Paris in 1 Day: The Ultimate Itinerary to See the Best Highlights

I have been to the scenic city of Paris 4 times so far in my life, and I do expect I’ll be visiting it again at least one more time. The first time was when I was younger, so most of the planning was not done by me at all. However, the second time I visited, I did all of the planning in a whirlwind day trip. In this 1 day, I managed to see all the top sights: The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, the Louvre Museum, and I even had time for a river boat cruise on the Seine!

The key to exploring a city is to do lots of research beforehand. This will help you navigate the best ways to get to places, help avoid the potential of getting lost and having to backtrack steps, and it will also let you know how busy certain attractions are, what their hours of operation are, and if they are closed on some days. Research will also tell you how far in advance you may need to reserve tickets for attractions or famous landmarks. If you’re short on time, it’s wise to follow a plan; however, if you dislike strict itineraries and prefer to wander a big city without one, good luck.

For example, a quick Google search could tell you that the Louvre is always closed on a Tuesday, so if you are planning on just winging it and trying to see this museum on a Tuesday, you'd be out of luck. The Louvre is generally open between 9 am and 6 pm every day except Tuesdays, with extended hours to 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. It is also good to keep in mind that out of the major sightseeing highlights, the Louvre and Notre Dame generally have the worst lines. While the Eiffel Tower is often busy too, Notre Dame has 2 towers to be able to queue for, which helps split up the wait, and the hack to the fastest line in the Eiffel Tower is the one that offers to walk up the first half of the tower. While all those steps might not sound appealing to some, waiting an hour or two to go up in an elevator is just a waste of time on a short trip. Not only is taking the stairs good for your health, but it also saves you time by not waiting in long lines. In addition to the queue at the bottom of the tower, you then have to queue for another line halfway up to get on another elevator to reach the very top of the tower, which could potentially take up to another hour.

The last thing to consider is the hours of operation of each attraction. The Eiffel Tower is usually open until midnight, so this one can be left for last. While this makes overall visibility a little more difficult, you trade the extended view for all the beautiful city lights at night. If you plan wisely, you can also time a perfect summer sunset visit going up the Eiffel Tower, and then enjoy the glittering lights of the city by the time you get to the top. Similarly, the Arc de Triomphe is usually open until around 11 pm or 10:30 pm, depending on the time of year, making this an attraction you would save for later in the day, and you can also incorporate a walk along the Champs-Elysées here too. If you only had a day or two in Paris, these things would be left until the very end of your day on either the first or second day. In contrast, the towers for the Notre Dame open around 10 am each day and usually close around 5:30 pm-6:30 pm, depending on the time of year, and the last admission is 45 minutes before this. The tower lines also start around 9 am, and only a certain number of people are admitted at one time, so you have to wait until others come out before you can go. The cathedral itself usually has no line and opens up an hour before the towers. However, the towers are popular and need prioritizing if you want to go up them, see the gargoyles, and have the awesome city view.

Also, Sacre Coeur has the following opening times for the basilica and the dome/crypt: The basilica is open every day from 6 am to 10.30 pm (last entry at 10:15 pm for visitors). The dome: 8.30 am-8 pm from May to September; 9 am-5 pm from October to April. This site is also further out of the city than most of the other monuments, but you would still probably want to fit this in before the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. The Louvre and Notre Dame would be the first things to see in the morning, and if you had to choose which first if you only have one day, I’d say do Notre Dame first. The line for the Louvre is long, but it usually quiets down later on in the afternoon. You can also click here to book a tour at the Louvre, including tickets, if you’d like to skip the line too. The same applies to Notre Dame.

A river cruise, if you would like to experience one, can be a means of transportation to get you from one attraction to another, instead of walking or taking a train. This optimizes time in your day if you are short on time. If you would like to try a river cruise in Paris, click here to book your tickets. Another attraction that I personally think is better than the Louvre and would replace it with is the Musée d'Orsay, as I have done both and recall the Musée d'Orsay being better. If you would like to visit Musee d’Orsay, pre-buy your tickets here. I also, like many, was not impressed standing in line for over 90 minutes to get inside the Louvre, and fight through the crowd, to see the tiny picture of Mona Lisa – but that’s just me.

If you are short on time, interested in itinerary trip ideas for Paris, and would like our 1-day in Paris itinerary, click here to get your FREE 1-day in Paris itinerary. Just remember, do lots of planning ahead of time to determine which places you want to see most, the times of operations, the locations, pre-booking tickets and tours in advance, and plan a time-efficient route to get from one place to the other. The best way to travel around cities in Europe is usually by train, so if you plan to use these, definitely research train tickets and zones ahead of time, as many cities have very complicated train maps! Our free itinerary will take you step-by-step around Paris via the city's train system.

Wellness Tip: When traveling, always be cautious of what you eat. As you travel to a new place and adjust to a new atmosphere, your stomach may be more sensitive to different foods when traveling. Definitely try new food, but at the same time, be careful of what you choose to eat, as some things that might not normally upset your stomach may, when traveling. On a trip back to England several years ago, the travel alone made me feel queasy at the thought of food, and sadly, I could not enjoy all the lovely food I normally do. Know what plain foods you can handle whenever you feel off, that way if you need to take a break from local food, you can go to your "go to plain foods”. France is great for bakeries and bread, so if you’re really feeling like you can’t stomach food, stick with plain, but yummy, fresh bread.

Travel tip: I only covered the highlights in the main city of Paris, but there are other great attractions like Disneyland Paris or the Palace of Versailles, which are outside of the city. If you’d like to visit these again, the best way is by train. I recommend planning another 2 days, one day for each of these places. If you would like to book tickets for a guided tour at the Palace of Versailles, click here.