From the airport
The RER B train reaches Gare du Nord and Châtelet in about 30–35 minutes. Official taxis charge government flat fares — €56 to the Right Bank, €65 to the Left — from marked ranks only:
France
Paris
Grand, artful and effortlessly chic — the city break all others are measured against.
- Best forCouples · Culture seekers · Foodies
- In January8°C · 11 rainy days
- Ideal stay3–4 nights
- Approx. flying time~11h 25m from Los Angeles
Paris, France
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Paris curls around the Seine; CDG airport is about 23km northeast of the centre.
- CurrencyEUREuro
- LanguageFrench
- Local time13:131h ahead of the UK
- PlugsType C / EBring an adapter
- Drive on theRightOpposite to the UK
- Dialling code+33
Why go
Paris rewards both the first visit and the fiftieth: the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower deliver exactly what they promise, while the real city carries on around them — market streets, corner bistros, canal banks and museums you could live in. Come in spring or early autumn, walk everywhere, and let at least one afternoon dissolve on a café terrace.
- Ideal stay
- 3–4 nights
- The vibe
- Elegant, walkable, quietly demanding
From our guides
Paris took its time joining the cocktail renaissance, then did it with typical hauteur: Little Red Door in the Marais and Danico, tucked behind the mosaics of Galerie Vivienne, now rank among Europe's finest rooms, while South Pigalle — SoPi to its regulars — supplies the louche late-night atmosphere. The French twist is aperitif culture, so start early with something bitter and build slowly. Tuesday to Thursday gets you bar seats; at weekends the small rooms fill by nine.
Featured in Ten easy city breaks that work with kids in tow and Ten of Europe's most romantic city breaks and Ten cocktail cities for a very grown-up bar crawl
Things to do
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The Louvre
Slip in early via the Porte des Lions and let the world's greatest museum unfold from the Mona Lisa to the Winged Victory hovering above her marble staircase.
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The Eiffel Tower at dusk
Time it for nightfall, when the Iron Lady erupts into a five-minute shimmer of golden lights on the hour, best watched with a picnic on the Champ de Mars.
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Montmartre at golden hour
Wind up the village-like lanes past Place du Tertre's easels to Sacré-Cœur's steps, where all of Paris spreads out below in the evening haze.
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Notre-Dame reborn
Triumphantly reopened after its restoration, the cathedral's blond stone and blazing rose windows have never looked more luminous.
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Musée d'Orsay
Inside a magnificent Beaux-Arts railway station, Monet, Renoir and Van Gogh hang beneath the great gilded clock that frames Sacré-Cœur across the Seine.
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Le Marais
Drift between hôtels particuliers, falafel queues on rue des Rosiers and the arcaded perfection of Place des Vosges, pausing wherever a café terrace insists.
Getting there
-
Fly to
Paris (CDG)
Nearest airport to Paris, about 24km away as the crow flies.
-
Then
To Paris
Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is the main gateway, about fifty minutes to the centre on the RER B or a similar time by coach; Le Bourget handles business aviation only. Orly and the Eurostar at Gare du Nord are the other ways in.
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On the ground
Getting around
The Métro reaches almost everywhere within minutes, buses are pleasant for sightseeing, and central arrondissements are walkable end to end.
Public transport: Superb. Métro, RER, buses, trams and a large bike-hire scheme; driving and parking in Paris are best avoided.
Métro & passes
The métro goes everywhere, roughly every two minutes. Grab a €2 Navigo Easy card and load it with journeys — it also covers the RER in the centre and the Montmartre funicular:
Taxis & ride-hailing
Both big apps run dense fleets around the clock; licensed taxis wait at marked ranks (never accept an unmarked 'taxi' at stations or airports):
Car hire — for leaving town only
Driving in Paris is a sport best left to Parisians, but Versailles, Giverny and the Champagne country all reward a day with your own wheels:
Compare car hire pricesEurostar & the Seine
From London, the train beats the plane door to door. Once there, the Batobus river shuttle hops between nine Seine stops from the Eiffel Tower to the Jardin des Plantes:
Flights
Los Angeles Paris, France
Fly from anywhere — search 4,000+ airports worldwide.
Roughly 11h 25m in the air from Los Angeles (LAX), estimated from the distance — check for a direct route. Pick a month to see every available flight with live prices — Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is the main gateway, with nonstop London flights on British Airways, Air France, easyJet and Vueling taking about 80 minutes.
Check dates and prices
Pick your departure date, then your return.
Search flightsNot sure when? Compare fares across a whole month.
From London, Eurostar is usually smarter: about 2h 16m from St Pancras straight into Gare du Nord, centre to centre. Prices open on Google Flights.
When to go
Daytime highs run from about 8°C in January to 25°C in August. Driest in April and July and August; wettest in October, with rain on about 15 days.
The year at a glance — pick a month for detail
January8° · rain 11 daysCold with rain most weeks.
Monthly figures averaged from daily records for 2020–2024 at this location (ERA5 reanalysis). Live conditions from MET Norway, CC BY 4.0.
Where to stay
Small independent hotels with compact rooms, apartment rentals and a handful of grand palace hotels. Family rooms and lifts are the two things most often missing.
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Best base overall
Le Marais
Central, walkable and well connected, with the Seine, the Pompidou and a proper neighbourhood life around Saint-Paul. Rooms tend to be small and prices reflect the address.
Find stays in Le Marais -
Best with children
Saint-Germain and Luxembourg
The Jardin du Luxembourg on your doorstep, with the carousel, puppet shows and boats, plus quieter streets. It is one of the dearer arrondissements, and family rooms are hard to find.
Find stays in Saint-Germain and Luxembourg -
Best for nightlife
South Pigalle and the 9th
Bars, small live rooms and late kitchens between Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and Pigalle, with the Marais twenty minutes away. Some streets near the boulevard remain seedy after midnight.
Find stays in South Pigalle and the 9th -
Best value
Batignolles and the 17th
A calm, genuinely Parisian quarter north-west of the centre with a village market and cheaper hotels. Ten minutes on the metro to anywhere, which is a fair trade.
Find stays in Batignolles and the 17th
Worth knowing before you book: Rooms sleeping more than three barely exist, so families usually need an apartment or two rooms. Fashion weeks and major trade fairs spike prices without warning, so check the calendar.
Our picks in this destination
The area · Canal Saint-Martin
Budget
Generator Paris
Canal Saint-Martin · hostel
Design-led dorms and a ninth-floor rooftop bar with Sacré-Cœur views, moments from Canal Saint-Martin — beds from around €10.
View hotel
The area · Place de la Bastille
Mid-range
ibis Paris Bastille Opéra
Bastille · 3★
A dependable, well-run base of 305 crisp rooms within strolling distance of Bastille's bars and the Opéra Bastille.
View hotel
The area · The Moulin Rouge, Montmartre
Boutique
Terrass" Hôtel
Montmartre · 4★
A 1911 Montmartre institution whose rooftop bar delivers the most painterly sunset view of the Paris skyline, mere steps below Sacré-Cœur.
View hotel
The area · Rue Montorgueil
Boutique
Hôtel Bachaumont
Montorgueil · 4★
Belle Époque bones and Dorothée Meilichzon interiors in the heart of pedestrian rue Montorgueil, Paris's most appetising market street.
View hotel
The area · Passage des Panoramas
Boutique
Hôtel des Grands Boulevards
Grands Boulevards · boutique
The Experimental Group's theatrical 50-room bolthole, with Giovanni Passerini's French-Italian cooking downstairs and cocktails in The Shed up on the roof.
View hotel
The area · Porte Saint-Martin
Boutique
Hôtel Providence
Near République · boutique
An 18-room velvet-swathed hideaway on the edge of the 10th, where each room comes with its own cocktail bar and the lobby feels like a Parisian salon.
View hotel
The area · Place de la Concorde
Luxury
Hôtel de Crillon
Place de la Concorde · palace
An eighteenth-century landmark on Place de la Concorde where gilded salons, hand-picked objets d'art and Paul Pairet's Nonos set the modern palace standard.
View hotel
The area · Parc Monceau
Luxury
Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris
Near the Champs-Élysées · palace
Philippe Starck's mischievous take on the grand palace, complete with Michelin-starred Il Carpaccio, Matsuhisa and a 23-metre pool beneath avenue Hoche.
View hotel
Luxury
Hôtel Lutetia
Saint-Germain-des-Prés · palace
The Left Bank's only palace hotel, an Art Nouveau grande dame of 1910 vintage where Bar Joséphine still hums with Saint-Germain's literary spirit.
View hotelOr search everything else in Paris by budget. These are indicative budget bands in GBP per night for two people, not live quotes or guarantees of hotel type. Check your dates, guests, taxes and final price on Booking.com.
Good to know
- Getting there
- Eurostar runs into Gare du Nord in the centre. From the airports, rail and coach links take roughly an hour into town.
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets are now standard at the major museums and the Eiffel Tower. Buying online a few days in advance saves hours of queuing.
- Etiquette
- A greeting on entering a shop is expected and sets the tone for everything that follows. Service is already included in the bill.
- Crowds
- The big sights are calmest at opening and in the last two hours. Most museums close one day a week, usually Monday or Tuesday.
- Pickpockets
- Busy metro lines, station concourses and monument queues are where bags get opened. Keep them zipped and in front of you.
Similar places
Nearby destinations
Normandy
France · 148km away →
The Loire Valley
France · 253km away →
Ghent
Belgium · 264km away →
Bruges
Belgium · 269km away →
The Cotswolds
England · 286km away →
Puy du Fou
France · 327km away →Elsewhere in France
Related articles
Quick answers
When is the best time to visit Paris?
Daytime highs run from about 8°C in January to 25°C in August. Driest in April and July and August; wettest in October, with rain on about 15 days.
How long should I spend in Paris?
Our suggestion: 3–4 nights.
How do I get to Paris?
Charles de Gaulle (CDG) is the main gateway, about fifty minutes to the centre on the RER B or a similar time by coach; Le Bourget handles business aviation only. Orly and the Eurostar at Gare du Nord are the other ways in.
Do I need a car in Paris?
No. Métro, RER, buses, trams and a large bike-hire scheme; driving and parking in Paris are best avoided.
What currency and language are used in Paris?
Currency: Euro (EUR). Language: French. Plugs: type C and E.
Who is Paris best for?
Best for couples, culture seekers and foodies. In a phrase: elegant, walkable, quietly demanding.