How many days is enough for Paris?

Four full days gives you time for the Louvre, the d'Orsay, a long walk between the islands, and one day outside the core. Three days works, but you miss the slower pace. With five or more you can see Versailles or the Musée Carnavalet without hurrying.

The main costs are hotels and museums, not food. Expect a central hotel room from €150 per night, museum entry around €15 and a single metro ride about €2.20. Markets and bakeries let you eat well for around €15 a day without sacrificing much.

The centre is compact: Notre-Dame to the Louvre is 30 minutes, Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower is a long hour. Most of what a first-time visitor wants is inside a 4-kilometre radius. The métro is faster for longer jumps, but walking is the better way to see the city.

Do people speak English?

In hotels, museums and restaurants aimed at visitors, yes. In everyday places like bakeries and metro stations, not always. Parisians respond well to a few words of French; say 'bonjour' before asking anything and use 'parlez-vous anglais ?' as a question, not an assumption.

Is Paris safe at night?

Tourist areas are generally safe and active after dark. The metro runs until around 01:00, with night service on weekends, and the streets near the Grands Boulevards stay busy. After midnight the areas around Gare du Nord and some northern metro exits can feel tense; keep your phone out of sight and avoid empty carriages.

Is Paris worth going to in winter?

The short answer is yes, for the museums. January has the shortest queues and the cheapest hotels, and the cold is manageable with a heavy coat. The city is grey and wet, but the galleries and cafés are the point of a winter trip.

Do I need to book museum tickets in advance?

For the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, book at least 24 hours ahead because queues are long. The other national museums usually accept walk-in visitors outside school holidays. Check the official website for free first Sundays and late-night openings.

Paris, France travel guide, printable

Paris is a dense city of stone buildings, wide boulevards, and the Seine running through its middle. Life happens in cafes, park chairs, and the metro. It is older and slower than its reputation, and a week can be spent simply walking from one quartier to the next.

When to go

Spring (March to May): Temperatures rise from 8 to 18°C, with rain in March and clear days by May. Gardens fill with colour. Tourist numbers climb through April, and hotel prices start up. The last two weeks of May and early June are the best time to go: warm evenings, daylight past 21:00, and few school groups.
Summer (June to August): Warm to hot, with regular 30°C days and occasional heatwaves. Tourist crowds peak in July and August, hotel prices hit their highest, and the metro is packed at rush hour. Many Parisians leave in August, so some small shops close while the city centre stays busy. The Fête de la Musique is on 21 June.
Autumn (September to November): Mild and settled, with daytime highs of 12 to 22°C and less rain than spring. After the European Heritage Days in mid-September, crowds drop sharply. October brings Nuit Blanche, when museums stay open all night. By late November the light is low and the weather turns wet.
Winter (December to February): Cold and grey, with highs of 2 to 8°C and frequent rain. Museums and indoor cafés are the draw; queues are short except in the shopping streets before Christmas. Parks lose their chairs and some stalls close. January and February have the cheapest hotel rates, and the whole city gets quiet.

Getting your bearings

Paris is split by the Seine, which runs west through the city. The centre sits on two islands: Île de la Cité, where Notre-Dame is, and Île Saint-Louis, just east of it. The Right Bank (Rive Droite) is north of the river and holds the Louvre, the Marais and the Bastille. The Left Bank (Rive Gauche) is south and holds the Quartier Latin, Saint-Germain and the Musée d'Orsay. Montmartre rises northwest of the centre; the Eiffel Tower is to the southwest. From the Louvre the Eiffel Tower is a five-kilometre walk, and from Notre-Dame the Bastille is twenty minutes on foot. Most hotels and sights sit inside the outer ring road, the boulevard Périphérique, but a visitor rarely needs to cross it.

Getting around

The metro is the fastest way across the city. Buy a ticket from a station machine or on your phone; a single t+ ticket costs about €2.20. For a week-long stay, a Navigo Easy card (€2) lets you load ten tickets at once, cutting the per-ride price to about €1.80. Buses accept the same tickets, but traffic makes them slow. The RER is the heavy rail system for suburban trips and the airports. Walking is often quicker for short trips: crossing from the Marais to Saint-Germain-des-Prés takes about 30 minutes, and the metro is barely faster once you count walking, waiting and stairs.

Where to stay

Le Marais: The old Jewish quarter and much of the gay district, with straight, narrow streets and hôtels particuliers (private mansions). It is packed with galleries, vintage shops and falafel places. Staying here is expensive and noisy, but you can walk to the Louvre or the Bastille in 20 minutes.
Quartier Latin: The university quarter on the Left Bank, named for the Latin spoken by 13th-century students. The Panthéon and the Luxembourg Garden anchor the area. It is central and lively until late; the closer to rue Mouffetard, the more tourist traffic you will meet.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés: A polished version of Left Bank café culture, organised around the church of the same name. The streets south of the Boulevard Saint-Germain are quiet and full of bookshops and art galleries. It is one of the most expensive parts of Paris to stay in.
Montmartre: A former village on a hill in the north. The top of the hill around Sacré-Cœur is a sightseeing zone with souvenir stalls; the streets below the hill, such as around Abbesses, are calmer. The metro lift at Abbesses is worth a look. Staying here means a ride to the centre.
Canal Saint-Martin: A residential quarter in the 10th arrondissement with a canal, footbridges and plane trees. Young Parisians sit on the bank and on the bridges in warm weather. It is casual and more affordable, but a 30-minute walk from the Marais and 45 minutes from the Louvre.
Bastille and Oberkampf: East of the Place de la Bastille, this is a working-class quarter that has become a nightlife area. Rue Oberkampf and the streets around have bars, bakeries and a busy market scene. Days are calm away from the main drag; nights are loud.

A day here

A day from Orsay to the Île Saint-Louis

Musée d'OrsayA former railway station facing the Seine. The collection covers French art from 1848 to 1914, so the impressionists and post-impressionists are all in one building. Allow two hours. Entry is €16. Arrive at opening (09:30) to miss the queue; it is busiest from late morning on. Closed Mondays.
Jardin des TuileriesWalk across the Pont Royal and the park sits between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. It takes about 40 minutes to cross at an easy pace. Free. The green metal chairs by the fountains are free to use; they are the quietest place in central Paris before 10:00 and crowded on sunny afternoons.
Palais-RoyalA government building with a colonnaded courtyard and a peaceful garden behind it. Worth a walk through the arcades, where lunchtime crowds sit on benches. Free entry. Allow 30 minutes. Midday is busy with office workers; evenings are nearly empty.
Place des VosgesThe oldest planned square in Paris, behind the Bastille, with brick houses and a symmetrical lawn. A 25-minute walk from the Palais-Royal, or 15 minutes on line 1 from the Tuileries. Allow 45 minutes. Free. Weekends are busiest; early afternoon on a weekday is calm.
Île Saint-LouisThe smaller of the two central islands, and the quiet part of old Paris. Stone houses, river views and several ice-cream and bakery stops. A full circle around the island takes 30 minutes. Free to walk. It is busy in the late afternoon, especially on summer evenings.

Eating

Baguette: A proper baguette from a busy bakery costs around €1.20 to €1.50. It should be chewy, with a crisp shell. Bakeries that are empty at 15:00 are a warning signal; by late afternoon the good ones are sold out.
Croissant: The standard is a croissant au beurre, made with butter. A bakery one costs around €1.30 to €2. Better ones are flaky and break in layers. A croissant with café crème at the same place costs under €5.
Steak-frites: A brasserie staple: a seared cut of beef, a pile of fries and a green salad. Prices range from €18 to €28. The quality depends on the grade of beef and the fat used for frying; a visible grill and a handwritten menu are good signs.
Soupe à l'oignon: French onion soup, usually gratinée with a slab of toasted bread and melted cheese. It is winter food and usually a starter, at €9 to €14. Near the big monuments the versions are thin and too salty; it is better in a workers' café in the 10th or 11th.
La formule: Brasseries and neighbourhood bistros offer a fixed menu at lunch: often a starter, main and dessert for €15 to €25. It is the cheapest way to have a proper sit-down meal. The menu changes with the market each day and is written on a slate.
Marché: Street and covered markets are part of daily Parisian life. Marché d'Aligre and Marché des Enfants Rouges sell fruit, cheese, charcuterie and hot street food. Most operate in the morning to around 13:00 and are closed one or two days a week, often Monday or Sunday.
Cheese and charcuterie: A fromagerie will cut a piece of Comté, Camembert or a chèvre to order. A charcutier sells sliced ham, saucisson and pâté. With a baguette and a bottle of wine, one person can eat well for €10 or two for €15. Eat it in a park or on a bench along the Seine.

Practical

Money: Cards are accepted nearly everywhere, including the metro ticket machines. Keep a small amount of cash for bakery counter purchases under €5. Service is included in restaurant bills; a tip of €1 to €2 is common for good service. Tourist sites cost between €8 and €17 for entry, with free first Sundays for many museums in the low season.
Transport: The métro runs from about 05:30 to 01:15, with night service to around 02:15 on Fridays and Saturdays. The RER connects the city to the suburbs and both airports, but an airport ticket costs more and is separate from the métro ticket. The bus network is dense; buses arrive every few minutes in the centre but share lanes with cars. Vélib' bike sharing works with an app and a deposit.
Safety: The level of street crime is that of a large European city. Pickpocketing is a problem on the busiest metro lines, at the major stations, and around the big tourist sites. Stolen phones from café tables are the most common report. Avoid leaving a phone or bag in a café window, and do not stop for people asking you to sign a petition or find a gold ring. Violent attacks on visitors are rare.
Opening hours: Museums are open from around 09:00 or 10:00 to 18:00, and most close one or two days a week. The Louvre closes Tuesdays; the Musée d'Orsay closes Mondays. Many stay open late on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Shops open between 10:00 and 11:00 and close at 19:00 or 20:00; most are closed on Sundays. Bakeries open early and close in the afternoon. Restaurant lunch service ends around 14:30 and dinner starts at 19:00.
Seasons: The busiest and most expensive months for hotels are June, September and the holiday weeks around Christmas. August is crowded, and a slice of the city closes down because Parisians take holidays. January and February have the lowest room rates and the shortest queues, but also the worst weather. Weather in May and October is the most dependable for walking.

Worth knowing

The métro requires a validated ticket for each boarding; do not pass a ticket back through the gate.
The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and the Musée d'Orsay on Mondays; plan around that.
Aim to be at any major sight before 09:30 or after 16:00 to miss the main crowd.
The RER is not a metro line; you need a separate ticket for stations outside central Paris, such as Versailles, and it must be kept until you exit.
Tap water is safe and free; carry a bottle. Filling it at a café is fine if you order something.

Questions

How many days is enough for Paris?: Four full days gives you time for the Louvre, the d'Orsay, a long walk between the islands, and one day outside the core. Three days works, but you miss the slower pace. With five or more you can see Versailles or the Musée Carnavalet without hurrying.
Is Paris expensive?: The main costs are hotels and museums, not food. Expect a central hotel room from €150 per night, museum entry around €15 and a single metro ride about €2.20. Markets and bakeries let you eat well for around €15 a day without sacrificing much.
Is Paris walkable?: The centre is compact: Notre-Dame to the Louvre is 30 minutes, Montmartre to the Eiffel Tower is a long hour. Most of what a first-time visitor wants is inside a 4-kilometre radius. The métro is faster for longer jumps, but walking is the better way to see the city.
Do people speak English?: In hotels, museums and restaurants aimed at visitors, yes. In everyday places like bakeries and metro stations, not always. Parisians respond well to a few words of French; say 'bonjour' before asking anything and use 'parlez-vous anglais ?' as a question, not an assumption.
Is Paris safe at night?: Tourist areas are generally safe and active after dark. The metro runs until around 01:00, with night service on weekends, and the streets near the Grands Boulevards stay busy. After midnight the areas around Gare du Nord and some northern metro exits can feel tense; keep your phone out of sight and avoid empty carriages.
Is Paris worth going to in winter?: The short answer is yes, for the museums. January has the shortest queues and the cheapest hotels, and the cold is manageable with a heavy coat. The city is grey and wet, but the galleries and cafés are the point of a winter trip.
Do I need to book museum tickets in advance?: For the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay, book at least 24 hours ahead because queues are long. The other national museums usually accept walk-in visitors outside school holidays. Check the official website for free first Sundays and late-night openings.