What are the top things to do in Paris?

Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame de Paris, Sainte-Chapelle, and more. Paste your own list into Tripsapien and it checks each place's hours, closures, and booking pressure for your exact dates.

Which neighborhoods should I explore in Paris?

Louvre, Les Halles, and the 1st arrondissement, Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements), Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Pres, Eiffel Tower, Invalides, and the 7th arrondissement. Tripsapien groups your places by neighborhood so each day stays in one or two areas instead of zig-zagging.

When is the best time to visit Paris?

June, August, September balance comfortable temperatures with fewer rainy days. Pick your month below to see that month's events, public holidays, and seasonal timing.

Will the places on my list be open when I'm in Paris?

Tripsapien checks each place against the exact dates you're in Paris and flags closures, limited hours, and sell-outs before the trip.

Paris France

Things to do in Paris

By Tripsapien Research / Updated May 20, 2026

Paris is arranged by the Seine, the two river islands, and a spiral of 20 arrondissements that starts near Notre-Dame's Kilometre Zero. The Louvre-Tuileries axis, the Latin Quarter around the Sorbonne, the Marais around Rue des Rosiers, and Montmartre above Pigalle give first-time visitors a practical mental map.

Promo code

30% off on flights

Plan your Paris trip here. Your promo code unlocks on the checked trip page after this short planner.

About Paris

City overview

Food & drink

Paris food ranges from croissants, steak frites, onion soup, crepes, and macarons to falafel on Rue des Rosiers and Vietnamese banh mi around Rue Mouffetard. Budget travellers can use bakery sandwiches, street crepes, and EUR20-40 prix-fixe menus away from the Champs-Elysees. Wikivoyage notes Paris has Europe's deepest Michelin field and the world's second-highest Michelin-star count after Tokyo.

Top sights

Ranked for suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.

Map of Paris with pinned top attractions (1 through 10)

1
Eiffel Tower
4.7★ · 486,743
Gustave Eiffel tower from the 1889 Exposition Universelle, standing above Champ de Mars in the 7th arrondissement. Bir-Hakeim on Metro Line 6 and Champ-de-Mars-Tour Eiffel on RER C are the usual arrivals.
Wikipedia
Timed summit and second-floor tickets sell out in school holidays; book the official site before choosing reseller tours.
2
Louvre Museum
4.7★ · 366,301
Former royal palace in the 1st arrondissement, facing the Tuileries and the Seine. The museum route is enormous, so pair one wing with the Mona Lisa or the Egyptian galleries instead of attempting the whole palace.
Wikipedia
Reserve a timed slot and use the Carrousel du Louvre entrance when the Pyramid queue is long.
3
Notre-Dame de Paris
4.7★ · 92,168
Cathedral on Ile de la Cite where Paris distances start at Kilometre Zero. The island also holds Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and bridges to both the Latin Quarter and the Marais.
Wikipedia

Show 7 more sights

4Sainte-Chapelle
5Arc de Triomphe
6Musee d Orsay
7Basilique du Sacre-Coeur
8Centre Pompidou
9Pere Lachaise Cemetery
10Seine river walk

Neighborhoods

1
Louvre, Les Halles, and the 1st arrondissement
The geographic centre: Louvre, Tuileries, Palais Royal, Place Vendome, and the Les Halles transport hub. It is monument-dense and useful for short stays, but crowded around the Pyramid and Chatelet.
2
Le Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements)
Former marsh district of Rue des Rosiers, Place des Vosges, Musee Carnavalet, Hotel de Ville, and Centre Pompidou. It has small streets, Jewish bakeries, boutiques, and busy bars without the Champs-Elysees scale.
3
Latin Quarter and Saint-Germain-des-Pres
Left Bank university-and-cafe territory around the Sorbonne, Pantheon, Jardin du Luxembourg, Saint-Sulpice, and Boulevard Saint-Germain. Rue Mouffetard and Place de la Contrescarpe keep the student-food angle visible.
4
Eiffel Tower, Invalides, and the 7th arrondissement
Grand Left Bank district anchored by Champ de Mars, Les Invalides, Musee d Orsay, and Rue Cler. It is quieter at night than the Marais and practical for families who want the tower close.
5
Montmartre and Pigalle
The 18th arrondissement hill around Sacre-Coeur, Abbesses, Pigalle, and the Moulin Rouge. Expect stair streets, portrait painters, music bars, and bracelet sellers near the basilica steps.
6
Canal Saint-Martin, Belleville, and Menilmontant
Northeast Paris around the canal, Rue Oberkampf, Parc de Belleville, and Pere Lachaise. It is better for bars, street art, and neighborhood food than for postcard monuments.

Day trips

22km / 20-40min by RER C from central Paris
Versailles
Louis XIV palace and gardens on the southwest edge of the region. Reserve palace entry and leave time for the gardens, Grand Trianon, and the walk from Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche station.
75km / 45min train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon plus shuttle
Giverny
Claude Monet's house and water-lily garden are strongest from late spring through early autumn. Avoid rainy days because the garden is the point of the trip.
32km / 40min by RER A to Marne-la-Vallee-Chessy
Disneyland Paris
Two-park resort east of Paris. It is an easy rail day trip, but weekend and school-holiday lines make dated tickets and early arrival important.

Getting around

Paris Metro and RER cover the city, with RER B linking Charles de Gaulle Airport to Gare du Nord, Chatelet-Les Halles, Saint-Michel Notre-Dame, and Denfert-Rochereau for EUR13. Metro Line 14 now serves Orly for EUR13, and the Seine quays are often the clearest route between Notre-Dame, the Louvre, and Musee d Orsay.