3 Days in Paris Itinerary: An Hour-by-Hour Plan Built Around Closing Days (2026)

Three days in Paris work when each day stays in one part of the city and the order of the days follows the museum closing calendar. The Louvre shuts on Tuesday. The Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Picasso and the Musée Carnavalet shut on Monday. The Orangerie, often listed as a Monday closure, actually shuts on Tuesday. A plan that ignores this loses half a day to a locked door, and in a three-day trip there is no spare half day.

Most published 3-day plans put the Louvre on day one whatever the weekday, send readers across the river three times before lunch, and still route people to the Centre Pompidou, closed until 2030, or to the Marché des Enfants Rouges, destroyed by fire in October 2026. Few say which slots sell out, how long the metro ride between two stops takes, or which lunch places are open on the day in question.

This plan is built the other way around. Day 1 covers the islands and the Left Bank, Day 2 the Louvre and the Right Bank axis to the Arc de Triomphe, Day 3 Montmartre and the Marais. Each day gives times, metro lines, a lunch stop confirmed open in 2026 and a rainy-day swap, and a table reorders the days for any arrival weekday. Prices, hours and booking rules below were checked against official websites in November 2026.

The Weekday Trap: Why the Order of the Days Matters More Than the List

Paris museums do not close on the same day, and the big ones split between Monday and Tuesday. That split decides the order.

Closed on Monday: the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Picasso, the Musée Carnavalet, the Musée Rodin, the Catacombs and the Château de Versailles.

Closed on Tuesday: the Louvre, the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée Eugène-Delacroix.

Open every day: Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur and the Panthéon.

This creates two simple rules. A Monday must be the Louvre day, because the Louvre is open and the Left Bank and Marais museums are not. A Tuesday must not be the Louvre day.

The second trap is geography. The three days in this plan each sit on one or two metro lines. Day 1 is almost entirely on foot between the Île de la Cité and Saint-Germain. Day 2 follows line 1 from the Louvre to the Étoile. Day 3 uses line 12 from Montmartre and line 1 into the Marais. Crossing the city twice a day wastes an hour.

What to Book, and When

Book these before leaving home, in this order.

1. Louvre time slot. Buy on the official site, ticket.louvre.fr, as soon as the dates are fixed. The museum recommends a slot for everyone, including visitors who enter free. The 9:00 a.m. slot is the one to aim for. Non-EEA adults pay €32 and EEA adults €22 since January 14, 2026. The full rules are in the Louvre tickets guide.
2. Sainte-Chapelle, 9:00 a.m. Book on sainte-chapelle.fr through the Centre des monuments nationaux ticket site. The chapel asks visitors to arrive at the time on the booking, not before. The twin ticket with the Conciergerie costs €30 for non-EEA visitors and €23 for EEA nationals and residents, and it is sold only on the Sainte-Chapelle site.
3. Eiffel Tower, if going up. Buy on toureiffel.paris only. Lift tickets to the summit cost up to €36.70 for an adult and sell out before stair tickets. The Eiffel Tower tickets guide compares the options.
4. Notre-Dame, free reservation. Entry is free and the cathedral says free admission is available only through its official website. A reserved entry shortens the wait in the line on the parvis. Never pay a reseller for it. The Notre-Dame visit guide covers the towers, which have reopened with 424 steps to the south terrace.
5. Orangerie. The timed ticket costs €12.50 online and €11 on site. Paris Museum Pass holders must still reserve a slot.
6. Dinners. Book any sit-down dinner for 7:30 p.m. or later. La Maison Rose in Montmartre takes reservations through its website only.

Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe and the Musée Picasso can usually be bought a day or two ahead outside school holidays. Whether a pass pays off for this plan is worked out in the Paris Museum Pass guide.

Day 1: The Islands and the Left Bank

The first day stays on foot, from the Île de la Cité to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, with one short RER ride at the end. It suits any weekday except Monday, when Orsay is closed.

8:40 a.m. Arrive at Cité (line 4)

Take line 4 to Cité, the only metro stop on the island. Exit toward the Palais de Justice. Security checks at the Palais can include identity checks, and aerosols, glass bottles, knives and bulky bags are banned.

9:00 a.m. Sainte-Chapelle (1st arrondissement)

Sainte-Chapelle is the reason to be up early. The upper chapel is a box of 13th-century stained glass, and morning light through the east windows is the point of the visit. It sits inside the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité, in the 1st arrondissement, at Cité (line 4). It opens daily at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m. from October 1 to March 31, or 7:00 p.m. from April 1 to September 30. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. It closes on January 1, May 1 and December 25. A non-EEA ticket costs €22, an EEA ticket €16. Allow 45 minutes. The limit is space: the upper chapel fills quickly after 10:00 a.m., which is why the first slot matters. The Sainte-Chapelle tickets guide explains the slot system.

9:50 a.m. Conciergerie (optional, 1st)

The Conciergerie is next door, and the twin ticket makes it a 45-minute add-on. It holds the Gothic Salle des Gens d’Armes and the cell recreated for Marie-Antoinette. It is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., last access 5:30 p.m. A single ticket costs €13. Worth it with the twin ticket, not if the morning is running late.

10:45 a.m. Notre-Dame (4th)

Walk 8 to 10 minutes east along the quai to the parvis. Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 and the restored interior is pale stone again. It is in the 4th arrondissement, at Cité (line 4) or Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame (RER B and C). The cathedral is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:50 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Thursday until 10:00 p.m., and on weekends from 8:15 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Last admission is 30 minutes before closing. Entry is free. Allow 45 minutes inside. The line on the parvis grows through the late morning, and a Thursday visit after 7:00 p.m. avoids most of it.

11:45 a.m. Cross to the Latin Quarter (5th)

Cross the Petit-Pont to the Left Bank, 3 minutes on foot. Shakespeare and Company, at 37 rue de la Bûcherie in the 5th arrondissement, runs a café open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for a light lunch.

12:30 p.m. Lunch: Polidor or Le Procope (6th)

Walk 10 minutes southwest along rue Saint-André-des-Arts to Odéon, in the 6th arrondissement.

Polidor, 41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince, is an old-school bistro with shared tables, open daily from noon to 10:30 p.m. Its weekday lunch menu costs €15.90 for two courses, Monday to Friday from noon to 2:30 p.m. The three-course Menu Polidor costs €25. It takes online reservations. Metro: Odéon (lines 4 and 10).

Le Procope, 13 rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie, is the 1686 café that now serves classic brasserie food, open daily from noon to midnight. The lunch menu costs €26.50 for two courses or €33.50 for three, Monday to Saturday until 5:00 p.m., not on public holidays. The Sunday menu costs €49.50. Metro: Odéon (lines 4 and 10).

On Saturday, Le Procope keeps its set lunch. On Sunday, Polidor’s à la carte, with mains from €14.50 to €19.90, is the cheaper option.

1:45 p.m. Luxembourg Gardens or the Panthéon (5th and 6th)

From Odéon, walk 6 minutes up rue Monsieur-le-Prince to the Jardin du Luxembourg. A loop past the Medici Fountain and the central basin takes 30 to 40 minutes. The Luxembourg Gardens guide has the details.

The Panthéon is 5 minutes east of the garden’s gate on rue Soufflot. It is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from October 1 to March 31 and until 6:30 p.m. from April 1 to September 30, last entry 45 minutes before closing. The individual ticket costs €13 from October to March and €16 from April to September under the 2026 rates. The panoramic terrace is closed. Worth it for the crypt and Foucault’s pendulum, not if Orsay is the priority.

3:20 p.m. Musée d’Orsay (7th)

Walk 20 to 25 minutes north through Saint-Germain by rue Bonaparte to the Seine. Orsay’s Impressionists fill the fifth floor of a former railway station, and an afternoon is enough. It is on the esplanade Valéry-Giscard-d’Estaing in the 7th arrondissement, at Musée d’Orsay (RER C) or Solférino (line 12). It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., last entry 5:00 p.m., and on Thursday until 9:45 p.m. It is closed on Monday, May 1 and December 25. The full price runs from €14 to €16 depending on the ticket, and under-18s enter free, as does everyone on the first Sunday of the month. Allow two hours. The limit is the security line on weekend afternoons. The Musée d’Orsay tickets guide covers the entrances.

5:30 p.m. Saint-Germain at dusk (6th)

Walk back 10 minutes to the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Café de Flore, 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, and Les Deux Magots, 6 place Saint-Germain-des-Prés, face each other here. Both are open daily until after 1:00 a.m. A croque-monsieur at the Flore costs €14 on the 2026 menu. Metro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés (line 4). The Saint-Germain-des-Prés guide lists quieter cafés.

7:30 p.m. Dinner, or the Eiffel Tower

Two options for the evening. Stay in Saint-Germain for dinner, or take the RER C from Musée d’Orsay to Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel, about 10 minutes, for the tower. Les Cocottes, 135 rue Saint-Dominique (7th), a Christian Constant bistro open seven days a week from noon to 10:30 p.m., is 8 minutes on foot from the Champ de Mars. Metro: École Militaire (line 8).

Rainy-day swap for Day 1

Rain changes only the afternoon. Keep Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie and Notre-Dame, all indoors. Skip the Luxembourg Gardens and go straight from lunch to Orsay at 2:00 p.m., which gives three and a half hours inside. Skip the Saint-Germain terrace and take a table inside Le Procope or Polidor instead. The Paris in the rain guide has more covered options.

Day 2: The Louvre and the Right Bank Axis

The second day follows the line from the Louvre through the Tuileries to the Arc de Triomphe, then crosses to the Trocadéro at night. Line 1 does all the work. Never on a Tuesday.

8:40 a.m. Arrive at Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7)

Arrive 20 minutes before the 9:00 a.m. slot. The Cour Napoléon, where the Pyramid stands, opens at 7:30 a.m. The Cour Carrée is closed. The Louvre warns about mirror ticket sites and street sellers, and any exit from the museum is final.

9:00 a.m. The Louvre (1st)

The Louvre takes a full morning, and three hours is the realistic maximum before fatigue wins. It is in the 1st arrondissement, at Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre (lines 1 and 7). It is open on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and on Wednesday and Friday until 9:00 p.m. It is closed on Tuesday and on January 1, May 1 and December 25. Last entry is one hour before closing. Non-EEA adults pay €32 and EEA adults €22. Under-18s and EEA residents under 26 enter free, as does everyone on the first Friday of the month after 6:00 p.m., except in July and August. The limit is choice: the museum is too large to see, so pick two wings before arriving. The Louvre in 2 hours guide gives a route that covers the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory and the Venus de Milo without doubling back.

12:15 p.m. Lunch near the Louvre (1st)

Café Marly, 93 rue de Rivoli, sits under the Louvre’s arcades on the Cour Napoléon, open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Its terrace looks onto the Pyramid, and it does not publish prices online. It takes reservations online or by phone.

Le Fumoir, 6 rue de l’Amiral-de-Coligny, faces the Louvre colonnade, 5 minutes on foot from the Pyramid. It is open daily from 9:00 a.m. and takes restaurant reservations through its website. The bar does not take bookings. Metro: Louvre–Rivoli (line 1).

For a cheaper lunch, Bouillon Chartier, 7 rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement, serves 365 days a year from 11:30 a.m., with mains from €7 and a full meal under €20. It takes no reservations. It suits the rainy-day version of this day, which heads toward the grands magasins.

1:30 p.m. The Tuileries (1st)

Walk west through the Jardin des Tuileries, free and open from 7:00 or 7:30 a.m. depending on the season. The walk from the Louvre to the Orangerie at the far end takes 15 minutes without stops. The Tuileries Garden guide covers the fountains and the summer fair.

2:00 p.m. Musée de l’Orangerie (1st)

The Orangerie is small, and that is the reason to go: Monet’s eight Water Lilies panels fill two oval rooms, and the visit takes an hour. It is at the southwest corner of the Tuileries in the 1st, at Concorde (lines 1, 8 and 12). It is open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and closed on Tuesday. Last admission is 5:15 p.m. A timed ticket costs €12.50 online, €11 on site. Under-18s enter free, and so does everyone on the first Sunday of the month. The limit is crowding in the two rooms on weekend afternoons. The Orangerie guide explains the best time.

3:15 p.m. Line 1 from Concorde to Charles de Gaulle–Étoile

Walk up the Champs-Élysées, 30 to 35 minutes, or take line 1 from Concorde to Charles de Gaulle–Étoile, 4 stops and about 6 minutes. Line 1 is a known pickpocket line, so keep phones inside a zipped pocket on the platform and in the carriage. The pickpockets guide names the stations. The Champs-Élysées guide covers what is worth stopping for along the avenue.

4:00 p.m. Arc de Triomphe rooftop (8th)

The Arc de Triomphe has the best view of the axis in this plan, straight down the Champs-Élysées to the Louvre and out to La Défense. It stands on the place Charles-de-Gaulle in the 8th arrondissement, reached by the underground passage, never across the traffic, from Charles de Gaulle–Étoile (lines 1, 2 and 6, RER A). From October 1 to March 31 it is open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and on Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. From April 1 to September 30 it closes at 11:00 p.m. Last admission is 45 minutes before closing. A ticket costs €16 from October to March and €22 from April to September. Under-18s enter free. The lift is being modernized, so the only way up is 284 steps. The Arc de Triomphe rooftop guide covers sunset timing.

5:30 p.m. Line 6 to Trocadéro (16th)

Take line 6 from Charles de Gaulle–Étoile to Trocadéro, 3 stops and about 5 minutes. The Trocadéro esplanade faces the tower across the river. It is also a known spot for the bracelet scam and for street-game hustlers. The scams guide shows the moves.

6:00 p.m. The Eiffel Tower at night (7th)

Walk 10 minutes down through the Trocadéro gardens and across the Pont d’Iéna to the foot of the tower, in the 7th arrondissement. If a summit ticket is booked, this is the slot to use. Otherwise watch the sparkle on the hour from the Champ de Mars or the Trocadéro. Madame Brasserie, Thierry Marx’s restaurant on the tower’s first floor, includes the lift ticket to that floor with a booking. A deposit is kept for a late cancellation. The best time to visit the Eiffel Tower guide compares the slots.

Rainy-day swap for Day 2

Extend the Louvre to 1:00 p.m. and skip the Tuileries. Take line 7 from Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre to Chaussée d’Antin–La Fayette, 3 stops, for the Galeries Lafayette dome and the Le Gourmet food hall at 35 boulevard Haussmann (9th), open daily from 9:30 a.m. The Orangerie still fits at 3:30 p.m., 8 minutes back by line 8 from Opéra to Concorde. The Arc in the rain is a wet climb with no view, so swap it for the covered passages near the Bourse, like Galerie Vivienne in the 2nd arrondissement. The covered passages guide maps them.

Day 3: Montmartre and the Marais

The third day starts on the hill in the north and ends in the Marais, with one metro change in the middle. Montmartre is best before 10:30 a.m., when the coaches arrive. Avoid a Monday, when the Marais museums are closed.

8:45 a.m. Abbesses (line 12)

Take line 12 to Abbesses. The stairs from the platform to the surface are long, so use the lift. Pain Pain, a bakery at 88 rue des Martyrs, is 5 minutes down the hill, open Tuesday to Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and closed on Monday.

9:15 a.m. Sacré-Cœur (18th)

Climb 10 minutes from Abbesses by rue Yvonne-Le-Tac and the steps, or take the funicular from the bottom of the gardens. Sacré-Cœur is at 35 rue du Chevalier-de-la-Barre in the 18th arrondissement. It is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and entry is free. Allow 30 minutes inside. The dome is a separate paid climb. The limit is the forecourt steps, where the bracelet scam starts: keep walking and keep hands in pockets. The Sacré-Cœur guide covers the dome.

10:00 a.m. Montmartre on foot (18th)

From the basilica, walk west through the place du Tertre, then down rue Norvins and rue des Saules to the vineyard. La Maison Rose, the pink restaurant at 2 rue de l’Abreuvoir, is at that corner. Then walk down rue Lepic past the two remaining windmills to the place Blanche. The loop takes about 90 minutes. The Montmartre walking route guide gives the stop-by-stop version.

12:00 p.m. Lunch: La Maison Rose or Bouillon Pigalle (18th)

La Maison Rose, 2 rue de l’Abreuvoir, is open Wednesday to Sunday. Lunch runs from noon to 2:30 p.m. and costs €28 for two courses or €37 for three on the November 2026 menu. It closes on Monday and Tuesday. Reservations are taken only through its website, and a card payment requires a €10 minimum. Metro: Lamarck–Caulaincourt (line 12).

Bouillon Pigalle, 22 boulevard de Clichy, serves continuously seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. on weekdays and noon on weekends, until midnight. It is a cheap bouillon dining room, with a meal around €15 to €20. It takes reservations from one person. Metro: Pigalle (lines 2 and 12).

1:30 p.m. Pigalle to the Marais (lines 12 and 1)

Take line 12 from Pigalle to Concorde, 6 stops and about 12 minutes. Change to line 1 toward Château de Vincennes and ride 6 stops to Saint-Paul, about 10 minutes. With the change, allow 30 minutes door to door. The metro guide explains the changes at Concorde.

2:00 p.m. Musée Carnavalet (3rd)

Carnavalet is the museum of the history of Paris, in two mansions on rue de Sévigné, and its permanent collections are free without booking. It is in the 3rd arrondissement, 6 minutes on foot from Saint-Paul (line 1). It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., last admission to the permanent collections at 5:15 p.m. It closes on Monday, January 1, May 1 and December 25. Allow 75 minutes for the shop signs, the period rooms and Proust’s bedroom. The limit is size, so pick the 18th and 19th-century rooms.

3:15 p.m. Place des Vosges (3rd and 4th)

Walk 5 minutes south to the place des Vosges, the 17th-century square split between the 3rd and the 4th. The arcades are dry in the rain. Chez Janou, 2 rue Roger-Verlomme, a Provençal bistro open daily for lunch and dinner, is 2 minutes from the northeast corner. It is the dinner booking for this evening. Metro: Chemin Vert (line 8).

3:45 p.m. Musée Picasso (3rd)

The Musée Picasso in the Hôtel Salé, a 17th-century mansion, shows the national collection of Picasso’s work. It is 8 minutes northwest of the place des Vosges, at Saint-Sébastien–Froissart (line 8) or Chemin Vert (line 8). It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., last admission 5:15 p.m., and closed on Monday, January 1, May 1 and December 25. The regular ticket costs €16, and entry is free on the first Sunday of the month without reservation. A timeslot booked online gets priority access. Worth it for travelers who care about Picasso, not as a second-best museum: on a tired third afternoon, skip it and walk the Marais instead.

5:00 p.m. Rue des Rosiers and the Marais streets (4th)

Walk 10 minutes south to rue des Rosiers, in the heart of the Marais. L’As du Fallafel, 34 rue des Rosiers, serves falafel in pita for about €8 to €9, Sunday to Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and Friday until about 5:00 p.m. It is closed all day Saturday. Breizh Café, 109 rue Vieille-du-Temple, serves buckwheat galettes daily from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and takes reservations. The Marais food guide lists more addresses.

7:00 p.m. The Île Saint-Louis and the quays (4th)

Walk 10 minutes south across the Pont Louis-Philippe to the Île Saint-Louis, then along the quai d’Orléans for the view of Notre-Dame’s apse. The Seine riverbanks walk guide continues west along the quays.

Rainy-day swap for Day 3

Montmartre in the rain has no view. Start the day in the Marais instead: Carnavalet at 10:00 a.m., lunch at Breizh Café or Chez Janou, the Musée Picasso at 2:00 p.m. Then take line 1 and line 12 to Abbesses at 4:30 p.m. for Sacré-Cœur, which is indoors and open until 10:30 p.m. Dinner at Bouillon Pigalle closes the day.

If Day 1 Is a Monday, a Tuesday or a Weekend

The days above are written in the order that works for a Tuesday or Thursday arrival. For any other weekday, run the same days in a different order.

First Sundays and holidays

On the first Sunday of the month, Orsay, the Orangerie and the Musée Picasso are free, and lines are longer. The Panthéon is free on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December. The Conciergerie is free on the first Sunday of January, February, March and November. On May 1, the Louvre, Orsay, the Orangerie, Sainte-Chapelle, Carnavalet, Picasso and the Arc de Triomphe are all closed, so a May 1 inside a three-day trip becomes a walking day in Montmartre and along the quays. The public holidays and closures guide lists every date, and the Paris on a Sunday guide covers what else opens and shuts that day.

Getting Between the Stops

A single Métro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 in 2026, or €1.30 at the reduced rate, whatever the distance. Paper tickets are gone, so tickets load onto a Navigo Easy card or a phone. The Navigo Semaine pass costs €32.40 for all zones, but it runs from Monday 00:00 to Sunday 23:59 whatever the day of purchase. It pays off only when the trip falls inside one Monday-to-Sunday week and includes the airport rides. The Navigo Easy vs. Navigo Semaine guide does the math.

From the airports, the €14 Paris Région–Aéroports ticket covers the RER B to CDG and line 14 to Orly, as the airport to city guide explains.

Where to Base Yourself

For three days, the right base is the one that puts a direct metro line to the Île de la Cité and Châtelet at the door. Every day in this plan passes through the center. A change on the way to Châtelet adds time to every ride. Four areas fit a three-day plan.

The 1st and 4th (Louvre, Tuileries, the islands, the Marais). Everything in Day 1 and Day 2 is on foot. Prices are the highest in the city, rooms are small in older buildings, and the streets around Châtelet-Les Halles are crowded.

The 6th (Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the edge of Montparnasse). Day 1 starts 15 minutes away on foot, and line 4 runs direct to Cité and Châtelet. The streets are calm at night. Budget options are rare.

The 14th near Montparnasse. Line 4 runs direct from Montparnasse-Bienvenüe to Cité, and the TGV and the RER B are close. The area is residential and cheaper than the 6th, with fewer sights on the doorstep. The 14th arrondissement guide covers the rue Daguerre side.

The 7th and 15th near the Eiffel Tower. The tower is on the doorstep, and the evenings are quiet. Every trip to the center needs a change or a long walk. The 15th arrondissement guide covers the Beaugrenelle and Grenelle side.

The seven hotels below are ordered by the number of metro or RER changes needed to reach Châtelet from the nearest station, fewest first. Hotels with the same count are listed alphabetically. Every count can be checked on the network map.

1. Cheval Blanc Paris (1st), no change

The hotel on the quai du Louvre looks straight onto the Seine and the Pont Neuf, with the Île de la Cité on the far side of the bridge. It received the palace distinction in June 2026, one of thirteen hotels in Paris to hold it, and it has a pool. The address is 8 quai du Louvre, and Pont Neuf (line 7) is the nearest station, one stop from Châtelet. Day 1 starts across the river, and Day 2 starts along the same quai at the Louvre. It suits a celebration trip where the budget is not the constraint.

2. Hôtel des Grands Voyageurs (6th), no change

At 92 rue de Vaugirard, between Saint-Germain and Montparnasse, this 138-room hotel is decorated by Fabrizio Casiraghi. Rooms started at €280 in March 2026. Saint-Placide (line 4) is the nearest station, with a direct ride to Cité and Châtelet, and Gare Montparnasse is 10 minutes on foot. Its location between two neighborhoods suits a couple who want to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens on Day 1 and still reach the TGV station without a taxi.

3. Le Littré (6th), no change

A 90-room four-star on rue Littré, less than 400 meters from Gare Montparnasse. Some rooms have terraces facing the Eiffel Tower, and there is a winter garden. Rooms started at €230 in March 2026. Montparnasse-Bienvenüe and Saint-Placide, both on line 4, are the nearest stations, so the ride to Cité is direct. It suits travelers arriving by TGV from the west.

4. Le Meurice (1st), no change

Le Meurice faces the Tuileries from under the arcades of 228 rue de Rivoli, and its windows on the garden side look across the trees toward the Left Bank. It holds the palace distinction and has a gastronomic restaurant. Tuileries (line 1) is the nearest station, three stops from Châtelet on a direct line. On Day 2, the Pyramid for the 9:00 a.m. slot and the Orangerie for the afternoon are both within walking distance through the garden. It suits travelers who want the Louvre day to start at the hotel door.

5. Pullman Paris Montparnasse (14th), no change

A 32-story tower at 19 rue du Commandant-René-Mouchotte, 200 meters from Gare Montparnasse. Its Skybar on the 32nd floor looks at the Eiffel Tower, and families can ask for two communicating rooms of 44 square meters. Twenty-one rooms are adapted for travelers with reduced mobility. Montparnasse-Bienvenüe (lines 4, 6, 12 and 13) is 5 minutes on foot, and line 4 runs direct to Cité and Châtelet. A good base for a three-day trip that starts or ends with a TGV.

6. Hôtel La Bourdonnais (7th), one change

At 111-113 avenue de La Bourdonnais, a few minutes from the Champ de Mars, this 53-room hotel reopened on March 10, 2026, after renovation. École Militaire (line 8) is the nearest station. Reaching Châtelet takes one change. The Champ de Mars side is quiet at night. It suits a couple who want the Eiffel Tower within an evening walk after the Day 2 sparkle, and who accept a change on the way to the islands each morning.

7. Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel (15th), one change

The tower is five minutes away on foot from 18 avenue de Suffren, and most room categories from the Supérieure upward face it. The hotel has 430 rooms, the FRAME brasserie, a 24-hour gym and 21 accessible rooms, and dogs and cats are accepted. Check-in starts at 4:00 p.m. Bir-Hakeim (line 6) and Champ de Mars–Tour Eiffel (RER C) are the nearest stations, and Châtelet takes one change. It suits travelers who want to see the tower from the room after the evening on Day 2.

The full arrondissement-by-arrondissement comparison is in the where to stay in Paris guide. Travelers on their first visit can also use the first-time base guide.

By Situation

You are in Paris for the first time and land on a Monday

Run Day 2 first. The Louvre and the Orangerie are open on Monday and nearly every other major museum is shut. Keep Sainte-Chapelle and Orsay for Wednesday. The first time in Paris guide covers the decisions around the trip.

You have children under 12

Shorten each museum by an hour, skip the 284-step Arc climb and watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle from the Champ de Mars instead. Under-18s enter the Louvre, Orsay, the Orangerie, Sainte-Chapelle and the Arc free. The Paris with kids guide has the family version.

You want to fit in Versailles

Three days do not hold Versailles without dropping a full day. The palace closes on Monday and requires a booked time slot for everyone, including free visitors. The Passport cost €25 in low season. Replace Day 3 with Versailles on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, or add a fourth day. The Versailles tickets guide and the 4-day itinerary show both options.

You are traveling on a tight budget

Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur, Carnavalet and the gardens cost nothing. Polidor’s €15.90 weekday menu, Bouillon Chartier and Bouillon Pigalle keep lunches under €20, and L’As du Fallafel costs about €9. Time the Louvre for the first Friday of the month after 6:00 p.m., outside July and August, when entry is free. The Paris on a budget guide adds the rest.

You have limited mobility

The Montmartre funicular avoids the steps up to Sacré-Cœur. The Arc de Triomphe is not an option while its lift is out of service. Build each day around one museum, with taxis between areas. The accessible Paris guide lists step-free stations.

What It Actually Costs

The table gives full adult prices for the tickets in this plan, checked in November 2026. Under-18s enter all the national monuments and museums in this plan free.

A non-EEA adult who follows the full plan, with the twin ticket, Orsay, the Orangerie, the Arc in winter and Picasso, spends about €122 on entry, or about €159 with an Eiffel summit lift ticket. An EEA adult spends about €105 without the tower. Lunches in this plan run from about €9 at L’As du Fallafel to €37 for three courses at La Maison Rose. Hotels add the city tourist tax per adult per night: €5.53 in a three-star, €8.45 in a four-star, €11.70 in a five-star and €15.93 in a palace in 2026. The Paris travel budget guide builds the full daily cost, and the non-EU ticket prices guide lists every 2026 increase.

What Other Guides Get Wrong

1. They put the Louvre on Day 1 whatever the weekday. The Louvre closes on Tuesday. A Tuesday arrival with the Louvre first loses the morning. The order of the days has to follow the arrival weekday.
2. They close the Orangerie on Monday. The Orangerie is open on Monday and closed on Tuesday, like the Louvre. Pairing the two in one day is right, but that day can never be a Tuesday.
3. They still send readers to the Centre Pompidou. It closed on September 22, 2025, and its reopening is announced for 2030. Any 2026 plan that includes it is out of date. The Pompidou closure guide lists where the collection is shown meanwhile.
4. They recommend lunch at the Marché des Enfants Rouges. A fire destroyed the covered hall at 39 rue de Bretagne on the night of October 11 to 12, 2026. The owner says reopening will take years.
5. They quote 2025 prices. The Louvre rose to €32 for non-EEA visitors on January 14, 2026, and Sainte-Chapelle to €22 on January 12, 2026. Many plans still show the 2025 prices.
6. They promise the Arc de Triomphe lift. The lift is being modernized, and access is by 284 steps only.

Detailed Guides

• How many days in Paris: decides whether three days is enough for a given traveler, and what a fourth or fifth day adds.
• First time in Paris: sets the decisions to make before the itinerary, from the arrival airport to the base.
• One day in Paris: keeps only the route that fits Notre-Dame, the Louvre exterior and the Eiffel Tower into one day.
• Paris in 2 days: splits the city into two halves with one museum each, and says which day to drop from this plan.
• Paris in 4 days: adds Versailles or a slow Montmartre day to this plan without moving the closing-day logic.
• Paris in 5 days: adds a day trip and a rest day, and says which weekday to leave the city.
• A week in Paris: spreads seven days with two day trips and the Navigo Semaine math.
• Paris layover: says what fits in 8, 12 and 24 hours from CDG.
• Paris in the rain: lists covered passages, museums and cafés by area, for the rainy swaps above.
• Paris on a Sunday: lists what opens and closes on Sunday, including the first-Sunday free days.
• Paris at night: covers the Louvre and Orsay late openings, the tower sparkle and the night walks.
• Paris for older travelers: cuts stairs and walking distances and lists where to sit.
• Accessible Paris: covers wheelchair-friendly metro stations, museums and buses.

Where to Go Next

Before booking anything, the what to book in advance guide gives the release dates for each ticket in this plan. If three days feel tight, the 4-day itinerary adds Versailles on the right weekday. For the base, the where to stay in Paris guide compares all twenty arrondissements, and the Paris arrondissements guide explains how each one feels on foot.