Travel Insights

World class museums, beautiful architecture, high-street fashion, and quaint sidewalk cafes – the City of Lights needs no introduction.
But with so much to see and do in the Paris of your dreams, how do you prioritize to have an authentic experience?

So here’s our handy guide with the 14 best things to see and do on your Paris trip.

1. Notre-Dame Cathedral (Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris)

Located along the banks of the Seine in Île de la Cité (one of the two remaining islands on the river), the cathedral is an imposing and eye-catching structure. Imagine visiting a structure whose corner stone was laid in 1163! This iconic Gothic cathedral is easily one of the largest in France and equally fascinating.

Explore the exquisite interiors of the cathedral or if you’re a sucker for panoramic views, climb the 387 steps to the top of the towers and be mesmerized.

2. Musée du Louvre

Located on the east bank of the Seine, the Louvre is the largest art museum in the world. In fact, if you stretched out its three wings in a row, the entire stretch would be a whopping 8 miles (or about 14 km).

So what can you see in the Louvre?

The museum houses a vast variety of art and artifacts from some of the most prominent civilizations, including Mesopotamian, Roman, Greek, Islamic, and Egyptian art.

Most tourists drop by to elbow through the crowd and admire the Monalisa, but here are some other artworks you shouldn’t miss:

• Michelangelo’s sculpture Dying Slaves
• The Winged Victory of Samothrace (dating back to 190 BC Greece)
• Venus de Milo (dating back 100 BC Greece)
• Lamassus (dating back to 700 BC Mesopotamia)
• Eugène Delacroix’s painting Liberty Leading the People
• The Law Code of Hamurabi (dating back to 1750 BC Egypt)
• Botticelli’s painting Venus with Three Graces
• The Duchess of Villars (anonymous painter from School of Fontainebleau)

Our advice? Schedule your visit on a Wednesday or Friday when the museum is open till 9:30 PM. Take your time and soak it all in.

3. Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)

This is what you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it? The Eiffel Tower is the ultimate landmark of the City of Lights and it doesn’t disappoint.
Spend a long leisurely day in the grounds armed with a picnic basket to admire the structure in different lights. Climb the 1700-odd steps to the third floor of the tower and be amazed by the vista. At this very moment, the magic of Paris will catch up with you.

4. Le Marais

Le Marais is the closest you will get to the mystery of medieval Paris. This historic neighborhood is also the Jewish quarter of Paris and its meandering cobbled lanes are alive with quaint cafes, bars, wine shops, jewelry shops, and boutiques of different sorts. A must-visit if you want to experience the old-world charm of Paris.

5. Champs-Élysées

Champs-Élysées is probably the most famous avenue in Paris, and there’s a whole lot to do here other than shop at high-street boutiques (Pro tip: Shop at Montaigne Avenue instead – it’s a lot less crowded).

Here are a few other things you can do while you’re here:

• Visit Concord Square (where Louis VXI was executed during the French Revolution)
• Check out the oldest monument in Paris – an Egyptian obelisk (also in Concord square)
• Visit Grand Palais and Petit Palais, the two museums located near Champs-Élysées (more on these later)
• Visit Les Invalides, a neighborhood smacking of the military history of Paris and where Napolean is buried
• Admire the magnificent Arc de Triomphe, which commemorates French military victories and the soldiers who died in battle

6. Musée Picasso

Picasso lived in France between 1905 and 1973, and this museum is dedicated to the Spanish master’s art. The museum houses over 5,000 pieces of art, including paintings, sculptures, engravings, and notebooks. The exhibits also include his photographic archives, manuscripts, and letters.

The museum is closed on Mondays, but you can visit Tuesday to Friday between 11:30 AM and 6 PM and between 9:30 AM and 6 PM on weekends.

7. Tuileries Garden and Musée de l’Orangerie

Tuileries Gardens were originally part of the Tuileries Palace, but it was later opened to the public in 1667. Now both Parisians and tourists end up here to escape the city.

What can you do in Tuileries Gardens?

• Get your portrait drawn by a local artist
• Admire the lavender gardens
• Laze on the lawns with some wine
• Grab a scoop of artisanal icecream
• And, if you’ve not had your fill of the Louvre, you can always hop on over because it’s right next door

The Musée de l’Orangerie is located at the western corner of the gardens and is a museum housing impressionist and post-impressionist artworks. Here you can admire originals by Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, Paul Cezanne and other masters.

8. Paris Catacombs

Before Paris was a sprawling modern city, the cemeteries were located in the outskirts. But soon, Paris boomed and found itself facing a veritable conundrum: the cemeteries had ended up being right in the middle of the city.

The cimetière des Innocents was one among the many in the city. Now, over the years, this cemetery got crammed with those who had passed, resulting in hygiene issues. So, toward the end of the eighteenth century, the bodies were moved to the old quarries, which are now the Paris Catacombs. However, the catacombs where not always the artistic memento mori you see today. In the nineteenth century, it was Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury, a French politician, who had the idea to organize the bones with beautiful inscriptions on the walls.

Pro tip: Wear practical shoes on this adventure because you’ll be walking a stretch of 2 Kms on uneven ground. Plus, don’t forget to carry warm clothes since you’ll be about 30 m underground.

9. Palais Royal

The Palais Royale (built in 1692) was originally the home of Cardinal Richelieu, before being passed on to King Louis XIII. Later, it was the home of Louis-Philippe d’Orleans, who added luxury shops and arcades modelled after Arabic souqs. Currently, this former palace is an administrative building housing the Conseil d’État and the Ministry of Culture.

Visit the Palais Royal to take a leisurely walk in its tranquil and opulent gardens, away from the tourist-swarmed Paris.

10. Versailles Palace (Chateau de Versailles)

Opulence is the first word that will come to your mind when you visit the residence of France’s most extravagant and infamous monarch – King Louis the XVI

Here’s what you shouldn’t miss while you’re there:

• The Hall of Mirrors
• Queen Marie Antoinette’s Chambers
• The Art Gallery
• The Queen’s Hamlet (a village that the queen commissioned to be built in the palace grounds so that she could escape the gossip and unwind when needed!)
• The canals and fountains

11. Grand Palais

The Grand Palais was originally constructed to host the Universal Exhibition of 1900. With its roof completely made of glass and iron, this monument is now dedicated to the glory of French art.

Currently, the Grand Palais is a museum that hosts specialized art exhibitions as well as exclusive fashion shows.

12. Tour Montparnasse

Formerly the tallest skyscraper in Paris, this 231-metre offers a stunning view of the French capital from its observation deck. Go here to take a stunning panoramic cityscape for your Insta feed.

13. Pont des Arts

Another tourist hotspot, the Pont des Arts is a pedestrian bridge over the Seine that links the Institut de France and the central square of the Palais du Louvre. You may better know it as the “Love lock” bridge because enduring romantics have been attaching personalized padlocks to its railings and throwing away the key in the Seine as a grand gesture of lasting love in recent times (Since 2008).

14. Pont Neuf

The Pont Neuf is all about a lot of firsts: it is one of the oldest bridges of Paris; one of the first bridges to be made of stone, and the first bridge to be open topped. Visit Point Neuf to take in the scenic views of the city and explore Cité Island, where modern day Paris was born more than 2000 years ago.

The Wrap: The Best time to Visit Paris

Visit Paris between June to August for perfect weather and an all round touristy experience. Paris is also stunning in fall (September to November) and a little less crowded than the summer months. However, if you want to shave off travel expenses and visit the museums without jostling through crowds, visit the magical city between December and February.

Happy planning!