Featured itinerary

4-day itinerary

Paris
France

Four days, four clean sweeps — the islands and the Latin Quarter, the Louvre-to-Arc axis.

4 days

Mid-range budget

A bit of both

pace

Trip highlights

  • Iconic sights & local gems
  • World-class dining & culture
  • Vibrant neighbourhoods
Your itinerary

Where to stay

Best base for this itinerary

Best area to stay

Saint-Germain or the Latin Quarter

Paris · Nights 1–4

Two of this route's four days start on the Left Bank within walking distance of your door — Notre-Dame and Orsay are both a stroll away, the Louvre is fifteen minutes over the river, and métro line 12 runs from Saint-Germain straight up to Montmartre for the last morning. Saint-Germain for polish and cafés; the Latin Quarter for smaller bills and student energy.

walkabilitycafésfoodfirst visitLeft Bank rooms run small and prices climb fast near the river — check the square metres before you book.
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The islands and the Left Bank
Day 1
Photo: Alina Rossoshanska · Pexels

The islands and the Left Bank

5 stops · ~2.5 km walking

Today's route

1Notre-Dame de Paris
2Sainte-Chapelle
3Latin Quarter
4Jardin du Luxembourg
5Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Morning

Start where Paris started — on the island in the middle of the river.

1
culture

Notre-Dame de Paris

The city's heart, restored and open again

Circle the parvis for the towers, then walk the quieter east end for the flying buttresses — the best exterior view most visitors skip. Entry is free but the line moves in waves; early is calm.

465 m · walkDirections
2
culture

Sainte-Chapelle

Fifteen-metre walls of 13th-century stained glass

Two minutes away inside the Palais de Justice, and nothing outside prepares you for the upper chapel: the walls are essentially glass. Small, fast, unforgettable.

787 m · walkDirections

Afternoon

Cross the Petit Pont and drift uphill — lunch in the Latin Quarter's side streets, not on the corners.

3
walk

Latin Quarter

Student Paris since the 12th century

From Shakespeare and Company up past the Sorbonne, the lanes tighten and the bookshops multiply. Place de la Sorbonne is the calm centre of it — take the detour up Rue de la Montagne-Sainte-Geneviève.

461 m · walkDirections
4
nature

Jardin du Luxembourg

The Left Bank's living room

Chairs you can move, chestnut rows, the boat pond, the Senate behind it all. This is where the afternoon slows down on purpose — claim two green chairs by the fountain and let it.

824 m · walkDirections

Evening

5
walk

Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Café Paris at its most classic

Ten minutes north of the gardens, the oldest church tower in Paris stands over the neighbourhood that invented café society. The famous terraces earn their prices; the side-street bistros earn their tables — dinner is better one street back from the boulevard.

End of day

One island, one hill, one garden — and you never touched the métro.

Insider tips for Paris, France

  • ◎Book four things before you fly: Louvre, Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle and the Arc de Triomphe roof. Everything else can stay spontaneous.
  • ◎The big museums each close one weekday — and it's not the same day. Check yours before locking the museum mornings.
  • ◎One major museum per day is the rule this route lives by. Two is how Paris trips die by 4pm.
  • ◎Pick up a Navigo Easy card at any station and load a few t+ tickets on day one — this itinerary only needs the métro twice, but taxis to Montmartre are how mornings evaporate.
  • ◎Café prices are seat rent: standing at the bar costs less than the terrace. Pay for the terrace when the people-watching earns it.
  • ◎Dinner reservations matter more than lunch ones, service is already included in the bill, and rounding up is plenty.

Want one built around you?

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