My 3 Days in Paris Itinerary | A Perfect Weekend in Paris

When planning my trip to Paris on the bus heading to Paris, I envisioned doing a little bit of everything. Everything as in having delicious baguettes for breakfast by the Seine, go to a French cuisine cooking class where we’ll cook lunch, walk through museums and parks then off to do some shopping and last but not least have a cocktail on some wonderful rooftop overlooking the Paris skyline. That’s a lot for a 3 days Paris Itinerary. What I actually ended up doing is far more perfect, actually doable and has left me with the perfect Paris Combo, if you ask me, Skylines, Shopping and Culture.

Louvre Museum

If you’re going to go to one museum in Paris might as well make it the most famous one; The Louvre; The home of the woman that supposedly follows you with her eyes. Obviously I am talking about the famous painting the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Honestly seeing her is indeed quite a moment in one’s life at least it was in mine, maybe that’s because I have been so close but so far so many times enabling the tension to build up. When the moment is finally there you’d normally want to take in the beauty of the painting and carefully dissect it, however due to her being so popular you only have a few minutes to do so along with a group of about 20ish people trying to take a picture of her and with her. For me that kind of dampens the mood of looking at art even though La Gioconda is well worth a visit, it really is an impeccable painting. I guess the set up of seeing her belongs to the ‘’live in the moment’’ category instead of taking pictures to have for later.

Walking through the entity of the Louvre, yes I have laid eyes on everything on display which is a lot, I have awed and ooehhed more times than I’d like to respectfully admit. It’s quite a journey. My favourite parts, if that’s even possible, are The Galerie d’Apollon and the Italian paintings. While walking through The Galerie d’Apollon I don’t think I have closed my mouth once because I was so in awe of what I saw; the golden walls, the paintings everything. Honestly, my words can’t do justice to what my eyes saw, making me feel as if I cannot stress enough that the Louvre is well worth a visit during a 72H stay in Paris. A fun fact about visiting The Louvre is that it is so big that if you like me, walk it in its entity, you can proudly say that you’ve walked a quarter marathon! No worries as you can fuel up at one of the gorgeous restaurants or bars inside The Louvre, which to me makes a visit even more worth it. You can sign me up for lunch with a view anytime.

Montparnasse Tower

In Paris there are only two sites that really pop out on the Parisian Skyline, the Eiffel Tower and the Montparnasse Tower. Apart from those two, there are no other Skyscrapers in Paris, unless you count the ones at La Défense as well even though those are technically not on Paris grounds anymore. The reason for this is that within french culture skyscrapers are considered ugly and a perfect way to break the beautiful aesthetic the Parisian Skyline has. There’s even a law determining how high buildings can be at the maximum, this all to protect the aesthetic of their historic cities at least so I’ve been told. 

If you missed out on tickets to go to the top tier of the Eiffel Tower or didn’t feel like queuing for hours for a ticket, the Montparnasse Tower will give you exactly what you asked for but couldn’t get at the Eiffel Tower. In a 38 second elevator ride you’ll be 56 floors up with unbeatable Parisian Skyline views! The views do not only include the Eiffel tower but a complete 360° view of Paris as far as you can see. I, luckily, went on a not so cloudy day so I could indulge a lot of the Parisian Skyline. There are monitors everywhere which can explain which monument is exactly in sight where you are standing. The french are actually right, more skyscrapers would break the aesthetic of the skyline. To confirm this I went up some really scary stairs, to me as I am slightly (kinda very) afraid of heights, to the 59th floor; the Rooftop Terrace. The higher you go the better the views get, really. For me it was just really scary as it was a pretty windy day and I’m a lightweight, flying down became a real risk in my mind (laugh further at my irrational rational fear here) even though everything up there is secured. So secured that on their website there is mention of a trampoline being up there, take it as you will. There is a bar at the terrace making having drinks in Paris a true memorable moment. Just remember that you have to go down those steps to get back to steady ground. If you’re not a drinker but more a foody, like me, there is a restaurant at the 56th level. I had lunch with a view once again!

Cruise on the Seine

One of the most romantic things you can do in Paris is a cruise on the Seine. If you really want to experience the romance you can book a private cruise but an organised multipeople cruise will do the trick as well. There’s something incredibly peaceful about cruising the Seine, even more so than walking along it, which is one of my favourite activities in Paris. I decided to book my cruise for the sunset but due to my shopping arrived just after the sun had set but it wasn’t completely dark yet even though the City of Lights was already showing its magic. Are you still with me? I hope so.

In just one magical hour you pass under 22 bridges and get narrated about 13 monuments that you pass on either side of the river. The great thing about the cruising company I went with is that they narrate the stories in English, French and German. The best story, which I will probably never forget is the one about the Pont Marie, one of the oldest bridges in Paris. Legend says that if you kiss or hug your loved one while under the bridge or if the one you love is not with you to make a wish it would bring good fortune lovewise. I tried looking up where the tradition comes from but so far it seems unverified and lot of people say the story was made up by the cruising companies (If you know where the story comes from, leave it in the comments or contact me personally as I’d love to know!). Whether true or false I did make a wish, you know better safe than sorry, no? 

Even though I did not get to see the sunset while on the Seine cruising through Paris, watching the night allow the City of Lights to shine was truly something else. Seeing Paris reflect on the water is really an amazing memory to have. I couldn’t help but feel enormous peace and serenity while on the boat, even though I was surrounded by a good amount of strangers. As with every stop on my itinerary you could snack on the boat as well, even though I personally did not as I had ”fancy” dinner plans. 

Tuileries Garden & Wandering in Paris

With my signature order of Häagen Dazs Cookies and Cream ice cream in hand I wandered through Tuileries Garden. The garden is grand and gorgeous. I was pleasantly surprised with the little eateries I found hidden in the garden. From Tuileries Garden I started wandering through Paris and admiring the gorgeous architecture that I came across. It’s very hard to wander through Paris without passing a few monuments or famous bridges. The most special one which I always feel drawn to when I’m in Paris is Pont des Arts or famously known as the Loverslock Bridge. I was lucky enough to have seen the bridge in its original state with all the loverslocks still on it. Nowadays it’s been made very hard to put locks on the bridge due to the glass finishing it has, however it is still happening. The only sad thing is that people throw the keys into the Seine which I can’t imagine being good for the condition of the river, even though I fully understand the sentiment of doing it.

Wandering in Paris

Wandering through Paris, well actually just being in Paris always makes me feel like a girl. Every time I go it’s as if I’m seeing it for the first time and the cliché magic never fails to enchant me. Maybe it’s because Paris is also known as a city of Love, I don’t know. What I do know is that wandering through Paris will never fail to amaze you. 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Last but definitely not least I went to see the Notre-Dame. What happened earlier this year on April 15 2019 is an absolute shame. I still can’t believe it really happened thus I had to go see it for myself. When approaching the Cathedral it looks as if nothing is wrong, however the closer you come the more you can see that a significant area surrounding the Notre-Dame has been closed off to the public. It’s only when you go to the side that you can really see the damages that have been done due to the fire. Luckily that was not all I saw, even though you can clearly see that there’s a long way to go in terms of restoring the Cathedral to its former glory you could also see that the works have started and the history Cathedrale Notre-Dame carries will not go to waste. Would my 3 days in Paris itinerary be just a little more perfect without the tragedy having happened, I don’t know maybe however there might be work going on in and around the Cathedrale Notre-Dame, the parts that are still standing were definitely worth the visit. 

There you have it my 3 days Paris itinerary apart from shopping because it deserves it’s own love. I obviously did go see the Eiffel Tower because, I mean, one must if you’re in Paris, right? Here you can read all about my Eiffel Tower adventure. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, my solo spur of the moment 72 hour Paris trip was more than I could’ve ever wished for. I have done so much without feeling absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. With this 3 days in Paris itinerary I got a little bit of everything that Paris has to offer, if not more.

A perfect 3 way combo in my 3 days Paris itinerary. 

Love, 

DCPR.