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Paris in one day: an hour-by-hour itinerary
One day goes a long way in Paris if you walk in a straight line and skip the museums. This itinerary follows the historic axis from east to west, which is how the city was designed, and ends on the river as the light fades. It is about seven kilometres on foot, spread across the whole day.
Morning: the island and the Louvre
Start on the Île de la Cité, where the city began. Notre-Dame takes twenty minutes from the outside, and the Sainte-Chapelle is worth a stop if you start early. Cross the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris despite its name, and follow the embankments to the Louvre. If you are not going in, the pyramid courtyard and the passage under the Pavillon Richelieu justify the detour on their own.
Afternoon: Tuileries, Concorde and the Champs-Élysées
From the Louvre, the Tuileries gardens run straight to Place de la Concorde with its obelisk. From there you can already see the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Élysées: two kilometres of gently rising avenue, a good half hour at an unhurried pace.
Late afternoon: climb the Arc de Triomphe
This is the best time of day to go up: from the terrace you suddenly understand everything you have walked, with the Tuileries and the Louvre lined up behind you and La Défense ahead. Remember that access is through the underpass, never across the roundabout.
Evening: the lit-up Seine
Walk down from the Arc towards the river — a little over twenty minutes to the Alma pier or the one at the foot of the Eiffel Tower — and close the day on the water. In one hour you pass again everything you saw by day, now lit up, and see the city from the one angle you cannot walk. It is the logical end to the route and the reason to book the cruise for last thing.
Seine river cruise at night and at sunset Where do the Seine boats depart from?
With only one day, do not try to fit in the Louvre's interior: that is three hours minimum and would eat half the itinerary. Save it for a second day and take the city on foot.
Paris in 2 days: a weekend itinerary Paris in 3 days: a complete itinerary