Let me start off by saying, I do not recommend only spending 24 hours in Paris. We ended up doing it by way of necessity; we really wanted to see Paris, but our schedule didn’t necessarily allow for more than a day as we were flying in and out of Amsterdam. To say it cannot be done is an understatement. However, if you’re organized and dedicated, you can fit a LOT into a single Parisian day. So if all you have is 24 hours, this is a great start.
To maximize our time in Paris and avoid backtracking or wasting time, I created an itinerary that mapped out our day, moving (for the most part) from east to west across the city. We stayed at the Moxy Paris Bastille, marked with a green diamond on the map below. The hotel is on the east side of Paris to begin with, so it made it easier to organize our itinerary directionally. If you’re staying somewhere more centrally located, things might get a little trickier.
Below is a map of our plan, followed by a detailed breakdown of each stop we made! The solid and dashed lines represent places we could walk (dashed) and places we would need to cab it (solid). Obviously, if walking isn’t your thing or you want to save money on cabs, you could absolutely just take the the metro. But we wanted to see as much of Paris as possible, which meant staying above ground while going from place to place.
1. L’ATELIER DES LUMIÈRES
The Van Gogh exhibit at L’Atelier des Lumières was magical! Set to beautiful classical music, the artwork of Van Gogh is projected onto the many interior surfaces of the Atelier warehouse and it is a truly immersive experience. This specific exhibit will only be up until December 31, 2019 so if you have a chance to check it out, I would highly recommend it! The exhibit itself is so hard to describe and pictures just don't do it justice, so check out their website to see what it's all about. This was especially exciting for us since we did not get a chance to check out the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
2. WINDOW SHOPPING & LUNCH IN LE MARAIS
It’s not the shortest walk from L’Atelier des Lumières to Île de la Cité, the island that houses Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle, but it does take you right through the Le Marais neighborhood so it is definitely worth the hike. This is a perfect spot to grab lunch, depending on your timing. Since we didn’t arrive to Paris until 9:30 a.m. (after a 6:00 a.m. train ride from Amsterdam), we got a later start to our day and lunchtime aligned perfectly with our walk from the Bastille neighborhood to Île de la Cité. There are plenty of cute cafes and brasseries to choose from in Le Marais, so just stroll through and take your pick! The marker on the map is situated at the very top of Le Marais, and as you head further and further south towards the River Seine you’ll walk by numerous shops, eateries, and more!
3. NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL and 4. SAINTE-CHAPELLE
Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle are situated basically back-to-back on Île de la Cité, a large island in the middle of the Seine, so it’s super easy to hit these two famous churches in one fell swoop. While Notre Dame’s exterior is the most recognizable part of the cathedral, the opposite is true for Sainte-Chapelle. The stunning stained glass and interior architecture of Sainte-Chapelle is truly extraordinary! Keep in mind, you do have to pay to enter both churches and it’s €10 for an adult ticket at each venue.
*Note: We were lucky enough to see Notre Dame shortly before the infamous fire. Less than two weeks after we had seen the gorgeous cathedral in person, we were glued to the news in horror watching it burn down. I’m not entirely sure what you should expect at Notre Dame now, but fortunately from what I’ve heard, the majority of the building’s main facade is still in tact with most of the damage concentrated to the interior and back of the structure.
5. THE LOUVRE
You could spend days in the Louvre and still not see everything, so we had to narrow our stop down to two “must see” exhibits: the Mona Lisa (duh) and what I like to call the “Red Hall,” which is actually dubbed the Large-Format 19th Century French Paintings Gallery. Luckily, both of these are housed in the grand Denon Wing, which made things quite a bit easier. Bonus: on your way to the Mona Lisa and the “Red Hall,” you’ll also get to see the Victory of Samothrace Staircase which boasts some gorgeous statues. This place is HUGE and I was so worried we were going to get lost and end up wasting precious time, but we ended up being able to get in, see the things we wanted to see, and get out all in an hour!
6. ARC DE TRIOMPHE
The Arc de Triomphe was probably the briefest stop of our day, but we knew we at least had to see it. We ended up taking a cab from the Louvre to the Arc, and requested he drive down the Champs-Élysées so we could see that too. To say the area around the Arc de Triomphe is a madhouse is an understatement. It’s one of the largest roundabouts in Paris (which the Arc sits in the middle of) so it is surrounded by speeding cars and every corner is blanketed with tourists. When we arrived, we quickly hopped out and snapped a few photos before hopping back in the cab and heading to the Eiffel Tower.
7. EIFFEL TOWER
No trip to Paris would be complete without a stop at possibly the most iconic landmark in the world, the Eiffel Tower. It was good we cut our visit to the Arc de Triomphe short, so we could take our time walking around the Eiffel Tower and taking it all in. Ideally, I would have loved to take a picnic (if you count cheese, baguettes, and wine as a picnic!) and spend the afternoon chilling in the grassy area in front of the famous landmark. Unfortunately with only 24 hours we did not have the luxury of spending a full afternoon here, so sipping on mini wine bottles while resting our feet was all we had time for.
*Tip: Snag a few mini wine bottles from one of the many cafes in the Louvre before heading to the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower to avoid having to make any extra pitstops!
8. MUSÉE D'ORSAY
Though the Musée d’Orsay is on my map above, we did not end up getting to visit. Had we gotten an earlier start to our day, it definitely would have been doable, but we didn’t want to totally rush through it and then be late for our dinner reservations on top of that.
Once we had freshened up at the hotel and changed for the night, we set out again! French food is one of my favorite cuisines so we wanted to make our one dinner in Paris well worth it. And what is Paris without copious amounts of wine? Obviously we had to sample as much as we could after dinner before finally heading back to the hotel. Read on for the spots we hit on our only night in Paris! (These are marked by numbered stars on the map above.)
DINNER WITH A VIEW
Monsieur Bleu (9)
This restaurant has possibly one of the best views in Paris, and while it’s expensive it won’t completely destroy your wallet. You'll definitely want to request to be seated on their outdoor terrace, as it has a full view of the Eiffel Tower! Combine the sparkling view (literally, the Eiffel Tower lights up and sparkles for 5 full minutes every hour on the hour) with the phenomenal French food and live music, and Monsieur Bleu made the perfect choice for our one dinner in Paris.
AFTER-DINNER DRINKS
Four Seasons George V, Le Bar (10)
Word of warning: if you’re budget traveling, this is not the place for you. While I am well aware the any Four Seasons would be a high-end, luxurious spot, in no way was I prepared to pay €29 for a single cocktail. And that was the cheapest on the menu! But we had already sat down and the atmosphere was oh-so-sophisticated so we said c’est la vie and ordered up.
La Rotonde (11)
After our single round of drinks at Le Bar, we ventured back to our hotel but decided we didn’t quite want to call it a night. It was our only night in Paris, after all! So we set off in search of a fun bar we could grab a few more drinks at in the neighborhood and ended up stumbling upon La Rotonde, a late-night cafe/bar with plenty of outdoor seating facing the small streets and a lively vibe. The people watching was the perfect cap to the trip!
And there you have it! Just one day in Paris and we still managed to hit almost everything we wanted. I'll definitely be back, but until then, this should help you out with any short-lived Paris adventures!
Comments