Why this guide: about 33,100 people a month search Google for “things to do in paris” (US, DataForSEO Labs, September 2026). This is the answer we would give a client, written to be booked from.
The short answer
- Do firstThe Orsay (not the Louvre) on your first morning, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Eiffel Tower at dusk from the Trocadéro
- FreeNotre-Dame, the Sacré-Cœur steps, the Luxembourg and Tuileries gardens, the Seine quays, Père Lachaise, the Petit Palais's permanent collection
- SkipThe Champs-Élysées beyond a walk to the Arc, and the Louvre without a timed ticket
The islands and the Louvre
Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 — free, with online time slots that shorten the queue; Sainte-Chapelle's stained glass next door is the more astonishing interior. Cross to the Louvre with a timed ticket (Wednesday and Friday evenings are quietest): pick two wings, not the whole thing. The Orsay, across the river, is the Impressionist museum and the better first-day choice. The Orangerie's Monet water lilies are ten minutes away in the Tuileries.
The tower and the Left Bank
Eiffel Tower: book the summit lift weeks ahead, or take the stairs to the second floor without a queue; the Trocadéro at dusk and the Champ de Mars are the views. Saint-Germain-des-Prés for the cafés (Flore, Deux Magots) and the Luxembourg Gardens; the Latin Quarter for the Panthéon and Shakespeare and Company; the Rodin Museum's garden; Les Invalides for Napoleon's tomb.
Montmartre and the Marais
Montmartre early: the Sacré-Cœur steps, Place du Tertre before the painters set up, the vineyard and the Bateau-Lavoir, then down through Abbesses. The Marais on the Right Bank: the Place des Vosges, the Picasso Museum, the Jewish quarter's falafel on rue des Rosiers, the vintage shops, and the Centre Pompidou (closed for renovation from 2025 — check). Canal Saint-Martin and Belleville are the walks locals take.
Day trips and the night
Versailles (40 minutes by RER C; palace, gardens, the Trianon estate — a full day, book the timed entry); Giverny for Monet's garden (April–October); Chantilly or Fontainebleau for the quieter châteaux. At night: a Seine cruise (Vedettes du Pont Neuf is the cheap one), the Moulin Rouge if you must, a jazz cellar on rue des Lombards, or the tower's hourly sparkle from the Bir-Hakeim bridge.
Eat, and get there
A boulangerie breakfast, a bistro lunch with the formule, one serious dinner (Septime, Le Chateaubriand and Frenchie book weeks out; neighbourhood bistros do not). The Marché d'Aligre and Marché des Enfants Rouges are the market mornings. Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is 45–60 minutes from the centre; the engine's Paris page carries the hotels and a chauffeur from CDG avoids the RER B with luggage. See our Eiffel Tower guide and the best time to visit Paris.
Three things to get right
- Orsay first, Louvre later with a timed evening ticket.
- Book the Eiffel summit and Versailles the day you book flights.
- One arrondissement per day; walk everything inside it.
Book it
Featured destination: Paris — hotels, airport and activities on one engine page.
