Places to Visit in Paris

If you had only four days in Paris what would you do? I’m excited to share places to visit in Paris, whether you have only a few days or a whole week!

(Conor took the above photo and edit – he was so proud – I had to share it)

We just returned from a fabulous European vacation with our boys. We had four days in Paris followed by a villa holiday in Spain with our extended family. It was wonderful and I’ll share more about that in an upcoming post.

This was my 4th time in the City of Lights. I went twice during my Junior Year Abroad and Luke & I went to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary (19 years ago). This was our first time visiting the city as a family and we wanted to cram A LOT in. Both our kids love art, architecture, and, of course, food. John & Conor are also learning French in school so thought this would be a wonderful immersive experience with the language.

If you follow me on Instagram then you may have followed along on some of our holiday in real time.

Okay, let’s talk about places to visit in Paris, shall we?

How To Get To Paris

This is going to vary for everyone depending on your location, but we flew direct from Boston’s Logan Airport. The journey is 6 hours and 50 minutes. We flew Air France and the service was wonderful and they had lots of inflight entertainment options. Flight prices vary depending on time of year and when you book etc. We had a night flight, which I’m not a big fan of, but it did mean we could have breakfast in Paris. Croissants there are the best!

I’ve also taken the Chunnel from London and that is a wonderful experience. The Eurostar takes 2 hours and 15 minutes and a round trip ticket is approximately $90.

Why You’ll Love Paris

• the bread and wine and food in general!
• the architecture
• the art
• people watching – everyone is so fashionable – I know this is a stereotype, but so true!
• meandering streets and different arrondissements (each one has a unique feel)
• the gardens
• the juxtaposition of history and modern culture

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Novotel Les Halles. Our room rate was approximately $240. Rates will vary depending on when you’re visiting and for how long. We opted for this hotel because the room was large and well appointed (and central).

I took these photos when we first checked in. Conor was exhausted from the red eye flight and then walking around Paris for the entire day. The room had two queen beds, a separate sitting area, and a large bathroom.

Les Halles is in the first arrondissement which meant to we could walk to the Louvre, the Seine, the Champs Elysées and the Marais. It was also a quick train ride (one stop) to Gare Du Lyon (we took a train to Barcelona after our stay in Paris).

There are so many options for accommodation – Air B&B, hotels, and youth hostels. I stayed at a lovely youth hostel during my visits when I was a student.

When to Visit

We just visited in July which is probably the busiest time. It felt like the whole world was in Paris. It was also extremely hot – 104 and 105 for the first two days of our trip. So all those hot people flocked to the museums and other air conditioned spaces. We couldn’t get into the Louvre because a line snaked around the museum. We pre-booked tickets for Musée d’Orsay but still had to wait in a long line. Once inside it was so busy we couldn’t even see the impressionist art. We gave up trying to view Van Gogh. We had a similar experience at Versailles – over run with tourists. It may be due to Covid but I just don’t really like crowds and crowded places anymore. If you go in July, I recommend NOT going to the touristy places but strolling the Marais and the broad avenues.

Other times I visited was February, April, and May. I would highly recommend spring in Paris because it’s cool enough to stroll and I don’t remember large crowds like we experiences this time.

Places to Visit in Paris

Touristy – Must Sees

Here are some places we enjoyed, but if going in July you may want to skip the inside visit.

The Eiffel Tower

We tried to go at night to see the tower lit up. There were many people here – it almost felt like Disney World, but it such a majestic building and we really wanted to the kids to experience it in person. Both Luke and I have climbed it before so just took in the sights rather than the heights. We love the view from Sacre Couer better, which you will see further down in the post.

The Louvre

The Louvre is famous for the Mona Lisa and the pyramids. It houses lots of sculptures and religious art. We only enjoyed the outside on this visit.

Versailles

We booked tickets for Versailles but it was still extremely busy. I was impressed by just how large the palace and grounds are. It was my first time visiting this area.

The beginning rooms – Louis XVI rooms and portraits were very busy. I actually only took a handful of pictures here due to the opulence and to the sheer crowds. The room of mirrors was quite impressive:

I was drawn the later rooms int he palace with their white walls, lovely oil paintings and more understated style. I loved this portrait for some reason:

I thought Marie Antoinette’s room was rather beautiful. I could see this room still being enjoyed today.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame is still under repair. It is quite amazing they were able to save this beautiful church after the fire. At this time of writing this post it is not open to visitors.

Sacré-Coeur

Completed at the end of the 19th century and inspired by the Saint Sofia in Constantible is breathe-taking.

I’m not sure if you can see the crowds in this photo but it was swarming with people. It is well worth the visit because you get incredible views of Paris.

Musée d’Orsay

Is a beautiful museum housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a railway station built at the turn of the 20th century. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the world. On this trip it really was too busy to enjoy the art.

Arc de Triomphe

This historic arc is at the start of Champs-Elysée and has amazing views of the city. We were too exahusted to climb the steps to the top as we visited the day we arrived.

Le Jardin de Tuileries

A sprawling garden between the Louvre and the Champs-Elysée. It’s name is derived from the workshops of roofing tiles that used to be in the area. In the 16th century Catherine de Medici commissioned to have the gardens resemble that of Florence. We enjoyed a baguette, Orangina, and the shade here.

Our Favorites Places to See and Experience in Paris

Le Coulée Verte

This was our favorite spot in Paris. The Coulée Verte René-Dumont is a public garden and park that spans 4.5km.

In 1988 Philippe Mathieux and Jacques Vergely converted the former railway line, which linked Place de la Bastille to Varenne-Saint-Maur from 1859. It now has the most stunning elevated views of Paris’ avenues:

We felt such calm above the city, surrounded by gorgeous plantings, art, and nature.

There was so much to see and enjoy on this walk including tunnels, kids’ play structures, fruiting trees, water features and more. We could have spent an entire day enjoying this space. It’s a great place to bring a picnic too.

Strolling around Montmartre

Montmartre is in the 19th Arrondissement and is filled with so much character and art. Just so you know it is very hilly. This used to be in the country-side and not part of Paris.

We tried to have lunch at this famous creperie but they had no seats instead we opted for a spot overlooking the artists at work and we loved this view. It was fascinating to watch how quickly they can create beautiful portraits:

There was so much to see in this area:

Villa Léandre (in Montmartre)

A little cul-de-sac that has a feel of a tiny hamlet. I loved the little houses down this lane, each one more picturesque than the last!

Walking along the Seine

It was cool to walk along the Seine and enjoy the perspective of this city from this angle. We did this a number of times on our visit.

Next time we visit we’d like to ride the Bateau Buses that run up and down the Seine (as seen in the photo above).

Strolling Le Marais

This was my first time in this area and we loved strolling the lanes and visiting the shops and ice cream parlors.

It was here we found this extremely old building with the wood exposed:

We also walked down the narrowest street.

Can you see how narrow it gets?

Le Jarin du Luxembourg

This garden was so beautiful and calm. It seemed like many French people frequent this space. It was quieter than some of the other gardens.

The architecture and plantings were beautiful!

Places to Eat / Drink

Well, I can’t write a post about Paris and NOT talk about the food. It’s a huge part of Paris culture. We loved that we could just sit at a café for a drink and not be rushed. Café culture is the best.

Breizh Cafe

Perhaps one of our favorite meals in Paris. There are five locations of Breizh Cafe but we went to the one in the Latin Quarter. Breizh is known for their Breton crepes made with buckwheat.

We sat outside under an umbrella and watched the world go by. I do need to share the inside because it was gorgeous:

Luke enjoyed a jambon crepe:

While I devoured this vegetarian one:

Everything was delicious and so fresh. In fact, we were tempted to go to another Breizh in the Marais, but we didn’t.

Les Deux Magots Cafe

This cafe is very famous, it was the meeting point for artists, writers and thinkers. We enjoyed a cold beverages while people watching.

Jardin Privee – Novotel

This restaurant was in our hotel. We dined there our first night because we were just too tired to venture out again. Our meal was wonderful. Luke enjoyed this charcuterie board and we couldn’t believe it was only 22 euros.

Everything was lovely here even afternoon drinks while waiting for our room:

Camille Bistro in the Marais

This felt so Paris! The waiters in long aprons, stunning views of the Marais, and really delicious food. We saw this when strolling and had to stop.

I opted for the green salad with cheese and in was wonderful:

Grand Café Capucines

We met Luke’s brother for breakfast here. He was visiting Paris on business for the day from London so it was so fun to meet up.

Breakfast was amazing and the decor inside was stunning. This was at the Lafayette stop and close to Galleries Lafayette.

** We also stumbled upon wonderful little cafes for breakfast where we enjoyed Petit Dejeuner Express which is coffee, juice, bread and jam, and a croissant. There are so many wonderful restaurants and cafes in Paris. I would just look for places where there are lots of French people as well as tourists.

Here is an example of Petite Dejeuner:

Places to Shop

Food Halls and Supermarkets We Frequented

We picked up picnic supplies and snacks at Monoprix which was in Les Halles. We were also able to find wine there, fun clothes, soaps and lots of other Parisian things.

Lafayette Gourmet – is dreamy. Think Whole Foods but a million times better. They had bins of salts, beautiful stacked fruits and vegetables, mountains of French chocolate, macaroons in a rainbow of colors. Honestly, I think we could have spent an entire day there. The French set yogurt and fresh juices were amazing.

Antiques and Vintage

We stumbled on a rather large antique shop on the way to Versailles when we got off the train. It was wonderful and I wished my suitcase could fit furniture.

Galleries Lafayette

We found wonderful gifts here including berets! They also had a fun [Re] Store section with vintage clothing. Some things were out of our price range but so much fun to look!

Other Resources You Might Enjoy

If you like things a little bit off the beaten path, more like an insider’s guide to Paris, than I highly recommend Paris in Stride by Jessie Kanelos Weiner and Sarah Moroz. It has beautiful watercolor illustrations and fun walking tours of the city divided in the various sections of the city. It’s currently on sale. They’ve also written New York in Stride. I plan on getting that next time we visit New York.

Was Four Days Enough?

Yes, we crammed so much into four days but our kids and us just really enjoyed strolling the wide avenues, spending lots of times in gardens – Le Coulée Vert was our favorite (see above), and eating French food. We took the Metro a lot but we also walked everywhere too. In fact, each day we walked more. The last day we walked 14.5 miles!

Want more travel ideas?

We love to travel and feel so fortunate to be able to travel again. If you enjoy traveling you might also like these posts:

• Discovering Maine’s Hidden Gems
• Visiting Cornwall
• Why You Should Bring Kids to Wine Country
• Things to do on the Central California Coast
• Windsor Castle
• Spanish Holiday in Southern Spain

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