Book restaurants first
Practical tipDinner reservations at the places people actually talk about open between three weeks and two months ahead. Put three options in your calendar and book all three — you can always cancel.
Paris Travel Guide
Where to stay, eat, drink and shoot in Paris — planned like a girls trip, not a school trip.
Free to readUpdated 2026-09-2210 chapters
Paris rewards planning. Not a minute-by-minute itinerary — just knowing which neighbourhood to sleep in, which restaurants need a reservation three weeks out, and which famous thing is worth your morning. This guide is built for four or five days, the way we actually travel: slow mornings, long lunches, one big plan a day and the rest left open. Everything here is organised by neighbourhood so you are never crossing the city twice in a day.
Start here
Before you go
Paris is walkable but big. Pick one neighbourhood as your base and treat everything else as a day trip within the city. Four full days is the sweet spot for a first visit; five if you want a day outside the city. Book restaurants and any timed-entry museum the moment your flights are confirmed — the good tables and the good time slots go weeks ahead, not days.
Opening hours, prices and reservation rules change. Always confirm directly with the restaurant or venue before you plan your day around it.
Buy museum tickets with a time slot
Practical tipThe Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower all sell timed entry online. Buying ahead is the difference between walking in and losing two hours.
Pack for cobblestones
Practical tipYou will walk 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day on uneven stone. Bring one pair of flats you can genuinely walk in and save the heels for dinner, when you are taking a taxi door to door.
Learn four phrases
Practical tipBonjour when you walk in, s'il vous plaît, merci, au revoir when you leave. Starting with bonjour changes how every interaction goes.
Best time to visit
Practical tipLate April to mid June and September to mid October: warm, long evenings, terraces open, and not the August heat when half the city closes for holidays.
Where to stay
Neighbourhoods, ranked for a girls trip
You are choosing a mood as much as a location. All five of these are safe, central and walkable, with metro access and somewhere to get coffee before 9am.
Le Marais (3rd & 4th)
NeighbourhoodRight Bank
Cobbled streets, vintage shopping, falafel, natural wine bars and the best concentration of cafés per square metre. Central enough to walk almost anywhere.
- Why it's here
- The best all-round base if it is your first trip and you want everything on your doorstep.
- Photo tip
- Rue des Rosiers and Place des Vosges in the early morning.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th)
NeighbourhoodLeft Bank
Classic, grown-up Paris: bookshops, historic cafés, beautiful window displays and quiet residential streets a block off the main boulevards.
- Why it's here
- Choose this if you want the postcard version of Paris and are happy to pay a little more for it.
- Photo tip
- The window displays on Rue de Buci and the courtyards off Rue Jacob.
South Pigalle (9th)
NeighbourhoodRight Bank
Known locally as SoPi. Cocktail bars, small restaurants, a young crowd and much better value than the centre.
- Why it's here
- Best for a trip where the nights matter as much as the days.
Canal Saint-Martin (10th & 11th)
NeighbourhoodRight Bank
Iron footbridges, tree-lined water, independent shops and the city's best casual food scene. Younger, more relaxed, less polished.
- Why it's here
- Great value and genuinely lovely in summer, but a 20-minute metro ride from the big sights.
Champs-Élysées and around (8th)
NeighbourhoodRight Bank
Wide boulevards, luxury flagships and big hotels.
- Why it's here
- Skip it as a base. It is the least atmospheric part of central Paris and everything costs more.
Where to eat
Restaurants worth booking
Book the dinners you care about before you leave home. Lunch is where Paris is most forgiving — most places take walk-ins, and the set lunch menu is usually the best value meal of your trip.
Classic bistro dinner
RestaurantA proper French bistro — steak frites, duck, a bottle of red, paper tablecloths, waiters who have worked there for twenty years. Every neighbourhood has one and it should be your first night.
- Why it's here
- It sets the tone for the whole trip and it is the meal everyone remembers.
- Best time
- Dinner from 8pm
- Booking
- Book two to three weeks ahead for a table after 8pm.
- What to wear
- Smart casual.
A natural wine bar in the Marais or 11th
RestaurantLe Marais / 11th
Small plates, low lighting, a chalkboard menu that changes daily, and staff who will pour you something you have never heard of.
- Why it's here
- The most fun dinner format for a group — you order in waves and stay for hours.
- Best time
- From 7:30pm
- Booking
- Most take a limited number of reservations; arrive at opening if not.
Lunch on a terrace in Saint-Germain
RestaurantSaint-Germain
The set lunch menu — two or three courses at a fixed price — is the best value meal in Paris, often at restaurants that are very hard to book for dinner.
- Why it's here
- Same kitchen, half the price, and you get the terrace in daylight.
- Best time
- 12pm to 2pm
- Booking
- Usually walk-in friendly, but call the morning of.
- Photo tip
- Sit facing the street, not the interior.
A long Sunday lunch
RestaurantMany kitchens close Sunday evening and Monday entirely. Do your big meal at Sunday lunch instead and keep the evening for wine and a walk.
- Why it's here
- Avoids the classic trip mistake of arriving somewhere excellent on the one day it is shut.
- Best time
- Sunday, 1pm
- Booking
- Check Sunday and Monday closures before you book anything.
Falafel on Rue des Rosiers
Casual eatLe Marais
The queue moves fast, it costs a fraction of a sit-down lunch, and it is genuinely one of the best cheap meals in the city. Eat it standing on the street.
- Why it's here
- Balances out the expensive dinners and it is a Paris rite of passage.
- Best time
- Lunchtime, closed Saturdays
- Booking
- No booking. Cash is faster.
A market lunch
Casual eatPick up cheese, bread, fruit, olives and a bottle at a covered market or a street market, then eat it in a park. Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais is the easiest one to start with.
- Why it's here
- The cheapest, prettiest lunch you will have, and the photos are better than any restaurant.
- Best time
- Mornings; most markets close by 2pm
- Photo tip
- Bring a linen scarf to lay down — it makes the whole picture.
Mornings
Cafés, bakeries and brunch
Parisian breakfast is small and standing-up. Brunch is a weekend event and needs booking. Either way, order at the counter, sit outside, and do not rush.
A neighbourhood boulangerie
CaféCroissant, pain au chocolat, coffee, standing at the counter. Find the one closest to your hotel with a queue of locals and go back every morning.
- Why it's here
- It costs a few euros and it is the most Parisian thing you will do all trip.
- Best time
- 7am to 10am
A historic café in Saint-Germain
CaféSaint-Germain
The grand old literary cafés are expensive and touristy and still worth exactly one visit. Order a café crème, sit on the terrace, watch the street.
- Why it's here
- Some clichés earn it. Go once, early, before the queues.
- Best time
- Before 9:30am
- Photo tip
- Outside table, cane chair, street behind you.
Weekend brunch in the 11th or Canal Saint-Martin
Café11th / Canal Saint-Martin
Paris does a very good modern brunch — eggs, banana bread, filter coffee, sourdough. The independents east of the centre do it best.
- Why it's here
- Saturday and Sunday recovery meal, and the rooms are made for photographs.
- Best time
- Saturday and Sunday, 11am
- Booking
- Book ahead — weekend brunch fills up by Thursday.
A patisserie stop
CaféBuy one thing from a serious patisserie and eat it in a park rather than on the go. Éclair, tarte au citron, Paris-Brest — pick one each and share.
- Why it's here
- Better value and a nicer hour than a sit-down dessert.
- Best time
- Afternoon
Nights
Bars and nights out
Dinner runs late — 8:30pm or 9pm is normal. Drinks come after, and the good rooms do not fill until 11pm. Dress up more than you would at home; Paris does.
Cocktails in South Pigalle
BarSouth Pigalle
The densest run of good cocktail bars in Paris, all within a few streets of each other, so you can move without taxis.
- Why it's here
- Best neighbourhood for a night where you want more than one bar.
- Best time
- From 9pm
- Booking
- Small rooms fill after 10:30pm — arrive early or put your name down.
- What to wear
- Dress up.
A rooftop for sunset
BarParis is low-rise, so a rooftop gives you the whole skyline. Go for the first drink of the night rather than the last.
- Why it's here
- Golden hour over zinc rooftops is the best photograph of the trip.
- Best time
- An hour before sunset
- Booking
- Most rooftops take bookings in summer; do it.
- Photo tip
- Shoot into the light with the city behind you, not the bar.
Wine bar in the Marais
BarLe Marais
Standing on the pavement with a glass of something orange or chilled red is a genuine Paris evening. Cheap, social and very easy.
- Why it's here
- The most relaxed night out on this list and the one you will repeat.
- Best time
- From 7pm
A late club night
BarClubs open late and stay open until 5 or 6am. Nothing meaningful happens before midnight.
- Why it's here
- Only worth it if you are prepared to write off the next morning — plan it for your second-to-last night.
- Best time
- Midnight onwards
- Booking
- Guest lists help; groups of women generally get in easily.
- What to wear
- Smart — trainers can be refused.
Getting home safely
Practical tipThe metro runs until roughly 1am on weeknights and 2am at weekends. After that use a licensed ride-hailing app rather than an unmarked car at a rank.
Days
Things to do
Do fewer things, better. Two anchors a day maximum, with walking and coffee in between.
Musée d'Orsay
Must see7th
An old railway station full of impressionists, with the famous clock window looking out over the Seine. Smaller and far more enjoyable than the Louvre.
- Why it's here
- If you only do one museum in Paris, make it this one.
- Best time
- Opening time or late-night opening
- Booking
- Timed entry online.
- Photo tip
- The clock face on the upper floor — go straight there before the crowd.
The Louvre, done properly
Must see1st
Enormous. Pick three things you actually want to see, go straight to them, and leave after 90 minutes.
- Why it's here
- Trying to see all of it is how people ruin a day of their trip.
- Best time
- First entry slot of the day
- Booking
- Timed entry online, essential.
Sainte-Chapelle
Must see1st
Two floors of stained glass that turn the whole upper chapel blue and red when the sun hits. It takes 30 minutes.
- Why it's here
- The most underrated hour in central Paris.
- Best time
- Late morning on a bright day
- Booking
- Timed entry online.
Walk the Seine from Pont Neuf to the Eiffel Tower
ExperienceAbout an hour on foot along the water, past the Louvre, the Tuileries and Pont Alexandre III.
- Why it's here
- Free, beautiful, and it shows you how the city fits together.
- Best time
- Late afternoon
- Photo tip
- Pont Alexandre III with the gold statues behind you.
Vintage shopping in the Marais and the 11th
ShoppingLe Marais / 11th
Racks of designer resale, second-hand Levi's and 90s slip dresses. Bring cash and time.
- Why it's here
- The souvenir worth carrying home.
- Best time
- Afternoons; many open at 11am
- Booking
- Sunday is one of the few days Marais shops are open.
Montmartre, early
Must see18th
Steep cobbled streets, the white domes of Sacré-Cœur and the whole city laid out below. By midday it is unbearable; at 8am it is yours.
- Why it's here
- Go early and it is one of the loveliest mornings in Paris.
- Best time
- Before 9am
- Photo tip
- The steps below Sacré-Cœur looking back over the rooftops.
Luxembourg Gardens
Experience6th
Green chairs, a fountain, people reading, an hour of doing nothing. Bring pastries.
- Why it's here
- The reset in the middle of a busy trip.
- Best time
- Late morning
An evening Seine cruise
ExperienceYes, it is touristy. It is also an hour on the water watching the city light up, and it costs less than two cocktails.
- Why it's here
- Best last-night activity on the list.
- Best time
- The sailing closest to sunset
- Booking
- Book online for the sunset departure; it sells out.
- What to wear
- Bring a jacket — it is cold on the water.
For the camera
Photo spots that are actually worth it
Go early. Nearly every spot on this list is empty and beautifully lit before 8:30am and packed by 11am.
Rue de l'Université, looking at the Eiffel Tower
Photo spot7th
The classic street framing of the tower between Haussmann buildings.
- Why it's here
- It is the shot everyone comes for, and it works.
- Best time
- Before 8am
- Photo tip
- Stand in the middle of the street and shoot long — wait for the light to change.
Trocadéro
Photo spot16th
The full-tower view from across the river.
- Why it's here
- Best angle of the Eiffel Tower, full stop.
- Best time
- Sunrise
- Photo tip
- Arrive 20 minutes before sunrise and you will be nearly alone.
Palais Royal courtyard
Photo spot1st
Striped columns in a quiet courtyard, plus the arcades behind.
- Why it's here
- Graphic, shaded and empty early.
- Best time
- Before 9am
Pont Alexandre III
Photo spot8th
Gilded statues, lamp posts and the river.
- Why it's here
- The most cinematic bridge in the city.
- Best time
- Golden hour
- Photo tip
- Shoot from the steps on the Left Bank side.
Place des Vosges arcades
Photo spotLe Marais
Symmetrical red brick arches around a garden square.
- Why it's here
- Works in any weather, including rain.
- Best time
- Any morning
Galerie Vivienne
Photo spot2nd
A 19th-century covered passage with mosaic floors and glass ceilings.
- Why it's here
- Your rainy-day option.
- Best time
- Weekday mornings
Out of the city
Day trips
All reachable by train in under an hour and a half. Pick one, not two.
Versailles
Day trip40 minutes by RER
The palace, the Hall of Mirrors and gardens you could spend all day in. Rent a golf cart or a rowing boat on the canal.
- Why it's here
- The best-known day trip and still the most impressive.
- Best time
- First entry, Tuesday to Friday
- Booking
- Timed entry online; closed Mondays.
- What to wear
- Comfortable shoes — the estate is enormous.
- Photo tip
- The gardens are far better for photos than the interior.
Giverny
Day tripAbout an hour by train and shuttle
Monet's garden and the lily pond, in colour from spring to autumn.
- Why it's here
- The prettiest half-day outside Paris if you go in season.
- Best time
- May to September
- Booking
- Closed in winter; book entry online.
Champagne
Day trip45 minutes by high-speed train to Reims
Cellar tours and tastings, then lunch in town.
- Why it's here
- The most fun group day trip — nobody has to drive.
- Best time
- Book a morning tour and a late lunch
- Booking
- Book tastings directly with the house, weeks ahead.
Fontainebleau
Day trip40 minutes by train
A palace as grand as Versailles with a fraction of the visitors, plus a forest around it.
- Why it's here
- For a second visit, or if you hate crowds.
- Best time
- Any weekday
Logistics
Getting around
Paris is a walking city with an excellent metro underneath it. You will not need taxis often.
Walk first
Practical tipCentral Paris is about 6km across. Most days you will walk between everything and only use the metro to get home.
Metro
Practical tipFast, frequent and cheap. Buy a rechargeable pass or a carnet of tickets rather than single fares, and keep the ticket until you exit.
From the airport
Practical tipFrom Charles de Gaulle, the RER B train takes about 35 minutes to the centre; a taxi has a fixed flat fare to each bank of the river. With luggage and three or four of you, the taxi is often the better call.
Bikes and scooters
Practical tipThe city bike share is excellent along the river and the canal, less fun in traffic. Stay on the protected lanes.
Pickpockets
Practical tipReal, and concentrated at the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, on line 1 and around Gare du Nord. Crossbody bag, zipped, in front of you. Nothing in back pockets.
Money
What to budget
A realistic per-person daily spend, excluding flights and accommodation.
Coffee and a pastry
Practical tipAround 6 to 9 euros standing at the counter; more on a famous terrace.
Set lunch menu
Practical tipRoughly 20 to 30 euros for two or three courses.
Bistro dinner with wine
Practical tipRoughly 45 to 80 euros per person.
Cocktails
Practical tip14 to 18 euros each in a good bar.
Museum entry
Practical tip12 to 22 euros per museum. Many national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month — and heaving.
A realistic day
Practical tipPlan on 120 to 180 euros per person per day for food, drinks, entries and transport. You can do it on 70 with market lunches and free walks.
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