Paris

Paris is smaller than its reputation suggests. The twenty arrondissements spiral out from the Seine in a shape locals call the snail, and you can cross the whole of central Paris on foot in about two hours. That matters, because the distance between two landmarks is often shorter than the metro journey between them, and the walk is invariably the better experience. The obvious sights - the Louvre, the Musee d Orsay, Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower - genuinely deserve the attention, but they are best treated as anchors rather than a checklist. Book timed entry online for anything major; queuing on the day now costs hours rather than minutes. The city rewards a slower register: an hour in the Marais, a morning market on the rue Mouffetard, the covered passages of the 2nd arrondissement. Most museums close on either Monday or Tuesday, and many are free on the first Sunday of the month, which is worth planning around in both directions.