Paris 3-Day Itinerary

How this 3-day Paris plan works

Three days in Paris works if each day stays inside one walking cluster and you only cross the city once. This plan puts the Right Bank museums first, the islands and Left Bank second, and Montmartre with the Eiffel Tower last so the trip ends on the views.

First-time Paris

Where to base yourself for this plan

Stay in the 1st, 2nd or 4th. Everything below except Montmartre is then reachable on foot or in a single métro hop, which is what makes a three-day trip feel unhurried.

Day 1: Right Bank classics

Focus: 1st and 8th

• Morning

  Start at the Louvre on the first timed slot of the day — the first ninety minutes are dramatically quieter than late morning. Pick two wings rather than attempting the building.

• Afternoon

  Walk out through the Tuileries to Place de la Concorde, then up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. The rooftop terrace there is the better daytime panorama because it looks down the twelve radiating avenues.

• Evening

  Dinner around Rue Montorgueil in the 2nd, a pedestrian market street with far better value than anything near the Louvre.

• Getting between them

  Entirely walkable, about 5 km in total. Métro 1 shadows the whole route if legs give out.

Day 2: Islands, Latin Quarter and Orsay

Focus: 4th, 5th and 7th

• Morning

  Île de la Cité early: Notre-Dame's exterior and reserved-slot interior, then Sainte-Chapelle when the sun is on the glass.

• Afternoon

  Cross to the Latin Quarter for Shakespeare and Company and the Panthéon, then follow the river west to the Musée d'Orsay for the Impressionists.

• Evening

  Aperitif in Saint-Germain, dinner in the 5th around Rue Mouffetard where prices drop sharply two streets back from the river.

• Getting between them

  Walking, roughly 4 km. Métro 4 links Cité and Saint-Michel in one stop if it rains.

Day 3: Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower

Focus: 18th, then 7th

• Morning

  Montmartre before the coaches: Abbesses, the vineyard lanes, then Sacré-Cœur and the terrace view over the whole city.

• Afternoon

  Cross town to the Marais for lunch and Place des Vosges, or go straight to the Rodin Museum if you prefer gardens to shopping.

• Evening

  Trocadéro for the Eiffel Tower at dusk, then the hourly sparkle on the hour after dark. Ascend the tower only if you booked ahead; otherwise the view from Trocadéro is the better photograph.

• Getting between them

  Métro 12 then 6 or 9. Allow 35 minutes for the cross-city leg and buy a carnet or use contactless.

Adapting this plan

If you only have two days, cut day three and see the Eiffel Tower from a Seine cruise on the evening of day two. If you arrive mid-afternoon, use the half day for the Marais or a river walk and keep the museum mornings intact — the Louvre and Orsay are the two places where arriving at opening genuinely changes the experience.

Best time to run this itinerary

April–June and September–October give the best mix of mild weather and fewer queues. July–August are warm but many locals are away; late November through early January adds Christmas markets and low-season rates.

Before you go

• Buy a Navigo Easy card at any metro station for tap-and-go transit.

• Museums are free the first Sunday of the month — arrive early.

• Restaurants close between lunch and dinner; plan meals around 12–2pm and 7:30pm.