Paris vs Rome: Which Iconic City is Right for You?

Trying to decide whether to visit Paris or Rome? As travelers who adore and appreciate both cities, we agree that it’s an incredibly difficult choice!

Paris and Rome both boast world-class sights, incredible food, tasty wine, epic history, and enough things to do to keep you busy and enchanted for months on end.

… and we’ve confirmed that by spending months in both of them, on a cumulative 10+ trips to each city (and counting).

While we strongly believe that you can’t truly make a wrong choice with this one, there are reasons why some travelers may prefer Rome over Paris, or Paris vs. Rome.

Looking for some guidance?

Here are the criteria we suggest using to make the final call on traveling to Paris or Rome!

Paris vs. Rome: Head-to-Head Comparisons

The Best Things to Do in Paris vs. Rome

As world-class cities with thousands of tourist attractions and a couple millennia of history each, there is no denying that you can find just about any kind of attraction you’re looking for in either city!

That being said, if you have to differentiate the two, one thing is clear: Paris is all about art and architecture, while Rome is all about archaeology and food.

Obviously, there are plenty of contrary examples (the Vatican Museums in Rome host incredible art, for one quick one), but if you’re looking for an “average” attraction experience, that’s one way to divide them!

Paris also boasts better skyline views on average than Rome, thanks to its iconic Eiffel Tower and hillier topography.

If we absolutely had to narrow it down, we’d say that these spots represent the top 5-ish attractions in each city (and we’ve personally done all of them many times over):

5 of the Best Things to See in Paris

• Admire the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero Gardens
• Explore the Louvre’s art, from the Mona Lisa to Venus de Milo and beyond
• Tour Paris’ most famous churches, including Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
• Climb to the top of a monument for epic views of Paris (our favorites are Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and Sacre-Coeur)
• Wandering the picturesque streets of Montmartre

5 of the Best Things to See in Rome

• Tour the Colosseum and the Roman Forum
• Take a self-guided walking tour through Centro Storico and see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and beyond
• Step inside St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City
• Explore the beautiful streets of Trastevere (we loved this food tour!)
• Enjoy a leisurely meal (or snack) in a Roman piazza

Getting Around Rome or Paris

When it comes to visiting either Paris or Rome, one thing is for sure: you won’t need a car to get around.

Paris is a much bigger city than Rome is (metro population 13.2 million or so, versus Rome’s 4.3 million), but it also boasts one of the densest metro networks in the world.

Between using the metro and walking through beautiful neighborhoods, you won’t need any other form of transport to get around Paris!

On the other hand, Rome only has two metro lines.

It also has a much more compact city center–you can walk between many of the best things to do in Rome in far less time than you can in Paris–but depending on your plans, you may want to add the occasional bus, Uber, or taxi ride to your trip.

Getting Off the Beaten Path in Paris or Rome

Want to get beyond the top sights and ditch the crowds in either Rome or Paris?

Luckily, it’s easy to do in both cities!

One of the benefits of visiting either Paris or Rome is that the cities are so densely covered in incredible places to see that even with the millions of visitors that they receive each year, there are still hundreds of places that feel undiscovered (or at least not overrun).

A few of our favorite uncrowded spots in Paris include the Cluny Museum, Square Marcel Bleustein Blanchet, and Rue des Martyrs.

A few favorites in Rome include Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Galleria Spada, and the view from the top of the Altar of the Fatherland.

We have dozens more suggestions for each city in our guide to getting off the beaten path in Paris and our guide to cool hidden gems in Rome!

Whether you’re looking for quiet streets, under-the-radar museums, less famous viewpoints, or quirky attractions, there are plenty of options in each city.

Geographically speaking, these hidden gems do tend to be closer together in Rome, simply because the city’s footprint is more compact–but you can almost certainly find something interesting and uncrowded to do in any Parisian neighborhood that you happen to be in!

Rome vs. Paris: Which City Has Better Day Trips?

While Paris and Rome are both extremely well-connected by train, I don’t personally consider either Rome or Paris to be ideal day trip cities. That’s simply because I find it extremely difficult to pull myself away from either one of them!

Case in point: after years of swearing we would visit Tivoli, one of Rome’s most famous day trips, “on our next trip”, we finally gave in and booked a few days there (and we loved it).

That being said, Paris’ best day trips lend themselves to châteaus and small cities, while Rome’s tend toward archaeological ruins and small towns.

Paris’ most iconic day trips include visiting Versailles and touring the gardens of Giverny.

Rome’s most iconic day trips include Pompeii/the Amalfi Coast and the Tuscan countryside, though we’d argue that its best day trips include Ostia Antica (and Ostia’s beach), Orvieto, and Tivoli.

You can visit the beach for the day from Rome (Ostia, Santa Marinella, Sperlonga, Gaeta), while Paris day trips require you to stay inland.

On the other hand, you can take international day trips from Paris (London, Luxembourg), which isn’t realistic from Rome unless you count Vatican City!

Here are our picks for the best day trips from each city:

• 17 Incredible Day Trips From Paris By Train, Car, or Tour
• 21 Riveting Day Trips From Rome (+ How to Get There)

The Tiber vs. the Seine: Quick River Comparison

This is a bit tongue-and-cheek, as we don’t think anyone is deciding whether to visit Paris or Rome based on their riverbanks… but there’s such a clear winner here that I can’t help mentioning it.

While both Paris and Rome were developed along rivers, the modern Seine is an incredible place for a sightseeing cruise (we loved this one), is home to the famous Parisian plages (manmade beaches) in the summer, and is the far more entertaining river for visitors.

The Tiber makes for a wonderful inclusion in sunset photos (head to Ponte Umberto I for a beautiful view over the river), but its banks are generally better known for their distinct smell of urine.

(Don’t get me wrong, the Seine is far from pristine, but it’s a very different place for a tourist than the Tiber!)

Are Rome and/or Paris “dirty” cities?

If you’ve been casually researching the best cities to visit in Europe, you almost certainly have come across the occasional review calling Rome, Paris, or both “dirty”.

So, are they? By big city standards, we don’t necessarily think so–for example, their central districts are a bit cleaner than New York if you ask us–but they definitely have their share of litter, unpleasant smells, and especially graffiti.

You won’t visit either Paris or Rome without seeing a bit of graffiti!

Personally we find that any dirty features quickly fade into the background, but it’s true that neither city is entirely pristine, especially in places like metro stops.

The Best Time of Year to Visit Paris vs. Rome

Struggling to choose between visiting Paris or Rome, but have your travel dates locked in?

If so, you might want to let climate be your guide!

While both cities have been subjected to brutal summer heatwaves in recent years, very generally speaking, Paris has milder summers, and Rome has milder winters.

Rome’s Mediterranean climate means that if we were picking based on weather alone, we’d opt for it in winter, early spring (March/April), or late fall (November).

Based on climate, we’d opt for Paris in the summer (here’s our guide to visiting Paris in August).

December is a special case that depends on your priorities: Rome will (probably) have better weather, but even though neither place is a major Christmas market destination, Paris’ Christmas markets easily outrank Rome’s in our opinion.

That being said, we love both cities 12 months a year (here’s our review of Paris in November, for example), and each month comes with its own pros and cons.

For example, Paris in February may be famously gray and damp… but you’ll almost certainly snag a deeper discount on a hotel there than you would in Rome of the same month!

Here are our thoughts on visiting each city in winter:

• Paris in Winter: 31 Fun Things to Do (+ Why to Visit!)
• 21 Cool Things to Do in Rome This Winter (+ Tips for Visiting!)

Which city is best on a budget?

Paris and Rome are both iconic, incredible cities that rank among the most touristic cities in the world–in other words, neither one is exactly cheap.

However, if budget is a concern, Rome is slightly cheaper than Paris, particularly when it comes to lodging.

You can certainly stick to a strict budget in either city, but Rome does make it easier: its smaller footprint means that budget hotels/hostels aren’t necessarily as far away from the main attractions as you can find in Paris.

Food also tends to be a bit cheaper in Rome.

When it comes to attractions, major ones (the Louvre, the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums) will frequently run over 20 Euros for a base ticket–sometimes well over.

However, there are hundreds of free or nearly free things to do in each city, if you’re willing to step off the beaten path! You won’t be bored in either place, regardless of budget.

Where to Stay in Rome or Paris

We go into far, far more detail on where to stay in either Rome or Paris in in our itineraries for each city (here’s our suggested 3 day Paris itinerary, and here’s our suggested 4 day Rome itinerary), but to keep things very simple, here’s what we suggest in one sentence each:

For most first-time visitors, we consider the ideal place to stay in Paris the 5th or 6th arrondissement.

Here are our top-recommended hotels there (we’ve personally stayed in all of them!):

• Hotel Abbatial Saint Germain (centrally located, cozy, quiet street)
• Relais Hôtel du Vieux Paris (classic Parisian charm, excellent breakfast)
• Citadines Saint-Germain-des-Prés Paris (modern, kitchens, on the Seine)

In Rome, we would recommend staying in Centro Storico or in the edges of very closely touching neighborhoods (the closer edges of Trastevere, Monti, or Prati/Vaticano, for example).

Here are a few of our most-recommended places to stay:

• Condotti Boutique Hotel (modern, perfect location, some rooms with views)
• BDB Rooms Margutta (contemporary interior on an idyllic street near the Spanish Steps–we loved this location!)
• Villa Spalletti Trivelli (dreamy on-site spa, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World collection)
• ACB Vaticano Suites (cozy, budget-friendly option near the Vatican)

Our Personal Favorite City Between Rome and Paris

I always hate picking favorites, especially in a battle like Paris vs. Rome, where I love them both so dearly.

Since we plan to revisit both cities continually for the rest of our lives, choosing a “favorite” only makes me call to mind all the reasons I love the other.

These days, when we decide whether to visit Rome or Paris, it comes down to exactly what we want to do at the time more than anything.

If we’re looking for museum-hopping and viewpoints, we go to Paris. If we’re looking for casual food in cozy trattorias and unforgettable archaeological sites, we go to Rome.

If I absolutely had to pick, though, I’d say that Rome holds a slight edge over Paris for both of us, and that Italy holds a slight edge over France, as well.

That’s only our opinion, though, and plenty of people disagree with us!

There’s no doubt that in a showdown between Rome and Paris, there’s ultimately no wrong answer.

Whether you choose to visit Paris or Rome, you’re bound to walk away enchanted!

Read More About Visiting Rome and Paris

If you found this Rome vs. Paris comparison guide helpful, we’d love to continue to be part of your travel planning here on Our Escape Clause!

Paris and Rome are two of our most-written about cities, and as of early 2026, we’ve written roughly a couple dozen guides to each of them (not including the rest of France and Italy).

You can browse all of our Rome guides here, all of our Paris guides here, or check out these blog posts:

Rome

• 35+ Important Rome Travel Tips You Need to Know
• Is a Colosseum Night Tour Worth the Splurge? (+ Tips!)
• 2 Days in Rome: An Epic + Easy Rome Itinerary

Paris

• Visiting the Paris Catacombs: Essential Things to Know!
• The Perfect One Day in Paris Itinerary (How to See Paris in a Day!)
• What to Do in Paris at Night: 21 Exciting Ideas