How to: Plan for Paris
- Josi Hicks
- 7 minutes ago
- 6 min read
When booking a trip to a major city like Paris, it's best to plan ahead. Take it from me, seeing as my friends and I tried the plan-as-you-go method for the majority of our weekend in Paris. Let's just say, if there was ever a time to be Type A, then this would've been it.
Seeing as much of Paris as possible in one weekend is already a challenge in itself. Going only partially planned? Even more of a challenge. Avoid my mistakes when traveling to Paris, using my How to: Plan for Paris guide below, highlighting all of my hiccups and how to avoid them for yourself.
Versailles: A Method to Mobility
Full-Day Excursion
After landing in Paris (at Orly) around noon, I headed straight to Versailles. This was the one thing I planned properly in advance, knowing that the travel from the city to the palace can be tricky.
Travel tip: Take the RER C from Paris for about 30–40 min.
Transit zones: Versailles is in Zone 4—make sure your Bonjour RATP pass covers it.
IMPORTANT: Bonjour RATP is where you'll buy your all-encompasing Paris public transportation pass, useful for all forms of public transport around the city. I bought the 24-hr pass each morning based on where I was going that day (for Versailles, I had to make sure the outer zones were covered). You can buy Zones 1-2 for city-specific days, or Zones 1-4 for a day-trip to Versailles.
Upon arriving at Versailles, things had already gotten off to a shaky start.
What happened? The inside palace was closed due to an employee strike. But, I still ended up spending 5 hours exploring the gardens, the Grand & Petit Trianon, and Marie-Antoinette’s Hamlet—personally a highlight.
Overall, I was actually grateful that the inside of the palace was closed. I don't think I would've spent enough time exploring the grounds, which I might've enjoyed more than if I had gotten to see inside of the palace (or I'll keep telling myself this to make myself feel better).
My best words of advice: Don’t skip the grounds—they’re vast, intimate, and less crowded. You’ll need a full afternoon if you plan to go the palace route, too. Also, definitely buy your tickets for the interior tour in advance. Luckily, I was refunded for my ticket since the palace was closed.
Tourism: Museums & Misreads
On Friday morning, my friends from Florence arrived to meet me, and we set out on our day of exploration (and eff-ups).
Cafés
First, we tried to eat Café de Flore, but the line was too long—we took pics instead and grabbed food next door.
Lesson learned? Reserve ahead or snack early to avoid waits. Also, have a back-up in mind in case your planned place is packed. We spent too much time trying to find another spot to stop, which ultimately ate into our time that we needed to make it to our river cruise.
Seine Cruise
When trying to get to our Champagne Seine Cruise, a Bolt driver mix-up led to us missing our first slot; luckily, we joined the next tour.
Lesson learned? Always arrive 30 mins early, especially with ride-hailing apps and language barriers with drivers. We couldn't find our driver on the roadside because we couldn't understand each other, but at least got a laugh out of it later.
Eiffel Tower
When we got to the Eiffel Tower, we got to walk under the Tower, but we didn’t get to go up because tickets (to both summit and restaurant) were sold out.
Tip: Book months in advance if you want dinner at Le Jules Verne or Madame Brasserie.
Evening sparkle: Later that night, we picked up cheese, champagne, and chocolate at Carrefour, then picnicked under the Eiffel Tower to watch it sparkle (which happens on the hour every hour at night for five‑minute show). But beware: my friends might have left me alone for a second & a random man tried not-so-friendly french kissing me.
Lessons learned? Always book in advance and never leave your friends alone in crowded tourist spots—even for photos. All was well when my friends came to my immediate rescue, though! No unfriendly french kissing ensued.
Tuileries Gardens
We came at the perfect time of year (early December) to visit the Christmas market in the Tuileries Gardens for sweet festive vibes near the Louvre. December is gold (in Europe in general) if you love holiday markets. Thankfully, there were no mishaps here!
Tip: Try some mulled wine and macarons!
The Louvre
On Friday night, we tried to save on ticket costs with the free Friday at the Louvre, which happens the first Friday of every month. We lined up but a multiple hours-long wait meant we got in only via third-party tickets (double price), which we had to buy for the next morning.
Advice: Always buy museum tickets in advance—Paris museums fill up fast. Also, maybe don't rely on the free Friday working out in your favor.
When making it the next morning, we spent 4 hours at the Louvre, seeing the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, France's Crown Jewels, the Sphinx, and more.
Advice: Have a game plan in advance for which artworks you want to see. Knowing the room and wing for each piece is crucial—the Louvre is massive and will make-out like a maze if you aren’t strategic.
The museum is divided into three main wings:
Denon (home to the Mona Lisa, The Wedding at Cana, and Winged Victory)
Sully (Venus de Milo, Egyptian antiquities, medieval Louvre foundations)
Richelieu (Napoleon’s Apartments, French sculptures, northern European paintings)
Other Museums
Other popular museums to see are Musée d’Orsay & Orangerie: Only the latter worked out, as Orsay was fully booked. Seeing that we did get into Musée de l'Orangerie (where you'll find Monet's Water Lilies) for free that Friday night, however, you might be able to save on some sights (if you're a broke college student & penny-pinching like we were!).
Tip: Have backup plans (lesser-known museums) in case your main goals are sold out. Also book in advance to avoid this mess-up.
Montmartre
My last morning, I took the metro up to Montmartre, the most beautiful mountaintop arrondissement in Paris—but bring comfy shoes; it’s a hike.
Tip: Plan which metro stop to get off/on strategically. Pigalle stops lower on the hill and Lamarck-Caulaincourt stops higher, so which one you choose can help save some steps.
Luxembourg Gardens
Our last bucket-list item on our not-so-itemized Paris plan was the Luxembourg Gardens, which we nearly missed because of their early closing hour in the winter (around sunset at 4:30 PM).
Lesson learned? Check park closing times for when you're going, especially in shorter daylight months, and leave time buffer in your day. Also, always double-check your directional info on buses before boarding. Going on the right line but in the wrong direction hurt us on time this day and almost caused us to miss the gardens completely. Luckily, we ended up making it with about 30 minutes to spare!
A Night Out
A must-do on my mind when briefly brainstorming what I wanted to do in Paris was spending a night out at Le Caveau de la Huchette. The main thing you should do when visiting this jazz club? Dress accordingly—especially when visiting in the winter. We visited the iconic Parisian jazz bar but left quickly, because our winter layers were causing us to overheat inside with all the bodies.
Lesson learned? Dress in layers for indoor-outdoor transitions, especially in colder months.
Extra: for my Florence friends
If you're traveling from Paris back to Florence—or flying into Florence at any point—beware of the flight reroutes that happen when flying into Florence.
To top off the turbulence of this trip, I had the most turbulent flight of my life when flying back to Florence from Paris. Instead of landing at FLR, my flight had to redirect to Pisa because it couldn't land due to wind gusts. Apparently, this has also happened to a lot of other students. Florence is geographically located in a wind rose (with hills, vineyards, and mountains in every direction) causing troublesome wind gusts for incoming planes.
I ended up not getting back to Florence until 2 AM that night after having to take an organized airport shuttle from Pisa to Florence. Thanks Vueling!
Final Takeaways for Planning Paris
Transport: Check zone coverage and passes before arrival (especially for Versailles).
Book ahead: Museums, tours, restaurants—reserve weeks (not days) early.
Build an hour buffer for breakfasts, drivers, and closures.
Dress smart: layers + safety mindset = stress-free stops & nightlife.
Expect the unexpected: but a mid-chaos croissant'll keep you cheesing.
Peace out Paris
