See the best of Paris in five days, including a day trip to Versailles, with my itinerary!
Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored by the hotels or any of the attractions I include in this post.
Important Notes
This itinerary keeps in mind five full days to explore Paris. There are no time constraints in this itinerary, allowing you to explore the city at your own pace and keeping in mind potential traffic and the lengths of different tours you might choose. I also offer restaurant recommendations and several alternatives to many attractions.
Using the Paris Métro
The Paris Metro is very straightforward to use, even if you do not know French. My itinerary incorporates using the metro sometimes to get to each attraction instead of walking, as that takes more time. I recommend buying the 5-day travel pass, which costs €76.25 per adult and €38.20 per child ages 4-9. Read more about the pass here.
Day 1
Musée de l’Orangerie and the Tuileries Garden
How to get here: Take the metro on line 1 to the Tuileries station.
This museum is world-famous for its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, especially those of Claude Monet. The museum is the permanent home of eight large Water Lilies murals by Monet. Tickets are €12.50 per person. On the first Sunday of each month, tickets are free, but a reservation is required. After visiting the museum, spend some time walking around the Tuileries garden, where the musuem is located.
Place de la Concorde
Right next to the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Tuileries garden is the Place de la Concorde. This public square, with an Egyptian obelisk and fountains, is famous for being the place where executions by guillotine occurred during the French Revolution. Many prominent figures, including King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, met their end here.
Arc de Triomphe and Avenue des Champs-Élysées
How to get here: take the metro from Concorde station to the Charles de Gaulle–Étoile station on line 1. See the Arc de Triomphe and walk down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and get some lunch.
These are two of Paris’s most iconic landmarks! The Arc de Triomphe is a symbol of French Military prowess and houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I with an eternal flame. Visitors can climb the Arc de Triomphe via 284 steps to get stunning 360-degree views of the city, including other landmarks like the Champs-Élysées, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. Tickets to climb to the top are €22 per person and free for those 26 and under who are EU citizens.
Known as “the most beautiful avenue in the world”, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the world’s most famous and prestigious streets with wide, tree-lined sidewalks and grand buildings. Both locals and tourists like to stroll, shop, and dine along the avenue. It remains an essential symbol of Parisian elegance, history, and modernity.
Day 2
Palais Garnier
How to get here: take the metro to the Opéra station, which is on metro lines 3, 7, and 8.
Known as the most famous opera house in the world with opulent, exquisite interiors, the Palais Garnier has 1,979 seats and was built between 1861 and 1875. It is also the setting for the 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. If you want to walk around inside, guided tours are available for €23 per person; the guided tour lasts one hour and 30 minutes. Read more about tours here.
Musée d’Orsay
How to get here: take the metro on line 8 from the Opéra station to the Concorde station and walk 10 minutes to the Musée d’Orsay.
This former train station turned art museum mainly showcases French art from 1848 and 1914. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the world, and is the second most visited art museum in France, behind the Louvre. I recommend either taking a tour or spending two to three hours here if you go on a self-guided tour. Tickets are €16 per person; on the first Sunday of each month, tickets are free, but a reservation is required.
Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris
Both of these landmarks are on the Île de la Cité (City Island) in Central Paris. Within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the former residence of French kings until the 14th century, stands the Sainte-Chapelle, a stunning example of Gothic royal architecture. Also contributing to France’s rich history is the Notre-Dame Cathedral, built between the 12th and 13th centuries, which has become a globally recognized emblem of both Paris and the nation. Tours that combine visiting these two places are offered on Viator and GetYourGuide.
How to get here: If you do not want to take a tour and go on your own, take the RER train on the C line from the Solférino station to the Saint-Michel Notre-Dame station (the 5-day visitor pass I mentioned above covers the RER train).
Tickets to visit the Sainte-Chapelle cost €19 per person until September 30, 2025. Starting October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, tickets cost €13 per person. Read more here. Visiting Notre-Dame is completely free, but you can get a free reservation ticket either the day before, two days before, or on the day of your visit. Getting a reservation ticket guarantees access to the cathedral within your time slot, with reduced waiting time.
Panthéon and Luxembourg Garden
After visiting the Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame, walk 20 minutes south and across any of the bridges to visit the Panthéon. The Panthéon is an 18th-century mausoleum, housing the remains of notable French citizens, including Voltaire, a French writer and philosopher, and Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist and the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Tickets to visit the Panthéon cost €16 per person until September 30, 2025. Starting October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026, tickets cost €13 per person. Read more here.
After touring all of these landmarks, walk 5 minutes west from the Panthéon and spend some time relaxing in the Luxembourg Garden.
Day 3
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre
How to get here: take the metro to the Abbesses station, the closest metro station to the Basilica. Note: this station is very deep underground, so take the elevator to ground level instead of walking up the 144-step spiral staircase.
Head north to the hilltop Montmartre district today to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica! It is located at the summit of Montmartre. From its dome, you can see the entire city of Paris. It is the second most popular tourist destination in Paris after the Eiffel Tower. Wear sneakers as you will be doing a lot of walking to get to the Basilica. It is free to go inside the Basilica, but the line gets long fast!
Hôtel des Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb
How to get here: walk 10 minutes to the Anvers metro station and take the metro on line 2 to the Place de Clichy station. Transfer to line 13 at this station and take the metro to the Saint-François-Xavier station. Walk 10 minutes north on the Avenue de Villars to the Hôtel des Invalides.
The Hôtel des Invalides is a complex of museums and monuments that all relate to the military history of France. There is also a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans. The tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general who led a series of military campaigns across Europe, is in the Musée de l’Armée. Tickets to the Musée de l’Armée and its permanent collections, Napoleon’s Tomb, temporary exhibitions, and to the Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération and the Musée des Plans-Reliefs cost €17 per person.
Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower
How to get here: walk 15 minutes west from the Hôtel des Invalides until you reach the Eiffel Tower.
After all of the walking you’ve done today, spend time relaxing on the Champ de Mars and admire the Eiffel Tower. Make sure to see the Eiffel Tower lit up as night falls! If you want to go up the Eiffel Tower, tickets are available on the official website here. Tickets cost €23.10 per adult, €11.60 per child ages 12-14 , €5.90 per child ages 4-11, and free for children under 4.
Day 4
Palace of Versailles
Today, head out to The Palace of Versailles! I recommend taking a tour; you can find tours on Viator and GetYourGuide. Some tours include seeing the Trianon estate, which includes the Grand Trianon and the Petit Trianon. The estate is most closely associated with Queen Marie-Antoinette. If you wish to see the Trianon estate also, make sure the tour you choose includes it. The Palace of Versailles is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV, about 1 mile west of Paris. The last French monarch to have lived here was King Louis XVI. He and the royal family were forced to leave the palace and move to Paris in 1789, during the start of the French Revolution.
Day 5
The Louvre
How to get here: take the metro on line 1 from Hôtel de Ville station to Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre station to get to the Louvre.
TIP: Get to the Louvre right as it opens to avoid the crowds that come as the day goes on.
On your last day, save the best museum for last and go to the Louvre, the visited art museum in the world. Most famous for being the permanent home of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the Louvre also has sculptures, antiquities, and other famous paintings, including Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek marble statue of Aphrodite, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike of Samothrace), a Hellenistic marble sculpture of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. It is up to you to take a tour or go on your own. If going on your own, I recommend getting to the museum right as it opens to avoid the crowds. Tickets cost €22 per person.
Le Marais neighborhood
How to get here: take the metro on line 1 to Hôtel de Ville station to get to Le Marais.
Le Marais is a famous and historic neighborhood in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. It has a lot of hip boutiques, galleries, bars, and upscale restaurants. It was also once Paris’ Jewish quarter, and still has synagogues and kosher restaurants.
Place de la Bastille
How to get here: take the metro on line 1 from the Hôtel de Ville station to the Bastille station.
The last attraction on this itinerary, the Place de la Bastille is on the former site of Bastille Prison, which was stormed on July 14, 1789, starting the French Revolution. The July Column rises above the square and commemorates the July Revolution of 1830.
Alternative Attractions
- Catacombs of Paris
- The Catacombs are underground ossuaries that hold the remains of more than six million people. Tickets cost €31 per person with an audioguide included.
- Atelier des Lumières
- Paris’s first digital art museum, opened in 2018. Tickets cost €18 per person.
- Musée Marmottan Monet
- An art musuem dedicated to French artist Claude Monet, which features over three hundred of his Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Tickets cost €25 per person.
- Statue of Liberty Paris
- A replica of the Statue of Liberty in New York, standing nearly 38 feet tall on an island in the River Seine that was unveiled in 1889. You can get a good view of the Eiffel Tower behind the statue.
What about the Paris Museum Pass?
The Paris Museum Pass gives you access to more than 50 museums and monuments in Paris and in the Paris region. There are three types of passes: a pass for 2 days, 4 days, or 6 days. The 2-day pass costs €70 per person, the 4-day pass costs €90 per person, and the 6-day pass costs €110 per person. You present your pass (in paper format or e-ticket) at the checkpoints of each site.
The duration of use begins from the time of the first visit. The museums/monuments in this itinerary that are included in the Paris Museum Pass are the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe (to climb it), the Musée de l’Armée and Napoleon’s tomb, Sainte-Chapelle, the Panthéon, the Musée de l’Orangerie, and Versailles.
Without the museum pass, it will cost €138.50 per person (this is the total if you do not go up the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, and if you take tours of the Panthéon and the Palais Garnier, and not including the cost of a Versailles tour). I think for this itinerary, getting the 4-day pass is worth it. However, if you decide to get it, you cannot visit the Louvre on day five; I recommend visiting the Louvre on day three before going to the other attractions that day. A complete list of sites covered by the pass is available here.
Where should you stay?
Luxury: Ritz Paris, Le Bristol. These hotels, especially the Ritz, are the epitome of Parisian elegance and opulence! Guests are satisfied by the excellent amenities, location, and food, and appreciate the clean rooms. The Ritz is within walking distance of the Tuileries metro station on line 1, and Le Bristol is within walking distance of the Franklin D. Roosevelt metro station on lines 1 and 9 and the Miromesnil metro station on lines 9 and 13.
Mid-Range: Pullman Paris Montparnasse. This hotel is where I stayed in Paris and is a 5-minute walk from the Montparnasse—Bienvenüe subway station on lines 4, 6, 12, and 13. There was a variety of foods for breakfast and the rooms were large and modern.
Budget: Hôtel Astoria—Astotel. This hotel is within walking distance of the Rome metro station on line 2. Guests liked how the hotel is quiet, clean, and comfortable.
Food Recommendations
- So Italia Italian restaurant
- I ate at this restaurant when I was in Paris and it was amazing!
- Ladurée pastry shop, famous for its macarons
- Richart Chocolate Shop: has excellent macarons and is not as crowded as Ladurée
- Amorino gelato
- Kodawari Ramen (Yokochō), a popular Ramen restaurant