Paris in 2 days: how to make the most of your time
We bet your friends and acquaintances are divided into two camps: those who love Paris to bits, and those who don’t. And everyone has their reasons. But if fate takes you there, don’t resist, even if you only have two days! We’ll make sure you love it, and you’ll be left with a light and pleasant feeling of incompleteness that will be a reason to return. Let’s go!
How to get from the airport to the city?>>>
Attractions and Transport
Both are closely related, as proper organization of movement will help you see more attractions, if that is your goal. There are several transport options:
Batobus — the famous river bus. It runs past all popular attractions, sometimes it’s even more convenient and faster than the metro. A day ticket costs 17 euros, meaning you can ride and get off wherever and whenever you want. This is a great way to see popular places from the outside without spending the whole day on it.
Navigo — a local travel pass for a day, week, or month. Tourists also use it. It’s a plastic card that allows you to travel on buses, metro, and regional RER and Transilien trains (not to be confused with high-speed TGV trains). The card itself costs 5 euros, a day’s travel will cost almost 18 euros if with regions (zones 1–5), and purely within Paris 7.50 euros. Zones 1–5 include the airport, so it’s more cost-effective to buy the regional one. The price depends on the number of zones you need. The more zones, the more expensive.
There is also Mobilis for day trips from Friday to Sunday, and Jeunes Week-end — a weekend pass for children and youth up to 26 years old.
We’ve decided on transport, now let’s think about where to go. You definitely can’t ignore the Eiffel Tower, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre district, Palace of Versailles, Moulin Rouge Cabaret, and the Louvre (optional).
They say there’s a long queue in the Louvre in front of the Mona Lisa of people wanting to take a picture with the painting. If you’re not a fan of queues and Mona Lisa, then there’s definitely nothing for you to do there.
Many also visit the Centre Pompidou, the opera, the Musée d’Orsay, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Tuileries Garden, Galeries Lafayette, and Disneyland, of course. Look for museum tickets on official websites; buying online is usually more advantageous than on-site.
By the way, about Disneyland! A one-day ticket costs from 69 euros on weekdays; the price depends on the zones you want to visit. If you plan to have fun at the amusement park, buy tickets in advance at the “Fnac” bookstore, the Disney store on the Champs-Élysées, or online. At the park’s ticket booths, you’ll lose at least an hour in queues.
And every evening there’s a fireworks display! It lasts 20 minutes and starts at 11 PM (it’s best to check the schedule in advance). But to see the fireworks, you don’t necessarily have to buy a ticket to the park!
Not everyone manages to visit everything in a couple of days, but that’s the art of travel planning. First, look online for pictures of all the attractions you’d like to see. Then mark them on a map and estimate how close they are. This way, you’ll gradually have a list of not only desired places to visit but also convenient ones.
Observation Decks
Make it a rule to visit observation decks in every city to see the city from above. Paris, with its interesting street geometry, should be no exception.
Arc de Triomphe — a magnificent viewpoint from which you can see the Eiffel Tower. A full adult ticket costs 15 euros (if you get a discounted rate, you’ll pay only 6 euros). Children under 18, disabled people, and EU youth under 26 enter for free.
Eiffel Tower — everyone goes there immediately, hence the queues. But it’s better to capture Paris from above with the tower in view, rather than from the tower itself. But if you can’t be dissuaded, buy your ticket online in advance.
Montparnasse Tower — the only skyscraper in Paris, 200 meters high. It’s not just a business center; inside there are also restaurants and entertainment. A ticket to the observation deck costs 18 euros, and the view is no worse than from the Eiffel Tower.
Étretat
Ready to venture outside Paris? We recommend dedicating a day to a trip to Normandy. This is a region of France located on the coast. It is in Étretat that the white cliffs, immortalized in Claude Monet’s works, are located.
You can get there by train or bus, but unfortunately, only with transfers. The transfer takes place in the port town of Le Havre, from there it’s only 28 km to Étretat.
By train: From Saint-Lazare station, trains to Le Havre depart every hour, the journey takes 2 hours. Tickets range from 15 to 40 euros. In Le Havre, right next to the train station, there’s a bus station; you’ll need bus #24, which will take you to your destination in an hour. But check the bus schedule in advance, as it runs with long intervals. We recommend adjusting your train trip to the bus schedule.
By bus: There are far fewer routes and they are not very convenient in terms of time, but they are cheaper. Check the schedules for FlixBus, Ouibus, and Isilines. The journey takes almost 3 hours.
And if you have a car, you’ll definitely get to the right place in 2–2.5 hours.
With such a packed itinerary, you’ll definitely be satisfied with Paris! But there are also many amazing places beyond its borders that you could dedicate a separate vacation to.
