Neighbourhoods
Le Marais
Historic, boutique-dense, best for wandering and people-watching.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Literary cafés and the classic Left Bank feel.
Montmartre
Hillside views and village charm — go before 10am, touristy by midday.
Canal Saint-Martin
Where locals actually hang out; less postcard, more neighborhood.
Things to do
Louvre, 4pm entry
Tour buses clear out by mid-afternoon — a 4pm ticket gets you the Mona Lisa without the scrum.
Seine sunset walk, Pont des Arts to Notre-Dame
Free, unhurried, and better lit than any museum by golden hour.
Marché des Enfants Rouges
Paris's oldest covered market — lunch here instead of a sit-down tourist-trap bistro.
Musée d'Orsay over the Louvre, if you only have one museum day
Smaller, faster to see well, arguably the better collection for Impressionism.
Canal Saint-Martin bar hop
Where the after-work crowd actually goes, no tourist markup.
Eating & drinking
Septime
Reserve 3+ weeks out — one of the best-value tasting menus in the city.
Breizh Café
The crêpe standard-bearer; go for a savory galette, not the tourist version.
Any boulangerie before 10am
Pain au chocolat is best within an hour of baking — ask when the morning batch comes out.
Day trips
Local logistics
City-specific transport and safety notes — for country-wide context, see the France guide.
The Métro is fast and cheap — buy a Navigo Easy card on arrival rather than single tickets. Walking beats the Métro for anything under 25 minutes; Paris is smaller than it feels.
Very safe overall; the main risk is pickpocketing around the Eiffel Tower, Métro Line 1, and Montmartre's steps — keep bags zipped and to the front.
Pacing & budget
Pacing: 3 full days covers the icons comfortably; 5 lets you add a day trip and slow mornings.
Budget: Paris runs above the French mid-range average — expect the higher end nationally.
Visa, money, culture & transport for all of France
Currency, key phrases, getting around by train, and everything that applies to your whole trip — not just Paris.