09:00–12:00
1Musée du Louvre Culture
Arrive at opening to beat the crowds at the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory staircase.
Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris · website
Trips planned by Robin · Paris, France
Paris Itinerary: How to Spend 3 to 5 Days.
Paris in four days, built the way the city actually flows: the Louvre and Sainte-Chapelle's glass on day one with a dusk walk along the Seine; the Eiffel Tower at its early best and a Poilâne picnic beneath it on day two; Montmartre's lanes, a croissant class and the Marais on day three; and a last morning wrapped in Monet's water lilies before a river cruise and deck chairs in the Luxembourg gardens. The eating runs from a 19th-century bouillon to buckwheat galettes, and the H1 is honest: below the plan you will find exactly what to keep at three days and what to add at five.
Robin planned this trip forFirst visitMuseums + neighborhoodsWalk + metroBalanced paceEarly JuneChange these assumptions →
Planned by Robin
4 days · 23 stops
Every place is real, planned with the same verified data that Robin uses in the app. How these itineraries are made
4-day Paris itinerary at a glance
1Louvre at opening→Tuileries→Sainte-Chapelle→Notre-Dame→Seine at dusk→Bouillon Chartier
2Eiffel Tower early→Trocadéro→Poilâne picnic→Musée d'Orsay→Café de Flore
3Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur→croissant workshop→Marché des Enfants Rouges→the Marais→Place des Vosges
4Musée de l'Orangerie→Seine cruise→Le Procope→Jardin du Luxembourg
- Best for
- First-time visitors who want the icons and the neighborhoods between them
- Car needed
- No. Feet and the metro; the walks between sights are half the point
- Where to stay
- The Marais, or Saint-Germain on the Left Bank
- Best months
- May to June and September
- Pace
- Balanced
- Robin recommends
- Book the Louvre, the Eiffel summit, Orsay and the Orangerie as timed entries, then treat every walk in this plan as a destination, not a transfer
Your 4-day route
All stops, numbered by day order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
Day 1 · Wednesday
Day 1: The Louvre, a jewel box of glass and the Seine at dusk
Ease into Paris with the two icons on everyone's list, the Louvre in the cool of the morning and Sainte-Chapelle's jewel-box windows in the afternoon, then let the evening slow down along the Seine before a classic bouillon dinner.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
↓1.1 km · ~14 min walk
12:15–13:00
2Stohrer Eat
Paris's oldest pâtisserie (1730), grab a baba au rhum and a sandwich to eat in the Palais-Royal gardens nearby.
51 Rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris
↓1.9 km · ~24 min walk
13:30–14:30
3Jardin des Tuileries Nature
Wander the formal allées between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, the classic Parisian garden stroll.
↓2.0 km · ~25 min walk
15:15–16:15
4Sainte-Chapelle Culture
The 15 stained-glass windows glow best in afternoon sun, go for the light, not just the history.
8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris · website
↓580 m · ~7 min walk
16:30–17:15
5Notre-Dame de Paris & Île de la Cité Sight
Circle the cathedral exterior and cross to Île Saint-Louis for a feel of the old riverside city.
↓1.1 km · ~14 min walk
18:00–19:15
6Seine riverside walk, Pont Neuf to Pont des Arts Walk
Locals do exactly this at dusk, the light on the water here is the reason to linger.
↓2.0 km · ~25 min walk
19:36–21:06
7Bouillon Chartier Eat
A 1896 working-class dining hall serving French classics at old-Paris prices, arrive right at opening to skip the queue.
7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009 Paris
Robin's tip. At Sainte-Chapelle, the 15 windows face the afternoon sun, which is why this plan puts it after lunch: the same chapel at 10:00 is a different, dimmer room.
Day 2 · Thursday
Day 2: The tower early, a picnic under it, Orsay after
A day built around height and water: the Eiffel Tower at its best before the midday crowds, a picnic under it in Champ de Mars, then the Impressionists at Orsay before the light turns gold over the river.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–09:45
1Eiffel Tower Sight
Book the earliest summit slot you can, the view stretches farthest before midday haze sets in.
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Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris · website
↓870 m · ~11 min walk
10:45–11:30
2Trocadéro Gardens Sight
The classic framed view of the Tower across the river, a five-minute walk over the Pont d'Iéna.
↓4.1 km · a short ride
12:00–13:00
3Picnic at Champ de Mars from Poilâne Eat
Pick up their famous miche sourdough and pastries to eat on the lawn beneath the Tower.
8 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris
↓1.3 km · ~16 min walk
14:00–16:30
4Musée d'Orsay Culture
The former railway station's clock-face window over Monet, Degas and Van Gogh is the standout moment.
1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris · website
↓1.1 km · ~13 min walk
16:45–17:45
5Pont des Arts & Saint-Germain stroll Walk
Wander the bookstalls along the quai as the afternoon light turns warm before dinner.
↓760 m · ~10 min walk
18:00–19:30
6Café de Flore Eat
The historic Left Bank haunt of Sartre and de Beauvoir, a proper sit-down dinner steeped in literary Paris.
172 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75006 Paris
Day 3 · Friday
Day 3: Montmartre, flour on your hands and the Marais
Montmartre's cobbled lanes in the morning, a hands-on croissant class to take a piece of Paris home with you, then the Marais's markets and squares carry you into the evening.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:00–09:45
1Montmartre wander & Sacré-Cœur Walk
Climb through the winding lanes past Place du Tertre's easels to the basilica steps for the rooftop view.
↓4.4 km · a short ride
11:15–13:00
2Croissant & Pastry Workshop, La Cuisine Paris
A hands-on class laminating dough the traditional way, you leave with your own batch and the technique.
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80 Quai de l'Hôtel de Ville, 75004 Paris · website
↓1.3 km · ~16 min walk
13:15–14:15
3Marché des Enfants Rouges Eat
Paris's oldest covered market (1615), graze the stalls for lunch among locals doing their weekday shop.
39 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
↓550 m · ~7 min walk
15:00–15:45
4Le Marais wander Walk
Explore the hôtels particuliers and boutiques of the Marais's narrow streets at your own pace.
↓570 m · ~7 min walk
17:15–18:00
5Place des Vosges at golden hour Sight
Paris's oldest planned square, quietest and prettiest just before dinner as the light softens.
↓780 m · ~10 min walk
18:09–19:39
6Breizh Café Marais Eat
Buckwheat galettes and cider done properly, reserve ahead, this small Marais spot fills fast.
109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris
Choose your Marais evening
If you like a day that breathesdrop one Marais stop: wander straight to Place des Vosges for the golden hour and let the galette dinner come to you unhurried, the lanes reward slowness more than coverage
If you want the full sequencekeep it, but start the Marais wander by 14:30, the plan's back-to-back hour of lanes, square and dinner is tight and this buys the slack
If you skipped the croissant classgive the freed morning hours to the Marais instead and ask Robin to move dinner later, Paris eats at nine anyway
Ask Robin to personalize this day →
Day 4 · Saturday
Day 4: Water lilies, the river from the water and a garden goodbye
A gentler last day. Monet's water lilies, a river cruise to see the city from the water one more time, and a lazy farewell afternoon in the Luxembourg Gardens before you head home.
Stops in walking order · Map © OpenStreetMap contributors
09:30–11:00
1Musée de l'Orangerie Culture
Monet's Water Lilies wrap two oval rooms of natural light, arrive at opening for near-empty galleries.
Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris · website
↓1.5 km · ~19 min walk
11:30–12:30
2Seine River Cruise
See the bridges and quais you've walked all trip from the water, the classic closing view of Paris.
↓1.1 km · ~13 min walk
13:00–14:30
3Le Procope Eat
Europe's oldest continuously running café (since 1686), a fitting last proper meal steeped in history.
13 Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie, 75006 Paris
↓1.0 km · ~13 min walk
14:45–16:30
4Jardin du Luxembourg Nature
End the trip the way Parisians spend a Sunday, deck chairs by the fountain, a last unhurried hour before you go.
Bucket-list foods in Paris
Dinner at a bouillon
The 1896 working-class dining hall formula, waiters scribbling your order on the tablecloth, French classics at prices from another decade: queue, sit, join in.
On this trip: Bouillon Chartier, day 1 dinner
A picnic from Poilâne
The famous miche sourdough, butter, and their little spoon-shaped punitions biscuits, eaten on the Champ de Mars grass with the tower overhead.
On this trip: Day 2 lunch
A covered-market graze
Paris's oldest covered market, since 1615, is a lunch counter crawl: Moroccan tagines, Japanese bento, oysters and natural wine under one roof.
On this trip: Marché des Enfants Rouges, day 3 lunch
Cheese and natural wine, properly
A cave à manger evening, a board of raw-milk cheeses and whatever the pourer is excited about. The plan's dinners are spoken for, ask Robin to swap one in if this is your Paris.
Where to stay for this itinerary
Stay in The Marais if…
- you want day 3's territory and half of Paris's best evenings outside your door
- boutiques, bakeries and bars in medieval lanes sound like home
Stay in Saint-Germain-des-Prés if…
- Left Bank café life and bookshop windows are your Paris
- being between Orsay, the Luxembourg and the river suits this plan's flow
Stay in Montmartre's lower slopes if…
- village Paris and a hill view beat central convenience
- you do not mind the metro doing your mornings' first leg
Before you go
Do you need a car in Paris?
No. Every stop here is a walk or a short metro hop, and the dusk riverside walks are deliberately part of the itinerary. A car in central Paris is an expensive way to miss the city.
What must be booked ahead?
Timed entries for the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower summit, the Musée d'Orsay and the Orangerie, all before you fly. The croissant workshop and a Seine cruise slot are worth booking a few days out; the bouillon takes no reservations, arrive before 19:00 or queue happily.
How do you get in from the airport?
From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B reaches the center in about 35 minutes, or a flat-fare taxi does it door to door. From Orly, the new metro line 14 runs straight into the city.
How many days do you really need?
Three days covers the icons if you follow the trimming guide below. Four, as planned here, adds Montmartre and the Marais properly. Five earns Versailles, and past that Paris stops being a checklist and starts being a place you live in briefly, which is the goal.
Is the Louvre doable in a morning?
A morning is right for a first visit if you go in with a shortlist: the Mona Lisa crowd-surf, the Winged Victory staircase, and then one wing you choose. Trying to see it all is how people leave hating the world's best museum.
3 days
Have 3 days?
Keep days 1 and 2 whole
The Louvre-to-Seine day and the tower-to-Orsay day are the non-negotiables of a first visit; they survive intact.
Merge the best of days 3 and 4
Morning in Montmartre, afternoon in the Marais ending at Place des Vosges, and fold the Orangerie into day 1's Tuileries walk, its water lilies sit right in the garden's corner.
Let the cruise go
The dusk riverside walks on days 1 and 2 already give you the Seine; the boat is the five-day version's luxury, not the three-day version's necessity.
5 days
Have 5 days?
Day 5: Versailles, done right
RER C out early, palace at opening before the tour waves, then give the real time to the gardens and the Trianon estates, where the crowds never reach.
Or a museum you choose
If palaces are not your thing, the Rodin garden, the Pompidou's view or the Picasso museum in the Marais each fill a half day beautifully, ask Robin which fits your interests.
And end back on the river
A five-day trip earns a final unhurried evening: one more crossing of Pont Neuf at dusk, because that is the image that stays.
Make this itinerary yours
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