Everyone will agree that Paris, the world’s greatest tourist city, deserves more than a weekend to really explore it. But for many visitors, time is alas limited and city breaks often last just a few days. So, how can you see as many top sights as possible without feeling as though you are rushing from one place to the next or that you are missing the most important things?
Paris is not so big! The city itself is much less spread out than many other capitals, so you won’t need to travel around so much and waste time on transport.
...is that the most outstanding attractions are concentrated in quite compact areas at the heart of Paris. The Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the Saint-Jacques Tower and Notre-Dame, for example, are all close to one another. As are the Eiffel Tower, the gardens of Trocadéro, the Champ-de-Mars, Invalides and the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac. By planning your trips well by district and by area, you will be able to visit around ten of Paris’s renowned top attractions in half a day
Renting a vélib’ enables you to get from one place to another whilst soaking up the atmosphere of the French capital. Sightseeing bus tours are also a good way of seeing as many places as possible in record time.
Don’t try and see everything! Of course the whole of the Louvre, Beaubourg and Orsay is thrilling to visit but by finding out in advance what you would like to see most, you will gain a lot of time. And you will also save some energy to go and see or do something else.
As far as queuing goes, there is no miracle solution, but some attractions are nevertheless easier to get into very early in the morning, at lunchtime, or during late evening-opening hours. Find out about these to save some precious time. Also, think about booking your tickets online right now to save time once you arrive in Paris. What’s more, some of these are fast-track tickets that enable you to skip the queues!
...is therefore possible, especially as Paris has so many wonderful things to discover wherever you go. Remarkable monuments as well as squares and fountains are all not-to-be missed features of Paris.
And if, after the 49th amazing Parisian attraction, you have a few hours to spare and feel like wandering down the nearest street, then take the time to stroll at your leisure and enjoy the quintessential charm of Paris and its different ‘quartiers’ – another of Paris’s top attractions. So much to enjoy!
Click on the map of Paris to discover our top 50 places to visit
In this link, we offer you several suggestions for museums, monuments, squares and other districts to visit during your short city break in Paris. 50 pictos spread over 4 zones (coloured light blue, yellow, red and dark blue) are designed to help you allocate your visits into 4 half-days in order to see all of Paris’s top sights and attractions.
More info about Monuments in Paris
More info about Museums in Paris
