3 Days in Paris: The Perfect Itinerary for Your Visit

Paris is a perfect city to spend a couple of days. The challenge is, there are so many things to do. Without careful planning, you might end up rushing in different directions and seeing less than you could otherwise. So, you need a well-planned itinerary.

Seeing all the landmarks of Paris during three days would be mission impossible. My suggestion is to focus on several carefully picked activities in order to have time to relax and just soak in the energy of Paris.

The sections below show my proposed itinerary for 3 days in France’s capital. My recommendation is to spend the first day visiting various landmarks and parks, go to Monmartre and one of the museums on the second day, and visit one of the palaces outside of Paris on the third day.

Paris Itinerary – Day 1. Visiting Paris landmarks

The Seine Cruise

I recommend starting your visit to Paris with a Seine River Cruise. This will give you an opportunity to see many famous landmarks from the water without having to walk to all of them. It’s a perfect way to say hello to Paris.

There are many companies offering boat rides, like Bateaux Mouches, Bateaux Parisiens, Vedettes de Pont Neuf, Batobus etc., so you have a lot of choices. You can try a regular cruise or a dinner cruise and can get on the boat in different parts of the city, so it’s very convenient. Once you are on board, you’ll spend an hour or more cruising along the Seine and observing the gorgeous landmarks. These include the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Royal Bridge, Musee d’Orsay, and many others.

Lunch at a famous Parisian bistro

To continue your perfect stay in Paris, why not have lunch at a well-known bistro?

In Paris, you can find thousands of excellent bistros and restaurants. In fact, experts say there are 44,000 (!) restaurants in Paris, which makes it one restaurant per 48 habitants. Quite incredible.

While you have plenty of choices, you might want to have lunch not anywhere, but at some famous Parisian bistro. For instance- Les Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore or le Procope. These world-famous cafes will instantly transport you to the golden days of Paris.

My favorite is Les Deux Magots. This bistro opened its doors back in 1884. It played an important role in the Parisian cultural life. Many famous artists and writers met there regularly. Some of the visitors included Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. When the weather is good, it gets quite challenging to get a table outside (people like to be seen eating there and observe others). Nevertheless, you can still get a table if you wait a bit.

Visiting Parisian landmarks

After lunch, you can continue your first day in Paris by walking to a few landmarks and exploring them in detail. You can visit such world famous sites as the Notre Dame de Paris, le Pantheon, La Conciergerie, stroll along the Champs Elysees, marvel at the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile, admire the Place de la Concorde, or stop at La Madeleine church.

You might not be able to spend a lot of time at each landmark, since you don’t have the whole week. So, you’ll have to manage your time well and focus on those which ones you like the most.

The Conciergerie

This architectural masterpiece has witnessed both happy and heartbreaking moments.

The Conciergerie means “lodge” in English. Originally, it was part of a royal palace, Le Palais de la Cite. This palace was the residence of kings of France from the 6th until the 14th century when King Charles made a decision to move his residence to the Louvre Palace.

During the French Revolution the Conciergerie was in the center of deeply tragic events. It served as a courthouse and a prison for 2,780 prisoners who were held and sentenced there, and later taken to be executed in different parts of the city. The most famous prisoner of the Conciergerie was of course the Queen Marie-Antoinette.

When the French Revolution began, Marie-Antoinette, her husband King Louis XVI and their children tried to flee, but they only made it as far as a small town called Varennes. They were recognized and returned to Paris. All Marie-Antoinette’s jewels which she took with her, including the famous Hope Diamond, were confiscated.

If you are interested in learning more about these events, check out my blog post:

The Hope Diamond and Other Famous Gems in Washington DC

Long story short, the flight to Varennes ended up further damaging the reputation of royals. Marie-Antoinette and her family members were first imprisoned at the Temple prison. The King was executed in January 1793 and Marie-Antoinette moved to the Conciergerie in August 1793. After several attempts to free her failed, she had to resign to her fate. Marie-Antoinette was sentenced to death and executed on the Place de la Concorde in October 1793.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame is the Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary and one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. It’s a popular Paris attraction and some 13 million people visit it every year.

Notre-Dame’s construction commenced back in 1163 and finished in 1260, although some modifications were made throughout the centuries. During the French Revolution Notre-Dame suffered a lot of destruction. In the later years, several restoration projects were carried out.

A major accident happened in April 2019. Notre-Dame was undergoing restoration and its roof caught on fire. After burning for 15 hours, a lot of damage happened, and serious consequences went way past the cathedral itself: the blowing smoke carried massive quantities of lead, which eventually spread around the neighborhoods near the site.

The lead testing happened one month after the fire, causing a lot of concern among the residents. Understandably, young children would be at high risk in such a situation. As reported by NY Times, more than 6,000 children under the age of 6 lived within half a mile to the site. At some schools, lead tests showed alarming lead levels. However, some officials stated that in a city as old as Paris, there has been a lead problem even without the Notre-Dame fire. There were also concerns about the health of restoration workers. The lead levels inside the cathedral turned out 588 times above the regulatory threshold, putting them at major health risk.

The cathedral is currently not open to the public, so you can only observe it from the outside. However, President Macron mentioned that it will re-open its doors in December of 2024.

The Pantheon

The Pantheon is a monument with a large stone dome situated in the Latin Quarter of Paris. It was constructed between 1758 and 1790. Interestingly, the use of this building (and some of its elements) changed back and forth through the centuries as different French leaders had different views on what this construction should represent.

Originally, King Louis XV intended for it to be a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, replacing the run-down church of Abbey of St. Genevieve. The construction of the new church was almost complete when French Revolution began in 1789 and brought a lot of changes with it.

The Marquis de Vilette decided that this would be a temple dedicated to liberty, a mausoleum housing the remains of famous French citizens, similar to Pantheon in Rome. Instead of the statue of St. Genevieve originally intended for the top of the dome, a cross was put temporarily. The expectation was to replace the cross by the statue representing fame, but this did not happen either. Instead, they placed a flag on top of the dome.

Later, during Napoleon’s rule, Pantheon’s church properties were restored, although it continued keeping the function of mausoleum. After the fall of Napoleon, Louis XVIII restored Pantheon to the Catholic Church. In 1881, the Church of St. Genevieve became a mausoleum again, and so it is expected to remain for the foreseeable future. Among modern people buried there are scientists and Nobel laureates Marie Curie and Pierre Curie and the dancer and singer Josephine Baker. Alexander Dumas’ remains were also transferred to Pantheon 132 years after his death back in 1870.

La Madeleine

The Church of Saint-Marie-Madeleine (or simply La Madeleine) is a famous Catholic church in central Paris. It’s located on Place de la Madeleine in the 8^th arrondissement of Paris. This church is inspired by the classical Roman architecture. It has 52 Corinthian columns, each 20 meters tall. It took almost a century to construct this beautiful landmark, and many rulers and architects took part in the process.

An earlier Madeleine church was built back in the XIII century. It was considered too small, and the construction of a new, larger church was authorized by King Louis XV. He laid a first stone in 1763. The original design by the first architect Pierre Contant d’Ivry envisioned a large dome on top of the church. After d’Ivry’s death, the new architect Guillaume Martin Couture selected a more classical design which would resemble a Greek or Roman temple.

The construction of the new church was paused in 1789 due to French Revolution. When Louis XVI was executed, his body was transported to the old Madeleine Church which remained standing till about 1801. The Revolutionary Government debated on the use of the new church building; some of the possible ideas were a public library or a marketplace. When Napoleon came to power, he declared that this would become “The Temple to the Glory of the Grand Army.”

After the fall of Napoleon, works continued under King Louis XVIII. The construction of the church was finally finished during the reign of King Louis-Philippe. It was officially inaugurated on July 24, 1842, the day of Mary Magdalene.

One of the important parts of La Madeleine is the half-dome over the choir of the church which depicts history of Christianity. Below is a wide ceramic mosaic which shows Christ and a group of saints with connections to France. Below the mosaic is a row of Corinthian columns, an altar and a large sculpture “The Ecstasy of Mary Magdalene”. The sculpture depicts Mary Magdalene, kneeling in prayer while three angels are transporting her to heaven. Mary Magdalene was one of Christ’s followers who traveled with him and was also a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection.

The Place de la Concorde

The Place de La Concorde displays two monumental fountains, the Fountain of Rivers and the Maritime Fountain, honoring commerce, navigation and industry of France. The main figures are made of cast iron and painted with bronze and gold paint.

These masterpieces were designed by the renowned French architect Jacques Ignace Hittorff. The inspiration for the structures came from the fountains in Piazza San Pietro and Piazza Navona in Rome. Twelve (!) architects worked on the design of the Paris fountains, closely supervised by Hittorff. The work started in 1833 and was completed in 1840, during the reign of King Louis-Philippe.

Interestingly, years before French Revolution, there was a plan to build a statue of Louis XV with two fountains around it in this square. However, because of shortage of water, this project wasn’t completed. At that time, the Place de la Concorde was called Place Louis XV.

During the French Revolution, the square was renamed into the Place de la Revolution. The guillotine was placed there. King Louis XVI, his wife Marie-Antoinette and lots of other members of nobility lost their lives there. After the Revolution of 1830, King Louis Philippe gave it the name of Place de la Concorde, which is the name the square bears today.

Take a stroll at a Parisian park

Later in the afternoon I recommend visiting one of the Parisian parks of your choice. Again, you have a lot of options here, and one weekend in Paris is not enough.

The city boasts over 400 municipal parks and gardens, making it the greenest city in Europe.

The Bois de Vincennes is the largest park in Paris and covers the area of 995 hectares. The oldest park in Paris is Jardin de Tuilleries which was created back in 1564.

My two personal favorites include Parc Monceau and Jardin de Luxembourg.

Jardin de Luxembourg

Jardin de Luxembourg was established back in 1612 at the initiative of Queen Marie de Medici. The Queen was growing tired of the Louvre. She wanted to enjoy an Italian style palace and gardens which would remind about her happy youth in Florence (she was in her late thirties at that time). The inspiration for the Luxembourg gardens came from the Boboli gardens in Florence. During the French Revolution, the palace temporarily became a prison.

Today, the Luxembourg garden is one of the most famous landmarks of Paris where families can relax and enjoy a nice day. The gardens cover 25.7 hectares of land. There are 3,000 trees, 102 statues and sculptures, and many activities for kids. The most well-known sites include the Medicis Fountain, the Orangerie, and the Medicis Aqueduct. The access to the garden is free for the public.

Parc Monceau

Parc Monceau is a gorgeous public park in Paris and a great place to take your kids as it has excellent play areas. It’s open from sunrise till sunset. Its area covers 20 acres.

This park was established by Philippe d’Orleans, Duke of Chartres, cousin of the King Louis XVI. He started acquiring the land for the park back in 1769 and decided to create the public park on this land in 1778. Parc Monceau was designed in the English style: Philippe enjoyed all things English and was good friends with the Prince of Wales (who later became King George IV).

Parc Monceau is very green and contains a pond with water lilies, curved walkways, a Chinese fort, a Dutch windmill, various bridges, as well and statues of famous Frenchmen, such as Guy de Mopassan and Frederic Chopin. Many painters have tried to reflect the beauty of Parc Monceau in the works, most notably Claude Monet who painted 6 views of this park back in 1876 and 1878.

Many families with kids visit this park. It’s also a popular place to exercise and relax. You can see a lot of people jogging, doing yoga or reading a book on the bench. For kids, Parc Monceau boasts an excellent playground, a sandbox, a carousel based on the Jules Vernes Around the World in 70 Days theme, some swings, as well as pony rides on weekends and public holidays. Kids will also be happy to watch the ducks, turtles and fish in the pond.

There are plenty of kiosks which sell various snacks like ice cream and waffles. The park also has special areas for riding bikes. This is a great place to have a picnic on a warm day and spend a relaxing afternoon.

Paris Itinerary – Day 2. Visiting Parisian Museums and Monmartre

If you are an art lover, it you’d definitely want to visit one of the Parisian museums on your second day.

How many museums are in Paris? Well, not as many as restaurants, but still quite a few. Numbers vary from source to source, but we can say with confidence there are 130-140 museums, or even more.

Of course, you won’t have time to visit more than one or two museums during the weekend in Paris, so pick carefully. Some top options include Louvre Museum, Musee d’Orsay, Musee Rodin, Musee d’Orangerie, The Centre Pompidou, Musee de Cluny, and others. Generally, museums are less crowded in the morning, so you might want to head there early.

Musee d’Orsay

I recommend visiting Musee d’Orsay given that its collection is rich, but not excessive, and you will be able to easily cover it within half a day.

The venue for this popular museum is the former Orsay train station. Starting with 1900, it ran services to Paris from southwest France. Little by little, the use of the station declined and eventually it became a museum. Here you can find artwork of such famous painters as Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Winterhalter, Cezanne, Pompon, and others. Perfect mix.  

At the entrance you will get the museum map which lists the must see paintings and sculptures and floors where they are located. There are 25 masterpieces on the plan.

Our favorite one was Madame Rimsky-Korsakov by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1864). If you want to know more about this painting and some other masterpieces in Paris museums, check out my blog post: Ten Must See Artworks in Paris and Amazing Stories Behind Them.

Monmartre

To continue with the art theme, in the afternoon, you might want to head to Monmartre.

This Parisian district is famous for its cobbled streets, cozy bistros, green gardens, and artistic atmosphere. You can buy some lovely arts and crafts from local artists and souvenir shops.

The Monmartre is also home to several major landmarks which you wouldn’t want to miss on your visit to Paris, such as the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the Moulin Rouge.

The Sacré-Cœur is a Roman Catholic church constructed in Roman-Byzantine style which overlooks the entire city. It was consecrated in 1919 (after WWI), so it’s not as ancient as some other landmarks of Paris. However, its grandeur is impressive, and it houses France’s largest mosaic which measures 480 sq.m. (it’s also one of the largest mosaics in the world).

In the center of the mosaic is Jesus Christ dressed in white and around him are Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael, the protector of France. The basilica is open daily from 6:00 am to 10:30 pm. This the second most visited monument in Paris after the Eiffel Tower.

For over a century, Moulin Rouge has been at the center of Paris’ nightlife. Its windmill symbol is world famous, and its legendary cabaret will immerse you in the magical performance, culminating in the fast-paced French cancan.

Monmartre has many excellent bistros, so you will have a great opportunity to eat there.

Paris Itinerary – Day 3. Visiting French Palaces (Versailles or Fontainebleau)

On your last day in Paris, you might want to get out of the city and go on a day trip to one of the palaces. Two great choices are the Palace of Versailles or Chateau de Fontainebleau.

In case you are interested in learning more about Emperor Napoleon, I suggest heading to the Chateau de Fontainebleau. If your interest lies more with King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette and their predecessors, you’d be better off visiting Versailles. Both places offer great opportunities to walk in the beautiful gardens, palaces and learn a lot of history.

Chateau de Versailles

The Palace of Versailles is one of the most visited attractions in the world. It’s a former royal residence located 19 km away from Paris.

The palace started its existence during the times of King Louis XIII who built a small hunting lodge in 1623. Louis XIV significantly expanded the original structure which went through several phases of construction. In 1682, the king moved the government and the court to Versailles. As the result, this town became a de facto capital of France.

King Louis XV and subsequently Louis XVI continued to enjoy all the splendor of the palace until French Revolution when the royal family needed to leave Versailles for good.

There were ideas of demolishing the palace all together, but luckily, this did not happen. While Napoleon spent some time at the Grand Trianon, he never used the Palace of Versailles, and neither did King Louis XVIII. In 1979, the palace and the park surrounding it were designated the World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Today, millions of tourists visit the Palace of Versailles, enjoy its beauty and learn about its fascinating history.

The Palace

If you visit Versailles, you’ll be able to explore the incredible Palace which contains 2,300 rooms spread over 63,154 square meters. You can expect to see the Grand Apartments (or “State Apartments”) which belonged to the King and Queen, the Apartments of the Dauphin and Dauphine, and the Apartments of Mesdames (daughters of King Louis XV).

Every room has some interesting history behind it.

The King’s State Apartment consisted of seven rooms. Each one of them was dedicated to one of the known planets. The Queen’s State Apartment was symmetrical with the King’s and had the same themes, with the exception that painted figures were male in the King’s apartments and female – in the Queen’s.

Three Queens of France resided in the Queen’s apartments at different times: Maria Theresa of Spain (wife of Louis XIV), Maria Leszczynska (wife of Louis XV) and Marie Antoinette (wife of Louis XVI).

The Queen’s bedchamber is the most important room in the Queen’s State apartment. Queens of France passed a lot of their time in this room. They slept here, got dressed and gave audiences.

In this very room, 19 children of France were born, including the future King Louis XV. Importantly, during those times, queens gave birth to their children in public. Lots of visitors streamed to the queen’s bedchamber to watch her give birth.

I honestly have no idea how these poor queens coped with that- a bunch of curious eyes staring at them and no epidural… This must have been some nightmare!

The Kings and the Queens of France also had their private apartments. For example, King Louis XVI used to spend a lot of time in this Library and Game Room. Queen Marie Antoinette received her favorite artists in the Private Cabinet. These included the composer Gluck, painter Vigee-Lebrun, and dressmaker Mlle Bertin.

The Trianons

You will also walk around the estate of Trianon where the kings and queens of France sought their refuge from the harsh etiquette and nosy courtiers. Sometimes, they just wanted to act like regular people without having to follow all the rules. The construction of the Grand Trianon (or “Marble Trianon”) was started in 1687. King Louis XIV used to spend time there with Madame de Maintenon.

The Petit Trianon, constructed in 1768, is closely associated with the name of Marie-Antoinette. This was a present from her husband King Louis XVI in 1774. Unlike some other queens, most notably Maria Leszczynska, Marie Antoinette was having trouble staying in the constant spotlight at the court. She greatly enjoyed the new possession where she could only interact with her closest friends.

Unfortunately, this attachment was one of the causes of her eventual downfall. Courtiers started growing distant from the royals who were always away at the Trianons. In the months preceding Revolution, court was often deserted. When Revolution came and the royal family found themselves in trouble, they received little support from nobility.

Chateau de Fontainebleau

Chateau de Fontainebleau is famous palace located about 55 km from Paris. It’s one of the largest royal palaces in France.

Historians do not know the exact date when the Chateau de Fontainebleau was established. The earliest reference to it dates to 1137 under the King Louis VII, although it’s possible it was built even earlier.

At that time, it was not an enormous castle by any stretch of imagination, but a much more modest one. In the 16th century, King Francis I made a decision to carry out a major transformation in Fontainebleau and commissioned a famous architect Gilles le Breton for this purpose. Over the years, different kings made other additions in order to make the castle more and more splendid. What especially attracted the French kings to this area was abundant game in the surrounding forest, so they enjoyed spending time there.

Several legends help to shed some light on where the name “Fontainebleau” could come from. One legend says that the dog of Louis IX discovered a spring in the forest during the fox hunt. The dog’s name was Bleau. After the discovery, the source with its beautiful water was named Belle-Eau Fountain, and the name Fontainebleau came from it.

What can you see at the Chateau de Fontainebleau? Well, there are plenty of things to see. You’ll be able to explore the Diane Garden, the Courtyard, the Chateau with its Napoleon Museum, the Pope’s Apartment and the Grand Apartments, the Carp pond, and other attractions.

If you’d like to know more about this chateau, visit my blog post: Guide to Visiting Chateau de Fontainebleau.

The Final Word

Spending 3 days in Paris is a real treat. Even a couple of days in this beautiful city will reinvigorate you and make you remember it for a long time.

If the weather is rainy, don’t despair. As one of the characters in the “Midnight in Paris” mentioned, Paris is the most beautiful during the rain. So, you should not miss out.

If, however, you want to stay dry, you’ll always have plenty of museums to visit. Just the Louvre Museum will easily keep you busy for the whole weekend if you’d want. In fact, Louvre’s collection is so large that it would take you 100 days to see every piece on display there.