Day one: From Marais mansions to midnight munchies
9AM Start the day on the Right Bank with an awesome croissant from the hugely popular Moisan, an easy stroll from beautiful 17th-century Place des Vosges. The Marais is abuzz with culture, shops, bars and, in its imposing hôtels particuliers, important cultural institutions: take your pick from the Musée Carnavalet, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaïsme or the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Shoppers, meanwhile, will find rich pickings in the streets leading off the main shopping thoroughfare of Rue des Francs-Bourgeois.
NOON From the Marais, head across the Seine via the Pont de Sully to the Institut du Monde Arabe, which holds a fine collection of Middle Eastern art and a rooftop café with fabulous views down the Seine. (Other wonderful panoramas in Paris include the summit of the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont and the Sacré-Coeur, although the latter is worth saving for dusk.) After a wander along the Left Bank to lunch in the back room at La Palette, a classic café, meander along the stone quays that border the Seine and leaf through tatty paperbacks at the riverside bouquinistes, before ducking into the Musée d'Orsay for an Impressionist masterclass.
4PM From here, either hop on a boat tour or explore the islands. Snag an ice-cream from Berthillon on the Ile St-Louis, before popping over to the Ile de la Cité to visit the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation and Notre-Dame.
9PM Evenings start with aperitifs. Join the sociable crowd on the terrace seats at Le Bar du Marché and watch the Left Bank people-traffic pass by over a kir and a light supper. Then cross the river for some superior techno at Rex Club. Post-dancefloor hunger pangs can be satiated at welcoming bistro Au Pied de Cochon, open 24hrs.