Day one: Louvre, Île de la Cité, the Marais
Start at the Louvre if you booked a morning slot — its own FAQ page recommends a time-stamped ticket rather than relying on a same-day counter purchase, so this is the one commitment on day one that has to be locked in before you land. From the museum, walk across Pont Neuf onto Île de la Cité, where the Sainte-Chapelle's stained glass is worth the detour if you also book that slot in advance; the Centre des monuments nationaux lists it as a separately ticketed site, so treat it as its own small reservation, not an add-on you can decide at the door.
Spend the afternoon in the Marais (3rd and 4th arrondissements), a fifteen-minute walk east of Île de la Cité. This part of the day needs no booking at all — the appeal is the streets themselves, plus small museums like Musée Carnavalet, which the Ville de Paris lists among the city-run museums with free permanent collections every day of the week. Decide when you get there whether you want a museum stop or just the walk.
Day two: Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, Saint-Germain
The 7th arrondissement holds both the Eiffel Tower and Musée d'Orsay, so this day covers ground the previous day deliberately avoided. The Eiffel Tower's own site sells tickets both online and on-site, and booking isn't strictly required for an individual visitor the way it is at Versailles — but a fixed online slot still means less standing around than a walk-up purchase in the middle of the day. Musée d'Orsay is a different case: closed Mondays, and its admission page states a time slot is generally needed for the permanent collection, so pin this down the same way you would the Louvre.
Cross the river to Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th arrondissement) for the afternoon. This stretch of the day is the one you can plan on the spot — cafés, bookshops and the Luxembourg Gardens don't run timed admission, so use the morning's booked slots as the day's only fixed points and let the afternoon follow whatever you find first.
A short comparison of what each site on this day actually asks of you:
| Site | Booking need |
|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower | Online slot recommended, walk-up possible for individuals |
| Musée d'Orsay | Time slot generally required; closed Mondays |
| Saint-Germain streets and gardens | No booking |
Day three: Montmartre and the Opéra district
Montmartre (18th arrondissement) rewards an early start, before the lanes around Place du Tertre fill up. Sacré-Cœur's basilica has no admission ticket for the main interior, so this part of the morning has nothing to reserve — walk up from Anvers or Abbesses metro station and decide your route once you're there. Coming down the hill toward the 9th arrondissement puts you within reach of the Opéra Garnier and, near it, smaller museums such as Musée Gustave Moreau.
Keeping this day light on bookings is deliberate: after two days with at least one fixed morning slot each, a day built around a neighbourhood rather than a ticketed site gives you room to slow down, extend lunch, or cut the afternoon short without losing a non-refundable reservation.
What this plan does not cover
This itinerary assumes three full days inside central Paris and does not build in a day trip to Versailles, Giverny or anywhere outside the city — pairing one of those with a three-day city stay usually means a fourth day, not a substitution for one of these three. It also doesn't fix exact hours, since Louvre, Orsay and Eiffel Tower opening times and prices vary by season; confirm the current hours and any timed-entry requirement on each site's own page before you build a booking around it.