Three Days in Paris, France

Paris, a city synonymous with romance, culture and history, is a destination that captivates millions of travellers each year. Known as the “City of Light,” it is a place where every street corner conveys tales of art, revolution and stunning beauty. Whether you are a first-time visitor like we were or a seasoned traveler, Paris promises an unforgettable experience.

I have been to many European countries, but two that have eluded me all these years were France and the UK. In recent times, I visited Italy three times, Germany once and I am planning a trip to Portugal in 2026. It always shocked people when I noted I had not yet visited Paris or London. Well, fortunately this finally changed!

My brother decided to host his 45th birthday party in Cannes in the South of France, so I had a very good excuse to add Paris to the itinerary. In this post, I will share some thoughts and images from the City of Light and lead into a future post on Cannes.

Our 3-Day Paris Itinerary

Paris is a tapestry woven with threads of history. Given our short stay, we did not get to visit every area, but the ones we did transported us back in time. We had approximately 3.5 days to enjoy our first visit to Paris. While it was a very short trip, we felt satisfied that we got a great taste of what Paris had to offer. This is how we used that time.

Day 1: Le Marais in the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements

We arrived into Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport and got through the immigration and security checks very quickly. We took a taxi from the airport at the very well marked taxi area. I should note that there were louts as we went through arrivals so it is important to ignore them no matter how convincing they may appear to be as legitimate taxi drivers.

Since our hotel was located in Le Marais, we spent the first evening walking around this amazing neighbourhood. The day prior to our arrival, June 20th, was Fête de la Musique, an annual music street party that takes over the entire city. Le Marais was filled with trash and the smell of urine, but the city quickly cleaned it all up by June 22nd. Please keep this in mind if you are planning to travel to Paris in June in 2026! I heard the party is focused more on young people with lots of alcohol and perhaps not that enjoyable for someone beyond 35 years old.

We booked a dinner at Ober Mamma, a funky Italian restaurant with a beautiful interior. We have incredible Italian food in Hong Kong and we spend a lot of time in Japan and Thailand, which also have excellent Italian food, not to mention the recent trips to Italy itself, so our expectations were pretty high. Unfortunately, Ober Mamma provided an excellent environment and vibe, but did not deliver on the food or service; both were average at best and nothing special. They have excellent ratings however, so perhaps we just caught them on a bad night.

We had debated between Le Marais, the Latin Quarter and Saint-Germaine-des-Pres. There were endless choices for food, boutiques for shopping, outdoor seating at bars and restaurants and the absolute perfect boulangeries (bakeries to us English speakers). One our next trip to Paris, we will definitely stay close to this area again. We loved the mix of old Paris with a bit of edginess.

Day 2: Historic Sites in the 1st to 6th Arrondissements

For our second day and first full day in Paris, we started off by visiting Île de la Cité and walking around that area. The Notre Dame Cathedral was open but the outside was still under construction. Since we did not have much time in Paris, we wanted to focus more of our attention on getting to know the city and not be stuck in long queues, so we did not go inside the cathedral.

While walking around this area, we came across an excellent restaurant which I will include in the list below. It is called La Table de Collette. Be sure to check it out if you are going to visit this beautiful area. I should note that walking around Paris has to be one of the best ways to experience the city. Neighbourhoods blend together seamlessly until you notice a change in the vibe. It was a wonderful way to see Paris for the first time.

The next area we walked to was Saint Germaine des Pres. It was a gorgeous, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhood filled with plenty of charming, winding streets, Parisian cafés, old shops and courtyards and beautiful architecture. We came across the Bon Marche is this area which was itself a fun experience to see this beautiful architecture. It was also where we found La Grande Epicerie, a stunning Parisian grocery store.

We were walking by the Musée d’Orsay and did not see many people in line so we decided to go in. It is a very cool museum built in a former railway station. The exhibits were excellent while we were there including “Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “The Gleaners” by Jean-François Millet, “The Saint-Lazare Station” by Claude Monet, “Self-Portrait” by Vincent van Gogh and “Starry Night Over the Rhône” also by Vincent van Gogh.

As the day went on, we made our way over to the Louvre. I mentioned above that the museum itself was packed, but the outside area near the glass pyramid was free to enter and still provided a few places for photography without other people. I wish I had gone there at sunset, but the French summer days are long and that would have meant missing a nice dinner, so our photos are a bit less dynamic than I would have liked. These are the sacrifices we have to make when travelling.

Dinner for that night was at Au P’tit Curieux which I will talk about a bit more in the restaurant recommendations section below. Needless to say, it was awesome, but in a bit of a dodgy neighbourhood. We capped off the night with drinks at random bars in the Le Marais; we loved the bars that have patio seating in the block squares. It made for fantastic people watching.

Day 3: Eiffel Tower and Champs-Elysées in the 7th and 8th Arrondissements

Our third and final full day was all about the Eiffel Tower and shopping. We spent an inordinate amount of time walking along the various bridges and pathways around the tower to capture different angles of this mighty structure. I love the history of the tower in that locals hated it when it first went up, but is now an world known icon. Again, I wish we had gone around sunset or sunrise as the lighting was very harsh in the miday sun.

Speaking of the sun, we overlapped with the great European heat wave of 2025! I could not believe how hot it was in the sun, especially with the long summer evenings. We were sweating up a storm in the heat. This would become a real issue in the next leg of our trip to Cannes in the South of France.

A great way to get away from the heat was to visit the beautiful luxury stores along Avenue Montaigne. We had heard that the shopping experience in Paris was hit or miss, but mostly miss. We had heard that the staff could be standoffish and/or downright rude. Nothing could have been further from the truth based on our experience. We found ourselves enjoying some of the best service we have experienced anywhere in the world, including great shopping cities like Milan and Tokyo.

There was something so special about having champagne in these luxury boutiques while the goods were being brought out or prepared for purchase. I especially loved the attention to detail from the sales associates in ensuring the items fit perfectly. This is something I experienced in Tokyo, but not so much anywhere else. The sales associate at Dior for example brought his tailor out to ensure the jacket I was buying fit me perfectly.

I did see some bad customer service occurring around us and I traced that back to the customers being rude or inconsiderate to the sales associates. These sales associates have a real passion for what they are doing, their company’s history and their product, and perhaps when they see someone buying an item purely for the brand, they get annoyed. Our sales associates spent a considerable amount of time sharing their passion for their jobs with us, which we greatly appreciated.

I want to recognize Louise at Loewe, Frank at Dior, Rose at Hotel Petit Oberkampf and Shawn at Restaurant Alliance for providing truly exceptional service during our stay in Paris. Speaking of Restaurant Alliance.

For our final evening in Paris, we chose to eat at Restaurant Alliance, a One Michelin Star restaurant. I have provided more information below in the restaurant recommendations section, but it was one of the highlights of the trip. They provided exceptional service and unique food from the Japanese-French chef. I tend to find that One Michelin star restaurants is the sweet spot; great service, food and a reasonable price. Most Three Star Michelin experiences I have had were mostly misses.

To cap off the night, we again roamed the streets around the restaurant in Saint Germaine. This area was so beautiful at night with the historic architecture perfectly lit. I want to give a shoutout to the lighting engineers in Paris. They really know how to make buildings look exceptionally beautiful. I took a shot from the rooftop bar of the city with the twinkling lights below and it was so beautiful in real life.

Hotel Petit Oberkampf

Because it was Fashion Week while we were there, hotels were unbelievably expensive. We decided to target boutique hotels in the hopes that we could find a reasonable deal in a great area. We found just that in the Hotel Petit Oberkampf. I cannot say enough about how amazing the service in this hotel was. Rose at the front desk, Kevin at the hotel bar, and the entire team went above and beyond to make our first visit to Paris a memorable one.

If you decide to book this hotel, I would recommend trying to get Room 600 as it has a very Parisian style, being located in the rooftop area. There is a very interesting history to why Paris top floors (called Mansard roofs) are designed the way they are. To have the opportunity to stay in that architecture features was very cool. We came to learn that the hotel has a sister property called Hotel Petit Beaumarchais which we intend to try next time.

Restaurant Recommendations

Parisian cuisine is an art form unto itself. Start your day with a flaky, buttery croissant at a local boulangerie, paired perfectly with a café au lait. For lunch, indulge in a quintessential French dish, such as coq au vin or a savory ratatouille, served with a glass of Bordeaux.

No trip to Paris would be complete without sampling its desserts. From delicate macarons to rich chocolate éclairs, every bite is a testament to the city’s culinary expertise. And, for the adventurous foodie, the bustling La Grande Epicerie offers fresh produce, cheeses and artisanal goods that provide a true taste of Parisian life. I cannot say enough about how beautiful this market was!

We had the opportunity to experience several amazing restaurants, some that we planned for and others that we stumbled upon. Here is a list of the ones we loved the most:

• La Table de Collette. Amazing amazing food and service. Five course lunch set was €75 + wine. The cauliflower curry was beyond fantastic.
• Au P’tit Curieux. Amazing atmosphere and food and incredibly warm service. The best Aperol spritz I have ever had, even bettering those I had in Italy! However, the area is a bit dodgy so do not arrive early expecting to wander around the neighrbourhood.
• Petite Ile Boulangerie. Incredible croissants and warm service. It was a great way to start our day.
• Restaurant Alliance. Stunningly creative food from the French-Japanese chef and the warmest service of any Michelin restaurant we have been to anywhere in the world.

Paris at Night

As dusk falls, Paris transforms into a city bathed in golden light; with 9:30 PM sunsets, the golden light seems to last forever and provides many opportunities to capture the magic of this incredible city.

The Seine River sparkles under the glow of illuminated bridges and landmarks. A nighttime cruise offers a magical perspective of the city’s architecture and ambiance, creating memories that linger long after your visit. We did not get the opportunity to take a cruise, but several locals recommended this white table-cloth dinner cruise.

The city’s nightlife caters to all tastes. From chic rooftop bars offering panoramic views to lively jazz clubs tucked away in alleyways, Paris at night is alive with energy and elegance. Don’t miss the iconic Moulin Rouge, whose performances encapsulate the spirit of Parisian cabaret.

Our favourite nighttime experience was to find small restaurants on street corners with outdoor seating. We would buy a bottle of wine and seat facing the street and watch all different walks of life going by. Paris is a dream city for people watchers.

Practical Tips

To make the most of your Parisian adventure, consider the following tips:

• Purchase a Paris Pass for convenient access to museums and public transportation.
• Learn a few basic French phrases to enhance your interactions with locals. Starting a conversation with a polite “Bonjour” goes a long way to setting the tone for your future interactions with that person.
• Walk as much as possible as many of the city’s treasures are best discovered on foot.
• Traffic is pretty bad so set aside sufficient time to get around or take the metro.
• Petty crime is often raised as an issue, but we did not experience any such situation; indeed, we left a wallet filled with Euros in a taxi and the driver only asked for a two-way fare to return the wallet. I should note that he came back to the hotel to try and return the wallet even before we knew we left it behind.

Lastly, ensure you carve out moments to simply savour the city’s atmosphere, whether by sipping wine at a terrace cafe or watching the world go by from a park bench.

Conclusion

Paris was more than a destination — it was an experience that ignited my imagination and stirred my soul. Its streets, monuments and culture inspired countless works of art and literature, and it inspired us during our short visit. Whether you come for the romance, the history or the adventure, I am confident you will leave with a piece of Paris etched in your heart. We are already planning our next visit to the city of light!

In the next post, I will share an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience in Cannes, France. If you have any tips on where we should focus our attention and time on our future Paris 2.0 trip, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. All images were edited using Capture One Pro.