What to Do in Paris in 24 Hours

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and other affiliates. We may get paid if you buy something or take action after clicking one of the photos or links below. See our full Disclosure Policy here. 

So, I booked a flight to Paris to use as a stopover on my way to Tromsø, Norway for my ultimate Lapland vacation. With only 24 hours to spend in the “City of Love”, I knew our sight seeing would be fast paced. If you prefer to not plan your one day in Paris, click here for an 8 hour tour of the city guided by a local. Here’s what we did in Paris in 24 hours.

Since we had suitcases and didn’t want to worry about keeping a driver waiting at the airport if our flight was delayed, we chose a taxi from CDG to Paris for 55 Euros. The drive was uneventful. We caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower on our right as we entered that area of the city. 

After much research, we chose the Le Walt Hotel because it was close to the Eiffel Tower and had rooms with a view of it for a decent price. I really wanted the Shangri La hotel but for $1500, I wanted to save the money for other activities. (Read about my stay here.)

When we entered the hotel, we were greeted by hotel staff at the desk as soon as we walked in. Surprisingly, our room was ready even though it was only 11 in the morning. We were given room 602 with an awesome view of the Eiffel Tower for an amazing price.

We started the day with a guided tour of the Eiffel Tower with skip the line access since that was the main site we wanted to see. Also known as the “Iron Lady,” this popular attraction was built in 1889 for the World’s Fair and at the time was the world’s largest structure. It was supposed to be a temporary structure, but thanks to many people coming from all of the world to see it, the city decided to keep it. Actually, at the time it was built, it was quite a ways from the popular area of Paris. The city eventually grew around it because of the tourism. Make sure to purchase summit tickets so you may take the elevator to the top for magnificent views of the surrounding city.

Did you know its original color was a reddish brown? I hope they decide to paint it back that color and I get to see it!

I recommend booking ahead a tour of the Eiffel Tower with skip the line access with Get Your Guide due to their great prices, tour options, and great cancellation policy.

Click here to read my Eiffel Tower tips.

After this, we jumped on a City Sightseeing bus just outside the park. It was the first stop on the tour. We chose this bus because we have had good experiences with this tour bus company in other cities. We went to the top floor of the bus and hopped in the front seat (after a couple got off at the next stop!).

Riding in the seats on the top level made it feel like we were going to hit the cars and people in front of us.

We saw many sights and I definitely recommend using a hop on hop off bus when you first get to Paris to give you a feel for the city for your next trip.

Since we only had 2 hours on the bus, we only hopped off the City Sightseeing bus one time at Notre Dame. The building is so beautiful so I wanted to snap some pictures of it. If you choose to explore Notre Dame further, it is free to enter the cathedral, however, there is a fee for the towers and the crypt.

The closer we got to Arc de Triomphe, the worse the traffic became. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is said to be the most beautiful avenue in the world. Almost 300,000 people walk it daily and double that at Christmas time due to all the stores available for shopping. This would be a good, but expensive, place to stay if you like to shop.

We finished the tour and walked back to our hotel but first walked along the Rue Cler street. It is supposed to be one of the most popular streets in Paris. The street is lined with fresh fruit and vegetables.

After freshening up at our hotel, we went for supper just around the corner at a fast food place named Tour Food. I wanted the matrienette sandwich I had while on a cruise in Cassis.

I had the employee at the front desk write down on a piece of paper what I wanted since we don’t speak French. But, when I tried to say the word and showed him the paper with the order written on it, he said it was a machine gun. I ended up pointing at a picture of what I thought I wanted. It was pretty good, but I didn’t get a picture because I forgot (we were famished!).

The Eiffel Tower lights up every evening from sunset until 1 AM. After supper, we went back to our room just in time to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle its lights for the 7:00 show. For 5 minutes it glittered as I watched it from my bed.

On the way, we stopped at Lenotre for some macaroons that we had sampled in the hotel. They are supposed to be some of the best! My favorite was the strawberry.

We decided we were going to go to the Place du Trocadero to get a better view at night. It was about a 25 minute walk from our hotel. This is supposed to be the best place to see the Eiffel Tower at night with unobstructed views. There were a lot of people there as we made it just in time for the 8:00 show. It was beautiful!

Along the sidewalk you will find people selling Paris souvenirs, such as key chains and an Eiffel Tower that lights up. I usually only buy magnets or spoons, but this time I chose an Eiffel Tower that sparkles with a white light versus a colored one for the everlasting memory. I paid 8 Euros that included 3 key chains. There were people selling them from 3-15 Euros.

We ended our day early and exhausted at about 9PM. Just in time for one more light show at the Eiffel Tower from our room.

I wanted to stop at the Statue of Liberty but decided to relax and leave early for the airport since I didn’t know French.

Upon checkout, we paid 5.10 Euros for the city taxes and they called a taxi for us. The taxi was 60 Euros on the way back to the hotel and we had to pay cash as the driver’s machine was out of battery power.

There were people inside the airport to point us in the correct direction and we found our way to the SAS Lounge to relax before departure. It wasn’t a big lounge, but had free WiFi and some snacks. If you need food, there really wasn’t much at the 70-78 area of Terminal One.