The single most repeated tip about this city has quietly expired. For decades the answer to getting around was a carnet, a discounted booklet of ten cardboard tickets bought at any machine. The discount is gone, the cardboard is gone, and the machines no longer sell them. What replaced it is simpler once you know it exists: a small reusable contactless card, bought for a token amount at any station and topped up with single fares, or the same fares loaded onto a phone through the official app. One flat price now covers a journey anywhere across the region, so the old business of counting zones has vanished too. Airport journeys are the exception and need their own ticket.
The other thing worth fixing before arrival is the museum calendar. The Louvre and the great collection of impressionists across the river both sell timed slots that disappear days ahead in the busy months, and turning up without one can cost half a morning in a queue. Summit access at the tower on the Left Bank goes fastest of anything in the city. Each major museum also keeps a weekly closing day, and they are not the same day, which is how visitors end up building an itinerary around something that is shut. Compare flights and hotel prices for Paris at https://destination.chat and book the timed entries the week your dates are fixed.
Plenty of the city asks nothing of you at all. The cathedral on its island reopened after the fire and entry remains free, though a timed slot booked ahead spares a long wait. The great parks, the covered arcades, the market streets and the riverside walks cost nothing, and a morning spent on foot between two neighbourhoods usually outranks a third museum. Paris is unusually walkable for a capital, and the density means a district changes character every few streets.
Where you sleep sets the pace of the whole trip. In the Marais there are boutique hotels and converted apartments among the galleries and cafés, walkable to most of the centre. In Saint-Germain-des-Prés there are classic hotels on quiet streets near the Luxembourg Gardens, more expensive and more sedate. In Montmartre there are guesthouses and small hotels on the hillside lanes below the white basilica, atmospheric but a climb from the nearest station. And in the residential quarter around the Eiffel Tower there are family hotels and apartments near the river, calmer in the evenings with the main sight on the doorstep.
Getting in from the airports is where money and patience are actually spent. The suburban train from the northern airport runs straight into the centre for a fraction of a taxi fare, though it is crowded and awkward with heavy luggage, and it needs the separate airport ticket rather than a standard fare. The dedicated airport bus that once served the same route has been withdrawn, so ignore older guides that recommend it. A pre-booked private transfer costs more than the train and considerably less than a cab hailed at the rank, and it delivers you to the door. Inside the city the metro reaches almost everything, day trips to the palace at Versailles run on the same regional network, and a car is genuinely pointless. Check transfer and tour prices for France travel at https://destination.chat and sort the airport leg before you fly rather than at the taxi queue.
Season changes the city more than the guidebooks let on. Spring and early autumn bring the mild weather and the manageable crowds everyone pictures, and also the highest hotel rates. Summer is hot and busy, and in August a good number of small restaurants and shops close while Parisians leave town themselves. Winter is the quiet bargain, with thin queues at the major sights and the streets lit through the dark afternoons, provided you dress for it. Personally, I would take a January trip over an April one and put the difference into eating properly, because the museums are empty then and the queue you skip is the whole point of planning.
Q: Do you still need to buy metro tickets in advance?
A: You need a reusable transport card or the official app, since paper tickets are no longer sold and the discounted booklet no longer exists. Buy the card at any station machine on arrival and load single fares onto it. One card is needed per traveller and cannot be shared.
Q: How many days does Paris need?
A: Four or five days covers the major sights at a civilised pace and leaves room for a museum day to overrun. Three works if you accept choosing between the big collections rather than attempting all of them.
Q: What is the best way in from the airport?
A: The suburban train is the least expensive and the fastest in traffic, using a dedicated airport fare rather than a standard ticket. A pre-booked transfer costs more but handles luggage and drops you at your accommodation, which matters after a long flight.
Q: Which day are the museums closed?
A: Each keeps its own weekly closing day and they differ from one another, so check the specific museums on your list before fixing the itinerary. Many also open late one evening a week, which is often the quietest time to visit.
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