Paris doesn’t care if you love her. She’s been breaking hearts for centuries — with butter, wine, and arrogance. And somehow, you’ll forgive her every time. In fact, Paris is easy to love, harder to understand. It’s arrogant, beautiful, maddening, intoxicating — a city that doesn’t try to please you, but seduces you anyway. And when you leave, you’ll miss her like a bad habit you secretly hope to relapse into.
Day 1: The Heart of It All — The Louvre, the Seine, & Paris Waking
Paris in the morning is a lesson in patience — slow, deliberate, unapologetic. You don’t rush her. You let her happen to you.
Morning: Boulangerie Poilâne - Forget croissants from cafés that look too polished. Head to Poilâne in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where the smell of baking sourdough feels holy. Order a tartine with salted butter and apricot jam, or one of their impossibly flaky chaussons aux pommes. This is bread the way God intended — dense, rustic, alive.
Late Morning: The Louvre Museum - Locals don’t come here every week, but they respect it — a fortress of art and ego. Skip the Mona Lisa mob. Go for the lesser-loved wings — Mesopotamian relics, Italian sculpture, the hushed, echoing halls that feel like another world. You’re walking through 800 years of obsession.
Lunch: Le Fumoir - Right across from the Louvre, Le Fumoir is where Parisians escape the tourist crush. Dark wood, worn leather chairs, newspapers on brass racks — a perfect place for roast chicken and a glass of Sancerre. Watch the world go by and know you’re in the right place.
Evening: Eiffel Tower at Dusk - Don’t climb it. Sit across the river at Trocadéro Gardens with a bottle of wine, some cheese, and a friend. Watch the tower light up as the city exhales. Tourists stare upward. Locals look at each other. That’s the difference.
Day 2: Faith, Decadence, and the City’s Old Soul
Paris wears its history like perfume — sometimes intoxicating, sometimes suffocating, always unforgettable.
Morning: Notre-Dame & Île Saint-Louis - Even after the fire, Notre-Dame still commands reverence. Walk around her, admire her scars. Cross the bridge to Île Saint-Louis, where the streets are narrow, the balconies iron-laced, and the mornings quiet. Stop at Berthillon for a scoop of ice cream that’s been perfecting itself for decades.
Lunch: Café Saint-Régis - A quintessential corner café with mirrored walls, zinc bar, and waiters who don’t care who you are. Order steak tartare or a croque madame, a carafe of wine, and stay until the café hums around you.
Afternoon: Shakespeare and Company & Walk Along the Seine - Across from Notre-Dame sits this legendary English-language bookstore — still run with the spirit of the Beat poets who slept among its shelves. Pick up a book, then stroll the riverbanks. Watch couples drink wine from paper cups. This city makes ordinary moments cinematic.
Dinner: Septime - A stripped-down, Michelin-starred temple to seasonal French cooking in the 11th arrondissement. Chef Bertrand Grébaut cooks with finesse and humility — think veal sweetbreads, beetroot tartare, and wines that taste like the countryside after rain. Hard to get a table, but worth the begging.
Day 3: Montmartre — Art, Vice, and the View from the Hill
Montmartre isn’t the Paris of postcards. It’s the Paris of poets, drunks, and dreamers — where art met sin and called it a lifestyle.
Morning: Café des Deux Moulins - You’ll recognize it from Amélie, but it’s still a neighborhood joint first. Locals read newspapers here, smoke too much, and dunk croissants into café crème. Order the omelet. Stay long enough to forget you had other plans.
Late Morning: Sacré-Cœur & Montmartre Streets - Climb the hill. Don’t just stare at the basilica — turn around. The view of the city is pure cinema. Wander down Rue des Abbesses, past artists sketching, lovers arguing, and a thousand tiny shops selling baguettes, cheese, and flowers.
Lunch: Le Consulat - A whitewashed bistro that’s somehow managed to stay charming despite being photographed to death. Eat the onion soup. Drink house red. Sit outside if you can. Watch the chaos unfold around you.
Evening: Le Marais - Cross town to Le Marais, the city’s most intoxicating neighborhood. Cobblestone streets, vintage shops, falafel stands, and hidden cocktail bars. Stop at L’As du Fallafel for a quick bite, or slip into Les Philosophes for duck confit and people-watching so good it should be illegal.
Day 4: Modern Paris — Beauty in Motion, Not in Memory
Paris isn’t a museum. It’s alive — flawed, brilliant, hungry. The trick is to stop chasing the Paris that was, and start living in the one that is.
Morning: Canal Saint-Martin Walk & Du Pain et des Idées - Start with a pain au chocolat pistache at Du Pain et des Idées — flaky perfection that’ll ruin you for lesser pastries forever. Walk along the Canal Saint-Martin, where locals drink coffee on the edge of the water and artists sell sketches from their backpacks.
Lunch: Chez Prune - A canal-side café that’s effortlessly cool. Order a charcuterie board, salad Lyonnaise, and something sparkling. No frills, no fuss — just real Paris life rolling by.
Afternoon: Palais de Tokyo & Trocadéro Gardens - The Palais de Tokyo is where Paris gets weird — contemporary art installations that challenge, amuse, or offend, depending on your mood. Afterward, walk through Trocadéro Gardens again; each time the Eiffel Tower looks different, less like a landmark, more like a friend you’ve finally stopped idolizing.
Dinner: Le Chateaubriand - In the 11th arrondissement, Le Chateaubriand feels like the heartbeat of modern Paris dining. Chef Iñaki Aizpitarte cooks food that’s bold, imperfect, and utterly alive. The room buzzes with energy, the wine list reads like a love letter to France’s natural winemakers, and the experience is pure, chaotic joy.
And more…
You can watch a million different movies and easily romanticize about Paris. And, when you arrive, you’ll realize you’re feelings were right. Paris is all that you dreamed of and more. It’s uniquely beautiful, aside from DC, but that’s another story for another day. Enjoy the sights.
