Paris Holidays

Paris holidays: where every moment sparkles with romance, art, and croissants that'll make your heart sing as much as your taste buds. Whether you're after a city break for two, a family trip to Disneyland, or a long weekend that somehow involves all three, Paris delivers every time.

Holidays to Paris Highlights

• Café Culture Cool - sip on a café au lait at a streetside café – people-watching in Paris is practically a sport!

• Fashionista's Paradise - strut down the streets where every corner feels like a runway. Ooh la la, indeed!

• Artistic Wonderland - from the Louvre to street art, Paris is an art lover’s dream, one masterpiece at a time.

• Gourmet Galore - indulge in a culinary journey from croissants that melt in your mouth to escargot for the daring.

• Romantic Strolls - hand-in-hand walks along the Seine? Yes, please! Romance is always in the air here.

Our Take

"Paris has a way of hiding its best bits in plain sight, and the visitors who find them tend to be the ones who wander rather than tick off a list. Rue Crémieux is the one I'd point people towards first, a tiny pedestrian street lined with pastel-coloured houses that barely anyone knows exists, ten minutes from the Gare de Lyon and completely unlike anything else in the city. The Promenade Plantée is another one that rewards the curious, an elevated park built along a disused railway line above the 12th arrondissement where you walk through treetops and past rooftops with the city unfolding below. For a view that beats the Eiffel Tower queues entirely, the rooftop terrace of the Galeries Lafayette department store is completely free and gives you an unobstructed panorama including the Eiffel Tower itself. Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th is where Parisians actually spend their weekends, picnics on the iron footbridges, zinc bars, and an atmosphere far removed from the tourist circuit a few arrondissements over."

- Rob Brooks, On the Beach holiday expert

Good to Know

• Best Picnic Spot – Champ de Mars, right under the Eiffel Tower. Cheese, wine, and a killer view.

• Vino tipple - if you're fancying a cheeky glass of wine or two, you're looking at anywhere between €4 and €15 depending on where you settle down - it's all about the location after all. The lower end of the price scale can be found in cafés and bistros, but if you're chasing trendy spots, then you should expect the higher average price.

• Fun fact - the first public café in the world opened on Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie in 1686; it's still standing as Le Procope, and you can have lunch in the same dining room where Voltaire used to put away forty cups of coffee a day.

Top tips about the best sights to see in Paris

Remember when Carrie Bradshaw traipsed the streets of Paris in her iconic Louboutins? Picture that, but with today's swagger and without the dramatic heartbreak. A city break to Paris isn't just about snapping a selfie with the Eiffel Tower or munching on croissants (although, let’s be real, those flaky pastries are life). It's about stepping into a world as timeless as your grandma’s vintage coat and as buzzing as last night's TikTok dance trend... but it's the most popular city in the world, so a few insider tips will help your trip go smoothly. With that in mind, here are our top tips:

• Notre-Dame - this one-of-a-kind cathedral is renowned for its gorgeous French Gothic architecture and is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world. It reopened in December 2024 after the post-fire restoration, and is free to enter. Book a timed slot online via the cathedral's website to skip the on-the-day queue, which routinely wraps around the cathedral square in summer.

• Eiffel Tower - what's a trip to Paris without scaling this iconic landmark? It might as well be considered a wonder of the world at this point... okay, maybe that's a stretch. Book lift tickets online at the official site weeks ahead in peak season, since same-day tickets sell out by mid-morning. The cheaper alternative is climbing the stairs to the second floor (no booking required, walk-up only). The hourly sparkle from sunset to 1 am is the photo, every full hour for five minutes.

• The Louvre - it's like the magnum opus of art, renowned worldwide for its extensive collection of exquisite pieces throughout the ages, the Mona Lisa's current address too, but you deffo already knew that. Book a timed entry slot online, pick two or three wings rather than trying to do it all, and head straight to the Mona Lisa first thing or last thing to dodge the worst of the crowds. Even better, it's free the first Saturday of every month from 6 pm to 9:45 pm.

• Sacré-Cœur - this towering centre of religious worship is a marvel to look at from the outside as much as it is the inside, with white spires piercing the heavens. It's free to enter; no booking needed. The funicular up the Montmartre hill saves the legs; the view from the steps in front is the same either way. The interior dome climb (paid, walk-up only) gives the best free Paris panorama from the top.

• Versailles - a blast from Paris' past, this sprawling site of luxury will make you feel like you've stepped straight into a Bridgerton-esque fantasy world as you wander the ornate hallways and palace gardens. Allow a full day, and book a timed Palace ticket online. The gardens are free outside the Musical Fountain Show days (Saturday and Sunday, April to October). RER C from central Paris drops you at Versailles Château-Rive Gauche, 10 minutes from the gates.

Getting to Paris

An hour and forty minutes. That's London to Paris by plane - one of the shortest international flight times from the UK and a big part of why Paris city breaks are so effortlessly bookable. Direct flights operate daily from London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City, plus Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol, with EasyJet, British Airways and Ryanair all running UK routes year-round.

For those travelling from central London, Eurostar is an alternative option - though for most UK travellers, flying remains the quickest and most flexible way to get there, particularly when you're booking from outside the capital.

Book a Paris holiday package with OTB and your flights and hotel are sorted in one ATOL-protected booking from £19pp deposit. No juggling separate reservations, no stress if plans change, and the package price typically undercuts booking independently - especially when Paris hotel rates spike in peak season. So, whether you're after short Paris breaks, or you fancy a full week to soak up the city, we've got the package holiday to match.

The Best Hotels for your Holidays to Paris

Whether you're planning a romantic city break for two, a family holiday with the kids, or something properly swanky, we've got Paris hotels to match. Here are some of our top picks, or you can browse all our Paris hotels here:

For Couples

• Le Six – a gorgeous boutique stay in Montparnasse with an on-site spa, hammam, and a stunning glass-roofed Winter Garden lounge. Grab a cocktail, sink into an armchair, and live your main character moment. Proper romantic.

• Park Lane Paris – slap bang in the fashion and shopping district, so if you and your other half are into retail therapy, this one's your bag. The breakfast room is designed like a classic Paris Metro station, which is a nice touch.

• Pullman Paris Montparnasse – four-star with a rooftop bar complete with nightly DJ sets. Close to Luxembourg Gardens and the Catacombs, and a brilliant base for exploring the Left Bank together.

• XO Hotel – art-deco charm just outside the city-centre chaos, but with easy transport links into all the gorgeousness Paris has to offer. Room service with a wine list? Don't mind if we do.

For Families

• L'Elysée Val D'Europe – a proper solid pick if Disneyland Paris is on the agenda. There's a free shuttle to the parks just 10 minutes away, restaurants on-site, and connecting rooms for bigger broods. Sorted.

• Explorers Hotel – pirate-themed rooms the kids will go absolutely wild for, plus a waterpark, soft play areas, a 10D cinema, and a candy shop. It's basically a theme park before you even get to the actual theme park.

• XO Hotel – works brilliantly for families too, with spacious rooms and a location that's easy to get into central Paris from without being in the thick of it. Good for keeping costs down while still seeing all the sights.

• Pullman Paris Centre – Bercy – four-star with an indoor pool, spa, playground, and 392 rooms. Walking distance to Bastille and great metro links for getting the whole crew around the city without the stress.

For Groups

• Pullman Paris Centre Bercy, the four-star group-friendly pick at scale. Indoor pool, spa, playground for the under-tens, but the real draw for groups is the Bastille walking distance and the strong metro links to Pigalle, Le Marais and the centre.

• Park Lane Paris, central, walkable to Champs-Élysées and the Golden Triangle, and the Metro-station-styled breakfast room is a proper conversation starter. Solid pick for hen weekends and stylish group breaks.

• XO Hotel, Art Deco character with city centre transport links. Suits stag and hen groups looking for boutique character without the boutique price tag.

Luxury

• Shangri-La Hotel Paris – a five-star hotel with Eiffel Tower views, an indoor pool, spa, and restaurants on-site. If you want to wake up to la Tour d'Eiffel framed in your window, this is the one. Doesn't get much more Parisian than that.

• Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel – another stunner in the Tour Eiffel area with modern rooms and brilliant facilities. A proper treat if you're looking to splash out on your Paris jollies.

👉 All hotels in Paris

Where to stay on your holidays to Paris

• Tour Eiffel is the picture-postcard base: the 7th arrondissement, Eiffel Tower on the doorstep, Champ de Mars and the Seine for morning walks. Priciest area, but unbeatable for a romantic weekend or a first trip.

• Latin Quarter is classic Left Bank, cobbled streets, Shakespeare and Company bookshop, bistros that have been there since the 1920s. Walking distance to Notre-Dame and Luxembourg Gardens, brilliant for couples and culture trips.

• Montparnasse is the underrated pick, with six metro lines on the doorstep, the Catacombs and Luxembourg Gardens nearby, and hotel rates noticeably softer than the 7th. Local feel without being miles out.

• Bastille is the going-out base, bars, bistros, the Sunday Marché Bastille, and quick metro hops to Le Marais, the Pompidou and the Seine. Best for groups, late-night types and second-time visitors.

• Bercy is the budget-conscious central base, modern, residential, right by Gare de Lyon and the Accor Arena, with strong four-star hotels for less than central rates. Solid for families with older kids and concert-going visitors.

• Disneyland Paris Area is for park-focused families, free shuttles to the gates, big family rooms, and the RER A 40 minutes into central Paris when you fancy a city day.

Local Lingo

French in Paris has a reputation for being unforgiving, but a few phrases delivered with a smile go further than you'd think. Even getting "bonjour" wrong is forgiven; what's not forgiven is skipping it entirely. A handful of common phrases to get you started:

• Bonjour, bohn-ZHOOR, Hello (and the magic word, say it before anything else when you walk into a shop)

• S'il vous plaît, seel voo PLAY, Please

• Merci, mehr-SEE, Thank you

• Excusez-moi, eks-koo-zay MWAH, Excuse me / Sorry

• L'addition, s'il vous plaît, lah-dee-SYOHN seel voo PLAY, The bill, please

Paris Holidays 2026 / 2027 Travel Guide

Things to do for Families

• Disneyland Paris - the obvious headline, a 40-minute RER A ride from central Paris, two parks (Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios), worth a full day or a two-day pass.

• Aquarium de Paris - a properly grown-up aquarium near the Eiffel Tower, with a Mediterranean tank, a shark tunnel and feeding sessions every hour.

• Bateaux Mouches Seine cruise - an hour on the river, every Paris landmark from a different angle, ice cream on the deck.

• Jardin du Luxembourg - the model sailboats on the central pond are pure 1900s charm, plus a playground, pony rides, and shaded benches for parents.

• Cité des Sciences - hands-on science museum at La Villette with a planetarium and a kids' play zone for under-12s. Easily a half-day in bad weather.

Things to do for Couples

• Sunset on Pont Alexandre III - the most ornate bridge in Paris, gold cherubs and lamp posts, the Eiffel Tower lit up to the west. Bring a bottle; no glassware.

• Seine dinner cruise - a 90-minute float past the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower with three courses and wine.

• Musée d'Orsay - Impressionist heaven in a converted Belle Époque train station, far less of a scrum than the Louvre.

• A bistro lunch in Saint-Germain - Le Comptoir du Relais or Allard for old-school Paris dining, two courses and a glass of wine for £35 to £50 a head.

• Sacré-Cœur at dusk - the steps in front of the basilica fill up with buskers and a panoramic city view as the lights come on. Free, and the photo of the trip.

Things to do for Groups

• Moulin Rouge cabaret - the original Belle Époque show, two-hour sit-down with bubbles, books up months ahead. From around £100 a head, depending on the package.

• Bastille and Oberkampf bar crawl - two adjacent neighbourhoods packed with cocktail bars, dive bars and late-night terraces. Start at Le Comptoir Général by Canal Saint-Martin and work eastward.

• PSG at Parc des Princes - if a home Ligue 1 fixture lines up with your dates, this is one of the loudest atmospheres in European football.

• Catacombs underground tour - six million Parisians arranged in bone-lined tunnels beneath the 14th arrondissement, which sounds grim and is actually one of the most fascinating things you can do in the city. Book ahead, go as a group, and watch someone in the group pretend they're not slightly unnerved. Always one.

• Belleville street-art walk - the 20th arrondissement has the best graffiti and tagging scene in the city, free guided walks every Sunday from Place des Fêtes Metro.

Your Perfect Paris City Break

Three to four nights is the sweet spot for Paris city breaks. Here's how to make every day count.

Day 1 - The Icons

Start with the Eiffel Tower before the crowds arrive and the queues get biblical - book lift tickets online, go early, thank us later. Walk the Seine west to the Musée d'Orsay for the Impressionist collection in a converted Belle Époque train station that's honestly as impressive as the art inside. Lunch in Saint-Germain at whichever bistro has a free pavement table, afternoon through the Tuileries, and finish the night at Pont Alexandre III - the most over-the-top ornate bridge in Paris - watching the Eiffel Tower do its five-minute sparkle on the hour after dark. Properly romantic, completely free.

Day 2 - Art, Markets and Getting Wonderfully Lost

Morning at the Louvre - book timed entry, go straight to the Mona Lisa, try not to be surprised that she's smaller than you expected (everyone is), then give yourself two or three wings rather than attempting the whole thing and hating yourself by 3pm. Lunch at Marché des Enfants Rouges in Le Marais, Paris's oldest covered market and a brilliant chaotic mix of Lebanese, Moroccan and French stalls since 1615. Spend the afternoon getting deliberately lost in the Marais - Place des Vosges, the boutiques, the hidden courtyards. Evening in Bastille, where the 11th arrondissement has the best casual dining in the city right now.

Day 3 - Montmartre, Notre-Dame and a Bottle of Something Good

Take the funicular up to Montmartre - the views from Sacré-Cœur over the whole city are the reward; the village streets winding down are the bonus. Afternoon at Notre-Dame, restored and reopened in December 2024 after the post-fire rebuild - free to enter, book a timed slot online to skip the on-the-day queue, and genuinely worth it. End the night on the Sacré-Cœur steps at dusk with a bottle of wine, some buskers for company, and the entire city lit up below. Costs nothing. Feels like everything.

Day 4 - Versailles or Go Even Deeper

Out of the city: Versailles is forty minutes on the RER C - book Palace tickets well in advance, allow a full day for the Hall of Mirrors, State Apartments and the gardens, and go Tuesday to Friday to dodge the weekend crush. Stay in Paris: Musée Rodin in the morning (The Thinker in the garden, criminally underrated), the Catacombs in the afternoon (1.5km of bone-lined tunnels, 14°C year-round, properly eerie - book online), and a Seine dinner cruise to close out the trip in the most Parisian way imaginable.

More places to stay in France

When you think about your holidays to France, sometimes (only sometimes), Paris doesn't come to mind, but there are plenty more places to holiday like a true Parisian icon, even away from the capital. Here are the top French destinations to add to your travel list:

• The Côte d'Azur (French Riviera) - this is where the South of France turns it up to eleven. Experience Nice's iconic pebbly shores and vibrant promenade energy, or head to Cannes for pure red-carpet glamour. For a quieter escape, Menton offers gorgeous views right on the Italian border, while St. Tropez delivers exactly the upscale, boutique experience you'd expect.

• Normandy - swapping Mediterranean sunshine for dramatic coastal scenery, Normandy serves up striking chalk cliffs, world-class cider, and some of Europe's most stirring history.

• Annecy - if you are looking for something a little more off the beaten track, Annecy is a fairytale alpine town wrapped around a crystal-clear lake. It is the kind of picturesque destination that makes your camera work overtime.

• Bordeaux - as the world's wine capital, this place blends majestic 18th-century architecture with a vibrant, modern food scene. It serves as the perfect gateway to legendary vineyards, world-class tastings, and the sweeping Atlantic beaches of Arcachon, just a short trip away.