Paris is always a good idea, whether you are visiting on a weekend getaway or to include it in a travel itinerary through Europe. The scenes of this city are stuck in our mind although we have never visited it, as surely happens too many with New York. Paris is familiar to us, even without having stepped on it … and maybe that makes it even more attractive. Here, we will discuss things to see in Paris in 2 days.
Things to see in paris in 2 days
Paris is the city of love, the capital of fashion and its historical and cultural heritage is surprising. It has so much but so much to offer the tourist that it is very difficult to see everything in 2 days. I have prepared an itinerary so that you can take advantage of your stay and you can squeeze the hours to the maximum. Ready to meet the “City of Light”?
Friday afternoon
This day will depend a lot on where you stay since Paris is a very big city and this first contact with the capital should be relatively close to your hotel – for the next day I have prepared an intense day! -.
One of the areas that I recommend to stay in the Latin Quarter, which is well located, on the left bank of the Seine, near the University of La Sorbonne, Notre Dame or the Pantheon. If you are looking for a good, nice and cheap hostel, try the Young and Happy Hostel & Budget Hotel … or if you want a little more charming hotel, 3 stars and with private rooms, how about the Hotel des Nations Saint Germain also in the Latino neighborhood?
After doing the check in and leaving the backpacks or suitcases at the hotel, it is time to start tasting the city. It will be a short tasting, but it will be well worth it. Walk about 10 streets to the banks of the Seine River and you will get to the Cathedral of Notre Dame , located on the “Isla de la Cité”, a small island on the river.
Cross the bridge to see the cathedral more closely , although if it is at night you will not be able to enter but you will see it illuminated from the outside. [ update April 2019: after the fateful fire suffered on April 15, 2019, it is no longer possible to visit it, and on the outside it has been badly damaged. At the moment the access to the surroundings is also closed].
Then look on the island for the Petit Pont – Cardinal Lustiger bridge to cross again to the south bank of the Seine and go up Rue du Petite Pont for about 700 meters and you will arrive at the entrance of the legendary University La Sorborne and then continue a few meters to delight with the Pantheon that at that hour will be illuminated.
Between the flight, the walk and that is Friday – after an intense week of work – you will probably want to sit down for dinner. The Latin Quarter is ideal for eating, drinking and even moving the skeleton – if you have any energy left.
✔️ Saturday
Today you have to get up early! Ideally, be at 8 a.m. or 8.30 a.m. on the street so that the day will give of itself! Leave your hotel and walk towards the Luxembourg Gardens , take a walk through them and feel the Parisian rhythm in one of the most popular open spaces. Then head to the banks of the Seine and, before crossing the bridge, stop for a few minutes at the Shakespeare & Co. bookstore on Bucherie Street, which is a true delight.
Now, cross the Petit-Pont Cardinal Lustiger bridge and you will be facing Notre Dame Cathedral again , this time during the day. If the previous day was closed, take the opportunity to enter to see it is free and there are no queues (you can go to the towers for € 10 – click here for the official website and buy tickets – but the queues are usually long. is to go up, I recommend you be there around 9.00 or 9.15h as they open at 10am and by that time there is a long line).[ update April 2019: after the fateful fire suffered on April 15, 2019, it is no longer possible to visit it, and on the outside it has been badly damaged. At the moment the access to the surroundings is also closed.]
In the same island of the Cité you will find the Saint Chapelle , a real jewel that you should visit as well as the Conciergerie , which is the old Parisian prison (you will have to promise to return to Paris to visit it, as well as many other places with the that you will stay with the desire). Today there is no time to enter the bowels of these two French icons, but you’ll be back …
Did you know that you can take a guided tour in Spanish of “Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle”? Here you have more information [Update April 2019: after the fateful fire suffered on April 15, 2019, it is no longer possible to visit it.]
It’s time to cross the Pont Neuf bridge and you’ll find on the right-after walking a few hundred meters- the Hotel de Ville, which is one of the most beautiful in the city. Go down Rue de Rivoli to the Place de la Bastille , symbolic place of the French Revolution .
Once you have admired it and taken a few photos, walk to the Place des Vosges – the oldest square in Paris – where the House of the renowned writer Victor Hugo is located .
Follow your way down the street Francs Burgeois towards the Center Pompidou -that on the way you will see churches like St Paul, St Louis and arrives at the avant-garde and Futurist Pompidou building, then I recommend you to wander around this old Jewish quarter that It has a lot of charm.
Now it’s time to take a short walk to the Louvre Museum and its glass pyramid . Unless you want to skip the rest of the day and decide to enter the museum , see the large building that houses great masterpieces and then go through the Tuileries Garden to the Place de la Concorde where the obelisk is located, a gift to France from Egypt.
From there, walk up the picturesque streets of the area to the Plaza Vendome and then continue on to the Opera Square – if you’re just going by time or tired you can also take the metro to the Pigalle or Blanche stop to save yourself this ride which is long.
Whether you went by subway or walking, your first destination and to follow the itinerary we will arrive at the archi-known Moulin Rouge (for your second visit to Paris, save yourself a couple of hours to enter!) And after taking the picture of rigor the idea is that you walk through the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre until you reach the Basilica of Sacre Coeur .
Climb the steps until you reach the doors of the Basilica and, if you have time and some energy, go up to the Montparnasse tower. This area is ideal to stay for dinner. For example, in the Place du Tertre, take a night walk and then take the subway back to the hotel.
✔️ Sunday
Your second and last day in the City of Light will also have to get up early to get the juice. My recommendation is that at 7.30am you are already taking the metro to … the Eiffel Tower! Surely in your previous day you have managed to see it from different angles and at different heights … but never close. Today is your “mon ami” day .
You can take the metro to Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel -which is the nearest metro station and therefore you can leave even a little later from the hotel- or you can also take the metro to the Trocadero stop that leaves you a little further , to be exact in the Garden of Trocadero and the Palais de Chalot and you will have to cross the bridge over the Seine but you will have a good view of the tower while you are approaching it little by little.
This last option is my recommendation if you bought the tickets online to the Eiffel Tower or bought the tickets to go up without queuing . Now yes, climb to the Eiffel Tower – the ideal time is about 9.30 am or 10 am -. Enjoy the views.
After descending, go through the gardens of Campo de Marte to the Eccole Militare . From there you can walk – a few meters – to the National Palace of Los Invalides , which is a military complex and is well known for housing the mortal remains of Napoleon Bonaparte and being the headquarters of the Army Museum .
Keep walking a little more and you will pass the Orsay Museum , which offers a great sample of impressionist art. Cross the bridge to the Place de la Concorde and instead of going up again to Montmartre, this time take the famous Champs Elysees .
Walk and enjoy them until you reach the Arc de Triomf . If you want you can go up to admire the views from above . It’s time to eat something, stop by the hotel to pick up your bags or, if you take it with you, take the subway to the airport.
💡 Remember that this is an itinerary designed to travel a lot on foot , see much of the city but not enter the museums. If you want to gain some time to see a museum, for example the Louvre, I recommend then that you move by subway from one point of tourist interest to another, that you do not take long in meals and plan your schedules well.