Paris has more world-famous attractions per square kilometre than any city on earth. The trick isn't finding things to do — it's knowing what's actually worth your limited time, how to skip the queues, and where to find the moments that feel like yours alone. This is the guide we'd give a friend with three days and a good pair of walking shoes.
Gustave Eiffel's 330-metre iron lattice tower opened for the 1889 World's Fair and was meant to be temporary. It's still here, and it's still breathtaking. Practical tip: book summit tickets online 60 days in advance — they sell out fast. The second floor (115 metres) has the best views: high enough for perspective, low enough to recognise the streets below. For a cheaper alternative, the rooftop terrace at Printemps Haussmann (free) and the viewing platform at Tour Montparnasse (€19, no queues) both deliver spectacular views — and from Montparnasse, the Eiffel Tower is in your photo, not behind you.
The world's largest art museum, housed in a 12th-century fortress-turned-royal palace. The glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei (1989) is the main entrance. The Louvre holds 35,000 works across 72,735 square metres of gallery space — you cannot see it all in a day, so don't try. Pick a wing: the Denon Wing has the Mona Lisa (in the Salle des États, behind glass, crowded — go at opening or 30 minutes before closing), the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and French Romantic painting. The Richelieu Wing holds the Napoleon III Apartments and Dutch Masters. Closed Tuesdays. Free on the first Sunday of each month from October to March.
After the devastating fire of April 2019, Notre-Dame reopened to the public in December 2024 — and the restoration is extraordinary. The limestone interior, cleaned of centuries of soot, glows pale gold. The 13th-century rose windows survived intact. Entry to the cathedral is free, but timed reservations are required via the official app. Crypte Archéologique beneath the parvis (square) displays Roman and medieval foundations of the Île de la Cité. The towers are expected to reopen to climbers in 2026.
A converted Belle Époque railway station on the Left Bank, the Musée d'Orsay holds the world's finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Monet's water lilies, Renoir's dance scenes, Van Gogh's self-portraits, Degas's ballet dancers — they're all here, all under one soaring glass-and-iron barrel vault. The museum clock face on the top floor (behind the Impressionist Gallery) frames a perfect view of Sacré-Cœur across the Seine. Closed Mondays. Book a morning slot and go straight to the top floor.
On the Île de la Cité, 500 metres from Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle is a 13th-century Gothic chapel built by Louis IX to house Christ's Crown of Thorns. The lower chapel is lovely. The upper chapel — 15-metre panels of stained glass depicting 1,113 biblical scenes across 15 windows — will stop your breath. Go on a bright day, ideally in the morning when east-facing glass catches the sun. Pre-book; the queue outside the Palais de Justice can be grim.
The white basilica of Sacré-Cœur crowns the highest point in Paris (130 metres). Built between 1875 and 1914 as a symbol of national reconciliation after the Franco-Prussian War, its Romano-Byzantine domes are visible from across the city. The interior mosaic — Christ in Majesty, one of the largest in the world — is free to enter; the dome climb (300 steps, €6) rewards with a 30-kilometre panorama. Behind the basilica, Place du Tertre is touristy but the side streets (Rue de l'Abreuvoir, Rue des Saules, the vineyard at Clos Montmartre) still feel like the village Montmartre once was. The last surviving windmill, Moulin de la Galette, stands at the top of Rue Lepic.
The Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements) is Paris's best-preserved pre-Haussmann neighbourhood — narrow medieval streets, 17th-century hôtels particuliers (private mansions), and a dense concentration of galleries, boutiques, and falafel shops. Place des Vosges, commissioned by Henri IV in 1605, is Paris's oldest planned square — a perfect arcade of red-brick-and-stone façades enclosing a lime-tree-shaded garden. Victor Hugo lived at No. 6 (now a free museum). On Sundays, the Marais is one of the few Paris neighbourhoods where shops stay open.
The Luxembourg Gardens, 23 hectares in the 6th arrondissement, were created in 1612 for Marie de' Medici's Florentine-style palace (now the French Senate). The iconic green metal chairs around the octagonal Grand Bassin are first-come, first-served and entirely free. Children sail miniature boats on the pond. The orchard of heritage apple and pear varieties, the Medici Fountain, the Orangerie, the beehives producing Luxembourg honey — this is the Paris that belongs to its residents. The free photography exhibitions on the garden railings (rue de Vaugirard side) change quarterly.
The world's most visited cemetery, 44 hectares of cobbled lanes, ancient chestnut trees, and elaborate tombs on a hillside in the 20th arrondissement. Opened in 1804, it's the final resting place of Oscar Wilde (covered in lipstick kisses despite the glass barrier now protecting the tomb), Jim Morrison (a modest, graffiti-covered grave), Edith Piaf, Chopin, Modigliani, and Marcel Proust. The main entrance is at Boulevard de Ménilmontant; pick up a free map. The view from the top near the columbarium is one of the best free panoramas of the city.
The 4.5-kilometre canal, completed in 1825 under Napoleon, connects the Bassin de la Villette to the Seine via the Arsenal port. The stretch between Rue du Faubourg du Temple and Rue de la Grange aux Belles (10th arrondissement) is the sweet spot: iron footbridges, plane trees, and locks that raise and lower barges every 20 minutes. The surrounding streets are full of independent bookshops (Artazart), natural wine bars, and the excellent Marché Popincourt (Tuesdays and Fridays). Take a baguette and sit on the bank — it's a free afternoon that feels like real Paris.
In the early 19th century, Paris built roughly 150 glass-roofed shopping arcades — prototypes of the modern shopping mall. About 20 survive, concentrated in the Grands Boulevards area. The best: Galerie Vivienne (mosaic floors, wrought-iron details, Legrand Filles & Fils wine shop), Passage des Panoramas (opened 1800, Paris's oldest, with stamp dealers and bistros), and Passage Jouffroy (Hôtel Chopin, Grévin wax museum, old-fashioned toy shops). They're free to walk through, rain-proof, and blissfully uncrowded compared to the streets outside.
Twenty metres beneath the 14th arrondissement, the bones of more than six million Parisians are arranged in macabre decorative patterns along 1.5 kilometres of accessible tunnels. They were transferred here from overflowing cemeteries between 1786 and 1860. The entrance at Place Denfert-Rochereau has a strict capacity limit — book timed tickets weeks in advance. The 131-step spiral descent and 112-step climb back up are not for anyone with mobility issues. The temperature underground is a constant 14°C year-round.
The Château de Versailles is 20 kilometres southwest of Paris (35 minutes on RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche). The Hall of Mirrors — 357 mirrors facing 17 arched windows overlooking the gardens — is the centrepiece of a palace that housed the French court from 1682 until the Revolution. The 800-hectare gardens by André Le Nôtre include the Grand Canal (rowing boats for rent in summer), the Petit Trianon (Marie Antoinette's private estate), and the Hameau de la Reine (a working farm built as her rustic retreat). Book ahead: timed entry is required, and Tuesday–Sunday is the schedule (closed Mondays). The Musical Fountains show (weekends April–October) makes the gardens feel alive.
Claude Monet's house and gardens in Giverny (75 kilometres northwest of Paris) are open from late March to early November. The water garden with its Japanese bridge, weeping willows, and water lilies is the living subject of his most famous paintings. The flower garden (the Clos Normand) explodes with colour from April through October. Train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon (45 minutes), then a shuttle bus or bicycle rental for the final 5 kilometres to Giverny. The gardens are manageable as a half-day trip; combine with a morning at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris to see Monet's giant Water Lilies panels before you visit their source.
Less crowded than Versailles, Fontainebleau (55 kilometres southeast) was a royal residence from the 12th century through Napoleon III — eight centuries of continuous occupation. The Renaissance interiors, the François I Gallery, the Napoleon I Museum, and the 130-hectare formal gardens rival Versailles in quality while offering far more breathing room. Train from Gare de Lyon to Fontainebleau-Avon (40 minutes), then a bus to the château. A good choice if your Versailles date is sold out or you want a deeper, quieter experience of French royal history.
Morning: Eiffel Tower (book 9am summit tickets). Walk down through Champ de Mars to the Seine. Late morning: Follow the Parc Rives de Seine eastward to the Musée d'Orsay (book a mid-day slot, focus on Impressionist floor). Lunch: Café Campana inside d'Orsay, or pick up a baguette and sit in the Tuileries Garden. Afternoon: Walk through the Tuileries to the Louvre (pick one wing — Denon for greatest hits). Evening: Cross the Pont des Arts to Saint-Germain-des-Prés for dinner. Nightcap at Les Deux Magots terrace.
Morning: Sainte-Chapelle (9am booking, sunlight through east windows). Walk to Notre-Dame (500m, timed entry). Lunch: Falafel on Rue des Rosiers in the Marais (L'As du Fallafel is the classic). Afternoon: Explore the Marais: Place des Vosges, Musée Picasso (free first Sunday), boutique browsing on Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. Evening: Aperitif at a terrace on Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine, then dinner in the 11th — try a bistronomy spot off Rue Oberkampf.
Morning: Métro to Abbesses, climb Montmartre via Rue des Martyrs (stop at the boulangerie, fromagerie, and charcuterie — this street is a food destination). Explore Sacré-Cœur and the village streets behind it. Lunch: Market picnic from Rue Lepic or lunch at Le Coq Rico. Afternoon: Two options: Père Lachaise Cemetery (Dumas, Chopin, Morrison) and Belleville street art, OR the covered passages (Galerie Vivienne, Passage des Panoramas) and Palais-Royal gardens. Evening: Canal Saint-Martin at golden hour — grab a bottle from a cave à manger and sit on the quay as the locks work. Dinner in the 10th.
Book everything online before you go. The Paris Museum Pass (2/4/6 days) covers 60+ museums and monuments and lets you skip ticket queues — but you still need timed reservations at the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, and Versailles. The Navigo Easy pass (€2 at any métro station, loadable with carnets of 10 tickets via the Île-de-France Mobilités app) is the simplest way to navigate public transport.
Paris is a walking city — most of the above itinerary is walkable between sites. The métro fills the gaps. Line 1 runs east-west through the Louvre, Champs-Élysées, and the Marais. Line 4 connects Montparnasse, Saint-Germain, the islands, and Montmartre. Buses (especially lines 69 and 72) are scenic alternatives that run past major monuments for the price of a métro ticket.
Three full days is the minimum to cover Paris's essential highlights: one day for the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Seine; one day for Montmartre, Sacré-Cœur, and the Marais; and one day for Musée d'Orsay, Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Four to five days allows for a day trip to Versailles or Giverny and a more relaxed pace through the neighbourhoods.
The best free Paris experiences include: museums on the first Sunday of each month (Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and many more are free), wandering the Parc Rives de Seine (the pedestrianised riverbank from the Musée d'Orsay to the Eiffel Tower), street art in Belleville (Rue Dénoyez and surrounds), the exterior of Notre-Dame, the Luxembourg Gardens, and Père Lachaise Cemetery. Sacré-Cœur itself is free to enter (dome climb costs €6).
Yes, the Palace of Versailles is one of the most extraordinary day trips from Paris. The Hall of Mirrors, royal apartments, and 800-hectare formal gardens designed by André Le Nôtre are world-class. The RER C train takes 35 minutes from central Paris to Versailles Château Rive Gauche station (a 10-minute walk to the palace gates). Book tickets online in advance — the queue without a timed entry slot can exceed two hours in peak season.