AviaIf delicious pastries, beautiful architecture and plenty of art is what you’re looking for then a weekend in Paris is exactly what you need!
Paris is one of the most famous cities in the world, and for good reason. You can’t ignore its beauty, chic and charm. Walking through its narrowing streets, you’ll feel like you’re in a different world, it has a different pace and its own rhythm and you wouldn’t be able to resist it to the point that you might try to miss your plane just to stay there another day.
So What You Should Know Before You Go
English is not the most welcomed language and you will have to try your way in French, and if you’ve never learned the language before, it wouldn’t be easy. But it would be worth it, believe me!
The Metro is your best friend! Use it as much as you can, it will take you almost anywhere. To find directions you can always use google maps, you’ll put the destination and it’ll create the route for you, by walking or public transportation.
Don’t get discouraged by the lack of English speakers, people will still be happy to help you even if you don’t fully understand each other.
Don’t rely on WIFI, most places don’t have that and even if they do, it’s not the best. Try to find a SIM card that fits tourists and supports English users.
And don’t forget to eat as many pastries as you can since you only have a weekend in Paris. Seriously they’re amazing!
The weekend in Paris Itinerary
Now for the thing we all came here for – what should you do in weekend in Paris.
I put up an itinerary fit for 3 days, if you have more time on your hands there’s also some extra recommendations at the end.
Here’s a quick summary:
Day 1:
- Arc De Triumph.
- Champs-Élysées.
- La Concorde.
- Tuileries Gardens.
- The Louvre.
- Galeries Lafayette.
Day 2:
- Eiffel Tower.
- Montmartre.
- Sacré-Cœur.
Day 3:
- Luxembourg Gardens.
- The Pantheon.
- Notre Dame.
- Le Marais.
- Marche des Enfants.
Day 1: From Arc De Triumph to the Concorde, Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre
You should start your day at the Arc De Triumph – the triumphal arch. It is a huge arch surrounded by 12 radiating avenues, and the beginning of Champs-Élysées, the famous Parisian street.
The arch was commissioned in 1806 and it is inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome. It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and if you walk around it you’ll be able to see the names of all French victories and generals.
Under the arch lies the the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The tomb holds an eternal flame the forever burns in memory of the never identified soldiers from both World Wars.
After appreciating it from its base you can climb up to its top and enjoy the beautiful view of Paris from above. But if you don’t have time, don’t worry, there are more viewpoints coming up.
From the arch, you should walk to your next destination, the Concorde. The road is just as cool as the destination! You’ll be walking the fashionable street of Champs-Élysées and if you’re not a French speaker you’d be surprised of the correct way of pronouncing the name!
So you’ve walked the street, maybe got yourself something yummy on the way or found a great purchase and a great obelisk is now right in front of you – welcome! You’ve reached La Concorde.
This 75 ft tall monument is a 3,300 year old obelisk, a gift from Egypt to France, offered in 1829. And this square is famous not only because of that obelisk, during the French Revolution many executions took place right there, some very famous ones including the ones of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
This is also a great place to look for the Eiffel Tower, popping from afar. Actually, you should keep on looking for it everywhere you go, this tower is so tall you should be able to see it from almost everywhere, and it would never get enough!
Not too far from the Concorde you’ll find the Tuileries gardens. Those beautiful gardens are just behind the Louvre and it’s easy to skip them but you really shouldn’t!
This is a great place to stop and rest your feet somewhere on one of the benches that spread all around those gardens. Maybe read a book, take a photo and mainly take a big breath and enjoy the breeze (or winds, depending on when you’re there) moving between the branches, pushing the leaves everywhere and making this crinkly sounds of a great restful moment.
Next! You should continue your way to one of or maybe the most famous art museums in the world – Musee Du Louvre.
Its famous triangle structure at the entrance is just enough reason to go in, but there’s more. The museum holds paintings and sculptures made by the most famous artists in the world including, their most famous piece of art (arguably) The Mona Lisa. Other than art you can also find historical pieces from different cultures around the world.
We covered the hype around the Mona Lisa in our blog, you should read it if you’re wandering about it or not sure if you should visit the painting while visiting the Louvre.
After saying all that, there’s one thing you should be prepared for before you go – all the information about the different pieces around the museum is in French, so if you’re not a speaker you probably wouldn’t understand a thing. Nonetheless, it is a great a museum that you can enjoy and spend a few hours in.
If the sun is still up you should go to Galeries Lafayette. It’s a shopping mall and you can definitely shop if you feel like it, but first go up to the roof. It has a beautiful view of the city watching the Eiffel Tower.
To end the day, if you like asian food (who doesn’t?) go to Rue Sainte-Anne. On that street you’ll find a great variety of Asian restaurants serving great dinner through the evening hours.
Day 2: The Eiffel Tower and the Montmartre
Today you’re going to use the Metro a lot because these two areas are pretty much of a stretch outside the touristy area of Paris.
Even though, you should try at least when you’re closer to the Eiffel Tower to walk around the streets circling it. You see, the Eiffel Tower is a cool monument on its own but the city of Paris adds so much more chic to it and while you walk it streets keep your eyes up for the tower popping suddenly in front of you in between the buildings, and be ready to be amazed!
As said, The Eiffel Tower itself, or the Iron Lady as it is locally called, is a cool monument, when it was first thought of many Parisians were against it. First, the monument as planned was too big for those times standards and architectures and engineers didn’t believe it was possible to build it.
Second, there were many Parisians who were afraid that this monstrous building will overshadow all the other beautiful buildings around Paris since it will be the tallest building in Paris.
But the resistance didn’t work, the tower was built anyway and became the famous, most recognizable building in Paris. If this controversy isn’t enough reason for you to visit what will?
You can enjoy the tower from its grounds and walk around the garden surrounding it, and you can also climd the building through the stairs or elevator, depending on how fit you are and how patient.
The tower’s different floors provide great views of the city, and if you have the money, you can also dine in the restaurant on the Eiffel’s first floor. Do you remember how some Parisians didn’t like the tower at all? Well, a French author, despised the tower so much, he used to have his breakfast in the tower’s restaurant every morning just because this was the only place in Paris he couldn’t see the tower from.
From the Eiffel Tower take the Metro to Montmartre and get ready to climb. Montmartre is a hill in the middle of Paris with a lot of history. From roman times with the story of a martyr who descended there to heaven (the origin of its name – mountain of martyrs), to the artistic area that it is today.
After walking around, enjoying the beautiful narrowing streets and climbing the endless stairs that take you to the top, you’ll find the artists square where different artists sell their creations and you can even get you’re own portrait if you have the patience to sit and pose.
This square is right around the famous Sacré-Cœur, a beautiful white basilica. But wait, before you go, look for a sweet crepe to snack on. There’s a great one right before the corner.
Now, wasn’t it divine? As said, right around the corner you’ll find the basilica and that’s not all! Continue walking, go to the front of the basilica.
And look at that view! An amazing view of the city will open right in front of you and you can sit on the stairs and enjoy that view while maybe still munching on that crepe from before (if you didn’t completely devoured it yet).
You can go down the stairs now and enjoy the beautiful Sacré-Cœur from it’s front with the beautiful gardens that decorate it.
Around the Montmartre there are many restaurants you can finish the day in with a yummy dinner. Look up Pink Mama for a restaurant with lots of recommendations.
Day 3: The Latin Quarter, Notre Dame and La marais
It’s the third day and there’s lots to do, get ready for lots of walking (you can also take public transportation but walking around this area is priceless).
Today you should start at the Latin Quarter, it’s a beautiful quarter in Paris and defiantly worth a visit. And to start it in the most relaxed way go to The Luxembourg Gardens, walk around it, sit on a bench and slowly start your morning, soak in as much of Paris as you can before you go.
Not too far from there you can find the Pantheon of Paris. Its’a beautiful building that was built originally to be a church but today it’s more than that and provides burial grounds to many important people including Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.
You can enjoy the Pantheon from outside and getting inside is very recommended to. When you’re finished and getting out of the building look in front of you – The Eiffel Tower again will be right there in the distance in all it’s glory.
Did you think I wouldn’t give you any recommendation for a patisserie? Paris is knows for it’s amazing pastries and you should aim to try it all (or as much as you can) while you’re there. An amazing place we found is not too far from the Pantheon and is on your way!
The place is called La Maison d’Isabelle and you should not miss it. Get a croissant or a baguette and try not to fight too much with the pigeons on the streets that will try to grab every crumb that fall out of your hands.
Next – Notre Dame. This beautiful lady had suffered a horrible fire in 2018 and is currently under reconstruction but that does not harm it looks and is still very recommended to visit and enjoy it from outside.
If you love books I can’t recommend enough a book store called Shakespeare And Company. It’s a cute little place selling English books from many Genres with a little bit of magic. It’s unique and inspiring and obviously was created by a book lover.
Finally you should visit Le Marais. This cool, chic place is called after the swamps that once occupied it. Those swamps were dried and a while after the richest people of Paris came and built their mansions there. Some of those fancy houses are still standing today and you can see them while walking around the quarter.
Later on the aristocrats left the area for another one, the area of Versailles, and the quarter was abandoned and got deteriorated. In the 19th century the jewish community made it their home until they were forced to leave in War World II. Today it is a center for the gay community.
Le Marais moved many hands and you can see it while walking around. The different mansions (called hotel in French), the jewish synagogue and the chic boutiques and bars.
For dinner you can go to Marche des Enfants Rouges. It is a market in the quarter called after an orphanage in the area in which all kids wore red. The market offers fresh fruits, vegetables fish and meat and has some restaurants in it.
If you have extra time:
If you’re lucky and have more time on your hands, here are some more places you can visit.
Opera Garnier
A famous opera house in Paris, it is a beautiful building from inside and out and you should definitely visit if you have time.
La Catacombs
In the 18th century a shortage of burial grounds came upon the city of Paris and remains were moved into unused open mine shafts. This created a creepy underground tunnels full of bones that later were constructed and organized to welcome visitors.
If you’ll get to visit there you’ll get the chance to walk through those tunnels walled by skulls and bones of people who have long been forgotten.
More Museums
There’s many recommended museums around the city of Paris including:
Musee d’orsy: a big museum holding important art pieces from the 19th and 20th centuries, located in an old train station.
Le Centre Pompidou: holds a modern art museum, a music center and a library in a unique building complex.
Musee de l’Orangerie: in it are important art pieces from the 20th century including huge murals of Monet’s Lillys.
Chateau Versailles
A huge palace in the outskirts of Paris, 40 minutes train ride from Paris. You can spent half a day here. First you should go inside the palace, walk around the different grandiose, fancy rooms, try and imagine how it feels to be a royal.
Later you should go outside and enjoy the beautiful gardens. The gardens are really cool so to fully enjoy this place you should come here around the summer time.
Conclusions
There are so many things to do in a weekend in Paris! This iconic city has so much style, beautiful architecture, interesting museums, and great food. I can do this same itinerary again and again and I don’t think I’ll get tired, and I hope that you’ll enjoy it too!
So now that you have all the information with you, have the best weekend in Paris! Have fun, collect memories, and tell us what you think when you’ll be back! And if you have any more recommendations, let us know, we’d love exploring new places in our next weekend in Paris.
