Paris has so many highlights it’s hard to know where to start. World-class museums, iconic monuments, hidden cocktail bars and third wave coffee shops. Here’s how to make the most out of 3 days in Paris.
The problem with Paris is there’s just too much to do.
Rambling cobbled lane ways meet grand boulevards where triumphant monuments to victories past, stand unscathed from the battles that followed. Stunning buildings appear to have swallowed the world’s finest art treasures, and towering basilicas showcase impressive stained glass windows.
Eating a pastry from a tiny boulangerie while strolling along the Seine will prove that Paris has a beauty that doesn’t fade no matter how many times you visit.
We’re under no illusion that Paris can be fully explored in 3 days. This itinerary puts all our favourite top sights in the right order – plus some lesser-known gems – to save time. You won’t see all of Paris, but you will have some great experiences with plenty of time to enjoy them.
3 DAYS IN PARIS OVERVIEW
DAY 1 AM / Jardin du Palais Royal & Musée Louvre
DAY 1 PM / Latin Quarter, Notre Dame & Le Marais
DAY 2 AM / Musée Rodin, Third Wave Coffee and Eiffel Tower
DAY 2 PM / Champs-Élysées and Arc de Triomphe
DAY 3 AM / Musée D’Orsay, Tuileries & Opéra
DAY 3 PM / Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre and Pigalle
WHY GO TO PARIS?
Perusing the best art galleries in the world
Strolling boulevards of architectural gems
More grand monuments than you can possibly imagine
Getting lost in laneways and cobbled streets
Dining at cute French cafes and bistros
To savour the most beautiful city in the world
3 Days in Paris: Quite simply the most beautiful city in the world
DAY 1 AM / JARDIN DU PALAIS ROYAL & MUSÉE LOUVRE
Begin your 3 days in Paris with a quick stroll through the box hedge framed symmetry of the Jardin du Palais Royal. It’s surrounded by the beautiful architecture of Paris and one end houses a polka dot art installation.
Walk the short distance to the Louvre to immerse yourself in possibly the world’s premier museum and a Paris icon. It’s impossible to see everything in one visit so pick what interests you. The French & Italian masterpieces are the most popular thanks to a truly world-class collection including the Mona Lisa. Napoleon’s lavish well-preserved apartments are another gem.
Grab a classic lunch at the reasonably priced Au Vieux Comptoir where the service is friendly and the atmosphere trés French.
Musée Louvre / 9:00 – 18:00 Mon, Thu, Sat & Sun; 09:00 – 21:45 Wed & Fri | Price: €17 online; €15 at museum | Location: Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
DAY 1 PM / LATIN QUARTER, NOTRE DAME & LE MARAIS
After lunch take a 15-minute stroll down the Seine to the stunning Sainte Chappelle. Tucked away behind the Palais du Justice, the upstairs chapel – completely adorned with stained glassed windows – is simply breath-taking.
Next, head back onto the left bank of the Seine to the Latin Quarter stopping at Shakespeare & Company bookstore. It’s a small but rambling store with old books crammed into every nook.
Exiting the bookstore, the majestic cathedral of Notre Dame rises up in front of you. Head over and join the queue for the climb up the tower, which is well worth the wait. If you need re-energising, make your way behind Notre Dame and over the bridge for some delicious ice cream at the institution that is Berthillon. It’s rich creamy and perfect.
Next, head over the river past the impressive Hotel du Ville and explore the shopping, drinking and eating opportunities in the laneways of Le Marais. Mustering the last pieces of tourist energy, potter around the modern art collection at the Pompidou Centre, which stays open until 10 pm.
Sainte Chapelle / 9:00 – 17:00 (1 Oct-31 Mar); 09:00 – 19:00 (1 Apr-30 Sep) | Price: €10 | Location: 8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris
Shakespeare & Company Bookstore / 10:00 – 22:00 | Price: Free | Location: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris
Notre Dame / 8:00 – 18:45 (Mon-Fri); 8:00 – 19:15 Sat & Sun | Price: Cathedral free; bell towers €8.50 | Location: 6 Parvis Notre-Dame – Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris
Pompidou Centre / 11:00 – 22:00 (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun); 11:00 – 23:00 (Thu); Closed: Tue & 1 May | Price: €14 | Location: Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris
DAY 2 AM / MUSÉE RODIN, THIRD WAVE COFFEE & EIFFEL TOWER
Start the second of this 3 days in Paris at the Musée Rodin. One of the most unique galleries in Paris, it has an excellent collection of Rodin’s sculptures both inside the museum and in the formal gardens. Works by Van Gogh and Monet are an added bonus.
Head to Coutume Café for brunch and one of the best coffees in Paris. They roast their own beans and work them into a dense velvety coffee, which goes perfectly with their small selection of seasonal brunch items.
Recharged, walk to Champ de Mars for a magnificent vista over the iconic Eiffel Tower – a view that rivals some of the best hotels in Paris with a view.
Personally, we think the views from other monuments are easier and better, but if you want to take the lift to the summit, make sure you buy tickets in advance to skip the queue.
RELATED / THIRD WAVE COFFEE IN PARIS
Musée Rodin / 10:00 – 17:45 Tue-Sun; Closed Mon | Price: €12 | Location: 77 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris
Eiffel Tower / 9:00 – 22:30 for the top; until 23:00 late Jun to early Sep | Price: Multiple prices, book online here | Location: Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue, 75007 Paris
DAY 2 PM / CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES & ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Cross the river to the Jardins de Trocadero and collect some photos from one of the best vantage points of the Eifel Tower. Then, stroll along the river to the glorious Pont Alexander III and the nearby stunning Petit & Grand Palais.
Walk along the Champs-Élysées and stop at Ladurée for a delicious macaroon. Avoid the take away line by queueing up for the restaurant. Efficient servers whisk macaroon-only patrons past the gorgeous restaurant and up to the eccentric bar where it’s perfectly acceptable to lunch on macaroons and a cup of tea.
As the afternoon wanes, head to the Arc de Triomphe; a monumental arch built by Napoleon to honour his army. Today the tomb of the unknown soldier sits at its base and the eternal flame commemorating those that died in war is re-lit every day at 18:30. After admiring the decorative pylons from below, climb up to the viewing platform to enjoy one of the best views in town as the sun sets over the second of your 3 days in Paris.
Arc de Triomphe / 10:00 – 22:30 | Price: €8 | Location: Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris
DAY 3 AM / MUSÉE D’ORSAY, TUILERIES & OPÉRA
Start today at the Musée d’Orsay. Housed in a magnificent railway station, it has the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world.
Cross over the Seine and explore the Tuileries. For a unique art experience, pop into Musée de l’Orangerie which houses Monet’s Water Lillies in a purpose built modern room. The only place in the world you can see this creation.
Stroll past the Place de la Concorde, l’Eglise de Madeleine and the rather impressive Palais Garnier, before grabbing lunch in the covered shopping arcades. Passage des Panoramas is full of enticing food shops and quirky merchandise. Passage Jouffroy is packed full of quaint boutiques and cute bookshops.
Musée d’Orsay / 9:30 – 18:00 (Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun); 9:30 – 21:45 Thur; Closed Mon | Price: €14 | Location: 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris
Musée de l’Orangerie / 9:00 – 18:00 Wed – Mon; Closed Tue | Price: €9 | Location: Jardin Tuileries, 75001 Paris
DAY 3 PM / SACRÉ-CŒUR, MONTMARTRE & PIGALLE
In the afternoon hop on metro 12 at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette to Abbesses. Stroll up the hill and around the delightful squares of Montmartre, before popping into Espace Dalí. It’s a fantastic collection of Dalí’s work and one of the many cool things to do in Paris. The gallery has insightful information to help interpret his more inaccessible pieces.
As the light wanes head to Sacré Cœur. This dome basilica offers a picture postcard Paris moment. Climb the 300 stairs to the top of the basilica for unrivalled views of the city in the fading light.
For dinner, head to Le Grand 8 for a modern casual good value French bistro with a short menu that changes every day – one of the great food experiences in Paris. As the evening rolls in stroll down to Pigalle to explore the area around Moulin Rouge and enjoy a proper Parisian cocktail in one of the many places packed into Rue Frochot.
Dirty Dick gets our pick for the weird cocktails and friendly staff. But if you’re more sophisticated than us, you might enjoy Glass. Either way, it’s a great way to end your 3 days in Paris.
Sacré Cœur / 6:30 – 22:30 (Basilica); 8:30 – 20:00 (Dome) May – Sep; 9:00 – 17:00 Oct – Apr | Price: Basilica free; Dome: €5 | Location: 1 Parvis du Sacré-Cœur, 75018 Paris
Espace Dalí / 10:00 – 18:00 | Price: €9 – €12 | Location: 11 Rue Poulbot, 75018 Paris
ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED TO HELP PLAN YOUR OWN 3 DAYS IN PARIS
We believe that a little pre-planning, research, and understanding what you are looking for in a destination, will help make your travels far more successful. Here’s some further information we think you might need to plan your own 3 days in Paris.
GETTING AROUND PARIS
Most international flights land at Charles de Gaulle airport. It’s a 40-minute taxi ride to the centre of Paris, but it’s much cheaper to hop on the métro and take RER line B.
The Paris Métro is extensive and quick making it a good option for zipping around the city. A ‘carnet’ of 10 tickets costs €14.90 and is excellent value.
But by far the best way to get about the city is to walk. Paris is simply a stunning place to amble around. Our 3 days in Paris itinerary attempts to stroll the best parts of the city without doing too much walking on any one day. You can find all the places we visited on the map below, colour coded by day 1, day 2 and day 3.
Looking to use Paris as a base, here’s some inspiration for fantastic day trips from Paris.
BEST TIME TO GO TO PARIS
The best time to visit Paris is during the shoulder seasons of April to June and September to November. The crowds are fewer than in summer and the temperature milder than winter. Our personal favourite is May to June when the gardens are green and packed with flowers and the days are long.
But to be honest, any time is a good time to visit Paris.
COSTS OF OUR 3 DAYS IN PARIS
The total cost of our 3 days in Paris for two people, excluding international flights, was €1,250. With Dec 2018 exchange rates of 0.9 British pound to the EUR and US dollar 1.14 to the EUR this equates to
US $1,425
GBP £1,125
EUR €1,250
Costs could easily be cut by staying in cheaper accommodation or eating more cheaply in the evenings. But Paris is not a cheap destination.
BOOKING TIPS FOR YOUR 3 DAYS IN PARIS
We recommend staying in Le Marais 4th arrondissement. It has a cool vibe and a wide range of cafes, bars and restaurants that span the spectrum from cheap eats to fine dining. Tables line the laneways and independent boutiques give it that much-loved Paris feel.
Le Marais is very central with many of the best sights nearby. Close proximity to a number of metro stations gives you access to easy transport links to other parts of the city.
ACCOMMODATION IN PARIS
Paris is not cheap so it’s important to start planning well in advance so you’ve got a bit of time to wait for good deals to pop up.
There are some great hostels in Paris, and Airbnb is always a great option to avoid paying for things you might not need – why pay for a big boring hotel breakfast with so many great cafes to discover.
This article has some great suggestions on where to stay in Paris.
ATTRACTIONS IN PARIS
Book online for as many of the big attractions as you can so you can spend more time exploring Paris and less time waiting in a queue. In particular, the queues to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower can be oppressive and if you hit a large group, the Louvre wait can be very long. Before you go, read this list of what not to do in Paris.
LOURVE MUSEUM / SKIP THE LINE
ARC DE TRIOMPHE / ROOFTOP TICKETS
SAINTE CHAPELLE / SKIP THE QUEUE
EIFFEL TOWER / SKIP THE LINE SUMMIT TICKET
GUIDEBOOKS & READING
We used the Lonely Planet pocket guidebook for Paris which contains helpful information about opening times, attractions and is generally good for restaurant recommendations across the whole city.
Another great source for restaurants is Foursquare. Certainly much more reliable than Trip Advisor in searching out good food. Download the app before leaving.
For our pick of the best cafes, read our article on the best coffee in Paris.
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This was an amazing itinerary & you take the most beautiful photos. I love having my days packed with things to do while I’m traveling so this is really just perfect. I can’t wait to go back. Thanks for sharing!
-Dei
Thanks Dei, we love having our days packed with activities as well and Paris is the perfect place to do it. Thanks for stopping by, glad you liked it.
Excellent article with great photos. I wish I had read this prior to visiting Paris this year, it would have given us more of a plan that just wandering around. Also thank you for including your costs, this helps plan our visit next time knowing what we have to budget for. I am certainly going to bookmark this article. Thank you.
You’re welcome, glad you found it useful. There’s always more to do in Paris, so have fun on your next trip.
I visited Paris on multiple occasions and it’s one of my most favorite capitals in Europe. I have to say, I’m impressed how much you covered in just three days. I hope you get the chance to visit again and stay a bit longer though Thank you for this lovely read and keep up the great work
Thank Daniel. We’ve spent much longer in Paris than 3 days, this is just our advice for what to do if you only have 3 days. Still, looking forward to going back again as there’s always so much great stuff to see.
I love the pictures of Paris and how you have arranged them in different forms and sizes on the blog. Went to all these places and this post brings back my fond memories of the city of lights. The Champs-elysses road is so beautiful.
Thanks a lot. When you have a city this beautiful taking photos is not so hard!
Paris is amazing! I believe you can see a lot in three days. Their metro line is very handy, and we were able to tour most of these places in couple days. But… there is always more. After you have seen the most famous places, you will discover more and more places in Paris that you would like to see. It is just such an interesting city I think.
Completely agree. We have been many times and always find something different and interesting to do. A truly great city.
Absolutely beautiful impressions, Paul! You caught Paris from such a lovely perspective, it really amazes me. I absolutely agree, since we also did a 3-days-trip to Paris and this cit simply has so much to offer that you could easily spend 3 weeks there. Plus all these great tips, which helps a lot to plan a trip to the city of love. Overall, one more great article!
Thanks for your lovely comments, Hendrik. We had a great time in Paris on this trip, it’s such a beautiful city. Very easy to photograph. Thanks for stopping by.
You are right. There is just so much to see and do in Paris. It can truly get overwhelming. I have been there twice. Yet, I don’t think I have seen it all. You have put together a wonderful itinerary for three days. A bit of both the famous and not-so-famous. And I truly love your pictures. They do absolute justice to the beauty of Paris.
Thanks, Soumya. We had a great time there this trip, already looking forward to going back.
I loved you itinerary! There is just so much to do in Paris and to packs it all in 3 days is nearly impossible; glad you were able to cover so much! I would also pick walking over metros and cabs if possible, because it feels like there in so much to see there and given staying and visiting places is already so expensive there, walking might just save some bucks. Also, yours pictures and stunning, loved every single one of them!!!
Walking around Paris is always a great idea. The metro is very efficient, but there’s nothing like just strolling around – so many great things to see on your way anywhere in Paris!
You sold it to me within the first few paragraphs! France has never interested me until lately, I’m your typical tourist so for this reason alone I need to go check out pretty much all the above! Have pinned for future reference in case we do decide to book a trip to Paris 🙂
Thanks a lot. Hope you get the chance to go soon. It’s a great city.
I am yet to visit Paris, though my hubby has already been there and stayed there for over a month. But I am sure, he hasn’t seen much in those 30 days. On the other hand, you who have covered a lot in your three-days. What a comprehensive itinerary indeed. I do agree , that one could explore Paris by foot much better than cabs. It is both economical as well the best way to explore the hidden gems!
That doesn’t sound right that your hubby has been and you haven’t! I think you need to start looking into a trip.
Been to Paris twice already and still there is so much to see and do!
Being an art history major, I’ve deliberately skipped Louvre in both trips.
I would need atleast 2 days just to see Louvre!!! So I chose not to give half a day for it!
So yes, I have to visit Paris again! So, thanks for this awesome itinerary!!!
You’re right, you need to save the Louvre for when you really have time to appreciate it. Being an art major, I would guess that even 2 days probably wouldn’t be enough.
When we had our first trip to Paris, some years ago now, we pretty much covered these sights and we loved every minute of our visit. We returned last summer as part of a Seine river cruise and on the first day we got it all wrong – ended up trudging over too wide an area rather than focus on one or two smaller ones. It’s so important to do some planning and then allow yourself to wander and absorb the atmosphere. Thankfully the second day was far more chilled and we fell in love with the city again.
Excellent post with some great eating and drinking suggestions!
#farawayfiles
It’s easy to do in a city like Paris with so many amazing sights, it’s hard to know which way to go! Thanks for your comments Trish, glad you like it.
Lovely post guys, I sometimes feel that Paris gets a bad rap, but, like you I love it and could visit time and time again. A stroll along the Seine takes some beating. #farawayfiles
Thanks, Janis. I agree it does get a bad rap sometimes. While I can see why, often I think its mostly about your attitude. Thanks for stopping by.
Yes, Paris is simply beautiful! I love your itinerary — you packed in a lot but spread it out comfortably over 3 days. Your photos are lovely, especially of the windows at Saint Chapelle. You did a great job of including practical info, too. I have tickets to Paris this August — can’t wait!
Excellent, you’ll have a great time in summer I’m sure.
You’ve included most of my top Parisien highlights in just 3 days – impressive! We are taking our kids for the first time this summer and I can’t wait. Great tip re the Laduree macaroons. I shall certainly be looking to do that! #farawayfiles
I’m sure the kids will love Paris as much as you have. Looking forward to hearing about your trip.
Beautiful post with beautiful photos. Paris is such a wonderful city, I have visited the city so many times, yet I never feel I have seen it all. I would love to go back again. Your three itinerary covers it so well. My personal favourite from this post is of Sacre-couer. Thank you so much for this post #farawayfiles
Thanks, Usha – glad you liked it. It’s easy to get good photos of a city as beautiful as Paris.
Another great itinerary! It’s been two years since I was last in Paris, and I’m in need of a return trip. I admit it took my three visits before I feel in love, but when I did I fell hard. #farawayfiles
Yes a lot of people say that about Paris, it takes a bit of “working out” i think, but when you do, très magnifique!
Aaaah Paris! Last time I was there was 5 years ago for a friend’s 40th. Having visited a few times before that and seen all of the sites, we decided to have a very “local” visit and pretty much just strolled the neighborhoods, ate good food and drank good wine. One thing I did do that trip which I hadn’t before was visit the L’Orangerie – I agree, what a little gem of a museum. What’s not to love about Monet’s water lillies! This is a fab 3 day itinerary, and great tips too. Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Finding cute little neighbourhoods in Paris to discover is all part of its charm. Good food, lots of wine in Paris – can’t ask for much more than that.
As usual I could just eat your photo’s! I mean, it sounds like you had a great time but I’m just not sold on Paris. I’m sorry! I don’t get the hype, the people are rude and it just seems unchanged and unwilling to move on – that said, I was glad to read that the coffee scene is making amends! Give me London or Rome any day of the week. #farawayflies
I’ve actually never found the people rude, but maybe that’s my Australian upbringing – we just don’t care! I love London and Rome as well, particularly Rome for the historical sights and incredible art scene, but she can also be a bit unwilling to move on.