A single day is never enough to see all of Paris, but it is enough to hit the essentials if you follow a route designed to cut down on backtracking. This timed itinerary starts on the Île de la Cité right at opening time and moves steadily westward through the day, ending at the Eiffel Tower in the late afternoon, with an optional stop in Montmartre for the most energetic. Each stop lists a time slot, the travel time to the next one, any entry price, and whether booking ahead is worth it. Bring comfortable shoes, a charged transport card and, if it rains, check the alternatives in the tips below. Where to sleep: for this itinerary, stay in Opéra, the Louvre is a quarter of an hour on foot, the Seine twenty minutes and Montmartre half an hour. See for example hotels with free cancellation in Opéra, and compare the other areas in our guide on where to stay in Paris.
9:00-10:00am - Notre-Dame and the Île de la Cité
Start early on the island where Paris was born, in front of Notre-Dame's Gothic facade and towers overlooking the Seine. Allow about an hour for the forecourt and the cathedral interior (free entry, open Monday to Friday from 7:50am to 7pm, Thursday until 10pm, and weekends from 8:15am to 7:30pm). Booking a free online time slot is optional but avoids the queue after 10am; otherwise, arrive right at opening to walk straight in. From here, it is a 20 minute walk to the Louvre along the Seine quays.
10:20am-12:30pm - The Louvre and its pyramid
The world's most visited museum does not need to be seen in full to be worthwhile. Allow at least two hours to focus on a handful of major works, the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo above all, rather than trying to cover everything. Admission costs €22 for EU/EEA residents and €32 for other visitors (free for under 18s and EU residents under 26); the museum opens from 9am to 6pm most days, until 9pm on Wednesday and Friday, and closes on Tuesday. Booking an online time slot is strongly recommended, even for free admission, since slots fill up fast in high season. To cut down on waiting, arrive right at opening or use the Carrousel entrance instead of the pyramid. From here, it is about a 20 minute walk through the Tuileries Garden to Place de la Concorde.
1:00-2:30pm - Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées
Cross Place de la Concorde and its obelisk, open access and free at any time, then head up the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées on foot, past luxury boutiques, cafés and cinemas, all the way to the Arc de Triomphe if time allows (about a 30 minute walk along the full length of the avenue). This is a good moment for a quick lunch on the go (see Tips). To reach the Seine cruise pier, allow about 20 minutes on foot heading down toward Avenue Kléber, or 15 minutes on the metro via line 9 to Alma-Marceau.
3:00-4:00pm - A cruise on the Seine
An hour aboard a river cruise boat is a welcome break after several hours of walking, and it offers a different perspective on the monuments you have already seen, this time from the water. Prices start from about €17-20 per adult for a roughly one-hour commented cruise. Advance booking is not strictly required but is worth doing on weekends and in summer, when the queue at the pier can grow long. From the landing point, it is about a 15 minute walk across the Pont d'Iéna to Trocadéro.
4:20-5:30pm - The Eiffel Tower from Trocadéro
Head to the Trocadéro esplanade, on the other side of the Seine, for the widest view of the Eiffel Tower, especially striking at sunset (the exact time varies a lot by season). The esplanade is open access and free at any time. There is no need to go up the tower itself if time is short, the view from the esplanade is more than enough to close out the day in style; arrive 30 to 45 minutes early to get a good spot along the railing. For the optional Montmartre add-on, allow about 30 to 35 minutes on the metro with one change, for example line 9 then line 12 to Abbesses.
5:45-7:00pm - Optional, if energy allows: Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur
For the most determined, one last stop in Montmartre rewards you with a final panorama over illuminated Paris from the basilica's forecourt, before you get lost in the cobbled lanes around Place du Tertre. Entry to the basilica is free (open daily from 6:30am to 10:30pm); only the dome climb, an add-on, is paid and settled on site. If the funicular queue is long, the stairs straight up the hill take barely more time.
Tips
- Metro line 1 serves the Louvre, the Concorde and the Champs-Élysées; the RER C or line 6 gets you close to the Eiffel Tower. A single ticket costs about 2.50€, a Navigo Jour pass about 12.30€.
- Keep lunch quick, a takeaway sandwich or salad around the Tuileries and the Concorde, eaten in the garden, to save time for walking.
- If Montmartre at the end of the day feels too ambitious, save it for another trip; with more time, our 3-day Paris itinerary follows the same plan at an easier pace.
- If it rains, extend the Louvre rather than the Champs-Élysées and take the Seine cruise (covered cabins); cut short the Trocadéro and Montmartre, and prefer the funicular to the slippery steps.
- Free: Notre-Dame, the Concorde, the Champs-Élysées, the Trocadéro esplanade and the inside of the Sacré-Cœur. Louvre 22€ (EU/EEA, otherwise 32€) and cruise from 17€: about 40€ minimum per adult, excluding meals and transport.
- To save: the Louvre is free for Europeans under 26, and a free walk along the quays can replace the cruise.
- Expect about 8 km of walking, up to 10 km with Montmartre. Book the Louvre (slots fill fast) and, at busy times, the cruise; nothing else is required.
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