5 Days in Paris Itinerary for First-Time Visitors (2025 Guide)

Five days in Paris sounds like a lot until you realize the Louvre alone could eat three of them. The city rewards you for slowing down — lingering over a café crème, stumbling into a side street market, watching the Seine go gold at dusk. This itinerary does exactly that: covers the iconic sights without turning your vacation into a sprint.

Before You Go: Paris Logistics

Getting from CDG Airport to the city:

Option	Cost	Time	Notes
RER B train	€11.80	35–45 min	Cheapest, runs frequently
Roissybus	€16.10	60–75 min	Direct to Opéra
Taxi/Uber	€50–65	30–60 min	Fixed flat rate from CDG
Le Bus Direct	€17	45–75 min	Coach, good for luggage

For most travelers, the RER B is the move — grab a Navigo Découverte card (€5 for the card + €30 for a weekly pass) and you'll have unlimited metro, RER, and bus access for the rest of your stay.

Best neighborhoods to stay:

• Marais (3rd/4th): Central, trendy, walkable to a lot. Budget €120–200/night for a solid hotel.
• Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th): Charming and literary, slightly pricier.
• Montmartre (18th): Bohemian vibe, cheaper hotels from €80/night, but a bit removed.

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Day 1: Arrival + Right Bank Classics

Land, drop your bags, and resist the urge to nap.

Afternoon:

Start easy. Walk to the Tuileries Garden and get your bearings. Grab a coffee and a croissant at any café — you're not here to search for the "best" one, you're here to sit outside and feel it. Then stroll east along the Seine toward Notre-Dame Cathedral, which recently reopened after its 2019 fire restoration. The exterior is stunning; go inside if lines are short.

Evening:

Head to Île Saint-Louis for a Berthillon ice cream (€3–4 a scoop), one of Paris's most iconic food stops. Then dinner in the Marais — try L'As du Fallafel on Rue des Rosiers for the city's best falafel wrap (~€7) or splurge at a traditional French bistro where a set menu runs €22–32.

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Day 2: The Eiffel Tower + Musée d'Orsay

Morning (book in advance):

Beat the crowds at the Eiffel Tower. Tickets to the summit run €32 for adults; the second floor is €18.10. Booking online 60 days in advance is non-negotiable — walk-up lines can be 2+ hours. Aim for a 9 AM entry slot. The view from the top across Haussmann's boulevards is worth every euro.

Afternoon:

Walk across Pont d'Iéna to Musée d'Orsay (€16, closed Mondays). This may be Paris's best museum per hour invested — the Impressionist collection on the top floor (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh) is jaw-dropping and far less crowded than the Louvre. Plan 2–3 hours.

Evening:

Dinner in Saint-Germain. The stretch around Rue de Buci has solid brasserie options with prix-fixe menus starting at €18. Afterward, walk along the Seine and catch the Eiffel Tower sparkle at 10 PM — it lights up on the hour for 5 minutes every evening.

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Day 3: The Louvre + Le Marais

Morning:

The Louvre (€22, closed Tuesdays) is overwhelming by design. Do not try to see everything. Instead: pick three zones — Egyptian Antiquities, Greek/Roman Sculpture, and the Denon Wing (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo). That's 2.5–3 hours done well. Buy skip-the-line tickets online; the Richelieu entrance has shorter waits than the pyramid.

Afternoon:

Walk east to Le Marais. Browse Place des Vosges (Paris's oldest square, built 1612, completely free), then wander into the Picasso Museum (€14, closed Mondays). The neighborhood itself is the activity: galleries, concept stores, and the best falafel you've mentioned eating for a week.

Evening:

Happy hour at a wine bar — Paris has excellent natural wine bars where a glass runs €5–9. Try Le Marché des Enfants Rouges (oldest covered market in Paris, open until 8 PM) for a casual dinner from stalls: Moroccan, Italian, French all under one roof.

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Day 4: Montmartre + Sacré-Cœur

Morning:

Take the metro (Line 12) to Abbesses and walk up through Montmartre. The village feel is real — steep staircases, ivy-covered walls, portrait artists. Sacré-Cœur Basilica is free to enter and the terrace view over Paris from the top of the hill is genuinely spectacular.

Spend time in Place du Tertre, the painters' square (touristy but charming), and poke into the small Dali museum (€14). Grab breakfast at any neighborhood café here — Montmartre's café prices are lower than central Paris.

Afternoon:

Head south to the Palais Royal gardens (free) for a coffee and people-watching. Then browse the covered passages of Paris: Galerie Vivienne and Passage des Panoramas are 19th-century shopping arcades with bookshops, bistros, and philatelist stalls. Completely free and almost no tourists.

Evening:

Optional splurge: Moulin Rouge show tickets start at €115 for the show-only option (dinner shows from €215). Book months ahead if you want the famous cabaret experience. Otherwise, pick an arrondissement you haven't eaten in yet and explore.

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Day 5: Versailles Day Trip or Pere Lachaise + Final Wanders

Option A — Versailles (full day):

Take the RER C from Paris (€7.10 each way, ~45 minutes) to Palace of Versailles. Passport access (€20) covers the palace and gardens. The Hall of Mirrors alone is worth the trip; arrive early (gates open at 9 AM) because tour groups arrive in force by 11 AM. The gardens are free on weekdays (€10 on weekends with fountain shows). Bring lunch or buy from garden kiosks.

Option B — Pere Lachaise + Final Wanders:

Spend the morning at Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (free) — the resting place of Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Chopin, and Marcel Proust. It's unexpectedly beautiful and peaceful. Then spend the afternoon doing whatever you missed: a second pass through any museum, shopping on Rue de Rivoli, or just sitting by the Seine.

Evening:

Book a farewell dinner somewhere that requires a reservation — Septime (€80–100/person, book weeks ahead), a wine bar dinner in the 11th, or a classic French brasserie like Brasserie Lipp in Saint-Germain.

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Paris Budget Breakdown

Category	Budget	Mid-Range	Splurge
Hotel (per night)	€80–100	€130–200	€300+
Breakfast	€3–6	€8–14	€20+
Lunch	€8–15	€18–28	€40+
Dinner	€15–22	€30–55	€80+
Museum entries	€14–22	same	same
Transport (weekly Navigo)	€30	same	Taxi
Total per day	~€80–120	~€150–220	€350+

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Paris Travel Tips

Get a Navigo Découverte pass (€5 card fee + €30/week) — it covers zones 1–5 and includes the RER to Versailles. Worth it for any stay over 3 days.

Museum City Pass: The Paris Museum Pass (€52/2 days, €66/4 days) covers 60+ monuments and skips ticket lines. Do the math based on your itinerary — if you're hitting 4+ paid sites, it pays for itself.

Book everything online: Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Versailles all sell out on popular dates. Book 4–8 weeks ahead in summer, 1–2 weeks in shoulder season.

Eat lunch at restaurants, not dinner: Many Paris bistros offer a €15–22 formule (starter + main or main + dessert) at lunch that would cost €35+ at dinner.

The 20-minute rule: Paris is most walkable city in Europe. If your destination is under 20 minutes by foot, walk — you'll see more and skip the metro stress.

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Plan Your Paris Trip with Faroway

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Paris in five days is a beginning. Most people who go once spend the next few years figuring out how to get back.