You can’t ”do” Paris in only a day! I’m sure many of you are exclaiming, but sometimes all you have is a day (e.g. when you are doing a tour and it only stops there for a day, which was my experience) so you have to make the most of it. The following is based on how we did Paris on a day last year. I feel I must forewarn that I think it was only possible to fit that much in because we went in off peak (January) and thus there was no lines for anything. If you are going in say, July, strongly consider visiting for more than just a day (unless you are satisfied just seeing these monuments from a distance).
We started the day off at the Lourve. It has been estimated that to see everything in the Lourve it would take you about nine months! Clearly you could dedicate more than just a whole day here but if you are on restricted in regards to time you have, enter the Lourve with a plan rather than wondering around aimlessly. Pick up a map at the door and pick out the pieces you want to see (The Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo were high on our list) and plan your walk around that. The day we visited there were no queues so we were able to enter from the main entrance (near I.M Pei’s glass pyramids), however if there is a queue try the entering through the Lourve Carousel shopping arcade or the Lourve Rivoli Metro station.
From the Lourve we headed up the Champs- Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe. Located along the Champs-Elysees is Laduree, a luxury cake and pastries brand famous for making the macron what it is (best macron I have ever tasted, by far). Entry into the Arc de Triomphe will cost you 9 Euros and after climbing a spirally staircase consisting of 284 steps you will be rewarded with a spectacular view of Paris, one of the few panoramic views of Paris that includes the Eiffel Tower.
Rest period, coinciding with lunch. When in Paris, why not picnic under the Eiffel Tower like we did. Grab some cheese, wine and baguettes (and whatever other stereotypical things you can think of) and be in awe of your view while you eat.
Once again blessed with no queues we had a quick entry into the Eiffel Tower( 8 euro to second floor, 13 for the top). After the Eiffel Tower we head down the River Seine, in the direction of the Notre Dame. On this walk you will come across at least one ”Lock Bridge”. The story is a couple writes their names on a padlock and locks it onto the bridge; they then throw the key into the Seine as a symbol of their everlasting love.
I recommend a quick detour along this walk to the Galeries Lafayette, a famous French department store. Scale up the many levels up to the food court where you will find another wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower.
When we reached the Notre Dame we caught our tour bus to the Latin Quarter where we had a dinner consisting of frogs legs and escargot, followed by a cabaret show at Le Paradis Latin (one of the oldest cabaret shows in France).
That was our day in Paris. Obviously a day is not enough and we did miss out on a couple of attractions (for example Moulin Rouge, surrounding districts and the catacombs) but we did make the most of it. I must once again note that this was during off peak so no crowds and tiresome queues to slow us down.
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