Paris Must-Do Itineraries – A Smart Way to See the City

Paris may be full of art, history, and life-changing pastry, but it can also be downright overwhelming. How do you make sense of the endless list of must-sees, must-eats, must-stand-and-stares? That's where we come in. These Paris must-do itineraries take the chaos out of planning and turn it into something you'll actually enjoy following. Think of them as a cross between a local friend's advice and your own travel instincts — only with better food stops

We've sorted the city into easy-to-handle half-day and full-day plans that actually work. Want to know how to see the best of Paris in a few days without collapsing in a heap on the Left Bank? This is it. Our secret weapon? Let a good guide lead the way — at a museum, in a neighborhood, or on a food & wine tour. It's exactly how we do Paris, and we've done it more times than we can count.

Itinerary #1: Trocadero – Eiffel Tower – Quai Branly

The Eiffel Tower seen from Trocadero (Palais du Chaillot to left), photo by Mark Craft

Start your day with a bit of Parisian stagecraft. Hop on Metro Line 6 or 9 and ride to Trocadero. When you reach the top of the steps at Palais de Chaillot, don't rush — pause. Because there it is: the Eiffel Tower, perfectly framed, commanding the skyline like it invented it. This is your "I'm really in Paris" moment, and it's a good one. Cameras out. Awe fully engaged.

Once you've soaked in the view and collected enough photos to make everyone back home jealous, consider ducking into one of the lesser-known museums tucked inside the Palais, like the Musée National de la Marine. (Yes, there's a maritime museum hiding behind that view.)

Then it's time for the descent — head down through the tiered Trocadero Gardens, cross the bridge called Pont d'Iéna, and get yourself face-to-iron with the Eiffel Tower. If you've booked a skip-the-line tour, you'll glide past the queues like a VIP with somewhere better to be. If not, take your time beneath the tower's spindly arches — it's worth a neck cramp or two.

The pedestrian bridge at Quai Branly, photo by Mark Craft

When you're finally towered-out, it's decision time. You could take a cultural detour to the Musée du Quai Branly, a museum dedicated to global art and artifacts. Or, cross the footbridge and head to the Palais de Tokyo, home to the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, where modern art gets gloriously weird. We lean toward the latter choice — it's free, and you never know what you'll walk into (or through).

If you're ready to slow down and experience a true Parisian moment, stroll over to Rue Cler in the 7th Arrondissement. You'll find an irresistible mix of charming cafes, bustling markets, and local food shops. Pick up something flaky, sip something bubbly, and sink into the delicious feeling that you're doing Paris properly.

More Information about this Itinerary

• Eiffel Tower Skip-the Line Tours…
• Guide to the Eiffel Tower…
• Musée d'Art Moderne – Paris Museum of Modern Art…
• Guide to Musée du Quai Branly…
• Paris Museum Pass…

Museums at Trocadero

• Musée National de la Marine…
• Musée de l'Homme – Museum of Man …
• Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine – Museum of Architecture and Monuments…
• Guide to the Paris Museum Pass…

#2: Arc de Triomphe – Champs Elysées – Tuileries

The Arc de Triomphe, located on a busy traffic circle

Start your day on top of a triumph — literally. The Arc de Triomphe crowns the Champs Elysées like a well-placed exclamation point, offering one of the best views in town. You'll see everything from the Louvre to La Défense laid out in neat Haussmannian order. It's dramatic. It's symmetrical. It's very Paris.

To get there, take Metro lines 1, 2, or 6 to Charles-de-Gaulle–Étoile, and please use the underground passage. This is not the time to play human Frogger with Parisian traffic.

Once you've caught your breath from the climb (and the view), descend beneath the swirling madness of Place de l'Étoile and start your stroll down the Champs-Élysées,. It's loud, flashy, and a little too pleased with itself — but it's part of the package. Stop by Louis Vuitton, pretend to consider a bag, then move on like the chic, budget-conscious traveler you are.

If you're feeling ambitious, detour down Avenue Montaigne, where fashion goes to drop five figures. Dior, Chanel, Valentino — they're all here, ready to tempt or intimidate. Window shopping counts as cardio in Paris, by the way.

The Petit Palais, photo by Mark Craft

At Avenue Winston Churchill, swing down to the Petit Palais. It's free, fabulous, and far less crowded than the bigger-name museums. The collection is lovely, the architecture is delightful, and the gift shop has a surprisingly good selection of stuff you don't need but will definitely want. (Ask us how we know.)

From there, head back to the Champs and continue toward Place de la Concorde, past embassies, grand hotels, and the occasional car commercial being filmed in real time. When you hit the Jardin des Plantes, slow down. Find a cafe. Order something chilled. Sit back and feel the smug satisfaction of someone who is absolutely crushing their Paris must-do itinerary.

More Information about this Itinerary

• Arc de Triomphe tickets…
• Guide to the Arc de Triomphe…
• The Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts…
• La Defénse and La Grande Arche…
• Place de la Concorde…
• Jardin des Tuileries…

#3: Montmartre – Place du Tertre – Sacre Coeur

The Montmartre streets at night.

Your Montmartre adventure kicks off at the Place des Abbesses, one of the few Metro stops in Paris that feels like a movie set. You'll step out of the charming Art Nouveau station — designed by Hector Guimard — and land in a village that never quite agreed to being swallowed by the city.

Head up Rue des Abbesses, and you'll catch the spirit of old Montmartre, where artists once lived cheaply and drank excessively. If you smell fresh bread, follow your nose — there's no shortage of excellent bakeries waiting to lure you in with a warm baguette.

From there, keep climbing Rue des Abbesses (against the traffic, which feels very Paris) and soak in the scene. The cobbled streets, quirky shops, and handwritten chalkboard menus all whisper, "This is not your average arrondissement". Not that long ago, this really was a hilltop village — dirt streets, chickens, windmills, the whole thing — and the vibe still lingers, even if the artists now carry iPhones. Pop into a prize-winning boulangerie, pick up something flaky, and remind yourself that butter is a legitimate lifestyle.

Hungry for more? Montmartre is a foodie magnet, and one of the best ways to explore it is with a guided food walking tour. It's one thing to wander into a cheese shop. It's another to do it with someone who knows which chèvre has won awards and which one pairs best with a Sancerre.

A street in Montmartre with Sacré Coeur in the distance, photo by Mark Craft

After a slice of real life in real Montmartre, keep walking uphill. Take Rue Lepic — it'll veer right and take you through a mix of historic cabarets, slightly bewildered tourists, and charming architectural leftovers. Eventually, you'll land in Place du Tertre, where painters still set up easels just like in Picasso's day — only now they might also take credit cards.

If the crowds have you craving something quieter, consider a guided walking tour of hidden Montmartre. The real Montmartre still exists — you just need a local to point it out between souvenir stands.

Follow the curve of Rue Lepic and you'll find yourself at the foot of Sacré Coeur, that glistening white basilica with a view that knocks the breath right out of you. Wander around the domes, admire the sweeping skyline, and feel vaguely poetic. When you're ready to descend, skip the stairs and take the funicular — because you've earned at least a little mechanical help. Then head to Metro Anvers on Line 2, feeling mildly smug that you've just conquered a hill and half a century of art history.

More Information about this Itinerary

• Eleven Great Things About Montmartre…
• Hector Guimard's Metro Entrances…
• The Best Baguette in Paris Awards…
• Guide to Sacre Coeur…

#4: Musée d'Orsay – Tuileries – Place de la Concorde

The Statue of Liberty at Musée d'Orsay

It started life as a train station, but the Musée d'Orsay is now where the Impressionists hang out — and by "hang out" we mean hang on the walls in stunning Belle Époque glory. This Left Bank gem is where you go to meet Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and a few hundred of their most dazzling brushstrokes.

If you like your art with big color and bigger emotions, this is your museum. Plan to spend at least three hours here — and maybe longer if you stop for lunch in the jaw-droppingly ornate Belle Époque dining room upstairs. (Spoiler: you should.)

Getting there is easy: go to Metro Solferino or Assemblée Nationale, both on Line 12. From Solferino, walk toward the Seine on Rue de Bellechasse. From Assemblée Nationale, head east along Rue de Lille. If you prefer to glide, hop on Bus 24, which will drop you right at the museum's feet.

Once you've had your fill of Impressionist greatness (and maybe dessert), cross the street to the river and take the pedestrian bridge over to the Jardin des Tuileries. This stretch of green is attached to the Louvre but operates in its own laid-back orbit. You'll find gravel paths, fountains, statues, green metal chairs, and Parisians being effortlessly stylish while doing very little.

If lunch didn't happen earlier, grab a table at one of the cafes tucked into the garden. They're cute, casual, and the people-watching is first-rate. Then stroll toward the west end of the Tuileries (that's the direction of Place de la Concorde) and pop into the Musée de l'Orangerie. downstairs.

Monet's water lilies are housed here in rooms designed to feel like giant lily ponds. It's like falling into a painting, only quieter and with better lighting. The rest of the museum isn't just filler — there's Cézanne, Matisse, and a few surprises waiting downstairs.

When you're done at the Orangerie, you'll spill out into Place de la Concorde, that grand plaza where fountains gush, traffic swirls, and an Egyptian obelisk presides over it all like a very tall, very old guest of honor. If you've still got energy (and your legs haven't rebelled), turn right across Rue de Rivoli for a final treat: a hot chocolate or fancy pastry at Angelina, the belle of the Paris tea salon scene. Yes, there will be a line. Yes, it's worth it.

Musée d'Orsay Skip-the-Line Impressionism Tour

Musée d'Orsay Skip-the-Line Impressionism Tour

Want to meet the rockstars of Impressionism without waiting in a soul-draining line? This small-group tour is your golden ticket — straight past the crowds and into the world of Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, and Van Gogh, all housed under one very glamorous former train station roof. With an expert guide leading the way, you'll get the stories behind the brushstrokes, the scandals behind the scenes, and a front-row seat to the revolution that changed art forever.

Once the tour wraps, you're free to linger as long as you like, whether that means revisiting your favorite Van Gogh or heading upstairs for lunch under the chandeliers. Either way, you'll walk out with a lot more art cred — and a lot less time wasted in line

More Information about this Itinerary

• Guide to Musée d'Orsay…
• Guide to the Paris Museum Pass…
• Jardin des Tuileries…
• Musée L'Orangerie…

#5: A Day at the Louvre

The Louvre and its Pyramids

It can't be done in a day, perhaps not even in a lifetime, but the Louvre Art Museum should be on your shortlist. So far in our Paris attractions itineraries we've sort of skirted around the Louvre — we've visited Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries. A quick glance at a map will show you that these both are related to the Louvre and that, if you start at Concorde and head east through the Tuileries, you will finally arrive at the Louvre.

The Louvre is, by itself, a full-day itinerary. Maybe even a full-life itinerary. Even if you don't spend all day inside, you need time to absorb what you've seen and you need time to wander around the grounds, up and down Rue de Rivoli, and stroll along the banks of the Seine.

A normal person can probably only take 3 or 4 hours at a time in the Louvre. (That's us, anyway.) So, after you emerge from the museum, stop in at the terrace of Cafe Marly for a refreshing glass of champagne. Then, cross Rue de Rivoli and spend time relaxing in the garden of the Palais Royal, one of the most under-appreciated spots in Paris.

Louvre Masterpieces Tour

Masterpieces of the Louvre guided tour

The Louvre has 35,000 works of art. You have, what, three hours of brain power? Enter the small-group Masterpieces Tour — your express route to the museum's biggest hits, minus the marathon wait. You'll skip the line and head straight for the headliners with a savvy guide who knows their Da Vinci from their Delacroix.

This is the tour that gets you face-to-face with the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory, and yes, that enigmatic woman who launched a million selfies — Mona Lisa. When the tour ends, you're free to keep roaming the galleries at your own pace… or just head for a well-earned drink. No judgment.

More Information about this Itinerary

• Guide to the Louvre Museum…
• Guide to Arc de Triomphe de Carrousel…
• Louvre Museum Tours…
• Gardens of the Palais Royal…

Paris Must-Do Itineraries – Small City, Big Payoff

Walking in the Marais, photo Ville de Paris

Paris isn't sprawling like London or built for speed like New York. It's compact, walkable, and packed to the brim with sights worth your time. That's why these Paris must-do itineraries work so well — they're designed to show you how to see the best of Paris in a few days, without making your feet hate you. Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Sacré Coeur, Champs Elysées, the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay — they're all within striking distance when you know how to plan a trip to Paris like an Insider.

The real secret? Leave space in your itinerary for the good stuff you don't see coming. A shady park bench, a cafe terrace you can't resist, a vintage shop that calls your name. After the museums and monuments, those unplanned stops — the little side quests — are what give these best Paris itineraries for first timers their charm. And who knows? One well-timed detour might just become your favorite Paris memory.