Paris

Ranked the world's No. 1 city destination by Euromonitor for five years running: the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and the Seine, synonymous with art and romance.

Paris is the capital of France, on the banks of the Seine at the heart of the Paris Basin in northern France. The city proper is divided into 20 arrondissements arranged in a snail-shell spiral. The Seine splits it into the Right Bank (north: the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées, Montmartre) and the Left Bank (south: the Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, the Eiffel Tower). Greater Paris has about 12 million people, and the city has topped Euromonitor's global city destinations ranking for several years running. Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) is about 25 km northeast of the city center, with direct flights from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hong Kong and more (about 11–13 hours); RER line B takes about 40 minutes to the city center. Chinese citizens need a Schengen visa (about 2 weeks to process at the French visa center). The climate is mild. April–June and September–October are the best seasons, with temperatures of 15–25°C and long daylight. July–August sees the most visitors and some local shops close for the summer, though museums stay open as usual. November–February is gray and cold, with darkness by 5 p.m., but hotels are cheaper and queues at the Louvre and elsewhere are short; the Christmas lights on the Champs-Élysées are worth seeing. Core areas: first, the "Historic Axis" from the Louvre through the Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe; second, the Île de la Cité and the Latin Quarter (Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, the Panthéon, the Luxembourg Gardens); third, the Left Bank with the Eiffel Tower, the Champ de Mars, Les Invalides and the Musée d'Orsay; fourth, the heights of Montmartre; fifth, the trendy neighborhoods of the Marais and Bastille. The top day trip is the Palace of Versailles (40 minutes on RER C), followed by Fontainebleau, Monet's Gardens at Giverny and Disneyland Paris. We recommend staying 5–6 days. Getting around: 14 Metro lines cover the whole city; use a weekly Navigo pass or buy t+ tickets on your phone, and most central sights are within walking distance; taxis and Uber are available; Seine cruises combine transport and sightseeing. Notes: many museums close on Mondays or Tuesdays, and most are free on the first Sunday of each month but crowded; the Louvre, Orsay, Versailles and the Eiffel Tower all require timed-slot reservations on their official websites; pickpockets are common on the Metro and around attractions, so watch for the "petition signing/donation" and "friendship bracelet" scams; restaurant bills already include service, so no extra tip is needed; most shops close on Sundays; since the Paris Olympics, some stretches of the Seine are open for swimming, but check the water quality notices.

Top sights

Where to eat

Itineraries