- Food & Drinks
Paris in Four Days: A Realistic Itinerary
Four days is enough to see Paris well if you stop trying to see all of it. This plan groups each day by neighborhood, keeps to one major museum a day, and leaves room for long lunches.
The short answer: four days is enough to see Paris well if you group each day by neighborhood and limit yourself to one major museum a day. Spend day one on the islands, the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain; day two at the Louvre and the Palais-Royal; day three in Le Marais; and day four at the Musée d'Orsay and around the Eiffel Tower. Book the Louvre, Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Eiffel Tower summit before you go, and plan around Monday and Tuesday closures.
Most four-day plans for Paris fail in the same way: too many sights, too much time on the metro, and no room for the long lunch or the unplanned hour in a bookshop that people remember most. This plan is built the other way around. Each day stays in one part of the city, so you walk more and ride less, and each day has a single anchor you've booked in advance. The rest is flexible.
Prices, hours and booking rules below were checked against official sites in November 2026. They change often, so confirm before you go.
Before you go: what to book
What | When to book | Good to know |
Louvre | As early as you can; a time slot is recommended | Closed Tuesdays. €22, or €32 for visitors from outside the EEA. Open until 9pm Wednesdays and Fridays |
Musée d'Orsay | Recommended; required with the Museum Pass | Closed Mondays. Open until 9:45pm Thursdays. Entrances have moved during works due to run until 2028 |
Sainte-Chapelle | Strongly recommended; required with the Museum Pass | Open daily. €16, or €22 from outside the EEA |
Eiffel Tower summit | Tickets go on sale up to 90 days ahead | Open daily. Prices rise on January 11, 2027 |
Notre-Dame | Free; an optional time slot is released shortly before | The towers are €16, online only, 424 steps and no lift |
Musée Picasso | A timed ticket is recommended | Closed Mondays |
The Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030, so don't build a day around it.
Monday and Tuesday matter
Many of Paris's museums close one day a week, and the closures cluster at the start of the week. The Louvre and the Orangerie close on Tuesdays. The Musée d'Orsay, Musée Rodin, Musée Picasso, Carnavalet and Versailles close on Mondays.
So arrange the days below to fit your dates: day two can't fall on a Tuesday, and days three and four can't fall on a Monday. Day one works on any day.
Day 1: The islands, the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain
Start early at Notre-Dame, which reopened in December 2024. Entry is free; you can reserve a free time slot on the cathedral's website shortly before your visit. Then walk five minutes to Sainte-Chapelle, where you'll need the timed ticket you booked. Go on a bright day if you can choose.
Cross to the Left Bank for lunch in the Latin Quarter, then browse the bookshops along the river.
Day 1: lunch and bookshops
In the afternoon, walk west into Saint-Germain: Saint-Sulpice, the side streets toward the river, and the Luxembourg Gardens if you need a bench and some trees. This is the part of the day to slow down and shop.
Day 1: Saint-Germain afternoon
For the evening, stay on the Left Bank for dinner, or go back to the Latin Quarter for live jazz in a medieval cellar.
Day 1: dinner and jazz
Day 2: The Louvre and the Palais-Royal
Not on a Tuesday.
Take the earliest time slot you can get at the Louvre (it opens at 9am) and choose two or three collections rather than trying to see everything. Several galleries are closed for renovation, so check the Louvre's list of open galleries the week you go. Three hours is plenty for most people.
Walk north for lunch around rue Sainte-Anne, Paris's Japanese quarter, which is known for its udon and ramen counters.
Day 2: lunch near the Louvre
Spend the afternoon outdoors and at an easy pace: the arcades of the Jardin du Palais-Royal, the covered Galerie Vivienne, and, if you have energy for one more building, the Bourse de Commerce, where Tadao Ando built a concrete cylinder inside the building's historic rotunda.
Day 2: the afternoon
End with a drink and dinner nearby.
Day 2: drinks and dinner
Day 3: Le Marais
Not on a Monday.
Begin at the Musée Picasso, in a 17th-century mansion, or at the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris, whose permanent collection is free. Then walk to the Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in the city.
Day 3: the morning
Have lunch in the upper Marais, then give the afternoon to galleries and shops. Many Marais shops open on Sundays, so this is a good day for a Sunday.
Day 3: lunch and coffee
Day 3: galleries and shops
For the evening, take in the view from a rooftop bar at the edge of the Marais, then go east to the 11th for dinner. It has the best run of bistros in the city.
Day 3: the evening
Day 4: The Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower
Not on a Monday.
Spend the morning at the Musée d'Orsay, with the time slot you booked. If you'd rather be outside, the Musée Rodin and its sculpture garden are a quieter alternative.
Have lunch in the 7th, then walk along rue du Bac and rue de Sèvres to Le Bon Marché and La Grande Épicerie, the food hall next door.
Day 4: lunch and the afternoon
Finish at the Eiffel Tower toward sunset. Go to the summit only if it matters to you, and book it ahead if so. Otherwise, the view of the tower from the Trocadéro or the Champ de Mars is the better one. Dinner can be close by.
Day 4: toward the tower
What we'd leave out
- Versailles. It's worth a full day, and it's closed Mondays and requires timed entry. On a four-day trip, we'd only include it if it's a priority. Our guide to day trips from Paris covers it and other options.
- A second major museum on the same day. The Louvre and the Orsay in one day is possible, and almost no one enjoys it.
- Montmartre, unless you have energy to spare. It's lovely, but it's out of the way and hilly. If you'd rather see it, swap it in for the afternoon of day four.
Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it for four days?
For this plan, probably not. The four-day pass costs €105. The paid museums above (the Louvre, the Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Musée Picasso) add up to about €70 to €86 depending on whether you're an EEA resident, and Notre-Dame and Carnavalet are free. The pass starts to pay off only if you add more, such as the Orangerie and the Musée Rodin. You'll still need to book time slots at the Louvre, the Orsay and Sainte-Chapelle with it. Our Paris Museum Pass guide covers the sites it includes.
Getting around
- Metro tickets cost €2.55 per ride since January 2026. Paper tickets are being phased out, so use a Navigo Easy card (€2) or the Bonjour RATP app. You can't yet tap a bank card at Metro gates.
- From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B takes about 30 minutes to central Paris and costs €14. Taxis have flat fares: €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank. The Roissybus no longer runs. The CDG Express train to Gare de l'Est is due to open on March 28, 2027.
- From Orly, Metro Line 14 runs to Châtelet in about 25 minutes for €14. Taxis are €45 to the Right Bank and €36 to the Left Bank.
Where to stay for this itinerary
This plan works best from a central base: the 6th, the 1st or Le Marais. Our guide to where to stay in Paris explains the differences.
Want the plan built for you?
If you'd like this itinerary adapted to your dates, your pace and the people you're traveling with, with the reservations made, see our ready-to-book Paris trips or our travel design service. For a shorter or longer stay, see our three-day first-timer's plan and our five-day introduction to Paris.
