Time slips away doesn’t it? I’ve always had wanderlust, and visiting Paris seemed inevitable after studying French. Of course I’d go. But the years disappeared. My 40s came along. I started a Coastal French design blog for crying out loud. Je ne sais quoi how this storied city was somehow still a fairy tale to me! Fortunately, the city of light and love waits patiently for your arrival. (And beautifully lends itself to slow travel)!

In September 2022, my husband and I bit the baguette and went as couple (thank you again, Mom and Dad, for watching the boys!). Paris was as sophisticated and magical as they say, and left us scheming to go back (move in?)!

We chose to slow travel Paris — not rush around so much, avoid large tours, see everyday things … take the time to feel settled and relaxed. We chose to stay solely in the city. Though it was tempting to do a day trip to Versailles, we held off. Here are suggestions for pacing your first visit to Paris — as a couple, with friends, or alone!

This approach is sort of like the city itself — planned in a spiraling layers ( TIP: that’s how the city’s ‘arrondissements’ or neighborhoods are laid out/numbered). Schedule visits to the core attractions (‘The Obvious’, listed below) which also happen to be in Paris’s center, then build out your itinerary with things that appeal to your interests (‘The Next Level’). Be strategic, but flexible — you might not get to everything you map out from this list because curiosity leads you elsewhere! Finally, I’ve given you a few less touristy, more legit spots we found and adored in Paris (‘Slow Travel Paris Secrets’).

Really and truly, the charm of Paris is WALKING it. There are books written about this simple activity. I tell people I anticipated there would be a very ‘Paris’ part of Paris — a historic area like South Street Seaport in NYC or the Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego. But Paris … doesn’t stop. It is what-you-picture Paris, right up to the city limits.

You can walk and walk and walk and walk, and around the next corner another Hollywood-worthy panorama of eye-pleasing architecture pops up. Darling patisseries and boulangeries with mouth-watering delicacies in the windows are on EVERY block. This city is a bombshell of pleasures beckoning you to love her more.

The Obvious (Must-Do):

• Eiffel Tower
• The Louvre (Mona Lisa)
• Arc de Triomphe
• The Seine
• Notre Dame

The Eiffel Tower and the Seine are impossible to miss, so they’re easy to check off the list. You may want to go up in the Eiffel Tower (halfway or all the way), or opt for a meal reservation at one of the restaurants with built-in access to the observation decks. We did a very special (and warning: expensive) anniversary lunch at the Jules Verne. If you do this too, leave yourself plenty of time to book (90 days out) and for getting through security/finding the entrance! This is one rezzie you don’t want to be late for!

The views were incredible, the service unrivaled, and the cuisine extraordinary. Worth every cent (euro!). A friend went to the brasserie on the 2nd level, and said the food wasn’t memorable. So, maybe an all or nothing approach is best at Eiffel — either Jules Verne, or just a regular viewing deck ticket.

Take a boat ride on the Seine, bien sûr. Or walk alongside it from the Eiffel Tower on your way to see Notre Dame (at time of writing, still closed for repairs). I’ve actually been to Paris twice now, and haven’t ridden a boat yet. Still totally content!

For a first trip to the Louvre, take it from my mother-in-law who spent her career in art museums: book a 2-hour tour hitting the highlights. Don’t mess around thinking you’ll navigate this museum on your own. It is MASSIVE.

Of these five must-do Paris sites, the Arc de Triomphe is slightly out of the way if you’re staying on the Left Bank (Eiffel Tower side). My husband and I enjoyed hitting the Arc at the beginning of a (long) walk up to the Sacre Coeur Basilica. We didn’t go up inside the Arc — took a selfie with it and moved on to the next level of sightseeing.

The Next Level

• Musee d’Orsay (art)
• Montmartre (artsy neighborhood full of cool shops)
• Sacre Coeur (cathedral)
• Cabaret (the sexy singing/dancing Paris is famous for: Moulin Rouge or Paradis Latin)
• The Latin Quarter (cafes, bookstores, universities, shopping)
• Luxembourg Garden (sprawling Parisian beauty)
• Galleries Lafayette (shopping)
• Palais Garnier (opera, history, ballet)
• Place Vendome (luxury shopping, celebrity sightings at the Ritz)
• Tuileries (sprawling Parisian gardens, famous hot cocoa at Angelina’s)
• Saint Chapelle (architecture, classical music, history)
• Les Deux Magots (famed literary café)
• Shakespeare & Co. (iconic bookstore)

First off, If you’re not a big art enthusiast, you might pick the Musée d’Orsay over the Louvre. It’s smaller, therefore more manageable, and full of Impressionist art you might recognize. Likewise, the Musée de l’Orangerie houses Monet’s famous water lilies, and is even smaller to tackle than the Orsay. That might be enough for you.

When I went as a couple with my husband, we had 3.5 days on the ground in Paris. We were able to see most of the things on this ‘Next Level’ list. We missed three, but only because of timing or sold out tickets: Palais Garnier tour (we missed the last one of the day by about 20 minutes), Sainte-Chapelle concert (the summer series ended the day before our late September trip), and the Moulin Rouge cabaret (sold out the night we wanted to go — nothing opened up last minute either).

We were ok with this because we’d booked the BIG stuff (Eiffel/Louvre/dinners) and wanted to feel free to roam in between. You may like a tighter schedule, packing more in. On my second (girls) trip to Paris, we booked tickets to both Sainte-Chapelle and the Paradis Latin … and had a fabulous time. More on that another time!

As I mentioned earlier, after laying eyes on the Arc de Triomphe, we made a day of walking to Sacré Coeur Basilica overlooking the city. (We had a lunch reservation next door to it — beef bourguignon was our motivation!)

The first leg from the Arc and off the Champs Élysées is through more modern city offerings — chain stores and even global fast-food restaurants (KFC, anyone?). Those more cosmopolitan streets eventually give way to the steepest part of the climb and one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in Paris: Montmartre.

Montmartre’s legacy as an enclave for both budding and famous creatives is apparent its unique shops, lazy cafes and the colorful confines of its alleys and staircases. If we ever return as a couple, this is where we’d like to book a place.

Slow Travel Paris Secrets

• Boeuf bourguignon and escargot spot
• Edith Piaf night
• Tea room

I’m a big believer in pressing beyond the touristy spots in a location. I’m also a big nerdy researcher when it comes to travel — riffling deep through reviews, and translating the French ones in this case to see what LOCALS think. That’s how I found these three spots:

Le Cabanon de la Butte – Though it’s in the shadow of the Sacré Coeur, natural light unexpectedly floods into this low-frills restaurant complete with red and white checkered tablecloths. You’re in for a leisurely lunch of excellent boeuf bourguignon and escargot, chased by a glass (or two) of red. I had to call to book a table here (eek), but it was well worth the minute of stress and the cost of an international call (whoops). Their website now shows online booking, too — yay for technology!

Violetta & Alfredo – we landed in Paris a little later than scheduled, and it was pouring out (TIP: It rains ALL the time here. You are not allowed to be upset about this. Plan for it!), but I was hellbent on schlepping the half hour from our hotel (via metro and on foot) to this tea room near the famed Folies Bergère cabaret music hall. Online, the locals rave about this salon de thé, and when we arrived at 3:30 there was a line out the door … and it never let up. You’ll be spoiled rotten in here by the teas, cappuccinos, decadent brunch plates and petit fours.

La Vieux Belleville – you will come to this 14-table restaurant in the gritty 20th arrondissement on a Tuesday, and you aren’t in it for the food. You are in it for the sheer joy resulting from a singer and accordion player encouraging you and the other diners — with xeroxed lyric sheets — to belt out all of Edith Piaf’s hits alongside them. The clientele is half Parisian, half intrepid tourists. Non, je ne regrette rien!
P.S. When dinner ends, pop over to the Parc Belleville for a fresh vantage of the Eiffel Tower.

Sample 3-Day Paris Itinerary

Monday — arrive at CDG, cab to hotel, visit the Violetta & Alfredo tea room with your jet-lagged self, Galeries Lafayette, Seine River, dinner if you have any room left

Tuesday — 10am Musee d’Orsay, 1pm Jules Verne lunch at Eiffel Tower, Rue Cler, Le Vieux Belleville dinner

Wednesday — Arc de Triomphe, walk to Sacré Coeur Basilica, 1pm lunch Cabanon de la Butte, Montmartre shopping, Place Vendôme, Tuileries, Angelina, opera or cabaret

Thursday — Louvre tour, Les Deux Magots lunch, Luxembourg Gardens, Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, Latin Quarter, Notre Dame, Berthillon ice cream parlor on Île Saint Louis.

And then it was time to fly away … but insanely, I’d be back the following summer for two quick days bookending a trip to Provence. To read about Paris Trip #2, subscribe below so you don’t miss it!