There's so much to see on a short break in Paris. After waking up in your Paris hotel, follow this itinerary and squeeze the most out of two days in Paris.
Start your short break in Paris where the city was born, at Notre Dame Cathedral on the Île de la Cité island in the River Seine. Climb the Gothic cathedral tower for close-up views of gargoyles and panoramic vistas of Paris and the river.
Make your way north to the riverside promenade leading to the Conciergerie fortress. After visiting the cell where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned during the French Revolution, continue to the island’s western tip and one of the loveliest patches of green in Paris, the tiny teardrop-shaped Vert-Galant Square.
Start: Notre Dame Cathedral. Nearest metro Cité
With lunchtime calling, head north across the Pont Neuf bridge to rue de Rivoli on the Right Bank of the river, where chic restaurants like Café Marly fill the arcades of the Louvre and Palais-Royal area.
The nearby colonnades of Place Vendôme are home to the Ritz Hotel Paris and exclusive jewellers. Do a little window-shopping then catch the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, just a few stops west, where grand avenues stretch in every direction.
Start: Pont Neuf bridge. Nearest metro Pont Neuf
Go for a late-afternoon stroll down Avenue Champs-Élysées for pre-dinner aperitifs at Ladurée tearooms, a haven of 19th-century elegance. Then delve into the streets north of Avenue Champs-Élysées to reach Cou de la Girafe, a fine local bistro serving hearty beef dishes and other French classics.
Start: Avenue Champs-Élysées. Nearest metro Charles de Gaulle Etoile
Get started on the second day of your short break in Paris by dipping into the massive collection in the Louvre Museum. You can’t see everything, so make things easy by focusing on your favourite period or theme - maybe Egyptian antiquities, Renaissance paintings or decorative arts.
Start: Louvre Museum. Nearest metro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre
Rue de Rivoli leads east from the Louvre to the Marais district, with its corner cafés and boutiques selling contemporary fashion. Take a stroll through Place des Vosges to admire the perfect symmetry of this Renaissance square. Further east is Place de la Bastille and its clutch of cafés, bars and record stores.
Start: Rue de Rivoli. Nearest metro Louvre Rivoli
On the last evening of your Paris short break, ride the metro to the Abbesses stop at the foot of Montmartre. Steep steps climb up to the Sacré Coeur Basilica, or take the funicular railway if you’re feeling lazy. After dinner at a neighborhood restaurant, listen to traditional French songs at the 1860s Au Lapin Agile cabaret.
Start: Place des Abbesses. Nearest metro Abbesses
