Free Paris Trip Template: 5-Day First-Time Itinerary
Paris runs on timed-entry tickets now — the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower summit, Versailles, and Sainte-Chapelle all sell specific slots, and the people stuck in two-hour lines are the ones who didn't book. This template is organized around that reality: exactly one reserved anchor per day, placed in the morning or late afternoon when slots are best, with free neighborhoods — the covered passages, Montmartre, the Marais, the Seine quais — filling the hours around it. The booking tips below tell you what to reserve at 60 days, at 30, and in the final week.
Who it's for
First-time visitors to Paris who want the icons without the lines, and who'd rather walk a neighborhood than tick a list. The pace assumes 6-8 km of walking a day and comfort with the métro. Skippable if you've been before — this is deliberately a greatest-hits route, done in the right order.
Budget level
moderate
Day-by-day itinerary
Use this as a starting point — every detail is editable once it's in your own trip.
CDG to central Paris
RER B into the city (about 35 minutes to Saint-Michel) or a fixed-rate taxi. Skip the ticket-machine line by buying the RER ticket in the Île-de-France Mobilités app before you land.
Check in — Saint-Germain or Le Marais area
Both neighborhoods put every anchor on this itinerary within a 30-minute walk or a short métro ride, and both are lively after dinner — which matters more than hotel stars on a five-day trip.
If your room isn't ready, most hotels hold bags — drop them and start walking.
Luxembourg Gardens & Latin Quarter walk
A jet-lag-proof first afternoon: chairs by the fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens, then a slow loop past the Panthéon and down through the medieval streets around Rue Mouffetard.
Early bistro dinner near Odéon
Keep night one simple: a classic bistro dinner within walking distance of the hotel. Parisian kitchens open at 7pm sharp — arriving right at opening is the easiest walk-in window all week.
Before you go
- Passport valid for at least 3 months beyond your departure from the Schengen Area — and check whether ETIAS travel authorization applies to you before booking
- Book the Eiffel Tower summit slot the day tickets open (60 days out) — it's the first thing to sell out
- Book Louvre and Versailles timed entries about a month ahead; Sainte-Chapelle a few days ahead
- Load a Navigo Easy card or use the Île-de-France Mobilités app for the métro — single paper tickets are being phased out
- Pack a European two-round-pin (Type C/E) adapter
- Card is accepted nearly everywhere, but keep a few euros in coins for market stalls and public toilets
- Verify Versailles is open on your day-trip day — the palace closes Mondays
- Comfortable shoes over new shoes: this plan is 6-8 km a day on cobblestones
- Download offline maps; métro stations kill signal exactly when you need directions
Local tips
- Book the biggest sights, not the whole trip. One reserved anchor per day is the sweet spot — a second timed slot turns a stroll into a schedule.
- Museums are closed on rotating days — the Louvre on Tuesdays, Orsay and Versailles on Mondays. Check the closure day before you shuffle this plan.
- Cafés charge more at a table than at the counter, and more on a terrace than inside. None of it is a scam; it's the posted system.
- Say bonjour before anything else, in every shop and café. It's not optional politeness in Paris — it's the transaction starting.
- Dinner starts at 7:30-8:00pm. A kitchen that seats you at 6:30 is cooking for tourists.
- The first Sunday of the month makes many museums free — and far more crowded. If your dates line up, book a timed slot anyway where offered.
- Pickpocketing around Montmartre, the Eiffel Tower, and on métro line 1 is real but avoidable: front pockets, zipped bags, and ignore anyone with a petition clipboard.
Booking tips
- At 60 days: Eiffel Tower summit tickets (official site only — resellers charge double for the same slot).
- At 30 days: Louvre 9:00am entry and Versailles Passport ticket for your day-trip day.
- In the final week: Sainte-Chapelle timed slot, Seine cruise, and any dinner you care about — one reservation a day ahead beats walking in at 8pm.
- Book your hotel around Saint-Germain, the Marais, or the 1st before anything else — everything in this plan assumes you're staying central, and a cheaper room out by the périphérique costs the difference back in métro time.
Watch and read before you go
Independent videos and traveler threads, not affiliated with Tripety — worth a look alongside the template above.
The Perfect 3-Day Paris Itinerary (Built by Locals, Tested on Tourists) — Les Frenchies
A local couple's compressed take on the same core sights — useful if you're deciding which of this template's five days to cut for a shorter trip.
20 Things I Wish I Knew Before Visiting Paris — Destination Well Known
First-timer mistakes covered honestly — café pricing, greeting etiquette, and métro basics that this template assumes but doesn't demonstrate.
EVERYTHING you NEED To Know Before Visiting Paris in 2025 — Love and Paris
A practical pre-trip briefing from a Paris-based channel — good on what's changed recently (ticketing, transit) versus older guides.
Verify travel requirements
Entry rules and travel advisories change. Confirm current requirements with official sources before you book.
FAQ
Is 5 days enough for Paris?
For a first visit, yes — five days covers the Louvre, Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Marais, and a full Versailles day without the death-march pacing a 3-day version needs. What it doesn't cover is day trips beyond Versailles (Giverny, the Loire) — those want a week or a return trip.
What do I actually need to book in advance for Paris?
Four things, in this order: the Eiffel Tower summit (60 days out, sells out first), the Louvre and Versailles (about 30 days), and Sainte-Chapelle (a few days ahead). Everything else on this template — Montmartre, the covered passages, the Marais, the Seine quais — is unticketed and can't sell out.
Is the Paris Museum Pass worth it for this itinerary?
Usually not for this specific plan. The pass covers the Louvre, Orsay, and Sainte-Chapelle but not the Eiffel Tower or Versailles' full estate, and with only three pass-eligible sights in five days the math is roughly break-even — while you still need to book timed slots anyway. It earns its price on faster-paced trips hitting two museums a day.
Where should I stay in Paris for a first visit?
Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the Marais, and this template assumes one of them. Both are central to every anchor on the plan, safe and lively at night, and walkable to dinner. The area right around the Eiffel Tower looks convenient on a map but is residential-quiet by 9pm and far from everything else here.
Do I need to speak French?
No, but you need six words: bonjour, bonsoir, merci, and s'il vous plaît. Open every interaction with bonjour before switching to English and the reputed Parisian coldness mostly evaporates. Menus at the places worth eating in increasingly have English versions — and the ones that don't are where a translation app earns its place.
Can I turn this template into my own editable Paris plan?
Yes — that's the point of it. "Use this template" copies the full five days into your Tripety account as a real trip: shift the dates, swap Versailles for Giverny, drop your actual bookings in. If you want something to print for the plane, your browser's print-to-PDF on this page produces a clean read-only copy.
Ready to plan your Paris trip?
Use this template to start a real trip you can edit, share, and book from.
Want more free planning tools? See our passport document checklist or check plugs and voltage for Paris, France.