4 Days in Paris: The Complete Itinerary

Four days is the length of trip where Paris stops feeling rushed. Three days covers the essentials if you keep moving; the fourth day is the one that lets you breathe, sit in a café for an hour without looking at the time, or take the train to Versailles and give the palace the full day it deserves. This itinerary is built for exactly that: three days that each cover one part of the city properly, and a fourth that is yours to choose.

Day 1 is the Île de la Cité and the Left Bank, from Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle to the Musée d'Orsay. Day 2 is the Louvre in the morning and the Marais in the afternoon, with the Musée Picasso and the Place des Vosges. Day 3 is the Eiffel Tower, a lunch on the rue Cler, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe at sunset. Day 4 is the Palace of Versailles, its gardens and Trianon; if palaces are not your thing, the Montmartre alternative below fills the day just as well.

The arrival day does not count. The four days can be swapped around: the Louvre closes on Tuesdays, the Orsay, the Picasso and Versailles on Mondays, and the closing-day table further down shows which order works for your dates.

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This route at a glance

Tickets to book before you fly

Seven tickets over four days. Book the Eiffel Tower and Versailles first; they are the two that fill up weeks ahead. Prices start at the figures shown, per person.

Arrival evening: a first look at the river

Leave the bags, find a café near the hotel and then walk to the nearest bridge. The Seine is the spine of Paris, and every day of this route starts or ends beside it; seeing it lit up on the first evening gives you your bearings for the whole trip.

Pick up a handful of metro tickets at the station on the way from the airport; the first day is mostly on foot, but you will need them from Day 2.

• Check that Day 2 is not a Tuesday and Day 4 not a Monday.
• Download the metro map to your phone.
• Day 1 starts at 9:00 at Notre-Dame.

Day 1: The Île de la Cité, the Latin Quarter and the Musée d'Orsay

The island in the Seine is where Paris began, and the right place to start four days in the city. Notre-Dame, free to enter, is calmest at 9:00. The Sainte-Chapelle, a few minutes away, is the jewel of the morning: a royal chapel of the 1240s whose upper level is almost entirely stained glass. Your ticket includes the Conciergerie, the palace prison of the Revolutionary years.

Cross the Petit Pont to the Latin Quarter for lunch, browse the English-language bookshop Shakespeare and Company opposite Notre-Dame, and walk along the quays past the green bookstalls of the bouquinistes.

Spend the afternoon at the Musée d'Orsay. It holds the greatest collection of Impressionist painting anywhere, Monet, Renoir, Degas and Van Gogh, under the iron and glass vault of a former station. Start at the top floor and work down; the café behind the great clock is the best place for a break.

Stops in order

1. 9:00 · Notre-Dame Cathedral: free entry
   6 Parvis Notre-Dame - Place Jean-Paul II, 75004, Paris
2. 10:00 · Sainte-Chapelle: with the Conciergerie
   8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001, Paris
3. 12:30 · Shakespeare and Company: lunch nearby and the bookshop
   37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005, Paris
4. 13:45 · Saint-Germain-des-Prés: the walk along the quays
   3 Place Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006, Paris
5. 14:30 · Musée d'Orsay: start on the fifth floor
   1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

See the clock from inside the Orsay

The great station clock on the fifth floor is a window: through its glass face you look across the Seine to the Louvre and the Sacré-Cœur on its hill. It is the best photograph in the museum.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: Every visit on this day is indoors; take the RER C from Saint-Michel to the Orsay instead of walking the quays.

Day 2: The Louvre, the Marais and the Musée Picasso

Give the Louvre the morning. A reserved entry with a guide at 9:30 takes you through the essentials, from the Winged Victory to the Mona Lisa, in two hours, and leaves you free to wander one wing on your own afterwards. The Egyptian rooms and Napoleon III's apartments are the two most visitors regret missing.

Take line 1 to Saint-Paul and have lunch in the Marais, the old aristocratic quarter of mansions and courtyards. The falafel shops of the rue des Rosiers are the classic choice. In the afternoon, visit the Musée Picasso in the Hôtel Salé, the grandest mansion of the district, with paintings from every period of the artist's life.

Finish in the Place des Vosges, the most beautiful square in Paris, with its arcades of red brick and stone around a garden of lime trees. Victor Hugo's apartment in one corner is a free museum. Stay in the Marais for dinner; it is one of the liveliest districts in the evening.

Stops in order

1. 9:30 · Louvre Museum: guided entry, then one wing on your own
   Pont du Carrousel, 75001, Paris
2. 13:00 · Rue des Rosiers: falafel lunch
   Rue des Rosiers, 75004, Paris
3. 15:00 · Musée Picasso: closed Mondays
   5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003, Paris
4. 17:00 · Place des Vosges: arcades and garden
   Place des Vosges, 75004, Paris
5. 17:30 · Maison de Victor Hugo: Victor Hugo's apartment, free
   6 Place des Vosges, 75004, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Pick one Louvre wing for after the tour

Before you go in, decide which wing you will see alone after the guide leaves: Denon for Italian painting, Sully for Egypt, Richelieu for France and the Netherlands. Trying to see all three is how visitors end the day exhausted.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The two museums are indoors and the arcades of the Place des Vosges keep you dry.

Day 3: The Eiffel Tower, the rue Cler and the Arc de Triomphe

Start at the Trocadéro for the photograph, then walk across the river for the first slot of the day at the Eiffel Tower. From the second floor you can trace the whole trip: the islands of Day 1, the Louvre and the Marais of Day 2 and, on a clear day, the forest of Versailles on the horizon to the west.

Walk down to the Champ de Mars and across to the rue Cler, a pedestrian market street lined with cheesemongers, bakers and wine shops, for lunch. In the afternoon, visit the golden dome of Les Invalides from the esplanade and cross the Pont Alexandre III, the most ornate bridge in Paris.

Walk up the Champs-Élysées in the late afternoon and climb to the roof of the Arc de Triomphe for sunset. Twelve avenues spread out from it like a star, and the Eiffel Tower lights up to the south as the sky darkens.

Stops in order

1. 9:00 · Trocadéro Gardens: the photograph
   Paris
2. 9:30 · Eiffel Tower: second floor
   5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007, Paris
3. 12:30 · Rue Cler: lunch on the market street
   Rue Cler, 75007, Paris
4. 14:30 · Les Invalides: the dome from the esplanade
   129 Rue de Grenelle, 75007, Paris
5. 15:15 · Pont Alexandre III: the gilded bridge
   Promenade des Berges de la Seine - Port des Invalides, 75007, Paris
6. 18:00 · Arc de Triomphe: rooftop at sunset
   Tunnel de l'Étoile, 75008, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Walk the Champs-Élysées upwards, not down

Walking from the Concorde to the Arc, you see the arch growing at the end of the avenue all the way. Walking down, it is behind you. The uphill direction is the one the avenue was designed for.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The tower and the Arc stay open in light rain; in a downpour, swap the bridge walk for the Petit Palais, which is free and indoors.

Day 4: Versailles: the palace, the gardens and Trianon

Leave early for a 9:00 slot at the palace. Go straight through the State Apartments to the Hall of Mirrors before the tour groups, then the King's and Queen's apartments and the Royal Chapel. Two hours inside is about right. The palace is closed on Mondays.

Walk down into the gardens of André Le Nôtre: the terraces, the groves hidden in the woods, each a green room with its own fountain, and the Grand Canal, where you can rent a rowing boat or have a picnic. From April to October, music and fountain shows run on many days.

In the afternoon, walk or take the little train to the estate of Trianon, open from noon: the pink marble Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon of Marie-Antoinette and her Hamlet, a make-believe village of thatched cottages around a lake. Take the RER back to Paris at the end of the day. If Versailles does not appeal, the Montmartre alternative below fills Day 4 instead.

Stops in order

1. Opening · Palace of Versailles: mirrors, chapel and royal rooms
   Rue de la Chancellerie, 78000, Versailles
2. 11:30 · Gardens of Versailles: groves and fountains
   Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles
3. 13:00 · Grand Canal, Versailles: picnic and rowing boats
   Allée du Grand Canal, 78000 Versailles
4. 14:30 · Estate of Trianon: from noon
   Esplanade du Grand Trianon, 78000, Versailles
5. 16:00 · Queen's Hamlet: Marie-Antoinette's Hamlet
   78000, Versailles

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Save your legs for Trianon

Most visitors walk the gardens hard in the morning and arrive at the Hamlet exhausted. Ride the little train from the palace terrace to Trianon after lunch and take it back up at the end of the day; the climb from the Grand Canal to the palace is the hardest walk on the estate.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The palace and the Trianons are indoors; take the little train between them rather than walking the gardens.

Departure morning: Saint-Germain for breakfast

Have a last breakfast in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, on the terrace of one of its literary cafés, and walk past the church to the river for a final look at the Louvre across the water.

The RER B from Saint-Michel and Luxembourg runs to both airports.

• Most hotels keep bags after check-out.
• The RER B serves Charles de Gaulle and Orly.
• Allow plenty of time for an international flight.

Which day goes where

The 4 days can be swapped around. Use this table to keep every sight off its closing day.

Day 4 without Versailles: Montmartre and the Canal Saint-Martin

Versailles is a full day and not everyone's idea of Paris. If you would rather stay in the city, this alternative Day 4 shows the village side of Paris and the neighborhoods where young Parisians live.

💡 Pro Tip

Decide on Day 4 by the weather

Versailles is best on a dry day, Montmartre works in any weather but shines in sunshine. Book Versailles for the day with the best forecast, or leave it until you see the week ahead if your ticket allows changes.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Is 4 days in Paris enough?

• For a first visit, yes. Four days cover the essentials and leave a day for Versailles or a slower neighborhood.
• For museum lovers, five days lets you add the Orangerie, the Rodin museum and the Marmottan.
• For families, the fourth day is often best used for Disneyland or a park day with the children.
• For a second visit, skip the classics and use the four days for Montmartre, the Marais, the Left Bank and a day trip.

More Paris routes

• 3 days in Paris: the classic route, one day shorter.
• 5 days in Paris: Versailles and a slower pace.
• 3 days with Versailles: the palace in a three-day trip.
• 3 days with Disneyland: the family alternative for Day 4.
• Montmartre and beyond: if the alternative Day 4 leaves you wanting a whole stay up there.
• Getting around Paris: the metro, the RER and what tickets cost.
• All the 3-day routes, by theme