Share a vlog
Pont Alexandre III and its lamps over the Seine at dusk

Best Things to Do in Paris

Paris has more to see than any one trip can hold. This list starts with the obvious and gets less obvious as it goes. Mix a few from the top with a few from the bottom.

  1. The Eiffel Tower. Go up if you want to, but it looks better from the ground, especially at night when it sparkles for five minutes on the hour. Our Eiffel Tower guide covers tickets.
  2. The Louvre. Too big to see in a day, so don't try. Pick a few rooms. See our Louvre guide.
  3. Notre-Dame. Reopened in December 2024 after the fire, and the restored interior is bright and clean in a way it hasn't been for centuries. Entry is free.
  4. Sainte-Chapelle. A small Gothic chapel a few minutes from Notre-Dame, with walls that are almost entirely stained glass. Go on a sunny day, around midday. It's one of the most beautiful rooms in Europe and a lot of visitors miss it.
  5. The Musée d'Orsay. Impressionist paintings in a former railway station. Many people prefer it to the Louvre because you can see the best of it in two or three hours.
  6. Montmartre. Sacré-Cœur, the view, and the steep lanes behind it. Our Montmartre guide suggests a route.
  7. A walk along the Seine. From Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower along the river takes about an hour and a half at an easy pace, past the booksellers' green boxes and most of the famous bridges. Best done at the end of the day.
  8. The Catacombs. Tunnels under the Left Bank lined with the bones of around six million Parisians, moved here in the late 18th century when the cemeteries overflowed. Timed tickets only, and not for the claustrophobic.
  9. Père Lachaise. A huge, leafy hillside cemetery with the graves of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Édith Piaf, among many others. Get a map at the entrance.
  10. Musée Rodin. Smaller and calmer than the big museums. The garden alone, with The Thinker sitting among the roses, would justify the ticket.
  11. The Luxembourg Gardens. Grab one of the green metal chairs and sit for an hour. That's the whole activity, and locals do exactly the same.
  12. Canal Saint-Martin. Iron footbridges, locks and a younger, more local crowd. Good for a Sunday walk and a drink by the water.
  13. A food market. The covered Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais is the oldest in the city. For bakeries, cheese shops and fruit stalls, walk Rue Cler or Rue Montorgueil.

Many of these are free: Notre-Dame, the parks, the cemetery, the river, the markets. A day built around them costs next to nothing.