Paris in One Day: A Realistic Itinerary

1. 09:00Eiffel Tower · about 121 min

2. Walk · 0.7 km · about 16 min

   11:17Trocadéro esplanade · about 40 min

3. Walk · 1.8 km · about 29 min

   12:26Arc de Triomphe · about 52 min

4. 13:18Lunch break · about 60 min

5. Public transport (planner estimate) · 3.4 km · about 22 min

   14:40Palais Garnier · about 67 min

6. Walk · 1.4 km · about 25 min

   16:12Musée de l’Orangerie · about 69 min

09:00–11:01 — Eiffel Tower. Second floor is the one worth having — the view actually frames the city, where the summit mostly shows you haze. Stairs to level two are cheaper, quicker and far less queued than the lifts. Verified opening hours: Daily 09:30–23:45 (last ascent 22:45). Non-EU visitor pricing may rise in 2026 per new heritage funding rules. Book ahead: this stop needs a reservation or a timed ticket.

11:17–11:57 — Trocadéro esplanade. The terrace across the river that gives you the Eiffel Tower head-on, whole, with nothing in the way. Free, always open, and the reason every good photograph of the tower is taken from here rather than underneath it. It is a public open-air space with no ticket and no closing day.

12:26–13:18 — Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon’s arch over the world’s most intimidating roundabout. The rooftop is a paid, separate ticket and one of the best views in Paris. Use the underpass to reach it — crossing the traffic on foot is not a thing you do. Verified opening hours: April–September: Wed–Mon 10:00–23:00, Tue 11:00–23:00; October–March: Wed–Mon 10:00–22:30, Tue 11:00–22:30 (last admission 45 minutes before closing). Closed on 1 May, 8 May, 14 July and the morning of 11 November; closes at 16:00 on 24 and 31 December 2026. May close at short notice for official ceremonies or bad weather.

13:18–14:18 — Lunch. The planner reserves time to eat right after Arc de Triomphe, so the afternoon continues from where the morning ended instead of detouring for food.

14:40–15:47 — Palais Garnier. The opera house that inspired the Phantom — a grand staircase built for being seen on, and a ceiling painted by Chagall. Self-guided visits run through the day when there is no rehearsal. Verified opening hours: Self-guided visits usually 10:00–17:00 (hours shown per day on the official page); last admission 1 hour before closing. Online booking is mandatory — no visit tickets are sold on site. Rehearsals often close the auditorium at short notice; no ticket guarantees access to it.

16:12–17:21 — Musée de l’Orangerie. Two oval rooms built to Monet’s own specification, holding eight enormous Water Lilies panels wrapped around you in natural light. Small, quick, and more moving than museums twenty times its size. Verified opening hours: Wed–Mon 09:00–18:00; closed Tuesday. Last admission 17:15. Closed 1 May, the morning of 14 July and 25 Dec. On the free first Sunday of the month, online time-slot booking is mandatory. Book ahead: this stop needs a reservation or a timed ticket.

It reaches Arc de Triomphe at 12:26, after it opens at 11:00, so there is no waiting at the door.

The day covers about 4.0 km on foot and 1 public-transport hop (about 3.4 km), used only where walking would cost more time than it saves.

Only 2 stops need booking: Eiffel Tower and Musée de l’Orangerie. Everything else is free or sold at the door.

Times come from the planner's visit-length model: every stop starts from its typical duration, is adjusted for a couple at a balanced pace, and every walk gets a small buffer. The day runs from 09:00 to 17:21.

The longest stops are Eiffel Tower (121 minutes) and Musée de l’Orangerie (69 minutes). If a stop takes longer than planned, the planner in the app reschedules the rest of the day around it.

To keep the day realistic, the planner left out 3 further candidates rather than squeezing them in at a run.

Your day falls on a closing day. Musée de l’Orangerie is closed on Tuesdays; our guide to what is open in Paris on a Tuesday has a full alternative route.

It rains. Trocadéro esplanade and Arc de Triomphe are largely outdoors. Rain-safe alternatives in MEVAYA's Paris data include Panthéon and Louvre.

You are travelling with children. Switch the party to "family" in the planner and it keeps walks shorter (it caps a single walking leg at about 1.1 km) and favours family-friendly stops such as Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin des Tuileries.

You start late. Planned with an 11:00 start, the planner drops Musée de l’Orangerie and keeps the rest of this route.

Mobility is limited. Eiffel Tower: Wheelchair accessible up to the 2nd floor via elevator. Reaching the 3rd floor/summit requires climbing 18 steps to a second elevator, so it is not step-free. Arc de Triomphe: NOT wheelchair accessible — entry is by stairs only. Choose "step-free" in the planner and it filters out stops known to be inaccessible.

Built by the MEVAYA planner from MEVAYA's curated Paris data. Opening hours were checked against official and independent sources in September 2026; the route, times and durations are the planner's own output, not estimates written by hand.