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There are cities you visit, and then there are cities that visit you — that stay with you long after you’ve left, that surface in your memory without warning in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday. Paris is the second kind. Few places on earth combine history, beauty, art, food, and atmosphere quite so effortlessly as the French capital, and whether it’s your first trip or your fifth, Paris always has something new to give.
This guide covers the top 10 things to see in Paris — from the unmissable landmarks to a few experiences that go beyond the postcard. Each one comes with our recommended tour to skip the queues and get more from your time. Because Paris is too good to spend standing in line.
🎟 Short on time? Start here: Best of Paris One Day Tour — Sainte-Chapelle, Orsay & River Cruise
🗼 1. The Eiffel Tower
⏱ Allow: 2–3 hours | 💵 Cost: From ~$32 (€29) summit, ~$22 (€20) 2nd floor | 🚇 Metro: Bir-Hakeim (Line 6) or Trocadéro (Lines 6 & 9) | 📍 Champ de Mars, 5 Av. Anatole France, 75007 Paris
Yes, you’ve seen a thousand photographs of it. You’ll see it and still catch your breath. The Eiffel Tower — built for the 1889 World Fair and originally intended as a temporary structure — is now perhaps the most recognised silhouette on the planet, and standing beneath it or ascending its iron lattice work for panoramic views over the Paris rooftops is a genuinely special experience.
Visit at dusk if you can — the moment the tower begins to sparkle with its hourly light display against a darkening Parisian sky is something you’ll never forget. The area around the Champ de Mars below is perfect for a picnic beforehand.
💡 Insider Tip: Book summit access in advance — tickets sell out days ahead and queue times without a booking can exceed 2 hours. A guided tour with skip-the-line access is absolutely worth it, especially in peak season.
🎟 Eiffel Tower Skip-the-Line Summit Access via Viator
🎨 2. The Louvre Museum
⏱ Allow: 3–4 hours minimum | 💵 Cost: ~$22 (€20) general admission; timed entry required | 🚇 Metro: Palais Royal–Musée du Louvre (Lines 1 & 7) | 📍 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
The Louvre is not just a museum — it is the largest art museum in the world, housed in a palace whose history stretches back to the 12th century. Its 35,000 works on display span everything from ancient Egyptian antiquities to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to the sublime Venus de Milo. Even a full day here barely scratches the surface.
The famous glass pyramid entrance by I.M. Pei is iconic in its own right. Inside, the sheer scale of the place — endless marble corridors, gilded ceilings, room after room of masterworks — is both overwhelming and magnificent. A guided tour with an expert who knows which rooms to prioritise will transform your visit entirely.
💡 Insider Tip: Without a guide, it’s genuinely easy to spend an hour wandering the wrong wing and miss the highlights entirely. A skip-the-line guided tour is the single smartest investment you can make for a Louvre visit.
🎟 Skip-the-Line Louvre Guided Tour via Viator
⛪ 3. Notre-Dame Cathedral
⏱ Allow: 1–2 hours | 💵 Cost: Free entry to cathedral; towers ~$15 (€14) | 🚇 Metro: Cité (Line 4) or Saint-Michel (Lines 4 & 10) | 📍 6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Île de la Cité, 75004 Paris
After the devastating fire of 2019, Notre-Dame de Paris has been painstakingly restored and reopened in 2024 to enormous global celebration. Standing before this masterpiece of French Gothic architecture — its twin towers, flying buttresses, and the famous rose windows — is to stand before nine centuries of French history. Construction began in 1163 and continued for nearly 200 years.
The surrounding Île de la Cité neighbourhood is one of the most atmospheric corners of the entire city — a small island in the middle of the Seine where Paris was born. A guided walking tour of Notre-Dame and the island is the ideal way to understand the layered history beneath your feet.
💡 Insider Tip: Walk across the Pont de l’Archevêché bridge and view the cathedral from the Left Bank for the most dramatic photo angle. Early morning or golden hour light on the facade is extraordinary.
🎟 Notre-Dame & Île de la Cité Walking Tour via Viator
🏰 4. Palace of Versailles (Day Trip)
⏱ Allow: Full day (6–8 hours) | 💵 Cost: From ~$22 (€20) palace only; gardens extra on fountain show days | 🚌 Getting there: RER C to Versailles-Château (~40 min from Paris) | 📍 Place d’Armes, 78000 Versailles
Just 40 minutes southwest of Paris by train lies one of the greatest royal palaces ever built — the Palace of Versailles. Built by Louis XIV as a statement of absolute power and breathtaking opulence, Versailles is on a scale that defies description. The Hall of Mirrors alone — 73 metres of gilded arches and enormous chandeliers reflected in 357 mirrors — is one of the most stunning rooms in the world.
Beyond the palace itself, the formal gardens stretch for hundreds of acres with geometric parterres, spectacular fountains, and quiet tree-lined promenades. On weekends from spring to autumn, the Grandes Eaux Musicales fountain shows set the whole garden to music — unmissable.
💡 Insider Tip: Arrive as early as possible — Versailles gets extremely busy by mid-morning. A guided tour from Paris with included access and transport removes all the logistical headaches and ensures you see the highlights without wasted time.
🎟 Versailles Palace Day Tour from Paris via Viator
🎭 5. Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur
⏱ Allow: 2–3 hours | 💵 Cost: Free (basilica entry free; funicular ~$4 / €3.50 one way) | 🚇 Metro: Abbesses (Line 12) or Anvers (Line 2) | 📍 35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris
Perched on the highest hill in Paris, Montmartre is the city’s most atmospheric and bohemian neighbourhood — a place of cobblestone streets, artists’ studios, accordion music drifting from café doorways, and one of the best views in Paris. In the late 19th century, Picasso, Modigliani, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Renoir all lived and worked here.
The gleaming white Sacré-Cœur Basilica at the summit is one of Paris’s most recognisable landmarks — and the view from its steps over the entire city, stretching to the distant glimmer of the Eiffel Tower, is nothing short of spectacular. The winding streets around Place du Tertre, where painters still set up their easels, are charming to explore on foot.
💡 Insider Tip: Visit in the early evening when the light turns golden and the tourist numbers drop. A guided walking tour of Montmartre brings the bohemian artistic history to life in a way that wandering independently simply can’t.
🎟 Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur Walking Tour via Viator
⛴️ 6. Seine River Cruise
⏱ Allow: 1–1.5 hours | 💵 Cost: From ~$18 (€17) | 🚇 Metro: Bir-Hakeim (Line 6) — Bateaux Parisiens departs Pont d’Iéna | 📍 Port de la Bourdonnais, 75007 Paris
If you only do one thing in Paris beyond walking around, make it a Seine River cruise. Gliding along the river as Paris drifts past on both banks — Notre-Dame, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Eiffel Tower — is the most relaxing and comprehensive way to see the city’s great monuments in a single sweep. At sunset or after dark, when the bridges light up and the tower sparkles, it becomes genuinely magical.
💡 Insider Tip: Evening cruises are the most romantic and atmospheric. Book in advance as the popular sunset slots fill up fast, especially in summer. The Bateaux Parisiens is one of the best operators on the river.
🎟 Seine River Sightseeing Cruise via Viator
🛍️ 7. Champs-Élysées & Arc de Triomphe
⏱ Allow: 2–3 hours | 💵 Cost: Arc de Triomphe rooftop ~$15 (€14); Champs-Élysées free to walk | 🚇 Metro: Charles de Gaulle–Étoile (Lines 1, 2 & 6) | 📍 Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées — two kilometres of broad boulevard lined with luxury boutiques, grand cafés, and cinema houses — is one of the most famous streets in the world. Walking its length from the Place de la Concorde to the Place de l’Étoile is a quintessentially Parisian experience, even if the avenue is more commercial than it once was.
At its western end, the Arc de Triomphe stands at the centre of a 12-way traffic roundabout, commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate his victories. Climbing to the rooftop offers a spectacular 360-degree view over Paris and an extraordinary bird’s-eye perspective on the famous star-shaped intersection below.
💡 Insider Tip: Never try to cross to the Arc de Triomphe at street level — always use the underground pedestrian tunnel. The rooftop view at dusk, with the city lights coming on below, is spectacular.
🎟 Arc de Triomphe Rooftop Ticket via Viator
🌸 8. Luxembourg Gardens
⏱ Allow: 1–2 hours | 💵 Cost: Free | 🚇 Metro: Odéon (Lines 4 & 10) or RER B Luxembourg | 📍 Rue de Médicis, 75006 Paris
In a city of grand monuments and packed museums, the Jardin du Luxembourg offers something different: pure, unhurried pleasure. Created in 1612 for Marie de Médicis, these immaculate formal gardens in the Latin Quarter are the most beloved in Paris — and on a warm afternoon, with Parisians reading on the green chairs around the central fountain, it’s one of the most beautiful urban spaces in Europe.
Wander the tree-lined promenades, watch the children sail model boats on the Grand Bassin, browse the outdoor art exhibitions, or simply sit and absorb the atmosphere. Free to enter, endlessly lovely, and completely essential.
💡 Insider Tip: Combine the Luxembourg Gardens with a guided walking tour of the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Prés — one of Paris’s most charming and historically rich neighbourhoods, full of literary cafés and beautiful medieval streets.
🎟 Luxembourg Gardens Walking Tour via Viator
🖼️ 9. Musée d’Orsay
⏱ Allow: 2–3 hours | 💵 Cost: ~$18 (€16); free first Sunday of the month | 🚇 Metro: Solférino (Line 12) or RER C Musée d’Orsay | 📍 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris
Housed in a stunning converted Beaux-Arts railway station on the Left Bank, the Musée d’Orsay holds the world’s finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. Monet’s Water Lilies, Renoir’s Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, Van Gogh’s self-portraits, Degas’s ballet dancers — the d’Orsay has them all, displayed in glorious light beneath a vast glass canopy.
Far less overwhelming than the Louvre, the d’Orsay is manageable in two to three hours and rewards slow, unhurried looking. It’s consistently ranked among the best art museums in the world — and is often considered even more rewarding than the Louvre for first-time visitors who love painting.
💡 Insider Tip: Don’t miss the view of Paris through the original giant station clock on the upper floor — one of the most photographed spots in the entire museum, and genuinely beautiful.
🎟 Musée d’Orsay Skip-the-Line Guided Tour via Viator
🥐 10. Paris Food Tour
⏱ Allow: 3–4 hours | 💵 Cost: From ~$95 (€88) per person incl. food | 🚇 Metro: Varies by tour; most depart from Châtelet or Le Marais area | 📍 Meeting point provided at booking
No experience unlocks a city quite like eating your way through its best markets, boulangeries, and hidden neighbourhood spots with a knowledgeable local guide. Paris is the world’s great food city — and a guided food tour takes you behind the tourist-facing restaurants into the authentic culinary culture that Parisians actually live: creamy camembert and crusty baguettes, flaky croissants still warm from the oven, wine by the glass at a zinc bar, macarons from a neighbourhood pâtisserie that doesn’t show up on any app.
💡 Insider Tip: Food tours typically replace a meal rather than adding to one — you’ll be well fed by the end. Morning tours often visit the freshest produce; evening tours lean into wine and cheese. Both are brilliant.
🎟 Secret Food Tours Paris via Viator
💡 Practical Tips for Visiting Paris
- Book in advance: The Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Versailles sell out regularly. Pre-book everything — especially in summer, Easter, and around French public holidays.
- Visit early or late: The major landmarks are most atmospheric and least crowded first thing in the morning or in the early evening. Midday is when crowds peak.
- Use the Métro: Paris’s metro system is fast, cheap, and covers the entire city. A carnet of 10 tickets or a day pass is excellent value for visitors.
- Comfortable shoes are essential: Paris is a walking city. Even with metro connections, you’ll cover serious distance on foot — wear shoes you trust.
- Learn two words of French: Bonjour and Merci go a very long way. Parisians appreciate the effort enormously.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you need in Paris?
Three days covers the major highlights comfortably. Five days lets you breathe — exploring the Marais, day-tripping to Versailles, discovering the less-visited neighbourhoods, and eating very well indeed.
Is Paris worth visiting even if you’ve been before?
Absolutely. Paris rewards repeat visits more than almost any other city — there are museums, markets, villages-within-the-city, and day trips that most tourists never discover on a first visit.
What is the best time of year to visit Paris?
May–June and September–October are the sweet spots: long daylight hours, pleasant temperatures, and smaller crowds than July–August peak season. Paris in December is magical for Christmas markets, but cold.
Heading to London Too?
Paris and London make the perfect European twin city break. Check out our guide to the top things to do in London — and our pick of the best day trips from the capital.
This post contains affiliate links. The Wandering Adventurer may earn a small commission if you book through our links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting independent travel content!
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