One of our favorite ways to get to know a city is to explore it on foot. During our 2 week trip to Europe over the summer, we had a fantastic time completing our self guided walking tour of London along the Thames and decided to replicate the experience for Paris. In this post, we’re sharing all the details of our self guided walking tour of Paris along the Seine.

This tour will take 3-5 hours to complete at a leisurely pace, depending on if you just walk it straight through with minimal stops or if you decide to indulge in some of the museums and experiences on the way. The journey begins at the Eiffel Tower and winds its way along the Seine to the Louvre with lots of fun stops and opportunities to get to know The City of Love during the walk.

We did this self guided walking tour of Paris with Kayla’s mini adventurer who was just shy of turning 2, so this guide includes some of the special little stops you can do that will make the journey enjoyable for little ones as well.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. That means at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission from your purchase which will go toward bringing you more travel tips, tricks, and tidbits.

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The Route

The Eiffel Tower

This self guided walking tour of Paris begins at the city’s most iconic landmark – The Eiffel Tower. While most people have it on their bucket list to see during their time in Paris, first timers may not know that you can go inside the Eiffel Tower!

For varying price points, you can purchase tickets to go up to the 1st, 2nd, and top floors of the Eiffel Tower. Not only will you have fantastic panoramic views of the city, you’ll also be able to dine inside the Eiffel Tower if you wish! Each level has dining options at different price points. There are also little shops inside where you can get one of a kind souvenirs to commemorate your trip! You can either purchase tickets through the Eiffel Tower website or have a guided tour of the Eiffel Tour coupled with a Seine River Cruise.

If you do decide to venture inside, just be sure you pay attention to what you’re paying for. Some tickets only give you access to the stairs and others give you access to the elevator.

Underneath the Eiffel Tower is a carousel that children will enjoy riding – and it makes for such cute pictures with the Eiffel Tower serving as a great backdrop! If you have children, they may also like seeing a traditional French marionnette puppet show at the Marionnettes du Champ de Mars Paris. The theatre is located right by the Eiffel Tower and only costs €6 per person to attend. This is a fantastic fun way to show your children a bit of French culture that they are sure to remember!

After finishing your fun with the Eiffel Tower, make your way toward Pont d’léna bridge. Just before you get to the bridge, veer right onto the wide walking path where you’ll continue on your way for 1.5 miles (2.4km) toward Place de la Concorde. The walking path is very wide and parents should be comfortable letting their little ones out of the stroller to stretch their legs along the way since vehicles are not allowed on the path. It also has fantastic river views for most of the walk!

Photo Ops & Museums

You won’t have to go far before you have excellent photo opportunities of the Eiffel Tower without any other tourists in your photos! During your walk, you’ll see boats bobbing in the river, art installations, historical monuments, and beautiful bridges.

You may also like visiting the couple of museums you’ll pass in this stretch. At Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, you can see tribal art from around the world. The Paris Sewer Museum shows you “the city beneath the city”, and Fluctuart: Center of Urban Art gives you a chance to enjoy art, books, and a casual meal on the water.

World Famous Macarons

Our favorite stop was Le Café Pierre Hermé, where we got to buy some absolutely delicious macarons. There is a little stand alone shop on the side of the path just before Pont de l’Alma bridge. Since this stop is toward the beginning of the walking tour of Paris, you’ll have a delicious treat if you get snacky during your walk!

There is an ongoing debate over whether Pierre Hermé or Ladurée has the best macarons in the world. We didn’t get to try the latter, but we can confirm the macarons from Pierre Hermé are both beautiful and extremely tasty. They make a fantastic gift to bring back home to someone!

The Most Beautiful Bridge in Paris

You can cross Pont de la Concorde bridge which will deposit you right at Place de la Concorde, but we chose to take the one just before it – Pont Alexandre III bridge.

This bridge is so incredibly beautiful and is one of the most ornate bridges in Paris! It has stunning gilded statues standing tall on pedestals at each corner of the bridge, dozens of beautiful old lampposts adorned with cherubs, and intricate stone garland along the outer sides with gilded details. There are some great photo opportunities on the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the distance or off the bridge if you’d like a picture of the entire bridge in all its glory!

Place de la Concorde

From the bridge, it is less than a 10 minute walk to Palace de la Concorde – the largest square in Paris.

There are 2 beautiful fountains on either side of the square with an enormous Egyptian obelisk at its center and palatial buildings dotting the perimeter. The obelisk is over 3000 years old and dates back to the reign of Ramses III. Its twin remains at their original location in front of Luxor Temple in Egypt, which Kayla got to see when she went on a tour of Egypt with Bucket List Travel.

History buffs will be interested to know that during the late 1700s, the square was home to the executions of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. After their deaths, the Reign of Terror began and a guillotine was permanently installed at Place de la Concorde for 2 years. During that troublesome time of the French Revolution, over 1,100 people were publicly executed in the square.

If you want a hearty meal, consider heading over to Ferdi while you’re in this area. This unpretentious eatery is said to have the best cheeseburger in Paris. In fact, it’s Kim Kardashian’s favorite, and the restaurant is often frequented by other celebs as well!

Ferdi is only a six minute walk from Place de la Concorde and only one block over from Jardin des Tuileries.

Jardin des Tuileries

On the eastern side of Place de la Concorde is one of the entrances to Jardin des Tuileries, a massive public garden with a fascinating history and a lovely space to spend a sunny day in Paris. It directly connects Place de la Concorde to the Louvre.

The garden was first commissioned by Queen Catherine Medici and was much smaller than it is today. Over time, it was heavily expanded upon, but it wasn’t until 100 years after its original construction that it got its iconic French classical landscaping design that it retains today and the garden became open to the public to enjoy.

In 1783, over 400,000 people gathered in and around the garden to watch a hot air balloon ascend with 2 people inside. Benjamin Franklin had come to Paris to watch the trials and the world waited for news of whether the flight was successful. Up until that point, only farm animals had been up in a hot air balloon. Not only was the flight a success with the balloon traveling 27 miles, it became known as the world’s first manned flight!

Today, the gardens offer ample space to stretch your legs. There are cafes dotted throughout, serene fountains, beautiful sculptures, and lots of shady trees that are perfect for picnicking under. Little ones will enjoy riding the carousel located at the heart of the gardens and older kids will love playing on the massive playground directly beside the carousel.

If you are visiting Paris during July and August, children and adults alike can have hours of fun at the Fête des Tuileries – a massive fair set up in the gardens with over 60 attractions! Art lovers will enjoy visiting the Musée de l’Orangerie any time of year, where you can see 8 of Monet’s water lily paintings.

If you want a fun filled day for your children any time of year, consider taking them to Disneyland Paris! It is an easy day trip from the city center. Check out our roundup of 10 Things to Know For Disneyland Paris as a jumping off point to plan your extra magical day.

After you’ve had your share of fun in the gardens, you’ll want to exit on the complete opposite side of the park that you entered, which will take you to the Louvre.

The Louvre Museum

The last stop on this self guided walking tour of Paris is the Louvre Museum. The museum opened in 1793. While the palace once housed French royals, today it is home to 35,000 works of art – the most famous one being the Mona Lisa.

Outside of the Louvre, you’ll be able to get pictures with the iconic glass pyramids and the beautiful buildings that make up the Louvre. On the inside, you’ll find rooms and hallways dripping in splendor. The formal palace has maintained its opulent design throughout the years, with several rooms being masterpieces in and of themselves.

It can be a bit confusing to navigate a large museum, but especially the largest museum in the world. To help you out, the Louvre has curated some self guided visitor trails of varying lengths to assist you if you’re unsure where to begin.

If you start feeling peckish after a day filled exploring, the museum has several cafes. Many people flock to Angelina though, as it is renowned for having some of the best hot chocolate in the world.

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If you’ve done this walking tour of Paris from start to finish, give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve had a long day exploring, but it was one filled with beauty and fun things to do. Take a taxi or an Uber back to your accommodations since you spent so long on your feet today – you can easily catch one right outside the Louvre!

Let us know in the comments below your favorite stops on our Self Guided Walking Tour of Paris!

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