City guide · France

Paris

Paris is 105.4 km² holding 2,047,602 people, wrapped in twenty arrondissements that spiral outward from the Louvre. Almost everything a visitor comes for is inside that spiral, and most of it is walkable. The Seine cuts the city in two and everything is described in relation to it. The Right Bank to the north holds the commerce and the great institutions; the Left Bank to the south holds the universities and the bookshops. Between them the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis are where the city started.

Practical information

Language spoken: French; English is understood in tourist districts and rarely outside them
Dialling code: +33 1; Paris and the Île-de-France; drop the leading 0 of 01 when calling from abroad
Currency: Euro (€, EUR); Cards accepted almost everywhere; markets prefer cash
Emergency number: 112; One number across the country; 15 reaches an ambulance directly
Plug type: Type C and E · 230 V; European two-pin; type E adds an earth pin in the socket
Tap water: Safe to drink; Held to the European drinking water directive

Planning a visit

Suggested stay: 4–5 days
Getting around: Métro and on foot

January: seasonal closure recorded
February: seasonal closure recorded
March: seasonal closure recorded
April: recorded as a best month to visit
May: recorded as a best month to visit
June: recorded as a best month to visit
July: no seasonality data recorded
August: no seasonality data recorded — this month
September: recorded as a best month to visit
October: recorded as a best month to visit
November: seasonal closure recorded
December: seasonal closure recorded

Top things to see

Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.

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Where to base yourself

District boundaries come from OSM administrative relations, so a district page holds exactly the places inside it — plus, for the islands and the coast, the nearest district by proximity.

Paris 20e Arrondissement

Places

656

Across the district

49 min
Paris 5e Arrondissement

Places

629

Across the district

27 min
Paris 16e Arrondissement

Places

349

Across the district

1 hr 10 min
Paris 12e Arrondissement

Places

394

Across the district

1 hr 34 min
Paris 4e Arrondissement

Places

363

Across the district

22 min
Paris 3e Arrondissement

Places

407

Across the district

22 min
Paris 1er Arrondissement

Places

389

Across the district

27 min
Paris 6e Arrondissement

Places

446

Across the district

27 min
Paris 14e Arrondissement

Places

388

Across the district

40 min
Paris 18e Arrondissement

Places

490

Across the district

44 min
Paris 7e Arrondissement

Places

285

Across the district

39 min
Paris 8e Arrondissement

Places

324

Across the district

32 min
Paris 13e Arrondissement

Places

368

Across the district

46 min
Paris 15e Arrondissement

Places

303

Across the district

56 min
Paris 11e Arrondissement

Places

471

Across the district

41 min
Paris 9e Arrondissement

Places

333

Across the district

29 min
Paris 19e Arrondissement

Places

251

Across the district

48 min
Paris 10e Arrondissement

Places

277

Across the district

29 min
Paris 17e Arrondissement

Places

269

Across the district

54 min
Paris 2e Arrondissement

Places

207

Across the district

24 min

How the city is laid out

The arrondissements spiral clockwise from the centre: the 1st sits at the Louvre and the Île de la Cité, and the numbers wind outward to the 20th. Learning that shape is the single most useful thing a first-time visitor can do, because every address in the city carries its arrondissement and the number tells you roughly where you are.

The Right Bank — north of the Seine — is the 1st through 4th at the centre, then the grand avenues of the 8th and 16th to the west and Montmartre in the 18th to the north. The Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, the Opéra and Sacré-Cœur are all Right Bank.

The Left Bank — south — is the 5th, 6th and 7th: the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, the Panthéon, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower. It is the older-feeling half and the one with the bookshops.

The Périphérique, completed in 1973, rings the whole of it. Inside is Paris; outside is the metropolitan area of 13,320,752 people across 18,940.7 km², which is a different thing.

Checked 2026-08-23

Getting around

The Métro, and then walking. Paris is small enough that the two together cover everything.

The Métro opened on 19 July 1900 during the World's Fair and now runs 16 lines — numbered 1 to 14 plus 3bis and 7bis — across 321 stations, 61 of which are interchanges. Stations sit 548 m apart on average, which is why a Métro journey of two stops is usually a walk. It carries 1.523 billion passengers a year, 4.17 million a day.

The RER extends further out into the suburbs and is what takes you to the airports and to Versailles. Châtelet–Les Halles, where five Métro lines meet three RER lines, is the largest interchange and the one to avoid at rush hour.

Single tickets and multi-use passes are both sold, and the Navigo Easy card is the contactless option.

Checked 2026-08-23

Common questions

How many days does Paris need?

Four to five. Three days covers the central monuments — the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Élysées — at a pace that is not punishing. A fourth adds a proper museum day, and a fifth adds Montmartre or a day out at Versailles.

How do the arrondissements work?

They spiral clockwise from the centre. The 1st is at the Louvre and the Île de la Cité and the numbers wind outward to the 20th. Every Paris address carries its arrondissement, so the number tells you roughly where something is.

What is the difference between the Right Bank and the Left Bank?

The Seine. The Right Bank to the north holds the commerce and the great institutions — the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, the Opéra, Montmartre. The Left Bank to the south holds the universities, the Latin Quarter, the Panthéon, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower.

Is the Métro the best way around?

For anything over a kilometre, yes. It opened on 19 July 1900 and runs 16 lines across 321 stations, with stations 548 m apart on average — which means a two-stop journey is usually faster on foot.

When is the best time to come?

April to June and September to October. August is when Parisians leave and tourists arrive, which is the worst of both — shuttered restaurants and full museums.

How big is Paris really?

The city proper is 105.4 km² with 2,047,602 people, ringed by the Périphérique completed in 1973. The metropolitan area outside it holds 13,320,752 people across 18,940.7 km².

Turn this list into a plan

Set your days, your pace and the hours you actually want to be out. The planner works around closing days and travel time, and leaves room to eat.

Plan Paris

🇫🇷Paris

Practical information

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Harry's New York Bar

Le Batofar

Le Caveau de la Huchette

New Morning

La Java

Le Trabendo

Au Rêve

Aux Trois Mailletz

La Dame De Canton

Le Gibus

Charlotte

Red Factory

Ti Jos

Chez Moune

Balajo

Chez Régine

Flèche d'Or

Le Baiser Salé

Point Éphémère

Bar des Ferrailleurs

Beer Station

Chantier Interdit

Code Bar

Le Comptoir

Lombem

Moonshiner

Niki Club

Red house

Ziggy Bastille

Castel

Glazart

L'Arc

Le dernier bar avant la fin du monde

Le Tango

25 rue Quincampoix

Café-Bar, 143 rue Saint-Denis

2ème Cru

3 Pièces Cuisine

88 Menilmontant

97 Rhum

Âbi

Adn Montmartre

À la bière comme à la bière

A La Claire Fontaine

À la ville de Provins

All Good Things Paris

À Mon Café

Angelus

Angie

Arkose Nation

Astoria Bar

Aubrac Corner Paris 13

Aubrac Corner Paris 2

Au Cadran du Faubourg

Au Clair De La Lune

Au Coin !

au P'tit clin d'œil

Aux Émotions

Aux Tables Du Père Lachaise

Baker Street Pub

Balou Paris 3

Bar 1802

BARATRUF

Bar & Beer Bercy

Bar & Beer Ménilmontant

Bar & Beer Picpus

Barberousse Paris

Bardakis

Baretto Paris

Bar Les Ombres

Bartolino

Benélum

Biglove - Big Mamma

Bistro 27

Bistro 79

Bistro De La Banque

Bistro Les Cousins

Paris