Paris in 4 days: a first-timer itinerary that isn't rushed
Paris punishes a checklist approach more than most cities — the queues alone can eat half a day if you turn up without a plan. Four days is enough to cover the essentials properly if you group sights by neighbourhood and pre-book the handful of attractions that need it, leaving room to just sit at a café and watch the street, which is half the point of being there anyway.
How to split the city
Île de la Cité, the island in the Seine, is Paris's medieval core — Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle both sit here. Le Marais, just across the river, mixes grand 17th-century squares with the city's best small museums and boutiques. Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter on the Left Bank hold the Musée d'Orsay, the Panthéon and Luxembourg Gardens. Montmartre, up on its hill in the north, feels like a village of its own. The metro connects all of it in minutes, but Paris also rewards walking — many of these neighbourhoods are a pleasant 20-minute stroll from each other along the river.
| Day | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Île de la Cité & Le Marais | Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Place des Vosges, dinner in the Marais |
| 2 | Louvre & Tuileries | Louvre (timed entry, morning), Musée de l'Orangerie, evening at the Eiffel Tower |
| 3 | Saint-Germain & Latin Quarter | Musée d'Orsay, Luxembourg Gardens, Panthéon, sunset Seine cruise |
| 4 | Montmartre (or Versailles) | Sacré-Cœur, artists' square, Moulin Rouge exterior — or swap for a day trip to Versailles |
The Louvre without losing a day to it
The Louvre is enormous — genuinely too large to see properly even in a full day — so go in with a plan rather than wandering. Book the first morning slot, head straight for the Denon wing (the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, Italian and French painting) before the crowds catch up, then give yourself permission to leave after two or three hours rather than pushing through fatigue. The nearby Musée de l'Orangerie, home to Monet's water lily rooms, is a much smaller, calmer way to spend an hour afterwards and pairs naturally with a walk through the Tuileries garden.
Notre-Dame is open again
Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after its post-fire restoration, and the interior — brighter stonework, restored stained glass — is worth the visit even if you saw it before the fire. Entry is free but timed-slot reservations are strongly recommended, especially in the middle of the day, as capacity is limited and the queue without a booking can be long. Sainte-Chapelle, a short walk away on the same island, has a smaller footprint but arguably the more dramatic single moment: its upper chapel is walled almost entirely in 13th-century stained glass.
The Eiffel Tower, timed properly
Buy tickets online in advance and pick a slot for the summit rather than just the second floor if you want the full view — summit access sells out weeks ahead in peak season, and same-day tickets for it are rare. Early evening is the best time to go: you get daylight views on the way up and the tower's hourly light show as you're coming back down. If tickets for your date are gone, the view of the tower from Trocadéro, across the river, is free and arguably the better photograph anyway.
What sells out (book these first)
- Eiffel Tower — summit access sells out weeks ahead in high season; book online rather than queuing.
- Louvre — timed entry is compulsory year-round, and slots fill up days to weeks ahead.
- Notre-Dame — free, but timed reservations are strongly advised since the 2024 reopening.
- Sainte-Chapelle — timed entry, small capacity, queues badly without one.
- Palace of Versailles — if you swap it in for day four, book timed entry; it's one of the busiest day trips from Paris.
Getting around
A carnet of metro tickets or a Navigo Easy card covers the whole trip cheaply, and most of what you want is within a ten-minute walk of a station. Save the Seine river cruise for early evening — the light on the water and the illuminated bridges make it worth doing after dark rather than as a daytime box-tick.