Things to do in Paris

Five days is ideal — one each for the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay/Rodin, the Marais and the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, and a Versailles half-day with the rest in Saint-Germain. Two is feasible for a long weekend but you'll be queueing somewhere most hours of it.

The Musée d'Orsay rather than the Louvre, if you have time for only one. The Impressionist galleries on the upper floor (Manet's Olympia, Monet's Gare Saint-Lazare series, Van Gogh's self-portrait) plus the building itself — a Belle Époque train station with the original clock face still working.

The Marais (3rd and 4th) for medieval lanes, falafel on Rue des Rosiers, Place des Vosges and small museums (Picasso, Carnavalet). Canal Saint-Martin (10th) for the canal-side bars and indie boutiques. Belleville for street art, low rents and the multicultural food scene.

A proper omelette and a glass of Sancerre at a corner café for lunch. Steak frites at Le Relais de l'Entrecôte (a single set menu) for dinner. Croissant from Du Pain et des Idées on Rue Yves Toudic. A Negroni at Little Red Door if you want a cocktail bar that ranks globally.

Yes — 14 lines, dense coverage, one of the most efficient networks in Europe. A carnet of 10 tickets or a Navigo Easy card saves money. The bus is slower but you see the city; the night buses (Noctilien) fill in after metros stop around 1 a.m.

The Promenade Plantée — a 4.7 km elevated park built on a disused railway line in the 12th arrondissement, the original inspiration for New York's High Line. Walk it from Bastille east through Coulée Verte to the Bois de Vincennes. Almost no tour groups.