Paris

7th arrondissement, Champ-de-Mars

Tour Eiffel

Take the stairs to the second floor for the cheapest ticket and the best framed views, then the lift to the top. Book a timed ticket on the official site.

Evening · ~150 min · €14.8–36.7 per ticket

8th / 16th / 17th arrondissements, Étoile

Arc de Triomphe

284 steps lead to a roof terrace where twelve avenues radiate below you, with the Champs-Élysées running straight to the Louvre. Use the underpass, never cross the roundabout.

Evening · ~75 min · €16–22 per ticket

Île de la Cité, 4th arrondissement

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

The restored nave is free to enter; a free timed slot, bookable a few hours ahead only on the official site, shortens the wait. It is a working cathedral: visit quietly during services.

Morning · ~60 min · €0 per ticket

18th arrondissement, Montmartre

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre

Come up early, before the steps fill, for the view across Paris from the top of the butte. The dome climb is separate from the basilica, which is a place of worship: keep voices low.

Morning · ~75 min

7th arrondissement

Musée d'Orsay

Impressionists inside a former railway station. Thursday evenings have a reduced late-opening rate and thinner crowds; look out through the great clock window toward Montmartre.

Afternoon · ~150 min · €14–16 per ticket

4th arrondissement, Rue des Rosiers

L'As du Fallafel

Falafel in pitta with aubergine and tahini, from the counter window on Rue des Rosiers. The queue moves fast; closed Friday evening and Saturday.

Afternoon · ~30 min

18th arrondissement, Pigalle

Bouillon Pigalle

A large brasserie serving French classics, with mains around 10–14 € on the menu. Arrive early in the evening or expect a queue on Boulevard de Clichy.

Evening · ~75 min · €9.6–13.7 per dish

7th arrondissement, Tour Eiffel

Le Jules Verne

Frédéric Anton's restaurant inside the Eiffel Tower, with the city at the windows. Book well ahead for a special evening.

Evening · ~180 min

6th arrondissement, Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Café de Flore

Breakfast on the terrace at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Germain, in the café of Sartre and de Beauvoir. Early morning is calmer than the afternoon.

Morning · ~45 min

12th arrondissement, Aligre

Le Baron Rouge

Wine by the glass from barrels by the Aligre market. Oysters are served on Saturdays and Sundays from mid-September to April; go after the market on a weekend morning.

Afternoon · ~60 min

18th arrondissement, Rue des Saules

Au Lapin Agile

A cabaret dating from 1860, where singers perform traditional French chanson around wooden tables, 21:00 to 01:00 on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. Entry includes a drink.

Evening · ~120 min · €40 per ticket

1st arrondissement, Ritz Paris, Place Vendôme

Bar Hemingway

A small bar inside the Ritz with leather armchairs and classic cocktails, for a slow drink. No booking needed; a smart dress code applies.

Evening · ~75 min

16th arrondissement

Esplanade du Trocadéro

The raised terrace between the two wings of the Palais de Chaillot faces the tower straight across the Seine, with the gardens and fountains in the foreground.

Late afternoon to golden hour, when western light falls on the side of the tower facing you; sunrise for an empty terrace · from Esplanade between the Palais de Chaillot wings, or lower down the Jardins du Trocadéro steps for a tighter frame

Evening · ~30 min

15th / 16th arrondissements

Pont de Bir-Hakeim

A two-level bridge with metro line 6 running on top: the iron colonnade of the lower walkway frames the Eiffel Tower a few hundred metres upstream.

Sunrise to one hour after, before joggers and shoots arrive; the tower sits to the east, so expect a backlit sky · from Central pedestrian walkway under the metro viaduct, facing the Eiffel Tower between the columns

Morning · ~30 min

7th / 8th arrondissements

Pont Alexandre III

The 1900 bridge links the Grand Palais to the Invalides. Its gilded winged horses on 17 m pylons and ornate lamps make the foreground; the Eiffel Tower is visible downstream.

Golden hour into blue hour (20–30 min after sunset), when the lamps come on and western light warms the gilding · from Right Bank end by the Grand Palais pylons, looking south along the deck to the Invalides dome

Evening · ~30 min

10th arrondissement, Rue Yves-Toudic

Du Pain et des Idées

Christophe Vasseur's bakery, founded in 2002, behind a listed historic shopfront. Take an escargot pastry and a loaf to the canal; open on weekdays only.

Morning · ~15 min

Île de la Cité, 1st arrondissement

Sainte-Chapelle

Climb to the upper chapel on a sunny morning, when the 13th-century stained glass throws colour across the floor. Book a time slot; a combined ticket with the Conciergerie exists.

Morning · ~60 min · €16–22 per ticket

3rd and 4th arrondissements

Le Marais

Walk from Place des Vosges through Rue des Francs-Bourgeois to Rue des Rosiers: 17th-century mansions, galleries, concept stores and the city's historic Jewish quarter.

Afternoon · ~150 min