Hey, welcome to my favorite quick getaway. Three days in Paris is never enough, but if you do it my way, it feels like you’ve actually lived here for a week. I’ve done this trip so many times I lost count, and every time I find something new. Here’s how I squeeze the best out of a long weekend.

Day 1 – Arrival & Montmartre mornings
I usually land at Charles de Gaulle early, grab the train to Nord and drop the backpack at a tiny hotel near Abbesses (nothing fancy, just clean and five minutes from everything). First mission: croissant pilgrimage. There’s this bakery on Rue des Abbesses that opens at 7, the line is already there but it moves fast. Butter smells hit you from twenty meters away. I take two (one for now, one for the walk) and head up the hill to Sacré-Cœur before the tour groups wake up. Empty steps, misty city below, pigeons fighting for my second croissant. Perfect start.

Then I just wander. Backstreets behind Place du Tertre where the painters actually paint instead of selling Eiffel Tower keychains. Found a tiny square with ivy walls and zero people, sat there for an hour sketching like a proper tourist. Lunch is whatever crêpe stand looks busiest with locals. My rule: if school kids are buying, it’s good.

Afternoon – I go down to the Seine, walk along the water, maybe pop into Shakespeare and Company just to smell the books. Then nap. Seriously. Jet lag is real, twenty minutes on a bench by Notre-Dame and I’m human again.

Evening Day 1 – Sunset cruise. Not the big crowded boats, the small ones that leave from Pont Neuf around 8pm in summer. You get a plastic cup of wine for five euro and the light turns golden on all the bridges. I stand at the front, wind in the face, feeling like a movie. After that, dinner in Le Marais, some tiny bistro with paper tablecloths and steak frites that taste better because the waiter calls you “mon pote”.

Day 2 – Museums and secret islands
Breakfast at the hotel (bad coffee, good vibes), then straight to Louvre. Yes it’s huge, no I don’t try to see everything. I beeline for the lesser-known stuff: the northern European paintings wing where nobody goes, and the apartment of Napoleon III because those rooms are insane. Two hours max, then I’m out before the meltdown happens.

Lunch at a market. Rue Cler if I’m near Invalides, or Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais. Cheese, bread, some saucisson, sit on a curb like a local. Works every time.

Afternoon is for Île Saint-Louis. Everyone goes to Saint-Germain, but this little island is quieter. My favorite crêpe place is hidden on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, been there since the 70s, the guy makes them thin as paper and the Nutella one is stupidly good. I always get one with grand marnier too, because why not. Then walk it off along the river, watch the artists, maybe buy a tiny watercolor from an old guy who paints the same bridge every day.

Night – Montmartre again, but different. There’s a bar called La Maison Rose, pink house on the corner, I sit outside with a pression and watch the sunset paint the whole hill. Later I walk to Moulin Rouge just to say I did, but never go in. Too expensive, too loud. Instead I find live music in some cave bar where nobody speaks English and everybody sings along.

Day 3 – Whatever you missed and goodbye
Last morning I usually go back to whatever I loved most. Sometimes it’s just sitting at Café de Flore watching Parisians argue, sometimes it’s climbing the Arc de Triomphe for the view (better than Eiffel Tower and half the line). If the weather is nice I rent a bike and ride through Tuileries, stop for one last pain au chocolat.

Then train back to the airport, already planning the next escape.

Three days, zero FOMO. Paris always wins, but this way you win too.

See you on the next field trip,
Kohl