Paris in 4 days

The islands and the Marais, all on foot.

1. 08:30 1

   Notre-Dame Cathedral

   Sight

   Reopened December 2024. Free entry; reserve a slot on the app to skip the line.

   

   581 m · 5m walk to next

2. 09:30 2

   Sainte-Chapelle

   Sight

   Stained glass on a sunny morning. Timed ticket.

   

   1.2 km · 10m walk to next

3. 11:00 3

   Berthillon

   Food & drink

   Ice cream on Île Saint-Louis before lunch. No regrets.

   

   855 m · 10m walk to next

4. 12:00 4

   L’As du Fallafel

   Food & drink

   Rue des Rosiers; the green door queue moves fastest.

   

   668 m · 8m walk to next

5. 13:30 5

   Place des Vosges

   Sight

   The oldest square in Paris. Victor Hugo’s house on the corner is free.

   

   692 m · 10m walk to next

6. 15:00 6

   Musée Picasso

   Sight

   The Hôtel Salé; the Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030, so this is the modern art stop.

   

   1.6 km · 15m walk to next

7. 17:30 7

   Stohrer

   Food & drink

   The oldest patisserie in Paris, 1730, on the rue Montorgueil market street.

   

   1.1 km · 15m walk to next

8. 19:30 8

   Bouillon Chartier

   Food & drink

   1896 workers’ canteen. Dinner for 20 euro, no reservations, the queue moves quickly.

   

The Louvre, the gardens, the river, the tower at night.

1. 09:00 1

   Louvre Museum

   Sight

   Timed ticket, enter underground from the Carrousel. Denon wing for the Mona Lisa, then get lost in Richelieu.

   

   1.0 km · 10m walk to next

2. 12:30 2

   Tuileries Garden

   Park & nature

   Green chairs by the pond. Angelina’s hot chocolate on the rue de Rivoli side.

   

   468 m · 5m walk to next

3. 13:30 3

   Musée de l’Orangerie

   Sight

   Monet’s Water Lilies in the two oval rooms.

   

   856 m · 10m walk to next

4. 15:00 4

   Pont Alexandre III

   Sight

   The gilded bridge; the Eiffel and the Invalides dome in one frame.

   

   1.3 km · 12m walk to next

5. 15:45 5

   Musée Rodin

   Sight

   The Thinker in the garden. The garden only ticket is a few euro.

   

   1.6 km · 20m walk to next

6. 17:30 6

   Champ de Mars

   Park & nature

   Picnic on the grass; wine and cheese from a Franprix.

   

   562 m · 8m walk to next

7. 19:00 7

   Eiffel Tower

   Sight

   Summit ticket booked 60 days out on the official site. Sparkles on the hour after dark.

   

Montmartre in the morning, the Impressionists after lunch, the Left Bank at night.

1. 08:30 1

   Sacré-Cœur

   Sight

   Climb early. The dome is a few euro; the steps outside are the free show.

   

   221 m · 5m walk to next

2. 10:00 2

   Place du Tertre

   Sight

   Portrait painters. Walk down rue de l’Abreuvoir past La Maison Rose.

   

   325 m · 8m walk to next

3. 11:15 3

   Le Moulin de la Galette

   Sight

   The windmill Renoir painted; Amélie’s café Les Deux Moulins at the bottom of the hill.

   

   737 m · 10m walk to next

4. 12:30 4

   Bouillon Pigalle

   Food & drink

   Cheap French classics at the foot of the hill.

   

   3.3 km · 25m transit to next

5. 14:30 5

   Musée d’Orsay

   Sight

   Impressionists on the fifth floor; the clock window. Book.

   

   1.1 km · 15m walk to next

6. 17:30 6

   Saint-Germain-des-Prés

   Sight

   Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots. Pick one, pay for the chair.

   

   1.2 km · 12m walk to next

7. 19:00 7

   Luxembourg Gardens

   Park & nature

   Toy boats on the pond. Closes at sunset.

   

   783 m · 10m walk to next

8. 20:30 8

   Le Comptoir du Relais

   Food & drink

   No booking at dinner; go at 20:30 or eat at the bar.

   

Versailles on the RER C, 40 minutes from Saint-Michel, then the river at dusk.

1. 08:00 1

   Palace of Versailles

   Sight

   Passport ticket for palace and gardens. The fountains play on weekends April to October.

   

   1.5 km · 20m walk to next

2. 12:30 2

   Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet

   Sight

   Rent a golf cart or a bike; the Hamlet is 30 minutes on foot from the palace.

   

   19.4 km · 1h transit to next

3. 15:30 3

   Arc de Triomphe

   Sight

   Climb it. The roundabout from above is the show.

   

   1.3 km · 15m walk to next

4. 17:00 4

   Champs-Élysées

   Activity

   Walk it once. Then never again.

   

   872 m · 20m walk to next

5. 19:00 5

   Bateaux Mouches

   Activity

   Hour long loop from Pont de l’Alma at dusk. Vedettes du Pont Neuf is the cheaper one.

   

   3.1 km · 15m transit to next

6. 21:00 6

   Pont des Arts

   Sight

   Last walk over the river; the Louvre lit on one side, the Institut on the other.