France Guides

Paris and the places our day trips go, one page each

Monet’s house at Giverny in tulip season

We have been sending people around Paris and out of it for the day since 2002. Each page here is about one place or one practical question: the hours, the tickets, the way in, what to see in the time you have, and when to go. Prices and hours are checked against the official sites, and every page ends with the tours that go there.

Paris museums and sights

  • The Louvre. Closed Tuesdays, late nights Wednesday and Friday, €22 or €32 by residence, timed slots, the entrances, and a three-hour plan.
  • Musée d’Orsay. The Musée d’Orsay in 2026: closed Mondays, Thursday nights to 9:45pm, €16 online, the two entrances during the works, the fifth-floor Impressionists, and a two-hour plan.
  • Musée de l’Orangerie. Monet’s Water Lilies at the Orangerie in 2026: closed Tuesdays, Friday nights to 9pm, €12.50 online, the €20 ticket with Orsay, the Monet exhibition to January 25, 2027, and a 90-minute plan.
  • Musée Rodin. The Musée Rodin in 2026: closed Mondays, 10am to 6:30pm, €14, free first Sundays from October to March, the garden with The Thinker and the Gates of Hell, and a 90-minute plan.
  • Musée Picasso. The Musée Picasso in the Marais in 2026: closed Mondays, 9:30am to 6pm, €16, free first Sundays, the Hôtel Salé, the Schwitters exhibition to February 7, 2027, and a two-hour plan.
  • Musée Marmottan Monet. The Marmottan Monet in 2026: the largest Monet collection anywhere, Impression, Sunrise, €14, closed Mondays, open late Thursday, and how it fits with the Orsay and the Orangerie.
  • Musée Carnavalet. The Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris, in 2026: free permanent collection, closed Mondays, the Villeglé exhibition, what to see in 90 minutes, and how it fits a Marais afternoon.
  • Centre Pompidou. The Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030. What is shut, what stays open on the piazza, where the collection is showing in Paris this winter, and what to do instead.
  • Palais Garnier. Visiting the Paris opera house in 2026: €15 or €25 by residence, online booking only, 10:00 to 17:00 except on daytime-performance days, why the auditorium is often shut, and the €10 seat at a performance.
  • Les Invalides. Les Invalides in 2026: open daily 10:00 to 18:00, one €17 ticket for the Army Museum and Napoleon’s tomb, the two entrances, the first-Friday evening, and a two-hour plan.
  • The Panthéon. The Panthéon in 2026: open daily, €13, free for EU residents under 26, the crypt with Voltaire, Hugo and Curie, the dome climb closed for works, and a 75-minute plan.
  • The Catacombs. The Paris Catacombs in 2026: closed Mondays, open to 20:30, €31 with the audio guide, 131 steps down, 1.5 km of bones at 14°C, and why you book the slot the week before.
  • Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie. Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie in 2026: €16 or €22 by residence, the €23 or €30 twin ticket, the Palais de Justice security line, the light in the upper chapel, and a two-hour plan.
  • Notre-Dame. Notre-Dame de Paris in 2026: free entry, the optional reservation that skips the line, the towers at €16 and 424 steps, mass times, and the best hour to walk in.
  • The Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower in 2026: open 9:30 to 23:00, €36.70 to the top by lift, €14.80 by the stairs, why you book the lift weeks ahead, and the hour to go up.
  • Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe in 2026: open until 22:30 or 23:00, €16 to €22 by season, free under 18 and for EU residents under 26, 284 steps with the lift out until 2027, and the best hour on the roof.
  • Sacré-Cœur. Sacré-Cœur in 2026: free, open 6:30 to 22:30 every day, the dome climb, the funicular on a metro ticket, and the hour when the steps are worth the hill.
  • Père Lachaise. Père Lachaise cemetery in 2026: free, open daily from 8:00, closing at 18:00 through early November, the three gates, the graves people come for, and a two-hour route that finds them.

Paris neighborhoods

  • Le Marais. Le Marais on foot: Place des Vosges, rue des Rosiers, the free Carnavalet, the Picasso Museum, Sunday shopping, and where to eat.
  • Montmartre. Montmartre on foot: the back way up from Abbesses, Sacré-Cœur, the funicular on a metro ticket, the vineyard, Place du Tertre, and where to eat.
  • Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Saint-Germain-des-Prés on foot: the oldest church in Paris, the Flore and the Deux Magots, the Luxembourg Garden, the Delacroix studio, and where to eat.
  • The Latin Quarter. The Latin Quarter on foot: Shakespeare and Company, the Sorbonne, the Panthéon, rue Mouffetard and the Monge market, the Cluny museum, and where to eat.
  • Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis. The two islands in the Seine on foot: Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the flower market, Square du Vert-Galant, and ice cream on Île Saint-Louis.
  • Canal Saint-Martin. Canal Saint-Martin on foot: the locks and iron footbridges from République to the Villette basin, the Hôtel du Nord, where to eat, and the best hour on the quays.
  • Belleville. Belleville on foot: the Tuesday and Friday market, the street art of rue Dénoyez, the Parc de Belleville view, Paris’s other Chinatown, and where to eat.
  • Champs-Élysées and the 8th. The Champs-Élysées and the 8th on foot: the Arc de Triomphe to Concorde, the Grand Palais and the free Petit Palais, avenue Montaigne, and where to eat.
  • Bastille and the 11th. Bastille and the 11th on foot: the July Column, the Bastille and Aligre markets, the Coulée Verte, the Opéra Bastille, rue de Lappe and Oberkampf, and where to eat.
  • The 7th Around the Eiffel Tower. The 7th arrondissement on foot: the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars, rue Cler, Les Invalides, the Rodin garden, the Quai Branly, and the Trocadéro view.

Getting around Paris

  • CDG to Paris. Charles de Gaulle to central Paris in 2026: the RER B at €14, the €56 and €65 taxi flat fares, what replaced the Roissybus, and when a private transfer is worth it.
  • Orly to Paris. Orly to central Paris in 2026: metro line 14 straight to Châtelet on the €14 airport ticket, Orlyval and the RER B, the €36 and €45 taxi flat fares, and a private transfer.
  • Metro, RER and Navigo. The Paris metro in 2026: €2.55 a ride anywhere in the region, €12.30 for a day, €32.40 for the week, the €14 airport ticket, and how to load it all on your phone.
  • The Paris Museum Pass. The Paris Museum Pass in 2026: €85, €105 or €125 for 2, 4 or 6 days, what it covers, the time slots you still need to book, and the math on whether it pays for you.
  • What’s Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Which Paris museums close on Monday and which on Tuesday, what is open seven days a week, and how to plan the week so you never arrive at a locked door.
  • The Six Paris Train Stations. Which Paris station for which day trip: Saint-Lazare for Normandy, Montparnasse for the Loire, Gare de l’Est for Champagne, Gare de Lyon for Burgundy, and how to get there on time.
  • Seine Cruises. Seine cruises in Paris: the one-hour sightseeing boat from the Eiffel Tower, dinner cruises, the hop-on Batobus, a Champagne tasting on the river, and the hour to go.
  • Paris Markets. The Paris food markets worth the trip and their days: Bastille, Aligre, the Raspail organic market, Président-Wilson, Belleville, Monge, and the market streets.
  • Sundays in Paris. What is open and closed on a Sunday in Paris: the museums, the free first Sundays, the Marais shops, the Sunday markets, restaurants, and how to spend the day.

Where to stay in Paris

  • 25 Interesting Hotels in Paris. 25 Paris hotels with a story, from the Ritz, the Crillon and the Lutetia to a public pool, a post office, a bank and a Belle Époque brothel, grouped by character.

Normandy and the coast

  • Giverny from Paris. Monet’s house and gardens: the Saint-Lazare train, the Vernon shuttle, timed tickets, and the month-by-month bloom.

Deciding between tours rather than reading about a place? The Trip Planning pages compare them side by side.