My Paris City Guide
What to do and to avoid if you’re visiting for the first time.
Paris has always been part of my life, and I love it with all its grandeur and flaws. I grew up in the Parisian suburb near Versailles and my beloved grandmother lived in a tiny apartment behind the Musée d’Orsay. As a young adult, I have lived in the 1st arrondissement, the 14th, the 15th, the 17th, the 18th, and the 19th. I moved back to the suburbs when I got pregnant, but visiting Paris as a tourist on weekends with my family brings me a lot of joy and I never get tired of it.
When my American coworkers come to Paris, they usually ask for advice on places to visit and nice restaurants. Everyone coming to Paris could benefit from recs, so here we are!
Bear in mind the food places I recommend are those I like, I have simple tastes, so forget about Emily in Paris vibes. But my recs will make you feel good and at home.
Before we start
I added Google Maps links for all the places I recommend, this way you can have this story open on your phone during your trip and quickly find your way.
If menus from restaurants were available, I also linked them for more convenience , they may not be up-to-date forever but at least it’ll give you an idea. Maybe I’ll remove them after a while if a lot of links become irrelevant.
I linked the official websites for the monuments I recommend so you can safely purchase your tickets from the right vendor.
How to navigate the city
- Paris isn’t that big. If you can walk and if the weather allows it, you’ll see more of the city.
- Our public transport is quite reliable (when there are no strikes) so you can take the bus, the metro or the RER (a larger kind of metro that also goes in the suburbs) and you should find your way. You can now purchase tickets from your iPhone wallet to avoid using our vintage crazy-interfaced vending machines or waiting in line if you visit Paris at the beginning of the month. The Citymapper app will make your life easy as you plan your trip and navigate the city, especially if you get on a bus. Usually in public transportation, people try to avoid eye contact. Just saying.
- We also have Uber drivers, but travelling is so easy that I use those rides as a last resort.
- Thanks to the Paris Mayor’s politics, Paris has fewer and fewer cars, and we now see many people riding bikes. You can rent a Vélib bike from the street, but many are now broken. Bring a helmet if you are tempted to ride in the city because drivers aren’t always careful.
Things you may want to know
- Prices include taxes
- We don’t tip as much as foreign people do, we don’t tip cabs for instance, and if I eat somewhere or have a drink, I tip if I have some 1 or 2€ coins in my wallet, and not necessarily depending on the amount I paid. The service is included in the price here so we don’t feel horrible.
- Bonjour → good morning/good afternoon
Salut → hi
Bonsoir → good evening
Bonne nuit → good night
Unpopular opinions
I’ll start with my no-nos, it may hurt but I promise I’ll suggest nice alternatives.
The Bateaux Mouches
Hop-on hop-off buses have always given me bad vibes. Have you ever been in one? It’s very passive, it defeats the purpose of discovering a city because you are not immersed, there’s a boring voice-over that never shuts up and you’re never sure that you are looking at the right building. I feel like the info I hear there doesn’t stick anyway. Also, something that frustrates me is you don’t get to smell the city. Paris can smell awful, but it’s also nice to walk past a restaurant or a bakery and be pleasantly surprised by the smell.
Back to hop-on hop-off. Picture this experience on a boat. That’s what Bateau Mouche has to offer. I tell friends to stay away from them: there is a long wait, it’s expensive and overall disappointing. A walk on the banks of the Seine with a snack is a much better experience, given that Paris isn’t that big and many monuments sit there.
You’ll be able to discover our bouquinistes, traditional street book shops on the banks of the river, they also sell posters. Bouquin is our slang word for books by the way.
In the summer you’ll also see people having drinks or dancing by the river, it is truly charming.
The Eiffel Tower
I know reading read this will disappoint you, but don’t go up the Eiffel Tower, locals flee this place. You don’t want to be packed up there with all the other tourists in the wind. It is just as nice to stand below it or to enjoy the view from the Trocadero place (directions↗). Also, if you don’t purchase your ticket weeks in advance, you’ll probably have to wait a long time before you can even get in, and then, you’ll have to wait for elevators on each floor, unless you choose the stairs. I’ve visited it once with a stroller, and I won’t ever make the same mistake again.
If you want a good view of Paris, for close to no money and no stress, I would suggest you kill two birds with one stone and instead go to the stunning Galeries Lafayette (directions↗) —that ceiling!— or Le Printemps (directions↗), find their rooftops, and enjoy one of the best panoramic views of Paris peacefully while sipping a drink. In the winter both shops have animated Christmas window displays that are amazing to show to children. What they sell is expensive, but many tourists enjoy shopping for our fashion or cosmetics brands there.
The Elysian fields
It’s crowded with tourists and pickpockets, the food isn’t great, and shops are uninteresting unless you’re planning on purchasing luxury handbags or garbage you would find in your own country. Maybe pop by the Etoile metro station (directions↗) to take a picture of our beautiful Arc de Triomphe and do yourself a favor by running away.
Saint Michel’s restaurants
The Saint Michel fountain is worth seeing, but by all means, stay away from the restaurants in the Saint Michel area. I never ate anything tasty there, and the waiters always try and pull you into their crappy restaurants, no one likes that. The rest of the story will list nice places for food, so you’ll have some alternatives.
My recs
The Louvre
Website↗ / Directions↗
A good idea is to arrive at the metro Concorde and walk in Tuileries Park to reach the Louvre, this way you’ll be able to enjoy the pyramid view, and there is access to the Museum there. Kids can rent a tiny boat in the park and make it float on the Park’s basins, while you can sit on one of the typical green chairs you find there, it gives old-school Paris and is very cute.
Picture a massive museum. The Louvre is bigger than what you have in mind. Forget about speedrunning it, it isn’t a good way to discover this place. You should pick a theme for your visit and stick to it.
If you love sketching, my advice is to visit the museum later, on the days it closes at 9 pm (especially in the winter when days are shorter). When I was a student I would come to sketch peacefully while the place was less crowded, because the lighting on the statues in the Sully aisle made it a unique experience.
Pro tip
The Mona Lisa room is not worth the hassle, it’s very crowded and you’ll never manage to get close enough and for long enough to properly observe it. Everyone leaves this room saying they didn’t expect the painting to be this small, and that’s pretty much what you’ll get out of this experience. The great news is a lot of other masterpieces are there waiting for you, and you’ll be able to admire them without being immersed in this nightmare.
Food picks
Ignore the Louvre’s awful food court. You will be at a 10-minute distance from Rue Sainte Anne where all the good Asian restaurants are, so treat yourself. I like Happa Tei (Menu↗/Directions↗) and their delicious okonomiyaki (those dancing omelets), but in the winter you might feel cold because the restaurant is open on the street. On the bab (Menu↗/Directions↗) is also a hit, if you go there, order their buns, and you can thank me later.
Musée Beaubourg/Centre Pompidou
Website↗ / Directions↗
Centre Pompidou is to Musée Beaubourg what Clark Kent is to Superman. They are the same entity coming with different names. The locals usually just say “Beaubourg” and the tourists don’t get what we’re talking about. This place is our Modern and Contemporary Art Museum. The specificity of this building is that it looks like a gigantic Lego construction slash flashy hamster cage with transparent tubes. When it was built it was very disruptive and Parisians hated it. But it is now part of our landscape and we learned to love it, just like the Eiffel Tower, I guess!
The architects who designed it wanted to optimize the space inside the building, and opted for an “inside out” design, so all the pipes were outside and visible. If you take the escalators, you’ll get a stunning view of the Parisian rooftops and monuments.
They have great exhibitions, and my favorite part is the Contemporary art collection because immersive pieces are my favorite. The Modern Art section has an impressive collection of paintings, collages, and sculptures, but if you visit with kids or if you aren’t into History of Art, it will be less fun to see. By the way, a whole floor is dedicated to kids.
The Museum bookstore is great, so if you’re into art and design books you might want to stop there before you leave.
Food pick
I love to eat at Dame Tartine (Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗), it sits right next to Beaubourg with a view of the fountain Nicki de Saint Phalle (a crazy fountain with sound design) and two giant street art pieces from Jef Aérosol and Obey Giant. A tartine is a slide of baguette or bread with butter and toppings. This is what you’ll eat there. The food is affordable, healthy, good, typically French, and the waiters are super friendly. Very often street dancers are visible from the terrasse. Remember this viral moonwalk video↗? It’s there.
Musée d’Orsay
Website↗ / Directions↗
The Musée d’Orsay is a beautiful place with a specific aura. I remember as a kid being captivated by the black animal statues outside the building when we were visiting my grandmother. I now know they were sculpted for a Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1878, they initially were around a fountain on the Trocadéro Place, and were golden! My favorite one is the Rhineceros. I also remember being intimidated by the majestic allegoric statues representing the continents (I now see how colonial these representations were).
The building used to be a train station, it was transformed into a museum quite recently, in 1986, and one of the most famous spots in this building is behind the giant clock.
You want to purchase your tickets online before coming because there is always a long line outside the museum.
Of course, you’ll be drawn to the atrium with the marble statues when you enter the museum, and you want to see all the famous paintings the museum hosts. But please don’t miss out on their Art Nouveau furniture section. It is my favorite part of the museum because the scenographic work to create an immersive space is insane (felt like time travel to me) and if you like sketching, there is eye candy everywhere.
Food pick
They have a good restaurant, if you read this story after September 2024, it should be open again. The decor is a bit bougie and intimidating, but it is worth the experience. It is a bit pricey but nothing crazy and the quality is there.
Bonus rec: Deyrolle
Website↗ / Directions↗
When you’re done, pop by Deyrolle, it’s only a few minutes' walking distance, and it is a strange place with a curiosity cabinet vibe filled with stuffed animals.
Musée Rodin
Website↗ / Directions↗
I am a huge fan of Rodin and Camille Claudel, so what will follow is 100% biased. This museum is a mansion with a beautiful garden close to the Invalides. It is one of the most romantic places I know, the natural lighting on the statues gives everything a very sensual aura, and will make the experience different at each visit depending on the weather. If you can, please spend an hour or two there to see Rodin’s Gates of hell, his Thinker, his famous Kiss and his Cathedral. If you walk past his Calais Burghers and pay close attention to their hands and feet, people say Rodin’s lover, Camille Claudel, sculpted them. They indeed look different from the rest of the sculpture and convey something very powerful.
Food rec
Don’t eat in the garden restaurant, it is a scam. Try instead to find a nearby bakery (for instance this one↗) and purchase a sandwich, you’ll have a better experience for cheaper. The typical sandwich is jambon-beurre (ham and cheese). Maybe you can eat your sandwich while walking towards the Invalides (directions↗)? It is worth viewing.
Opera Garnier
Website↗ / Directions↗
When I was a student, I would go to the Opera Garnier early on the day of a show I wanted to see, and I could purchase a last-minute ticket for 10€. I would usually have a shitty seat and twist my neck for the first 15 minutes and then steal a seat from someone who didn’t come. We have 2 operas in Paris, an old one (Garnier, Opera metro station) and a newer one (Bastille, Bastille metro station). If you pick Garnier, say you want a seat where you can view the show. Otherwise, you may not be able to see a thing. If you pick Bastille, they have 5€ tickets, but you’ll be standing for the whole show, with some kind of bar to relieve your poor back. I don’t recommend it. Also, Garnier is a way prettier place when you visit Paris for the first time, and the Chagall ceiling is worth the view. If you don’t have the intention to visit inside the building or see a show, note that right now the facade is hidden for works until December 2024.
Food rec
I used to bring snacks and silently eat them when the lights went off, I’m not sure I was supposed to do that… so I don’t have food recs around! I did test the restaurant sitting on the side of the Opera (Beau Coco, Menu↗)for a Valentine night, the architecture fascinated me because they imbricated new elements without degrading the original monument. It is pricey though.
Les Puces de Saint Ouen
Website↗ / Directions↗
It is our flea market and definitely worth visiting! Super strange and charming, I love how friendly and old-fashioned it is.
Food rec
You have a lot of nice restaurant options around, but I have a crush on Feuille de Chou (Menu↗/Website↗/Directions↗), the restaurant in the fancy Mob Hotel (Website↗), hidden behind a flashy orange door.
The Sacré Coeur
Website↗ / Directions↗
I never visited the Sacré Coeur. But I went in this neighborhood quite a lot, and if you decide to visit this area (maybe because you’re inspired by the movie Amélie), a good idea is to spend 10 minutes in the Marché Saint Pierre, an old fabric shop, it feels like a place that survived our modern era. They have zero computers, and employees are usually a bit old. They measure the fabric with long wooden rulers and scribble on coupons, you then pay at a wooden counter. I have the same indulgence towards this shop as I have towards grumpy old people. They are such an institution, they don’t even have to try to be nice to their customers anymore, which I counterintuitively find hilarious and somewhat touching.
Notre Dame de Paris
Website↗ / Directions↗
I am a huge fan of the novel Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, I read it as a teen and it left me in total awe. Since the cathedral burnt, it is being repaired, but it should reopen somewhere around December 2024. A true gem that you don’t want to miss out, even if for a few months you might only see the lace-looking facade. Even though I visited it years ago, the light through the stained glass made a strong impression on me, and just for this I would recommend the experience.
Other Food Recs
Le Café du Commerce
Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗
If you want some Ratatouille vibes, this is the place. It is built on several floors around an atrium. Original Art Nouveau posters are displayed everywhere. They serve typical brasserie food, the waiters wear long aprons and carry large metal platters to serve their clients. I love how it all looks like a dance when you are looking from the upper floors. In the summer, they might open the glass ceiling and it will then feel like eating outside. Super charming.
Brasserie Dubillot
Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗
Beautiful, simple, affordable, nice waiters, excellent typical French food, great playlist. What more can I say? I’m never disappointed. I also tested Brasserie des Prés (Directions↗) from the same group (La Nouvelle garde↗), it was great, especially the location, but the waiters at Dubillot are exceptionally nice.
Berthillon Ice Creams
Website↗ / Directions↗
This is my pick for ice creams if you’re walking around L’Ile de la Cité.
La Belle Ronde
Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗
The neighborhood for crêpes is Montparnasse. I like la Belle Ronde, not necessarily because they sell the best crêpes, but because they have a cute and quiet terrasse, especially at night in the summer, and they are located in a typical car-free street with lots of food shops that will make you feel hungry. If you order a crepe (by the way, when it’s not a main course we call them galette), I suggest ham, egg and cheese, a classic traditional option that rarely disappoints.
Top Chef brasseries
Le Chardenoux by Cyril Lignac Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗
Joia by Hélène Darroze Website↗ / Menu↗ / Directions↗
Some of our chefs became popular with the wider audience thanks to TV shows like Top Chef. Cyril Lignac and Hélène Darroze belong to this breed of chefs. I recommend their more affordable restaurants for lunch, Le Chardenoux (a brasserie) and Joia (the concept is to share the food with dishes they place on your table).
Le Chalet savoyard
Website↗ / Directions↗
This is the place if you want to have a cheese orgy in the winter. They serve typical raclette, fondue, and tartiflette.
Shopping/Other
Fashion
I prefer to shop online for eco-friendly and second-hand options, but there are a few places I like.
- Sezane: Website↗ / Directions↗
Don’t purchase sweaters, mine never survived my washing skills… the rest of their catalog is safe. - Patine: Website↗ / Directions↗
Eco-friendly basic clothes. - Merci: Website↗ / Directions↗
A hip place with clothes, gadgets and tableware, I like to hang around but it is expensive. - Maison standards: Website↗ / Directions↗
High-quality minimal clothes. - Make my lemonade: Website↗ / Directions↗
Colorful and playful clothes that come in a wide range of sizes. They also sell sewing patterns for brave people into DYI clothes.
Jewels
- Lou Yetu: Website↗ / Directions↗
My favorite jewelry brand. They had an HR scandal a few years ago so I tend to purchase less, but their designs are very nice.
Skincare
- Aime: Website↗ / Directions↗
I’m in love with their gender neutral perfume Parfum de peau. They also sell supplements for a healthy skin.
Prints
- Slow Galerie: Website↗ / Directions↗
I own two prints from this shop, love love love what they are doing.
Thrift shopping
- Come on Eileen: Directions↗
I remember great vintage finds in this shop when I was looking for photoshoot styling in my past career. - Kilo Shop: Website↗ / Directions↗ (several shops in Paris)
Items have colored tags that correspond to a price per kilo. Found the craziest fishing cap there with a camo pattern and a jumping trout!
Sport in Paris
- Episod: Website↗ (several studios in Paris)
It’s pricey, but it is the most seamless experience! Everything is designed, the smell, the light, the sound, the arrival. Locker rooms are neat, you also don’t have to worry about bringing toiletries or towels. If you want to take gym classes while in Paris and can understand French, treat yourself.
Paris with kids
Here are more suggestions in addition to the few I already listed.
- La Cité de Sciences: Website↗ / Directions↗
Science interactive exhibitions for kids. Le Parc de La Villette is close by and has fun playgrounds. For toddlers they have a fun section called Cité des enfants. - L’atelier des Lumières: Website↗ / Directions↗
Immersive exhibitions with projections of artwork - Le musée des Arts Forains: Website↗ / Directions↗
very old merry-go-rounds you can ride and old-fashioned fair games that you can play, with shows all day long. Insanely beautiful, and feels like time travel. - La Philarmonie: Website↗ / Directions↗
This one is not usually recommended for short stays, but it is one of my favorite museums if you’re staying around for a bit. Their exhibitions around music genres are always very immersive or interactive with great scenography. Among those I have seen, many of them were kid-friendly. They also have a space dedicated to kids so they can experiment with sound called La Philarmonie des enfants. If you are brave enough to go to this less central part of Paris, take a walk along the banks of the Canal, on the Quai de la Loire where I used to live. The boats are charming and in the summer a lot of people play pétanque, a local game. There is a nice café called Le Pavillon des Canaux (Website↗ / Directions↗) where you can have a drink in a small house, in all of the rooms! Feel free to take place on a bed, in the kitchen or a bathtub! You can also rent a boat to have a drink with some cheese and charcuterie on the canal (Website↗ / Directions↗), I never tried it but I saw many people having a blast on those boats when I was living there. - La cité de l’histoire: Website↗ / Directions↗
An interactive exhibition around the history of France, with actors and great set designs. It is located under the Arche de la Défense, the modern Arch mirroring our Arc de Triomphe.
What about other cities in the area?
For the brave who are willing to go beyond the périph’.
Château de Versailles
Website↗ / Directions↗
The Château de Versailles is a jewel and is worth visiting, but be prepared as it’s going to be packed. If it’s sunny, bring sunglasses, the ground can blind you as it’s almost white in the garden. I love to visit the gardens in the summer for the Grandes Eaux musicales when the fountains are illuminated and music from Lully is playing full blast in the garden. When I was a child I loved visiting the Hameau de la Reine, a farm where Marie-Antoinette was pretending to be a farmer for fun (I know). If you want nice lunch options, la place du marché in Versailles is super cute and quite close with lots of food options and terraces.
Basilique Saint-Denis
Website↗ / Directions↗
Saint Denis used to as important part of Paris, it is now a suburb with a sad reputation. But the Basilique is a gem, and it is where our kings are buried. Worth visiting! I once saw an a capella concert there and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Bonus: here’s my Deezer playlist, Touche française, with songs in French or by French people. Enjoy!
