2 Days in Paris: The Louvre, Versailles, and the Eiffel Tower Light Trick

I'll start with something I don't say about many European cities.

I've travelled a lot in Europe, and at this point most cities blur into one another for me — I've been fairly blunt about that elsewhere on this blog. Paris is one of only two exceptions. The other is Rome.

What both have in common is that the extraordinary old architecture is at every single corner, not concentrated into one historic quarter you visit and then leave. You turn down an ordinary street and it's still there. That's genuinely rare, and it's why Paris earns its reputation for me when a lot of famous cities don't.

Two days is enough — and I'd say that's also about the right amount.

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Book three weeks ahead

I booked both the Louvre and Versailles three weeks in advance, and that's the lead time I'd recommend.

It's not the 1.5 months that Rome's Colosseum needs, but it's well beyond turning up on the day. Three weeks got me the slots I wanted at both without stress.

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Day 1: The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower after dark

The Louvre

Go in the morning and go early. The Mona Lisa is the thing everyone funnels towards, and the rest of the museum is enormous and much calmer than the crowd around that one painting suggests.

Along the Seine

Walk the river towards Île de la Cité afterwards. This is the part of the day that best demonstrates what I said above about Paris — you're not going anywhere in particular and it's still remarkable the whole way.

The Eiffel Tower at night — and the trick

I didn't go up the tower, and I didn't feel I'd missed anything.

What I'd tell you to do instead: see it lit up after dark. It's genuinely amazing from below, and it costs nothing.

Here's the timing trick that matters: go on the full hour. On the hour, every hour after dark, the lights dance across the whole tower for about five minutes. It's the best thing the tower does and a lot of people standing there at 9:47 have no idea it's about to happen at 10:00.

Position yourself with a clear view, check the time, and wait for the hour.

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Day 2: Versailles

Take the RER C out from central Paris and arrive as early as you can manage. The palace is the single most crowded thing in this itinerary.

Inside: the Hall of Mirrors, the royal apartments and the state rooms.

The gardens: I walked them, and I'd recommend walking them. You'll see the bikes and golf carts on offer, and they're a reasonable choice if mobility is a concern or you're short on time. But the gardens are designed to be experienced on foot at the pace of someone strolling through them, and walking is how the sightlines and the perspective tricks actually land. Give them the afternoon.

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Is two days enough?

Yes — and I wouldn't spend much more.

There's nothing in this itinerary I'd cut. But equally, having done it, I wouldn't extend it either. Two days covers the Louvre, Versailles, the river and the tower, which is the core of what Paris offers a first-time visitor, and it leaves the city on a high rather than running out of things you actually wanted to do.

If you have a third day, I'd use it on a day trip rather than more of the city.

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Worth knowing

• Book the Louvre and Versailles three weeks out.
• The metro and RER handle everything here; you won't need anything else.
• Comfortable shoes. Both days involve a lot of walking, Versailles' gardens especially.
• Be on the hour for the Eiffel Tower after dark.
• Go early to Versailles. It's the crowd bottleneck of the trip.

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Related reading

• 4 days across southern France — Monaco, the Verdon gorge and the Riviera
• Mont St Michel and Etretat
• 2 days in Rome — the other European city I'd single out this way