10 Mistakes That Ruin Too Many First-Time Paris Itineraries
Even with endless guides and videos available, first-time visitors to Paris often run into the same planning traps. Here’s what tends to go wrong, and how to avoid it.
1. Trying to see everything in one day
Paris may seem walkable and compact, but sightseeing here takes time. The Louvre alone can eat up half a day if you do it right.
Add the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, and Notre-Dame on top, and you’re racing from one place to the next with no room to enjoy anything.
The biggest mistake isn’t missing a sight, it’s overloading your day until nothing feels memorable.
2. Underestimating how long it takes to get across Paris
Metro lines are fast, but not always direct. You’ll often need to walk 10 minutes to the station, wait, change lines, walk again. A 20-minute route on paper can easily turn into 45 minutes door-to-door.
This matters when you’re planning back-to-back visits on opposite sides of the city. Leaving 10–15 minutes between things isn’t enough.
3. Showing up without booking tickets
The Eiffel Tower, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Louvre regularly sell out days in advance. Even “skip-the-line” services can book up.
People often assume they can just go early or wait it out, but the truth is that many top sights simply won’t let you in. Without a timed ticket, you might not be allowed in no matter how early you arrive.
4. Visiting Montmartre during peak hours
Montmartre turns into a slow-moving crowd magnet after 11am. The stairs, streets, and cafés are jammed. You’ll see more elbows than cobblestones.
Early mornings or late evenings are when the neighborhood feels like itself. That’s when the light hits the rooftops, the steps are quiet, and the artists and bakers outnumber the selfie sticks.
5. Skipping the parts of Paris where life actually happens
Many first-time itineraries are made of monuments and museums. You can leave without ever setting foot in a normal Paris neighborhood.
Places like Rue du Commerce, Square des Batignolles, or the canal in the 10th aren’t on most tourist checklists, but they’re where you get a sense of how the city actually breathes.
6. Planning a Versailles trip with evening plans back in Paris
Versailles takes up more time and energy than people expect. Beyond the train ride, it’s the walking, the queues, the size of the grounds.
Getting back into Paris tired and sweaty at 6pm and expecting to go out to dinner or a show doesn’t usually work. It’s better to keep that evening flexible.
7. Forgetting how rough Day 1 can be
Plenty of people land in the morning and slot in museum visits or guided tours for the afternoon. Jet lag plus unfamiliar streets means you’re operating at 40%.
You lose time, get cranky, and rush through places you meant to enjoy. A soft landing makes the whole trip smoother – fresh air, short walks, early dinner.
8. Using tourist buses to get around the city
Hop-on-hop-off buses sound like a great way to explore, but they’re slow, limited in stops, and often stuck in traffic.
You’ll end up wasting half your day on a loop that doesn’t match your schedule. They’re fine for sightseeing on a second visit but not great as your main transport option.
9. Not checking Sunday and Monday closures
Paris doesn’t shut down completely on Sundays, but a lot of small shops and restaurants do. Most museums close Monday or Tuesday.
If you only have a few days and forget to plan around this, you’ll find entire areas half-closed and waste time chasing alternatives.
10. Going to museums in the afternoon
Louvre and Orsay get progressively more crowded as the day goes on. Afternoon visits mean more noise, more tour groups, and slower movement through each room.
If a museum is on your list, try to go early. The difference in experience is real, especially in high season.