Paris itinerary in 4 days
Where to go in Paris. Paris art.
Where to go in Paris. Things to do in Paris. Eiffel Tower.
Where to go in Paris. Things to do in Paris. Montmartre. Sacre Coeur.
Where to go in Paris. Paris art.
Hotels
Paris:
♥♥
Located in the Montparnasse area, this small hotel is clean and updated but a bit tired. The rooms are tiny and awkward. The breakfast is sufficient but nothing special. On the plus side, it is in a nice location - close to many restaurants and several metro stations.
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♥♥♥♥
I give this hotel four hearts due to its incredible location in the heart of the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain which makes it easy to walk to just about any place you want to go. The rooms and washrooms are updated and pretty. It's located on a quiet street. (2024 Update)
Guides and Tours
Paris:
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Marie Knows Paris. Marie took us on a fascinating walking tour of the Marais neighbourhood which is rich in history, particularly Jewish history, and has some of the most beautiful and lively streets in Paris. Marie walked us through secret gardens, courtyards, churches, private art galleries, the beautiful Place des Vosges all the while explaining the interesting history of the area.
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Natalia Davous. Natalia is an art expert and hosts guided tours of the major museums. Our tour in the Musée D'Orsay was very interesting.
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Sight Seekers Delight. This walking tour of the Montmartre neighbourhood was more of a pop-culture tour. We would have preferred to hear more about the history of the area so it was somewhat disappointing.
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​Saint Germain Secret Food Tour. This food tour was a little disappointing. While there was plenty to eat the majority of the tour was inside one restaurant. I prefer walking around the neighbourhoods and learning about them while enjoying the food tastings. (2024 Update)
Noteworthy Restaurants
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Le P'tit Troquet. This warm and cozy Parisian restaurant is located close to the Eiffel Tower. The traditional cuisine that they serve is delicious and service was great.
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La Palette. This iconic French restaurant located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area was frequented by many artists including Cezanne and Picasso back in the day, and later by Ernest Hemingway and Jim Morrison. The bistro serves a nice lunch. We had delicious salads and baguette while sipping wine on the street-side terrace.
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Pierre Hermé. If you have a sweet tooth this is one place you won't want to miss! We had coffees and the most delicious, buttery pastries I've eaten. Plus the display is pure eye candy.
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La Cuisine de Philippe. This tiny restaurant had the most delicious French food. They specialize in soufflés - both savoury and sweet. I have never tasted anything so light, fluffy and delectable.
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Au Pére Louis. This small, warm restaurant located in the St-Germain-des-Prés area, serves delicious comfort food and the staff are very friendly. They are known for their rich cassoulet stew.
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Le Coq Rico. Known for its poultry dishes. The roasted chicken was delicious, one of the best I've had.
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Quartier Vavin. A lively café just down the street from our hotel. Great selection of wines and beers as well as bistro type food.
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Breizh Café. This cafe is known for its delicious buckwheat crepes and baked goods. They have several locations across Paris. Nice spot for lunch. (2024 Update)
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Auberge de la Reine Blanche. Located on Ile Saint Louis this cozy restaurant is perfect for dinner. I've always wanted to walk around the island just north of the Notre Dame. There are several nice restaurants. This one is a bit rustic with a nice menu and good service. (2024 Update)
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​Le Louis Phillipe. We walked by this restaurant near the bank of the Sienne and noticed it's beautiful patio so we sat down for dinner. It has a nice and tasty bistro type menu. (2024 Update)
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Juveniles Wine Bar. Hands down our favourite restaurant experience in Paris! It's a tiny restaurant near the Palais Royale and you definitely need a reservation. The food was delicious and unique, the wine was flowing and the service was great. (2024 Update)
Favourite Museums
Paris:
Paris is home to world-class museums and art galleries. There are so many wonderful ones to visit. I highly recommend getting the museum pass if you plan to visit several museums. It allows you to "skip the line" and also covers many monuments and other interesting tourist sites.
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Keep in mind that many museums are closed on Sunday's. So make your plans accordingly.
Here is a list of a few museums we visited on this trip.
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Picasso Museum. Dedicated to the works of Pablo Picasso who lived in France from 1905 - 1973, the collection includes over 5,000 works of art, much of which was donated by his family after his death.
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Musee D'Orsay. One of my favourite museums in Paris, it houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world, including paintings by Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh and many others. The museum is built in a former train station. The architecture is spectacular.
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Musée de l'Orangerie. The museum is most famous for the eight large murals of water lilies painted by Monet which are located in two oval rooms. It also contains an incredible collection by other impressionist artists such as Cézanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Renoir and others.
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Pompidou Centre. This modern, high-tech building houses Paris' modern and contemporary art collection - one of the greatest modern art collections in Europe.
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Hôtel des Invalides. This building houses the Army Museum and Napolean's Tomb. It covers French military history mainly during the two World Wars. It also houses Napolean's tomb, as well as the tombs of other French war heroes, in a beautiful domed church.
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Rodin Museum. Located near the Saint Germain area, this museum is dedicated to the main works by Auguste Rodin. It is located in his former workshop. It has a gorgeous garden with many of his famous sculptures. The building houses more of his pieces and also includes paintings by other impressionist artists. (2024 Update)
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Saint Chapelle. This cathedral houses some of the most beautiful stained glass windows in the world. Climb up the winding staircase and you will be dazzled at the top. I read that the best time to go is around sunset when the light hits the windows in just the right way. (2024 Update)
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Musée Marmottan Monet. This gem located slightly out of the way houses Monet's personal collection. It features over three hundred pieces by Monet. It is quite spectacular if you are a fan of impressionist and post-impressionist work. Due to its location it is not as crowded as many of the other museums in Paris. We loved it. (2024 Update)
Paris
The City of Lights - Paris is one of those cities that you can visit over and over again. The grand boulevards, the romantic architecture, the delicious food and the incredible museums and monuments will always take my breath away.
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This itinerary can be helpful both for first-timers and return visitors. It describes some of my favourite museums and sites, as well as some smaller ones and unique tours.
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​2024 Update: Paris is one of those cities that keeps you coming back. We returned to Pairs for a few days in June 2024 and I am including some updates to: Hotels, Restaurants, Museums, Tours.
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Day 1
Morning
We arrived in Paris and checked into Hotel Jardin Le Brea in the Montparnasse neighbourhood.
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We grabbed a classic Parisian lunch of Croque Monsieur sandwiches at a local restaurant.
Afternoon
After lunch we headed to the Marais neighbourhood where we had arranged a private walking tour with Marie, from Marie Knows Paris.
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I have always wanted to explore the Marais neighbourhood. It is rich in history - particularly Jewish history and has some of the most beautiful and lively streets in Paris.
The area is filled with small parks and narrow streets. We started our tour at the Place de la Bastille - a monument and square where the Bastille prison once stood until it was destroyed in 1790 during the French Revolution.
Marie walked us through secret gardens, courtyards, churches, synagogues, private art galleries, the beautiful Place des Vosges, and by the best falafel restaurant in the city, all the while explaining the interesting history of the Marais area.
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After our tour we went to the Picasso Museum located in the Marais. This art gallery is dedicated to the works of Pablo Picasso who lived in France from 1905 - 1973. The collection includes over 5,000 works of art, much of which was donated by his family after his death.
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Evening
This evening we had dinner reservations at Le P'tit Troquet. This warm and cozy Parisian restaurant is located close to the Eiffel Tower. The traditional cuisine that they serve is delicious and the service was great.
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Day 2
Morning
We started our day with a private tour of the Musee D'Orsay with Natalia Davous.
The Musee D'Orsay is one of my favourite museums in Paris. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art in the world, including paintings by Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh and many others.
The museum is built in a former train station. The architecture is spectacular.
We spent a couple of hours in the museum with Natalia, who gave us a very interesting lesson on the history of impressionist art, the techniques, the background of the artists and how their art and the artistic movements evolved.
Following the tour in the gallery, Natalia walked with us around the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighbourhood which is filled with private galleries - many exhibiting modern and contemporary art.
Afternoon
We had lunch in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area at La Palette. This iconic French restaurant was frequented by many artists including Cézanne and Picasso back in the day, and later by Ernest Hemingway and Jim Morrison. The bistro serves a nice lunch. We had delicious salads and baguette while sipping wine on the street-side terrace.
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After lunch we continued to stroll around the area and stopped at Pierre Hermé for dessert. If you have a sweet tooth or are a foodie, this is one place you won't want to miss! We had coffees and the most delicious, buttery pastries I've eaten. Plus the display is pure eye candy.
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We then walked over to the Musée de l'Orangerie - another incredible museum that should definitely be on your list if you love impressionist art. This museum is located next to the Places de la Concorde and the Tuileries Gardens.
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The museum is most famous as the home of eight large murals of water lilies painted by Monet which are located in two oval rooms. The museum also contains an incredible collection by other artists such as Cézanne, Matisse, Modigliani, Renoir and others.
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From there we walked back to our hotel. On the way we strolled through the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens filled with Parisians enjoying the sunny day.
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Evening
This evening we did not have a reservation so decided to take our chances and walk out to a restaurant around the Luxembourg gardens, not far from our hotel. We were lucky and happened to come across La Cuisine de Philippe which had one table available. This tiny restaurant had the most delicious French food. They specialize in soufflés - both savoury and sweet. I have never tasted anything so light, fluffy and delectable.
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Day 3
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Morning
This morning we walked from our hotel into the Latin Quarter. This area is situated on the left bank of the Siene. It is home to the Sorbonne University as well as several other schools of higher education. As such, it is a lively area filled with students, bistros and bars.
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We visited the Pantheon which is located in the Latin Quarter. It was originally built as church but now functions as a secular mausoleum, containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. It is a beautiful neo-classic building and its facade is modelled after the Pantheon in Rome.
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From the Pantheon we crossed the river and went to the Pompidou Centre near the Marais area. This modern, high-tech building houses Paris' modern and contemporary art collection - one of the greatest modern art collections in Europe. We spent a couple of hours viewing the unique artwork.
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Afternoon
We stopped for a light lunch at a bistro near the Pompidou Centre.
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From there we continued our walk over toward the Palais Royale. We walked through the beautiful square, enjoying the art installations, and then walked toward the Opera House. Unfortunately the Opera House was closed for a special event when we were there but it is a beautiful building and a nice walk to get there. I would recommend a tour inside if it is open.
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We took the metro back to our hotel for a rest.
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Evening
This evening we wanted to eat a traditional French cassoulet - a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing meat and white beans. Luckily one of the best restaurants serving cassoulet was located not far from our hotel - Au Pére Louis.
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This small, warm restaurant located in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area, on the other side of the Luxembourg Gardens, serves delicious comfort food and the staff are very friendly.
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Day 4
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Morning
We decided to skip the hotel breakfast this morning and grab a bite to eat at a café like Parisians. We walked through the Montparnasse area. We stopped at the La Boulangerie des Invalides for a café-au-lait and we shared a buttery croissant and delicious quiche.
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We continued over to the Hôtel des Invalides which houses the Army Museum and Napolean's Tomb. This interesting museum covers French military history mainly during the two World Wars. It also houses Napolean's tomb, as well as the tombs of other French war heroes, in a beautiful domed church.
From there we walked over to the Eiffel Tower, Paris' iconic tower, and the park surrounding it. Since we've both gone up the tower on previous trips, we didn't go up this time.
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We crossed the river and headed toward the Arc de Triomphe - one of the most famous monuments in Paris. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. We climbed the Arc which has a beautiful view of the city.
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Afternoon
We took the metro to Montmartre for lunch and a walking tour.
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Montmartre, located on the north side of Paris, is located on a hill and has a village-like atmosphere. The Basilica of the Sacré Coeur stands at the summit. Montmartre is known for its artistic history as well as the famous nightclub - the Molin Rouge. In the early 1900s many famous artists, such as Modigliani, Monet, Renoir and Picasso lived and had studios in this district.
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We stopped for lunch at Le Coq Rico, famous for its traditional French roasted chicken. The food was delicious and the chicken was one of the best roasted chicken I've had.
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After lunch we did a walking tour with Sight Seekers Delight. This tour was more of a pop-culture tour. We would have preferred to hear more about the history of the area so it was somewhat disappointing.
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Evening
We were pretty full from our big lunch so decided to just go out for wine and a charcuterie board at Quartier Vavin, a lively café just down the street from our hotel. The light dinner hit the spot and was a nice way to toast our final night in Paris.
Day 5
Morning
After breakfast we checked out of our hotel and headed home. Au revoir Paris!
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Itinerary Add-ons
This itinerary can be combined with:
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