2 Days in Paris: An Itinerary From the Louvre to Montmartre

Two days in Paris won’t cover everything. The Louvre alone could fill both of them. What two days can do is give a first-time visitor the highlights in a sensible order, with time to walk between them.

This plan is built on my own visit in June 2023: what I would do again, and the order I would do it in. Paris was warm and crowded that June, and the long evenings left room for one more stop at the end of each day.

2 Days in Paris at a Glance
🗓️ Day 1 · The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, and an evening Seine cruise to the Pont Alexandre III
⛪ Day 2 · Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame, the Palais Garnier, then Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower at sunset
🎟️ Book ahead · The Louvre needs a timed ticket for everyone; book Sainte-Chapelle and the Eiffel Tower too
📅 Closing days · The Louvre shuts on Tuesdays, the Orsay on Mondays — put Day 1 on Wednesday to Sunday
➕ With a third day · Take the train to Giverny for Monet’s house and gardens

Day 1: The Louvre, the Orsay and the Seine

Morning: The Louvre

Start at the Louvre with the earliest timed ticket available, before the Louvre’s courtyard fills up. Don’t try to see it all. Pick up a map at the information desk, ask staff to mark the highlights, and see those first. A guided highlights tour is even better, if one fits the schedule.

Two works are non-negotiable. The first is the Winged Victory of Samothrace in the Denon wing. She stands at the top of a grand staircase, so she comes into view as visitors climb toward her.

The second is the Mona Lisa, in the Salle des États. She is smaller than most visitors expect, and she sits behind protective glass, for obvious security reasons, with a crowd in front of her all day. Go early, take a good look, then turn around. Veronese’s Wedding Feast at Cana, the largest painting in the Louvre, hangs on the opposite wall.

Afternoon: Musée d’Orsay

Cross the Seine to the Musée d’Orsay, on the Left Bank across from the Tuileries Garden. The building is the first thing to see: a former railway station, with its great clock still at the end of the main hall.

Like the Louvre, the Orsay takes a few hours, so go straight up to the fifth floor, where the Impressionists hang, before the galleries fill. Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette is one painting to find first. Van Gogh‘s Starry Night Over the Rhône hangs here too.

Evening: A Seine Cruise and the Pont Alexandre III

End the first day on the water. From a Seine cruise boat, the Eiffel Tower rises straight up from the riverbank, close enough to look up into its iron lattice. Our boat had a glass roof, so even from a seat inside we could tip our heads back and follow the tower to the top.

Off the boat, walk along the river to the Pont Alexandre III. On the warm June evening I was there, the terraces on the riverbank below the bridge were packed, and the sky turned pink behind the dome of the Grand Palais.

Day 2: Sainte-Chapelle, the Opéra and Montmartre

Morning: Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame

Be at Sainte-Chapelle for the first entry slot of the day. Its 15 windows hold 1,113 scenes in stained glass, and visitors are surrounded by them on every side. I visited on a grey morning, and the colour still glowed. It is the best stained glass I have ever seen.

Notre-Dame is a short walk away. When I was there, it was still closed after the 2019 fire, with a crane beside it and hoarding around the square. It reopened in December 2024. Entry is free, and a free online reservation shortens the wait. The bell towers are a separate, paid visit at €16. On Sundays at 4 p.m., the great organ plays a free recital that anyone in the cathedral can hear.

Afternoon: Palais Garnier

Head north to the Palais Garnier, the city’s grand opera house. In 2023 its facade was under renovation, like many sites getting ready for the 2024 Olympics, but the inside was open.

We took a guided tour, and it was worth it. The guide told the story of Box 5, the box reserved for the Phantom in Gaston Leroux’s novel, and then we looked up at Marc Chagall’s painted ceiling and the great chandelier at its centre. For the best view of the outside, ride up to the free rooftop terrace of Galeries Lafayette, almost directly opposite.

The auditorium is the room to hope for. It isn’t always open to visitors, but when it is, the tiers of red velvet and gold climb all the way up to Chagall’s ceiling.

Late Afternoon: Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur

Finish the afternoon in Montmartre. Take Line 2 to Anvers, then climb the steps up to Sacré-Cœur or ride the funicular, which costs a single metro ticket. Entry to the basilica is free, and the climb up into the dome costs extra.

When I was there, people were sitting all over the grassy slopes below the basilica, and a carousel stood at the foot of the steps. From the top, walk a few streets west to Place du Tertre, the old village square, where artists still set up their easels every day.

The streets around the hill are lined with café terraces, antique shops and small galleries, and the terraces were full when I walked past.

Evening: The Eiffel Tower

Cross the city to the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, and go up around sunset. We stopped at the second floor, about 115 metres up, and I would do the same again. Guidebooks often rate it the best view in Paris: high enough to take in the whole city, low enough to pick out the landmarks. The summit, at 276 metres, is worth it too, but from up there everything is a long way down.

We went up as the sun was setting, with the whole city turning gold and the view running across the Pont d’Iéna to the Trocadéro. Back on the ground, stay for the sparkle after dark.

With a Third Day: Giverny

With a third day, go to Giverny for Claude Monet‘s house and gardens. Trains from Gare Saint-Lazare reach Vernon in about 45 to 50 minutes, and a seasonal shuttle bus covers the last stretch to Giverny. The gardens open from 1 April to 1 November.

The property has two gardens. The Clos Normand is the flower garden in front of Monet’s house, with roses trained over iron arches along its main path. The water garden, with its lily pond and Japanese bridge, sits across the road and is reached through a tunnel underneath it.

When I visited, the roses were in flower on the arches, and pink water lilies were open on the pond.

Across the road, the water garden is the scene Monet painted again and again in his Water Lilies series.

For more ideas, my 3-day Paris itinerary and my day trips from Paris post pick up where this plan stops.

Where to Stay

We split our stay between the Hôtel du Louvre and Hôtel La Tamise, which faces the Tuileries Garden on rue d’Alger. From either one, most of the stops in this plan are within walking distance. We took taxis now and then, but mostly we walked, and some of my favourite corners of Paris turned up on the way between the big sights.

The Hôtel du Louvre also has a metro entrance right outside its arcades, next to the Brasserie du Louvre. The station, Palais-Royal Musée du Louvre, is handy for the longer trips to Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower.

Bubbly Tips

• Plan around the closing days. The Louvre closes on Tuesdays and the Orsay on Mondays. Put Day 1 on any day from Wednesday to Sunday, and both museums will be open.
• Book timed tickets early. The Louvre requires a timed ticket for every visitor. Since 14 January 2026, a standard ticket costs €32 for visitors from outside the European Economic Area and €22 for EEA residents, and under-18s go free. Sainte-Chapelle costs €22 for non-EEA visitors and €16 for EEA residents, with 30-minute entry slots.
• Ask for the highlights map at the Louvre. The information desk has maps showing the museum’s highlights. See those first, and leave the rest for a future trip.
• Use the Orsay’s Thursday late opening. On Thursdays the museum stays open until 9:45 p.m. If Day 1 falls on a Thursday, see the Orsay in the evening and fit the Seine cruise in earlier.
• Go back to Notre-Dame on a Friday. The Crown of Thorns is displayed every Friday from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and on the first Friday of each month it is venerated from 3 to 5 p.m. If Day 2 falls on a Friday, return to the cathedral after the Palais Garnier.
• Book a guided tour at the Palais Garnier. The guides tell the stories behind Box 5 and the building, and there is an after-hours tour too. That’s the one we took, and it was worth it. Check on the day whether the auditorium is open, since it isn’t always.
• Walk whenever you can. Most of this plan sits within walking distance of the Louvre. Save taxis or the metro for Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower, and let the walks in between turn up their own surprises.
• Expect June crowds and heat. Paris was warm and busy in June. Start early, carry water, and use the long evenings for the river and the Eiffel Tower.

FAQ

Is two days enough for Paris? Two days is enough for the highlights, not for everything. This plan covers the Louvre, the Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, the Palais Garnier, Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower, with a Seine cruise in between.

Can I see the Louvre and the Orsay on the same day? Yes, if you focus on highlights. Each takes a few hours. Use the highlights map at the Louvre, and head straight to the fifth floor at the Orsay.

Which days should I avoid? Avoid Mondays for the Orsay and Tuesdays for the Louvre. Both close on those days, so Day 1 works best from Wednesday to Sunday.

Do I need to book ahead? For the Louvre, yes, because every visitor needs a timed ticket. Book ahead for Sainte-Chapelle and the Eiffel Tower too, especially in summer. Notre-Dame is free, and its free online reservation is optional.

Is Notre-Dame open again? Yes. Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire, and entry to the cathedral is free.

Is the Eiffel Tower summit worth it? It is, but the second floor is the one I’d choose. At about 115 metres, it’s high enough to see the whole city and low enough to pick out the landmarks. From the summit, at 276 metres, the views are wider but the landmarks look far away.

Final Thoughts

Two days won’t cover all of Paris. They didn’t cover it for me either, and I’m going back this year for the Palais Garnier again and the lower chapel of Sainte-Chapelle.

Paris works in any season. There is always something to do, and always a reason to return.

Until next time!

xoxo,
Bubbly 🎈