Five days in Paris feels rushed if you want Versailles; a full week is overkill for most independent travelers. Six days hits the sweet spot — Eiffel Tower to Versailles in one tight, well-paced loop. This guide refines a Tripop AI-generated plan with real routes, verified 2026 prices, museum-pass math, and food picks for English-speaking visitors.
From Trocadéro across the Seine, from the green lawns of Champ de Mars, from the Arc de Triomphe roof as the city goes amber — no matter where you stand, Paris has a way of making everything feel like a painting. Arriving on a Tuesday evening and watching the Eiffel Tower's hourly light show is enough to justify the whole trip.
Why 6 days — the Versailles factor
Intercontinental flights typically eat half of your arrival and half of your departure day. A 5-day Paris trip means choosing between Versailles or thorough central Paris coverage. Six days lets you do both — plus Montmartre and the Marais at a relaxed pace.
- Day 1 (arrival): CDG → city → Eiffel Tower at night + Seine cruise
- Day 2: Louvre + Tuileries + Champs-Élysées + Arc de Triomphe
- Day 3: Orsay + Notre-Dame + Latin Quarter + Marais
- Day 4: Versailles day trip
- Day 5: Montmartre + Sacré-Cœur + Galeries Lafayette
- Day 6 (departure): Final café + CDG
This sequence covers two world-class museum days, the iconic skyline at night, a UNESCO palace, and bohemian Paris — without backtracking.
Pre-trip: ETIAS, eSIM, money, transit
- Visa / ETIAS: Most visa-exempt nationalities (US, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea) get 90 days in 180 across Schengen. From late 2026, ETIAS (~7 EUR, valid 5 years) becomes mandatory pre-registration. Apply at least 72 hours before flying. Check travel-europe.europa.eu for the exact start date.
- eSIM: A 5GB / 7-day plan runs $10-15 (Airalo, Holafly). Excellent LTE everywhere — Paris, Versailles, even inside the Louvre. Carrier roaming is typically 5x more expensive.
- Money: Withdraw euros from any ATM with your home card (~3 EUR fee per withdrawal). The euro hovers around 1.05-1.10 USD in 2026. Carry 100 EUR cash for cafes and small shops that may not take cards.
- Navigo Weekly: At 30 EUR (plus 5 EUR card fee), the Navigo Hebdo covers unlimited metro, RER (zones 1-5), bus, and tram from Monday to Sunday — including Versailles (RER C) and Disneyland (RER A). Contactless credit card tap-to-pay is also accepted on Paris transit since 2026 (daily cap of ~6.40 EUR).
- Paris Museum Pass: The 4-day pass at 105 EUR (2026 price) is essential if you're visiting 3+ sites. Louvre (32) + Orsay (16) + Arc de Triomphe (13) alone hit 61 EUR; add Versailles and the pass pays for itself. Also lets you skip ticket queues. Buy in advance from the official parismuseumpass.fr site.
CDG Airport to Paris — RER B flat rate (2026)
Charles de Gaulle Airport has the most convenient airport transit in France. From January 2025, the fare was simplified to a single flat-rate ticket.
| Option | Cost | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RER B | 14 EUR flat rate | 35-45 min | Connects to Châtelet, Gare du Nord |
| Roissybus | 16.60 EUR | ~60 min | Drops at Opéra |
| Uber / taxi | 55-70 EUR | 40-60 min | Best for late-night arrivals |
How to take RER B from CDG:
- Terminal 2 (2E/F/G): go underground to "CDG 2 TGV" station — RER B is directly below
- Terminals 1 & 3: take the free inter-terminal shuttle to Terminal 2, then board RER B
- Buy the "Paris Region ↔ Airports" ticket (14 EUR) at any ticket machine (English available)
- This ticket allows metro and bus transfers within 90 minutes of first validation
Direction tip: RER B has two branches at the Paris end. Take any train headed toward "Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse" or "Massy-Palaiseau" for central Paris.
The full plan at a glance
Drop a one-liner into Tripop — "Paris 6-day itinerary including Versailles" — and the AI builds a time-blocked plan in about a minute. Add your flight PDFs and museum bookings by photo, and the voucher cards attach themselves to the right days.
Day 1 (arrival) — Eiffel Tower light show + Seine night cruise
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 18:00 | Arrive Charles de Gaulle (CDG) | Evening long-haul arrival |
| 19:00 | Immigration (ETIAS QR) + baggage | 60 min |
| 20:00 | RER B to central Paris | 14 EUR flat rate, ~40 min |
| 21:00 | Hotel check-in (1st, 4th, or 6th arr.) | |
| 21:30 | Light dinner at a neighborhood bistro | |
| 22:00 | Eiffel Tower light show at Trocadéro | 5-min sparkle every hour |
Day 1 tip — Paris sunset is around 9pm in May, even later in June. Don't overpack day 1 — a light bistro dinner plus the Eiffel Tower light show works best for jet lag. The Seine night cruise (Bateaux Parisiens, 15 EUR) can shift to day 2 or 3. Best hotel zones: 1st (Louvre), 4th (Marais), or 6th (Saint-Germain) — all walkable to icons and well-connected to metro.
After dark, 20,000 bulbs sparkle for 5 minutes at the top of every hour. The classic viewpoint is Trocadéro Square (Metro 9, Trocadéro) — directly across the Seine with the tower head-on. Catching it at both 22:00 and 23:00 is worth the extra hour. To go up: 14.80-36.70 EUR (stairs to summit) — book at ticket.toureiffel.paris up to 60 days in advance; sunset slots sell out fastest.
Walking the Seine banks at dusk, watching the light change over the Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle, you understand why the river and its quays were declared UNESCO heritage. This isn't just a city — it's a layered document of European civilization.
Day 2 — Louvre + Champs-Élysées + Arc de Triomphe
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Louvre first entry | Pre-booked, 32 EUR non-EU or pass |
| 11:00 | Mona Lisa + Winged Victory + Venus de Milo | 2 hours |
| 12:30 | Angelina lunch + Mont Blanc pastry | 30 EUR |
| 14:00 | Tuileries Garden walk | |
| 15:00 | Place de la Concorde → Champs-Élysées | 1.9 km on foot |
| 17:00 | Arc de Triomphe observation deck | 13 EUR or museum pass |
| 19:30 | Dinner at Le Relais Saint-Germain | 60 EUR |
Day 2 tip — The Louvre requires booking (ticketing.louvre.fr). 9am first entry is the only realistic window for Mona Lisa selfies — by 11am you're behind 100+ people. Closed Tuesdays — plan your week around that. Late nights (until 9:45pm) on Wednesdays and Fridays are quieter and worth considering. At the Arc de Triomphe, enter the observation deck an hour before sunset for dusk + Champs-Élysées city lights in one visit.
When morning light hits the pyramid from the east, it transforms the whole courtyard into something from another era. Standing here, you can't quite believe this was once a royal palace — and that the world's most celebrated painting hangs just a few rooms away.
35,000 works on display. The three must-sees: Mona Lisa (Salle 711, 2nd floor), Winged Victory of Samothrace (top of the Daru staircase), Venus de Milo (Salle 346, 1st floor). 9am entry + 4-5 hours is the sweet spot. Book online at ticketing.louvre.fr — 32 EUR non-EU or covered by the museum pass. Closed Tuesdays; open until 9:45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Opened 1903, frequented by Coco Chanel and Hemingway. Order the truffle ravioli (30 EUR) and the signature Mont Blanc pastry (10 EUR). The Old Africa hot chocolate (L'Africain, 9 EUR) is so thick it eats like dessert. Flagship is right next to the Tuileries Garden.
Day 3 — Orsay + Notre-Dame + Latin Quarter + Marais
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:30 | Musée d'Orsay | 16 EUR online or museum pass, 2 hours |
| 12:00 | Bouillon Chartier lunch | 20 EUR set |
| 14:00 | Notre-Dame interior | Reopened Dec 2024, free, booking required |
| 15:00 | Shakespeare and Company bookshop | Free, English used books |
| 16:00 | Latin Quarter walk (Place de la Sorbonne) | |
| 17:30 | Marais cafes + vintage shops | |
| 19:30 | L'As du Fallafel or Marais bistro dinner | 12 EUR |
Day 3 tip — Orsay's Impressionist collection is the world's best — Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rodin. The fifth-floor clock window is the iconic Instagram shot. Online tickets (16 EUR) get priority entrance via Door A; walk-in tickets (14 EUR) have longer waits. Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 — interior visits are free but require booking; the exterior is freely accessible. The Marais is LGBTQ-friendly, vintage-shop heavy, and has the best gallery density in Paris.
The scale of the main hall — that vast arched ceiling, the giant clock, statues lining the central aisle — hits you the moment you walk in. This building was designed to impress as a railway station; as a museum, it's one of the most beautiful rooms in the world.
When the spire collapsed in 2019, Parisians gathered on the riverbank and wept. Five years of extraordinary restoration later, Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 — and the rebuilt spire, restored stained glass, and cleaned stonework arguably look more stunning than before the fire.
A converted 1900 train station, opened as a museum in 1986. Houses the world's premier Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Rodin collections. The view through the 5th-floor clock window is the signature Instagram moment. 16 EUR online (14 EUR on-site) or covered by museum pass. Free on the first Sunday of each month.
A 120+ year old Parisian working-class restaurant. Onion soup (5 EUR), escargot (8 EUR), beef bourguignon (12 EUR). Three courses for 20-30 EUR total. No reservations — queue at the door. Avoid the 7pm and 1pm peaks.
Day 4 — Versailles day trip
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | Paris → Versailles via RER C | 50 min, Navigo or 7.30 EUR |
| 09:00 | Versailles Palace first entry | Museum pass or Passport 25-35 EUR (non-EEA) |
| 10:00 | Hall of Mirrors + King's Apartments | 2.5 hours |
| 12:30 | Lunch in Versailles town | |
| 14:00 | Gardens walk or mini-car rental | 8.50 EUR / 30 min |
| 15:30 | Marie Antoinette's Estate | 12 EUR extra |
| 17:00 | Back to Paris | |
| 18:30 | Sunset at Galeries Lafayette rooftop | Free |
Day 4 tip — Versailles requires online booking (often sells out same-day). In 2026, non-EEA adults pay the Passport ticket: 25 EUR low season / 35 EUR high season (including gardens and Trianon Estate). If you hold the Paris Museum Pass, Versailles is included — but you still must book a timed entry slot online. 9am first entry is the only window where you can photograph the Hall of Mirrors without 100 strangers in frame. Gardens are free in the off-season; fountain shows (April–October, Tues + weekends) cost 10-12 EUR extra. The full garden path is 4km — rent a mini-car (8.50 EUR/30 min) or bike (7.50 EUR/hour) to cover it comfortably.
680 meters of gilded facade. 2,000 rooms. A garden so large you can rent a mini-car to traverse it. Fifty minutes from central Paris on a commuter train, and yet you arrive somewhere that feels like a different universe entirely.
357 mirrors lining a 73m grand hall. Site of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles ending WWI. Ceiling frescos, chandeliers, gilded molding — everything is overwhelming. 9am first entry on a weekday is the only realistic way to photograph it without crowds. Museum pass included or non-EEA Passport ticket: 25 EUR (low season) / 35 EUR (high season).
Day 5 — Montmartre + Sacré-Cœur + Galeries Lafayette
| Time | Activity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | Metro 2 to Anvers | Or Metro 12 to Abbesses |
| 09:30 | Sacré-Cœur Basilica + Paris panorama | Free, 130m hilltop |
| 11:00 | Place du Tertre (street artists) | |
| 12:00 | Café des Deux Moulins lunch | Amélie filming location |
| 14:00 | Galeries Lafayette flagship | Stained-glass dome |
| 15:30 | Printemps department store | |
| 17:00 | Lafayette rooftop sunset view | Free, 6th floor |
| 19:30 | Final bistro dinner + wine |
Day 5 tip — Sacré-Cœur is free and open 24 hours. Sunrise and sunset are both stunning. The funicular up the hill costs one metro ticket. Place du Tertre's street artists will do a caricature for 20-40 EUR in 5-10 minutes — touristy but a fun souvenir. Galeries Lafayette's free rooftop on the 6th floor has the best combined Eiffel Tower + Sacré-Cœur view in the city without paying admission anywhere.
From anywhere in the city you can spot the white dome hovering above the northern hill. Climb up at sunset and suddenly the whole of Paris unfolds below you — Eiffel Tower, La Défense, the Marais, the Seine snaking west. It's the view Toulouse-Lautrec woke up to every morning, and it hasn't lost any of its power.
Byzantine-style basilica atop a 130m hill. Free entry, open 24 hours. The view from the front plaza beats the paid Eiffel Tower observation (up to 36.70 EUR) — and it's completely free. Arrive an hour before sunset for dusk + city lights. Funicular up the hill costs one metro ticket.
Opened 1893, Paris's biggest department store. The 1912 Art Nouveau stained-glass dome is the Instagram money shot. Foreign tourists get a 5% discount voucher at the welcome desk and access to the duty-free counter. The 6th-floor rooftop terrace is free — best combined Eiffel + Sacré-Cœur view without paying a cent.
Budget tracking — automatic currency conversion
Throughout the trip, snap a photo of every receipt — café, restaurant, museum, metro top-up — and Tripop logs it with euro (€) → home-currency auto-conversion. Daily and category totals appear in real time. Honeymoon or family trip? Combine expenses across travel companions in the same itinerary.
Below is the estimated cost for 2 people, 5 nights — by category, at current prices.
Sharing with travel companions
Paris ranks among the top global honeymoon destinations. In Tripop, invite your partner (or whole family) to one trip and everyone sees the same schedule. Versailles and Louvre booking QR codes are per-person — sort vouchers by traveler so no one fumbles at the gate.
AI assistant — museum prioritization
Ask Tripop: "I have 6 days in Paris with one for Versailles. Should I prioritize Louvre or Orsay first?" The AI ranks museums by travel time, jet lag impact, and crowd patterns. It'll also suggest rain backup plans (Orangerie's water lilies, Musée Rodin's covered sculpture garden).
Checklist — Paris essentials
- Passport (6+ months validity)
- ETIAS authorization (from late 2026)
- eSIM or pocket wifi
- Navigo Weekly pass (5 EUR card + 30 EUR weekly load)
- Paris Museum Pass 4-day (105 EUR in 2026)
- Credit card with no foreign transaction fee
- Umbrella (May-June showers common)
- Portable battery (lots of photos)
Paris must-do list
Regardless of trip length, five things you'd regret skipping in Paris.
The quintessential Parisian breakfast. The Paris best-croissant competition crowns winners annually — Du Pain et des Idées (10th arr., 2.30 EUR), Maison Pichard (15th), and Cyril Lignac (11th) consistently top the list. Fresh out of the oven from 8-10am. Pair with café au lait for 4 EUR total.
Read moreLadurée (founded 1862) is the classic, with flagships on the Champs-Élysées and Rue Royale. Pierre Hermé pushes modern flavors (Ispahan, Mogador). Both run 2.50 EUR per macaron. A six-piece gift box (15 EUR) makes the perfect souvenir. Skip the either/or — try both.
Read more59 floors, 210m. 20 EUR entry. The single place in Paris where Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur, and Arc de Triomphe all fit in one shot (you can't see the Eiffel from the Eiffel). Enter 30 minutes before sunset for dusk plus the tower's hourly sparkle. Much shorter queues than the Eiffel Tower.
Read moreBateaux Mouches or Bateaux Parisiens runs dinner cruises — 2.5 hours, 90-150 EUR including wine and three courses. Eiffel, Notre-Dame, Louvre all glide past from the water. Honeymoon and anniversary trips rate it extremely highly. Reservations are essential.
Read moreAt the northern end of Metro Line 4. 2,500+ vendors across seven specialized markets. 19th-century antique furniture, 1920s vintage clothing, art, oddities. Open Saturday-Monday 9am-6pm. Haggling is expected (10-30% off). Even a small vintage accessory (5-20 EUR) makes a lifelong souvenir.
Read moreWrap-up
- For 6 days in Paris, the Versailles day trip is the key differentiator from a 5-day plan
- Museum Pass 4-day (105 EUR) + Navigo Weekly (30 EUR) is the highest-leverage purchase pair
- Louvre and Versailles require advance online booking, 9am first entry
- CDG to Paris: RER B flat rate 14 EUR (since January 2025)
Plan this Paris trip in Tripop — 1 minute
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Photos: Pexels (Amine ATTOUT — Eiffel Tower, Mathias Reding — Louvre, Sergey Guk — Montmartre, Kirandeep Singh Walia — Versailles, Leonardo Delsabio — Notre-Dame, MuffinLand — Orsay, Evans Joel — Seine) — Pexels License.