Paris Itinerary for first time visitors

Paris is one of those cities that you could spend weeks and maybe still not get it all done. I’ve been there numerous times and have yet to do everything I wanted to do. Now one reason is because I keep bringing people to Paris that have never been so I am redoing some of the places I’ve been before. That’s okay because I wouldn’t take them if they weren’t my favorites. But I always make sure to add a few new stops each trip. If this is your first trip to Paris, it can be daunting to know what is an absolute must. It really comes down to how many days you can stay in Paris and your budget. For obvious reasons, we recommend adding as many days as you can. It’s possible to see the highlights of Paris in two days but it will be jammed packed for two days and you will lose some of the essence of just exploring Paris on foot and enjoying an outdoor cafe to people watch. 

When planning your trip to Paris, you must consider who is in your group. What are the ages and interests of those in your group? If you plan all museums and your group consists of 15 year old gamers, then they may be bored after the 2nd museum. The list below gives you some good diversification of options to pick and choose. The only issue with Paris is that you can’t really be spontaneous with the big activities and have to plan ahead with pre-booking. But there are plenty of gems in the city that you can explore as you walk around this very walkable city. 

This blog will start with just two days in Paris and add-on up to a week. You can add/delete locations for your specific itinerary to allow for a more relaxed vacation which we highly recommend. If Paris is your first stop, jet lag may be an issue for the first few days so planning for a slower pace or even an afternoon nap may be important. Depending on the ages in your group, your pace will dictate how much you will get done. Most likely you won’t get it all done but that’s okay – you can just plan another trip. Read my Paris for Beginner’s blog first for tips on transportation and other important tips.

We will assume a morning start (no later than 10am) for your first day. So if you are flying in that morning, use this itinerary if you arrive early in the morning or you may have to assume a ½ day or just a leisure day on your day 1.  The biggest tip for ensuring you see everything on your list is to make reservations or purchase tickets ahead of time. We are going to assume you pre-purchased all of your tickets for this recommended itinerary. 

Day One

After dropping off your bags at your hotel or apartment, take your transportation of choice to Sacre Coeur – if you are taking a taxi or uber you should ask if they can drop you off at Place du Tertre which is the square at the top of the hill near Sacre Coeur so you don’t have to walk up the steps (it’s a big hill) or have to take the funicular (think cable car) up the hill. If you are taking the metro most likely you will end up at the bottom of the hill.

• Sacre Coeur has free admission and no reservations required which is why we recommend it on day one– start at the front of the basilica to see great views of the city.  Enjoy a quick tour on your own inside. 
• If you can manage 300 steps we highly recommend a trip to the top of the basilica for 360 views. There is no elevator and once you decide to start up you can’t really come down without taking the full climb. I promise it’s worth it if you can do the 300 steps. You can pay for the trip to the top on the left side of the basilica. 
• After finishing Sacre Coeur go walk around Montmartre which starts to the left of the church (if you are looking at it) and should be where the taxi dropped you off. A lot of shops and cafes in this area. Grab some lunch, a drink and people watch.
• A popular restaurant that we enjoyed and is featured on Emily in Paris is La Maison Rose and requires reservations 60 days out. If the weather is nice, you can sit outside and enjoy a really good meal as people walk by wishing they had made a reservation too.

Tip: Note this area has the highest pickpocket and scam areas of all Paris so just be alert – it’s a lovely area and it’s a shame they ruin that with scams

This is a good time to take a quick break with a stop off at your hotel/apartment to rest your feet. Don’t take too long though because it’s easy to just fall asleep and wake up the next morning and have wasted a whole night in Paris.

For the last part of the day, find your way to the Eiffel Tower.

• Finish the day with a sunset cruise on the Seine – while you can do a dinner cruise, we recommend just doing a one-hour cruise down the seine and finding a nice restaurant after the cruise. 
• If you can stay awake and depending on the time of year, you will want to stay to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle – it sparkles on the hour every hour starting at sundown until 11:00

Day Two

Start your day at the Louvre with a 9:00 start; PRE-BOOK these tickets as soon as possible; the crowds grow as the day goes on. Note that if your day 2 is a Tuesday, the Louvre is closed and you may need to rearrange your itinerary to adjust. Contact me for recommendations if this is your scenario.

• Prepare to spend about 3 hours at least there; you won’t see it all so make sure to research ahead of time the areas you do want to see
• There are multiple entrances for the Louvre – the one at the glass pyramid is often very congested and confusing on which line is pre-pay vs. need to buy tickets; recommend instead to go the entrance at the Louvre Carrousel entrance which takes you into a underground shopping mall entrance 
• Upon entering, immediately skip everything along the way and follow the signs for the Mona Lisa. If you have ever “roped dropped” at Disney, then this is just like that. You will beat the lines to see it and get it out of the way. You can back track from there to see anything else you want
• Once you mark off Mona Lisa, then the long hallways near her have great art and aren’t busy at that early hour
• Make a point to find the Napoleon Apartments, the Egyptian art and the sculptures in the center of the building
• The famous Angelina’s is also located in the Louvre and if you time it right, you can get right in when they open around 10am and have that famous hot chocolate without a reservation.

Once done, walk through the Tuileries Gardens; you may want a snack or a place to sit and relax for a bit. From there either walk or take a taxi to Galeries Lafayette – this is a huge glass-domed department store with fun shopping. The main reason to go to Galeries Lafayette is to go all the way to the top outside on the roof to see another amazing view of the city and the Eiffel Tower.

If you are into high-end shops then a trip down Champs Elysees may be for you but we recommend just walking past it as quickly as possible on your way to Arc de Triomphe. You can also take the metro here. 

• The views from the top are spectacular but again require some steps. There is an elevator that can take those with disabilities most of the way up but still requires 46 steps. I have heard that sometimes the elevator isn’t working. 

• The majority of people just walk up the 284 steps. It’s a lot of steps but highly worth it if you can do it. 
• You should pre-purchase your tickets and timed entrance as well for probably around 6:00.
• If you don’t think you can do the steps and the elevator is broken, then you may not think coming to see it is worth it.

The evening is then yours to explore Paris on foot. We recommend not staying or eating in this area because it can be expensive and frankly not that good. Go a few streets away and you will have some less-touristy cafes and restaurants to enjoy. Getting lost in Paris is ok. It’s half the fun.

That takes you to the basic 2 day itinerary and gives you the high high points of Paris. But again there is so much more to see so come along for a few more days worth of places and activities to see. 

Day Three

Start your day at Musee D’Orsay with a 9:30 start. Some will argue that this is a better museum in Paris than the Louvre and we certainly love it. But if you haven’t been to Paris before and you can’t do a 3rd day, then the Louvre will always win out. But hopefully you can do a 3rd day because this museum is completely worth it and easier to do in a short amount of time. The D’Orsay is in an old train station and houses some of the most famous impressionist art in the world. The building itself is a work of art and non-art lovers will find this museum easy to navigate and find something for everyone.

• Note that Musee D’Orsay is closed on Mondays so you may need to swap out the museum with the other other options below or swap days if needed. 
• We pre-purchased the audio tour and felt we got a lot out of listening to the audio on certain art pieces

• After the museum, make your way to Île de la Cité. You can either walk there in less than 30 minutes or take a metro for about the same amount of time. The walk is lovely and easy to do, plus you can see more of Paris along the way.
  • Most people go to Île de la Cité to see Notre Dame. Certainly when she reopens, we would recommend a trip inside and again we love our climbing to the top to see the view. Until that happens later in 2024 (fingers crossed), walking around this beautiful church is still recommended. 
  • A short 7 min walk is Sainte Chapelle – perhaps the most beautiful stain-glass church in the world. Pre-purchase tickets for around 2:00. It won’t take you more than an hour (probably less) to see the whole church but it definitely worth the visit. It took me until my fourth visit to see this church and I’m sad I didn’t visit it earlier in my travels to Paris. 
  • Enjoy walking around this little island on the Seine. There are cafes, shops and gardens hidden around every corner to explore

Additional places to add to your itinerary for more days or to swap out the above.

La Galerie Dior – for the fashionistas, this may be something you want to definitely add to your itinerary. It’s a hot ticket having only been open since the Spring of 2022. We weren’t able to go on our last trip because we couldn’t get tickets so I will make every effort to secure them next time. The museum is not far from the Champ Elysees or even the Louvre if you wanted to add it to that day to swap it out for the Galeries Lafayette. 

Palais Garnier – Opera House famously depicted in the Phantom of the Opera. With such a rich history, it’s recommended to do a guided tour however you can do a self-tour as well. It’s one of those places that again I’ve never made it to myself but it’s always top of my list. It’s easy to get missed in planning but if you can squeeze it in, I highly recommend it. 

Catacombs – not for the faint of heart as you travel underground and see the remains of millions of Parisians. But the experience is amazing and most teenagers will find it fascinating (well maybe just the boys). 

Musee Picasso  – still loving the museums in Paris then you may want to add this one to your list especially if you are a fan of Picasso. Housed in the Hôtel Salé and in the wonderful Marais, you will enjoy the gardens in the summer. Marais itself is a wonderful neighborhood to walk around and explore. 

Side trips to consider

Palace of Versailles –  this easy day-trip allows you a quick escape to the 17th century to see this amazing palace with over 2300 rooms (don’t expect to see them all). By train you can get to the town of Versailles in 60-90 minutes. I highly recommend a tour. We did Blue Fox Tours. We started in Paris, met our tour group, took the train to Versailles and then took a guided bike tour around the town and the Palace. Picnic lunch on the grounds of Versailles and then a self-guided tour of the gardens and Palace itself ended our trip. It was an amazing way to see it all in one day.  One note is that Versailles is closed on Mondays so plan accordingly.

Disneyland Paris – If you are a Disney lover, then it’s hard not to even consider doing a day at Disneyland. If you can manage it without forsaking the basic itinerary above, then go for it. You can do it in one day but we ended up doing it in 1.5 days and really felt we got our money’s worth. It’s approximately 40 minutes by train and covered in zone 5 with your metro pass – read my beginner’s guide to Paris on the metro for more info. Check out my blog on Disneyland Paris.

Château de Fontainebleau – looking for less crowds, then you may want to consider this over Versailles. While I can’t personally attest to its beauty (it’s on my list for next trip), the reviews of those have gone say it’s well worth the trip. It’s an hour south of Paris which means you may also get to see some of France’s beautiful countryside.

And that’s a wrap to some options for your first visit to Paris. So much to see, so low time. As I have hopefully expressed throughout the blog, while you may want to see and do everything, you must plan some time to just walk and explore the city.

Check out my other blogs about group travel that includes Paris on the list and this blog about beginner’s guide to Paris.