Paris from Copenhagen: Best Things to Do & Where to Stay

Paris sits less than two hours' flying time south of Copenhagen, which makes the City of Light one of the easiest grand European weekends a Nordic resident can plan. You trade the clean Scandinavian calm for something denser and more theatrical — Haussmann boulevards, café terraces, museums that need a lifetime — and you can be standing under the Eiffel Tower the same afternoon you left Kastrup. This guide covers how to get there, the sights that earn their reputation, where to base yourself and what a trip realistically costs.

Getting there from Copenhagen

The Copenhagen–Paris corridor is one of the busiest in northern Europe, so flights are frequent and competition keeps fares reasonable. Several airlines fly the route nonstop from Copenhagen Airport (CPH): SAS and Air France run full-service schedules, while Norwegian, easyJet and Transavia add lower-cost options. The flight takes roughly two hours. Most nonstop services land at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY); budget carrier Ryanair uses Paris-Beauvais (BVA), which is around 80 km north of the city and best thought of as a "near Paris" airport rather than a Paris one. For current timetables and fares, check the airline directly — schedules shift by season.

Getting from the airport into the centre is straightforward once you know your terminal. From Charles de Gaulle, the RER B suburban train is the fastest value option, reaching Gare du Nord in about 30 minutes with onward Metro connections across the city; it runs roughly every 10–15 minutes through the day. From Orly, the newer Metro Line 14 now connects directly to central Paris, or you can take the Orlyval shuttle to Antony and change to the RER B. From Beauvais, the official shuttle bus runs to Porte Maillot on the western edge of Paris (Metro Line 1) in about 1h15–1h30 depending on traffic — factor that extra time in when comparing a cheap Beauvais fare against a CDG one. Taxis from CDG and Orly run at fixed flat rates into Paris; check the official airport site for the current figure before you travel.

The best things to do in Paris

Paris rewards both the checklist tourist and the wanderer. These are the established highlights worth your limited time, roughly in order of how unmissable they are for a first or second visit.

The Eiffel Tower (la Tour Eiffel) is the obvious place to start and still genuinely thrilling up close. You can ride the lifts to the top, climb the stairs to the second floor for a cheaper and surprisingly quick ascent, or simply admire it from the Champ de Mars lawn or across the river at Trocadéro. Book a timed slot ahead on the official site to skip the worst of the queues, and time an evening visit for the hourly sparkle that lights the tower after dark.

The Louvre is the largest and most visited museum in the world, home to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, all behind I. M. Pei's glass pyramid. It is too big to "do" in one go — pick two or three wings, book a timed entry in advance, and accept that you'll only scratch the surface.

Musée d'Orsay, in a converted Beaux-Arts railway station across the Seine, is the more digestible museum and many visitors' favourite. Its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist work — Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas — is the finest anywhere, and the great station clock makes one of the best photographs in the city.

Notre-Dame de Paris, the Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire, its interior scrubbed luminously clean. Entry is free, but timed reservations via the cathedral's site are advised to manage the crowds. While you wait for a slot, walk a few minutes to Sainte-Chapelle, whose upper chapel holds the most dazzling medieval stained glass in the world — go on a bright day for the full effect.

Montmartre is the hilltop village in the city's north, crowned by the white domes of the Sacré-Cœur basilica. Climb (or take the funicular) for one of the best free panoramas of Paris, then lose the crowds in the back lanes around Place du Tertre and the vineyards behind the hill. It is touristy at the summit and quietly residential a street away.

Le Marais is the district to wander rather than tick off: a tangle of medieval lanes, independent boutiques, falafel queues on the Rue des Rosiers, and the elegant arcaded Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris. It is also the heart of the city's Jewish and LGBTQ+ life and some of its best casual eating.

The Arc de Triomphe anchors the western end of the Champs-Élysées, the broad avenue of flagship shops and cinemas. Climb the arch for a view straight down twelve radiating boulevards — arguably a better skyline shot than the Eiffel Tower, because it includes the tower itself.

A Seine cruise or riverside walk stitches the city together. The bateaux glide past Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in an hour; if you'd rather stay on foot, the pedestrianised lower quays make a fine free stroll, especially in the evening light.

The Latin Quarter and the Panthéon reward a half-day on the Left Bank: the warren of streets around the Sorbonne, the Jardin du Luxembourg with its toy sailboats and green chairs, the bookshops of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and the domed Panthéon where Voltaire, Rousseau and Marie Curie are buried.

If you have a spare day, the Palace of Versailles is the classic side trip — Louis XIV's vast château and its formal gardens are about 40 minutes out on the RER C. Book ahead and arrive early, as it is one of the most visited sights in France.

Where to stay

Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements spiralling out from the centre, and your choice of neighbourhood shapes the trip more than the hotel itself. Live listings and current prices are best checked through the booking widget on this page; here is how the main areas compare.

Le Marais (3rd & 4th) is the most-loved base for a short visit: central, walkable to Notre-Dame and the Louvre, packed with cafés, galleries and nightlife, and well connected by Metro. It suits first-timers and couples who want atmosphere on the doorstep, though it is not the cheapest.

Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Latin Quarter (5th & 6th) put you on the Left Bank among historic cafés, the Luxembourg gardens and the Musée d'Orsay. It is elegant and a little quieter than the Marais, good for culture-focused stays and for travellers who like to walk everywhere.

Montmartre (18th) trades central convenience for village charm, a hillside setting and lower prices a few streets back from the basilica. It suits returning visitors and anyone after a more residential, romantic feel — just expect a longer Metro hop to the major museums.

The 9th and 10th (Opéra, Canal Saint-Martin) are the value sweet spot: well connected, full of bistros and bars favoured by locals, with the Canal Saint-Martin offering a relaxed, less touristy evening scene. A solid choice for a longer or budget-minded stay. Wherever you land, anything inside the inner arrondissements puts you a short Metro ride from everything that matters.

When to go

Late spring (May to June) and early autumn (September to October) are the best windows. The weather is mild, the daylight long, the parks and café terraces in full swing, and the queues shorter than at the height of summer. June in particular catches the city at its greenest before the August lull.

July and August are warm and lively but busy, and many Parisians decamp on holiday in August, so some smaller restaurants and shops close. Winter (November to February) is cold, often grey and much quieter — a fine time for museum-heavy itineraries, with Christmas markets and lights from late November, and the lowest hotel demand outside the festive peak. Spring and autumn shoulder seasons give you the best balance of weather, value and atmosphere. Bring layers and a light rain jacket whatever the month; Paris weather is changeable, though rarely as raw as a Copenhagen winter.

Budget & practical tips

Paris uses the euro, not the Danish krone, so a travel card that avoids poor exchange rates and foreign-transaction fees — such as Wise or Revolut — is worth setting up before you go; both let you spend in euros at close to the interbank rate and withdraw cash with clearer fees than a standard Danish bank card. Contactless card and phone payments are accepted almost everywhere, including on the Metro.

On cost, Paris will feel broadly comparable to Copenhagen, and often a touch cheaper — restaurant meals, wine and supermarket basics generally undercut Danish prices, while top-tier hotels and headline attractions are pricey in both cities. Getting around is cheap and easy: the Metro is dense, frequent and the fastest way across town, and a carnet or multi-day travel pass quickly pays for itself over single tickets. Walking is a pleasure in the central arrondissements, where the great sights cluster within a few kilometres of each other.

A few practical notes. Buy timed tickets online in advance for the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Versailles — turning up cold can mean long waits or sold-out slots. Keep an eye on your belongings on the Metro and around the busiest tourist spots, where pickpocketing is the main nuisance. As with any trip outside the Nordics, basic travel insurance (a provider like SafetyWing covers short stays) is sensible for medical cover and trip mishaps, even on a quick European hop. Tap water is safe and free — ask for une carafe d'eau (a jug of tap water) rather than paying for bottled.

Good to know

Paris is one of the lowest-effort, highest-reward weekends a Copenhagen-based traveller can take: a short nonstop flight, a city you can cover on foot and by Metro, and a depth of sights that justifies returning again and again. For a first trip, give it three or four days, base yourself somewhere central like the Marais or the Latin Quarter, book the Eiffel Tower and Louvre ahead, and leave room to do nothing more than sit at a café and watch the city go by. Check the official sites linked below for current opening hours, ticket prices and flight times before you travel, since these change with the season — and you'll have a trip that delivers exactly what it promises.