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Recommended itinerary:

Last updated: 02 March, 2023
Expert travel writer: Anna Brooke

Where to go and what to see in Paris – a 6-day itinerary from destination expert and travel writer Anna Brooke.

Editor’s note – Anna has not included specific recommendations of where to stay each day unless it’s necessary. Instead, see the ‘Where to stay’ section in our Paris destination guide.

Reserve ahead for the Eiffel Tower. The views are unbeatable, but it’s always busy – so arrive between 9am and 11am when it’s quieter.

Hop on a boat cruise to see the glorious Les Invalides, Orsay Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral unfurl along the Seine. Then meander hilly cobbles around the Pantheon into Saint-Germain-des-Pres for dinner in quintessential La Cremerie (book in advance).

Eiffel Tower

Paris, Ile-de-France, United Kingdom (UK)

Gustave Eiffel’s eccentric, iron-clad tower built as a temporary exhibit for the World Fair in 1889, has views all over the city and has become iconic symbol of Paris.

Best for ages: 4+ | £23

The Pantheon of Paris

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Originally an 18th-century church dedicated to Sainte Genevieve, now a grandiose mausoleum housing the tombs of France’s ‘great men and women’, including Voltaire, Hugo, and Marie Curie.

Best for ages: 18+ | £10

Spend the morning in the Louvre, admiring masterpieces galore including the world-famous Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. If you have time, walk a few minutes to the Orangerie Museum to see Monet’s Water Lilies.

Have lunch along rue Sainte-Anne in the Japanese Quarter, then wander up the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe.

End your day with dinner and live music at hip Mondaine or grab a cab for dinner and a cabaret at the iconic Moulin Rouge.

Louvre Museum

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

The world’s most visited museum, a treasure trove of art from around the world. Admire the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and many, many more…

Best for ages: 16+ | £15

Moulin Rouge

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

A long-running, extravagant, colourful cabaret featuring dancers and courtesans has been thrilling Parisian audiences since 1889. See the incomparable Can Can – the enigmatic dance that’s its greatest claim to fame.

Best for ages: 10+ | £74 | 2-4 hours

Rise early to take RER C to the magnificent Palace of Versailles. Reserve a guided tour and you’ll skip the waiting lines. Have lunch in Ore, famed chef Alain Ducasse’s café inside the palace.

Then spend the afternoon in the sweeping gardens. Its ornate fountains come alive with music during the warmer months.

Palace of Versailles

Versailles, Ile-de-France, France

Ornate, opulent and entirely over-the-top, the Palace of Versailles is one of the world’s most lavish royal residences, with glorious gardens to explore alongside the gold-coated interiors.

Best for ages: 13+ | £18

Take the funicular up Montmartre’s hillside to the Sacre Coeur Basilica. The view from its base is stunning, but for wider cityscapes, climb to the top of its dome.

Stop by Le Coq & Fils for superb roast chicken, then wander through touristy Place du Tertre to Dali Paris for surrealist art without the crowds or the old-world Montmartre Museum.

End your day with dinner and can-can at the Moulin Rouge cabaret.

View of the Sacre-Coeur from the bottom of the balcony on a sunny cloudy day
Experience

Basilica of the Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

The sugary-white domed church of Sacre-Coeur crowns Montmartre. Built in 1914, the interior is a feast of glittering neo-Byzantine mosaics.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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A front view of the entrance to Dali museum. The museum name is displayed on a black shop banner and there is a squared window with artwork displayed
Experience

Dali Paris

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

This museum in the Montmartre neighbourhood is dedicated to the surrealist Salvador Dali, displaying over 300 of his works. Dali lived and painted in Paris for many years.

Best for ages: 18+ | £8

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Moulin Rouge

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

A long-running, extravagant, colourful cabaret featuring dancers and courtesans has been thrilling Parisian audiences since 1889. See the incomparable Can Can – the enigmatic dance that’s its greatest claim to fame.

Best for ages: 10+ | £74 | 2-4 hours

Begin your art-themed day with coffee amid the galleries of pink-bricked Place des Vosges in the Marais, home to Victor Hugo’s House.

Then choose the Picasso Museum, for iconic painting and sculpture, or 18th-century art in the chocolate-box Cognacq-Jay.

Finally, head to the modern art-filled Centre Pompidou, with dinner at Georges on the rooftop.

An inside view of Victor Hugo's first editions drawings and home-made furniture on display
Experience

Victor Hugo’s House

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

The apartment where famous French poet and novelist Victor Hugo lived for 16 years, now a museum about his life and works.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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Picasso Museum, Paris

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

One of the world’s most important Picasso museums, highlighting the artist’s prolific career and his own collection of art in a sumptuous 17th-century mansion.

Best for ages: 18+ | £12

Wagram Room at Musee Cognacq-Jay, filled with wooden polished furniture , paintings on each wall and a chandelier in the centre
Experience

Cognacq-Jay Museum

Paris, IIe-de-France, France

Set in the old Hotel Donon, this museum houses a collection of 18th-century art collected by a department store mogul.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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Make this your history-themed day, with joint tickets to La Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle, dripping in Medieval and Revolutionary history (reserve a morning time slot). Next meander the winding Latin Quarter to the Museum of the Middle Ages, which also houses Roman ruins.

Dine on award-winning food at Auberge Nicolas Flamel, set in the house of a 15th-century alchemist (reserve ahead).

La Conciergerie

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

This vast Medieval palace was most famous as the ‘antechamber to the guillotine’ in the French Revolution. Three thousand prisoners were tried and convicted here, including France’s last queen Marie Antoinette.

Best for ages: 13+ | £10

internal view showing extraordinary stained glass windows
Experience

Sainte-Chapelle

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Paris’ most exquisite Gothic monument was built by Louis IX in 1248 to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns (now at Notre-Dame Cathedral). It has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained-glass collections anywhere in the world.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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Museum of the Middle Ages

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Paris’ official museum of the Middle Ages, set one of Paris’ oldest and finest medieval buildings. It’s home to the world-famous 15th-century La Dame a la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn) tapestry, and Paris’ oldest sculpture (1349 AD).

Best for ages: 13+ | £4