The Perfect 3 Day Paris Itinerary
Looking for things to do in Paris? Paris is a huge city, much bigger than we expected! We thought we could walk around lots of Paris in one day, but we was definitely wrong!
Paris is huge and so much to do and see in usually a short space of time! See our 3-day itinerary for visiting Paris to see all the major attractions and not spend a bomb at the same time!
Paris is renowned for being expensive, but the whole time doesn’t have to be with multiple free activities or low costing ones.
Day 1
The Sacre Coeur
We started at the Sacre Coeur. It is an impressive cathedral where there are many steps to go up too and doesn’t seem as bad when you first start, but by the time Ed and I were at the top, we were thoroughly out of breath.
When you reach it, you can see lovely views over Paris, especially on a clear day. There are often buskers around and it was so nice listening to them, crowds joining in and singing along whilst admiring the first views of Paris.
The Sacre Coeur
The Sacre Coeur is placed on top of butte Montmartre, the highest point of the city! The construction of the Sacre Coeur began in 1875 and wasn’t complete until 1914
The Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge has been around since the 1800s and has always been the home of amazing cabaret shows. The building is iconic in Paris and nice to see both the inside and outside of it!
Shows can be about £90 and thoroughly enjoyable and just a 10-15 minute walk down from Sacre Coeur.
The Notre Dam
The Notre Dame is free to enter and an old cathedral apart of Paris’ history to not miss! We didn’t realise until we visited that it was built over a few hundred years by different people and wasn’t finished until 1345!
I’ve always loved going into churches and cathedrals and the Notre Dame is definitely not to miss. The huge glass windows are even more beautiful in real life and inside it shows you the history of the building. It is so beautiful and must have had the biggest organ we have ever seen! You can also pay to go up to the top and see the views of Paris from there too.
When we visited Paris, it was before the Notre Dam was unfortunately on fire. It is well known a lot of money was donated to restore the Notre Dam, and the restoration is hoped to be achieved before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games
We feel privileged to have seen the Notre Dam before it was on fire.
Pont de l'Archeveche
Pont de l’Archeveche as also known as the Paris lock bridge. This bridge has thousands upon thousands of locks with people’s names and dates on and it’s pretty cool, you can buy locks from people on the bridge if you want to add your own or from nearby shops
However, this trend really took off in the 2010s and now you see locks everywhere. The bridge itself is now a monument of what it represents. But when we started seeing locks on metal bins or other random bridges, it just starts to ruin the gesture and the surrounding environment.
Day 2
The Louvre
The Louvre is the iconic glass pyramid building which I’m sure you’ve seen many of times. How can you go to Paris and not get a picture of you ‘touching’ the top of the Louvre? It is also the home of the Mona Lisa.
Tickets cost 17euros to enter and you can spend the morning here if you wish. Ed and I are not too interested in art and didn’t find it was worth paying 17euros each to see the Mona Lisa which is apparently much smaller than you expect in real life, and actually quite a disappointment
There are lots of other highlights apart from this, such as medieval ruins and artefacts, and is actually the biggest museum in the world. But we enjoyed the outside more so, sitting people watching, the water and the fountains nearby.
Tuileries Garden
To the west of the Louvre, is a large park with some cafes, and a cool fountain which has seats all around it. It has reclined metal chairs which can be moved around to sit with your friends.
It’s nice to sit and take in the view and the atmosphere in the centre of Paris and have a little breaking from walking.
Walks Along the Seine
As I'm writing, I just have the song ‘Our Last Summer’ in my head from Mamma Mia the movie. ‘Walks along the seine, laughing in the rain’.
But walking along the seine in nice weather is lovely. They have multiple bridges across. Some with big statues either side and can see the arched bridge of Alexander III and then walk right along to the Eiffel tower.
Picnic in Front of the Eiffel Tower
Finishing off the day with a nice picnic in front of the Eiffel tower. Much cheaper than any restaurant around.
This area and so nice to see the tower this close and chill on the grass is really lovely. Ed and I just lay on the grass in the sun for a while, which was nice.
Just to appreciate where we were and can enjoy some nice cheese from local supermarkets!
Day 3
The Eiffel Tower
You can’t go to Paris and not travel to the summit of the Eiffel tower. There are many viewpoints in Paris: such as the Sacre Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe but both are no where near the height to the Eiffel tower.
Throughout Europe, if you’re under the age of 24, they often do a discount at big attractions (not Britain though, booo). For the tower, it’s only 12.50euros to visit the summit which we don’t think is bad at all.
We wanted to try and book online as queues can be horrendous for anything. But by the time I got round to it they were all sold out for the day we wanted.
We went the day before and there was a very small queue. We thought it must have been just by chance, but we went the day after and there was barely a queue then too.
We just had to wait for the lift to the second floor, then wait for the lift to the summit but it was well worth it. The views of Paris were amazing and the way the river looked with the sun hitting it looked beautiful, could also see Notre dame in the distance.
Arc de Triomphe
The one thing we thought of when visiting the Arc de Triomphe, was how the hell does anyone drive on that roundabout and not crash! About 8 lanes of people constantly crossing over each other and beeping, looks like a nightmare!
You can pay to go up to the top of the arc de Triomphe to see views across Paris. It was less than 10euro to go up but the queue was pretty huge.
Champs Elyseese
The one thing I must say about walking down the Champs Elyseese is to not underestimate how long of a road it is. It can easily take 30 minutes to walk down without stopping and that’s without going in any shops! The road itself is in fact 1.2 miles long
Great to have a look around but beware if buying food in this area, it is very expensive.
Champs Elyseese
The Champs Elyseese is actually 1.2 miles long (1.9km) and full of luxury shops, cafes, and theatres! It is also the finishing point of the Tour de France
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles is outside of the city and therefore have the chance to use the Paris metro system! Not going to lie, it is an extremely bus system and not a great experience. But apart of the travelling experience right? When Ed and I rode the metro system, we couldn’t get on the first 3 metros because they were so busy. The 4th we pushed ourselves on separately and made sure we knew which station to get off at
To get to the Palace of Versailles from the Champs Elyseese and it takes around an hour on the Paris public transport system
You can spend the afternoon exploring the Palace of Versailles for free if you're under the age of 25! If not, tickets are 20euros. You can explore the palace, the gardens, the musical fountain, and the shows.
The Palace of Versailles has extensive history including the role in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I and such beautiful architecture to admire
Where to Eat in Paris
Paris is expensive, and there is no way of getting around that. We always try to find the cheapest but best places to eat but we didn't find this was possible
I always go to the beloved Tripadvisor for food recommendations. But, if you're looking to save money, picnics are always good. Take some nice bread, cheese and continental meats from a local super market and enjoy the view!
Paris also has cafes which are cheaper than a normal restaurant but you can have a sit down meal. You order food at the counter and can sit down or take away. The only issue is that they often close early. So it would be just to check times
If you decide to have a meal out, be prepared for expensive prices regardless of where you are. Often in busy city centres, if you stay away from big attractions you can pay for a reasonably priced meal, but in Paris this isn’t possible.
Where to Stay in Paris
Paris is a great city, and very tourist orientated and therefore lots of places to stay and a range too!
Paris is a large city and you can get the metro everywhere, so you can easily save money by staying further away. But, don't stay too far away because you can spend even more money metroing into the city everyday! Its a little bit of a balancing act
If you end up staying near Disney Land, it is outside zone 1 and 2. Therefore you could spent £40 per day getting into the city, so not worth the money you will save on your hotel.
There is also so many AirBnbs around the city, and this is what we stayed in and it was great! I find you can get a good feel of the city when staying in an Airbnb and in Paris more so
If you're looking to save more money, maybe the hostel is for you! Hostel World have some of the cheapest prices around and vary in price and facilities depending on your needs
Paris has so much to explore and discover and it can be difficult to try and fit in as much as possible.
When visiting Paris, utilize the metro system, eat lots of croissants (we did every day), eat some macaroons, and try and speak some French! Paris is an amazing city just wish I could have spent more time there.
We would appreciate your comments on whatever you’ve done in Paris that you enjoyed!
