Paris Layover Guide

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Paris on a layover is one of the good ones. The Metro is quick, the center is walkable, and you can pack a lot into a day off. Here is how to do it like a local, not a coach tour.

Getting into the city

From Charles de Gaulle, RER B train: about 35 to 40 minutes to Gare du Nord or Châtelet, every 10 to 15 minutes, on the 14-euro Paris Region airport ticket.
Summer works, check before you go: the RER B closes its central section between Gare du Nord and Châtelet-Les Halles for summer engineering (in 2026: 25 July to 16 August). The airport leg from CDG to Gare du Nord keeps running, so it is only the last hop into the centre you need to re-plan.
From Orly, metro line 14: direct to Châtelet in about 25 minutes, trains every 2 to 5 minutes, same 14-euro airport ticket.
Tickets are digital now: paper tickets are gone, so load the airport ticket in the Île-de-France Mobilités app or on a Navigo Easy card, and keep it handy until you are out of the gates.

The must-sees (book ahead)

Eiffel Tower: 330 metres, three levels, and the summit sells out first. Book a timed ticket before you fly.
Louvre: a timed reservation is mandatory in July and August and strongly advised the rest of the year, so reserve at ticket.louvre.fr rather than turning up.
Notre-Dame: reopened after the fire, entry to the cathedral is free but reserve a timed slot to skip the queue. The towers reopened separately in 2025 as a paid climb.
Seine river cruise: the easiest hour of sightseeing in the city. Compare cruises here.

Where the tour buses do not stop

Musée de l’Orangerie: Monet’s Water Lilies wrapped around two oval rooms, and far calmer than the Louvre.
Musée Rodin: The Thinker and a sculpture garden you can wander with a coffee.
Père-Lachaise: a free, atmospheric cemetery where Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Edith Piaf are buried.
Sacré-Cœur and Montmartre: free hilltop basilica and the best rooftop-level view in the city.
Catacombs: the underground ossuary, but tickets release only about a week ahead and sell out fast, with no walk-up sales.
Musée Zadkine: a sculptor’s tiny home and studio near the Luxembourg Gardens, free to visit.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont: a hilly park with a lake, a waterfall, and almost no tourists.

Captain AL’s tip: short layover and no patience for the Louvre queue? The Orangerie gives you Monet’s Water Lilies in two quiet rooms in under an hour, a five-minute walk from Place de la Concorde.

Eat like a local

A croissant or pain au chocolat straight from a boulangerie.
A jambon-beurre, the classic ham-and-butter baguette.
Steak frites in a corner bistro.
A crêpe from a street stand, sugar and lemon.

Best time to go

Spring and fall: mild and the city at its prettiest.
Summer: long days, but busy and with some museums on reduced hours.
Winter: cold and quiet, with the museums to yourself.

Stay sharp

Pickpockets work Metro line 1 and the crowds at the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and Gare du Nord. Keep bags zipped and phones away.
Wave off the friendship-bracelet, petition, and dropped-gold-ring approaches near Sacré-Cœur and the big sights. They are distractions, not charity.