Traveleriences
Notre-Dame and the Île de la Cité at dusk in Paris

Paris, France

Ideal: 3–4 daysBest: Apr–Jun, Sep–OctPrice: Expensive
OverviewSeeEatHidden gemsDrinkAreasStayPracticalHistoryNearby

In 60 seconds

Paris in 60 seconds

Paris rewards the traveller who resists doing all of it. The great museums deserve a morning each, booked ahead; the rest of the city is best taken a neighbourhood at a time — the Marais for its lanes and courtyards, Saint-Germain for its cafés, the canal and Belleville for how Parisians actually eat and drink now. The Métro makes the city small, so stay central — the Marais or the Latin Quarter — and walk between the sights rather than queue for transport. Book the Louvre, the Orsay and the Eiffel Tower's summit online; keep the evenings for a bistro table and a walk along the Seine. Three or four days is a good first visit; Versailles or Giverny add a fifth.

History

Best for

  • Museums
  • Food
  • Architecture
  • Design

Known for

  • The Louvre
  • Bistros and cafés
  • The Seine

Skip if

Crowds and queues spoil a place for you. The headline sights are busy all year, and anything unbooked means waiting.

Your match

Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Paris fits them. Choose interests

See

Must experience

The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.

Eat

Where to eat

A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?

Local

Where to eat the food this city is actually known for.

Les Arlots

Moderate

Bistro · Sausage and mash

A small bistro near Gare du Nord, known for its sausage and mash and old-fashioned French cooking.

10th arrondissementBistroBook ahead

Bistrot des Tournelles

Moderate

Old-school bistro

Classic French bistro cooking in a room full of vintage décor, in the Marais.

Le MaraisBistroClassic

Casual

No booking, no ceremony, reliably good.

Le Petit Vendôme

Inexpensive

Jambon-beurre counter

The ham-and-butter baguette in its best-known form, from a counter near the Opéra since the 1950s.

2nd arrondissementLunchQuick

Chez Jeannette

Inexpensive

Neighbourhood bistro-bar

Affordable classics like egg mayonnaise and pork cheek in an old café on Faubourg Saint-Denis.

10th arrondissementCheapLively

Oobatz

Inexpensive

Sourdough pizza

Naturally leavened pizzas with good toppings, in Ménilmontant.

11th arrondissementCasualPizza

Special occasion

Worth planning the evening around.

Septime

Very expensive

Seasonal tasting menu

Bertrand Grébaut's Michelin-starred set menu, built around vegetables and seafood. Book the moment the bookings open.

11th arrondissementBook aheadTasting menu
Official site for Septime (opens in a new tab)

Le Duc

Very expensive

Seafood

A long-standing seafood restaurant in Montparnasse, cooking the fish simply and precisely.

MontparnasseBook aheadSeafood

Coffee & fika

Mornings, and the slow hour between things.

Beyond the obvious

Hidden gems

Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Cemetery · Chopin, Piaf, Wilde

A hillside city of tombs and chestnut trees. Take a map and give it two hours.

20th arrondissementFreeQuiet

Coulée verte René-Dumont

Garden walk on an old railway viaduct

A planted walkway on a 19th-century railway line, from Bastille towards the Bois de Vincennes.

12th arrondissementFreeWalk

After dark

Bars & nightlife

Orientation

Neighbourhoods

How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.

Le Marais

Lanes, courtyards, galleries

Medieval lanes, the Place des Vosges, the old Jewish quarter and Paris's best small museums.

Montmartre

Hilltop village · Sacré-Cœur

Go early or late: the steps of the Sacré-Cœur, then the quieter streets on the north side of the hill.

Canal Saint-Martin

Canal-side cafés and bars

Iron footbridges, locks and the cafés where eastern Paris spends its evenings.

Stay

Where to stay

Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Very expensive

Left Bank · Cafés and bookshops

Central, elegant and walkable to the Louvre and Orsay, at a price.

CentralClassic

Le Marais

Expensive

Right Bank · Lanes and museums

Restaurants and shops on every corner, and the metro at the door.

CentralLively

Canal Saint-Martin

Moderate

East · Neighbourhood feel

Better value and better evenings, a few metro stops from the centre.

LocalValue

Practical

Know before you go

Getting in
RER B runs from Charles de Gaulle airport to the centre; Orly is linked by metro line 14.
Getting around
The metro reaches everywhere; walking between neighbourhoods shows you more.
Money
Euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
Museums
Most major museums need a timed booking, and many close one day a week — check before you go.

Plan this trip — useful links

Paris je t'aime — official tourist site (opens in a new tab)RATP — metro and buses (opens in a new tab)

Context

History in 5 minutes

Enough to make what you are looking at legible.

  1. 1163–1345

    Notre-Dame is built on the Île de la Cité, the island where Paris began.

  2. 1789

    The storming of the Bastille begins the French Revolution.

  3. 1853–1870

    Baron Haussmann rebuilds the city with the boulevards and stone apartment blocks you see today.

Further out

Nearby escapes

Worth a day if you have one to spare.

Giverny

Monet's house and gardens

Monet's water lilies and Japanese bridge, best in late spring. The house and gardens open from spring to autumn.

By train to VernonGardensSeasonal

Go further

Routes through Paris

Multi-city trips that stop here, with the transport between them.