Top 10 things to do in Paris
Ranked for a first visit. For each we name the one ticket or tour we would book, or say when you do not need one. Prices checked on 11 October 2026.
Finding experiences…
1Eiffel Tower
Lift tickets go on sale 90 days ahead and stairs tickets 60 days ahead, and summit tickets can sell out on the first day. The cheapest way up is the stairs to the second floor (€14.80, 674 steps); the summit is lift-only from there. It is open daily, currently until 11pm, and the views after dark are worth the wait.
See the options2Louvre
Closed on Tuesdays, open until 9pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. Since January 2026 visitors from outside the EU and EEA pay €32; under-18s and EEA residents under 26 go free. There is no longer a free first Sunday: entry is free on the first Friday evening of the month after 6pm (not July or August). A guided tour helps if you want the highlights without getting lost.
See the options3Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
Notre-Dame is free to enter, with an optional free time slot on its official site; the towers cost €16, are sold online only and are 424 steps up. A short walk away, Sainte-Chapelle’s stained glass is best on a sunny day; it costs €22 for non-EEA visitors (€16 for EEA), with timed entry through the security checks of the law courts.
See the options4Musée d’Orsay
The Impressionists in a former railway station. Closed on Mondays and open until 9:45pm on Thursdays, when entry from 6pm costs €12 online. There is no extra charge for non-European visitors here. Paris Museum Pass holders must book a time slot during building work until summer 2028.
See the options5A Seine river cruise
A one-hour sightseeing cruise is the easiest way to see the riverside monuments in one go: Vedettes du Pont Neuf from €15 online, Bateaux-Mouches from €17. The Batobus (€23 for 24 hours) is a hop-on hop-off water bus without commentary. Go at dusk to see the city light up.
See the options6Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur
The basilica is free and open daily from 6:30am to 10:30pm. The dome costs €8, is sold on site only and is about 300 steps up. Take the funicular from Anvers for one metro ticket, or arrive from Abbesses to walk down through the village. Keep an eye on your bag around the steps, a known pickpocket spot.
See the options7Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées
The rooftop view straight down the Champs-Élysées is one of the best in Paris, and it stays open until 10:30pm. Tickets cost €16 from October to March and €22 from April to September, the same for all nationalities. The lift is under maintenance, so it is 284 steps. Use the underpass from Charles-de-Gaulle–Étoile; never cross the roundabout.
8Palace of Versailles
The palace, the Trianon estate and the gardens make a full day. It is closed on Mondays, and the palace needs a timed entry. The Passport costs €35 for non-EEA visitors until 31 October and €25 from 1 November (€32 and €22 for EEA visitors). The Musical Fountains play at weekends until 1 November. Take the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, about 30–40 minutes.
See the options9A food tour in Le Marais
Cheese, bread, pastries and wine with someone who knows which shops are worth it. In restaurants, service is included by law, so tipping is optional (5–10% if you were pleased), and you can always ask for a free carafe of tap water. Parisians dine from about 8pm.
See the options10Day trip to Mont-Saint-Michel
The abbey on its tidal island is about 3–4 hours from Paris by train with a change and no direct service, so a coach tour is the simpler way to do it in one day. Closer options: Versailles, Disneyland Paris (about 40 minutes on the RER A) and, until 1 November, Monet’s garden at Giverny.
See the options
Where available, you can reserve now and pay later. Payment dates and eligibility depend on the experience and the options shown at checkout.
Paris itinerary for 1, 2 or 3 days
Group each day by area and check closing days first: no Louvre on Tuesday, no Orsay or Versailles on Monday.
Not on the map (outside the city): Palace of Versailles, Day trip to Mont-Saint-Michel.
Day 1: the Eiffel Tower, the Seine and the Arc de Triomphe
- Morning: the Eiffel Tower at your booked time.
- Afternoon: a Seine cruise; Bateaux-Mouches leaves from the Pont de l’Alma, along the river from the tower.
- Evening: the Arc de Triomphe rooftop, open until 10:30pm, then the Champs-Élysées.
Day 2: Île de la Cité and the Louvre
- Morning: Notre-Dame, then Sainte-Chapelle in the sun.
- Afternoon: the Louvre, or keep it for a Wednesday or Friday evening, when it is open until 9pm.
- Then walk through the Tuileries to the Musée de l’Orangerie for Monet’s Water Lilies (closed on Tuesdays).
Day 3: Orsay, Saint-Germain and Montmartre
- Morning: the Musée d’Orsay (closed on Mondays).
- Midday: lunch in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
- Afternoon: Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur, staying for sunset over the city.
With more time
Add Versailles (not on a Monday), the Catacombs (€31, closed on Mondays, book online), Disneyland Paris, or a day at Mont-Saint-Michel. Monet’s garden at Giverny closes for the season after 1 November 2026.
Paris museum prices in 2026 for visitors from outside Europe
Since January 2026, visitors from outside the EU and EEA, including the UK, US, Canada and Australia, pay more at the Louvre, Versailles and Sainte-Chapelle.
- Under-18s of any nationality go free at the national museums and monuments, and EEA residents aged 18–25 go free too.
- The Paris Museum Pass costs €85, €105 or €125 for two, four or six days. It covers the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles but not the Eiffel Tower, and you still need to book a time slot at the Louvre, Orsay, the Orangerie and the Versailles palace.
- The higher non-EEA prices make the pass better value: it usually pays off if you will visit four or more of its sites.
| Site | Non-EEA visitors | EEA visitors |
|---|---|---|
| Louvre | €32 | €22 |
| Versailles Passport (to 31 October) | €35 | €32 |
| Versailles Passport (from 1 November) | €25 | €22 |
| Sainte-Chapelle | €22 | €16 |
| Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie | €30 | €23 |
| Musée d’Orsay | €16 online | €16 online |
| Arc de Triomphe (October–March) | €16 | €16 |
When to visit Paris: closing days, weather and events
Paris is good all year, but plan around each museum’s weekly closing day and book the timed tickets that sell out.
- Weather: average highs of about 26°C in July and 8°C in January; May is the wettest month, and late December has only about 8 hours of daylight.
- On Sunday 1 November 2026, the first Sunday of the month, entry is free at Orsay (booking required), the Orangerie, the Rodin museum, the Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle and the Notre-Dame towers.
- Christmas: the Champs-Élysées Christmas market runs from 22 November 2026 to 4 January 2027. New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Élysées was free in 2025, with a light show on the Arc de Triomphe and fireworks.
- The Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030.
- Coming up in 2027: the Paris Marathon on 4 April and Roland-Garros from 17 May to 6 June.
| Site | Closed | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|
| Louvre | Tuesday | Yes, timed slot |
| Musée d’Orsay | Monday | Recommended |
| Palace of Versailles | Monday | Yes, timed palace entry |
| Catacombs | Monday | Yes |
| Musée de l’Orangerie | Tuesday | Recommended |
| Eiffel Tower | Open daily | Yes, lift tickets 90 days ahead |
| Notre-Dame | Open daily | Optional free slot |
Free things to do in Paris and how to save money
Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur and eleven City of Paris museums are free, and a few habits save a lot more.
Free things to do
- Notre-Dame and Sacré-Cœur, both free to enter.
- The permanent collections of eleven City of Paris museums, including the Petit Palais, Musée Carnavalet and the Musée d’Art Moderne.
- The Louvre on the first Friday evening of the month after 6pm (not July or August), and the first-Sunday free days at Orsay and other museums.
- The rooftop terrace of Galeries Lafayette on boulevard Haussmann, with free views over the rooftops (closed in bad weather).
- Walks along the Seine, the Tuileries, the Luxembourg Gardens and Montmartre’s streets.
Ways to save
- Book the Eiffel Tower stairs to the second floor (€14.80) instead of the summit lift (€36.70).
- Visit Orsay on Thursday evening, when entry from 6pm costs €12 online.
- Do not pay for water: restaurants must give you a free carafe of tap water with a meal, and service is already included in the price.
- A Navigo Easy card costs €2 and holds your metro tickets; there are no discounted ten-ticket books any more.
Getting around Paris: airports, metro tickets and taxis
You cannot yet tap a bank card at Paris metro gates, so buy tickets in the official app or on a €2 Navigo Easy card.
From the airports
- Charles de Gaulle: the RER B takes about 35 minutes to Gare du Nord and costs €14 with the airport ticket. Roissybus stopped running on 1 March 2026.
- Orly: metro line 14 reaches Châtelet in about 25 minutes, also €14.
- Taxis have fixed fares: from Charles de Gaulle €56 to the Right Bank and €65 to the Left Bank; from Orly €45 to the Right Bank and €36 to the Left Bank.
- Beauvais: the Aérobus to Porte Maillot takes from 1 hour 15 minutes and costs €17.90 online.
Metro, RER and buses
- A metro-train-RER ticket costs €2.55 and gives two hours of metro and RER journeys, but it does not cover buses; a bus-tram ticket costs €2.05.
- A one-day Navigo Jour costs €12.30 for all zones except the airports.
- For a full week, the Navigo Découverte pass costs €32.40 from Monday to Sunday, including the airports, plus a €5 card that needs a passport photo.
- Bank cards already work on buses and the Montmartre funicular; metro line 1 follows in July 2027.
Driving
- Do not drive in: street parking costs up to €6 an hour in central Paris, and the low-emission zone bans older cars on weekdays.
Paris with kids, on a rainy day or as a couple
Under-18s go free at the national museums, the Louvre and Orsay are made for rainy days, and the Seine at night is made for couples.
With kids
- The Eiffel Tower and a Seine cruise.
- The Louvre and Orsay, free for under-18s of any nationality.
- Disneyland Paris, about 40 minutes on the RER A.
On a rainy day
- The Louvre, Orsay and the Orangerie.
- The Catacombs (closed on Mondays; book online).
- Sainte-Chapelle is still beautiful under cloud, though the glass glows most in sun.
For couples
- A dinner cruise on the Seine.
- The Moulin Rouge: no shorts, flip-flops or trainers; jacket and tie not required.
- Sunset at Sacré-Cœur, or the Arc de Triomphe rooftop at night.
Paris tours and tickets by type
Browse every bookable option by type, with live prices and availability for your dates.
- Attraction ticketsThe Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Orsay and the Arc de Triomphe, many with a guide and reserved entry.
- Seine cruisesOne-hour sightseeing cruises, the Batobus, and lunch and dinner cruises.
- Day tripsVersailles, Mont-Saint-Michel, Giverny until 1 November, and the Loire châteaux.
- Food toursLe Marais, Montmartre and Saint-Germain, with cheese, pastries and wine.
- Cabarets and showsThe Moulin Rouge and other cabarets; check the dress code before you go.
- Guided and walking toursMontmartre walks, Notre-Dame and Île de la Cité, and evening tours.