24 hours in Paris: our trip report
City breaks are all about short, sweet, compact visits, squeezing in the best that city has to offer in the time you're there. Well, how about just one day? We planned a fun and compact 1 day in Paris, as our first time visiting the city. Actually, thanks to a Eurostar cancellation, it turned into two days — but we squeezed as much as we could into those 24 hours in Paris! Here’s our Paris trip report and how we tried to make the most of just 1 day in Paris!
Morning: ticking off iconic sights
We caught the Eurostar from London and arrived early into Gare du Nord. Keen to make the most of our 1 day in Paris, our first stop was Notre Dame. Stepping off the metro and seeing our first sights of Paris honestly did blow us away. Paris is incredibly iconic, always penned as the "city of love" in the films. But it was just as pretty in real life! Cobblestone streets, beautiful tall apartments with ornate balconies and flowers draped over them. The sun was shining and vibes along the Seine were blissful. Paris has made quite the first impression!
The queues for Notre Dame were already insane and it wasn't even 10am! We instead explored the area around the cathedral and walked along the Seine to our next stop - the Louvre. As iconic as this building is, filled some of the most famous pieces of artwork in the world - we are not art lovers. Nor could we ever fully appreciate said art. We opted not to go in, but even then, the scale and beauty of the building alone is worth visiting.
We jumped on the metro towards the Champs-Élysées. It was lovely to visit such an iconic street and just soak up the atmosphere. We grabbed an ice cream, enjoyed some people watching and took a slow walk towards the Arc de Triomphe. You can also climb to the top of this famous monument and the views are absolutely worth it! The views stretch across the entire city — from Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur to the Eiffel Tower. I would argue the views are even better here than from the Eiffel Tower? But that's just our opinion.
Midday: Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro
Next, we hopped on the metro towards Passy and walked along the river towards the Eiffel Tower. By accident, we stumbled across the Pont de Bir-Hakeim (the bridge from Inception) and which happens to offer one of the best photo spots of the tower from across the river.
At the Eiffel Tower, you either climb the 674 steps to the second floor (and then catch a lift to the observation deck on the top floor) or catch a lift all the way to the top. Feeling like we wouldn't be doing enough walking during our 1 day in Paris, we chose to take the steps!
There are two queues, depending whether you opt for stairs or lift. It was coming up to midday and the queue for the steps only took 30 minutes. The stairs may only take you to the second level, but the views along the way are fantastic!
We were lucky with a clear, sunny day. We could see for absolute miles and miles around - trying to pinpoint Notre Dame from the height and even Sacre Coeur glistening on its hill.
After snaking our way back down the stairs, we crossed over to the Trocadéro. We spent about an hour here, sitting in the sunshine, watching the world go by and enjoying the atmosphere. It’s a lovely spot, with lots of people enjoying the space and the views.
Just one word of warning when you're at the tower. Be extra aware of scammers - not just pick pockets here. There were groups of guys actively stopping people and grabbing their wrists to tie a braid round their wrist and then charge them for it. We also saw them actively walking into couples to split them up if they were holding hands, so they could grab their wrists that way. Just something to be aware of.
Afternoon: Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur
In the afternoon, we caught the metro to Montmartre and walked up the hill towards Sacré-Cœur. The views from the steps are some of the best in the city, especially as the day transitions into evening. Montmartre felt more relaxed and local, with quieter streets surrounding the main square. This was a perfect way to round-up our busy 24 hours in Paris!
As evening began to roll in - and aware (at the time) we had the last Eurostar of the day booked back home, we searched for somewhere for dinner. Not far from Sacré-Cœur we found a small, tucked-away restaurant specialising in homemade pizzas. We sat outside with a bottle of wine, shared pizza, and lingered over dessert, trying to stretch 1 day in Paris for as long as we could.
Feeling full and happy, we headed back towards Gare du Nord for our evening train, thinking our 24 hours in Paris was coming to an end...
Bonus time in Paris!
We arrived at Eurostar to find carnage and crowds! Not a good sign we thought... Turns out there had been severe delays earlier in the day, and as we were waiting to find out our updated departure time, everything back to London got cancelled.
Never ones to shy away from an adventure, we were ready to embrace our new stranded status, when it actually turned out to be a silver lining! We received a letter from a Eurostar member of staff, apologising for the cancellations and explaining the Eurostar would cover not just the cost of a hotel for the night, but additional travel, food and drink costs! The budget was pretty comfortable too - a hotel up to 4 stars, and up to £150 for the night.
We had no luck finding a hotel near the station and instead headed to the Latin Quarter. We eventually came across Hôtel Europe Saint Séverin who had two rooms left! The hotel was lovely, with a room on the top floor, and a beautiful big bath to soak our aching feet in. We woke up in the morning, feeling refreshed and called Eurostar to book our return home. The next available train was 4:20pm, meaning we had a bonus free day in the city!
Extending our 1 day in Paris
We headed straight for Notre Dame to try our luck queueing for the towers again. For the first 15 minutes the queue moved well. But that's where it stopped. We decided we had one last day in the city and we wanted to enjoy it.
Oh a whim, we booked a River Seine cruise, which turned out to be a perfect way to see Paris from a different perspective! Gliding past the city’s landmarks was a lovely way to round off our trip and drink in all the views. The cruise lasted one hour, which was perfect timing to catch the RER back to Gare du Nord ready for our train home.
Is one day in Paris enough?
Ultimately, unless you live in the city you're visiting, no city break is really long enough. There is always more to see, explore and discover. But I think our Paris trip report proves that 24 hours in Paris is enough to fall in love with this city. Paris is easily explorable, either on foot or via the metro. You won’t see everything, but you’ll see enough to understand why Paris is so special. One day in Paris gives you the highlights and the atmosphere - and will leave you wanting to come back for more.
Get in Touch
I hope this our Paris trip report inspires your own visit – whether a day trip or longer! If you have any questions please leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you! If you found our blog helpful, check out our Insta @welovetravel.in – if you give us a follow feel free to drop us a message and say hello 👋
For more travel inspiration, fun things to do, and travel guides, check out our other posts below:
