The Most Magical One Day in Paris Itinerary
Summary: I’m sharing a very short itinerary for one day in Paris for travelers with a tight schedule or a long layover looking to see as much of Paris as they can.
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Of course, I would never recommend planning to only spend one day in Paris, but I understand that sometimes we are met with a very tight travel schedule, or a long layover, and we want to make the most of it. If you’re finding yourself in this position, you’ve come to the right place! Keep reading to see how I’d recommending spending one day in Paris.
Is One Day Long Enough in Paris?
Short answer: no. Paris is such a large city with so many incredible things to do. You can’t possibly get the full essence or experience of Paris in just one day. If you’re visiting for the first time, I’d recommend allocating at least four full days in Paris, or even longer if your schedule allows. I promise you will not run out of things to do!
All this said, I know everyone has different travel schedules, so if you find yourself in the position of only having one day in Paris, use this itinerary to make the most of it.
One Day in Paris Itinerary
This one day in Paris itinerary is assuming you have an entire day to play with. If you only have a few hours on a layover, I would not recommend leaving the airport. If you have at least 10-12 hours, then you can always embark on the parts of this itinerary that sound most appealing to you.
The Latin Quarter area is my favorite part of Paris, so most of this itinerary will take place here. You’ll also notice that it’s a very busy day! Feel free to omit parts of it, but if you only have one day in Paris, you’ll indeed be busy trying to see the most you can.
9:00am: Breakfast at a cafe
One of my most favorite things to do in Paris is have a slow morning at a cafe. Of course, since this itinerary is just for one day, we don’t want to be too slow, but we can still enjoy ourselves a bit!
There are so many cafes in Paris that you can likely leave your hotel and walk around to find one. Try to pick one that isn’t too flashy or Instagram-y (this usually means it’s overpriced for tourists). Most will have a menu or chalkboard out front to show what they have. There’s usually some sort of breakfast deal with a hot drink, orange juice, and a croissant for 8-12 euros.
A few years ago, it was also typical for cafes to include toast with butter and jam, so if you find one with all four of those included for under 15 euros, that’s a good spot to try!
10:00am: Orsay Museum
When you’re done with breakfast, you’ll head over to the Orsay Museum. This is my favorite museum in Paris as it has a wide range of types of art. I usually beeline to the impressionist area, but there are so many different sculptures, paintings, and other works of art to look through. This is also where a huge, Instagram-famous clock is that has a view of the city through it.
You’ll want to buy your tickets online ahead of time. We recently visited in February and were able to buy tickets the day before, but if you’re here during peak tourist season, you’ll need to buy them earlier than that.
The cost is 16 euros per adult and it’s a timed entry, so if you’re following this one day in Paris itinerary, make sure to choose 10am.
If you were staying in Paris longer, I would suggest spending hours here. One could easily spend half a day looking at everything, but since we are on a time crunch, try to keep it between 2-3 hours so we can see a bit more outside of the museum.
1:00pm: Lunch at Luxembourg Gardens
When you’re finished at the Orsay Museum, you’re going to head to Luxembourg Gardens. As long as you’re not visiting in winter, this is a beautiful garden area with multiple places to sit for a picnic lunch.
I would suggest walking the 25 minutes from the Orsay Museum to Luxembourg Gardens so you can stop along the way at any grocery store, market, or bakery you pass and buy something to eat for lunch. Once you get to the gardens, you can sit along garden in any of the green chairs surrounding it.
Enjoy your time here. For me, Paris is all about savoring the little moments and romanticizing parts of your life that you usually don’t, so don’t rush yourself!
Once you’ve eaten, walk around here a bit. Make sure you see the Medici Fountain before you leave!
4:00pm: Walk along the Seine and see the Bouquinistes
We’re going to start walking back toward the Seine after lunch. I want you to see the Bouquinistes that line the river. These are individual shops that sell vintage books, prints, paintings, and other things you can buy to remember your one day in Paris!
The Bouquinistes are a staple of Paris and have been around since the 1500s. During the 2024 Olympics, they were at risk of being removed because they were deemed a “security risk.” It seemed like all of Paris came together to petition against this, and they won! The sellers were allowed to stay and still remain today.
Individual hours vary, but as long as it’s light outside, you’ll likely see some open. All you need to do is walk along the Seine and you’ll see the recognizable green boxes.
If you’d like to visit a famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company, you’re likely close to it after walking from Luxembourg Gardens. It’s fun to visit, but honestly, it’s gotten a bit too famous. There’s usually a line waiting out front now, making it more of a tourist attraction.
5:00pm: Visit Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame has opened back up to the public! Notre Dame is one of the most famous cathedrals in all of Europe, but after a fire in 2019, it was closed for renovation. It re-opened in December 2024, so I highly recommend taking a walk through it.
I didn’t have a chance to visit the cathedral before the fire, but I did walk through it after renovations. Most people said it looked really white and much less gothic than before. This makes sense as all the stone was cleaned. I’m sure after some time, it’ll have a bit more character like people were used to seeing.
It’s free to enter and there will likely be a line. If you’re visiting in peak season, you can schedule a timed entry to hopefully decrease the wait time to enter.
6:00pm: Aperitif at a cafe
Whenever you’re finished at Notre Dame, if you have some time before dinner, find a cafe to have a drink. I’ve said it a few times, and I’ll say it again: take time to enjoy the present moment while you’re here. I think this is one of the big reasons why I love Paris so much. I don’t do that enough back home.
Just like breakfast – any cafe will do, especially if you’re just getting wine or champagne.
8:00pm: Dinner in the Latin Quarter
When it’s time, head to dinner at a restaurant in Latin Quarter (where we’ve been all day). If you only have one day in Paris, I have two restaurant recommendations that will both be amazing: La Petit Perigourdine and Au Vieux Paris.
La Petit Perigourdine is more of an elevated cafe and the more affordable of the two options. They have some of the best French bistro food I’ve ever tried. We started with the onion soup and escargot. Austin got the beef tartar while I had a chicken dish, and we loved both.
Au Vieux Paris is more of a formal restaurant. It’s a small space, but they have both an upstairs and downstairs section. There is so much character in this restaurant and you can tell it’s a neighborhood staple. My number one recommendation here is the beef cheeks. It’s their specialty and it is divine.
Regardless of what time of year you’re visiting, make sure to make a reservation for either of these places. You can do it right through Google. It seemed that they were both fairly empty until around 8pm when people started coming in for dinner.
10:00pm: See the Eiffel Tower sparkle
If you still have energy after dinner, there’s one major thing we haven’t done on this one day in Paris yet: see the Eiffel Tower! This is obviously the largest landmark in Paris, but it’s relatively far from the Latin Quarter, so I made a bold choice to omit it. You’ll likely see it peaking out in the distance every once in a while, but if you want to see it up close and personal, now is the time!
It’s best to take the Metro from the Latin Quarter to the Eiffel Tower, and it should take around 25-30 minutes each way. All you need to do is type “Eiffel Tower” into Google Maps and choose the public transportation option. If you don’t have a Metro card, most of the Metro stations sell tickets – you’ll want to make sure to buy two so you can use the second to get back.
Once you get to the Eiffel Tower, it will likely be dark, but the Iron Lady will be lit up. She will start sparkling at the top of every hour and the last sparkle is at 11pm.
Keep in mind that this is the most touristy part of Paris and you’ll be here at night. I didn’t necessarily feel unsafe when we did this, but I was a little more on guard and kept my purse in my hands. Just be a little more observant here than you usually would!
You’ll Want More Time in Paris
After this one day in Paris, you’ll probably want more time here! This little taste of the city will show you a sliver of what she has to offer, so if you had a good day and enjoyed yourself, make sure to plan a longer trip next time! Like I mentioned at the beginning, you could spend weeks here and never run out of things to do, but 5-6 days is a great starting point.
I hope this one day in Paris itinerary helped you plan your trip. Feel free to reach out on Instagram if it sparked any questions.
