Top Paris Attractions in Two Days

Paris, the City of Love, has always been one of the top places I’ve wanted to visit. This summer, it was the first stop on our dream Europe trip. We stayed at a beautiful Airbnb near the Opera House for four nights, so we had just two full days to see all that the city has to offer. Paris was a city that I assumed I would like, but that I absolutely LOVED. I wish we had stayed at least two days longer, but in the two days we had, our itinerary felt perfect. So here is what we did on our short trip to Paris!

Day 1 Itinerary:

1) Arc de Triomphe – An iconic Paris site which is the world’s biggest and tallest triumphal arch

2) Eiffel Tower – The free-standing iron tower is the ultimate symbol of Paris

3) Hotel des Invalides – A complex of buildings and exhibits related to the military history of France

4) Rodin Museum – Dedicated to the works of sculpture Auguste Rodin

5) Orsay Museum – Housed in a 1900 Beaux-art station building, it holds famous art works

6) Palais Garnier Opera House – This iconic grand theatre founded by Louis XIV has opulent palace-like décor

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the must sees in Paris, and it can be a fairly quick site to visit. To get to the actual arc from where we were standing in this picture, was embarrassingly difficult. We walked through so many different underground tunnels before giving up. As we started to finally walk away, we saw a huge sign directing us toward the underground passageway that leads straight to it. Don’t know how we missed that so many times. It is definitely worth going up to. Seeing the tomb of the unknown soldier and the eternal flame for the unknown soldiers lost in both World Wars is an experience I won’t forget.

The Eiffel Tower is magical. To finally see it in person was so overwhelming, I can’t even describe it. I had been told that the tower can be underwhelming, but I didn’t feel that AT ALL. The tower itself is huge and can be seen from far across the city. We just admired it from below, but you can pay to go up it to a viewing platform to get a birds eye view of Paris. There is even a champagne bar and restaurant in the tower if you’re willing to drop a pretty penny. You must must must go to see it at night as well. It twinkles every hour on the hour for 5 minutes, from sunset until 2 am. It is so fabulous, I literally would start tearing up every time I saw it.

Twinkling Tower

Here we are enjoying lunch at a picture perfect Parisian cafe, just down the road from the Eiffel Tower. This itinerary is mainly just the top attractions, but you should definitely add your own little stops on the way. We popped into adorable French bakeries for some macarons and croissants, and sat outside adorable cafes for meals in between excursions!

The itinerary is written out in perfect walking order, so you don’t have to worry about which attraction to go to first. And honestly, the next three Tom & I just walked by. We really aren’t big museum people, so we just admired the Hotel des Invalides, Rodin Museum, and Orsay Museum from the outside. The Rodin Museum and Hotel des Invalides are right next to each other and the Orsay Museum is about a mile away from that. If we were to have gone into one of the three, we would have hands down gone for the Orsay. But we walked that entire day, and to the Eiffel Tower was a pretty long trek, so we were pooped…also, we had a show to get to!

Seeing a show at the Palais Garnier Opera House has always been on my bucket list. THIS has to be my best pro tip for anyone going to Paris…you can go to the box office a few hours before a show and get cheap tickets! And I mean CHEAP! We paid 10 euros each for a show that had tickets starting at 100 or 200 euros! You do get what you pay for though, the views from the cheap seats are usually a bit obstructed, but we didn’t mind. I checked the show schedule online & our second night in Paris was a ballet and the third night an opera, we chose the ballet. Everything was phenomenal- the dancing, the opera house itself, the beautiful box we were in. It is a can’t miss experience, and also an amazing excuse to get dressed up!

At the end of this night we found a nearby Jazz Club and listened to live music while enjoying a charcuterie board.

This is easily one of the best days of my life. It was perfect.

Day 2 Itinerary:

1) Louvre Museum – One of the finest and largest art museums in the world

2) Lunch at Tour d’ Argent – Historic Michelin starred restaurant founded in 1582

3) Holy Chapel – The 13th century Gothic Sainte-Chapelle has stunning stained glass

4) Notre Dame – A historic cathedral on Ile de la Cite known for its Gothic architecture

5) Pantheon – A neo-classical 1700s church now a mausoleum for distinguished figures

6) Seine River Cruise – Take a cruise through historic Paris and see sites from the water

When in Paris, visit the Louvre. It’s one of the biggest and best museums in the world, and home to the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Seated Scribe, and so many other iconic works of art. You could spend days in the Louvre if you want to, but again we aren’t museum people and we definitely didn’t want to. But we did enjoy the museum for a good 3 hours before lunch. Pro tip: I booked my ticket online for the earliest time available. Right when the doors opened, we were in. No lines and no fuss!

In preparation for Paris, I knew I wanted to make reservations at a Michelin starred French restaurant. Tour d’ Argent, is a famous 400-year-old restaurant that has incredible views! It is actually the restaurant that Disney’s Ratatouille is based on. Check out my blog post about the restaurant and our experience here.

The Holy Chapel, Notre Dame and Pantheon are all big and beautiful buildings. I think Notre Dame was the only one that we wanted to pay to go inside. Our feet were definitely feeling it though, and by the end of this second day we both had well earned blisters that were well worth it.

Our last night in Paris, we were exhausted. But we had bought tickets for the Seine River cruise the day before, and that evening was the last chance we had to use them. Honestly, we both fell asleep on the cruise, but I still recommend it and think it is an amazing way to see so much of Paris lit up at night!

After the boat ride, we walked around the city eating crepes and ice cream and watching the Eiffel Towel twinkle.

Two full days in Paris, packed with so many sites and so much fun. I can’t wait to visit again!

Merci beaucoup, Paris!

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Kelly