3 Days in Paris in Summer

Summer in Paris means long days, warm nights and big crowds. The sun rises before 6:00 and sets after 21:30 in June, the café terraces are full until midnight and the riverbanks turn into promenades. It also means queues at every famous sight and heatwaves that make the afternoons hard work. This route deals with both: the headline sights at opening time, cool museums and shaded gardens in the heat of the day, and the long evenings outdoors by the water.

Day 1 is the Eiffel Tower at its first slot, before the heat and the crowds, the cool galleries of the Musée du Quai Branly and its garden, and the riverbanks of the Left Bank, which become a car-free promenade with deckchairs and bars. Day 2 is the Tuileries, where a summer fair sets up a Ferris wheel, Monet's Water Lilies in the cool rooms of the Orangerie and an evening cruise at sunset. Day 3 is the east: the Canal Saint-Martin in the morning, the Bassin de la Villette and the open lawns of La Villette, and an evening at a guinguette in the Buttes-Chaumont.

The arrival day is for a terrace and a riverside walk at dusk. The three days can go in any order; the Orangerie closes on Tuesdays and the Quai Branly on Mondays. In a heatwave, sights sometimes shorten their hours; check before you go.

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This route at a glance

Tickets to book before you fly

Summer is high season, so book the Eiffel Tower first. Prices start at the figures shown, per person.

Arrival evening: the riverbanks at dusk

In summer, Parisians spend their evenings by the water. Walk down to the quays of the Seine, where people picnic with their feet over the river, and stay until the light goes, which in June is after 22:00.

Buy a bottle of water and something to eat at a supermarket on the way; the quays have no shops, and the evening is long.

• Sunset is around 21:30 to 22:00 in June and July.
• Many restaurants close for part of August, especially in residential areas.
• Day 1 starts at 9:00 at the Trocadéro; set an alarm.

Day 1: The Eiffel Tower at opening, a cool museum and the riverbanks

Be at the Trocadéro by 9:00 and at the Eiffel Tower for the first slot of the day. In summer, the queues and the heat build from 11:00, and by then you will be back on the ground. The view from the second floor in the clear morning air is sharper than at any other time of day.

From the tower it is ten minutes on foot to the Musée du Quai Branly, home to the arts of four continents. Its galleries are dim and cool, a relief in the heat of midday, and its garden, behind a glass wall on the quai, is one of the shadiest in the city. Have lunch at the museum café in the garden.

In the late afternoon, walk down to the Berges de Seine, the car-free promenade on the Left Bank between the Musée d'Orsay and the Pont de l'Alma. In summer it has deckchairs, games, food stalls and bars on barges, and it stays lively until late. Watch the sunset over the river and walk back to the Trocadéro for the tower sparkling at the top of the hour.

Stops in order

1. 9:00 · Trocadéro Gardens: the view before the crowds
   Paris
2. 9:30 · Eiffel Tower: first slot of the day
   5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007, Paris
3. 12:00 · Musée du Quai Branly: cool galleries and the shady garden
   37 Quai Branly, 75007, Paris
4. 17:00 · Berges de Seine (Left Bank riverside promenade): car-free riverbank, deckchairs and bars
   Port du Gros Caillou, 75007, Paris
5. 22:00 · Champ de Mars: the tower sparkling after dark
   Avenue Bosquet, 75007, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Carry a refillable bottle

Paris has more than a thousand public drinking fountains, including the green Wallace fountains, and many parks have sparkling-water fountains too. A bottle saves money and keeps you going through a hot day.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: Summer showers are short. Wait them out in the Quai Branly and enjoy the cleaner air on the riverbanks afterwards.

Day 2: The Tuileries fair, the Water Lilies and a sunset cruise

From late June to August, the Tuileries Garden hosts a traditional summer funfair, the Fête des Tuileries, with a Ferris wheel that lifts you above the garden for a view of the Louvre, the Concorde and the Eiffel Tower. Go in the morning, when it is cooler and quieter, and sit by the ponds in the green metal chairs.

Have lunch in the shade of the chestnut trees, then visit the Orangerie at the Concorde end of the garden. Monet's eight Water Lilies panels in two oval rooms lit from above are a cool, calm place in the heat of the afternoon; downstairs are Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse. It closes on Tuesdays.

In the evening, take the metro to the foot of the Eiffel Tower for a cruise with music and a drink on deck. In summer, a departure around 21:00 sails into the sunset, past the Louvre and Notre-Dame, and comes back as the bridges light up.

Stops in order

1. 10:00 · Tuileries Garden: summer fair and the Ferris wheel, late June to August
   113, 75001, Paris
2. 12:30 · Palais-Royal Garden: lunch in the shade
   Passage du Perron, 75001, Paris
3. 14:00 · Musée de l'Orangerie: the Water Lilies in cool rooms
   Quai des Tuileries, 75001, Paris
4. 16:00 · Place de la Concorde: fountains and the obelisk
   Place de la Concorde, 75008, Paris
5. 21:00 · Bateaux Parisiens pier: sunset cruise
   Port de la Bourdonnais, 75007, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Ride the Ferris wheel at opening

The wheel has a queue by afternoon. At opening time, you board straight away, and the morning light on the Louvre is better than the hazy afternoon light.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The Orangerie is indoors; the fair closes in heavy rain, but the cruise boats have a covered deck.

Day 3: The Canal Saint-Martin, La Villette and a guinguette

Start at the Canal Saint-Martin, where the iron footbridges, the locks and the plane trees along the quai de Valmy make one of the coolest walks in Paris in the morning. Watch a boat pass through the locks and have breakfast at one of the cafés along the water.

Follow the canal north to the Bassin de la Villette, the largest stretch of water in Paris, where in July and August the city sets up a summer program on the quays with games, deckchairs and boating. Continue to the Parc de la Villette, with its lawns, themed gardens and, in summer, an open-air cinema on the great meadow in the evening.

End the trip at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, on its cliff above the lake. Inside the park, the guinguette Rosa Bonheur is an open-air bar and dance hall where Parisians gather on summer evenings for drinks, tapas and music under the trees. Arrive early; the queue to get in grows after 19:00.

Stops in order

1. 9:30 · Canal Saint-Martin: locks and footbridges, breakfast
   Paris
2. 11:30 · Bassin de la Villette: summer program on the quays in July and August
   Quai de la Seine, 75019, Paris
3. 13:00 · Parc de la Villette: lawns, gardens and the summer open-air cinema
   Paris
4. 17:00 · Parc des Buttes-Chaumont: the cliff and the lake
   Paris
5. 18:30 · Rosa Bonheur guinguette: open-air bar in the park
   Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 2 Allée de la Cascade, 75019, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Picnic on the canal edge, not on the lawn

Parisians sit on the stone edge of the Canal Saint-Martin with their feet over the water. Buy lunch at a bakery on the rue de Lancry and join them; it is the most Parisian picnic of the summer.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: Summer showers pass quickly; shelter in the Cité des Sciences at La Villette if the rain sets in.

Departure morning: a cool start

On the last morning, leave early to avoid the heat on the RER and in the airports, which are at their busiest in July and August.

If you have time, a last walk along the quays or in the Luxembourg Gardens before 10:00 is the coolest and calmest hour of a Paris summer day.

• Carry water on the RER and the metro in summer.
• Airports are at their busiest in July and August.
• Allow extra time for an international flight in high season.

Which day goes where

The three days can run in any order. Use this table to keep every sight off its closing day.

Beating the heat in Paris in summer

Paris summers have become hotter, and few older buildings, cafés or metro trains have air conditioning. The table shows how this route keeps the hottest hours for cool places.

💡 Pro Tip

Check heatwave hours the day before

During heatwaves, some sights shorten their hours or close their terraces and stairs. Check the opening times the evening before each day, and keep the indoor museums for the hottest afternoon.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Summer events in Paris

• Fête de la Musique on 21 June: free concerts on every street corner of the city.
• Bastille Day on 14 July: the military parade on the Champs-Élysées and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower.
• The Tuileries summer fair, from late June to August.
• Riverside and canal programs on the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette in July and August.
• Open-air cinema at La Villette in summer.

August is when Parisians leave the city. Some restaurants and shops close for two or three weeks, but the museums and sights stay open and the city is quieter.

More 3-day routes

• Paris in spring: blossom and gardens before the summer crowds.
• Paris with kids: summer holidays with children.
• Paris after dark: long summer nights out.
• Paris with a day at Versailles: the fountain shows of summer.
• The best time for 3 days in Paris: is the heat worth the long evenings?
• One week in Paris: time for day trips in the long summer days.
• All the 3-day routes, by theme