A food lover's 3 days in Paris, built from critic picks
Three days of eating in Paris, drawn entirely from restaurants professional critics write about. Dinners are the anchors: LArpege on day one, Le Cinq on day two and Septime on day three. Each day stays in one part of the city — the three stops sit within 2 km of each other at worst — so a day is walkable rather than a series of taxis. Nine restaurants in total, no repeats, chosen from 65 critically recognised places in Paris.
Updated August 2026
Day 1: where should you eat?
Three stops within about 1.7 km.
Breakfast
Les Deux Magots3 critic mentions including Time Out and La Liste
$$$
Lunch
Rosa Bonheur sur Seine2 critic mentions including Time Out and No Reservations
$$
Dinner
LArpege7 critic mentions including Condé Nast Traveler and Michelin Guide
French · $$$$
Day 2: where should you eat?
Three stops within about 0.3 km.
Breakfast
Relais de l’Entrecôte2 critic mentions including La Liste and No Reservations
$$
Lunch
Ladurée2 critic mentions including Time Out and Somebody Feed Phil
$$$
Dinner
Le Cinq4 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and La Liste
French · $$$$
Day 3: where should you eat?
Three stops within about 2 km.
Breakfast
Bistrot Paul Bert3 critic mentions including Eater and Parts Unknown
$$
Lunch
L'As du Fallafel2 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and Somebody Feed Phil
$
Dinner
Septime4 critic mentions including Michelin Guide and Condé Nast Traveler
French · $$$
Questions about eating in Paris
- What is the most critically acclaimed restaurant in Paris?
- LArpege, with 7 professional critic mentions — the most of any restaurant on this itinerary.
- Where should I have dinner on a three-day trip to Paris?
- This itinerary puts dinner at LArpege on day one, Le Cinq on day two and Septime on day three. Each is the most critically recognised restaurant in that day's area.
- How much walking does this Paris food itinerary involve?
- Day 1 keeps its three stops within about 1.7 km of each other; Day 2 keeps its three stops within about 0.3 km of each other; Day 3 keeps its three stops within about 2 km of each other.
- How are these Paris restaurants chosen?
- They are ranked by how many professional critic publications have written about them — not by user reviews or star averages. This itinerary draws from 65 critically recognised restaurants in Paris.
How this itinerary is built
Stops are picked automatically from Paris's critically recognised restaurants: the most-mentioned place in each area anchors that day's dinner, and earlier meals are chosen nearby, varying cuisine and price. The same data always produces the same itinerary. Cities with fewer than 25 critically recognised restaurants get no itinerary at all.