WHAT TO DO, FOOD TIPS AND WHERE TO STAY
Related: read about what it was like to work from a Montmartre apartment for a few weeks.
At a glance
- How long: A 3-day city trip
- Best time: April–June and September–October, plus December for the lights
- Getting there: Direct Eurostar trains from Brussels, or a short flight to Paris
- Good for: Couples, first-time visitors and walkable city breaks
Top sights
Paris, the city of love that we fell in love with. We visited it 7 times now and we’re still discovering so many beautiful parts of this city. But we must admit, it wasn’t love at first sight. The first time we visited Paris, it was a hectic two-day trip, which we filled with all touristy attractions first. We didn’t take the time to properly enjoy, wander around and get lost in the beautiful streets. That’s why the next time we went, we took a four-day trip and took it more slowly. That’s when we fell in love. The city has so much more to offer than we expected. One tip before we dive in. Get up early to visit the touristy places. When we went in early November Paris was very busy, and it only gets busier towards Christmas. In January 2022 we had never seen Paris so empty, which we loved. Let’s dive into our Paris city trip guide and discover our favorite places, places to eat and places to sleep!
Day 1: Eiffel Tower sights & Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Yes, we’re starting with the most touristy place in Paris (sorry not sorry), but we still love to visit the Eiffel Tower every single time. If it’s your first time in Paris, definitely visit it during the day as well as at night, in this order, as it’s so special to see both.
Our favourite places to watch the Eiffel Tower:
- Place Du Trocadéro
- Avenue de Camoëns
- Rue de l’Université
- Around the Seine
Read this blog for more photo spots in Paris, including many spots around the Eifel Tower.
Food tip: Brasserie de la Tour Eiffel
We’ve had breakfast twice at this place. We’ve seen that it doesn’t get the highest score on TripAdvisor, but we enjoyed our breakfast anyway. We chose a Parisian breakfast for €9,5 pp. and loved the freshly baked pastries.
Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay is a very beautiful museum, especially if you’re a fan of impressionism. It is housed in a former railway station.
Pont Alexandre-III
If you’re walking from the museum to the next stop, Champs-Elysée, you cannot miss this bridge. Pont Alexandre-III is one of the most beautiful bridges in Paris.
Champs-Elysées
We love to stroll around here, see the luxurious shops and shop a little ourselves.
Food tip: Ladurée
If you want to try amazing macarons and pastries, try out Ladurée. The interior is amazing and pastries are even better. It’s not cheap though, and there might be a long queue.
Arc de triomphe for sunset
We’ve never been up the Eifel Tower, but we did go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and we loved this view. The experience is truly magical when you go for sunset, so we really recommend this. Keep in mind, it might get a bit busy around this time (though less busy than at the Eifel Tower) so be there early!
Eiffel Tower by night
As mentioned before, you shouldn’t skip this when you’re in Paris. The tower sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on the hour after nightfall. The last sparkle is usually at 11pm, and in summer it can run until 1am, so check the current times.
Food tip: Le Campanella
We had dinner at Le Campanella on our last evening and we loved it. The food was good, it was really cosy and it didn’t feel touristy at all.
Day 2: Montmartre
Sacré-Cœur
This is one of the best-known monuments in Paris, so don’t skip it. Not only is the Sacré-Cœur itself really beautiful, but also the amazing garden and view on the city make this place so special.
Area behind the Sacré-Cœur
This is one of our favorite areas in Paris. The cobblestone street and colourful houses are a vibe. Make sure to pay a visit to Maison Rose, a cute pink restaurant and the most beautiful street of Paris: Rue de l’Abreuvoir.
Le Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge is famous and hard to skip when you’re in Paris. You can still catch a show if you want, but you’ll have to book this a while in advance.
Galeries Lafayette
If you have some time left, you can hop by Galeries Lafayette. It’s a 15 mins walk from the Moulin Rouge. The inside is very impressive, with a beautiful roof. You can also go to the rooftop terrace to have an amazing view on the city.
Food tip: Pink Mamma
We haven’t been here before as you need to make a reservation a week or two before you want to go, but if we can believe fellow blogger’s opinions, this is the place to be for Italian food!
Day 3: Louvre Museum, Notre Dame and Le Marais
Louvre
Wether you’re a museum fan or not, the Louvre has to be on your list! Visiting the museum is free for visitors under 26 who live in the EU/EEA (bring ID, and book a time slot online). If you don’t plan on going inside, it’s still worth to visit it and admire it from the outside. Have a walk around the park Jardin de Tuileries while you’re there.
Les Deux Plateaux
This is a fun place to pass by and take some pictures while you`re in the area of the Louvre. It can get pretty crowded, if you want to take some pictures on your own you`d have to be there around sunrise (but you can apply this rule for almost every touristy spot in Paris).
Notre-Dame
The cathedral reopened to visitors in December 2024 after the fire, and entry is free (a free timed reservation is optional and can shorten the queue). When we visited we could not go inside, but the facade alone is worth the walk.
Le Marais
This is one of our favorite areas next to Montmartre. It’s a very lively area with lots of shops, bars and restaurants.
The Seine
One of our favorite things to do in Paris is strolling along the Seine visiting the bouquinists. Make sure to not miss this!
Food tip: Season
This is a great spot for lunch! We went to Season Amelot, but there are a few restaurants in Paris to choose from.
Where to stay
In total we have tried out 8 hotels in Paris and these are our favorites:
- Hotel Stella Etoile: we only stayed here one night, but it was a very good hotel located within 300m from the Arc de Triomphe.
- Hotel Fabric: a lovely boutique hotel located at the Marais district, a good choice if you’ve already been to Paris and don’t necessarily want to be close to the Eifel Tower & Arc de Triomphe, but want to explore other areas.
- Hotel Moderniste: a bit further from the city centre, but an amazing boutique hotel and very friendly people.
- Hotel Lutetia: a top luxury hotel located very centrally. Some of the rooms have a beautiful view on the Eiffel Tower.
That’s it for our Paris city trip guide! Hope you have an amazing trip and make lots of memories in this romantic city. For more travel inspiration, make sure to follow us on Instagram.
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Read also: three hotels we loved in Paris.
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