Planned in Wanderjoy
Paris First-Timer Essentials 2026
Paris, France · Apr 14 – Apr 18 · 5 days · 15 stops
🎫 TICKETS & TIMING • Eiffel Tower summit slots open 60 days ahead and sell out same-day — set a reminder • Louvre closes Tuesdays; Orsay closes Mondays — plan around both • Enter the Louvre at Carrousel or Porte des Lions, never the pyramid queue • Most national museums are free the first Sunday of the month, and packed ______ 🚇 GETTING AROUND • A carnet of 10 metro tickets beats singles; contactless also works • Central Paris is walkable — Louvre to Notre-Dame is 20 minutes along the Seine • Line 1 runs east-west through nearly every major sight • Avoid taxis at rush hour; the metro is faster than the traffic above it ______ 🍽️ EATING • Lunch prix fixe is the same food as dinner for roughly half the price • A coffee standing at the bar costs less than the same coffee seated • Skip any restaurant with photos on the menu or a host waving you in • Boulangeries close one day a week, and it varies by shop ______ 🗼 GOOD TO KNOW • Mid-April is 8–16°C and changeable — layers plus a compact umbrella • Greet with 'bonjour' before asking anything; it visibly changes the response • Service is included, so tipping is rounding up at most • Watch for petition and bracelet scams around the tower and Sacré-Cœur
Champ de Mars · Rue Cler · Place du Trocadéro
9:30 AM · Champ de Mars, Paris
Book the first summit slot online (€29.40) the moment tickets open 60 days out. Take the lift up and the stairs down — the second-floor views are better and the queue only runs one way.
1:00 PM · Rue Cler, Paris
A pedestrian market street 10 minutes from the tower. Build a picnic from the fromagerie and boulangerie for under €15 instead of paying tower-adjacent cafe prices.
7:30 PM · Place du Trocadéro, Paris
The postcard angle on the tower, and free. Arrive 30 minutes before sunset for the light, then stay for the hourly sparkle that runs 5 minutes past each hour after dusk.
Rue de Rivoli · Jardin des Tuileries · Place du Palais Royal
9:00 AM · Rue de Rivoli, Paris
Enter via the Carrousel du Louvre or Porte des Lions, never the pyramid — same ticket (€22), a fraction of the queue. Closed Tuesdays. Head to the Denon wing first and work backwards.
1:30 PM · Jardin des Tuileries, Paris
Grab one of the green metal chairs by the round basin — they are free and movable, and locals drag them into the sun. A 15-minute reset between the Louvre and the shops.
4:00 PM · Place du Palais Royal, Paris
The striped Buren columns are free to walk through and far quieter than the Louvre next door. The arcaded garden behind is one of the calmest corners in central Paris.
Boulevard du Palais · Île de la Cité · Rue Mouffetard
9:30 AM · Boulevard du Palais, Paris
Fifteen metres of 13th-century stained glass (€13). Go on a bright morning — the upper chapel only glows with direct sun, and it is unremarkable under cloud.
11:30 AM · Île de la Cité, Paris
Reopened after the fire — free entry but timed slots go fast, so reserve online. The view from Square Jean XXIII behind shows the flying buttresses with no crowd.
7:00 PM · Rue Mouffetard, Paris
Walk past the tourist-menu strip near Rue de la Huchette and go up Rue Mouffetard instead. A prix fixe here runs €22–28 and the crowd is students, not tour groups.
Montmartre · Place du Tertre · Rue Cortot
9:00 AM · Montmartre, Paris
Free to enter, and the steps give the widest free view over Paris. Take the funicular (one metro ticket) up and walk down — the climb is 300 steps.
11:00 AM · Place du Tertre, Paris
The square itself is a tourist trap, but two streets down Rue de l'Abreuvoir and Rue Saint-Rustique are the Montmartre people picture. Go before 11am to have them nearly empty.
2:00 PM · Rue Cortot, Paris
Renoir's old studio and garden (€15), overlooking the last working vineyard in Paris. The most underrated stop on the hill and almost never busy.
Rue de la Légion d'Honneur · Jardin du Luxembourg · Place des Vosges
9:30 AM · Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, Paris
The Impressionist floor in a converted railway station (€16). Go straight to level 5 on arrival — everyone else starts on the ground floor and works up.
1:00 PM · Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris
The city's best park for doing nothing. Sail a rented wooden boat on the basin for €4, or take a chair by the Medici Fountain in the shade.
5:30 PM · Place des Vosges, Paris
Start at Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, then wander to Rue des Rosiers for falafel (about €9). One of the few districts where shops open on Sunday.
