Top 10 Things · Paris
Paris can look deceptively manageable on a map. The Louvre sits across the river from the Musée d’Orsay, but visiting both properly is a substantial commitment. Versailles needs its own day. A canal cruise has a departure point to find, and Montmartre adds a hill to the walking. Plan around those differences before filling every gap with another reservation.
These top 10 things in Paris mix the familiar landmarks with medieval art, a traditional bouillon meal, and a different way to see the waterways. We took a combined Canal Saint-Martin and Seine cruise with Canauxrama and loved it. That firsthand recommendation sits alongside researched visitor information for the other stops, with official links for the details that depend on your dates.
Price bands are editorial comparisons for a typical adult visit, not quoted ticket prices: Free means no general admission charge; Low means a relatively modest paid stop; Mid means a substantial sightseeing ticket; High means a larger single-experience outlay. Transport, food, special exhibitions, and upgrades can add to the cost. Use each official link for current tickets, access information, and opening dates.
Time allowances are planning estimates, not measured visits. Choose fewer stops if you prefer longer museum visits, breaks, or a slower walking pace.
1Eiffel Tower
City views, with a choice of how high to go
The important Eiffel Tower decision comes before you arrive: do you want the second floor or the summit, and which ascent option suits you? The official ticket choices separate those experiences. A ticket to one level does not automatically mean access to every part of the tower.
The higher viewpoint is an extra commitment, so choose it because you want that experience rather than because it sounds like the complete version. Seeing the structure from the surrounding area is another worthwhile choice if heights or a tightly scheduled day make an ascent less appealing. From the tower, you look out over Paris; from the riverbank, you get the tower itself in the view.
- Area
- Champ de Mars, western central Paris
- Price
- Mid to High, depending on the ascent
- Allow
- A substantial part of a morning or afternoon
Plan the visit: Choose the level and ascent method on the official site, then leave space around the booking for arrival and entry checks. Do not plan a second timed attraction immediately afterward.
2Louvre Museum
An art visit with a route chosen in advance
The Louvre is a museum inside a former royal palace, and the scale is part of the visit. Its courtyards and long wings make a useful first impression of the building before you enter the galleries. Inside, the better question is which part of the collection you want to spend time with.
Choose a small number of priorities and find them on the museum map. Leave room for something that catches your attention along the way. Trying to cover the entire building turns the day into a navigation exercise, especially if you also intend to visit another major museum on the same trip.
- Area
- Right Bank, beside the Tuileries
- Price
- Mid to High
- Allow
- Half a day for a focused visit
Plan the visit: Book an entry slot and check the room-closure information. Follow the current entrance guidance; the Carrousel entrance is not a universal shortcut around the Pyramid queue.
Louvre entry, maps, and gallery availability ↗
Explore the Louvre’s palace history ↗
3Musée d’Orsay
Impressionist galleries and a former railway station
Orsay’s former railway-station building gives the art a distinctive setting. The large clock and broad interior are part of its appeal, while the Impressionist galleries give the visit a clear focus if that is the painting you came to Paris to see.
This is a useful alternative to adding a second enormous art day simply because the museums are close together. Choose Orsay for the works you want to see, then give them enough time. If you visit both Orsay and the Louvre, placing them on different days leaves room to notice what makes each collection and building different.
- Area
- Left Bank, across the Seine from the Tuileries
- Price
- Mid
- Allow
- A few hours, longer for a deeper art visit
Plan the visit: Check your ticket’s entrance instructions and the renovation access page. The museum says it remains open during the work, but access routes have changed.
Orsay visitor and booking information ↗
Current Orsay renovation access information ↗
4Notre-Dame de Paris
A working cathedral at the center of historic Paris
Notre-Dame is open to visitors again after the restoration following the 2019 fire. Entering the cathedral is free, and an individual visit does not require buying a guided tour. The official reservation system offers free entry reservations; the cathedral also admits visitors without a reservation.
Allow time to look at the building from outside as well as to visit the interior. The island location makes it a natural companion to Sainte-Chapelle, but the two places offer different experiences and have separate entry arrangements. Notre-Dame is a place of worship, so keep your sightseeing plans considerate of services and other visitors.
- Area
- Île de la Cité
- Price
- Free for the cathedral; separate charges for other visits
- Allow
- About an hour, plus any queue
Plan the visit: Use the cathedral’s official reservation links. Cathedral access and a tower visit are separate arrangements, so check the relevant site if climbing the towers is a priority.
Official free cathedral reservations ↗
Paris tourism office’s Notre-Dame visitor guide ↗
5Sainte-Chapelle
Stained glass and a concentrated architectural visit
Sainte-Chapelle’s upper chapel is the main reason to come: tall stained-glass windows surround a comparatively compact space. Built for Louis IX in the 13th century, the chapel rewards looking closely as well as taking in the whole room. The lower chapel and upper chapel also make an interesting contrast within one visit.
This is a shorter, more focused stop than a major museum, but that does not make it something to squeeze into the gap between two inflexible bookings. Leave time to stand back from the windows, look at their details, and understand what you are seeing. An official visitor guide can help turn the glass from a colorful backdrop into a story you can follow.
- Area
- Île de la Cité, within the Palais de Justice
- Price
- Mid
- Allow
- About an hour, allowing separately for entry checks
Plan the visit: Check the Palais de Justice security restrictions before bringing a large bag or prohibited items. Follow the arrival time on your ticket rather than assuming you should join a queue much earlier.
Sainte-Chapelle visiting and security information ↗
Read about Sainte-Chapelle’s stained glass ↗
6Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur
A neighborhood outing with a hilltop basilica
Montmartre works better as a walk with a destination than as a single photograph of Sacré-Cœur. The sloping streets and stairways are part of the neighborhood, so allow enough time to reach the basilica without making the whole outing a hurried climb.
Inside Sacré-Cœur, the large mosaic and chapels offer a different experience from the view outside. Basilica entry is free. The dome is a separate visit, so decide whether you want another elevated viewpoint after the Eiffel Tower rather than automatically adding both. It is a working sanctuary, and a quiet interior visit should reflect that.
- Area
- Northern Paris, on the Montmartre hill
- Price
- Free for a walk and basilica entry; paid extras
- Allow
- Half a day with a walk and a break
Plan the visit: Plan the approach around your walking and access needs. Check the official basilica information for visitor rules and the separate dome visit, and use the transport planner for the journey to the hill.
7Palace of Versailles
Royal interiors, formal gardens, and a separate day trip
Versailles is more than a palace interior. The Hall of Mirrors is one reason to go, but the formal gardens and the Trianon estate expand both the visit and the distance you cover. Decide which of those experiences matter to you before choosing a ticket.
The gardens are not a small courtyard to stroll through on the way out. Their long perspectives and separate areas make the estate a substantial outing, especially if you continue to Trianon. A palace visit plus one deliberate stretch outdoors can be a more satisfying plan than promising yourself every part of the grounds.
- Area
- Versailles, outside central Paris
- Price
- High for a broad estate visit
- Allow
- A full day, including travel
Plan the visit: Keep Versailles on its own day. Check the ticket’s included areas and palace entry arrangements, then plan the outward and return journeys. Garden events and access conditions depend on your date.
Versailles tickets and estate planning ↗
Versailles ticket and estate questions ↗
8Musée de Cluny
Medieval art and older layers of Paris
The Musée de Cluny, France’s National Museum of the Middle Ages, brings together medieval art, a medieval townhouse, and remains of Roman baths. The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are a particular reason to put it on your list, with their red grounds and detailed figures rewarding a slower look.
Cluny gives an art-focused Paris trip another period and another scale of visit. It also connects naturally with time in the Latin Quarter, rather than requiring you to cross the city for another large institution. Let the tapestries be a priority without making them the only thing you stop to examine.
- Area
- Latin Quarter, on the Left Bank
- Price
- Low to Mid
- Allow
- A couple of hours for a focused visit
Plan the visit: Check the museum’s own calendar, exhibition information, and ticket options before visiting. Do not assume an old guide’s low admission price or claim of short queues still applies.
Musée de Cluny official visitor information ↗
Museum guide to The Lady and the Unicorn ↗
9Canal Saint-Martin and Seine cruise
Locks, an underground canal section, and river views
A Canal Saint-Martin cruise can include the Seine as well. We took that combined route with Canauxrama and loved it. It brings two different settings into one outing: the canal’s locks, footbridges, and covered section, followed by views from the broader river.
Canauxrama sells several routes, including canal trips and a combined canal-and-Seine sailing. Read the actual itinerary before choosing. The boarding point, end point, and sights included matter more than the general label “Paris cruise.” A one-way trip also changes where the next part of your day begins.
- Area
- Route and boarding point depend on the sailing
- Price
- Mid
- Allow
- A half-day block with boarding and onward travel
Plan the visit: Choose the route first, then confirm its departure and arrival points for your sailing. Leave room to find the boarding area, and make the next reservation near the end point rather than back at the start.
Canauxrama combined canal and Seine cruise ↗
See how our Canauxrama cruise went on YouTube ↗
10Eat at a Paris bouillon
Traditional French dishes in a busy dining room
A bouillon makes a useful food stop when you want a sit-down meal built around traditional French dishes. Bouillon Chartier’s stated aim is a proper meal at a modest cost, and its Grands Boulevards restaurant is one option for this kind of outing. The name describes a restaurant tradition, not simply a bowl of broth.
Choose the actual location before planning the route. Chartier has several restaurants, and another place with “bouillon” in its name may belong to a different operator with different arrangements. Look at the current menu, decide how much you want to order, and keep drinks, starters, and dessert in the same budget decision. A low-priced main course does not describe the whole meal.
- Area
- Choose a specific restaurant and neighborhood
- Price
- Low to Mid, depending on the meal
- Allow
- A meal, plus any wait
Plan the visit: Check the chosen restaurant’s own site for the menu and booking policy. Chartier lists service without reservations, so allow flexibility rather than treating it as a meal with a guaranteed start time.
Bouillon Chartier concept, menu, and locations ↗
Chartier Grands Boulevards location details ↗
Build a Paris plan around a few anchors
The island and the Latin Quarter
Pair Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, leaving room between their separate entry arrangements. Choose Cluny as the longer museum visit if medieval art interests you. This keeps the day centered around the islands and Left Bank, with a meal or break between the interiors.
One major museum, then time outside
Choose the Louvre or Orsay as the main visit of the day. Give the chosen collection enough time, then leave a flexible afternoon for a walk or a meal. Nearby on a map does not mean you need to visit both museums back to back.
Montmartre and a bouillon meal
Give Montmartre a morning or afternoon, then choose a bouillon location that fits your onward route. Check the restaurant before setting out, and keep the meal flexible if it operates without reservations.
A cruise day and a separate Versailles day
Let the confirmed Canauxrama route determine where the cruise day starts and ends. Keep Versailles for another day, with travel and the parts of the estate you want to visit planned together. Neither needs a second major attraction added to justify the day.
Choose your season, then check your dates
For a spring or early fall trip, this list can alternate indoor visits with neighborhood walks and time on the water. In winter, put the outdoor stop you care about most into the daylight portion of the day and keep a museum option for a less inviting afternoon. In summer, allow room for breaks rather than treating the longer evenings as a reason to keep adding stops.
A museum-heavy itinerary still needs a calendar check. The Louvre and Orsay have different weekly closing patterns, individual galleries can close, and Versailles garden programming varies by date. Confirm the current arrangements before buying a chain of timed tickets. A short list with room to change direction is more useful than ten reservations you have to hurry between.
Also visiting London? Choose your priorities with our London Top 10 Things guide.
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Published October 23, 2026. Official visitor sources are linked throughout. Price bands and time allowances are planning judgments. Check the linked official pages for your travel dates.
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