Things to know before visiting Paris

I remember landing at Charles de Gaulle for the first time with a mental map that was basically just “Eiffel Tower, Louvre, somewhere in the middle.” That map is wrong in a useful way: it hides how the city is actually organized, and that organization is the first thing worth understanding before you land, not after.

How Paris is laid out

Paris itself is small — you can walk across most of it in a couple of hours — and it’s divided into 20 arrondissements, numbered in a clockwise spiral starting at the Louvre in the 1st and winding outward to the 20th. I found this confusing on paper and completely obvious on the ground within a day: lower numbers cluster in the center, higher numbers push toward the edges, and the number often shows up in the postcode. I go through what each arrondissement is actually like, rather than just the numbering logic, in a separate guide to the arrondissements.

The other axis that matters is the Seine. It splits the city into the Rive Droite to the north and the Rive Gauche to the south, and locals use those terms constantly — for neighborhood character, for restaurant recommendations, for “which side is your hotel on.” The Louvre sits on the Rive Droite; the Musée d’Orsay, facing it across the river near the Tuileries, is Rive Gauche. Neighborhoods like Montmartre, Le Marais, and the area around Champs-Élysées and the Opéra are all just Paris neighborhoods — you don’t need special transport to move between them, only a metro ticket or decent shoes.

Where you choose to stay shapes your trip more than most people expect, and I’ve written that up separately for Paris as a whole, plus base-specific pages for Le Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and Montmartre.

You sleep in Paris, you visit everything else as a day trip

This is the part first-timers most often get wrong when building an itinerary. Versailles, Giverny, and Disneyland Paris are not places to book a hotel — they’re excursions you do from your base in Paris and return the same evening. Versailles is roughly 20 km southwest of the city; Disneyland Paris is out at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy, around 30–35 km east; Giverny, Claude Monet’s home and gardens, is a longer haul at about 75 km northwest and only open seasonally, spring through autumn. None of them need an overnight bag.

If a museum pass covering multiple sites over several consecutive days appeals to you, the Paris Museum Pass is worth understanding before you plan your days around individual ticket queues — though it doesn’t replace the timed-entry reservation that places like the Louvre and Versailles require regardless of which pass you’re holding.

For the longer excursions further out — Champagne houses around Reims and Épernay, the Loire Valley châteaux, the Mont-Saint-Michel, or the Normandy coast — the calculation changes. These are sold as day trips from Paris, but some of them, the Mont-Saint-Michel especially, mean several hours of travel each way. I’d rather tell you that plainly now than have you find out at hour four of a bus ride.

Getting in: three airports, one very different from the others

You’ll most likely arrive through Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), about 25 km northeast of the city, connected by the RER B to Gare du Nord and Châtelet, with taxis available at the official rank — never follow anyone who approaches you in the arrivals hall offering a ride. Paris-Orly (ORY), about 13–14 km south, has been connected by metro line 14 since June 2024, which made it noticeably easier to reach than it used to be; Orlyval is the other option. Paris-Beauvais (BVA), the airport low-cost carriers tend to use, is a different proposition entirely: it’s around 85 km north of the city, and the shuttle bus to Porte Maillot takes well over an hour — factor that into any tight connection. I break each of these down in more detail, including CDG, Orly, and Beauvais.

Once you’re in the city, Île-de-France Mobilités runs 16 metro lines and 5 RER lines, plus trams and buses. Since a January 2025 reform, single tickets come in two forms — a Metro-Train-RER ticket and a separate Bus-Tram ticket — both of which load onto a Navigo Easy card or your phone rather than the old paper tickets, which are being phased out. If you’re staying several days, a weekly Navigo pass (running Monday to Sunday) or a Paris Visite pass aimed at tourists are both worth considering. I won’t quote prices here since they change; the full mechanics are in my metro tickets and Navigo guide and the broader Paris metro guide.

Entry rules, briefly

France is in the Schengen area. If you’re an EU, EEA, or Swiss citizen, an ID card is enough. Visitors from visa-exempt countries like the UK, US, Canada, Australia, or Japan get 90 days within any 180-day period without a visa. Since 12 October 2025, the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) has been collecting fingerprints and a photo at the external border, with full rollout continuing through April 2026 — expect that extra step at passport control. ETIAS, a separate pre-travel authorization, isn’t required yet; the EU has signaled a launch later in 2026 without a confirmed date, so check travel-europe.europa.eu closer to your trip rather than relying on anything written today. Travelers from other nationalities need a Schengen visa via france-visas.gouv.fr. I go through all of this, including the EES specifics, on a dedicated entry rules page.

When to go, and what to watch for

The most comfortable stretches are April to June and September to October — mild weather, manageable crowds relative to peak summer. Summer can turn genuinely hot, and August is odd in its own way: plenty of Parisians leave town, and some smaller restaurants and shops close for the month. Winter is cold and grey but has its own appeal around the Christmas lights and markets. Rain is possible whatever month you pick, so I wouldn’t build a trip around guaranteed sun. More on seasonal specifics is in a best time to visit page.

On safety: Paris is a safe city for visitors day to day, but pickpockets work crowds deliberately, and the hot spots are predictable — metro line 1, the RER B, and the areas around the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the steps up to Sacré-Cœur. Known scams include the “friendship bracelet” approach near Sacré-Cœur, fake petitions, a supposedly found gold ring, and shell games set up on the bridges. None of it requires panic, just closed bags and a firm “non” while you keep walking — I’ve written a longer version of this in a scams and pickpockets guide.

A few practical threads I’m deliberately not unpacking here, because each has its own page: what to actually pay for things and whether you’ll need cash (see money, cards, and payments), whether tipping is expected (see tipping in Paris), and how to book ahead for the Louvre and other timed-entry sites (see Louvre tickets and tours).

If you’d rather have someone else handle the logistics for a specific day, a private guide can be useful for things like a day trip out to the villages Van Gogh and Monet painted, or, back in the city, a vintage car ride paired with a walk through Le Marais if you want a different way to see the older streets.

Frequently asked questions about visiting Paris for the first time

How many days do I need in Paris?

That depends on whether you’re planning day trips. I go into the trade-offs on a dedicated how many days in Paris page rather than repeating them here.

Do I need cash in Paris?

Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, but I cover the specifics of money and payments separately.

Is Paris safe for visitors?

Yes, but pickpockets are genuinely active in certain crowded spots, which I detail above and in a dedicated guide.

Do I need a visa for France?

It depends on your passport. The short version and the full entry rules, including the EES system now in place, are covered separately.

What’s the best time of year to visit Paris?

Late spring and early autumn tend to be the most comfortable, for reasons I explain in a dedicated seasonal guide.

Which airport will I land at?

Most likely Paris-Charles de Gaulle, possibly Paris-Orly, and occasionally Paris-Beauvais if you’re flying a low-cost carrier — each gets you into the city very differently.