Paris in 2 days: an itinerary that fits your dates
Two days in Paris works when you book the timed stops first and plan around the days things are closed. Enter your first day and the planner places each stop on a day it is open.
Day 1, Sunday, Oct 18, 2026
Day 1 plan
- Musée d'OrsaySlot advised
- Eiffel TowerTimed ticket
- Bateaux-Mouches cruiseSails 20:30
Day 2, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Day 2 plan
- Sainte-ChapelleSlot required
- LouvreSlot advised
Weekly closing days
Checked Oct 5, 2026
- LouvreClosed
- Musée d'OrsayClosed
- Eiffel TowerOpen on listed days
What is closed on your two days in Paris
The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and the Musée d'Orsay on Mondays, so a window that holds both days decides which museum comes first. The Eiffel Tower states no weekly closing day, and the Sainte-Chapelle closes only on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
The table applies each seller's hours to your dates, with the seller's own reason where a stop is closed. The Louvre stays open late on Wednesday and Friday, and the Orsay on Thursday.
| Stop | Sun, Oct 18 | Mon, Oct 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Louvre | 09:00 to 18:00 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Eiffel Tower | Check its calendar | Check its calendar |
| Musée d'Orsay | 09:30 to 18:00 | Closed on Mondays |
| Sainte-Chapelle | 09:00 to 17:00 | 09:00 to 17:00 |
| Bateaux-Mouches cruise | Evening from 16:00 | Evening from 16:00 |
What to book first for a two-day Paris plan
With two days there is no slack to rebook, so reserve the Eiffel Tower first: it is the one stop whose seller says how far ahead sales open, up to 90 days ahead for tickets with elevator access and up to 60 days ahead for tickets with stair access, per its planning page. The Sainte-Chapelle requires a time slot too, except on its free first Sundays.
The board puts your stops in this guide's order: the Tower, then the stops that require a time slot, then the ones that recommend one, with the Tower's release dates counted from today. The booking guide sets every seller's rule side by side.
Book in this order
- Eiffel Tower, Oct 18On sale
- Sainte-Chapelle, Oct 19Slot required
- Louvre, Oct 19Slot advised
- Musée d'Orsay, Oct 18Slot advised
- Bateaux-Mouches cruise, Oct 18Open ticket
What each seller says and where to buy
Eiffel Tower, Sun, Oct 18
Elevator tickets go on sale up to 90 days ahead, stair tickets up to 60. Book early for peak periods and school holidays. Tickets are also sold at the ticket office on the day.
Online sales for Oct 18, 2026 are open now for elevator tickets and for stair tickets. The count is 90 days ahead for elevators and 60 for stairs, from the Tower's planning page. The Tower states some windows differently elsewhere, so check the ticket office on the day you book.
Sainte-Chapelle, Mon, Oct 19
Visitors must have a ticket and a time slot, except on the free first Sundays.
Louvre, Mon, Oct 19
The museum strongly recommends a time slot and says only advance booking guarantees access. Tickets are time-stamped and valid strictly on the selected date.
Musée d'Orsay, Sun, Oct 18
Online booking is highly recommended. Booking a time slot is mandatory for Paris Museum Pass holders.
Bateaux-Mouches cruise, Sun, Oct 18
Open ticket with no time slot, valid for one year from purchase. The ticket does not guarantee a seat on a given departure and is non-refundable. The operator says cruises are generally available the same day.
What two days in Paris cannot hold
At a standard pace the planner fits about 7 hours of stops and walking into each day, so what does not fit is left out. Versailles comes to about 4 hours 50 minutes by this guide's own sum of the palace's figures (1.5 hours for the palace, 2 for the gardens and about 40 minutes each way by train and on foot), so a two-day plan leaves it for a longer stay.
- The Louvre or the Musée d'Orsay: when hours are short, take the Orsay. This guide's allowance is 2 hours 45 minutes for it against 3 hours 15 minutes for the Louvre, and the Orsay is about 38 minutes on foot from the Tower where the Louvre is about 50 (OpenStreetMap estimates). Take the Louvre when the Orsay's Monday closing falls on your day. The Louvre and Musée d'Orsay comparison sets the two side by side.
- The top of the Eiffel Tower or the second floor: choose by the view you want. The Tower's own visit lengths are close, at least 90 minutes for the top and about 1 hour 30 minutes for the first and second floors together, so the level barely changes the day. Tickets with elevator access go on sale 90 days ahead and tickets with stair access 60 days ahead, and the Eiffel Tower tickets page decides between them.
- A Seine cruise or another stop: with one evening, give it to the Tower, and add a cruise only when your day ends late enough for about 1 hour 15 minutes more, which is the operator's hour on the water plus 15 minutes at the mooring. Seine cruises compares the operators.
- Versailles: the Paris in 3 days plan gives it a day.
What your plan above leaves out, if anything:
Everything you chose fits your dates and pace.
Does your two-day plan fit? Check it stop by stop
Two days leave little slack, so check the plan you already have. Pick your stops for each day below, in the order you would go, and the check names every stop that is closed, too late or over your pace.
The walking times come from OpenStreetMap foot routing between each stop's start point (recorded on 9 Oct 2026). The estimates leave out lines, security and the walk from the street to the door. The Eiffel Tower publishes its own visit length. The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Sainte-Chapelle publish none, so the planner assumes 3 hours, 2 hours 30 minutes and 1 hour, which are this guide's allowances.
Sunset and the evening on your two days in Paris
Two days give you one evening that matters, so the planner spends it on the Eiffel Tower and, when a sailing fits, the river. The planner aims to start the Tower visit an hour before sunset, which is this guide's choice, and the cruise is the Bateaux-Mouches sailing nearest to sunset that you can still board. Sunset and dusk are calculated for Paris, with dusk taken as the end of civil twilight because the Tower does not say what time dusk is.
After the lights come on at dusk, the Tower sparkles for five minutes at the start of each hour until midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the date. The Eiffel Tower visit page holds the details.
Sunset and the lights
- Sunset, day 1, Oct 18Lights about 19:27, sparkle 20:00
- Sunset, day 2, Oct 19Lights about 19:26, sparkle 20:00
What to swap if it rains or you are tired on a two-day plan
Rain matters most for the Eiffel Tower visit, so that block lists the indoor stops that are open at that hour and not already planned for that day. A day with a museum and another stop also has a lighter version, built by dropping its longest daytime stop.
Day 1, Sunday, Oct 18, 2026: if it rains or you are tired
If it rains: Eiffel Tower
No other indoor stop in this planner is open at that hour and not already planned for that day.
If you are tired: drop Musée d'Orsay and the day is 3 hours 23 minutes lighter, with 3 hours 20 minutes of stops and walking left.
Day 2, Monday, Oct 19, 2026: if it rains or you are tired
If you are tired: drop Louvre and the day is 3 hours 33 minutes lighter, with 1 hour of stops and walking left.
Your first and last day in Paris
- With two days, both ends of the trip are partial days. Enter the time you can start on day 1, and a late start leaves room for fewer stops.
- Enter the time you must finish on day 2 and the planner keeps every stop inside it. Paris Attractions Guide holds no official transfer time for the airports or stations, so the planner adds none.
Your two days in Paris on a map
The sketch shows how the planner groups the five Paris stops into your two days, with a line joining each day's stops in order. The Sainte-Chapelle point is the chapel building inside the Palais de Justice, because no source this guide read places its visitor entrance.
Each ticket page decides the ticket for its stop and names the seller. A stop is in your plan because of its days and hours, and never because a ticket exists for it.
Two other ways to spend two days in Paris
Both versions below use the same example dates as the plan at the top. The first asks for the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Sainte-Chapelle, and the second asks for the Louvre, the Tower and a cruise at a relaxed pace. Each lists its stops by day, and any stop that does not fit is named under it.
A museum-heavy version
Day 1, Sunday, Oct 18, 2026
Louvre 09:00, then Musée d'Orsay 12:28.
Day 2, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Sainte-Chapelle 09:00.
A lighter version at a relaxed pace
Day 1, Sunday, Oct 18, 2026
Eiffel Tower 17:55, then Bateaux-Mouches cruise 20:15.
Day 2, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Louvre 09:00.
Questions about spending two days in Paris
Is 2 days enough in Paris?
Two days holds at least one museum, an evening at the Eiffel Tower and often the Sainte-Chapelle, and leaves Versailles for a longer stay. The planner at the top of the page shows what fits your dates and pace and lists what it leaves out.
What should I skip with only 2 days in Paris?
Skip Versailles first, since this guide's own sum for it is about 4 hours 50 minutes. Then keep one big museum if hours are short, the Orsay before the Louvre, and give the evening to the Eiffel Tower before a cruise. The planner names every stop it leaves out for your dates and the reason for each day.
Can I visit the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower on the same day?
Yes, when the Louvre is open that day and your pace allows it: the planner puts the Louvre in the daytime and the Tower at sunset, with a walk of about 50 minutes between them by OpenStreetMap foot routing. Check your own plan in the fit section.
Can I add Notre-Dame or Montmartre to a 2-day plan?
Yes, around the stops the planner places. Paris Attractions Guide has not checked Notre-Dame's visiting rules, and Montmartre and the Marais are walks with no ticket to time, so none of them is in the plan. The lighter version of each day shows how much time is left once a stop is dropped.
What should I book first for 2 days in Paris?
Book the Eiffel Tower first, since its online sales open 90 days ahead for elevator tickets, then the Sainte-Chapelle, which requires a time slot. The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay recommend one. The booking guide has each rule.
Which Paris attractions are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays?
The Musée d'Orsay and the Palace of Versailles are closed on Mondays, and the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays. The Eiffel Tower and the Sainte-Chapelle state no weekly closing day, so the two days of your plan decide which museum comes first.