Day 1
Palais Garnier
This beautiful building is a national monument. It houses the Paris Opera and Ballet. It is also the origin of the legend of the Phantom of the Opera. You see, Garnier (the architect) built the building on top of a river. There really is water under the building. You can see the water in the basement but the public is not allowed down there.
The grand hall that you see pictured was made to look like the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. This was one of the first buildings to introduce a huge space (the entrance stairs) designed to see the women in their beautiful dresses before a show.
Find your entry ticket to Garnier here.
Galeries Lafayette
Not to go shopping, well, you can if you want. But this building has a beautiful (and free!) view of Paris. So take the escalator to the roof and enjoy this magnificent view. But before you do, make sure to stop and enjoy the magnificent ceiling !
Covered Passages
Head over to the covered passages for lunch. On your walk from the Palais Garnier (Palais Garnier is right next to the Galeries Lafayette) enjoy the grande boulevards of Paris. Created in the 19th century by architect Haussmann, they are part of the reason why there are so few covered passages left.
Take an audio guided tour of the covered passage here.
Eiffel Tower
You'll want to take the metro to get here, it's quite the walk. Take the metro to Trocadero and enjoy the view of the Eiffel Tower before descending towards it. Enjoy a nice bottle of wine while watching the Eiffel Tower glitter, this happens every hour on the hour. I suggest going to the Champ de Mars and before you do, stop at a Nicholas, a wine shop with many locations around Paris, or a grocery store rather than buying from one of the many people who will try to sell you a bottle near the Eiffel Tower.
Day 2 The Louvre
It's a huge museum and if you want to do it any justice, you'll need to spend several hours here. There are many famous pieces of art in the Louvre. See my blog post about must sees when you visit (the link is at the bottom of this post).
Skip the line and take a 3 hour guided tour of the Louvre here.
Tuileries Garden
Since you're probably exhausted after visiting the Louvre, have a picnic in the park. Tuileries is the French word for tiles. Did you know there used to be a castle here that connected to the Louvre castle ? It burned down in the 19th century and is now a garden where you can take a deep breath of fresh air and enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.
Arc de Triomphe
Enjoy the spectacular views from the top of the Arc.
You can find rooftop tickets to the Arc de Triomph here.
Champs Élysées Once you get a good view of this street from the Arc de Triomphe, take a nice stroll down the Champs Élysées. I don't recommend stopping here for dinner, you'll overpay for everything because of the street you're on. Day 3 Notre Dame Cathedral
Even though the cathedral is still closed due to a fire in 2019 (it is set to open next summer 2024 !) you can still see the outside. While you're here, you can visit the archaeological crypt of Notre Dame, situated in front of the cathedral and below ground. While here, you can see one of the original walls of the city. Saint Chappelle
Located close to Notre Dame, this chapel was built in the 13th century by Louis IX. Saint Chappelle has a masterpiece of stained glass windows, two thirds of which date to the Middle Ages, when it was built in the 13th century. You can admire the scenes from far or do like my husband did and bring small binoculars. To get to the île de la cité, take a bateau mouche on the Seine. You get a lovely view of the city from the river. Go from here to the Conciergerie.
The Conciergerie is easy to get to from the île de la cité, just on the left bank of the Seine. It was once a medieval palace that became the prison where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI were held prisoner before they were beheaded.
Find tickets for Saint Chappelle and the Conciergerie here.
Find tickets for a boat tour on the Seine here.
I hope you enjoy this list of things to do and see in Paris ! It is a big city, so if you want to see it all, you'll have to come back ! À bientôt !
For further reading check out my other blogs :
*This post contains affiliate links where if you buy from one of the links in the post, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you !
Comments