Paris Travel Itinerary

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Paris's rich cultural heritage means that you are never far away from a museum or gallery, a venue for music or theatre, or a famous attraction. However, three days is not long enough to explore a capital city as rich as Paris, but it is just enough to see the main sites and to get a feel for different districts. Central Paris is compact so exploring by foot will provide you with many great experiences on your city break, but when you get tired of walking, Paris has a fast, efficient, inexpensive and well-structured system of public transport to fall back on. Its worth taking a few minutes at the start of your stay to familiarize yourself with a plan of the Metro so that you can dip into and out of it when needed. You can pick up free Metro maps at every station.

Read more on this destination in the AA Spiral Guide to Paris.

Suggested Paris itinerary

Day 1 (Morning): Take the métro to the Notre Dame Cathedral, a beautiful example of early gothic architecture. Also, visit the Conciergerie, the former royal palace and today the home of the city's law courts.

Day 1 (Afternoon): Walk to the Quartier Latin (district) Paris's centre of learning for more than 700 years, and make your way to the Musee National du Moyen Age-Thermes de Cluny, a remarkable building with exhibits spanning 15 centuries.

Day 2 (Morning): Start the day at the Musee d'Orsay (art gallery), housing a large collection of impressionist paintings. Follow this with the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) and take the lift to the top for outstanding views.

Day 2 (Afternoon): Take a taxi to the Champs-Elysees (busy avenue in the heart of the city), include a circuit of the Arc de Triomphe (monument), before being dropped off on the famous avenue for some shopping.

Day 3 (Morning): Visit the Musee du Louvre(art gallery), host to one of the most important art collections in the world, including the famous Mona Lisa.

Day 3 (Afternoon): Grab a baguette to eat on the train to Versaille,the extravagant palace of Louis XIV, the Sun King. Spend the afternoon exploring the gardens and admiring the gilded interior.