Paris Travel Guide

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Most Paris itineraries try to squeeze the whole city into a long weekend and leave you exhausted. This Paris guide is organised the way you actually plan a trip: how long to stay, where to base yourself, how to get around, what to see, and where to eat. It draws on our own trip in October 2026, but the pace is yours to set. Fill your days or leave them open, see everything or go deep on a few things. Here is what is worth your time and how it fits together. We put this guide together after our own trip to the city; for the romance-focused version, see our Paris honeymoon guide.

How long to spend in Paris

How long you spend in Paris shapes everything else. A long weekend covers the headline sights if you move quickly and book ahead. A few extra days let you anchor each day around one fixed plan and keep the rest open for walking, resting or changing your mind. Neither is wrong: a packed trip sees more on paper, a slower one sees less but tends to stick. Decide which you want before you book, because it drives how many sights you line up and how tightly you schedule them.

Where to stay in Paris

We split our stay between two bases on purpose. The first was Hotel Lautrec Opera, a central base that kept Versailles, Notre-Dame, the Louvre and Montmartre within easy reach. The second was the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel, so we could end the trip beside the tower. The trade-off is one hotel move in the middle of the trip. In return, the finale felt like an occasion rather than just another night. What any given room looks out on depends on the room you book, so we are not going to promise a particular view here. If you would rather not pack up twice, pick one central base and treat the Eiffel Tower as a day out instead. See our full Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel review for which floor to book for the view.

Getting around Paris

We arrived in the evening by train from Switzerland, straight into the centre, which is one of the quiet advantages of reaching Paris by rail rather than flying. From a central base most of the city is walkable, and the Metro covers the longer hops. How tightly you plan the time between the big bookings is up to you: some people like a full schedule, others prefer to wander and decide on the spot. Paris is a safe city, but the Metro and the busy tourist sites attract pickpockets and a few well-worn tricks, so it is worth skimming our guide to common Paris scams before you go.

What to see in Paris

Paris rewards depth over speed. These are the sights we built the trip around, each one worth a focused visit rather than a rushed stop.

The Eiffel Tower

We saved the tower itself for the final evening and went up to the top floor by lift at night. After dark the city spreads out in lights below, and the tower sparkles on the hour. Booking the summit ahead is worth it, so the evening is about the view rather than the wait. You can book skip-the-line entry tickets on Klook. For the full version, see our guide to the Eiffel Tower at night.

The Louvre

Instead of a full day in the Louvre, we booked an afternoon slot and treated it as a focused visit rather than a marathon, with lunch beforehand. The museum is big enough that trying to see everything is how people end up seeing nothing. Pick a few wings in advance and let the rest go. Timed-entry tickets are available on Klook. See our full plan for the Louvre in 3 hours.

Versailles

Versailles sits just outside the city and makes an easy half-day trip. We went for a midday entry and timed it around the daytime fountain show in the gardens, then came back to the hotel in the late afternoon to rest before the evening. The palace and the gardens each deserve time, so do not treat it as a quick photo stop. You can book palace and garden tickets on Klook. For how to get there, what to see and ticket details, see our full Versailles day trip guide.

Montmartre and Sacre-Coeur

In the early evening we went up to Montmartre for Sacre-Coeur and the view out over the city as the light faded. The hill is a climb, but the basilica steps are one of the best free viewpoints in Paris, especially at golden hour. For a self-guided version, see our Montmartre evening walk.

The Moulin Rouge

The Moulin Rouge in Montmartre runs a late show, and we booked the 23:30 slot. It starts near midnight, so plan the evening around a late night rather than an early one, and leave time earlier in the day to pace yourself. Show tickets can be booked on Klook. Read our full Moulin Rouge review for what the show is really like.

Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter and Luxembourg

One of our best afternoons cost nothing. We walked the streets around Notre-Dame, then on through the Latin Quarter to the Luxembourg Gardens, with Le Marais as an optional extra if we still had energy. This is the Paris you see on foot between the big sights, and it is often the part people remember most. On the Left Bank, the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Garden make another easy, mostly free half-day. Across the river in the 7th, Les Invalides holds Napoleon’s tomb under its golden dome.

The Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe

The Champs-Elysees runs from Place de la Concorde up to the Arc de Triomphe, and the walk up the avenue is a sight in itself. It folds easily into a free afternoon rather than needing a booking of its own.

Where to eat in Paris

We kept most meals simple and let two of them be events. The first was a late lunch at Le Train Bleu, the grand station restaurant inside Gare de Lyon, which is as much about the room as the food. For the full rundown of what to order across the city, see our guide to what to eat in Paris.

The other was dinner at Le Relais de l’Entrecote on Rue Marbeuf, a steak-and-fries institution where the menu is essentially one dish done well. Everything else we decided on the day, near wherever we happened to be.

What to book ahead

We reserved only a handful of anchors in advance and left the rest flexible. The fixed bookings were Versailles, the Louvre timed entry, the Moulin Rouge show, the Eiffel Tower summit and the lunch at Le Train Bleu. The walks, the gardens and most meals we decided on the day. Booking rules and prices change over time, so always confirm the current details on each venue’s official site before you travel.

What we would change

Looking back, the call worth weighing is the hotel move. Splitting the stay between a central base and a hotel by the tower meant packing up once mid-trip, in exchange for ending the trip beside the Eiffel Tower.

If you would rather not move at all, one central base keeps things simpler and costs you only the tower-side finish. That single trade-off is the main thing to weigh before you book.

Frequently Asked Questions

Extending your trip across the border? See our full Paris and Belgium itinerary by Eurostar, a ten-day plan pairing Paris with Brussels and Bruges.