Best Things to Do in Paris: 12 Ideas Beyond the Eiffel Tower

Area	Best for	Don't miss
Île de la Cité	History	Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle
Louvre & Tuileries	Art and gardens	The Louvre, Tuileries, Palais-Royal
Le Marais	Shops, food and squares	Place des Vosges, falafel on Rue des Rosiers
Montmartre	Views and village streets	Sacré-Cœur, Place du Tertre
Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro	The classic view	The tower at night, the Trocadéro terrace

Before you go

Paris is very walkable, and the metro fills in the gaps. Group your days by arrondissement and you'll spend more time in cafés and less underground.

• Book timed entry for the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower summit and Versailles well ahead, especially from spring to autumn.
• Closing days matter: the Louvre closes on Tuesdays; the Musée d'Orsay and Versailles close on Mondays.
• Many museums are free on certain days or for EU residents under 26. Check each official site.

1The Eiffel Tower, by day and by night

Go up for the view, or skip the lines and enjoy it from the ground: the Champ de Mars for a picnic, the Trocadéro for photos, and any evening on the hour, when the tower sparkles for a few minutes.

2The Louvre

The biggest museum in the world can swallow a week, so pick a wing. Go early or on a late-opening evening, see the Mona Lisa first if you must, then find a quieter gallery and slow down.

3The Musée d'Orsay

A former railway station full of Impressionists: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh. Don't miss the view through the giant clock window on the top floor.

4Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle

Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the fire, and its bright, restored interior is a highlight of any trip. A few minutes away, Sainte-Chapelle's walls of stained glass are at their best on a sunny morning.

5Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur

Climb the steps (or take the funicular) to Sacré-Cœur for a view across the city, then walk down through the village streets, past Place du Tertre's painters and the vineyard of Montmartre.

6Le Marais

Medieval lanes, mansions, galleries and some of the city's best shopping. Sit in Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, and queue for falafel on Rue des Rosiers.

7A picnic on the Seine

Buy bread, cheese and a bottle at a market, then find a spot on the quays or the tip of Île de la Cité at sunset. It's free and it's the most Parisian evening you can have.

8Canal Saint-Martin

Iron footbridges, tree-lined banks and locals sitting along the water with drinks. Come for a lazy afternoon and stay for dinner in the 10th or 11th arrondissement.

9Luxembourg Gardens

Green metal chairs, the palace, the fountain where kids sail little boats. It's the perfect break between Saint-Germain's cafés and the Latin Quarter's bookshops.

10The covered passages

The 19th-century passages near the Grands Boulevards, like Galerie Vivienne and Passage des Panoramas, are glass-roofed shopping streets full of old shops and small restaurants. Great on a rainy day.

11A day at Versailles

The palace, the Hall of Mirrors, the gardens and Marie-Antoinette's estate fill a full day. Go early, avoid Mondays, and rent a bike or a rowing boat in the gardens.

12Food markets and bistros

Paris's covered and open-air markets, like Marché des Enfants Rouges in Le Marais, are the best way to eat like a local. Book a classic bistro for at least one dinner.

Make it your own

This list covers the classics. To fill the rest, save the bakeries, wine bars and shops you find on TikTok and Instagram to Pingo. It finds the real places inside the video. Then create a trip to Paris with your dates and trip type, and Plan with AI turns your places and these sights into a day-by-day plan, grouped by area so you're not crossing the city twice a day.

Meet people in Paris

Paris is full of travelers and people who've just moved in. Pingo shows travelers in Paris on your dates and events you can join, from picnics to museum meetups, if you'd like company along the way.