France | Paris in a week | Trains & Frogs

Before you leave

Get the Paris Museum Pass — it covers the Panthéon and gives preferred entry at the Arc de Triomphe and the Musée d’Orsay
Reserve time slots for Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the Louvre and the Musée de l’Orangerie
Book the perfume-making class at Galimard on Rue de Provence
Book train tickets to Versailles (or Fontainebleau) and to Colmar
Optional: a Palais Garnier tour or performance, a Seine river cruise, a food tour or cooking class, and a Mont-Saint-Michel day tour

Day 1 — Notre-Dame, the Latin Quarter and monuments

Notre-Dame Cathedral — join the no-reservation line early, around 8 am.

The twin towers and rose window of Notre-Dame, with a crowd in the square in front.

Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Sainte-Chapelle — reserve a time slot with the Paris Museum Pass.

The upper chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, walled in tall purple and blue stained glass under a starry blue vault.

Sainte-Chapelle’s magnificent stained glass windows, on the upper level.

Conciergerie — the fortress by the river. Book a time slot.
Walk through the Latin Quarter, enjoying the cafés, restaurants and interesting shops and taking in the atmosphere along the way.

A corner café with a red awning, decorated with Christmas garlands, below a tall cream apartment building.

Walking around the city.

Musée de Cluny — an amazing museum of the Middle Ages, with gorgeous tapestries, art and architectural marvels. A quieter, smaller museum.
Panthéon — included in the Paris Museum Pass. Arrive by 5:15 pm for last entry; it closes at 6 pm.
Jardin du Luxembourg — visit the large pond and the Medici Fountain, and people-watch from a bench, baguette in hand.
Worth knowing: Everything on this day is within a 10-minute walk of the next, in the order listed.

Day 2 — A day of museums

Start early at the Louvre. Reserve a time slot. Make a list of the areas of the museum, specific pieces or artists you’re interested in, and prioritise those sections. Spend about three hours here.

The Louvre’s courtyard and glass pyramid under a grey sky, with people crossing the square.

The Louvre.

Musée d’Orsay — no time slot needed, and the Paris Museum Pass gets you preferred entry. Spend a couple of hours admiring the old train station building and its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art.
Musée de l’Orangerie — reserve a time slot. Enjoy the colours, brushstrokes and grandeur of Monet’s Water Lilies, and take some time to sit in silence with these mesmerising paintings.

A close view of Monet’s Water Lilies: dark blue-green water with pink and orange flowers.

Monet’s Water Lilies.

Jardin des Tuileries — relax, watch the sailboats on the pond and watch the world go by after a long day of museum-hopping.

A path through the Tuileries past lawns, statues and clipped hedges, with a Ferris wheel in the distance.

Walking through the Jardin des Tuileries.

Walk to the Place de la Concorde to see the obelisk.

Day 3 — The Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Élysées and the Eiffel Tower

Visit the Arc de Triomphe. The Paris Museum Pass gets you preferred entry.

The Arc de Triomphe lit up at dusk, with traffic passing in front.

The Arc de Triomphe.

Shop at Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées. The boulevard is lined with high-end designer shops, and it gives an interesting perspective on French culture even if you’re not interested in shopping.
Visit the Eiffel Tower and walk around the gardens under the tower.

The Eiffel Tower seen across a wide road and pedestrian crossing.

The Eiffel Tower.

Check out the view from Rue de Buenos-Ayres.

The Eiffel Tower framed between two tall stone apartment buildings.

An interesting perspective for pictures of the Eiffel Tower.

Walk over to the Esplanade du Trocadéro and explore different angles and viewpoints of the Eiffel Tower from there. This area is always busy, so if you’re coming for photos, come very early.

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower beside the bare branches of a winter tree.

More of the Eiffel Tower.

Day 4 — A perfume class and Versailles

Breakfast at the Mamiche bakery.

Trays of pastries and breads on the counter, seen through the bakery’s window.

The Mamiche bakery.

A perfume-making class at the Galimard studio on Rue de Provence.

Rows of labelled fragrance bottles lined up along a workbench.

Our son smiling at the camera at the perfume bench, with the rest of the family behind him.

Making our perfumes.

Take the train to Versailles to see the palace and gardens.

The golden-roofed palace of Versailles across its cobbled front courtyard.

A gilded and painted ceiling with crystal chandeliers in the Hall of Mirrors.

Our son in the formal hedge gardens in front of the palace.

The Palace of Versailles and its gardens.

Option: For a quieter, less crowded palace, try the Château de Fontainebleau. You can reach it by train in under an hour, just like Versailles, and it has far fewer people.

Day 5 — Montmartre

Take the metro or a taxi to Montmartre.

A narrow cobbled street of shops and white buildings climbing uphill in Montmartre.

The neighbourhood of Montmartre.

Walk around the winding streets to see Paris from a bit higher up.

The rooftops of Paris spread out below a cloudy sky, seen from the hill of Montmartre.

Looking out over Paris. (You can see the Eiffel Tower from up the street, between the rooftops.)

Check out the artists working in the streets, creating beautiful pieces.
Visit Sacré-Cœur, a stunning white basilica on top of the hill. Take in the views of the city from the front of the basilica.

The white domes and arched entrance of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica against a blue sky.

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

One of us sitting on the steps below Sacré-Cœur, smiling.

On the steps outside Sacré-Cœur.

Option 1: For a cultural experience, book a tour of the Palais Garnier, or tickets for a performance there. This Paris opera house is known for its amazing architecture and luxurious interiors.
Option 2: Book a Seine river cruise, a great way to see Paris from the river.

Day 6 — A day trip to Colmar

Take the train from Paris Gare de l’Est to Colmar, about 2.5 hours away.

Colourful half-timbered houses lining a canal in Colmar, with one of us taking a photo.

Colourful buildings lining the river.

This medieval town is reminiscent of the village in Sleeping Beauty.

A turreted half-timbered house with painted frescoes and a wooden balcony, with Christmas lights strung above the street.

Medieval frescoes and turrets on fairytale buildings.

It has beautiful souvenir shops, bakeries with local specialities, and medieval, German-style architecture.

A row of pastel-painted shopfronts decorated for Christmas.

The streets of Colmar decorated for Christmas.

Walk the narrow alleyways and follow the river to find local markets and restaurants.

Two of us on a wet cobbled street between tall half-timbered buildings.

Exploring Colmar.

Day 7 — A food tour and shopping

Book a food tour or a cooking class in Paris for the morning.
Spend the afternoon shopping for special things to take home. For edibles like butter, cheese and jam, try La Grande Épicerie de Paris.
For macarons, try Ladurée. Theirs had the best texture and flavours.

An open box of pastel macarons beside a green Ladurée bag, on a train table.

The best macarons in Paris.

For French homeware, try Sabre Paris.
For affordable perfumes, try Fragonard and Durance.

The front of a Durance shop with a pale blue door and flowers above the window.

The Durance shop.

Paris has boutiques for every designer brand as well.
Optional: Take a day trip to Mont-Saint-Michel. This abbey, on a tidal island off the coast, is a spectacular masterpiece of medieval architecture and a pilgrimage site for some. Bus tours leave from Paris and can be booked through any tour company. It’s a long way, so the day trip is about 13 to 14 hours.

People sitting on the steps of Sacré-Cœur, looking out over Paris under a cloudy sky.

The steps of Sacré-Cœur.