# 3 Days in Paris, Planned From 243 TikToks

We went through 243 Paris TikToks, kept the places that people who live there recommend again and again, checked every one against its 2026 opening hours, and sorted them into three walkable days.

Canonical URL (cite this): https://haploapp.com/blog/paris-3-day-itinerary
Published 2026-09-25, updated 2026-09-25, by Haplo (Haplo, LLC, https://haploapp.com/).
App: Bilbo, https://haploapp.com/bilbo

Paris TikTok gives you two kinds of advice. There's the checklist everyone already knows, and then there's what people who live there keep telling their followers: which bakery line is worth it, which famous café isn't, where the view is free, and which street by Notre-Dame to walk straight past.

This 3-day Paris itinerary keeps the second kind. Almost every stop here was recommended by more than one creator, most of them based in Paris, and every one was checked against local food writers and the venue's own opening hours for 2026. Where creators disagree, or where a video has gone out of date, we say so.

Then we put the 23 places into [Bilbo](https://haploapp.com/bilbo), the trip planner we make, and let it do the part you'd normally do on a napkin: group the stops into walkable days and put each day in a sensible order. It regrouped our days, and we kept its version. The maps below come straight from the app.

**How to use it.** Each day stays in one part of the city, so you walk it rather than cross Paris twice; count on 6 to 9 kilometres of walking a day. The plan is built for a Wednesday to Friday, when everything on it is open, and the practical section at the end says what to swap on other days.

## The itinerary: 3 days in Paris

Each day stays in one part of the city, so you walk it instead of crossing Paris twice. The numbered pins on each map match the stops below.

Best days to follow it: Wednesday to Friday as written. Other days need a swap or two, covered under The practical bits.

### Day 1 (Wednesday): Montmartre down to the Louvre

Area: Montmartre · South Pigalle · Palais-Royal · Opéra

Start on the hill before the crowds, then walk downhill all day: lunch in a hidden garden, the prettiest covered passage in Paris, the Louvre in two focused hours, and a free rooftop for sunset before dinner in a 1896 canteen.

- **8:30 AM · Mamiche** (meal): A neighborhood bakery that turned into a Paris reference. Creators single out the vanilla chou, a cream puff that they say still costs about a euro and a half, along with very buttery croissants, babka and cinnamon rolls. One Paris-based creator ranks its croissant alongside La Maison d'Isabelle's. Local tip: It's takeaway only. Walk up Rue des Martyrs, a steep street of food shops that locals actually do their shopping on, to Boulevard de Rochechouart, and either keep climbing or catch bus 40 at the Rochechouart – Martyrs stop. Price: Pastries a few euros each. Hours: Tue–Fri 8:00–20:00, Sat 8:00–19:00; closed Sunday and Monday. Address: 45 Rue Condorcet, 75009. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@lestreetfoodist/video/7473904689881582870, https://www.tiktok.com/@suzyandaustin/video/7377475872900631841, https://www.tiktok.com/@theo.yapping/video/7493936806065458454, https://www.tiktok.com/@lili.debois/video/7285030033104588065, https://fr.mappy.com/poi/59c49ec80351d15f9fdfbc31
- **9:30 AM · Sacré-Cœur** (site): The basilica is free, and the view from its steps is the famous one. Paris-based creators add two warnings: keep your phone in your hand, and wave off anyone offering you a "free" bracelet. The view locals prefer is from the dome, about 300 steps up and above the crowds. Local tip: Skip the stairs the way creators do: ride bus 40, the little bus that winds up through Montmartre, from Rochechouart – Martyrs to Place du Tertre – Norvins (about 9 minutes; one comes every 12 minutes or so). Buy a €2.05 bus ticket in advance; most buses now also take a tapped bank card (€2.55), but the card readers are still being fitted. The funicular is the other lift up, but it needs a metro ticket, not a bus ticket. Price: Basilica free; dome €8 (€5 under 16), tickets on site only. Hours: Basilica daily 6:30–22:30. Dome from about 10:00–10:30 into the evening, with a midday break; hours change through the year. Address: Parvis du Sacré-Cœur, 75018. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@noms.brews.views/video/7613825089364118815, https://www.tiktok.com/@lili.debois/video/7237423950521748763, https://www.tiktok.com/@sagevanalstine/video/7236850924650548523, https://www.tiktok.com/@loveandparis/video/7361106936932125984, https://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/infos-et-visites/informations-pratiques/horaires-et-acces/, https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/titres-et-tarifs/detail/ticket-bus-tram
- **10:45 AM · Montmartre's quiet side** (freeTime): Two minutes from the crowds, the hill turns into a village. Walk down Rue de l'Abreuvoir past La Maison Rose, the pink café on every Instagram grid (a Parisian creator's verdict: worth a photo, not a meal), then along the leafy Allée des Brouillards to Place Dalida. It's a working café, so take the photo from the street. Local tip: Keep going to Square Suzanne Buisson, a sunken garden where neighbors play pétanque, and the rose-covered cottages of Villa Léandre off Avenue Junot. Price: Free. Hours: Public streets. La Maison Rose itself serves Wed–Sun and is closed Monday and Tuesday. Address: Rue de l'Abreuvoir, 75018. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@loveandparis/video/7444950684203552032, https://www.tiktok.com/@limitlesssecrets/video/7414177321042627872, https://lamariniereenvoyage.com/en/montmartre-itinerary-walking/
- **12:15 PM · Lunch in the garden at the Musée de la Vie Romantique** (meal): At the end of a cobbled lane off Rue Chaptal, a painter's house became a small, free museum with a walled garden and a greenhouse tea room run by Rose Bakery. Creators call it one of the city's secret corners, and it reopened in February 2026 after a long renovation. Lunch is small, seasonal and organic, with savory and sweet plates and vegetarian options. Local tip: The museum is free, so take ten minutes in its rooms after lunch. It's on the way down from Montmartre, about 15 minutes' walk from Rue de l'Abreuvoir. Price: Museum free; tea room is pay as you go. Hours: Museum Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00; tea room Tue–Sun 10:00–17:30; both closed Monday. Address: 16 Rue Chaptal, 75009. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@yakoa_paris/video/7235956624521760026, https://www.tiktok.com/@cheesecurdonthego/video/7287325908766051617, https://www.tiktok.com/@routes__app/video/7502466595839544606, https://museevieromantique.paris.fr/votre-visite/salon-de-et-jardin
- **2:00 PM · Galerie Vivienne and the Palais-Royal** (freeTime): Galerie Vivienne, built in 1823, is the prettiest of the old covered passages: a mosaic floor that runs its whole length, a glass roof, and an antiquarian bookshop, Jousseaume, that has been there since 1826. A creator who has lived in Paris for ten years brings every visitor here. Two minutes away, the Palais-Royal garden is where office workers eat lunch by the fountain, and the striped Buren columns in its courtyard are a free photo. Local tip: Next door, the national library's Salle Ovale is a free reading room under a glass roof, open to anyone (closed Monday). Keep your voice down. Price: Free. Hours: Galerie daily 8:30–20:00; Palais-Royal garden 8:00–20:30 from October (22:30 in summer) Address: 4 Rue des Petits-Champs, 75002. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@preetigills/video/7327707483730971937, https://www.tiktok.com/@suzyandaustin/video/7406325888746458401, https://www.tiktok.com/@theo.yapping/video/7191495096322313477, https://www.tiktok.com/@routes__app/video/7502466595839544606, https://www.galerie-vivienne.com/foire-aux-questions-faq, https://www.bnf.fr/fr/richelieu
- **3:15 PM · The Louvre, in two focused hours** (site): Parisians treat the Louvre as a place to dip into, not to conquer. Book a time slot, skip the crush in front of the Mona Lisa, and pick one wing: the Napoleon III apartments in the Richelieu wing, or the Egyptian rooms. Two hours is plenty for one visit. The Apollo Gallery reopened in July 2026, but only for its painted ceiling and gilding: the jewels and their cases were taken away after the October 2025 theft. Local tip: It's closed on Tuesdays. On Wednesdays and Fridays it stays open until 9 pm, and those evenings are much quieter, so swap this stop to the evening if your Day 2 lands on one. With a ticket you can also go in through the Carrousel entrance under 99 Rue de Rivoli instead of the Pyramid. Price: €32 for adults from outside the EEA, €22 for EEA residents; free under 18. Hours: Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun 9:00–18:00; Wed and Fri 9:00–21:00; closed Tuesday. Last entry an hour before closing. Booking: Time slot strongly recommended, even for free entry. Address: Rue de Rivoli, 75001. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@amomexplores/video/7486143272377650478, https://www.tiktok.com/@loveandparis/video/7449773326060293408, https://www.louvre.fr/en/visit/hours-admission
- **6:15 PM · Galeries Lafayette rooftop** (site): A free terrace on top of the department store, with the Opéra Garnier's roof right in front of you and the Eiffel Tower on the horizon. Most visitors stop under the stained-glass dome downstairs and never go up. Local tip: Take the escalators or lifts to the 7th floor, then the last flight of stairs. In summer the sun sets after the terrace closes at 8 pm, so go for the view; from October it sets around 7:15 pm, and it pays to be up there half an hour before. Price: Free. Hours: Terrace daily 10:00–20:00 (Sun from 11:00); shuts in heavy rain or wind. Address: 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamsinparis.travel/video/7416473452590140704, https://www.tiktok.com/@5050travels/video/7088396069331275014, https://www.tiktok.com/@noms.brews.views/video/7613825089364118815, https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/the-terrace-at-galeries-lafayette/
- **7:45 PM · Bouillon Chartier** (meal): A working-class canteen from 1896 with a listed Belle Époque dining room. The food is plain French classics (eggs mayonnaise, leeks vinaigrette, steak frites) at prices from another decade, the waiters add up your bill on the paper tablecloth, and you may share a table. Creators set the expectation right: you come for the room and the value, not for great cooking. Local tip: No reservations and it never closes between services, so the line is shortest mid-afternoon or right at 11:30. Make sure you're at the Grands Boulevards original; there are two other Chartiers. Price: Starters €1–7.50, mains €7–13.80, desserts €2–4.90 (the menu changes daily) Hours: Every day 11:30 to midnight, non-stop. Booking: No reservations. Address: 7 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@locavore.eats/video/7275608204522884370, https://www.tiktok.com/@_yu_mmy/video/7501755042735623446, https://www.tiktok.com/@theo.yapping/video/7303956173177376032, https://www.bouillon-chartier.com/en/bouillon-chartier-grands-boulevards-en/

### Day 2 (Thursday): The Marais, the canal and Belleville

Area: Marais · Canal Saint-Martin · Belleville

The slow day, on the east side where much of Paris actually lives: hot chocolate under the arcades of the city's oldest square, a free museum of Paris itself, TikTok's favorite sandwich, an afternoon by the canal, and the best free view in the city at sunset before a bistro where chefs eat on their night off.

- **8:30 AM · Carette, Place des Vosges** (meal): Yes, it's the viral one: thick hot chocolate with a cloud of Chantilly cream on the side. Creators admit it's touristy and not cheap, then say it's worth doing once. The Place des Vosges branch is calmer than the one at Trocadéro, and the queues build at weekends and in the afternoon, so a weekday breakfast is the easy way in. Local tip: Afterwards, walk a lap of the square. It's the oldest planned square in Paris, and on a fine day locals picnic on the lawns. Price: About €13.50 for the hot chocolate with Chantilly (Oct 2025) Hours: Daily 7:30 to midnight. Booking: No reservations; queues build at weekends and mid-afternoon. Address: 25 Place des Vosges, 75003. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@zozomccormack/video/7306863599136312582, https://www.tiktok.com/@florindefrance/video/7315517249874414881, https://www.tiktok.com/@gabriellemeloff/video/7351415891852053765, https://www.familinparis.fr/salon-de-the-carette-paris/
- **10:00 AM · Musée Carnavalet** (site): The museum of Paris's own history, in two Marais mansions, and free. Old shop signs, Revolution-era relics, Proust's bedroom, and formal courtyard gardens that creators call the neighborhood's quiet green corner. Forty-five minutes covers the highlights. Local tip: Start with the gallery of old shop signs, then go out to the gardens. Only handbag-size bags are allowed in, so leave the day pack at the hotel. Price: Free (permanent collection) Hours: Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:15); closed Monday. Booking: Not needed for the permanent collection. Address: 23 Rue Madame de Sévigné, 75003. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@lili.debois/video/7285030033104588065, https://www.tiktok.com/@suzyandaustin/video/7405219271879445792, https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamsinparis.travel/video/7366753281982369056, https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en/visit/pratical-information
- **11:45 AM · Chez Alain Miam Miam** (meal): The most famous sandwich on Paris TikTok. Most of the videos were shot at the old stall in the Marché des Enfants Rouges, but Chez Alain left the market in 2025; the sandwiches now come from its shop a minute away on Rue Charlot. The routine hasn't changed: you pick the meat, the cheese (usually aged Comté) and the extras, and it goes on the grill. Several creators say one is enough for two. Local tip: Get there before noon to beat the lunch line, and eat it on a bench in the Square du Temple, a few minutes' walk away (it has public toilets; the market doesn't). The Marché des Enfants Rouges, the city's oldest covered market (1615), is a minute away if you'd rather sit at a counter. Price: €13.50–16.50 to take away (2026 menu) Hours: Wed–Sun, from about 9:00 into mid-afternoon; closed Monday and Tuesday. Booking: No reservations; expect a line. Address: 26 Rue Charlot, 75003. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryeatworld/video/7379710069253868846, https://www.tiktok.com/@auristaurant/video/7162164566716124421, https://www.tiktok.com/@benedicte_ct/video/7401845563110477088, https://chezalainmiammiam.com/, https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/where-to-eat-in-paris/restaurant/articles/340100-lulu-creperie-the-king-of-street-food-a-gourmet-experience-in-paris-s-3rd-arrondissement-at-the-marche-des-enfants-rouges
- **2:00 PM · Du Pain et des Idées and the canal** (meal): An 1875 bakery with a painted glass ceiling, two minutes from the Canal Saint-Martin. Nearly every creator orders the same thing, the pistachio-chocolate escargot, a spiral of flaky pastry. Take it to the water, where locals sit along the quays by the iron footbridges and locks. Local tip: It's weekdays only. If you'd rather have a proper sit-down lunch here than the sandwich, Holybelly, the brunch café Paris-based creators keep recommending, is around the corner (daily 9:00–17:00, no reservations). Price: Pastries a few euros each. Hours: Mon–Fri 7:00–19:30; closed Saturday and Sunday. Address: 34 Rue Yves Toudic, 75010. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@crystellepereira/video/7522390333154430210, https://www.tiktok.com/@suzyandaustin/video/7409662845597519137, https://www.tiktok.com/@routes__app/video/7506623091066359070, https://www.tiktok.com/@sagevanalstine/video/7236850924650548523, https://www.dupainetdesidees.com/en/boulangerie
- **5:15 PM · Rue Dénoyez** (freeTime): A 150-metre lane in Belleville where every wall, shutter and doorway is painted, then painted over again. Artists often work here at weekends, so it never looks the same twice. It's free, and it's on the way up to the park. Local tip: Rue de Belleville, around the corner, is lined with Chinese and Vietnamese bakeries and snack shops if you want something before sunset. Price: Free. Hours: Public street. Address: Rue Dénoyez, 75020. Sources: https://www.visitparisregion.com/fr/rue-denoyez, https://www.street-artwork.com/en/blog/street-art-in-belleville-paris-2026-guide
- **6:30 PM · Parc de Belleville** (freeTime): The highest park in Paris, with a terrace that looks straight across the city to the Eiffel Tower. Paris's own tourism office posts it as one of the best free views in town, and at sunset the crowd is locals, not tour groups. Local tip: The park gates close at 7:30 pm in early October, 15 minutes after sunset, so come up Rue Piat to the belvedere at the top, which sits outside the gates. The bigger Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 15 minutes north, is all over TikTok, but its temple, island, bridge and grotto are fenced off for repairs into 2027, so we left it out. Price: Free. Hours: Park Mon–Fri 8:00–19:30, weekends 9:00–19:30 in early October; the belvedere on Rue Piat stays reachable later. Address: Belvédère Willy-Ronis, 27 Rue Piat, 75020. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@parisjetaime/video/7350263229609708832, https://www.tiktok.com/@villedeparis/video/7437154911093001505, https://www.paris.fr/lieux/parc-de-belleville-1777, https://www.visitparisregion.com/fr/rue-denoyez
- **8:00 PM · Le Baratin** (meal): Raquel Carena has cooked honest, offal-friendly bistro food in this small room since 1987, and it's where Paris chefs eat on their nights off. The natural-wine list is excellent. It barely shows up on TikTok, which is part of the point. Local tip: Book by phone a few days ahead. The room is small and the menu is in French. It's a four-minute walk from the belvedere. Price: Lunch set menu about €19–20; at dinner, mains €24–34, about €40–60 a head. Hours: Dinner Tue–Sat from 19:30; lunch on some weekdays (Friday for certain, call for others); closed Sunday and Monday. Booking: By phone: +33 1 43 49 39 70. Address: 3 Rue Jouye-Rouve, 75020. Sources: https://www.timeout.com/paris/en/restaurants/le-baratin, https://guide.michelin.com/en/ile-de-france/paris/restaurant/le-baratin

### Day 3 (Friday): The islands and the Left Bank

Area: Île de la Cité · Latin Quarter · Saint-Germain

Start where Paris started, on the islands, then climb into the part of the Latin Quarter that tourists walk straight past. End the day the way Parisians do in good weather: a picnic at the tip of the Île de la Cité while the sun goes down.

- **8:30 AM · La Maison d'Isabelle** (meal): The croissant Paris food creators use as the benchmark. It won the 2018 prize for the best butter croissant in the Paris region, and it still tastes like it: shattering outside, soft and layered inside, often still warm because they bake through the morning. The line looks long and moves fast; it's takeaway only. Local tip: Fromagerie Laurent Dubois, run by a Meilleur Ouvrier de France cheesemonger, is at the same address and opens at 8:00. Pick up a small hard cheese now for tonight's picnic; a Comté is happy in a bag all day. Price: Butter croissant about €1.20–1.50. Hours: Tue–Sat 6:00–20:00, Sun 6:00–15:00; closed Monday and for part of August. Address: 47ter Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@crystellepereira/video/7522390333154430210, https://www.tiktok.com/@myprivateparis/video/7473466183010815254, https://www.tiktok.com/@briancantstopeating/video/7490703226694569259, https://culinarybackstreets.com/stories/paris/local-eats-la-maison-disabelle-a-prizewinning-croissant-in-paris
- **9:15 AM · Notre-Dame de Paris** (site): Reopened in December 2024, and the cleaned stone inside is so pale and bright that it surprises even Parisians who knew the cathedral before the fire. Entry is free. Creators warn about sites selling "reserved tickets": the only reservation is free, and it's on the cathedral's own site and app. Local tip: Free slots are released on the day, a few hours ahead, on notredamedeparis.fr or the official app, so check first thing. Without one, weekday mornings are the quietest. Cover shoulders and knees. The towers are separate: €16, timed tickets online only. Price: Free (towers €16) Hours: Mon–Fri 7:50–19:00 (Thu to 22:00), Sat–Sun 8:15–19:30; last entry 30 minutes before closing. Booking: Optional free time slot, released the same day on the official site or app only. Address: 6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul II, 75004. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@amomexplores/video/7486143272377650478, https://www.tiktok.com/@americanfille/video/7574714480043511062, https://www.tiktok.com/@loveandparis/video/7443880918789475616, https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/visit/reservation-free/
- **10:15 AM · Shakespeare and Company** (shopping): The English-language bookshop across the river from Notre-Dame, a warren of creaky rooms and reading nooks. Browsing is the whole point, even if you buy nothing. Upstairs is quieter, and the café next door does coffee and cake with a view of the cathedral. Local tip: Get there at opening to skip the line at the door, and leave the camera in your pocket: photos aren't allowed inside. Price: Free to browse. Hours: Mon–Wed 10:00–20:00, Thu–Sat 10:00–21:00, Sun 12:00–19:00; café daily 9:00–19:00. Booking: No booking; bags over 40 cm aren't allowed in. Address: 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, 75005. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@annesimaabel/video/7516880409712463135, https://www.tiktok.com/@bonjourdiana/video/7433769319957384480, https://www.tiktok.com/@noms.brews.views/video/7613825089364118815, https://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/prepare-your-visit
- **11:15 AM · Rue Mouffetard and the real Latin Quarter** (freeTime): Paris-based creators are blunt about the tangle of streets by Notre-Dame around Rue de la Huchette: it's one of the worst tourist traps in the city for food. Walk uphill instead, through Place de la Contrescarpe and down Rue Mouffetard, a market street whose cheese shops, bakeries and fruit stalls spill onto the pavement for the neighborhood, not for visitors. It's a morning street, so build a picnic lunch as you go. Local tip: Eat it ten minutes away at the Arènes de Lutèce, a 2,000-year-old Roman arena hidden behind apartment buildings, where locals read on the stone tiers and play pétanque. It's free, with toilets. On Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings the stalls of the Marché Monge are on the way. Price: Free; a picnic lunch runs about €10–15. Hours: Shops open Tue–Sat roughly 8:00–13:00 and 16:00–19:30, Sunday mornings; most are closed Monday. Arènes daily, 8:00 (weekends 9:00) to 19:30 in early October. Address: Rue Mouffetard, market end (around no. 116), 75005. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@madame.tartempion/video/7402313261489638688, https://www.tiktok.com/@loveandparis/video/7478712392482950433, https://www.tiktok.com/@theo.yapping/video/7091696955860077830, https://www.tiktok.com/@myprivateparis/video/7473466183010815254, https://www.paris.fr/lieux/square-des-arenes-de-lutece-et-square-capitan-1760
- **1:30 PM · Tea at the Grande Mosquée de Paris** (meal): A tiled courtyard under fig trees where the mint tea comes sweet, in small glasses, with a tray of North African pastries, and the sparrows go after your crumbs. It costs a few euros and feels a long way from Paris. Local tip: The mosque's own courtyards and garden are worth the €5 visit (closed Fridays). Dress modestly for it. The Jardin des Plantes is across the street if you want a longer break. Price: Mint tea about €2.50 a glass, pastries about €2 each. Hours: Tea room every day 9:00 to midnight; mosque visit 9:00–18:00, closed Fridays and Muslim holidays. Booking: No reservations for the tea room. Address: 39 Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 75005. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@inspiration.parisienne/video/7271972493357894944, https://www.tiktok.com/@sama_life/video/7422598366372105504, https://www.tiktok.com/@benedicte_ct/video/7375866894961610017, https://www.la-mosquee.com/le-salon-de-the/, https://www.grandemosqueedeparis.fr/visites
- **3:30 PM · Jardin du Luxembourg** (freeTime): The Left Bank's living room. The green metal chairs are free and you can move them, so do what Parisians do: drag two into the sun by the Grand Bassin, or into the shade by the Medici Fountain, and sit for half an hour. Local tip: In summer and during French school holidays, kids rent little wooden sailboats on the Grand Bassin (about €6–8 for 30 minutes). The chairs are free all year: there are more than 4,500 of them. Price: Free. Hours: Opens around 7:30–8:15 and closes at dusk: 18:45 in early October, earlier as the month goes on. Address: Jardin du Luxembourg, 75006. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@theunbotheredtraveler/video/7490942486509030658, https://www.tiktok.com/@suzyandaustin/video/7406325888746458401, https://www.tiktok.com/@routes__app/video/7502466595839544606, https://jardin.senat.fr/infos-pratiques/horaires-douverture.html
- **6:30 PM · Sunset picnic at the Square du Vert-Galant** (freeTime): The willow-shaded tip of the Île de la Cité, down the steps behind Henri IV's statue on the Pont Neuf, right at water level. Local creators tell repeat visitors to skip the dinner cruise and do this instead: a baguette and the morning's cheese, feet over the Seine, while the light goes gold on the Louvre. Local tip: Get there about 45 minutes before sunset for a spot on the point. The stairs are steep and there are no toilets. Picnics are welcome, but city rules ban drinking alcohol in Paris's parks and gardens, this one included. Price: Free, plus picnic supplies (about €15–30 for two) Hours: Open around the clock, except in bad weather or when the Seine floods (mostly winter and spring) Address: Square du Vert-Galant, Île de la Cité, 75001. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@lili.debois/video/7237423950521748763, https://www.tiktok.com/@foodrelics/video/7538059070641589526, https://www.tiktok.com/@maxoureport/video/7555529163415866646, https://www.paris.fr/lieux/square-du-vert-galant-2825
- **8:30 PM · Brasserie des Prés** (meal): A three-floor brasserie in the Cour du Commerce Saint-André, an 18th-century cobbled passage off Boulevard Saint-Germain. Everything is made in-house (onion soup, bavette and fries, a Paris-Brest to share) at prices that are rare this close to the famous cafés, and there's a cocktail bar hidden upstairs. Local tip: Book online; a few tables are kept for walk-ins. Upstairs, the Grouvie cocktail bar is free to walk into from 18:30. Two of the creators who posted about the brasserie were invited, but independent reviews say the same thing about the value. Price: Onion soup €9, bavette and fries €20, Paris-Brest €9; about €25–30 a head for two courses, €40–50 with wine. Hours: Daily from noon; lunch to 14:30 (15:30 weekends), dinner 19:00 to 22:30 or 23:00, only snacks in between. Booking: Online, with a small quota; some tables kept for walk-ins. Address: 6 Cour du Commerce Saint-André, 75006. Sources: https://www.tiktok.com/@leguideultime/video/7257546115703229722, https://www.tiktok.com/@sarahlecouteau/video/7340343406419299617, https://www.tiktok.com/@chezmarieparis/video/7326978033464724768, https://lanouvellegarde.com/fr/brasserie-des-pres/

### Which days this works on

It's written for a Wednesday to Friday and works as written from Thursday to Saturday too. Day 1 needs Wednesday to Saturday: the Louvre closes on Tuesday, and Mamiche and the Vie Romantique on Monday. Day 2 needs Wednesday to Friday, because Du Pain et des Idées closes at weekends and Chez Alain on Monday and Tuesday. Day 3 works any day but Monday. Starting on a Tuesday? Do Day 3 first.

### Getting around

Each day is built to be walked, and the maps show every leg with its time. If your feet give out, put tickets on a €2 Navigo Easy card from a station window, or on your phone with the Île-de-France Mobilités app. A metro or RER ticket is €2.55 and also works on the Montmartre funicular; a bus or tram ticket is €2.05 and doesn't. You can tap a contactless bank card on buses and the funicular (€2.55 a ride, no transfers), but not at most metro gates yet.

### Book these ahead

A free time slot for Notre-Dame (the official site or app only), a time slot for the Louvre, and a table at Le Baratin by phone a few days out. Nothing else on this plan needs a booking.

### Money and tipping

Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere, but carry €40–60 in small notes and coins for bakeries with a card minimum and for market stalls. Service is included in French menu prices, so tipping is never expected; locals round up or leave a euro or two, a little more after a great dinner, in cash on the table.

### How to spot a tourist-trap restaurant

Paris-based creators give the same tells: a huge menu covering several cuisines, menus in five languages, photos of the food out front, someone at the door pulling you in, and anything right next to a monument. Walk two streets away and look for a short chalkboard menu.

### Water is free

Ask for *une carafe d'eau* and restaurants will bring tap water at no charge. The green Wallace fountains around the city give free drinking water too.

### The Eiffel Tower, the local way

Parisians rarely go up. After dark the tower sparkles for five minutes at the top of every hour, so pick a spot (the Pont de Bir-Hakeim or the Champ de Mars lawns) and be there a few minutes before the hour. You also get it on the horizon from the rooftop on Day 2 and from the Parc de Belleville on Day 3.

### Four videos worth watching first

- [@sagevanalstine](https://www.tiktok.com/@sagevanalstine/video/7236850924650548523) (2.7M plays): A dozen Paris-based creators each give one non-touristy pick, from bus 40 to the Canal Saint-Martin.
- [@crystellepereira](https://www.tiktok.com/@crystellepereira/video/7522390333154430210) (1.7M plays): A Bake Off alum's bakery crawl, including Du Pain et des Idées and La Maison d'Isabelle.
- [@sherryeatworld](https://www.tiktok.com/@sherryeatworld/video/7379710069253868846) (2.6M plays): The famous sandwich being built, filmed at the old stall in the Marché des Enfants Rouges before the move to Rue Charlot.
- [@dreamsinparis.travel](https://www.tiktok.com/@dreamsinparis.travel/video/7416473452590140704) (546K plays): The free Galeries Lafayette rooftop at sunset, and how to get up there.

## How this plan was checked

We went through 243 Paris TikToks, reading the captions and, for 141 of them, TikTok's own transcripts, and kept the places that creators recommend again and again. Almost every stop here comes from two or more creators, most of them living in Paris. The exceptions are Le Baratin and Rue Dénoyez, which come from Paris food and street-art writers rather than TikTok, and the Parc de Belleville, which the city's own tourism accounts post. Where a creator said they were invited, we note it.

In September 2026 we checked every stop against its own website or the City of Paris, plus Le Fooding, Time Out Paris and Paris by Mouth, for opening days, hours and prices. Some videos had gone stale: Chez Alain Miam Miam, for one, has left the market where most of its videos were filmed. Hours and prices still change, so check before you go.

Then we handed the stops to Bilbo, the trip planner we make, grouped the way we'd have done it. Its planner ignored our grouping and sorted the stops by area instead: it put Montmartre with the Louvre, and the Marais with the canal and Belleville, and we liked its version better. It didn't know which of our restaurants were meant as lunch, so one day came back with two lunches and another with none. We swapped one lunch spot, ran it again, and this time Bilbo left every stop where it was, with nothing clashing and nothing scheduled on its closing day. The maps are screenshots of that plan in Bilbo.

Photos come from Wikimedia Commons and are credited below. Bilbo is made by Haplo, which also publishes this blog.