The Best Way to See Paris is by Walking: 48 Hours in Paris on Foot

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Walking is one of the best ways to explore a new city, and Paris is a perfect example of a destination you want to see on foot! Around nearly every corner, there’s something beautiful to admire from historical architecture to cute cafes and bistros.

We spent a full two days hitting many of the main sights in Paris on foot, as well as taking in the views on the streets along the way. If you’re looking for a good two-day Paris walking itinerary, this post outlines all the stops we made with a brief 48 hours in City of Lights.

Be sure to check out my full Paris vlog for a first-timer’s perspective on the city!

We wanted to go big on our first day, seeing as much as we could! We started with an attempt to visit the Luxembourg Gardens, but it was sadly closed that day (the result of visiting the city two days after a major terrorist attack).

We took a peek to see what we could of the grounds through the fence and then made our way over to the Latin Quarter, stopping at Place Saint-Sulpice, and then out to the River Seine and The Louvre.

One of the things I love about European cities is the fact that the streets are their own museums filled with history and beautiful things to look at. I’m not a huge museum fan, so this suits me just fine (and it’s free!)

The Louvre, Jardin de Tuileries & Angelina

Our first big stop of the day was the Louvre museum, where we unfortunately didn’t get the chance to go inside. Mona Lisa – we’ll be back for you one day! Seeing as how we only had 48 hours in Paris, we were focused more on exploring the outdoor portion of the city anyhow.

Even if you don’t go into the museum, because you could probably spend all day here, it’s still a beauty to admire from outside. Plus, you’ve also got the Tuileries Garden to wander around as well!

After admiring the architecture of the Louvre, we stopped at the iconic Angelina on Rue de Rivoli for some of the most beautiful macarons and the richest hot chocolate one could ever have to fuel us on our continuing walk.

Macarons are a quintessential French treat and the hot chocolate will be unlike anything you’ve experienced before (especially if you’re from the states!).

On we went, marching down the Champs Elysees with a warm drink in hand to another iconic structure in Paris – the Arc de Triomphe. We spent some time here walking out to the Arc (using an underground tunnel) and snapping photos of the lovely details of the Arc up close.

On to the Tour Eiffel!

After the Arc de Triomphe, it was time to make our way to the Eiffel Tower – the most visited attraction in Paris!

On our walk to the tower, we saw many more dreamy Parisian buildings (my favorite being the Hotel Baltimore) before catching our first glimpses of the great Eiffel Tower.

Obviously, if there’s one thing to see in Paris, it’s the Eiffel Tower – a symbol of the city itself. You could easily spend hours here, admiring its beauty at every angle rising up in the city’s skyline. The tower looks different in every light, from sunny and bright to moody on a cloudy day. And of course, you can’t miss the dazzling light displays at night.

For some of the best views of the Eiffel Tower, we stopped at Place du Trocadero before making our way up to the tower itself.

Enjoying the Food of Paris

On our long trek back to the hotel after sightseeing, we stopped for a break at a brasserie called Le Suffren for some seafood and cocktails.

I love the times where we don’t have a tight schedule and can make unplanned stops like this, not only to rest our feet but also to just take a pause to slow down and just revel in the atmosphere of the destination.

We ended our day with an amazing dinner at Le Bistro des Campagnes. This was my favorite meal of our time in Paris and actually one of my favorite meals of all time (not even kidding). There’s a reason why so many chefs learn their foundation with French cooking. It’s rich and elegant. The food in France is worth a visit all in itself!

We started day two in Paris by grabbing a quick hand-held snack from a little boulangerie to fuel us up for our day of walking! As tempting as the beautiful sweet pastries were, we opted for a savory tomato cheese bread.

I can’t quite remember exactly which shop we stopped at, but there are so many little cafes and bakeries around this city, you could stop anywhere and have your pick of the best Parisian breads and pastries!

We tried to make it to the Luxembourg Gardens again, but it was still closed. So, on we went to Notre Dame, walking down Boulevard Saint-Michel.

Things to see along the walk to Notre Dame from Luxembourg Gardens: the La Fontaine de Pelletier (fountain with a statue) and Chapelle Saint-Ursule de la Sorbonne (a church which can be seen from walking down Boulevard Saint-Michel).

Again, this city is literally an outdoor museum! Take a slow walk and just enjoy the beauty you see on the streets.

The Notre Dame

After crossing over the Seine, it was time to meet the great Notre Dame – arguably my favorite piece of architecture in all of Paris. We were there on a cloudy and chilly late fall day, which made the gothic architecture extra moody.

Lunch at L’As du Fallafel

By this time, we worked up an appetite, so we crossed the river again and went into the Marais neighborhood for a little falafel action.

L’As du Fallafel is a pretty popular spot in the Jewish quarter of the neighborhood and it was buzzing when we got there! We were able to snag a table thankfully, wherein we proceeded to eat the best falafel sandwich of our lives.

The streets in the Marais are so beautiful, I highly recommend a visit there.

On to Montmartre & Sacre Coeur

From the Marais neighborhood, I had the ambitious thought to walk to Montmartre. Total walking time from our falafel lunch spot was going to be about an hour with a bit of an uphill “climb.”

With our long walk in mind, we made a pit stop a bar (the Thirsty Mad Cat) about halfway through our route for a beer to give our feet a rest and soothe some of those aching pains that come with being on your feet for days at a time!

It was sweet relief to finally make it to the Sacre Coeur, where we ended the walking portion of our day! The views of Paris from here are pretty epic and it’s well worth the trek on foot.

After two full days of walking, we decided to give ourselves a break and took a taxi back to our hotel.

We ended our second day in Paris with luscious French wine and a delicious dinner at Moustache back near our hotel.

For our first time in Paris, I think we did pretty good seeing some of the big attractions with only limited time. When we return, there’s so much more ground to cover, including making room on our itinerary to spend time going into museums and not just viewing them from the outside.