Four days in Paris is enough for the essentials without running yourself ragged: the Louvre and the Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Le Marais, Montmartre and a full day at Versailles. This itinerary is based on the itineraries in our guide (3 days and 2 weeks): the first three days are the guide's 3-day plan and the fourth is the Versailles day trip from our 2-week itinerary, with everything you need to book in 2026.

Every place on this route is saved in our Paris map for Google Maps, and you'll find all the details (cafes, restaurants, hotels by price, markets and thrift shops) in our Paris travel guide in PDF.

The itinerary at a glance

• Day 1: the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and a Seine cruise.
• Day 2: Notre-Dame, Le Marais and the Picasso Museum, the Latin Quarter and the Panthéon, and Montmartre at dusk.
• Day 3: the Musée d'Orsay, the Tuileries Garden, the Orangerie, the Île de la Cité and the Sainte-Chapelle.
• Day 4: a day trip to the Palace of Versailles and its gardens.

Before you go: bookings and closing days

In Paris almost every major sight is booked online and each museum closes on a different day, so it's worth planning your calendar before you go:

• Louvre: booking online isn't mandatory, but it's strongly recommended (only tickets bought online guarantee entry). It costs €22 for EU residents and €32 for visitors from outside the EU, and it's free for under-26s who live in the European Economic Area. It's closed on Tuesdays and open until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays.
• Musée d'Orsay and Picasso Museum: closed on Mondays. The Orangerie, on Tuesdays.
• Palace of Versailles: closed on Mondays, and visits are by booked time slot on the official website.
• Eiffel Tower: if you want to go up, book well ahead on the official website.
• Notre-Dame: it reopened in December 2024. Entry is free, but it's best to book a time slot to skip the line.

With this order, the easiest option is to start your trip on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, so none of the museums are closed on the day you visit. If you arrive on a Monday or Tuesday, swap the days around.

Where to stay

For four days, the ideal is a central, well-connected neighborhood: Le Marais (our favorite), Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the Latin Quarter. If you'd like a more local feel and slightly lower prices, try Canal Saint-Martin, Bastille or Pigalle. We go through them one by one, with hotels from the guide, in where to stay in Paris: the best neighborhoods.

Getting around

Metro and RER for longer distances, and on foot for everything else. Since 2025 a single metro and RER ticket costs €2.50 across the whole region (bus and tram, €2); the airports have their own tickets. From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B gets to the center in 25-35 minutes, and from Orly, metro line 14 takes you to Châtelet in about 25. For Versailles, the RER C goes to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, a few minutes' walk from the palace.

Day 1: the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower

Morning: start the day at the Louvre to see works like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Go in with your booking made and an idea of which rooms you want to see, because it's huge. For coffee before or after, Café Kitsuné, in the Palais Royal, is right next door.

Afternoon: walk along the Champs-Élysées, which runs from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, and climb up to its terrace: it's 284 steps and tickets cost between €16 and €22 depending on the season. Then stroll around the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars, and go up the tower if you've booked.

Evening: head to the river for a Seine cruise to see the monuments lit up. And if you stay in the area, the Eiffel Tower sparkles for a few minutes every hour, on the hour.

Day 2: Notre-Dame, Le Marais, the Latin Quarter and Montmartre

Morning: start at Notre-Dame Cathedral (free, ideally with a booked slot) and cross the Seine into Le Marais, our favorite neighborhood: cobblestone streets, 17th-century buildings, Place des Vosges, shops, galleries and street art. For breakfast or lunch around here, from the guide: Carette, on Place des Vosges, Chez Janou, Café Charlot or Merci.

Afternoon: visit the Picasso Museum, right in the Marais. Then cross over to the Latin Quarter, the Sorbonne's neighborhood, full of bookshops and cafes, and walk up to the Panthéon.

Evening: head up to Montmartre, visit the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and stay to see Paris from the hill. For dinner, just below in Pigalle, there are two lively spots from the guide: Pink Mamma and Hôtel Amour.

Day 3: the Orsay, the Tuileries, the Orangerie and the Sainte-Chapelle

Morning: visit the Musée d'Orsay to see its huge collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Then cross the river and walk to the Tuileries Garden for a stroll.

Afternoon: go into the Musée de l'Orangerie, at the end of the Tuileries, to see Monet's Water Lilies. Then explore the Île de la Cité, the historic heart of Paris, and the Sainte-Chapelle, with its stained glass. To see the city at sunset, go up the Arc de Triomphe or Montmartre hill: the Montparnasse Tower viewpoint has been closed for renovation since March 2026.

Evening: dinner at a bistro. In Saint-Germain, a short walk from the Île de la Cité, you'll find Café de Flore and Brasserie Lipp, two Left Bank classics.

Day 4: Versailles

Morning: set off early for the Palace of Versailles with your ticket and time slot booked (remember it's closed on Mondays). Start with the palace, the Hall of Mirrors and the royal apartments, before it fills up.

Afternoon: spend the afternoon in the gardens, which are enormous: the Grand Canal, the fountains and the Trianon area. Bring a picnic or pick something up at a market before leaving Paris; the guide lists several food markets, such as the Marché des Enfants Rouges or the Marché d'Aligre.

Evening: back to Paris for a farewell dinner. If you still have the energy, one last walk along the Seine.

Cafes and restaurants from the guide along the way

In the guide we sort cafes and restaurants by type. Some that work well for this route:

• Coffee and breakfast: Café de Flore, Carette, Café Kitsuné, Coutume or Merci.
• Bistros and French food: La Poule au Pot, next to Les Halles, Chez Janou or Lipp.
• Pizza and pasta: Pink Mamma, Daroco or Ober Mamma.
• Burgers: Big Fernand.

If you have more days

The 2-week itinerary in the guide has more ideas for a longer trip:

• Saint-Germain-des-Prés at a slower pace, with the church of Saint-Sulpice and an afternoon in the literary cafes.
• More museums: the Rodin Museum or the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, a great alternative while the Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation (until 2030).
• Day trips: Giverny, with Monet's house and gardens, the Palace of Fontainebleau or Vaux-le-Vicomte.
• Markets and picnics: the Marché d'Aligre and a picnic in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont or the Luxembourg Gardens.
• Street art in Le Marais and a walk along the Canal Saint-Martin.

Our tips for Paris in 4 days

• Book the big ones before you go: the Louvre, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower climb and your Notre-Dame slot.
• Check closing days: the Louvre and the Orangerie on Tuesdays; the Orsay, the Picasso Museum and Versailles on Mondays.
• Group things by area: the Right Bank and the west on day 1, the center and the east on day 2, the Seine and the Cité on day 3.
• Walk: a lot of the best of Paris happens between one sight and the next, in its streets, bridges and terraces.
• In summer, in July and August, the city sets up the Paris Plages beaches along the Seine and at the Bassin de la Villette.
• In winter, there are ice rinks and Christmas markets, like the ones at Saint-Germain-des-Prés or Place des Abbesses in Montmartre.
• Travel insurance: we always travel with IATI Seguros.

Take the itinerary with you on your phone

Download our Paris travel guide in PDF, with the 3-day and 2-week itineraries, cafes, restaurants by type of food, hotels by price, summer and winter plans, markets and thrift shops, or keep every place saved with the Paris map for Google Maps.