Cities and culture in París

The classic mistake with a city trip is filling it up. This page does the opposite: few sights per day, a plan you can walk, and meals as part of the itinerary instead of the gap between two museums. Paris resists the list of musts. In three days the plan fits: one monumental axis, one strong museum and two neighbourhoods to walk through with no destination, which is the best way to get to know a city.

Central Paris is walked, but the Louvre and the Orsay are booked by the hour, and that hour shapes the day. One museum in the morning and one neighbourhood in the afternoon works better than two museums. The Seine at sunset, the market and a dinner in the same neighbourhood close the plan without needing a car. Three nights for the centre and one for a neighbourhood, or two if you also want a big museum. The Marais and Saint-Germain are walked from breakfast onwards, and the Canal Saint-Martin is the free afternoon plan. In winter the plan turns into museums and restaurants, and that is Paris too.

• capital
• romantic
• museums
• food