What to Do on Your First Night and First Day in Paris

If you're arriving for your first visit to Paris in mid-to-late November or December when festive holiday lights, Christmas markets, and sparkling decorations make the city feel even more magical than normal, what are the best ways to experience all of this during your first day or two while learning your way around the city?

As part of Paris Discovery Guide's "Ask Me Anything about Paris Travel" feature for subscribers to the website's free weekly newsletter, John asked for feedback about his plans for how to spend his first few days in Paris.

"Should I book the Paris Tootbus Open-Top Christmas Bus Tour for the evening when my wife and I arrive in Paris in late November? It departs at 6pm.

And should we take the Big Bus Hop-On Hop-Off tour the next morning?

We are staying at Hotel Pullman Paris Montparnasse.

For the following day, we have booked the Montmartre Cheese, Wine, and Pastry Guided Walking Tour."

John, those are excellent questions. My answers and suggestions are below.

Susan
Publisher of Paris Discovery Guide

Please note: The original question may be lightly edited for brevity or clarity.

Top photo: Arc de Triomphe at night, (c) Paris Discovery Guide

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Paris in November: Things to Do On Your First Night & First Days

Susan's answer:

John, all of your plans for you and your wife's first night and first day in Paris sound right on target for getting familiar with the city, enjoying the holiday lights that make this season so perfect, and immersing yourselves in one of Paris's iconic neighborhoods while sampling the local food.

Here is more specific feedback about each activity you're planning, plus a few tips and additional suggestions:

Open-Top Christmas Bus Tour - Why You'll Love It

Here's a photo I took while on the Tootbus Open Top Christmas tour - we were on Boulevard Haussmann with the Printemps department store in front us on the right - we'd just passed Galeries Lafayette, and were heading toward Champs-Elysees, known for its rows of gorgeous lights

Paris's Christmas lights cast a truly magical glow over the city, and the Toot Bus Open-Top Christmas Lights tour gives you an ideal way to experience this - a perfect activity for your first night in Paris. Plus, sitting on the upper deck puts you high above the city streets so you'll have excellent views.

I've taken the open-top Christmas bus tour a couple of times on my first evening in Paris when arriving at this time of the year, and loved it both times.

Touring around the city at the top of the double-decker bus provides the perfect antidote to jet lag if you've arrived from another time zone.

It's also a lovely way to soak up the beauty of the city's holiday lights such as the famous displays along Champs Elysees and Avenue Montaigne, see a few famous monuments such as the Eiffel Tower (the driver usually tries to time the trip so that you get to see it sparkle, and experience Christmas lights along the streets of several different Right Bank and Left Bank neighborhoods.

Plus, by departing at 6pm, you'll arrive back in time to head to dinner.

Tip #1 for the Bus Tour - Dress warmly - and then add another layer or two. You'll feel noticeably colder at the top of the bus than at street-level, plus the bus will be moving and thus creating a slight breeze.

Tip #2 - The fastest way to get from your hotel to the tour departure point on Boulevard des Capucines is by metro, but if you feel jet lagged and don't want to deal with getting tickets, etc, you can also take an Uber or taxi - but allow lots more time than you can possibly imagine would be necessary because traffic in Paris is always slow and at any time close to rush hour, it will barely crawl.

The tour ends up where it began on Boulevard des Capucines, so if you'd like to see more holiday lights, here's a short itinerary you can follow:

1. Walk down Rue Daunou, and turn left onto Rue de la Paix, known for its gorgeous street decorations and store windows.

2. In a couple of short blocks, you'll reach Place Vendome, famous for its spectacular Christmas trees. A kiosk across from the Ritz Hotel serves delicious hot chocolate.

Place Vendome & its sparkly Christmas trees and carousel (the hot chocolate kiosk is almost hidden behind the trees)

3. Once you leave the square, walk half a block and then turn left onto Rue Saint-Honoré to see more lights and holiday window displays.

4. By this point, you'll see a gigantic lit-up Ferris wheel on your right. It's in the big Tuileries Garden Christmas market - so you can also stop by there if you want. If you're hungry, the market has several chalets with casual winter food such as raclette (melted cheese on bread) and tartiflette (melted cheese with potatoes and optional ham), and of course hot mulled wine (vin chaud).

The carousel at the Tuileries Christmas Market near the Louvre

5. Walk the length of the Tuilieries Marché de Noel (ie, east to west), and you'll end up at Place de la Concorde where you can hop on the metro back to your hotel in Montparnasse.

Hop-On Hop-Off Bus - Why It's a Perfect First Day in Paris Activity

Hop-on hop-off buses give you the perfect way to get an overview of Paris, see some of the top monuments, and get a sense of the city's layout. They're my own favorite thing to do on my first day in any new (to me) city.

The tickets give you access for a day, plus an optional second day.

You might want to consider riding the bus for the entire circuit first, and then on the second round, get off at all the places where you want to explore.

Should you book the optional second day?

It depends. One day is probably enough to get an overview of Paris, but if you want to limit how much you walk or not try to master the city's metro and bus system just yet,* the bus does provide a convenient although somewhat slow way to get around the city.

*Tip: If you plan to use Paris's metro or buses, download the RATP app. It will show you the closest metro or bus to take, based on your location and destination, as well as how to get there.

Another option similar in concept to the HO-HO bus is the Batobus, a hop on hop off shuttle boat that goes up and down the Seine River, making 9 different stops. A single ticket allows you to ride all day.

Batobus at the Saint-Germain-des-Pres stop last November

A "pro" to the boat is that it doesn't get slowed down by street traffic - but a "con" is that not all monuments are along the river. If, for example, you want to see the Arc de Triomphe or Champs Elysees, you'll need to get off the boat and walk to it (maybe a 10-minute walk). The HO-HO bus definitely lets you see more of the city with less walking.

But on a beautiful day when the sun is shining, the Batobus can be the ideal way to get around while enjoy a relaxing river cruise.

Montmartre Cheese, Wine, and Pastry Tour - Why You'll Enjoy It

The Montmartre Cheese, Wine, and Pastry Tour is a fantastic way to explore Montmartre while sampling many delicious things - one of my own personal favorites. Enjoy!

Your tour guide will show you a lot of wonderful places in the neighborhood including the famous Rue des Abbesses food street, the Wall of Love, a few windmills, and views of the gleaming white Sacre Coeur Basilica.

After the tour, you might want to head back to the small but charming Abbesses Christmas Market by the metro station, and spend more time there.

The Abbesses Christmas Market in Montmartre

And of course, also walk over to Sacre Coeur.

You can either walk up the 222 steps from Square Louis Michel, the small garden at street level in front of the church, or take the funicular, a little cable car that glides up to the top of the hill in about 90 seconds.

The carousel at Place Louis Michel at the foot of Sacre Coeur Basilica

You'll need a ticket, but you can use a metro "T+" ticket, if you have already one. If not, buy one at the ticket booth at the bottom of the hill - currently for €1.90, the same price as a T+ ticket. Buy two if you plan to take the funicular down the hill later.

Once you're at the top, you'll see a viewing plaza for taking in the spectacular Paris skyline views.

Compared with other Parisian churches, Sacre Coeur is quite new and its design is based on a late-19th century interpretation of Romanesque-Byzantine architectural style that's quite unusual in Paris. Construction began in 1875 and completed in 1914, the year when World War I began.

Definitely take a few minutes to go inside and admire the truly spectacular mosaic ceiling, the largest in the world.

The famous mosaic in Sacre Coeur Basilica

Like all Parisian churches (except for Sainte-Chapelle, now classified as a historical monument), admission to the basilica is free although access to stairs going up to the top of the dome (almost 300 steps)nor down to the crypt costs a few euros.

After your visit to Sacre Coeur, walk over to Place du Tertre, just to the west. It's not too crowded at this time of the year, which means you can actually see the artists' drawings and paintings.