Paris & Beyond: The Heart
Paris is a city that reveals itself best when you mix the iconic landmarks with the quiet, cobblestoned corners of its historic neighborhoods. Over these five days, we’ll hit the heavy hitters but also escape the city limits to see where the kings lived and where Monet painted his masterpieces.
Louvre → Versailles → Montmartre → Giverny → Latin Quarter
Iconic Landmarks & The Seine
Iconic Landmarks & The Seine (15km, 1h drive/local transit)
Louvre Museum
Start your morning at the world's largest art museum. Enter through the Carrousel du Louvre to avoid the longest pyramid lines. Focus on the Denon wing for the Mona Lisa, but don't miss the Winged Victory of Samothrace.
Tuileries Garden
The Tuileries Garden is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in 1667 and became a public park after the French Revolution. Since the 19th century, it has been a place for Parisians to celebrate, meet, stroll and relax.
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde, originally the Place Louis XV, and later the Place Louis XVI, is a public square in Paris. Measuring 7.6 ha in area, it is the largest square in the city. It is located in the 8th arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
Eiffel Tower
The 7th arrondissement is perhaps the most expensive area to live in Paris. The Eiffel Tower, one of the most famous tourist sites in the world, is here, as well as many government buildings (ministries, the National Assembly and so on). Many dignitaries and VIPs populate this arrondissement.
Royal Grandeur in Versailles
Drive or take the RER train out to the Sun King’s playground. The Hall of Mirrors is the star, but the real magic is in the gardens.
Palace of Versailles
Versailles is a city on the western edge of the French capital city Paris, now part of the sprawling metropolis within the Ile de France region. Versailles is best known for being the site of the vast royal palace and gardens built by King Louis XIV on what had been the grounds of a royal hunting lodge. It is also one of the wealthiest cities near Paris.
Gardens of Versailles
The Gardens of Versailles occupy part of what was once the Domaine royal de Versailles, the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 ha of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French formal garden style perfected here by André Le Nôtre.
Grand Trianon
The Grand Trianon is a French Baroque style château situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles in Versailles, France. It was built at the request of Louis XIV as a retreat for himself and his erstwhile maîtresse-en-titre, Madame de Montespan, and as a place where he and invited guests could take light meals (collations) away from the strict etiquette of the royal court.
Seine River Cruise
Back in Paris, end your day on a Bateaux-Mouche. Seeing the city lights reflect on the water is the quintessential Paris experience.
Artistic Heights & Hidden Streets
Artistic Heights & Hidden Streets (12km, 1h drive)
Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Start at the highest point in the city in Montmartre. The view of Paris from the front steps is unbeatable.
Place du Tertre
The Place du Tertre is a square in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France. Only a few streets away from the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the Lapin Agile cabaret, it is near the summit of the city's elevated Montmartre quarter.
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the north, the rue des Saints-Pères on the west, between the rue de Seine and rue Mazarine on the east, and the rue du Four on the south.
Monet’s Inspiration in Giverny
Drive northwest to the village of Giverny. You can walk through Monet’s house and see the actual Japanese bridge and water lilies that inspired his most famous paintings.
Fondation Claude Monet
The Fondation Claude Monet is a nonprofit that manages the house and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, France, where Monet lived and painted for 43 years. Monet was inspired by his gardens, and spent years transforming them, planting thousands of flowers. He believed that it was important to surround himself with nature and paint outdoors.
Vernon
Stop in this nearby town for lunch. There’s an old timber-framed mill (Le Vieux Moulin) suspended over the river that looks like it's from a postcard.
Arc de Triomphe
The 8th arrondissement of Paris is home to the Avenue des Champs Elysées, which ends up at the Arc de Triomphe. The executive branch of French government is also based here, as well as the embassies of certain nations.
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, usually shortened to the Champs-Élysées, is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The avenue is 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located.
History, Islands & Latin Quarter
A day exploring the heart of Paris from Île de la Cité through the Latin Quarter, ending in the city's most beloved garden.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris, often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris.
Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
Latin Quarter
The Latin Quarter of Paris is a district in Paris on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Located in the city's 5th and the 6th arrondissements, it is known for its concentration of universities.
Jardin du Luxembourg
The Jardin du Luxembourg, known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat, is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. The creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. The garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the palace.
- 🛫 Route includes 0 flight + 1 rail segments. Map shows them as dashed lines (connection only, not real road).