Luxury hotels in Paris

Paris guide

Paris: the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the art of slowing down

Timed entries for the great sights, the Seine at dusk and neighbourhoods best seen on foot.

The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre are the most cited sights in Paris, and both use timed tickets that sell out, so we book them ahead; the Louvre is best at opening or on its late evenings, the tower at sunset. Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened in December 2024 after its restoration.

Then slow down: the Musée d'Orsay's Impressionists, a walk from the Île Saint-Louis through the Marais, lunch in Saint-Germain and a cruise on the Seine at dusk. Montmartre is best early in the morning, and spring and early autumn are the loveliest seasons.

The Musée d'Orsay and the Orangerie

The Musée d'Orsay, housed in a Beaux-Arts railway station on the Left Bank, holds the world's greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, from Monet and Renoir to Van Gogh and Cézanne, and it is one of the most cited museums in Paris. Timed tickets are essential.

Across the Seine, the Musée de l'Orangerie in the Tuileries displays Monet's Water Lilies in two oval rooms designed by the painter himself. Giverny, Monet's house and garden, is about an hour away and best from April to October.

Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur

Montmartre, the hill crowned by the white Sacré-Cœur Basilica, is one of the most cited areas of Paris, with a view over the whole city from the steps of the basilica. Early morning is the best time, before the crowds reach the Place du Tertre, where painters work in the open air.

Its lanes hide the Clos Montmartre, the last working vineyard in Paris, the Musée de Montmartre in the house where Renoir painted, and the Moulin Rouge at the foot of the hill. Dinner in a bistro on the rue Lepic ends the day.