Paris in 3 days: an itinerary built around your dates
Three days fits a museum day, an evening at the Eiffel Tower and on the Seine, and Versailles if you give it a day. Enter your first day and the planner places each stop on a day it is open.
Day 1, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Day 1 plan
- Sainte-ChapelleSlot required
- LouvreSlot advised
Day 2, Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
Day 2 plan
- Musée d'OrsaySlot advised
- Eiffel TowerTimed ticket
- Bateaux-Mouches cruiseSails 20:30
Day 3, Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026
Day 3 plan
- Versailles, day tripSlot required
Weekly closing days
Checked Oct 5, 2026
- LouvreClosed
- Musée d'OrsayClosed
- Palace of VersaillesClosed
- Eiffel TowerOpen on listed days
Which days the Louvre, Orsay, Versailles and Eiffel Tower are open
The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, and the Musée d'Orsay and the Palace of Versailles are closed on Mondays. The Eiffel Tower states no weekly closing day, and the Sainte-Chapelle closes only on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Your first weekday therefore decides where each big stop can go.
The two tables below apply each seller's hours: the first to any start weekday, the second to your own dates. The Louvre stays open late on Wednesday and Friday, and the Orsay on Thursday.
Which weekday to start on
| Start on | Louvre open on | Orsay and Versailles open on |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Day 1, Day 3 | Day 2, Day 3 |
| Tuesday | Day 2, Day 3 | All three days |
| Wednesday | All three days | All three days |
| Thursday | All three days | All three days |
| Friday | All three days | All three days |
| Saturday | All three days | Day 1, Day 2 |
| Sunday | Day 1, Day 2 | Day 1, Day 3 |
Your own dates
- Mon, Oct 19
- 09:00 to 18:00
- Tue, Oct 20
- Closed on Tuesdays
- Wed, Oct 21
- 09:00 to 21:00
- Mon, Oct 19
- Check its calendar
- Tue, Oct 20
- Check its calendar
- Wed, Oct 21
- Check its calendar
- Mon, Oct 19
- Closed on Mondays
- Tue, Oct 20
- 09:30 to 18:00
- Wed, Oct 21
- 09:30 to 18:00
- Mon, Oct 19
- 09:00 to 17:00
- Tue, Oct 20
- 09:00 to 17:00
- Wed, Oct 21
- 09:00 to 17:00
- Mon, Oct 19
- Evening from 16:00
- Tue, Oct 20
- Evening from 16:00
- Wed, Oct 21
- Evening from 16:00
- Mon, Oct 19
- Closed on Mondays
- Tue, Oct 20
- 09:00 to 18:30
- Wed, Oct 21
- 09:00 to 18:30
What to book first for a three-day Paris plan
Book the stops with timed tickets before anything else. The Eiffel Tower opens online sales up to 90 days ahead for elevator tickets and 60 days ahead for stair tickets, per its planning page. The Palace of Versailles requires a time slot, and the Sainte-Chapelle does too except on its free first Sundays.
The list holds the stops in your plan, with the Tower's release dates counted from today. The order is this guide's own: the Tower first because it states a sale window, then the stops that require a time slot, then the ones that recommend one. The booking guide sets every seller's rule side by side.
Book in this order
- Eiffel Tower, Oct 20On sale
- Versailles, Oct 21Slot required
- Sainte-Chapelle, Oct 19Slot required
- Louvre, Oct 19Slot advised
- Musée d'Orsay, Oct 20Slot advised
- Bateaux-Mouches cruise, Oct 20Open ticket
What each seller says and where to buy
Eiffel Tower, Tue, Oct 20
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 20, 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.
Versailles, Wed, Oct 21
All visitors must book a time slot to enter the Palace. The Palace and the Estate of Trianon are closed on Mondays. Passport tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.
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, Tue, Oct 20
Online booking is highly recommended. Booking a time slot is mandatory for Paris Museum Pass holders.
Bateaux-Mouches cruise, Tue, Oct 20
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.
Whether to give Versailles a day in a three-day plan
The Palace of Versailles is closed on Mondays and takes most of a day. The palace says to allow about 1.5 hours for the palace and 2 hours for the gardens, and the journey from Paris is at least 30 minutes each way by train, plus a walk from the station that the palace puts at about 10 minutes from the RER C station. The palace figures add up to about 4 hours 50 minutes before any line, which is this guide's own sum, so the planner gives Versailles a whole day and puts nothing else on it.
In your plan Versailles takes day 3, Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026: leave Paris about 09:00, reach the palace about 09:40, and be back about 13:50.
- Choose a day the palace is open: every day except Monday.
- Book the palace time slot, which the palace says is mandatory.
- Check the show calendar: on fountain and music days the gardens are paid, and the planner marks those days.
The Versailles visit page holds the tickets, and tours from Paris to Versailles compares the guided formats.
Does your three-day plan fit? Check it stop by stop
A plan fits when the stops, the walking between them and an hour for a meal fit inside the opening hours and your pace. Choose your own stops for each day below, in the order you would go, and the check says what fails and why.
Walking times are OpenStreetMap foot-routing estimates between each stop's start point, recorded on 9 Oct 2026, and leave out lines, security checks and the walk from the street to the door. Visit lengths are the seller's own where the seller gives one, as the Eiffel Tower does. The Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Sainte-Chapelle give none, so the planner uses this guide's own allowances of 3 hours, 2 hours 30 minutes and 1 hour.
Sunset, the Eiffel Tower lights and the Seine in the evening
The date sets sunset, and sunset sets the best hour for the Tower and the river. The planner aims to start the Tower visit an hour before sunset, which is this guide's own choice, and picks the Bateaux-Mouches sailing nearest to sunset that you can still board. Sunset and dusk are calculated for Paris from the date, and because the Tower does not say what time dusk is, this guide takes it as the end of civil twilight.
The Tower's lights come on at dusk, and 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 and the Bateaux-Mouches evening cruise page hold the details.
Sunset and the lights
- Sunset, day 1, Oct 19Lights about 19:26, sparkle 20:00
- Sunset, day 2, Oct 20Lights about 19:24, sparkle 20:00
- Sunset, day 3, Oct 21Lights about 19:22, sparkle 20:00
What to swap if it rains or you are tired on a three-day plan
Each outdoor block lists the indoor stops that are open at that hour and not already planned for that day, and a day with a daytime stop and another stop has a lighter version.
Day 1, 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.
Day 2, Tuesday, Oct 20, 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 3, Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026: if it rains or you are tired
If it rains: Versailles
The palace is indoors; the gardens are not.
Indoor stops that are open at that hour and not already planned for that day: Louvre (Open 09:00 to 21:00, last entry 20:00, rooms clear by 20:30); Musée d'Orsay (Open 09:30 to 18:00, last entry 17:00, rooms clear by 17:30); Sainte-Chapelle (Open 09:00 to 17:00, last access 16:30).
Your first and last day in Paris
- The first day starts at the time you enter in the planner, so land, clear the airport and drop your bags before you choose it.
- The last day ends by the time you enter, 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.
- A Versailles day comes to about 4 hours 50 minutes by this guide's own sum of the palace's figures, so a middle day suits it better than a day that starts late or ends early.
Your three days on a map
The sketch places the five Paris stops where they sit against each other and joins 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 page decides the ticket for its stop and names the seller. The plan never adds a stop because a ticket exists for it.
Two other ways to spend three days in Paris
Both versions below use the same example dates as the plan at the top. The first holds the biggest daytime visits, and the second gives the Tower and the river their evenings at a relaxed pace.
A museum-heavy version with Versailles
Day 1, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Sainte-Chapelle 09:00.
Day 2, Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
Versailles 09:00.
Day 3, Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026
Louvre 09:00, then Musée d'Orsay 12:28.
An evening and river version at a relaxed pace
Day 1, Monday, Oct 19, 2026
Sainte-Chapelle 09:00.
Day 2, Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
Eiffel Tower 17:52, then Bateaux-Mouches cruise 20:15.
Day 3, Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026
Musée d'Orsay 09:30.
Questions about spending three days in Paris
Is 3 days long enough in Paris?
Three days holds one big museum day, an evening at the Eiffel Tower and on the Seine, a second museum and the Sainte-Chapelle, or a day at Versailles in place of the second museum. The planner at the top of the page shows what fits your dates and pace and lists what it leaves out.
Can I fit Versailles into a Paris 3-day itinerary?
Yes, on a day the palace is open, which is every day except Monday. The palace and gardens plus the trip come to about 4 hours 50 minutes by this guide's own sum of the palace's figures, so the planner gives Versailles a whole day. The Versailles visit page covers tickets.
Can I add Notre-Dame, Montmartre or the Marais to a 3-day plan?
Yes, in the time a day leaves free. 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 plan shows each day's total next to what your pace allows, so you can see where a walk fits.
What should I book first for 3 days in Paris?
Book the Eiffel Tower first, since its online sales open 90 days ahead for elevator tickets, then the Palace of Versailles and the Sainte-Chapelle, which require a time slot. The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay recommend one. The booking guide has each rule.
Which weekday should a 3-day Paris trip start on?
The closing days fall on different weekdays, so most start days work and the planner puts each closed stop on a day it is open. A Monday start gives the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and Versailles a day each, and a Tuesday start leaves the Louvre for Wednesday or Thursday.
What if it rains on the day of the Eiffel Tower?
The rain section lists the indoor stops that are open that day and not already planned for that day, for your own dates. The Tower's own page says the summit may be restricted in severe weather or at peak periods.
Where do the walking times in the plan come from?
OpenStreetMap foot routing between the start point of each stop, recorded on 9 Oct 2026, gives them as estimates. The times leave out lines, security checks and the walk from the street to the door.