Paris city guide
10 things to do in Paris
Build a Paris visit around the art, streets and views you want to remember, with practical advice for Notre-Dame, museum tickets and getting across the city.
Plan your visit
Paris is easier to enjoy when the map, rather than a checklist, shapes the day. Choose a major visit, then explore the streets or river nearby. These ten suggestions mix ticketed sights with walks and places to pause. They are alternatives for different interests, not ten appointments to squeeze into a weekend. Leave room for lunch away from a queue and for an unexpected second look.
Start with a stretch of the Seine
The river makes a useful introduction to the city: bridges, museum facades and the islands become easier to place when seen together. Our suggested starting point is Pont Royal, with a walk along the river towards the Ile de la Cite rather than an attempt to cover both banks.
Use the pedestrian riverbank paths where access is open, or stay at street level when that suits your route. A boat trip is an optional change of perspective, not a requirement for enjoying the Seine.
Plan it well: Choose an end point before setting off so the walk does not consume your museum afternoon.
City of Paris: the Rives de Seine parkGive the Louvre a clear focus
Choose a collection or a handful of works before entering the Louvre. A visit built around sculpture, Egyptian antiquities or painting is more satisfying than racing between famous objects without time to look. Use the museum map to connect your choices.
The Louvre recommends timed booking, including for visitors entitled to free admission. Check eligibility and required proof through its own ticket page. Consult gallery closure notices if a particular work is the reason for your visit.
Plan it well: Keep the next commitment flexible; finding your way through the palace is part of the visit.
Louvre: tickets, admission and gallery noticesChoose your Eiffel Tower experience
Decide whether you want to look at the Eiffel Tower or look out from it. Both are valid plans. For an ascent, choose between the second floor and the summit, then check whether your ticket uses stairs or lifts.
A second-floor ticket cannot be upgraded at the tower to include the summit. If summit tickets are unavailable, make a deliberate choice about the alternative instead of buying a ticket that cannot deliver the visit you wanted.
Plan it well: Use the official booking link and check access requirements for everyone travelling with you.
Eiffel Tower: preparing your visit and ticket optionsStep inside Notre-Dame again
Notre-Dame is open to visitors again after its restoration. Give the cathedral an unhurried place in an island walk, with time to notice the height of the nave and the changing light rather than treating the entrance as the finish line.
Ordinary cathedral admission is free. An optional reservation from the official website is also free and can reduce waiting; arriving without one remains possible. Check the live reservation page rather than relying on an old ticket-release timetable. Do not pay a reseller for an ordinary cathedral entry reservation.
Plan it well: This is a working place of worship: keep voices low and follow the welcome team.
Notre-Dame: free admission and optional reservationsLook up at Sainte-Chapelle
The stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle offers a different experience from the scale of Notre-Dame. In the upper chapel, pause before taking photographs and let the colours and scenes resolve into detail.
Reserve through the monument website and follow the arrival time on your ticket. The chapel sits within the Palais de Justice security perimeter, with restrictions on bags and objects. Leave bulky luggage elsewhere; this is not a convenient stop between checking out and catching a train.
Plan it well: Nearby does not mean interchangeable: Sainte-Chapelle has its own ticket and security arrangements.
Sainte-Chapelle: practical information and security rulesFollow the painters at the Musee d'Orsay
If Impressionist painting draws you more than a broad survey of art, make Orsay your main museum. The former railway station is worth noticing too: step back from individual paintings occasionally to take in the building around them.
Online booking is recommended. Use the current visitor page to match your ticket type to the entrance, particularly if using a museum pass. This can replace the Louvre in a short trip; it does not have to follow it on the same day.
Plan it well: Choose the museum for its collection, not simply because it appears on every itinerary.
Musee d'Orsay: tickets and entry arrangementsSpend time with Monet at the Orangerie
Monet's Water Lilies are a reason to slow down, not just another painting to locate. In the oval galleries, look from different positions before moving on; the scale matters as much as the detail.
The Orangerie is in the Tuileries Garden, making an outdoor pause a natural part of the outing. Book through the museum's own ticket link and check the arrangements for your date. Its visitor page specifically warns about misleading ticket offers and imitation websites.
Plan it well: Consider this a focused art visit instead of adding a third museum to an already full day.
Orangerie: visitor information and official ticket linkExplore Montmartre beyond the viewpoint
Make the view from the Sacre-Coeur esplanade one part of a neighbourhood outing. Connect it with Place du Tertre and the streets around Abbesses, stopping when a bakery, shop or small square catches your interest.
Montmartre is hilly, so consider the climb before choosing an approach. The tourism office map is useful for selecting a manageable section rather than following every stop. Keep residential doorways clear while taking photographs.
Plan it well: Give Montmartre its own outing instead of attaching it to a rushed cross-city museum day.
Paris je t'aime: a walk through MontmartreWalk the Marais from Place des Vosges
Begin with the brick facades and arcades of Place des Vosges, then use the surrounding streets for browsing and lunch. Rue des Rosiers adds another perspective on the neighbourhood and its Jewish heritage.
This is a useful counterweight to a ticket-heavy trip. Pick a few streets rather than trying to exhaust the district, and let a cafe stop count as part of the afternoon. You do not need another indoor attraction to justify being here.
Plan it well: Leave shopping time separate from a fixed museum reservation so neither becomes hurried.
Paris je t'aime: Place des Vosges and the MaraisTake a proper break in the Luxembourg Garden
Make the Luxembourg Garden a destination for sitting as well as walking. Look for the Medici Fountain, then find a place to rest instead of immediately continuing to another monument. It works especially well between a morning visit and an evening meal.
The garden changes its opening and closing times with the daylight through the year. Check the Senate garden website for your dates; a late summer visit is not a reliable model for a winter afternoon.
Plan it well: Choose a nearby exit before leaving so you do not retrace your route unnecessarily.
Luxembourg Garden: seasonal opening informationA flexible first two days
Day one: the river and islands
Build around Notre-Dame or a Sainte-Chapelle booking, adding the other only if timing allows. Walk a stretch of the Seine, then choose the Marais for the afternoon. Leave the evening unscheduled.
Day two: art and a change of scene
Choose the Louvre, Orsay or Orangerie, followed by a nearby walk. Use a separate part of the day for an Eiffel Tower booking. With another day, give Montmartre and the Luxembourg Garden more room.
Before you set out
Match the ticket to the transport
For occasional journeys, compare the current Metro-Train-RER and Bus-Tram tickets on Ile-de-France Mobilites. They cover different modes; do not follow old advice to buy a paper carnet. Check compatible phone or Navigo Easy options before travelling.
Ile-de-France Mobilites: current tickets and supportsCheck airport travel separately
An ordinary Metro-Train-RER ticket excludes the airport stations. For Orly by metro 14 or Charles de Gaulle by RER B, check the Paris Region Airports ticket or the airport coverage of your chosen pass.
Ile-de-France Mobilites: airport ticket coverageKeep a street-level river alternative
High water can close the lower riverbanks. Follow barriers and current city notices; switch to an open street-level route rather than trying to complete a planned waterside walk.
City of Paris: Seine flooding and riverbank closuresChoose a base for your own Paris
Compare Paris hotels against the journeys you will actually make, including arrival with luggage. A convenient route to your first museum can matter more than a landmark view. Check room access, lifts and the route from the station before booking; a central address alone does not answer those questions.
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