Paris museums are free on the first Sunday of every month. If your trip lines up, take advantage — but expect bigger crowds.

Day 2: Louvre, Le Marais & Île Saint-Louis

Morning — The Louvre

Book online (€22), enter through the Pyramid, and don’t try to see everything. With over 380,000 objects across 72,735 square meters of gallery space, the Louvre is the world’s largest museum — you could spend a week here and not finish. Pick a focus: the Italian Renaissance wing (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo) or the less-crowded Egyptian antiquities and Northern European paintings.

Two hours is enough for a focused visit. Three if you linger. Go straight to the Mona Lisa first (follow the signs and the crowd), spend 30 seconds confirming it’s smaller than you expected, then move on to the art you’ll actually remember.

Where to eat: Leave the Louvre area for lunch — the nearby restaurants are tourist traps. Walk 15 minutes to Breizh Café in Le Marais for buckwheat galettes (savory crêpes). The complete (ham, cheese, egg) is €14 and perfect.

Afternoon — Le Marais

Le Marais is the best walking neighborhood in Paris. Start at Place des Vosges — the oldest planned square in the city, with brick-and-stone buildings and a quiet garden. Walk through the backstreets: vintage shops, galleries, falafel joints on Rue des Rosiers (skip L’As du Fallafel if the line is insane — Mi-Va-Mi next door is just as good and half the wait).

Stop at the Musée Carnavalet (free) — it covers the history of Paris in a gorgeous 16th-century mansion. The rooms about the French Revolution are wild.

Where to eat: Chez Janou for the best chocolate mousse in Paris. They bring a giant bowl to the table and you serve yourself. It’s theatrical and delicious. The Provençal food is good too. €25–35 for dinner.

Evening — Île Saint-Louis & Seine Walk

Walk to Île Saint-Louis — the smaller island behind Notre-Dame. Get ice cream at Berthillon (pistachio and salted caramel are the moves), then walk along the quays. Cross to the Left Bank and walk the Seine as the sun sets. If Notre-Dame’s restoration is complete, the view from the Pont de l’Archevêché is stunning.

Pro tip: The Paris Museum Pass (€62 for 2 days) covers the Louvre, Orsay, and 50+ other museums. It pays for itself quickly and lets you skip some ticket lines.

Day 3: Montmartre, Canal Saint-Martin & Night Views

Morning — Montmartre

Take the Metro to Anvers or Abbesses. Walk up to Sacré-Cœur — completed in 1914 and standing 83 meters above street level at the highest point in Paris (130 meters above sea level). The view from the steps is one of the best panoramas of the city, and it receives over 10 million visitors per year. Inside is free. Go early (before 10 AM) to beat the crowds and the guys selling bracelets on the steps.

Wander the backstreets behind the basilica: Rue Lepic (where Amélie’s cafe is — Café des Deux Moulins, fine for a coffee), Place du Tertre (skip the portrait artists), and the vineyard of Montmartre. The neighborhood is hilly, cobblestoned, and photogenic from every angle.

Where to eat: Hardware Société on Rue Lamarck for a proper brunch — Australian-style (they’re actually Australian), with great eggs and coffee. €15–20.

Afternoon — Canal Saint-Martin

Take the Metro to République and walk to Canal Saint-Martin. The iron footbridges, the locks, the tree-lined banks — this is the Paris that Parisians love. It’s where locals come to sit on the canal edge with wine and cheese on a sunny afternoon. Do the same.

Browse the independent boutiques and vintage stores in the surrounding streets. Antoine et Lili for colorful homeware, Artazart for design books.

Where to eat: Chez Prune for a canal-side lunch. Simple French food, good wine, excellent terrace. Plat du jour around €14.

Evening — Trocadéro & Night Eiffel Tower

Take the Metro to Trocadéro for the classic Eiffel Tower view at dusk. Every hour on the hour after sunset, the tower sparkles for 5 minutes. Time your arrival for about 30 minutes before the sparkle show.

Finish your trip with dinner in the area or head back to your favorite neighborhood for one last meal.

Where to eat: Le Bouillon Chartier in the 9th — a historic Parisian canteen (since 1896) with white-aproned waiters, Art Nouveau interiors, and three-course meals for €15–20. They don’t take reservations; just queue. It’s fast.

Pro tip: The Metro closes around 1 AM (2 AM on weekends). After that, Uber works fine in Paris, or take the Noctilien night buses. Keep your Metro ticket until you exit — inspectors do random checks and fines are €50.

Practical Info

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