How many days should you spend in Paris?
Give Paris enough time to stop being a queue of icons. Three or four days can work for a first taste; longer lets food, neighbourhoods, parks and ordinary walking do more of the work.
Answer
Paris is not at its best when every day is the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Versailles and a restaurant booking lined up like work meetings. The famous sights matter, but the city becomes easier to love when the plan includes a bakery morning, a market, a neighbourhood walk and a park sit that was not optimised. Three or four days gives a first-timer a real start. Longer stays are better for travellers who want food, smaller museums, fashion, photography, or a slower rhythm after arrival. Day trips should come after Paris has had space, not before.