A private tour of Paris by car works best when the car does what it is good at: carrying you between places that are too far apart to walk comfortably, waiting while you go in, and getting you to the next timed entry on time. Paris is compact, but the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and Montmartre are spread across both banks of the Seine and up a hill, and a day on foot and the metro between them is tiring, especially with children or anyone who does not walk far.
Elly8.net's private city highlights tour is a fixed price per vehicle: from US$360 in a business sedan to US$720 in an Executive Sprinter, all-in. For a day shaped around museums, an hourly car costs from US$90 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, and a full day from US$665. Below: a routed highlights loop, two other routes that work, the closing days that trip up visitors, and how to choose between the options.
What does a private car tour of Paris cost?
The Elly8.net private city highlights tour costs from US$360 in a business sedan, US$460 in a business SUV and US$720 in an Executive Sprinter, per vehicle. An hourly chauffeur costs from US$90 an hour with a 3-hour minimum, and a full day from US$665. Prices include the chauffeur, taxes and standard gratuity.
All three are fixed when you book and charged in US$, so there is no meter running while you are inside a museum. Tolls and parking are billed at cost. Entry tickets to monuments and museums are separate; book timed entries before you book the car, then set the pickup around them.
Route one: the classic highlights loop
The highlights tour covers the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and Montmartre with stops where you want them. Here is a loop that strings the famous views together in a sensible order, with routed drive times we calculated for each leg on clear roads. In daytime traffic, expect the driving to take about twice as long.
| Leg | Road distance | Clear-road drive (routed estimate) | What you see |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champs-Élysées, 8th, to Trocadéro | 1.9 km / 1.2 mi | about 5 min | The Arc de Triomphe, then the classic Eiffel Tower view |
| Trocadéro to Les Invalides | 2.8 km / 1.7 mi | about 8 min | Across the Seine and past the Tower to Les Invalides |
| Les Invalides to Notre-Dame | 4.1 km / 2.5 mi | about 12 min | Along the Left Bank to the Île de la Cité |
| Notre-Dame to the Louvre | 1.6 km / 1.0 mi | about 5 min | Over the river to the palace and the Pyramid |
| The Louvre to Opéra | 1.4 km / 0.9 mi | about 4 min | Avenue de l'Opéra to the Palais Garnier |
| Opéra to Sacré-Cœur, Montmartre | 3.3 km / 2.1 mi | about 9 min | Up the hill to the basilica and the view |
| Montmartre back to the 8th | 4.7 km / 2.9 mi | about 13 min | Down past the boulevards to your hotel |
The whole loop is about 20 km (12 mi) and under an hour of driving on a clear road, which is the point: most of the tour is spent out of the car, at the Trocadéro terraces, on the bridges and on the hill at Montmartre, not in traffic. Where a stop is a photograph, the chauffeur pulls over where it is permitted; where it is a visit, you are dropped at the entrance and collected afterwards.
Montmartre is the stop most visitors under-estimate. The Sacré-Cœur basilica crowns a hill above the north of the city, and a car is the easiest way up for anyone who would rather not climb. The chauffeur drops you as close as traffic rules allow and collects you at an agreed point.
Route two: a museum day built around closing days
The great museums of Paris do not close on the same day, and a plan that ignores this loses a morning. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and stays open until 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Musée d'Orsay is closed every Monday and opens late until 9.45 pm on Thursdays. Versailles is closed on Mondays.
That gives a clean rule: Monday is a Louvre day, Tuesday is an Orsay or Versailles day, and a Wednesday or Friday can end with an evening at the Louvre. A museum day works best on an hourly booking rather than a fixed tour, because the timing is yours. A typical plan: pickup at 9, timed entry at the Louvre, lunch on the Left Bank, Orsay in the afternoon, and a drop-off at your hotel or a dinner reservation. At US$90 an hour in a business sedan, a six-hour museum day is US$540; at that length, the full-day rate of US$665 is worth comparing if the day might run long.
Between museums, a car saves the walk along the river with tired children, the queue for a taxi at the rank, and the guessing about where you will be at 5 o'clock. Book Paris car service by the hour and keep shopping bags and coats in the vehicle.
Route three: Versailles and the west
The Palace of Versailles is about 19 km (12 mi) from the 8th arrondissement, roughly 26 minutes on a clear road by our routed estimate, which makes it the easiest half-day or full-day excursion from Paris by car. The Château de Versailles lists the palace as open from 9 am to 6.30 pm and closed on Mondays, with the Estate of Trianon opening at noon.
The estate is large, and the distances between the palace, the gardens and the Trianon are where visitors run out of energy. A chauffeur drops you at the palace for your timed entry and collects you afterwards, and the drive back into Paris can include a stop at the Trocadéro for the evening view of the Eiffel Tower. For a full Versailles day, the full-day chauffeur from US$665 in a business sedan or US$850 in a business SUV keeps the car with you; for a morning only, the hourly rate with its 3-hour minimum may be enough.
Evening tours: Paris after dark
Paris at night is a different city, and an evening drive is one of the best uses of a car. The Eiffel Tower is open into the evening, the bridges and monuments are lit, and the Champs-Élysées is at its busiest. The evening out and event night package costs from US$450 in a business sedan to US$900 in a Sprinter and covers a dinner, a show at the opera or a late visit followed by a drive past the lit monuments. More on event transportation for galas and private dinners.
Which option fits your day
| Option | Fixed price from | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Private city highlights tour | US$360 sedan, US$460 SUV, US$720 Sprinter | A first visit, families, the famous views in one outing | Monument tickets are separate |
| Hourly chauffeur | US$90 an hour, 3-hour minimum | Museum days, shopping, your own pace | Long days may cost more than a full day |
| Full-day chauffeur | US$665 sedan, US$850 SUV, US$1,325 Sprinter | Versailles, Giverny or a full city day | Book early in busy weeks |
| Evening out and event night | US$450 sedan, US$900 Sprinter | Dinner, opera, the lit city | Late finishes in busy event weeks |
| Metro and walking | A metro ticket | Fit travellers, light bags, flexible plans | Stairs, crowds and line closures |
The fair comparison with the metro is simple: for one or two fit travellers with no bags, the metro and good shoes are the cheapest way to see Paris and often fast. Lines do close for works; the Eiffel Tower's own site, for example, notes that metro line 6 is suspended between Charles de Gaulle-Étoile and La Motte-Picquet-Grenelle on certain Sundays between September and November 2026. A car is the better choice for families with young children, older travellers, people with limited mobility, anyone on a short trip who wants to see a lot, and groups who would otherwise split across taxis.
Tours with children and older travellers
A car tour is at its best for the travellers who find Paris hardest on foot. Child seats are available on request and fitted before pickup, so a family can move between the Trocadéro, a museum and lunch without folding a stroller onto the metro. For grandparents, the difference is the walking: a drop-off at each entrance and a collection at the exit turns a day of long walks into a day of short ones. Plan more stops and fewer sights, add a break back at the hotel in the middle of the day if you are on an hourly booking, and keep coats, snacks and shopping in the vehicle rather than carrying them.
Days when the route changes
Some dates reshape central Paris, and a tour planned on an ordinary map will not work. The Champs-Élysées hosts the military parade on 14 July, Bastille Day, and fills with crowds on New Year's Eve; on those days avenues close and the car takes a different route. Roland-Garros, from 17 May to 6 June 2027 according to the tournament's official site, adds traffic in the west of the city every afternoon. Tell the desk your dates when you book and the chauffeur plans the order of stops around any closures; the price does not change.
Choosing the vehicle
Choose by passengers first on a tour, and by luggage when the tour starts or ends at an airport or station. A business sedan carries three passengers; a business SUV or van carries six; an Executive Sprinter carries twelve, according to our fleet page. A First Class Sedan, from US$580 for the highlights tour, suits a special occasion or a client visit. The price is per vehicle, so a family of five in a business SUV pays US$460 for the tour, about US$92 each by simple arithmetic.
A driver, not a guide
The chauffeur drives, knows the city and its drop-off rules, and can suggest where to stop for a view, but a chauffeur is not a licensed tour guide and does not accompany you inside monuments. For commentary inside the Louvre or Versailles, book a guide separately or use the official audio guides. Many travellers combine both: a guide for the museum and a car for the day around it. See private city tours for how the tours run in our other cities.
To book, choose the private city highlights tour, the hourly rate or the full day on the Paris page, enter the pickup address and time, choose the vehicle class and press Reserve now to pay in US$; confirmation arrives by email. For a tour that starts at the airport or a station, or that includes stops outside the city, describe it in the web booker and the desk returns a fixed price before you pay.
Beyond the city
Paris is the start of several of the best day trips in France. Champagne is the closest of the wine regions and our signature Paris day trip; see Paris to Champagne by car and our wine tours page. For a full-day driver for other excursions, from Giverny to Fontainebleau, our guide to hiring a private driver in Paris covers the practical questions.
Hotel concierges and travel advisers can book tours for guests through hotel accounts and travel agent accounts. Rides in Paris are operated by licensed, commercially insured local chauffeur partners vetted through the Limousine Worldwide network; Elly8.net takes the booking, fixes the price and runs the 24/7 desk. Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before pickup; 10% applies at 72 hours or less, 50% at 48 hours or less, and 100% at 24 hours or less or for a no-show.
Elly8.net is a member of LimousineWorldwide.Directory, LimousineAssociation.International, HotelsWorldwide.Directory and VacationsWorldwide.Directory. The same tours run in our other European cities, including the London chauffeur service and Amsterdam chauffeur, and all of the Paris fares are on the Paris car service page.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a private car tour of Paris?
The Elly8.net private city highlights tour costs from US$360 in a business sedan, US$460 in a business SUV, US$580 in a First Class Sedan and US$720 in an Executive Sprinter, per vehicle. It includes the chauffeur, taxes and standard gratuity. Monument tickets, tolls and parking are separate.
What does the highlights tour cover?
The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and Montmartre, with stops where you want them. A sensible loop runs from the Champs-Élysées to the Trocadéro, Les Invalides, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, Opéra and Sacré-Cœur, about 20 km (12 mi) and under an hour of driving on a clear road.
Which day should a Louvre visit avoid?
Tuesday, when the Louvre is closed all day. It stays open until 9 pm on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Musée d'Orsay is closed on Mondays and Versailles is closed on Mondays too, so plan museum days around those closures and book timed entries first.
Is an hourly car better than the fixed tour?
For a museum day or shopping, often yes, because the timing is yours: US$90 an hour in a business sedan with a 3-hour minimum. For seeing the famous sights in one outing, the fixed highlights tour is simpler. For six hours or more, compare the full-day rate from US$665.
Does the chauffeur act as a guide?
No. The chauffeur drives, knows the city and can suggest stops, but is not a licensed guide and does not go inside monuments with you. Book a museum guide or use official audio guides, and use the car to move between visits.
Can we tour Paris in the evening?
Yes. The evening out and event night package costs from US$450 in a business sedan to US$900 in a Sprinter and suits a dinner, a show or a drive past the lit monuments. The Eiffel Tower is open into the evening for visits.
