Paris, Versailles & Giverny — the palace and Monet's garden in 6 days
Four days in Paris, then out to Versailles on the RER C for the palace, the Hall of Mirrors and the Trianons in the park beyond. A train from Saint-Lazare reaches Vernon-Giverny for Monet's house and the water-lily pond he painted for thirty years. Every stop below is human-verified — hours, closing days (Versailles shuts Mondays, Giverny is seasonal) and the timed tickets — and the whole plan works offline once saved.
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Paris · 4 days
Stay near Le Marais Hotels on Klook ↗
Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro — a sights day
The Eiffel Tower rises straight from the wide lawns of the Champ de Mars while, across the Seine, the Trocadéro's terrace and the Palais de Chaillot's twin curved wings frame the postcard view every visitor comes for.
- 08:0008:30BreakfastPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
- 08:3009:15MarketRue Cler45 min
A three-block pedestrian street lined with butchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, greengrocers, bakeries and wine shops — the quintessential Paris market street to graze rather than sit down at. Busiest (and most photogenic) on Saturday mornings and Sunday until early afternoon, when Parisian families shop for the week's lunch; many stalls close or run reduced hours on Mondays. There's no entry fee — just wander, snack, and watch the neighbourhood at work.
marketfood marketstrolling - 09:15~10 min walkroute
- 09:3010:15
Park45 minA long green lawn running from the Eiffel Tower's feet to the École Militaire — Paris' go-to spot for a picnic with a tower view, especially in the early evening when locals spread out blankets. Unlike most Paris gardens it's never gated, so it stays open day and night.
Step-freeparkpicnicoutdoor - 10:15~5 min walkroute
- 10:3012:30
LandmarkTour Eiffel120 minParis' 330-metre iron icon rises straight from the Champ de Mars; ride the lift to the summit or climb the stairs to the 2nd floor for skyline views over the city. Tickets sell out same-day in high season — book online well ahead for a specific time slot. Floors 1 and 2 are wheelchair accessible by lift; the summit is not.
Cards OKStep-freelandmarkviewpoint - 12:30~5 min walkroute
- 12:4513:45LunchSuggested
- 13:4515:45MuseumMusée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac120 min
Jean Nouvel's building holds an outstanding collection of indigenous and non-Western art and artefacts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, displayed thematically along one long suspended gallery above a lush garden. Closed Mondays (it opens on Mondays only during spring school holidays); Thursday evenings run until 10pm, the rest of the week until 7pm. Timed-entry tickets are best booked online in advance; the museum is fully step-free with lift access throughout.
Cards OKStep-freemuseumart museum - 17:3018:45DinnerSuggested
Île de la Cité & Latin Quarter — an old-town day
Two Seine islands cradle Notre-Dame's rebuilt spire and Sainte-Chapelle's stained glass, while the steep, market-lined lanes of the Left Bank climb past the Panthéon's dome to Rue Mouffetard's crêpe stands and the Sorbonne's oldest bookshops.
- 08:1508:45BreakfastSuggested
- 08:4509:45
Historic siteCathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris60 minReopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire and five years of restoration, the cathedral's stone and stained glass look brighter than they have in generations. Entry is free but requires a timed slot booked online or on-site the same day — arrive early or come Thursday evening, when it stays open until 10pm.
Step-freecathedrallandmarkgothic - 09:45~10 min walkroute
- 10:0010:45
Historic site45 minFifteen towering stained-glass windows depicting over a thousand biblical scenes wrap the upper chapel in jewel-toned light — best on a sunny morning. Book a timed slot in advance; the chapel sits inside the working Palais de Justice, so every visitor passes through airport-style security.
Cards OKStep-freestained glassgothic - 10:45~10 min walkroute
- 11:0012:30MuseumMusée de Cluny90 min
Home to the six 'Lady and the Unicorn' tapestries in a purpose-built rotunda, plus a Gallo-Roman frigidarium — one of the best-preserved Roman bath halls in France — built right into the medieval mansion. Closed Mondays; the ticket desk shuts at 17:30 though the galleries stay open to 18:15, and the museum stays open until 21:00 on the first and third Thursday of each month. Full price is €12 (free the first Sunday of the month and for under-18s). The frigidarium closes for a few weeks in July–August 2026 for an exhibition changeover — check ahead if that hall is your main draw.
Cards OKStep-freemuseummedieval - 12:30~10 min walkroute
- 12:4513:45LunchSuggested
- 13:4515:00
Historic site75 minVoltaire, Rousseau, Curie and Hugo rest in the crypt beneath Soufflot's neoclassical dome, reached via a steep spiral or monumental staircase that isn't wheelchair-friendly. The rooftop colonnade view is currently closed for restoration work, but the nave and crypt alone are worth the visit.
Cards OKmausoleumneoclassicalmonument - 15:00~10 min walkroute
- 15:1515:40
Historic siteArènes de Lutèce25 minParis's oldest structure — a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre that once seated 15,000 for gladiator fights — sits genuinely free and unfenced inside a quiet garden (Square Capitan), complete with a children's playground and pétanque pitches where locals play most afternoons. Gate hours shift with the season: as early as 08:00 on weekdays / 09:00 weekends, closing as early as 17:30 in winter and as late as 21:30 in high summer, so check the posted board if visiting at the edges of the day. There's no on-site signage explaining the history, so a quick read-up beforehand helps.
Step-freehistoricalancientroman - 15:40~5 min walkroute
- 15:5516:40
MosqueGrande Mosquée de Paris45 minNon-Muslim visitors can walk the marble Grand Patio and the gardens daily 9:00–18:00 (closed Fridays and Muslim holidays) for a small entry fee (€5, €3 reduced); cover shoulders and knees, and women should bring a headscarf. The mint-tea salon and hammam sit around the corner at 39 Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire and run on their own separate hours: the tea room serves mint tea and pastries like baklawa daily until midnight, no booking needed. The hammam (10:00–21:00 daily, walk-in only, no reservations) is women-only most days — men only Tuesday afternoon and Sunday. 2026 is the mosque's centenary year (inaugurated July 1926), so expect occasional extra closures around anniversary events on top of the usual Friday/holiday closures.
mosqueislamic heritagetea room - 16:40~20 min walkroute
- 17:0018:30
ParkJardin du Luxembourg90 minGravel paths, the octagonal Grand Bassin where kids sail toy boats, and the shaded Medici Fountain make this 23-hectare garden the Left Bank's favourite escape. Gates open and close with the season — in July that's roughly 7:30am to 9:15pm — and the free green metal chairs can be dragged anywhere for people-watching.
Step-freeparkgardenfree entry - 18:4520:00DinnerSuggested
Le Marais — a museum day
The historic aristocratic quarter turned Paris's hippest district — 17th-century mansions, Picasso's private townhouse, and the Pletzl's falafel counters packed into a few walkable, car-light blocks straddling the 3rd and 4th arrondissements.
- 08:0008:30BreakfastPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
- 08:3009:30Museum60 min
A department-store magnate's private collection of 18th-century art and furniture — Fragonard, Boucher, Reynolds, Chardin — installed in a Marais mansion exactly to the scale of a real home rather than a grand gallery. Free entry to the permanent collection (a paid ticket applies only to temporary shows); closed Mondays. Not wheelchair accessible — the historic townhouse has stairs throughout.
art museumfree entryhistoricclosed this day — verify before going - 09:30~5 min walkroute
- 09:4511:15
MuseumMusée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris90 minParis's own history museum, free to enter, tracing the city from prehistory to today across two connected mansions — highlights include reconstructed period rooms and Marcel Proust's actual bedroom. Closed Mondays; the permanent collection needs no advance ticket.
Cards OKStep-freehistory museumfree entryclosed this day — verify before going - 11:15~5 min walkroute
- 12:0013:00LunchSuggested
- 13:0014:30
MuseumMusée national Picasso-Paris90 minThe artist's largest single collection anywhere, spread across the 17th-century Hôtel Salé mansion — paintings, sculpture, and Picasso's own private art collection. Closed Mondays; book a timed slot online in high season to skip the entry line, and the first Wednesday of the month stays open until 22:00.
Cards OKStep-freeart museumpicassoclosed this day — verify before going - 14:30~5 min walkroute
- 14:4515:30
Market45 minParis's oldest covered market, trading since 1615 — a produce-and-flower market by day that doubles as a lunch spot, with small stalls cooking Moroccan tagines, Japanese bento, Lebanese mezze and oysters side by side around shared tables. Busiest (and best) at lunch; closed Mondays, shorter hours on Sunday afternoon. Most stalls take cards but keep some cash on hand — a few still prefer it.
food marketcovered markethistoricclosed this day — verify before going - 15:30~15 min walkroute
- 15:4516:30
Landmark45 minParis's oldest planned square (1612) — a perfect quadrangle of pink-brick arcaded mansions wrapped around a garden of lindens, fountains, and an equestrian statue of Louis XIII. The arcades and perimeter are open around the clock; the central lawns close in the evening (20:30) and open a little later on weekends.
Step-freehistoric squaregardenarchitecture - 16:30~5 min walkroute
- 16:4517:45
MuseumMaison de Victor Hugo60 minThe writer's apartment on Place des Vosges, where he lived for 16 years and wrote much of Les Misérables — Chinese-inspired salons, his own drawings, and the desk he wrote standing at. The permanent collection is free; closed Mondays, and a paid ticket currently applies only to the temporary exhibition.
Step-freewriters housefree entryliterary historyclosed this day — verify before going - 18:0019:15DinnerSuggested
Montmartre — a sights day
A hilltop artists' village of steep cobbled stairways and café terraces, crowned by the Sacré-Cœur's white domes and Paris's finest skyline view.
- 08:0008:30BreakfastPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
- 08:3008:50LandmarkRue de l'Abreuvoir20 min
Widely considered Montmartre's prettiest lane: a cobbled slope of ivy-covered walls and old street lamps leading past La Maison Rose, with Sacré-Cœur's dome visible over the rooftops. The Clos Montmartre vineyard runs along the parallel Rue des Saules — its vines are visible over the fence but the plot itself is locked and only opens to visitors during the October grape-harvest festival or on Heritage Days, otherwise via a paid guided tour booked through the Musée de Montmartre. The cobbles and slope make this a walk best done in flat shoes; there's no step-free route.
cobblestonephoto spothistoric street - 08:50~5 min walkroute
- 09:0509:35
Landmark30 minMontmartre's old village square, ringed by around 140 licensed street artists sketching portraits and painting canvases at their easels, much as they have since the Belle Époque. Go early morning to see the artists set up before the tour groups and restaurant touts take over the square.
artists squarelandmarkpeople watching - 09:35~5 min walkroute
- 09:5010:35
ChurchBasilique du Sacré-Cœur45 minParis's second-most-visited landmark, its white travertine domes crowning the Butte de Montmartre with a free panorama over the whole city from the front steps. Entry to the basilica itself is free; climbing the 300 steps to the dome costs extra and keeps separate, shorter seasonal hours.
Step-freechurchviewpointlandmark - 10:35~5 min walkroute
- 11:0012:30
Museum90 minAn iron-and-glass 19th-century market hall at the foot of the Montmartre butte, now Paris's home for art brut (outsider art), naive art and pop-culture-themed exhibitions — a striking contrast to the neighbourhood's Impressionist-tourist image. Unusually for a Paris museum it opens every day of the year with no weekly closure; the ticket desk and café stop serving an hour before closing time, so arrive with that in mind. Step-free access and an accessible restroom are available, and disabled visitors get a reduced rate.
Cards OKStep-freemuseumart - 12:30~10 min walkroute
- 12:4513:45LunchSuggested
- 13:4514:05
Landmark20 minThe square at the foot of the Montmartre hill, framed by one of only two surviving original Hector Guimard Art Nouveau glass canopies on the whole Paris Métro network (Abbesses station) — instantly recognisable from countless postcards and from the film Amélie. A vintage carousel, a Wallace drinking fountain and café terraces make it an easy, free spot to pause on the way up or down the Butte. The square itself is flat and paved and reachable step-free from street level; the Métro platforms below are among the deepest in Paris and only reachable by the two lifts, not the spiral stairs.
Step-freephoto spotart nouveaulandmark - 14:05~10 min walkroute
- 14:2014:40
Landmark20 minThe red windmill and can-can cabaret that has anchored Pigalle's nightlife since 1889 — most visitors just photograph the illuminated facade from the boulevard. The dinner-and-show inside is a separate, pricey, book-ahead affair (from around €100 per person; doors from 19:00, shows at 21:00 and 23:00).
Cards OKcabaretlandmarknightlife - 14:40~10 min walkroute
- 14:5516:25
MuseumMusée de Montmartre90 minThe 17th-century manor house where Renoir and Utrillo once lived and painted, telling Montmartre's bohemian art history around a garden the Impressionists themselves painted. Open every day, unlike most Paris museums; steps at the main entrance mean only the garden and temporary galleries are reachable for wheelchair users (ask staff to open the side door).
Cards OKmuseumgardensart history - 17:3018:45DinnerPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
Versailles · 1 day
Stay near Versailles Town (Market & Saint-Louis Quarter) Hotels on Klook ↗
Château de Versailles (Palace, Gardens & Trianon) & nearby — a museum day
The Sun King's full-day estate — the Hall of Mirrors and the King's and Queen's State Apartments inside the Château, the geometric parterres and Grand Canal of André Le Nôtre's gardens, and the more intimate Grand Trianon and Marie-Antoinette's Petit Trianon estate a further walk (or little train) beyond. The Palace and Trianon estate are closed every Monday and need a timed-entry Passport ticket for guaranteed palace access; the gardens are free most days but charge admission on Grandes Eaux Musicales fountain-show days (April–November).
- 08:4009:00Check out of your stayUsually due by 10:00–12:00 — most stays hold your bags if you ask.
- 09:0010:00
ParkJardin des Tuileries60 minParis's oldest and largest formal garden, laid out for Catherine de' Medici in 1564 and redesigned by Le Nôtre in the 1660s — gravel allées, chestnut trees, round and octagonal ponds, and a vintage carousel and Ferris wheel near Place de la Concorde. Free entry, open daily from 7am; closing time shifts with the season (as late as 11pm in summer, 7:30pm in winter). Paved main paths are wheelchair-friendly; some side paths are loose gravel.
Step-freegardenparkfree entry - 10:00~10 min walkroute
- 10:1512:15
Museum120 minImpressionist and Post-Impressionist masterworks (Monet, Van Gogh, Degas) inside a converted Belle Époque train station; closed Mondays, and timed-entry booking is now required in advance for everyone, with last entry an hour before closing.
Cards OKStep-freemuseumimpressionist art - 12:15Transit ~63–73 minroute
- 12:1512:41Train26mArriveGare du Nord (Eurostar/Thalys)Versailles Château Rive Gauche (RER C)
- 12:4113:11Drop your bags at your stayRooms usually open from 15:00 — leave luggage and start exploring.
- 13:0014:00LunchPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
- 14:0015:00MuseumGalerie des Carrosses60 min
A free, often-overlooked stop in the King's Great Stables opposite the Château gates — royal and imperial coaches, ceremonial sleighs and harnesses on display in a vaulted 17th-century hall. Open weekends and public holidays year-round (12:30–18:30, last entry 17:45); from early July to late September it also opens Tuesday–Sunday. A good rainy-day or between-timeslots filler that needs no ticket. Wheelchair accessible, with disabled parking in the stable courtyard.
Step-freemuseumfree entryhistoricclosed this day — verify before going - 15:00~10 min walkroute
- 15:1518:15
Historic siteChâteau de Versailles180 minLouis XIV's state apartments and the 73-metre Hall of Mirrors, reached with a timed-entry Passport ticket (from €35 adult, €32 for 18–25-year-old EU residents, free under 18) that also covers the Trianon estate and gardens the same day. Book the specific palace time slot online before you go — it's the only part of the estate with a fixed entry window, and arriving up to 30 minutes after your slot is fine. Closed every Monday; last entry 16:45. Lifts serve every floor of the Palace for wheelchair users, free of charge with priority access.
Cards OKStep-freepalaceunesco - 18:3019:45DinnerPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
Giverny · 1 day
Giverny (Monet's Gardens) & nearby — a garden day
Monet's own water-lily pond, willow trees and Japanese footbridge sit behind his pink farmhouse at the Fondation Claude Monet, a short walk from the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny's changing exhibitions on the wider movement he helped found; between them, a single street of small galleries, gift shops and creperies makes up the rest of the village. SEASONAL — everything here opens only April 1 through November 1 and closes completely over the winter, so a visit needs to be timed to the season, not just the day.
- 08:4009:00Check out of your stayUsually due by 10:00–12:00 — most stays hold your bags if you ask.
- 10:0011:00
GardenPotager du Roi60 minJean-Baptiste de La Quintinie's working 17th-century kitchen garden for Louis XIV, still growing heirloom fruit and vegetables on 9 hectares of terraces behind the town's Saint-Louis cathedral. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6pm, April to October (closed Mondays and shorter days the rest of the year); full price is €8, €3 reduced, free under 12. A genuinely calm counterpoint to the Château's crowds, and it doesn't need the Passport ticket.
gardenvegetableshistoric - 11:00~20 min walkroute
- 11:1512:00MarketMarché Notre-Dame45 min
Two 17th-century covered halls plus an outdoor market square, selling cheese, charcuterie, produce and fish six days a week — locals' Versailles, no ticket required. The covered Halles run Tuesday to Sunday (mornings and afternoons, with a midday break most days; Sunday mornings only); the outdoor Carrés Notre-Dame stalls add extra choice on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday mornings only. Closed Mondays. Bring cash — many small producer stalls don't take cards.
marketcovered marketfood - 12:00Transit ~213–223 minroute
- 12:0012:50Train50mArriveVersailles Château Rive Gauche (RER C)Paris Saint-Lazare → Vernon-Giverny (SNCF)
- 12:5013:20Drop your bags at your stayRooms usually open from 15:00 — leave luggage and start exploring.
- 13:0014:00LunchSuggested
- 14:0015:15MuseumMusée des Impressionnismes Giverny75 min
A modern museum devoted to the wider Impressionist movement Monet helped found, with rotating exhibitions rather than a single permanent collection — a short walk from his gardens. Opens a little earlier in the season than the Fondation (late March) and closes November 1; fully wheelchair accessible with wheelchairs available on request, unlike Monet's own house. A combined ticket with the Fondation is sold on-site only.
Cards OKStep-freemuseumimpressionism - 15:15~5 min walkroute
- 15:3017:30
GardenFondation Claude Monet120 minMonet's own pink farmhouse, water-lily pond and Japanese footbridge — the garden he designed and painted for over 40 years, immortalized in his late Nymphéas series. Open only April 1 to November 1 each year, closed completely over the winter; book online ahead, especially for the peak May–June water-lily and June wisteria weeks, since on-site queues can be long once online slots sell out. The upstairs of the house is not wheelchair accessible; garden paths are mostly firm gravel with a couple of stepped sections near the pond tunnel.
Cards OKmonetgardenswater lilies - 17:4519:00DinnerPick a spot nearby — not booked yet
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