By Bike, Segway, Pedicab, or Scooter
Weekend Tour Packages for Students
Map: Hotels near Luxembourg Garden
Map: Restaurants near Luxembourg Garden
Map: Charles de Gaulle Airport
Map: Versailles Château--Ground Floor & Entrances
Paris—the City of Light—has been a beacon of culture for centuries. As a world capital of art, fashion, food, literature, and ideas, it stands as a symbol of all the fine things human civilization can offer. Come prepared to celebrate this, rather than judge our cultural differences, and you’ll capture the romance and joie de vivre that this city exudes.
Paris offers sweeping boulevards, chatty crêpe stands, chic boutiques, and world-class art galleries. Sip decaf with deconstructionists at a sidewalk café, then step into an Impressionist painting in a tree-lined park. Climb Notre-Dame and rub shoulders with the gargoyles. Cruise the Seine, zip to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and saunter down Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Master the Louvre and Orsay museums. Save some after-dark energy for one of the world’s most romantic cities.
I’ve listed sights in descending order of importance, filling up to seven very busy but doable days in Paris. Therefore, if you have only one day, just do Day 1; for two days, add Day 2; and so on. When planning where to plug in Versailles, keep in mind that the Château is closed on Mondays and especially crowded on Sundays and Tuesdays—try to avoid these days.
Day 1: Follow this chapter’s Historic Paris Walk. In the afternoon, tour the Louvre. Then enjoy the Trocadéro scene and a twilight ride up the Eiffel Tower.
Day 2: Stroll the Champs-Elysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Tuileries Garden. Tour the Orsay Museum. In the evening, take a nighttime tour by cruise boat, taxi, bus, or retro-chic Deux Chevaux car.
Day 3: Catch the RER suburban train by 8:00 to arrive early at Versailles. Tour the palace’s interior, then the gardens and Trianon/Domaine. Have dinner in Versailles town or return to Paris.
Day 4: Visit Montmartre and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. Continue your Impressionist theme by touring the Orangerie. Enjoy dinner on Ile St. Louis, then a floodlit walk by Notre-Dame.
Day 5: Concentrate on the morning market in the Rue Cler neighborhood, then afternoon sightseeing at the Rodin Museum and the Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb.
Day 6: Ride scenic bus #69 to the Marais and tour this neighborhood, including the Picasso Museum and Pompidou Center. In the afternoon, visit the Opéra Garnier, and end your day with rooftop views from the Galeries Lafayette or Printemps department stores.
Day 7: See more in Paris: Rue Montorgueil market, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Marmottan, or Jacquemart-André museum.
Central Paris (population 2.2 million) is circled by a ring-road and split in half by the Seine River, which runs east-west. If you were on a boat floating downstream, the Right Bank (Rive Droite) would be on your right, and the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) on your left. The bull’s-eye on your map is Notre-Dame, on an island in the middle of the Seine.
Twenty arrondissements (administrative districts) spiral out from the center, like an escargot shell. If your hotel’s zip code is 75007, you know (from the last two digits) that it’s in the 7th arrondissement. The city is speckled with Métro stops, and most Parisians locate addresses by the closest stop. So in Parisian jargon, the Eiffel Tower is on la Rive Gauche (the Left Bank) in the 7ème (7th arrondissement), zip code 75007, Mo: Trocadéro (the nearest Métro stop).
As you’re tracking down addresses, these words and pronunciations will help: Métro (may-troh), place (plahs; square), rue (roo; road), avenue (ah-vuh-noo), boulevard (boo-luh-var), and pont (pohn; bridge).
Paris’ TIs can provide useful information but may have long lines. They offer free city maps and, for those who ask, the Paris for You! mini-guide and the Paris Gourmand booklet with restaurant suggestions. TIs also sell individual tickets to sights (see “Avoiding Lines with Advance Tickets” on here), as well as the Paris Museum Pass (see here).
Paris has several TI locations, including Pyramides (daily May-Oct 9:00-19:00, Nov-April 10:00-19:00, at Pyramides Métro stop between the Louvre and Opéra), Gare du Nord (daily 8:00-18:00), and two in Montmartre (21 Place du Tertre, daily 10:00-18:00, covers Montmartre sights only, no Museum Passes sold, tel. 01 42 62 21 21; and at the Anvers Métro stop, full-service office, daily 10:00-18:00). In summer, TI kiosks may pop up in the squares in front of Notre-Dame and Hôtel de Ville. The official website for Paris’ TIs is parisinfo.com.
Both airports have handy TIs with long hours and short lines.
Pariscope: The weekly €0.50 Pariscope magazine (or one of its clones, available at any newsstand) lists museum hours, art exhibits, concerts, festivals, plays, movies, and nightclubs. Smart sightseers rely on this for the latest listings.
Other Publications: L’Officiel des Spectacles (€0.50), which is similar to Pariscope, also lists goings-on around town (in French). The Paris Voice, with snappy English-language reviews of concerts, plays, and current events, is available online only at parisvoice.com. For a schedule of museum hours and English museum tours, get the free Musées, Monuments Historiques, et Expositions booklet at any museum. A Nous Paris is a free newspaper found in many Métro stations; the helpful “Save the Date” section lists what’s on this week.
Helpful Websites: These websites come highly recommended for local information and events: gogoparis.com, secretsofparis.com, and bonjourparis.com.
American Church and Franco-American Center: This interdenominational church—in the Rue Cler neighborhood, facing the river between the Eiffel Tower and Orsay Museum—is a nerve center for the American expat community.
For a comprehensive rundown of the city’s train stations and airports, see “Paris Connections,” near the end of this chapter. For information on parking a car, see “Helpful Hints,” next.
Theft Alert: Thieves thrive near famous monuments (even in the Louvre) and on Métro and RER lines that serve airports and high-profile tourist sights. Beware of pickpockets working busy lines (e.g., at ticket windows at train stations). Pay attention when it’s your turn and your back is to the crowd: Keep your bag firmly gripped in front of you.
In general, it’s smart to wear a money belt, put your wallet in your front pocket, loop your day bag over your shoulders, and keep a tight hold on your purse or shopping bag. Muggings are rare, but they do occur. If you’re out late, avoid the dark riverfront embankments and any place where the lighting is dim and pedestrian activity is minimal.
Paris has taken action to combat crime by stationing police at monuments, on streets, and on the Métro, as well as installing security cameras at key sights. You’ll go through quick and reassuring airport-like security checks at many major attractions.
ATM Alert: When withdrawing money from a cash machine, use your hand to shield your PIN number from prying eyes. Don’t engage with anyone who offers to “help” you use an ATM (which works just like ours do) or warns you that it isn’t working properly. If that happens, cancel your operation and find a different machine.
Tourist Scams: Be aware of the latest scams, including these current favorites. The “found ring” scam involves an innocent-looking person who picks a ring up off the ground and asks if you dropped it. When you say no, the person examines the ring more closely, then shows you a mark “proving” that it’s pure gold. He offers to sell it to you for a good price—several times more than he paid for it before dropping it on the sidewalk.
In the “friendship bracelet” scam, a vendor approaches you and asks if you’ll help him with a demonstration. He proceeds to make a friendship bracelet right on your arm. When finished, he asks you to pay for the bracelet he created just for you. And since you can’t easily take it off on the spot, he counts on your feeling obliged to pay up.
Distractions by a stranger—often a “salesman,” someone asking you to sign a petition, or someone posing as a deaf person to show you a small note to read—can all be tricks that function as a smokescreen for theft. As you try to wriggle away from the pushy stranger, an accomplice picks your pocket.
In popular tourist spots (such as in front of Notre-Dame) young ladies ask if you speak English, then pretend to beg for money while actually angling to get your wallet.
To all these scammers, simply say “no” firmly, don’t apologize, don’t smile, and step away purposefully.
Pedestrian Safety: Parisian drivers are notorious for ignoring pedestrians. Look both ways (many streets are one-way) and be careful of seemingly quiet bus/taxi lanes. Don’t assume you have the right of way, even in a crosswalk. When crossing a street, keep your pace constant and don’t stop suddenly. By law, drivers are allowed to miss pedestrians by up to just one meter—a little more than three feet (1.5 meters in the countryside). Drivers calculate your speed so they won’t hit you, provided you don’t alter your route or pace.
Watch out for bicyclists. This popular and silent transportation may come at you from unexpected places and directions—cyclists ride in specially marked bike lanes on wide sidewalks and also have a right to use lanes reserved for buses and taxis. Bikes commonly go against traffic, as many bike paths are on one-way streets. Always look both ways.
Busy Parisian sidewalks are much like freeways, so conduct yourself as if you were a foot-fueled-car: Stick to your lane, look to the left before passing a slow-moving pedestrian, and if you need to stop, look for a safe place to pull over.
Medical Help: The American Hospital, established by a group of American expat doctors, has English-speaking staff (63 Boulevard Victor Hugo, in Neuilly suburb, Mo: Porte Maillot, then bus #82, tel. 01 46 41 25 25, american-hospital.org). SOS Médecins (SOS Doctors) is a terrific service that will send a doctor to your hotel room for a reasonable price (house calls to hotels or homes, usually €50-70, tel. 01 47 07 77 77).
Museum Strategies: The worthwhile Paris Museum Pass, covering most sights in the city, is sold at museums and monuments, as well as TIs and FNAC stores (no surcharge). For detailed information, see here.
Avoiding Lines with Advance Tickets: If you don’t purchase a Paris Museum Pass, which allows you to skip most ticket lines, you have other options. Throughout Paris, TIs and FNAC stores sell individual “coupe-file” tickets, letting you use the Museum Pass entrance at sights. TIs sell these tickets for no extra fee, but FNACs add a surcharge of 10-20 percent—often worth it, as these stores are everywhere, even on the Champs-Elysées (ask your hotelier for the nearest one). Although the lines at FNACs and TIs to buy these tickets can be just as long as ticket lines at museums, for sights that can have very long waits (such as the Arc de Triomphe and Versailles), coupe-file tickets can be a good idea.
For some sights, you can prebook tickets online and print a receipt (either from home or at your hotel) that serves as your entry pass. This works great at the Eiffel Tower (though you must choose an entry time) and the Jacquemart-André Museum, as well as for activities like the Bateaux-Mouches cruises and Sainte-Chapelle concerts. Increasingly, other sights are adding this helpful service. However, it is not worth the cost or hassle to buy the Paris Museum Pass (described on here) and certain tickets online because you have to either pay dearly to have them shipped to you or print vouchers and redeem them in person at a Paris TI.
Free Wi-Fi: In addition to the Wi-Fi that’s likely available at your hotel, you’ll find free wireless hotspots at many of Paris’ cafés and parks, and at a few museums. In a Parisian café, Wi-Fi works just like at home—you order something, then ask the waiter for the Wi-Fi (“wee-fee”) password (“mot de passe”; moh duh pahs).
Most public parks offer free Wi-Fi (look for purple Zone Wi-Fi signs). The one-time registration process is easy: Select the Wi-Fi network (usually called “Paris_WIFI” plus a number), enter your name and email address, check the “j’accepte” box, and click “Me connecter.” Some convenient park hotspots include the park alongside Notre-Dame, Square Viviani (also near Notre-Dame), Place des Vosges (Marais), Champ de Mars park (100 yards south of the Eiffel Tower along Allée Thomy-Thierry), Esplanade des Invalides (along Rue Paul at the north end), the St. Jacques Tower (Mo: Chatelet), and hundreds more.
The Orange network also has many hotspots, and offers a free two-hour pass. If you come across one, click “Select Your Pass” to register.
Bookstores: Paris has many English-language bookstores, where you can pick up guidebooks (at nearly double their American prices). Most carry Rick Steves titles. My favorites include:
• Shakespeare and Company (some used travel books, Mon-Fri 10:00-23:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-23:00, 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, across the river from Notre-Dame, Mo: St. Michel, tel. 01 43 25 40 93).
• W. H. Smith (Mon-Sat 9:00-19:00, Sun 12:30-19:00, 248 Rue de Rivoli, Mo: Concorde, tel. 01 44 77 88 99).
• San Francisco Book Company (used books only, Mon-Sat 11:00-21:00, Sun 14:00-19:30, 17 Rue Monsieur le Prince, Mo: Odéon, tel. 01 43 29 15 70).
Baggage Storage: Lockers are available at several City Locker locations in central Paris (€10-15/day, daily 8:00-22:00, book ahead online or take your chances and drop in, details and locations at city-locker.com).
Public WCs: Most public toilets are free. If it’s a pay toilet, the price will be clearly indicated. If the toilet is free but there’s an attendant, it’s polite (but not necessary) to leave a tip of €0.20-0.50. Booth-like toilets on the sidewalks provide both relief and a memory (don’t leave small children inside unattended). The restrooms in museums are free and the best you’ll find. Bold travelers can walk into any sidewalk café like they own the place and find the toilet downstairs or in the back. Or do as the locals do—order a shot of espresso (un café) while standing at the café bar (then use the WC with a clear conscience). Keep toilet paper or tissues with you, as some WCs are poorly stocked.
Parking: Street parking is generally free at night (19:00 to 9:00), all day Sunday, and anytime in August, when many Parisians are on vacation. To pay for streetside parking, you must go to a tabac and buy a parking card (une carte de stationnement), sold in €10, €20, and €30 denominations. Insert the card into the meter (chip-side in) and punch the desired amount of time (generally €1-2/hour), then take the receipt and display it in your windshield. Meters limit street parking to a maximum of two hours. For a longer stay, park for less at an airport (about €10/day) and take public transport or a taxi into the city. Underground lots are numerous in Paris—you’ll find them under Ecole Militaire, St. Sulpice Church, Les Invalides, the Bastille, and the Panthéon; all charge about €30-40/day (€60/3 days, €10/day more after that, for locations see vincipark.com). Some hotels offer parking for less—ask your hotelier.
Tobacco Stands (Tabacs): These little kiosks—usually just a counter inside a café—are handy and very local. They sell public-transit tickets, cards for parking meters, postage stamps (though not all sell international postage—to mail something home, use two domestic stamps, or go to a post office), prepaid phone cards, and...oh yeah, cigarettes. To find one of these kiosks, just look for a Tabac sign and the red cylinder-shaped symbol above certain cafés. A tabac can be a godsend for avoiding long ticket lines at the Métro, especially at the end of the month when ticket booths get crowded with locals buying next month’s pass.
Winter Activities: The City of Light sparkles year-round. For background on what to do and see here in winter months, see ricksteves.com/paris-winter.
Updates to This Book: For updates to this book, check ricksteves.com/update.
Paris is easy to navigate. Your basic choices are Métro (in-city subway), RER (suburban rail tied into the Métro system), public bus, and taxi. (Also consider the hop-on, hop-off bus and boat tours, described under “Tours in Paris,” later.)
You can buy tickets and passes at Métro stations and at many tabacs. Staffed ticket windows in stations are gradually being phased out in favor of ticket machines, so expect some stations to have machines only—be sure to carry coins or small bills of €20 or less (as not all machines take bills and none take American credit cards). If a ticket machine is out of order or if you’re out of change, buy tickets at a tabac.
Public-Transit Tickets: The Métro, RER, and buses all work on the same tickets. You can make as many transfers as you need on a single ticket, except when transferring between the Métro/RER system and the bus system, which requires using an additional ticket. A single ticket costs €1.70. To save money, buy a carnet (kar-nay) of 10 tickets for €13.30 (cheaper for ages 4-10). Carnets can be shared among travelers.
Passe Navigo: You can buy a chip-embedded card, called the Passe Navigo (though for most tourists, carnets are a better deal). You pay a onetime €5 fee for the Navigo card itself (which also requires a postage stamp-size photo of yourself—bring your own, print a color photo, or use the €5 photo booths in major Métro stations). For a weekly (hebdomadaire) version good for travel in central Paris (zones 1-2), you’ll pay €19.80, which gives you free run of the bus, Métro, and non-suburban RER system from Monday to Sunday (expiring on Sunday, even if you buy it on, say, a Thursday). The basic weekly pass covers only central Paris; a monthly pass is available that covers trips to regional destinations such as Versailles.
To use the Navigo, whether at a Métro turnstile or on the bus, touch the card to the purple pad, wait for the green validation light and the “ding,” and you’re on your way.
Navigo or Carnet? It’s hard to beat the carnet. Two 10-packs of carnets—enough for most travelers staying a week—cost €26.60, are shareable, and don’t expire. Though similar in price, the Passe Navigo is more of a hassle to buy, cannot be shared, and only becomes worthwhile for visitors who stay a full week (or more), start their trip early in the week (on a Monday or Tuesday), and use the system a lot.
Other Passes: A handy one-day bus/Métro pass (called Mobilis) is available for €6.60. If you are under 26 and in Paris on a Saturday or Sunday, you can buy an unlimited daily transit pass called Ticket Jeunes Week-end for the unbeatable price of €3.65. The overpriced Paris Visite passes are poorly designed for tourists and offer minor reductions at minor sights (1 day-€10.55, 2 days-€17.15, 3 days-€23.40, 5 days-€33.70).
In Paris, you’re never more than a 10-minute walk from a Métro station. Europe’s best subway system allows you to hop from sight to sight quickly and cheaply (runs Sun-Thu 5:30-24:30, Fri-Sat 5:30-2:00 in the morning, ratp.fr). Learn to use it. Color Métro maps are free at Métro stations and included on freebie Paris maps at your hotel.
Using the Métro System: To get to your destination, determine the closest “Mo” stop and which line or lines will get you there. The lines are color-coded and numbered, and you can tell their direction by their end-of-the-line stops. For example, the La Défense/Château de Vincennes line, also known as line 1 (yellow), runs between La Défense, on its west end, and Vincennes on its east end. Once in the Métro station, you’ll see the color-coded line numbers and/or blue-and-white signs directing you to the train going in your direction (e.g., direction: La Défense). Insert your ticket in the automatic turnstile, reclaim your ticket, pass through, and keep it until you exit the system (some stations require you to pass your ticket through a turnstile to exit). The smallest stations are unstaffed and have ticket machines (coins are essential). Be warned that fare inspectors regularly check for cheaters and accept absolutely no excuses—keep that ticket or pay a minimum fine of €30.
Be prepared to walk significant distances within Métro stations (especially when you transfer). Transfers are free and can be made wherever lines cross, provided you do so within 1.5 hours. When you transfer, follow the appropriately colored line number for your next train, or find orange correspondance (connection) signs that lead to your next line.
When you reach your destination, look for the blue-and-white sortie signs pointing you to the exit. Before leaving the station, check the helpful plan du quartier (map of the neighborhood) to get your bearings. At stops with several sorties, you can save time by choosing the best exit.
After you exit the system, toss or tear your used ticket so you don’t confuse it with unused tickets.
Beware of Pickpockets: Thieves dig the Métro and RER. Be on guard. If your pocket is picked as you pass through a turnstile, you end up stuck on the wrong side (after the turnstile bar has closed behind you) while the thief gets away. Stand away from Métro doors to avoid being a target for a theft-and-run just before the doors close. Any jostling or commotion—especially when boarding or leaving trains—is likely the sign of a thief or a team of thieves in action. See here for tips on keeping your bag close. Make any fare inspector show proof of identity (ask locals for help if you’re not certain). Never show anyone your wallet.
The RER (Réseau Express Régionale; air-ay-air) is the suburban arm of the Métro, serving outlying destinations such as Versailles and the airports. These routes are indicated by thick lines on your subway map and identified by the letters A, B, C, and so on.
Within the city center, the RER works like the Métro and can be speedier if it serves your destination directly, because it makes fewer stops. Métro tickets and the Passe Navigo card are good on the RER when traveling in the city center. You can transfer between the Métro and RER systems with the same ticket. But to travel outside the city (to Versailles or the airport, for example), you’ll need a separate, more expensive ticket. Unlike the Métro, not every train stops at every station along the way; check the sign or screen over the platform to see if your destination is listed as a stop (“toutes les gares” means it makes all stops along the way), or confirm with a local before you board. For RER trains, you may need to insert your ticket in a turnstile to exit the system.
Paris’ excellent bus system is worth figuring out. Buses don’t seem as romantic as the famous Métro and are subject to traffic jams, but savvy travelers know that buses can have you swinging through the city like Tarzan in an urban jungle.
Buses require less walking and fewer stairways than the Métro, and you can see Paris unfold as you travel. Bus stops are everywhere, and every stop comes with all the information you need: a good city bus map, route maps showing exactly where each bus that uses this stop goes, a frequency chart and schedule, a plan du quartier map of the immediate neighborhood, and a soirées map explaining night service, if available (ratp.fr). Bus-system maps are also available in any Métro station (and in the €6.50 Paris Pratique map book sold at newsstands). For longer stays, consider buying the €6 Le Bus book of bus routes.
Using the Bus System: Buses use the same tickets and passes as the Métro and RER. One Zone 1 ticket buys you a bus ride anywhere in central Paris within the freeway ring road (le périphérique). Use your Métro ticket or buy one on board for €0.30 more, though note that tickets bought on board are sans correspondance, which means you can’t use them to transfer to another bus. (The ticket system has a few quirks—see “More Bus Tips,” later.)
Just like the Métro, every bus stop has a name, and every bus is headed to one end-of-the-line stop or the other. First, find your stop on the chart, then find your destination stop. Now, find out exactly where to catch the bus going in that direction. (On the maps showing the bus route, notice the triangle-shaped arrows pointing in the direction the bus is headed. With so many one-way streets in Paris, it’s easy to get on the bus in the wrong direction.) When the bus pulls up, double-check that the sign on the front of the bus has the end-of-the-line stop going in your direction.
Board your bus through the front door. (Families with strollers can use any doors—the ones in the center of the bus are wider. To open the middle or back doors on long buses, push the green button located by those doors.) Validate your ticket in the machine and reclaim it. With a Passe Navigo, scan it on the purple touchpad. Keep track of what stop is coming up next by following the on-board diagram or listening to recorded announcements. When you’re ready to get off, push the red button to signal you want a stop, then exit through the central or rear door. Even if you’re not certain you’ve figured out the system, do some joyriding.
More Bus Tips: Avoid rush hour (Mon-Fri 8:00-9:30 & 17:30-19:30), when buses are jammed and traffic doesn’t move. While the Métro shuts down at about 24:30 (Sun-Thu, later on Fri-Sat), some buses continue much later (called Noctilien lines, noctilien.fr). Not all city buses are air-conditioned, so they can become rolling greenhouses on summer days. Carnet ticket holders—but not those buying individual tickets on the bus—can transfer from one bus to another on the same ticket (within 1.5 hours, revalidate your ticket on the next bus), but you can’t do a round-trip or hop on and off on the same line. You also can’t transfer between the bus and the Métro/RER systems using the same ticket.
I’ve also listed the handiest bus routes for each recommended hotel neighborhood under “Sleeping in Paris,” later.
Parisian taxis are reasonable, especially for couples and families. The meters are tamper-proof. Fares and supplements (described in English on the rear windows) are straightforward and tightly regulated.
A taxi can fit three people comfortably. Cabbies are legally required to accept four passengers, though they don’t always like it. If you have five in your group, you can book a larger taxi in advance (your hotelier can call), or try your luck at a taxi stand. Beyond three passengers, expect to pay €3 extra per person. For a sample taxi tour of the city at night, see here.
Rates: All Parisian taxis start with €2.50 on the meter and have a minimum charge of €6.50. A 20-minute ride (e.g., Bastille to the Eiffel Tower) costs about €20 (versus about €1.30/person to get anywhere in town using a carnet ticket on the Métro or bus). Drivers charge higher rates at rush hour, at night, all day Sunday, for extra passengers (see above), and to any of the airports. Each piece of luggage you put in the trunk is €1 extra (though it won’t appear on the meter, it is a legitimate charge). To tip, round up to the next euro (at least €0.50). The A, B, or C lights on a taxi’s rooftop sign correspond to hourly rates, which vary with the time of day and day of the week (for example, the A rate of €31.04/hour applies Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00). Tired travelers need not bother with these mostly subtle differences in fares—if you need a cab, take it.
How to Catch un Taxi: You can try waving down a taxi, but it’s often easier to ask someone for the nearest taxi stand (“Où est une station de taxi?”; oo ay ewn stah-see-ohn duh “taxi”). Taxi stands are indicated by a circled “T” on good city maps, and on many maps in this chapter. To order a taxi in English, call 01 41 27 66 99, or ask your hotelier for help. When you summon a taxi by phone, the meter starts running as soon as the call is received, often adding €6 or more to the bill.
Taxis are tough to find during rush hour, when it’s raining, on weekend nights, or on any night after the Métro closes (Sun-Thu at 24:30, Fri-Sat at 2:00 in the morning). If you need to catch a train or flight early in the morning, book a taxi the day before (especially for weekday departures). Some taxi companies require a €5 reservation fee by credit card for weekday morning rush-hour departures (7:00-10:00) and only have a limited number of reservation spots.
Paris is surprisingly easy by bicycle. The city is flat, and riders have access to more than 370 miles of bike lanes and the many priority lanes for buses and taxis (though be careful in these). I biked along the river from Notre-Dame to the Eiffel Tower in 15 wonderfully scenic minutes.
Urban bikers will find Paris a breeze. First-timers will get the hang of it quickly enough by following some simple rules. Always stay to the right in your lane, bike single-file, stay off sidewalks, watch out for opening doors on parked cars, signal with your arm before making turns, and use bike paths when available. Obey the traffic laws as if you were driving a car. Parisians use the same road rules as Americans, with two exceptions: When passing vehicles or other bikes, always pass on the left (it’s illegal to pass on the right); and where there is no stoplight, always yield to traffic merging from the right, even if you’re on a major road and the merging driver is on a side street. You’ll find a bell on your bike; use it like a horn to warn pedestrians who don’t see you.
The TIs have a helpful “Paris à Vélo” map, which shows all the dedicated bike paths. Many other versions are available for sale at newsstand kiosks, some bookstores, and department stores.
Rental Bikes: The following companies rent bikes to individuals, as well as offering organized bike tours (see here). Bike About Tours is your best bet for bike rental (€15/day during office hours, €20/24 hours, includes lock and helmet; daily mid-Feb-Dec 9:00-18:00, closed Dec-mid-Feb; shop located near Hôtel de Ville in Vinci parking garage—see map on here, Mo: Hôtel de Ville, bikeabouttours.com, info@bikeabouttours.com). Fat Tire Bike Tours has a limited supply of bikes for rent, so call ahead to check availability (€4/hour, €25/24 hours, includes lock and helmet, credit-card imprint required for deposit, ask about rental discount with this book; office open daily 9:00-18:30, May-Aug bike rental only after 11:30 as priority is given to those taking a tour, 24 Rue Edgar Faure—see map on here, Mo: Dupleix, tel. 01 56 58 10 54, fattirebiketoursparis.com).
Vélib’ Bikes: The city’s Vélib’ program (from vélo + liberté or libre = “bike freedom” or “free bike”) gives residents and foreigners alike access to more than 20,000 bikes at nearly 1,500 stations scattered around the city.
While the curbside stations only accept American Express or chip-and-PIN credit cards (see here), any kind of credit card will work if you plan ahead and buy a subscription in advance online at en.velib.paris.fr. The subscription process is in English and easy to follow: Click on “Subscriptions and Fees,” then scroll down to select the “Short-Term Subscription” you want (€1.70/1 day, €8/7 days). After payment, you’ll get an ID number and a four-digit PIN code. To pick up a bike, go to any bike rack, enter your ID number and PIN at the machine (all have English instructions), select a bike, and away you go! Make sure to pick a bike in working order; if a bike has a problem, locals will turn the seat backwards (tel. 01 30 79 79 30).
Inline skaters take to the streets most Sunday afternoons and Friday evenings. It’s serious skaters only on Fridays (they meet at 21:30 and are ready to roll at 22:00), but anyone can join in on Sundays (at 14:30). Police close off different routes each week to keep locals engaged, but the starting points are always the same. On Sunday, skaters leave from the south side of Place de la Bastille (for the route, see rollers-coquillages.org, click on Randonnées du Dimanches, then your date); on Fridays it’s from Place Raoul Dautry (Mo: Montparnasse; see route at pari-roller.com). You can rent skates near Sunday’s starting point at Nomades (€5/half-day, €9/day, Tue-Fri 11:00-13:30 & 14:30-19:30, Sat 10:00-19:00, Sun 12:00-18:00, closed Mon, 37 Boulevard Bourdon, near Place de la Bastille, Mo: Bastille, tel. 01 44 54 07 44).
Left Bank Scooters will deliver rental scooters to daring travelers over 20 with a valid driver’s license (€50-100/day, price depends on size of the scooter and how long you keep it, tel. 06 78 12 04 24, leftbankscooters.com). They also offer tours, described later.
To sightsee on your own, download my series of free audio tours that illuminate some of Paris’ top sights and neighborhoods, including the Historic Paris Walk, Louvre, Orsay, and Versailles Palace (see here for details).
City Vision offers bus tours of Paris, day and night (advertised in hotel lobbies). I’d consider them only for their nighttime tour (see here). During the day, you’ll get a better value and more versatility by taking a hop-on, hop-off tour by bus (described next) or Batobus boat (see “By Boat,” later), which provide transportation between sights.
Double-decker buses connect Paris’ main sights, allowing you to hop on and off along the way. You get a disposable set of earbuds to listen to a basic running commentary (dial English for the so-so narration). You can get off at any stop, tour a sight, then catch a later bus. These are best in good weather, when you can sit up top. There are two companies: L’Open Tours and Les Cars Rouges (pick up their brochures showing routes and stops from any TI or on their buses). You can start either tour at just about any of the major sights, such as the Eiffel Tower.
L’Open Tours uses bright yellow buses and provides more extensive coverage (and slightly better commentary) on four different routes, rolling by most of the important sights in Paris. Their Paris Grand Tour (the green route) offers the best introduction. The same ticket gets you on any of their routes within the validity period. Buy your tickets from the driver (1 day-€31, 2 days-€36, kids 4-11-€16 for 1 or 2 days, allow 2 hours per tour). Two to four buses depart hourly from about 10:00 to 18:00; expect to wait 10-15 minutes at each stop (stops can be tricky to find—look for yellow signs; tel. 01 42 66 56 56, parislopentour.com). A combo-ticket includes the Batobus boats, too (2 days-€44, 3 days-€48, kids 4-11-€20 for 2 or 3 days; described later).
Les Cars Rouges’ bright red buses offer one route with just nine stops and recorded narration, but for a little less per day (adult-€31, kids 4-12-€15, good for 2 days, discount if you book online, tel. 01 53 95 39 53, carsrouges.com).
Several companies run one-hour boat cruises on the Seine. For the best experience, cruise at twilight or after dark. (To dine while you cruise, see “Dinner Cruises” on here.) Two of the companies—Bateaux-Mouches and Bateaux Parisiens—are convenient to the Rue Cler hotels, and both run daily year-round (April-Oct 10:00-22:30, 2-3/hour; Nov-March shorter hours, runs hourly). Some offer discounts for early online bookings.
Bateaux-Mouches, the oldest boat company in Paris, departs from Pont de l’Alma’s right bank and has the biggest open-top, double-decker boats (higher up means better views). But this company caters to tour groups, making their boats jammed and noisy (€12.50, kids 4-12-€5.50, tel. 01 42 25 96 10, bateaux-mouches.fr).
Bateaux Parisiens has smaller covered boats with handheld audioguides, fewer crowds, and only one deck. It leaves from right in front of the Eiffel Tower (€13, kids 3-12-€5, tel. 01 76 64 14 45, bateauxparisiens.com).
Vedettes du Pont Neuf offers essentially the same one-hour tour as the other companies, but starts and ends at Pont Neuf, closer to recommended hotels in the Marais and Luxembourg Garden neighborhoods. The boats feature a live guide whose delivery (in English and French) is as stiff as a recorded narration—and as hard to understand, given the quality of their sound system (€13, ask about a discount if you book direct with this book, online booking costs just €9, kids 4-12 pay €7, tip requested, nearly 2/hour, daily 10:30-22:30, tel. 01 46 33 98 38, vedettesdupontneuf.com).
Batobus allows you to get on and off as often as you like at any of eight popular stops along the Seine. The boats, which make a continuous circuit, stop in this order: Eiffel Tower, Orsay Museum, St. Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hôtel de Ville, the Louvre, and Pont Alexandre III, near the Champs-Elysées (1 day-€15, 2 days-€18, 5 days-€21, April-Aug boats run every 20 minutes 10:00-21:30, Sept-March every 25 minutes 10:00-19:00, 45 minutes one-way, 1.5-hour round-trip, worthless narration, batobus.com). If you use this for getting around—sort of a scenic, floating alternative to the Métro—it can be worthwhile, especially with a five-day pass. But if you just want a guided boat tour, the Seine cruises described earlier are a better choice.
Canauxrama runs a lazy 2.5-hour cruise on a peaceful canal out of sight of the Seine. Tours start from Place de la Bastille and end at Bassin de la Villette (near Mo: Stalingrad). During the first segment of your trip, you’ll pass through a long tunnel (built by order of Napoleon in the early 19th century, when canal boats were vital for industrial transport). Once outside, you glide—not much faster than you can walk—through sleepy Parisian neighborhoods and slowly climb through four double locks as a guide narrates the trip in French and English (adults-€16, kids 12 and under-€8.50, check online for discounts for advance booking, departs at 9:45 and 14:30 across from Opéra Bastille, just below Boulevard de la Bastille, opposite #50—where the canal meets Place de la Bastille, tel. 01 42 39 15 00, canauxrama.com). The same tour also goes in the opposite direction, from Bassin de la Villette to Place de la Bastille (departs at 9:45 and 14:45). It’s OK to bring a picnic on board.
This company offers a variety of two-hour walks, led by British and American guides. Tours are thoughtfully prepared and entertaining. Don’t hesitate to stand close to the guide to hear (€16, generally 2/day—morning and afternoon, private tours available, family guides and Louvre tours a specialty, call 01 48 09 21 40 for schedule in English or check printable online schedule at paris-walks.com). Tours focus on the Marais (4/week), Montmartre (3/week), medieval Latin Quarter (Mon), Ile de la Cité/Notre-Dame (Mon), the “Two Islands” (Ile de la Cité and Ile St. Louis, Wed), the Revolution (Tue), and Hemingway’s Paris (Fri). They also run less-regular tours of Paris’ Puces St. Ouen flea market and of the Catacombs, plus a themed walk on the Occupation and Resistance in Paris during the 1940s. Call a day or two ahead to hear the current schedule and starting point. Most tours don’t require reservations, but specialty tours—such as the Louvre, fashion, or chocolate tours—require advance reservations and prepayment with credit card (deposits aren’t refundable).
These “intellectual by design” walking tours, geared for serious learners, are led by docents (historians, architects, and academics). They cover both museums and specific neighborhoods, and range from traditional topics such as French art history in the Louvre and the Gothic architecture of Notre-Dame to more thematic explorations like immigration and the changing face of Paris, jazz in the Latin Quarter, and the history of the baguette. It’s best to book in advance—groups are limited to six participants and can fill up fast (€60-100/person, admission to sights extra, generally 3 hours, tel. 09 75 18 04 15, US tel. 800-691-6036, contextparis.com). They also offer private tours and excursions outside Paris.
These lowbrow, light-on-information but high-on-fun walking tours are run by Fat Tire Bike Tours. Their 3.5-hour Classic Walk covers most major sights (€20, usually at 10:00—see website for days of week; meet at their office at 24 Rue Edgar Faure, Mo: Dupleix, tel. 01 56 58 10 54, paris.classicwalks.com). They also offer neighborhood walks of Montmartre, the Marais, and the Latin Quarter, as well as themed walks on the French Revolution (€20, tours run several times a week—see website for details). Ask about discounts with this book.
Fat Tire Bike Tours also offers Easy Pass skip-the-line interior tours of major sights, including the Louvre, Catacombs, Eiffel Tower, Orsay, and Versailles (€40-85/person, includes entry and guided tour). Reservations are required and can be made on their website or by phone. Their Eiffel Tower tour in particular is handy if you aren’t able to get advance tickets.
For many, Paris merits hiring a Parisian as a personal guide. Arnaud Servignat is an excellent licensed guide (€190/half-day, also does car tours of the countryside around Paris for a little more, mobile 06 68 80 29 05, french-guide.com, arnotour@me.com). Thierry Gauduchon is a terrific guide well worth his fee (€200/half-day, €400/day, tel. 01 56 98 10 82, mobile 06 19 07 30 77, tgauduchon@gmail.com). Elisabeth Van Hest is another likable and capable guide (€190/half-day, tel. 01 43 41 47 31, elisa.guide@gmail.com). Sylviane Ceneray is gentle and knowledgeable (€200/half-day, tel. 06 84 48 02 44, paris-asyoulikeit.com).
Friendly Canadian Rosa Jackson designs personalized “Edible Paris” itineraries based on your interests and three-hour “food-guru” tours of Paris led by her or one of her two colleagues (unguided itineraries from €125, €300 guided tours for up to 3, mobile 06 81 67 41 22, edible-paris.com, rosa@rosajackson.com). Paris By Mouth offers more casual and frequent group tours, organized by location or flavor (€95/3 hours, includes tastings, parisbymouth.com, tasteparisbymouth@gmail.com)
A bike tour is a fun way to see Paris. Two companies—Bike About Tours and Fat Tire Bike Tours—offer tours, sell bottled water and bike maps of Paris, and give advice on cycling routes in the city. Their tour routes cover different areas of the city, so avid cyclists could do both without much repetition.
Run by Christian (American) and Paul (New Zealander), this company offers easygoing tours with a focus on the eastern half of the city. Their four-hour tours run daily year-round at 10:00 (also at 15:00 June-Sept). You’ll meet at the statue of Charlemagne in front of Notre-Dame, then walk to the nearby rental office to get bikes. The tour includes a good back-street visit of the Marais, Rive Gauche outdoor sculpture park, Ile de la Cité, heart of the Latin Quarter (with a lunch break), Louvre, Les Halles, and Pompidou Center. Group tours have a 12-person maximum—reserve online to guarantee a spot, or show up and take your chances (€30, ask about discount with this book, maximum 2 discounts per book, includes helmets upon request, private tours available, see listing on here for contact info). They also offer a day trip by bike to Versailles (€80, see website for details).
A hardworking gang of young anglophone expats runs an extensive program of bike, Segway, and walking tours. Their high-energy guides run four-hour bike tours of Paris, by day and by night (adults-€30, kids-€28, show this book and ask for a discount, maximum 2 discounts per book, reservations not necessary—just show up). Kid-sized bikes are available, as are tandem attachments that hook on to a parent’s bike.
On the day tour, you’ll pedal with a pack of 10-20 riders, mostly in parks and along bike lanes, with a lunch stop in the Tuileries Garden (tours leave daily rain or shine at 11:00, April-Oct also at 15:00). Livelier night tours follow a route past floodlit monuments and include a boat cruise on the Seine (April-Oct daily at 19:00, less frequent in winter). Both tours meet at the south pillar of the Eiffel Tower, where you’ll get a short history lesson, then walk six minutes to the Fat Tire office to pick up bikes (helmets available upon request at no extra charge, for contact info see listing on here. They also run bike tours to Versailles and Giverny (reservations required, see website for details). Their office has Internet terminals with English keyboards.
Fat Tire’s pricey four-hour City Segway Tours—on stand-up motorized scooters—are novel in that you learn to ride a Segway while exploring Paris (you’ll get the hang of it after about half an hour). These tours take no more than eight people at a time, so reservations are required (€90, daily at 9:30, April-Oct also at 14:00 and 18:30, March and Nov also at 14:00, tel. 01 56 58 10 54, citysegwaytours.com).
You’ll see these space-age pedicabs (cyclopolitains) everywhere in central Paris. The hard-pedaling, free-spirited drivers (who get some electrical assistance) are happy to either transport you from point A to B or give you a tour at a snail’s pace—which is a lovely way to experience Paris (€40-50/hour, tripup.fr).
This company offers several very small group tours of Paris, plus day trips outside the city. Their tour of Versailles is worth considering for motor scooter enthusiasts: You’ll meet in Paris, then ride your scooter to Versailles on quiet roads, following the route de Versailles (the same path Louis XIV took to get out there), then do an all-day visit during which you are allowed to drive into the Gardens and down to the Hamlet (€250, price includes second person riding on the same scooter). They also do a night tour of Paris (€150 for one person, €50 extra for passenger, tel. 06 78 12 04 24, leftbankscooters.com).
Andy Steves (Rick’s son) runs Weekend Student Adventures, offering active and experiential three-day weekend tours designed for American students (from €199, see wsaeurope.com for details on tours of Paris and other great European cities).
Most of the local guides listed earlier will do excursion tours from Paris using your rental car. Or consider the following companies, which provide transportation.
Paris Webservices, a reliable outfit, offers many services, including day trips with English-speaking chauffeur-guides in cushy minivans for private groups (price depends on tour, use promo code “PWS52K15” and show current edition of this book for discount—not valid on services they book for you through other companies; tel. 01 45 56 91 67, pariswebservices.com).
Many companies offer bus tours to regional sights. City Vision runs uninspired minivan and bus tours to several popular regional destinations, including the Loire Valley, Champagne region, D-Day beaches, and Mont St-Michel (tel. 01 42 60 30 01, pariscityvision.com). Their minivan tours are pricier, but more personal and given in English, and most offer convenient pickup at your hotel (half-day tour about €80/person, day tour about €190/person). Their full-size bus tours are multilingual, mass-marketed, and mediocre at best, but cheaper than the minivan tours—worthwhile for some travelers simply for the ease of transportation to the sights (about €80-170, destinations include Versailles, Giverny, and more).
This information is distilled from the Historic Paris Walk chapter in Rick Steves Paris, by Rick Steves, Steve Smith, and Gene Openshaw. You can download a free Rick Steves audio version of this walk; see here.
Allow four hours to do justice to this three-mile walk; just follow the dotted line on the “Historic Paris Walk” map. Start where the city did—on the Ile de la Cité, the island in the Seine River and the physical and historic bull’s-eye of your Paris map. The closest Métro stops are Cité, Hôtel de Ville, and St. Michel, each a short walk away.
• On the square in front of Notre-Dame cathedral, view the facade from the bronze plaque on the ground marked “Point Zero” (30 yards from the central doorway). You’re standing at the center of France, the point from which all distances are measured. Find the circular window in the center of the cathedral’s facade.
This 700-year-old cathedral is packed with history and tourists. Study its sculpture and windows, take in a Mass, eavesdrop on guides, and walk all around the outside.
Cost and Hours: Cathedral—free, Mon-Fri 7:45-18:45, Sat-Sun 8:00-19:15; Treasury—€4, not covered by Museum Pass, Mon-Fri 9:30-17:40, Sat-Sun 9:30-18:10; audioguide-€5, free English tours—normally Wed-Thu at 14:15, Sat-Sun at 14:30. The cathedral hosts Masses several times daily (early morning, noon, evening), plus Vespers at 17:45. The international Mass is held Sun at 11:30. Call or check the website for a full schedule. On Good Friday and the first Friday of the month at 15:00, the (physically underwhelming) relic known as Jesus’ Crown of Thorns goes on display (Mo: Cité, Hôtel de Ville, or St. Michel; tel. 01 42 34 56 10, notredamedeparis.fr).
Tower Climb: The entrance for Notre-Dame’s tower climb is outside the cathedral, along the left side. You can hike to the top of the facade between the towers and then to the top of the south tower (400 steps total) for a gargoyle’s-eye view of the cathedral, Seine, and city (€8.50, covered by Museum Pass but no bypass line for passholders; daily April-Sept 10:00-18:30, Fri-Sat until 23:00 in July-Aug, Oct-March 10:00-17:30, last entry 45 minutes before closing; to avoid long lines arrive before 10:00 or after 17:00—after 16:00 in winter; tel. 01 53 10 07 00, notre-dame-de-paris.monuments-nationaux.fr).
Self-Guided Tour: The cathedral facade is worth a close look. The church is dedicated to “Our Lady” (Notre Dame). Mary is center stage—cradling God, right in the heart of the facade, surrounded by the halo of the rose window. Adam is on the left and Eve is on the right.
Below Mary and above the arches is a row of 28 statues known as the Kings of Judah. During the French Revolution, these biblical kings were mistaken for the hated French kings, and Notre-Dame represented the oppressive Catholic hierarchy. The citizens stormed the church, crying, “Off with their heads!” All were decapitated, but have since been recapitated.
Speaking of decapitation, look at the carving to the left of the doorway on the left. The man with his head in his hands is St. Denis. Back when there was a Roman temple on this spot, Christianity began making converts. The fourth-century bishop of Roman Paris, Denis was beheaded as a warning to those forsaking the Roman gods. But those early Christians were hard to keep down. The man who would become St. Denis got up, tucked his head under his arm, headed north, paused at a fountain to wash it off, and continued until he found just the right place to meet his maker: Montmartre. (Although the name “Montmartre” comes from the Roman “Mount of Mars,” later generations—thinking of their beheaded patron, St. Denis—preferred a less pagan version, “Mount of Martyrs.”) The Parisians were convinced by this miracle, Christianity gained ground, and a church soon replaced the pagan temple.
Medieval art was OK if it embellished the house of God and told biblical stories. For a fine example, move to the base of the central column (at the foot of Mary, about where the head of St. Denis could spit if he were really good). Working around from the left, find God telling a barely created Eve, “Have fun, but no apples.” Next, the sexiest serpent I’ve ever seen makes apples à la mode. Finally, Adam and Eve, now ashamed of their nakedness, are expelled by an angel. This is a tiny example in a church covered with meaning.
Enter the church at the right doorway (the line moves quickly). You’ll be routed around the ambulatory, in much the same way medieval pilgrims were. Notre-Dame has the typical basilica floor plan shared by so many Catholic churches: a long central nave lined with columns and flanked by side aisles. It’s designed in the shape of a cross, with the altar placed where the crossbeam intersects. The church can hold up to 10,000 faithful, and it’s probably buzzing with visitors now, just as it was 600 years ago. The quiet, deserted churches we see elsewhere are in stark contrast to the busy, center-of-life places they were in the Middle Ages.
Don’t miss the rose windows that fill each of the transepts. Just past the altar is the choir, the area enclosed with carved-wood walls, where more intimate services can be held in this spacious building. Circle the choir—the back side of the choir walls feature scenes of the resurrected Jesus (c. 1350). Just ahead on the right is the Treasury. It contains lavish robes, golden reliquaries, and the humble tunic of King (and St.) Louis IX, but it probably isn’t worth the entry fee.
Back outside, walk around the church through the park on the riverside for a close look at the flying buttresses. The Neo-Gothic 300-foot spire is a product of the 1860 reconstruction of the dilapidated old church. Around its base (visible as you approach the back end of the church) are apostles and evangelists (the green men) as well as Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, the architect in charge of the work. The apostles look outward, blessing the city, while the architect (at top) looks up the spire, marveling at his fine work.
Nearby: The archaeological crypt is a worthwhile 15-minute stop if you have a Paris Museum Pass (otherwise €4, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, last entry 30 minutes before closing, enter 100 yards in front of the cathedral, tel. 01 55 42 50 10). You’ll see remains of the many structures that have stood on this spot in the center of Paris: Roman buildings that surrounded a temple of Jupiter; a wall that didn’t keep the Franks out; the main medieval road that once led grandly up the square to Notre-Dame; and even (wow) a 19th-century sewer.
• Behind Notre-Dame, cross the street and enter through the iron gate into the park at the tip of the island. Look for the stairs and head down to reach the...
This memorial to the 200,000 French victims of the Nazi concentration camps (1940-1945) draws you into their experience. France was quickly overrun by Nazi Germany, and Paris spent the war years under Nazi occupation. Jews and dissidents were rounded up and deported—many never returned.
As you descend the steps, the city around you disappears. Surrounded by walls, you have become a prisoner. Your only freedom is your view of the sky and the tiny glimpse of the river below. Enter the dark, single-file chamber up ahead. Inside, the circular plaque in the floor reads, “They went to the end of the earth and did not return.”
The hallway stretching in front of you is lined with 200,000 lighted crystals, one for each French citizen who died. Flickering at the far end is the eternal flame of hope. The tomb of the unknown deportee lies at your feet. Above, the inscription reads, “Dedicated to the living memory of the 200,000 French deportees shrouded by the night and the fog, exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps.” The side rooms are filled with triangles—reminiscent of the identification patches inmates were forced to wear—each bearing the name of a concentration camp. Above the exit as you leave is the message you’ll find at many other Holocaust sites: “Forgive, but never forget.”
Cost and Hours: Free, April-Sept Tue-Sun 10:00-12:00 & 13:30-19:00, Oct-March Tue-Sun 10:00-12:00 & 13:30-17:00, closed Mon year-round; at the east tip of the island named Ile de la Cité, behind Notre-Dame and near Ile St. Louis (Mo: Cité); mobile 06 14 67 54 98.
• Back on street level, look across the river (north) to the island called...
If Ile de la Cité is a tugboat laden with the history of Paris, it’s towing this classy little residential dinghy, laden only with high-rent apartments, boutiques, characteristic restaurants, and famous ice cream shops.
Ile St. Louis wasn’t developed until much later than Ile de la Cité (17th century). What was a swampy mess is now harmonious Parisian architecture and one of Paris’ most exclusive neighborhoods. If you won’t have time to return here for an evening stroll (see here), consider taking a brief detour across the pedestrian bridge, Pont St. Louis. It connects the two islands, leading right to Rue St. Louis-en-l’Ile. This spine of the island is lined with appealing shops and reasonably priced restaurants. A short stroll takes you to the famous Berthillon ice cream parlor at #31. Gelato lovers head instead to Amorino Gelati at 47 Rue St. Louis-en-l’Ile. This walk is about as peaceful and romantic as Paris gets. When you’re finished exploring, loop back to the pedestrian bridge along the parklike quays (walk north to the river and turn left).
• From the Deportation Memorial, cross the bridge to the Left Bank. All those padlocks adorning the railing are akin to lighting candles in a church. Locals and tourists alike honor loved ones by writing a brief message on the lock and attaching it to the railing. You can buy a lock (called cadenas, €5) at a nearby bookseller’s stall along the river.
Turn right after crossing the bridge and walk along the river, toward the front end of Notre-Dame. Stairs detour down to the riverbank if you need a place to picnic. This side view of the church from across the river is one of Europe’s great sights and is best from river level. At times, you may find barges housing restaurants with great cathedral views docked here.
After passing the Pont au Double (the bridge leading to the facade of Notre-Dame), watch on your left for Shakespeare and Company, an atmospheric reincarnation of the original 1920s bookshop and a good spot to page through books (37 Rue de la Bûcherie; see here). Before returning to the island, walk a block behind Shakespeare and Company, and take a spin through the...
This area’s touristy fame relates to its intriguing, artsy, bohemian character. This was perhaps Europe’s leading university district in the Middle Ages, when Latin was the language of higher education. The neighborhood’s main boulevards (St. Michel and St. Germain) are lined with cafés—once the haunts of great poets and philosophers, now the hangouts of tired tourists. Though still youthful and artsy, much of this area has become a tourist ghetto filled with cheap North African eateries. Exploring a few blocks up- or downriver from here gives you a better chance of feeling the pulse of what survives of Paris’ classic Left Bank. For colorful wandering and café-sitting, afternoons and evenings are best.
Walking along Rue St. Séverin, you can still see the shadow of the medieval sewer system. The street slopes into a central channel of bricks. In the days before plumbing and toilets, when people still went to the river or neighborhood wells for their water, flushing meant throwing it out the window. At certain times of day, maids on the fourth floor would holler, “Garde de l’eau!” (“Watch out for the water!”) and heave it into the streets, where it would eventually wash down into the Seine.
Consider a visit to the Cluny Museum for its medieval art and unicorn tapestries (see here). The Sorbonne—the University of Paris’ humanities department—is also nearby; visitors can ogle at the famous dome, but they are not allowed to enter the building (two blocks south of the river on Boulevard St. Michel).
Be sure to see Place St. Michel. This square (facing the Pont St. Michel) is the traditional core of the Left Bank’s artsy, liberal, hippie, bohemian district of poets, philosophers, and winos. In less commercial times, Place St. Michel was a gathering point for the city’s malcontents and misfits. In 1830, 1848, and again in 1871, the citizens took the streets from the government troops, set up barricades Les Miz-style, and fought against royalist oppression. During World War II, the locals rose up against their Nazi oppressors (read the plaques under the dragons at the foot of the St. Michel fountain). Even today, whenever there’s a student demonstration, it starts here.
• From Place St. Michel, look across the river and find the prickly steeple of the Sainte-Chapelle church. Head toward it. Cross the river on Pont St. Michel and continue north along the Boulevard du Palais. On your left, you’ll see the doorway to Sainte-Chapelle (usually with a line of people).
Security is strict at the Sainte-Chapelle complex because this is more than a tourist attraction: France’s Supreme Court meets to the right of Sainte-Chapelle in the Palais de Justice. Expect a long wait unless you arrive before it opens. (L’Annexe Café, across the street from the main entry, sells €1 coffee to-go—perfect for sipping while you wait in line.) First comes the security line (all sharp objects are confiscated). No one can skip this line. Security lines are shortest on weekday mornings and on weekends (when the courts are closed), and longest around 13:00-14:00 (when the staff takes lunch). Once past security, you’ll enter the courtyard outside Sainte-Chapelle, where you’ll find WCs and information about upcoming church concerts (for details, see here). Next you’ll encounter the ticket-buying line—those with combo-tickets or Museum Passes can skip this line-up.
This triumph of Gothic church architecture is a cathedral of glass like no other. It was speedily built between 1242 and 1248 for King Louis IX—the only French king who is now a saint—to house the supposed Crown of Thorns. Its architectural harmony is due to the fact that it was completed under the direction of one architect and in only six years—unheard of in Gothic times. In contrast, Notre-Dame took over 200 years.
Cost and Hours: €8.50, €12.50 combo-ticket with Conciergerie, free for those under age 18, covered by Museum Pass; daily March-Oct 9:30-18:00, Wed until 21:30 mid-May-mid-Sept, Nov-Feb 9:00-17:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing, be prepared for long lines, audioguide-€4.50, evening concerts—see here, 4 Boulevard du Palais, Mo: Cité, tel. 01 53 40 60 80, sainte-chapelle.monuments-nationaux.fr.
Visiting the Church: Though the inside is beautiful, the exterior is basically functional. The muscular buttresses hold up the stone roof, so the walls are essentially there to display stained glass. The lacy spire is Neo-Gothic—added in the 19th century.
Inside, the layout clearly shows an ancien régime approach to worship. The low-ceilinged basement was for staff and other common folks—worshipping under a sky filled with painted fleurs-de-lis, a symbol of the king. Royal Christians worshipped upstairs. The paint job, a 19th-century restoration, helps you imagine how grand this small, painted, jeweled chapel was. (Imagine Notre-Dame painted like this...) Each capital is playfully carved with a different plant’s leaves.
Climb the spiral staircase to the Chapelle Haute. Fill the place with choral music, crank up the sunshine, face the top of the altar, and really believe that the Crown of Thorns is there, and this becomes one awesome space.
Fiat lux. “Let there be light.” From the first page of the Bible, it’s clear: Light is divine. Light shines through stained glass like God’s grace shining down to earth. Gothic architects used their new technology to turn dark stone buildings into lanterns of light. The glory of Gothic shines brighter here than in any other church.
There are 15 separate panels of stained glass (6,500 square feet—two-thirds of it 13th-century original), with more than 1,100 different scenes, mostly from the Bible. These cover the entire Christian history of the world, from the Creation in Genesis (first window on the left, as you face the altar), to the coming of Christ (over the altar), to the end of the world (the round “rose”-shaped window at the rear of the church). Each individual scene is interesting, and the whole effect is overwhelming.
The altar was raised up high to better display the Crown of Thorns, the relic around which this chapel was built. The supposed crown cost King Louis more than three times as much as this church. Today, it is kept by the Notre-Dame Treasury (though it’s occasionally brought out for display).
• Exit Sainte-Chapelle. Back outside, as you walk around the church exterior, look down to see the foundation and take note of how much Paris has risen in the 750 years since Sainte-Chapelle was built.
Next door to Sainte-Chapelle is the...
Sainte-Chapelle sits within a huge complex of buildings that has housed the local government since ancient Roman times. It was the site of the original Gothic palace of the early kings of France. The only surviving medieval parts are Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie prison.
Most of the site is now covered by the giant Palais de Justice, built in 1776, home of the French Supreme Court. The motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité over the doors is a reminder that this was also the headquarters of the Revolutionary government. Here they doled out justice, condemning many to imprisonment in the Conciergerie downstairs or to the guillotine.
• Now pass through the big iron gate to the noisy Boulevard du Palais. Cross the street to the wide, pedestrian-only Rue de Lutèce and walk about halfway down.
Of the 141 original early-20th-century subway entrances, this is one of only a few survivors—now preserved as a national art treasure. (New York’s Museum of Modern Art even exhibits one.) It marks Paris at its peak in 1900—on the cutting edge of Modernism, but with an eye for beauty. The curvy, plantlike ironwork is a textbook example of Art Nouveau, the style that rebelled against the erector-set squareness of the Industrial Age. Other similar Métro stations in Paris are Abbesses and Porte Dauphine.
The flower and plant market on Place Louis Lépine is a pleasant detour. On Sundays this square flutters with a busy bird market. And across the way is the Préfecture de Police, where Inspector Clouseau of Pink Panther fame used to work, and where the local resistance fighters took the first building from the Nazis in August of 1944, leading to the Allied liberation of Paris a week later.
• Pause here to admire the view. Sainte-Chapelle is a pearl in an ugly architectural oyster. Double back to the Palais de Justice, turn right onto Boulevard du Palais, and enter the Conciergerie. It’s free with the Museum Pass; passholders can sidestep the bottleneck created by the ticket-buying line.
Though pretty barren inside, this former prison echoes with history. Positioned next to the courthouse, the Conciergerie was the gloomy prison famous as the last stop for 2,780 victims of the guillotine, including France’s last ancien régime queen, Marie-Antoinette. Before then, kings had used the building to torture and execute failed assassins. (One of its towers along the river was called “The Babbler,” named for the pain-induced sounds that leaked from it.) When the Revolution (1789) toppled the king, the building kept its same function, but without torture. The progressive Revolutionaries proudly unveiled a modern and more humane way to execute people—the guillotine. The Conciergerie was the epicenter of the Reign of Terror—the year-long period of the Revolution (1793-94) during which Revolutionary fervor spiraled out of control and thousands were killed. It was here at the Conciergerie that “enemies of the Revolution” were imprisoned, tried, sentenced, and marched off to Place de la Concorde for decapitation.
Inside, pick up a free map and breeze through the one-way circuit. It’s well-described in English. See the spacious, low-ceilinged Hall of Men-at-Arms (Room 1), originally a guards’ dining room, with four large fireplaces (look up the chimneys). During the Reign of Terror, this large hall served as a holding tank for the poorest prisoners. Then they were taken upstairs (in an area not open to visitors), where the Revolutionary tribunals grilled scared prisoners on their political correctness. You’ll also see a re-creation of Marie-Antoinette’s cell, which houses a collection of her mementos. In another room, a list of those made “a foot shorter at the top” by the “national razor” includes ex-King Louis XVI, Charlotte Corday (who murdered the Revolutionary writer Jean-Paul Marat in his bathtub), and—oh, the irony—Maximilien de Robespierre, the head of the Revolution, the man who sent so many to the guillotine.
Cost and Hours: €8.50, €12.50 combo-ticket with Sainte-Chapelle, covered by Museum Pass, daily 9:30-18:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing, 2 Boulevard du Palais, Mo: Cité, tel. 01 53 40 60 80, conciergerie.monuments-nationaux.fr.
• Back outside, turn left on Boulevard du Palais and head north. On the corner is the city’s oldest public clock. The mechanism of the present clock is from 1334, and even though the case is Baroque, it keeps on ticking.
Turn left onto Quai de l’Horloge and walk west along the river, past “The Babbler” tower. The bridge up ahead is the Pont Neuf, where we’ll end this walk. At the first corner, veer left into a sleepy triangular square called Place Dauphine. It’s amazing to find such coziness in the heart of Paris. From the equestrian statue of Henry IV, turn right onto the old bridge, Pont Neuf. Pause at the little nook halfway across.
This “new bridge” is now Paris’ oldest. Built during Henry IV’s reign (about 1600), its arches span the widest part of the river. Unlike other bridges, this one never had houses or buildings growing on it. The turrets were originally for vendors and street entertainers. In the days of Henry IV, who promised his peasants “a chicken in every pot every Sunday,” this would have been a lively scene. From the bridge, look downstream (west) to see the next bridge, the pedestrian-only Pont des Arts. Ahead on the Right Bank is the long Louvre museum. Beyond that, on the Left Bank, is the Orsay. And what’s that tall black tower in the distance?
• Our walk is finished. From here, you can tour the Seine by boat (the departure point for Seine River cruises offered by Vedettes du Pont Neuf is through the park at the end of the island—see here, continue to the Louvre, or (if it’s summer) head to the...
The Riviera it’s not, but this string of fanciful faux beaches—assembled in summer along a one-mile stretch of the Right Bank of the Seine—is a fun place to stroll, play, and people-watch on a sunny day. Each summer, the Paris city government closes the embankment’s highway and trucks in potted palm trees, hammocks, lounge chairs, and 2,000 tons of sand to create colorful urban beaches. You’ll also find “beach cafés,” climbing walls, prefab pools, trampolines, boules, a library, beach volleyball, badminton, and Frisbee areas in three zones: sandy, grassy, and wood-tiled. (Other less-central areas of town, such as Bassin de la Vilette, have their own plages.)
Cost and Hours: Free, mid-July-mid-Aug daily 8:00-24:00, no beach off-season; on Right Bank of Seine, just north of Ile de la Cité, between Pont des Arts and Pont de Sully; for information, go to paris.fr, click on “English,” then “Visit,” then “Highlights.”
Map: Major Museums Neighborhood
What the Paris Museum Pass Covers
▲▲▲Orsay Museum (Musée d’Orsay)
Map: Orsay Museum--Ground Floor
▲▲Orangerie Museum (Musée de l’Orangerie)
▲▲▲Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel)
▲Architecture and Monuments Museum (Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine)
▲Quai Branly Museum (Museé du Quai Branly)
National Maritime Museum (Musée National de la Marine)
▲Paris Sewer Tour (Les Egouts de Paris)
▲▲Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb (Musée de l’Armée)
▲▲Marmottan Museum (Musée Marmottan Monet)
▲▲Cluny Museum (Musée National du Moyen Age)
Delacroix Museum (Musée National Eugène Delacroix)
▲Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg)
Montparnasse Tower (La Tour Montparnasse)
▲▲Jacquemart-André Museum (Musée Jacquemart-André)
▲Petit Palais (and its Musée des Beaux-Arts)
▲La Défense and La Grande Arche
Marais Neighborhood and Nearby
▲Carnavalet Museum (Musée Carnavalet)
Map: Marais Neighborhood & Nearby
▲▲Picasso Museum (Musée Picasso)
Rue des Rosiers: Paris’ Jewish Quarter
▲Jewish Art and History Museum (Musée d’Art et Histoire du Judaïsme)
Holocaust Memorial (Mémorial de la Shoah)
▲▲Pompidou Center (Centre Pompidou)
Promenade Plantée Park (Viaduc des Arts)
▲Père Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père Lachaise)
Montmartre Museum (Musée de Montmartre)
In Paris there are two classes of sightseers—those with a Paris Museum Pass, and those who stand in line. The pass admits you to many of Paris’ most popular sights, allowing you to skip ticket-buying lines. You’ll save time and money by getting this pass.
The pass pays for itself with four key admissions in two days (for example, the Louvre, Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, and Versailles), and it lets you skip the ticket line at most sights (2 days-€39, 4 days-€54, 6 days-€69, no youth or senior discount). It’s sold at participating museums, monuments, FNAC department stores, and TIs (even at Paris’ airports). Try to avoid buying the pass at a major museum (such as the Louvre), where the supply can be spotty and lines long. For more info, visit parismuseumpass.com or call 01 44 61 96 60.
To determine if the pass is a good value for your trip, tally up what you want to see from the list below. And remember, an advantage of the pass is that you skip to the front of most (but not all) lines, which can save hours of waiting, especially in summer. Another benefit of the pass is that you can pop into lesser sights that otherwise might not be worth the expense.
Families: The pass isn’t worth buying for children and teens, as most museums are free or discounted for those under age 18 (teenagers may need to show ID as proof of age). If parents have a Museum Pass, kids can usually skip the ticket lines as well. A few places, such as the Arc de Triomphe and Army Museum, require everyone—even passholders—to stand in line to collect your child’s free ticket.
Most of the sights listed in this chapter are covered by the pass. It even covers Versailles’ major sights—worth €25 alone. Notable exceptions that are not covered by the pass include: the Eiffel Tower, Montparnasse Tower, Marmottan Museum, Opéra Garnier, Notre-Dame Treasury, Jacquemart-André Museum, Grand Palais, Catacombs, Montmartre Museum, Sacré-Cœur’s dome, Dalí Museum, and the ladies of Pigalle.
Here’s a list of key included sights and their admission prices without the pass:
| Louvre (€11) | Notre-Dame Tower (€8.50) |
| Orsay Museum (€9) | Paris Archaeological Crypt (€4) |
| Orangerie Museum (€8) | Paris Sewer Tour (€4.30) |
| Sainte-Chapelle (€8.50) | Cluny Museum (€8) |
| Arc de Triomphe (€9.50) | Pompidou Center (€11-13) |
| Rodin Museum (€9) | Picasso Museum (€10) |
| Army Museum (€9.50) | Conciergerie (€8.50) |
| Delacroix Museum (€5) | Panthéon (€7.50) |
| National Maritime Museum (€7) | |
| Architecture and Monuments Museum (€8) | |
| Quai Branly Museum (€8.50) | |
| Jewish Art and History Museum (€7) | |
| Versailles (€25 total—€15 for Château, €10 for Trianon Palaces and Domaine de Marie-Antoinette) | |
The pass is activated the first time you use it—you must write the starting date on the pass. Validate it only when you’re ready to tackle the covered sights on consecutive days. Plan carefully to make the most of your pass. First, make sure the sights you want to visit will be open (many museums are closed Mon or Tue). The pass provides the best value on days when sights close later, letting you extend your sightseeing day. Take advantage of these late hours. For instance, the Arc de Triomphe and Pompidou Center are always open later, while the Notre-Dame Tower, Sainte-Chapelle, Louvre, Orsay, and Napoleon’s Tomb have late hours on selected evenings (or at certain times of year). On days that you don’t have pass coverage, plan to visit free sights and those not covered by the pass (see here for a list of free sights).
To use your pass at sights, boldly walk to the front of the ticket line (after going through security if necessary), hold up your pass, and ask the ticket taker: “Entrez, pass?” (ahn-tray pahs). You’ll either be allowed to enter at that point, or you’ll be directed to a special entrance. For major sights, such as the Louvre and Orsay museums, I’ve identified passholder entrances on the maps in this book. Don’t be shy—some places (Sainte-Chapelle and the Arc de Triomphe, in particular) have long lines in which passholders wait needlessly. At a few sights (including the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame Tower, and Château de Versailles), everyone has to shuffle through the slow-moving baggage-check lines for security—but you still save time by avoiding the ticket line.
(See “Major Museums Neighborhood” map, here.)
Paris’ grandest park, the Tuileries Garden, was once the private property of kings and queens. Today it links the Louvre, Orangerie, Jeu de Paume, and Orsay museums. And across from the Louvre are the tranquil, historic courtyards of the Palais Royal.
This is Europe’s oldest, biggest, greatest, and second-most-crowded museum (after the Vatican). Housed in a U-shaped, 16th-century palace (accentuated by a 20th-century glass pyramid), the Louvre is Paris’ top museum and one of its key landmarks. It’s home to Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and hall after hall of Greek and Roman masterpieces, medieval jewels, Michelangelo statues, and paintings by the greatest artists from the Renaissance to the Romantics (mid-1800s).
Touring the Louvre can be overwhelming, so be selective. Focus on the Denon wing (south, along the river), with Greek sculptures, Italian paintings (by Raphael and da Vinci), and—of course—French paintings (Neoclassical and Romantic), and the adjoining Sully wing, with Egyptian artifacts and more French paintings. For extra credit, tackle the Richelieu wing (north, away from the river), displaying works from ancient Mesopotamia (today’s Iraq), as well as French, Dutch, and Northern art.
Expect Changes: The sprawling Louvre is constantly shuffling its collection. Rooms close, and pieces can be on loan or in restoration. Be flexible. If you don’t find the artwork you’re looking for, ask the nearest guard for its new location.
Cost and Hours: €12, free on first Sun of month Oct-March, covered by Museum Pass, tickets good all day, reentry allowed; Wed-Mon 9:00-18:00, Wed and Fri until 21:45 (except on holidays), closed Tue, galleries start shutting 30 minutes before closing, last entry 45 minutes before closing; crowds worst in the morning (arrive 30 minutes before opening) and all day Sun, Mon, and Wed; several cafés, tel. 01 40 20 53 17, recorded info tel. 01 40 20 51 51, louvre.fr.
Getting There: It’s at the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre Métro stop. (The old Louvre Métro stop, called Louvre-Rivoli, is farther from the entrance.) Bus #69 also runs past the Louvre.
Getting In: The main entrance is at the pyramid in the central courtyard, but lines can be long, and expect changes during the pyramid’s renovation in 2015. Museum Pass holders can use the group entrance in the pedestrian passageway (labeled Pavilion Richelieu) between the pyramid and Rue de Rivoli. It’s under the arches, a few steps north of the pyramid; find the uniformed guard at the security checkpoint entrance, at the down escalator.
Anyone can enter the Louvre from its less crowded underground entrance, accessed through the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall. Enter the mall at 99 Rue de Rivoli (the door with the red awning) or directly from the Métro stop Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre (stepping off the train, take the exit to Musée du Louvre-Le Carrousel du Louvre). Once inside the underground mall, continue toward the inverted pyramid next to the Louvre’s security entrance. Museum Pass holders can skip to the head of the security line.
Buying Tickets: Self-serve ticket machines located under the pyramid are faster to use than the ticket windows (machines accept euro bills, coins, and chip-and-PIN Visa cards). The tabac in the underground mall (near the Carrousel du Louvre entrance off Rue de Rivoli) sells tickets to the Louvre, Orsay, and Versailles, plus Museum Passes, for no extra charge (cash only).
Tours: Ninety-minute English-language guided tours leave twice daily (except the first Sun of the month) from the Accueil des Groupes area, under the pyramid (normally at 11:00 and 14:00, sometimes more often in summer; €9 plus your entry ticket, tour tel. 01 40 20 52 63). Videoguides (€5) provide commentary on about 700 masterpieces. Or you can download a free Rick Steves audio tour of the Louvre (see here).
Baggage Check: The free bagagerie is under the pyramid, to the right of the Denon wing entrance (look for the visiteurs individuels sign). Large bags must be checked, and you can also check small bags to lighten your load. The baggage-claim clerk might ask you in French, “Does your bag contain anything of value?” You can’t check cameras, money, passports, or other valuables. Coat checks (separate from baggage check) are near both the Richelieu and Denon wings.
Theft Alert: The Louvre beefed up police patrols after visitors reported being pickpocketed within the museum.
Services: WCs are located under the pyramid, behind the escalators to the Denon and Richelieu wings. Once you’re in the galleries, WCs are scarce.
Self-Guided Tour: Start in the Denon Wing and visit the highlights, in the following order (thanks to Gene Openshaw for his help writing this tour).
Begin with the pre-classical Greek statues, then look for the famous Venus de Milo (Aphrodite) statue. You’ll find her not far from another famous statue, the Winged Victory of Samothrace. This goddess of love (c. 100 B.C., from the Greek island of Melos) created a sensation when she was discovered in 1820. Most “Greek” statues are actually later Roman copies, but Venus is a rare Greek original. She, like Golden Age Greeks, epitomizes stability, beauty, and balance.
After viewing Venus, wander through Room 6 to see the Parthenon friezes (stone fragments that once decorated the exterior of the greatest Athenian temple). A left turn into Room 22 takes you on a detour through some Roman works, including mosaics from the ancient city of Antioch, Etruscan sarcophagi, and Roman portrait busts.
Later Greek art was Hellenistic, adding motion and drama. For a good example, see the exciting Winged Victory of Samothrace (Victoire de Samothrace, on the landing). This statue of a woman with wings, poised on the prow of a ship, once stood on a hilltop to commemorate a naval victory. This is the Venus de Milo gone Hellenistic.
The Italian collection—including the Mona Lisa—is scattered throughout the rooms of the long Grand Gallery, to the right (as you face her) of Winged Victory (look for two Botticelli frescoes as you enter). In painting, the Renaissance meant realism, and for the Italians, realism was spelled “3-D.” Painters were inspired by the realism and balanced beauty of Greek sculpture. Painting a 3-D world on a 2-D surface is tough, and after a millennium of Dark Ages, artists were rusty. Living in a religious age, they painted mostly altarpieces full of saints, angels, Madonnas-and-bambinos, and crucifixes floating in an ethereal gold-leaf heaven. Gradually, though, they brought these otherworldly scenes down to earth.
Two masters of the Italian High Renaissance (1500-1600) were Raphael (see his La Belle Jardinière, showing the Madonna, Child, and John the Baptist) and Leonardo da Vinci. The Louvre has the greatest collection of Leonardos in the world—five of them, including the exquisite Virgin and Child with St. Anne; the neighboring Virgin of the Rocks; and the androgynous John the Baptist.
But his most famous, of course, is the Mona Lisa (La Joconde in French), located in the Salle des Etats, midway down the Grand Gallery, on the right. After several years and a €5 million renovation, Mona is alone behind glass on her own false wall. Leonardo was already an old man when François I invited him to France. Determined to pack light, he took only a few paintings with him. One was a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant. When Leonardo arrived, François immediately fell in love with the painting, making it the centerpiece of the small collection of Italian masterpieces that would, in three centuries, become the Louvre museum. He called it La Gioconda (La Joconde in French)—a play on both her last name and the Italian word for “happiness.” We know it as the Mona Lisa—a contraction of the Italian for “my lady Lisa.” Warning: François was impressed, but Mona may disappoint you. She’s smaller than you’d expect, darker, engulfed in a huge room, and hidden behind a glaring pane of glass.
The huge canvas opposite Mona is Paolo Veronese’s The Marriage at Cana, showing the Renaissance love of beautiful things gone hog-wild. Venetian artists like Veronese painted the good life of rich, happy-go-lucky Venetian merchants.
Now for something Neoclassical. Exit behind Mona Lisa and turn right into the Salle Daru to find The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. Neoclassicism, once the rage in France (1780-1850), usually features Greek subjects, patriotic sentiment, and a clean, simple style. After Napoleon quickly conquered most of Europe, he insisted on being made emperor (not merely king) of this “New Rome.” He staged an elaborate coronation ceremony in Paris, and rather than let the pope crown him, he crowned himself. The setting was Notre-Dame Cathedral, with Greek columns and Roman arches thrown in for effect. Napoleon’s mom was also added, since she couldn’t make it to the ceremony. A key on the frame describes who’s who in the picture.
The Romantic collection, in an adjacent room (Salle Mollien), has works by Théodore Géricault (The Raft of the Medusa—one of my favorites) and Eugène Delacroix (Liberty Leading the People). Romanticism, with an emphasis on motion and emotion, is the flip side of cool, balanced Neoclassicism, though they both flourished in the early 1800s. Delacroix’s Liberty, commemorating the stirrings of democracy in France, is also an appropriate tribute to the Louvre, the first museum ever opened to the common rabble of humanity. The good things in life don’t belong only to a small, wealthy part of society, but to everyone. The motto of France is Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité—liberty, equality, and the brotherhood of all.
Exit the room at the far end (past Café Mollien) and go downstairs, where you’ll bump into the bum of a large, twisting male nude looking like he’s just waking up after a thousand-year nap. The two Slaves (1513-1515) by Michelangelo are a fitting end to this museum—works that bridge the ancient and modern worlds. Michelangelo, like his fellow Renaissance artists, learned from the Greeks. The perfect anatomy, twisting poses, and idealized faces appear as if they could have been created 2,000 years earlier. Michelangelo said that his purpose was to carve away the marble to reveal the figures God put inside. The Rebellious Slave, fighting against his bondage, shows the agony of that process and the ecstasy of the result.
Although this makes for a good first tour, there’s so much more. After a break (or on a second visit), consider a stroll through a few rooms of the Richelieu wing, which contain some of the Louvre’s most ancient pieces. Bible students, amateur archaeologists, and Iraq War vets may find the collection especially interesting.
Nearby: Across from the Louvre are the lovely courtyards of the stately Palais Royal. Although the palace is closed to the public, the courtyards are always open and free (directly north of the Louvre on Rue de Rivoli, Mo: Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre). Enter through a whimsical (locals say tacky) courtyard filled with stubby, striped columns and playful fountains (with fun, reflective metal balls). Next, you’ll pass into another, perfectly Parisian garden. This is where in-the-know Parisians come to take a quiet break, walk their poodles and kids, or enjoy a rendezvous—amid flowers and surrounded by a serene arcade and a handful of historic restaurants. Bring a picnic and create your own quiet break, or have a drink at one of the outdoor cafés at the courtyard’s northern end. This is Paris.
Exiting the courtyard at the side facing away from the Seine brings you to the Galeries Colbert and Vivienne, attractive examples of shopping arcades from the early 1900s.
(See “Orsay Museum—Ground Floor” map, here.)
The Musée d’Orsay (mew-zay dor-say) houses French art of the 1800s and early 1900s (specifically, 1848-1914), picking up where the Louvre’s art collection leaves off. For us, that means Impressionism, the art of sun-dappled fields, bright colors, and crowded Parisian cafés. The Orsay houses the best general collection anywhere of Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin.
Cost and Hours: €9, €6.50 Tue-Wed and Fri-Sun after 16:15 and Thu after 18:00, free on first Sun of month and often right when the ticket booth stops selling tickets (Tue-Wed and Fri-Sun at 17:00, Thu at 21:00; they won’t let you in much after that), covered by Museum Pass, tickets valid all day, €16 combo-ticket with Orangerie Museum (valid four days, one visit per sight); open Tue-Sun 9:30-18:00, Thu until 21:45, closed Mon, Impressionist galleries start shutting 45 minutes before closing, last entry one hour before closing (45 minutes before on Thu); crowded on Tue, when Louvre is closed; cafés and a restaurant, tel. 01 40 49 48 14, musee-orsay.fr.
Getting There: The museum, at 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, sits above the RER-C stop called Musée d’Orsay; the nearest Métro stop is Solférino, three blocks southeast of the Orsay. Bus #69 also stops at the Orsay. From the Louvre, it’s a lovely 15-minute walk through the Tuileries Garden and across the pedestrian bridge to the Orsay.
Getting In: The ticket-buying line can be long, but you can skip it with a Museum Pass or an advance ticket. As you face the entrance, passholders and ticket holders enter on the right (Entrance C). Ticket purchasers enter on the left (Entrance A). You can also avoid lines by going on Thursday evening, when the museum is open late. A security check slows up all entrances.
Tours: Audioguides cost €5. English guided tours usually run daily at 11:30 (€7.50/1.5 hours, none on Sun, may run at other times—inquire when you arrive). Or you can download this chapter as a free Rick Steves audio tour (see here).
Background: The Impressionist painters rejected camera-like detail for a quick style more suited to capturing the passing moment. Feeling stifled by the rigid rules and stuffy atmosphere of the Academy (the state-funded art school), the Impressionists took as their motto, “Out of the studio, into the open air.” They grabbed their berets and scarves and went on excursions to the country, where they set up their easels (and newly invented tubes of premixed paint) on riverbanks and hillsides, or they sketched in cafés and dance halls. Gods, goddesses, nymphs, and fantasy scenes were out; common people and rural landscapes were in.
The quick style and everyday subjects were ridiculed and called childish by the “experts.” Rejected by the Salon (where works were exhibited to the buying public), the Impressionists staged their own exhibition in 1874. They brashly took their name from an insult thrown at them by a critic who laughed at one of Monet’s “impressions” of a sunrise. During the next decade, they exhibited their own work independently. The public, opposed at first, was slowly won over by the simplicity, the color, and the vibrancy of Impressionist art.
(See “Orsay Museum—Ground Floor” map, here.)\
Self-Guided Tour: This former train station, or gare, barely escaped the wrecking ball in the 1970s, when the French realized it’d be a great place to exhibit the enormous collections of 19th-century art scattered throughout the city. The ground floor (level 0) houses early 19th-century art, mainly conservative art of the Academy and Salon, plus Realism. On the top floor is the core of the collection—the Impressionist rooms. If you’re pressed for time, go directly there. Keep in mind that the collection is always on the move—paintings on loan, in restoration, or displayed in different rooms. The museum updates its website daily with the latest layout (musee-orsay.fr).
Conservative Art to Realism: In the Orsay’s first few rooms, you’re surrounded by visions of idealized beauty—nude women in languid poses, Greek mythological figures, and anatomically perfect statues. This was the art adored by French academics and the middle-class (bourgeois) public.
Alexandre Cabanel’s The Birth of Venus (La Naissance de Vénus, 1863) and Edouard Manet’s Olympia (1863) offer two opposing visions of Venus. Cabanel’s Venus is a perfect fantasy, an orgasm of beauty. Manet’s nude is a Realist’s take on the traditional Venus. Manet doesn’t gloss over anything. The pose is classic, but the sharp outlines and harsh, contrasting colors are new and shocking. Manet replaced soft-core porn with hard-core art.
Farther along on the ground floor, you’ll witness the shift to Realism. Jean-François Millet’s The Gleaners (Les Glaneuses, 1867) depicts the poor women who pick up the meager leftovers after a field has already been harvested by the wealthy. This is “Realism” in two senses. It’s painted “realistically,” not prettified. And it’s the “real” world—not the fantasy world of Greek myth, but the harsh life of the working poor.
Impressionism: The Impressionist collection is scattered somewhat randomly through rooms 29-36 of the top floor. You’ll see Monet hanging next to Renoir, Manet sprinkled among Pissarro, and a few Degas here and a few Cézannes there. Shadows dance and the displays mingle. Where they’re hung is a lot like their brushwork...delightfully sloppy.
In Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe, 1863), a new revolutionary movement is starting to bud—Impressionism. Notice the background: the messy brushwork of trees and leaves, the play of light on the pond, and the light that filters through the trees onto the woman who stoops in the haze. Also note the strong contrast of colors (white skin, black clothes, green grass).
Edgar Degas blended classical lines with Impressionist color, spontaneity, and everyday subjects from urban Paris. He loved the unposed “snapshot” effect, catching his models off guard. In The Dance Class (La Classe de Danse, c. 1873-1875), bored, tired dancers scratch their backs restlessly at the end of a long rehearsal. In a Café, or Absinthe (Au Café, dit L’Absinthe, 1876) captures a weary lady of the evening meeting morning with a last, lonely, nail-in-the-coffin drink in the glaring light of a four-in-the-morning café. Degas approaches his dance students, women at work, and café scenes from odd angles that aren’t always ideal, but that make the scenes seem more real.
Next, it’s the father of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Look for paintings from his garden at Giverny and The Cathedral of Rouen (La Cathédrale de Rouen, 1893), “a series of differing impressions” of the cathedral facade at various times of day and year. In all, he did 30 paintings of the cathedral, and each is unique. The time-lapse series shows the sun passing slowly across the sky, creating different-colored light and shadows.
To paint common Parisians living and loving in the afternoon sun, Pierre-Auguste Renoir headed for the fields on Butte Montmartre (near the Sacré-Cœur basilica) on Sunday afternoons, when working-class folk would dress up and dance, drink, and eat little crêpes (galettes) till dark. In Dance at the Moulin de la Galette (Bal du Moulin de la Galette, 1876), the sunlight filtering through the trees creates a kaleidoscope of colors—the 19th-century equivalent of a mirror ball throwing darts of light onto the dancers. Like a photographer who uses a slow shutter speed to show motion, Renoir paints a waltzing blur.
Post-Impressionism: It was Paul Cézanne who brought Impressionism into the 20th century. Compared with the color of Monet, the warmth of Renoir, and Van Gogh’s passion, Cézanne’s rather impersonal canvases can be difficult to appreciate. Bowls of fruit, landscapes, and a few portraits were Cézanne’s passion. Because of his style (not his content), he is often called the first modern painter.
Find his paintings in room 36. In Landscape (Rochers près des Grottes au-dessus de Château-Noir, 1904), Cézanne uses chunks of green, tan, and blue paint as building blocks to construct this rocky brown cliff. These chunks are like little “cubes” (a style that later influenced the...Cubists). The subjects of Cézanne’s The Card Players (Les Joueurs de Cartes, c. 1890-1895) aren’t people—they’re studies in color and pattern. The subject matter—two guys playing cards—is less important than the pleasingly balanced pattern they make on the canvas, two sloping forms framing a cylinder (a bottle) in the center. Later, abstract artists would focus solely on shapes and colors.
Like Michelangelo, Beethoven, Rembrandt, Wayne Newton, and a select handful of others, Vincent van Gogh put so much of himself into his work that art and life became one. In the Orsay’s collection of Van Goghs (level 2), you’ll see both the artist’s painting style and his life unfold.
Encouraged by his art-dealer brother, Van Gogh moved to Paris, and voilà! The color! He met Monet, drank with Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and soaked up the Impressionist style. In his Self-Portrait, Paris (Portrait de l’Artiste, 1887), you can see how he built a bristling brown beard with thick, side-by-side strokes of red, yellow, and green.
The social life of Paris became too much for the solitary Van Gogh, and he moved to southern France. At first, in the glow of the bright spring sunshine, he had a period of incredible creativity and happiness, as he was overwhelmed by the bright colors, landscape vistas, and common people—an Impressionist’s dream. But being alone in a strange country began to wear on him. An ugly man, he found it hard to get a date. The close-up perspective of Van Gogh’s Room at Arles (La Chambre de van Gogh à Arles, 1889) makes his tiny rented room look even more cramped.
Van Gogh wavered between happiness and madness, even mutilating his own ear. He despaired of ever being sane enough to continue painting. His Self-Portrait, St. Rémy (1889) shows a man engulfed in a confused background of brushstrokes that swirl and rave, setting in motion the waves of the jacket. But in the midst of this rippling sea of mystery floats a still, detached island of a face with probing, questioning, yet wise eyes. Do his troubled eyes know that only a few months on, he will take a pistol and put a bullet through his chest? Vincent van Gone.
Nearby are the paintings of Paul Gauguin, who got the travel bug early in childhood and grew up wanting to be a sailor. Instead he became a stockbroker. At the age of 35, he quit his job, abandoned his family, and traveled to the South Seas in search of the exotic, finally settling in Tahiti. There he found his Garden of Eden. Arearea, or Joyousness (Joyeusetés, 1892) shows the paradise Gauguin had always envisioned. The style is intentionally “primitive,” collapsing the three-dimensional landscape into a two-dimensional pattern of bright colors.
Pointillism, as illustrated by many paintings in the next rooms, brings Impressionism to its logical conclusion. Little dabs of pure colors are placed side by side to blend in the viewer’s eye. In works such as The Circus (Le Cirque, 1891), Georges Seurat used only red, yellow, blue, and green points of paint to create a mosaic of colors that shimmers at a distance, capturing the wonder of the dawn of electric light.
The Rest of the Orsay: The open-air mezzanine of level 2 is lined with statues. Stroll the mezzanine, enjoying the works of great French sculptors, including Auguste Rodin, who combined classical solidity with Impressionist surfaces. Look for The Walking Man (L’Homme Qui Marche, c. 1900). Like this statue, Rodin had one foot in the past, while the other stepped into the future. With no mouth or hands, the subject speaks with his body. The rough, “unfinished” surface reflects light in the same way the rough Impressionist brushwork does, making the statue come alive, never quite at rest in the viewer’s eye. Rodin’s sculptures capture the groundbreaking spirit of much of the art in the Orsay Museum. With a stable base of 19th-century stone, he launched art into the 20th century.
Step out of the tree-lined, sun-dappled Impressionist painting that is the Tuileries Garden, and into the Orangerie (oh-rahn-zheh-ree), a little bijou of select works by Claude Monet and his contemporaries.
Cost and Hours: €8, €5 after 17:00, free for those under age 18, €16 combo-ticket with Orsay Museum (valid for four days, one visit per sight), covered by Museum Pass; Wed-Mon 9:00-18:00, closed Tue, galleries shut down 15 minutes before closing time; audioguide-€5, English guided tours usually Mon and Thu at 14:30 and Sat at 11:00, located in Tuileries Garden near Place de la Concorde (Mo: Concorde or scenic bus #24), 15-minute stroll from the Orsay, tel. 01 44 77 80 07, musee-orangerie.fr.
Visiting the Museum: Start with the museum’s claim to fame: Monet’s water lilies. These eight mammoth-scale paintings are displayed exactly as Monet intended them—surrounding you in oval-shaped rooms—so you feel as though you’re immersed in his garden at Giverny.
Working from his home there, Monet built a special studio with skylights and wheeled easels to accommodate the canvases—1,950 square feet in all. Each canvas features a different part of the pond, painted from varying angles at distinct times of day—but the true subject of these works is the play of reflected light off the surface of the pond. The Monet rooms are considered the first art installation, and the blurry canvases signaled the abstract art to come.
Downstairs, in the Walter-Guillaume Collection, you’ll see artists that bridge the Impressionist and Modernist worlds—Renoir, Cézanne, Utrillo, Matisse, and Picasso. Together they provide a snapshot of what was hot in the world of art collecting, circa 1920.
It’s crowded, expensive, and there are probably better views in Paris, but visiting this 1,000-foot-tall ornament is worth the trouble. Visitors to Paris may find Mona Lisa to be less than expected, but the Eiffel Tower rarely disappoints, even in an era of skyscrapers.
Cost: €14.50 for an elevator ride all the way to the top, €8.50 if you’re only going up to the two lower levels, not covered by Museum Pass; save some time in line by climbing the stairs to the first and second levels for €5 (€3.50 if you’re under age 25). Once inside the tower, you can always buy a supplemental ticket (€5.50) if you want to go higher.
Hours: Daily mid-June-Aug 9:00-24:45, last ascent to top at 23:00 and to lower levels at 24:00; Sept-mid-June 9:30-23:45, last ascent to top at 22:30 and to lower levels at 23:00, stairs close at 18:00 in off-season.
Reservations: Frankly, you’d be crazy to show up without a reservation. At toureiffel.paris, you can book an entry time and skip the initial entry line (the longest)—at no extra cost. Book well ahead of your trip, as soon as you know when you’ll be in Paris (online tickets can sell out 2-3 months in advance; if there are no reservation slots available, try the website again about a week before your visit as last-minute spots occasionally open up). Just pay online with a credit card and print your own ticket.
When buying tickets online, make sure you select “Lift entrance ticket with access to the summit” in order to go all the way to the top. For “Type of ticket,” it doesn’t really matter whether you pick “Group” or “Individual”; a “Group” ticket just gives you one piece of paper covering everyone in your party. You must enter a 10-digit mobile phone number for identification purposes, so if you don’t have one, make one up—and jot it down so you won’t forget it. To print the ticket, follow their specifications carefully (white paper, blank on both sides, etc.).
Arrive at the tower 10 minutes before your entry time and look for either of the two entrances marked Visiteurs avec Reservation (Visitors with Reservation), where attendants scan your ticket and put you on the first available elevator.
Other Tips for Avoiding Lines: Crowds overwhelm this place much of the year, with one- to two-hour waits to get in (unless it’s rainy, when lines can evaporate). Weekends and holidays are worst, but prepare for ridiculous crowds almost any time. The best solution is to make an online reservation (see earlier) and to take the stairs down (from first or second levels). If you don’t have a reservation, go early; get in line 30 minutes before the tower opens. Going later is the next-best bet (after 19:00 May-Aug, after 17:00 off-season, a bit earlier in winter as it gets dark by 17:00). When you buy tickets, all members of your party must be with you; you can’t buy tickets in advance for people not present.
You can bypass some (but not all) lines if you have a reservation at either of the tower’s view restaurants or hike the stairs.
When to Go: For the best of all worlds, arrive with enough light to see the views, then stay as it gets dark to see the lights. The views are grand whether you ascend or not. At the top of the hour, a five-minute display features thousands of sparkling lights (best viewed from Place du Trocadéro or the grassy park below).
Getting There: The tower is about a 10-minute walk from the Métro (Bir-Hakeim or Trocadéro stops) or train (Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel RER stop). The Ecole Militaire Métro stop in the Rue Cler area is 20 minutes away. Buses #69 and #87 stop nearby on Avenue Joseph Bouvard in the Champ de Mars park.
Information: Tel. 01 44 11 23 23, toureiffel.paris.
Pickpockets: Beware. Street thieves plunder awestruck visitors gawking below the tower. And tourists in crowded elevators are like fish in a barrel for predatory pickpockets. En garde. There’s a police station at the Jules Verne pillar.
Security Check: Bags larger than 19” × 8” × 12” are not allowed, but there is no baggage check. All bags are subject to a security search. No knives, glass bottles, or cans are permitted.
Services: Free WCs are at the base of the tower, behind the east pillar. Inside the tower itself, WCs are on all levels, but they’re small, with long lines.
Best Views of the Tower: The best place to view the tower is from Place du Trocadéro to the north. It’s a 10-minute walk across the river, a happening scene at night, and especially fun for kids. Consider arriving at the Trocadéro Métro stop for the view, then walking toward the tower. Another delightful viewpoint is from the Champ de Mars park to the south.
Background: Built on the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution (and in the spirit of the Industrial Revolution), the tower was the centerpiece of a World Expo designed simply to show off what people could build in 1889. Bridge-builder Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) won the contest to construct the fair’s centerpiece by beating out rival proposals such as a giant guillotine. To a generation hooked on technology, the tower was the marvel of the age, a symbol of progress and human ingenuity. Not all were so impressed, however; many found it a monstrosity. The writer Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) routinely ate lunch in the tower just so he wouldn’t have to look at it.
Visiting the Tower: Delicate and graceful when seen from afar, the Eiffel Tower is massive—even a bit scary—close up. You don’t appreciate its size until you walk toward it; like a mountain, it seems so close but takes forever to reach. Despite the tower’s 7,300 tons of metal and 60 tons of paint, it is so well-engineered that it weighs no more per square inch at its base than a linebacker on tiptoes.
There are three observation platforms, at roughly 200, 400, and 900 feet. To get to the top, you need to change elevators at the second level. A separate elevator—with another line—shuttles between the second level and the top. (Note: Some elevators stop on the first level going up. If yours does, don’t get off. It’s more efficient to see the first floor on the way down.) The stairs—yes, you can walk up to the first and second levels—are next to the entrance to the pricey Jules Verne restaurant. As you ascend through the metal beams, imagine being a worker, perched high above nothing, riveting this thing together.
If you want to see the entire tower, from top to bottom, then see it...from top to bottom. Ride the elevator to the second level, then immediately line up for the elevator to the top. Enjoy the views on top, then ride back down to the second level. Frolic there for a while and take in some more views. When you’re ready, head to the first level by taking the stairs (no line and can take as little as 5 minutes) or lining up for the elevator (before boarding, ask if the elevator will stop on the first level—some don’t). Explore the shops and exhibits on the first level and have a snack. Once you’re ready to leave, you can line up for the elevator, but it’s quickest and most memorable to take the stairs back down to earth.
The top level, called le sommet, is tiny. (It can close temporarily without warning when it reaches capacity or in windy conditions.) All you’ll find here are wind and grand, sweeping views. The city lies before you (pick out sights with the help of the panoramic maps). On a good day, you can see for 40 miles.
The second level has the best views because you’re closer to the sights, and the monuments are more recognizable. (While the best views are up the short stairway, on the platform without the wire-cage barriers, at busy times much of that zone is taken up by people waiting for the elevator to the top.) This level has souvenir shops, public telephones to call home, and a small stand-up café. While you’ll save no money, consider taking the elevator up and the stairs down (5 minutes from second level to first, 5 minutes more to ground) for good exercise and views.
The first level has more great views, all well-described by the tower’s panoramic displays. This level is being modernized, so expect a changing array of shops, exhibits, and eateries to distract you from the renovation work. There are generally a number of photo exhibits on the tower’s history, WCs, a conference hall (closed to tourists), an ATM, and souvenirs. A small café sells pizza and sandwiches (outdoor tables in summer). This level also has two fine restaurants run by famous French chef Alain Ducasse: 58 Tour Eiffel (listed on here) has more accessible prices than the Jules Verne Restaurant (€90 weekday lunch menu, €175-210 weekend lunch menus, €210 dinner menu, reserve a few weeks ahead for dinner in summer, tel. 01 45 55 61 44, lejulesverne-paris.com). In winter, part of the first level is set up for winter activities (most recently as an ice-skating rink). Climb a small set of stairs to Cineiffel where video screens, displays, and a continuously running film feature clips of the tower’s construction, its paint job, its place in pop culture, the millennium fireworks, and other tower stories.
After Your Visit: Descend back to earth. From here, consider catching the Bateaux Parisiens boat for a Seine cruise (see here) or visiting one of the following nearby sights: the Quai Branly Museum (here), Rue Cler market street, Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb (here), or Rodin Museum (here).
For a final peek at the tower, stroll across the river to Place du Trocadéro or to the end of the Champ de Mars and look back for great views. However impressive it may be by day, the tower is an awesome thing to see at twilight, when it becomes engorged with light, and virile Paris lies back and lets night be on top. When darkness fully envelops the city, the tower seems to climax with a spectacular light show at the top of each hour...for five minutes.
This museum, on the east side of Place du Trocadéro, takes you through 1,000 years of French architecture, brilliantly displaying full-sized casts and models of some of France’s most cherished monuments from the 11th to 21st centuries. Pick up the museum plan, and spend most of your time on the ground floor. Gaze into the eyes of medieval statues and wander under doorways, tympanums, and arches from the abbey of Cluny, Chartres Cathedral, Château de Chambord, and much more. For a good background, you can borrow the English info sheets (available in most rooms), or you can rent an audioguide.
Take the elevator up a floor to discover a vast array of models from modern projects, including thought-provoking designs for low-income housing. You can walk into a full-scale model of Le Corbusier’s 1952 Habitation Unit from Marseille and appreciate what a forward thinker this man was. Later, you’ll see how colorfully painted the chapels were in medieval churches. The views from the upper rooms to the Eiffel Tower are sensational, as are those from the terrace of the museum’s café, Café Carlu.
Cost and Hours: €8, covered by Museum Pass, Wed-Mon 11:00-19:00, Thu until 21:00, closed Tue, audioguide-€3, some English explanations, great views from outside tables at on-site Café Carlu (reasonable prices, open same hours as museum and does not require entry into the museum), 1 Place du Trocadéro, Mo: Trocadéro, RER: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, tel. 01 58 51 52 00, citechaillot.fr.
This is the best collection I’ve seen anywhere of so-called Primitive art from Africa, Polynesia, Asia, and America. Because “art illustrates the way in which man organizes and delineates the boundaries of their lands,” we gain a better appreciation of a people through their art. The museum is presented in a wild, organic, and strikingly modern building that caused a stir in Paris when it opened in 2006. It’s well worth a look if you have a Museum Pass and are near the Eiffel Tower.
After passing the ticket taker, pick up the museum map, then follow a ramp upstream along a projected river of the 1,677 names of the peoples covered in the museum. Masks, statuettes, musical instruments, textiles, clothes, voodoo dolls, and a variety of temporary exhibitions and activities are artfully presented and exquisitely lit. There’s no need to follow a route: Wander at whim left and right, and read as much as feels right. Helpful English explanations are posted in most rooms and provide sufficient description for most visitors, though Primitive art lovers will want to rent the audioguide.
Cost and Hours: €8.50, free on first Sun of the month, covered by Museum Pass; museum—Tue-Sun 11:00-19:00, Thu-Sat until 21:00, closed Mon, ticket office closes one hour before closing; gardens—Tue-Sun 9:15-19:30, Thu-Sat until 21:15, closed Mon; audioguide-€5, 37 Quai Branly, 10-minute walk east (upriver) of Eiffel Tower, along the river (RER: Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel or Pont de l’Alma), tel. 01 56 61 70 00, quaibranly.fr.
Eiffel Tower Views: Even if you skip the museum, drop by its peaceful garden café for fine Eiffel Tower views (closes 30 minutes before museum) and enjoy the intriguing gardens. The pedestrian bridge that crosses the river and runs up to the museum has terrific views of the Eiffel Tower.
This fun museum houses a dazzling collection of ship models, submarine models, torpedoes, cannonballs, beaucoup bowsprits, and naval you-name-it. It’s a kid-friendly place filled with Pirates of the Caribbean-like ship models, some the size of small cars. Start with the full-sized party barge made for Napoleon in 1810, then follow a more or less chronological display of ship construction, from Roman vessels to modern cruise ships. Few English explanations make the free audioguide essential.
Cost and Hours: €7, ages 26 and under free, includes audioguide, covered by Museum Pass; Mon and Wed-Fri 11:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 11:00-19:00, closed Tue; on left side of Place du Trocadéro with your back to Eiffel Tower, tel. 01 53 65 69 69, musee-marine.fr.
Discover what happens after you flush. This quick, interesting, and slightly stinky visit (a perfumed hanky helps) takes you along a few hundred yards of water tunnels in the world’s first underground sewer system. Pick up the helpful English self-guided tour, then drop down into Jean Valjean’s world of tunnels, rats, and manhole covers. (Victor Hugo was friends with the sewer inspector when he wrote Les Misérables.) You’ll pass well-organized displays with extensive English information explaining the history of water distribution and collection in Paris, from Roman times to the present. The evolution of this amazing network of sewers is surprisingly fascinating. More than 1,500 miles of tunnels carry 317 million gallons of water daily through this underworld. It’s the world’s longest sewer system—so long, they say, that if it was laid out straight, it would stretch from Paris all the way to Istanbul.
Ask in the gift shop about the slideshow and occasional tours in English. WCs are just beyond the gift shop.
Cost and Hours: €4.30, covered by Museum Pass, May-Sept Sat-Wed 11:00-17:00, Oct-April Sat-Wed 11:00-16:00, closed Thu-Fri, located where Pont de l’Alma greets the Left Bank—on the right side of the bridge as you face the river, Mo: Alma-Marceau, RER: Pont de l’Alma, tel. 01 53 68 27 81.
The Hôtel des Invalides—a former veterans’ hospital topped by a golden dome—houses Napoleon’s over-the-top-ornate tomb, as well as Europe’s greatest military museum. Visiting the Army Museum’s different sections, you can watch the art of war unfold from stone axes to Axis powers.
Cost and Hours: €9.50, €7.50 after 16:00, free for military personnel in uniform, free for kids but they must wait in line for ticket, covered by Museum Pass, temporary exhibits are extra; museum—daily April-Sept 10:00-18:00, “Louis XIV to Napoleon I” wing may be open Tue until 21:00, Oct-March 10:00-17:00, closed first Mon of month Oct-June; tomb—daily April-June and Sept 10:00-18:00, Tue until 21:00; July-Aug 10:00-19:00, Tue until 21:00; Oct-March 10:00-17:00, closed first Mon of month Sept-May, last tickets sold 30 minutes before closing; videoguide-€6, cafeteria, tel. 01 44 42 38 77 or 08 10 11 33 99, musee-armee.fr.
Getting There: The Hôtel des Invalides is at 129 Rue de Grenelle; Mo: La Tour Maubourg, Varenne, or Invalides. Bus #69 from the Marais and Rue Cler area also takes you there, or it’s a 10-minute walk from Rue Cler.
Visiting the Museum: At the center of the complex, Napoleon Bonaparte lies majestically dead inside several coffins under a grand dome—a goose-bumping pilgrimage for historians. Your visit continues through an impressive range of museums filled with medieval armor, cannons and muskets, Louis XIV-era uniforms and weapons, and Napoleon’s horse—stuffed and mounted.
The best section is dedicated to the two World Wars. Walk chronologically through displays on the trench warfare of WWI, the victory parades, France’s horrendous losses, and the humiliating Treaty of Versailles that led to WWII. The WWII rooms use black-and-white photos, maps, videos, and a few artifacts to trace Hitler’s rise, the Blitzkrieg that overran France, America’s entry into the war, D-Day, the concentration camps, the atomic bomb, the war in the Pacific, and the eventual Allied victory. There’s special insight into France’s role (the French Resistance), and how it was Charles de Gaulle that actually won the war.
This user-friendly museum is filled with passionate works by the greatest sculptor since Michelangelo. You’ll see The Kiss, The Thinker, The Gates of Hell, and many more, though due to ongoing renovations, some rooms may be closed (renovation scheduled to wrap up sometime in 2015).
Cost and Hours: €9, free for those under age 18, free on first Sun of the month, €1 for garden only (possibly Paris’ best deal, as many works are on display there), both museum and garden covered by Museum Pass; Tue-Sun 10:00-17:45, Wed until 20:45, closed Mon; gardens close at 18:00, Oct-March at 17:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing; audioguide-€6, mandatory baggage check, self-service café in garden, near the Army Museum and Napoleon’s Tomb at 79 Rue de Varenne, Mo: Varenne, tel. 01 44 18 61 10, musee-rodin.fr.
Visiting the Museum: Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) sculpted human figures on an epic scale, revealing through their bodies his deepest thoughts and feelings. Like many of Michelangelo’s unfinished works, Rodin’s statues rise from the raw stone around them, driven by the life force. With missing limbs and scarred skin, these are prefab classics, making ugliness noble. Rodin’s people are always moving restlessly. Even the famous Thinker is moving. While he’s plopped down solidly, his mind is a million miles away.
Rodin worked with many materials—he chiseled marble (though not often), modeled clay, cast bronze, worked plaster, painted on canvas, and sketched on paper. He often created different versions of the same subject in different media.
Rodin lived and worked in this mansion, renting rooms alongside Henri Matisse, the poet Rainer Maria Rilke (Rodin’s secretary), and the dancer Isadora Duncan. The well-displayed exhibits trace Rodin’s artistic development, explain how his bronze statues were cast, and show some of the studies he created to work up to his masterpiece (the unfinished Gates of Hell). Learn about Rodin’s tumultuous relationship with his apprentice and lover, Camille Claudel. Mull over what makes his sculptures some of the most evocative since the Renaissance. And stroll the gardens, packed with many of his greatest works (including The Thinker, Balzac, the Burghers of Calais, and the Gates of Hell). The beautiful gardens are ideal for artistic reflection.
This intimate, less-touristed mansion on the southwest fringe of urban Paris has the best collection of works by the father of Impressionism, Claude Monet (1840–1926). Fiercely independent and dedicated to his craft, Monet gave courage to the other Impressionists in the face of harsh criticism.
Cost and Hours: €10, not covered by Museum Pass, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu until 20:00, closed Mon, last entry 30 minutes before closing, audioguide-€3, 2 Rue Louis-Boilly, Mo: La Muette, tel. 01 44 96 50 33, marmottan.fr.
Visiting the Museum: The museum traces Monet’s life chronologically, but in a way that’s as rough and fragmented as a Monet canvas. You’ll see black-and-white sketches from his youth, his discovery of open-air painting, and the canvas—Impression: Sunrise—that gave Impressionism its name. There are portraits of his wives and kids, and his well-known “series” paintings (done at different times of day) of London, Gare St. Lazare, and the Cathedral of Rouen. The museum’s highlights are scenes of his garden at Giverny—the rose trellis, the Japanese bridge, and the larger-than-life water lilies.
You’ll likely see paintings by Monet’s predecessors (Corot, Boudin, Sisley) who pioneered the open-air landscape style that Monet would perfect, and by fellow Impressionists Degas, Pissarro, Gauguin, and Renoir, including a world-class collection of works by Berthe Morisot. You’ll also find an eclectic collection of non-Monet objects (furniture, illuminated manuscript drawings) and temporary exhibits.
Opposite Notre-Dame, on the left bank of the Seine, is the Latin Quarter. (For more information on this neighborhood, see my self-guided walk of historic Paris, earlier.)
This treasure trove of Middle Ages (Moyen Age) art fills old Roman baths, offering close-up looks at stained glass, Notre-Dame carvings, fine goldsmithing and jewelry, and rooms of tapestries. The highlights are several original stained-glass windows from Sainte-Chapelle and the exquisite Lady and the Unicorn series of six tapestries: A delicate, as-medieval-as-can-be noble lady introduces a delighted unicorn to the senses of taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch. This museum helps put the Middle Ages in perspective, reflecting a time when Europe was awakening from a thousand-year slumber and Paris was emerging on the world stage. Trade was booming, people actually owned chairs, and the Renaissance was moving in like a warm front from Italy.
Cost and Hours: €8, free on first Sun of month, covered by Museum Pass, ticket includes audioguide though passholders must pay €1; Wed-Mon 9:15-17:45, closed Tue, ticket office closes at 17:15; near corner of Boulevards St. Michel and St. Germain at 6 Place Paul Painlevé; Mo: Cluny-La Sorbonne, St. Michel, or Odéon; tel. 01 53 73 78 16, musee-moyenage.fr.
A church was first built on this site in A.D. 558. The church you see today was constructed in 1163 and is all that’s left of a once sprawling and influential monastery. The colorful interior reminds us that medieval churches were originally painted in bright colors. The surrounding area hops at night with venerable cafés, fire-eaters, mimes, and scads of artists.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 8:00-20:00, Mo: St. Germain-des-Prés.
Since it was featured in The Da Vinci Code, this grand church has become a trendy stop for the book’s many fans. But the real reason to visit is to experience its massive organ. For pipe-organ enthusiasts, this is one of Europe’s great musical treats. The Grand Orgue at St. Sulpice Church has a rich history, with a succession of 12 world-class organists—including Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré—that goes back 300 years.
Cost and Hours: Free, church open daily 7:30-19:30, Mo: St. Sulpice or Mabillon. See stsulpice.com for special concerts.
Sunday Organ Recitals: The 10:30-11:30 Sunday Mass (come appropriately dressed) is followed by a high-powered 25-minute recital, usually conducted by organist Daniel Roth. The organ is like a 19th-century StairMaster that five men once pumped to fill the bellows, feeding 7,000 pipes.
Nearby: Tempting boutiques surround the church, and Luxembourg Garden is nearby.
This museum for Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) was once his home and studio. A friend of bohemian artistic greats—including George Sand and Frédéric Chopin—Delacroix is most famous for the flag-waving painting Liberty Leading the People, which is displayed at the Louvre, not here.
Cost and Hours: €5, free on first Sun of the month, covered by Museum Pass, Wed-Mon 9:30-17:00, closed Tue, last entry 30 minutes before closing, 6 Rue de Furstenberg, Mo: St. Germain-des-Prés, tel. 01 44 41 86 50, musee-delacroix.fr.
Paris’ most beautiful, interesting, and enjoyable garden/park/recreational area, le Jardin du Luxembourg, is a great place to watch Parisians at rest and play. This 60-acre garden, dotted with fountains and statues, is the property of the French Senate, which meets here in the Luxembourg Palace.
Luxembourg Garden has special rules governing its use (for example, where cards can be played, where dogs can be walked, where joggers can run, and when and where music can be played). The brilliant flower beds are completely changed three times a year, and the boxed trees are brought out of the orangerie in May. Children enjoy the rentable toy sailboats. The park hosts marionette shows several times weekly (Les Guignols, like Punch and Judy). Pony rides are available from April through October. (Meanwhile, the French CIA plots espionage in their underground offices beneath the park.)
Challenge the card and chess players to a game (near the tennis courts), or find a free chair near the main pond and take a well-deserved break.
Cost and Hours: Free, daily dawn until dusk, Mo: Odéon, RER: Luxembourg.
Nearby: The grand Neoclassical-domed Panthéon, now a mausoleum housing the tombs of great French notables, is three blocks away and worth touring (see below).
Other Parks: If you enjoy Luxembourg Garden and want to see more green spaces, you could visit the more elegant Parc Monceau (Mo: Monceau), the colorful Jardin des Plantes (Mo: Jussieu or Gare d’Austerlitz, RER: Gare d’Austerlitz), or the hilly and bigger Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (Mo: Buttes-Chaumont).
This state-capitol-style Neoclassical monument celebrates France’s illustrious history and people, balances Foucault’s pendulum, and is the final home of many French VIPs.
Cost and Hours: €7.50, under 18 free, covered by Museum Pass, daily 10:00-18:30 in summer, until 18:00 in winter, last entry 45 minutes before closing, Mo: Cardinal Lemoine, tel. 01 44 32 18 00, pantheon.monuments-nationaux.fr.
Visiting the Panthéon: Inside the vast building (360’ by 280’ by 270’) are monuments tracing the celebrated struggles of the French people: a beheaded St. Denis (painting on left wall of nave), St. Geneviève saving the fledgling city from Attila the Hun, and scenes of Joan of Arc (left transept).
Foucault’s pendulum usually swings gracefully at the end of a 220-foot cable suspended from the towering dome; however it’s currently in storage for safekeeping while the dome undergoes renovation (through 2015). It was here in 1851 that the scientist Léon Foucault first demonstrated the rotation of the earth. If the pendulum is back by the time you visit, stand a few minutes and watch its arc (appear to) shift as you and the earth rotate beneath it.
Stairs in the back lead down to the crypt, where a pantheon of greats is buried. Rousseau is along the right wall as you enter, Voltaire faces him across the hall. Also buried here are scientist Marie Curie, Victor Hugo (Les Misérables, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo), and Louis Braille, who invented the script for the blind.
This sadly out-of-place 59-story superscraper has one virtue: If you can’t make it up the Eiffel Tower, the views from this tower are cheaper, far easier to access, and make for a fair consolation prize. Come early in the day for clearest skies and shortest lines, and be treated to views from a comfortable interior and from up on the rooftop. (Some say it’s the very best view in Paris, as you can see the Eiffel Tower clearly...and you can’t see the Montparnasse Tower at all.)
Cost and Hours: €13, discounted to €9.50 when you show this book—valid for up to 4 people, not covered by Museum Pass; April-Sept daily 9:30-23:30; Oct-March Sun-Thu 9:30-22:30, Fri-Sat 9:30-23:00; last entry 30 minutes before closing, dodge tour groups that clog the small elevators, sunset is great but views are disappointing after dark, entrance on Rue de l’Arrivée, Mo: Montparnasse-Bienvenüe—from the Métro stay inside the station and follow La Tour signs; tel. 01 45 38 52 56, tourmontparnasse56.com.
Visiting the Tower: Find the view elevator entrance near the skyscraper’s main entry (under the awning marked Paris Tout A 360). Exit the elevator at the 56th floor, passing the eager photographer (they’ll superimpose your group’s image with the view). Here you can marvel at the views of tout Paris (good even if cloudy), have a drink or a light lunch (OK prices), and peruse the gift shop. Take time to explore every corner of the floor. Exhibits identify highlights of the star-studded vista.
Next, climb three flights of steps (behind the photographer) to the open terrace on the 59th floor to enjoy magnificent views in all directions (and a surprise helipad). Here, 690 feet above Paris, you can scan the city through glass panels that limit wind. The view over Luxembourg Garden is terrific, as is the view up the Champs de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. Montparnasse Cemetery is immediately below, and the high-rise suburbs lie immediately to the west. From this vantage, it’s easy to admire Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s grand-boulevard scheme. Notice the lush courtyards hiding behind grand street fronts.
Descend 60 feet below the street and walk a one-mile (one-hour) route through tunnels containing the anonymous bones of six million permanent Parisians.
In 1786, health-conscious Parisians looking to relieve congestion and improve the city’s sanitary conditions emptied the church cemeteries and moved the bones here, to former limestone quarries. For decades, priests led ceremonial processions of black-veiled, bone-laden carts into the quarries, where the bones were stacked in piles five feet high and as much as 80 feet deep. Descend 130 steps and ponder the sign announcing, “Halt, this is the empire of the dead.” Shuffle through passageways of skull-studded tibiae, past more cheery signs: “Happy is he who is forever faced with the hour of his death and prepares himself for the end every day.” Then climb 86 steps to emerge far from where you entered, with white-limestone-covered toes, telling everyone you’ve been underground gawking at bones. Note to wannabe Hamlets: An attendant checks your bag at the exit for stolen souvenirs.
Cost and Hours: €8, not covered by Museum Pass, Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Mon, ticket booth closes at 16:00; tel. 01 43 22 47 63, catacombes-de-paris.fr.
Warning: Lines are long (figure an hour wait). Arrive by 9:30 to minimize the wait, and come no later than 14:30 or risk not getting in.
Getting There: 1 Place Denfert-Rochereau. Take the Métro to Denfert-Rochereau, then find the lion in the big traffic circle; if he looked left rather than right, he’d stare right at the green entrance to the Catacombs.
After Your Visit: You’ll exit at 36 Rue Rémy Dumoncel, far from where you started. Turn right out of the exit and walk to Avenue du Général Leclerc, where you’ll be equidistant from Métro stops Alésia (walk left) and Mouton Duvernet (walk right).
This famous boulevard is Paris’ backbone, with its greatest concentration of traffic. From the Arc de Triomphe down Avenue des Champs-Elysées, all of France seems to converge on Place de la Concorde, the city’s largest square. And though the Champs-Elysées has become as international as it is Parisian, a walk here is still a must.
In 1667, Louis XIV opened the first section of the street as a short extension of the Tuileries Garden. This year is considered the birth of Paris as a grand city. The Champs-Elysées soon became the place to cruise in your carriage. (It still is today; traffic can be gridlocked even at midnight.) One hundred years later, the café scene arrived. From the 1920s until the 1960s, this boulevard was pure elegance; Parisians actually dressed up to come here. It was mainly residences, rich hotels, and cafés. Then, in 1963, the government pumped up the neighborhood’s commercial metabolism by bringing in the RER (commuter train). Suburbanites had easy access, and pfft—there went the neighborhood.
The nouveau Champs-Elysées, revitalized in 1994, has newer benches and lamps, broader sidewalks, all-underground parking, and a fleet of green-suited workers who drive motorized street cleaners. Blink away the modern elements, and it’s not hard to imagine the boulevard pre-1963, with only the finest structures lining both sides all the way to the palace gardens.
Self-Guided Walk: To reach the top of the Champs-Elysées, take the Métro to the Arc de Triomphe (Mo: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile), then saunter down the grand boulevard (Métro stops every few blocks, including George V and Franklin D. Roosevelt). If you plan to tour the Arc de Triomphe (see next listing), do it before starting this walk.
Fancy car dealerships include Peugeot, at #136 (showing off its futuristic concept cars, often alongside the classic models), and Mercedes-Benz, a block down at #118, where you can pick up a Mercedes handbag and perfume to go with your new car. In the 19th century this was an area for horse stables; today, it’s the district of garages, limo companies, and car dealerships. If you’re serious about selling cars in France, you must have a showroom on the Champs-Elysées.
Next to Mercedes is the famous Lido, Paris’ largest cabaret (and a multiplex cinema). You can walk all the way into the lobby. Paris still offers the kind of burlesque-type spectacles that have been performed here since the 19th century, combining music, comedy, and scantily clad women. Movie-going on the Champs-Elysées provides another kind of fun, with theaters showing the very latest releases. Check to see if there are films you recognize, then look for the showings (séances). A “v.o.” (version originale) next to the time indicates the film will be shown in its original language; a “v.f.” stands for version française.
The flagship store of leather-bag maker Louis Vuitton may be the largest single-brand luxury store in the world. Step inside. The store insists on providing enough salespeople to treat each customer royally—if there’s a line, it means shoppers have overwhelmed the place.
Fouquet’s café-restaurant (#99), under the red awning, is a popular spot among French celebrities, serving the most expensive shot of espresso I’ve found in downtown Paris (€8). Opened in 1899 as a coachman’s bistro, Fouquet’s gained fame as the hangout of France’s WWI biplane fighter pilots—those who weren’t shot down by Germany’s infamous “Red Baron.” It also served as James Joyce’s dining room.
Since the early 1900s, Fouquet’s has been a favorite of French actors and actresses. The golden plaques at the entrance honor winners of France’s Oscar-like film awards, the Césars (one is cut into the ground at the end of the carpet). There are plaques for Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve, Roman Polanski, Juliette Binoche, and several famous Americans (but not Jerry Lewis). More recent winners are shown on the floor just inside.
From posh cafés to stylish shops, monumental sidewalks to glimmering showrooms, the Champs-Elysées is Paris at its most Parisian.
Napoleon had the magnificent Arc de Triomphe commissioned to commemorate his victory at the battle of Austerlitz. There’s no triumphal arch bigger (165 feet high, 130 feet wide). And, with 12 converging boulevards, there’s no traffic circle more thrilling to experience—either from behind the wheel or on foot (take the underpass).
The foot of the arch is a stage on which the last two centuries of Parisian history have played out—from the funeral of Napoleon to the goose-stepping arrival of the Nazis to the triumphant return of Charles de Gaulle after the Allied liberation. Examine the carvings on the pillars, featuring a mighty Napoleon and excitable Lady Liberty. Pay your respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then climb the 284 steps to the observation deck up top, with sweeping skyline panoramas and a mesmerizing view down onto the traffic that swirls around the arch.
Cost and Hours: Outside and at the base—free, always viewable; steps to rooftop—€9.50, free for those under age 18, free on first Sun of month Oct-March, covered by Museum Pass; daily April-Sept 10:00-23:00, Oct-March 10:00-22:30, last entry 45 minutes before closing; Place Charles de Gaulle, use underpass to reach arch, Mo: Charles de Gaulle-Etoile, tel. 01 55 37 73 77, arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr.
Avoiding Lines: Bypass the slooow ticket line with your Museum Pass (though if you have kids, you’ll need to line up to get the free tickets for children). There may be another line (that you can’t skip) at the entrance to the stairway up the arch. Lines disappear after 17:00—come for sunset.
This gleaming grand theater of the belle époque was built for Napoleon III and finished in 1875. For the best exterior view, stand in front of the Opéra Métro stop. From Avenue de l’Opéra, once lined with Paris’ most fashionable haunts, the facade suggests “all power to the wealthy.” And a shimmering Apollo, holding his lyre high above the building, seems to declare, “This is a temple of the highest arts.”
But the elitism of this place prompted former President François Mitterrand to have an opera house built for the people in the 1980s, situated symbolically on Place de la Bastille, where the French Revolution started in 1789. This left the Opéra Garnier home only to ballet and occasional concerts.
Cost and Hours: €9, not covered by Museum Pass, erratic hours due to performances and rehearsals, generally daily 10:00-16:30, mid-July-Aug until 18:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing, 8 Rue Scribe, Mo: Opéra, RER: Auber.
Tours: English tours of the building run during summer and off-season on weekends and Wed, usually at 11:30 and 14:30—call to confirm schedule (€13.50, includes entry, 1.5 hours, tel. 01 40 01 17 89 or 08 25 05 44 05).
Visiting the Theater: You’ll enter around the left side of the building—as you face the front, find the red carpet on Rue Scribe. As you pass the bust of the architect, Monsieur Garnier, pay your respects and check out the bronze floor plan of the complex etched below. Notice how little space is given to seating.
The building is huge—though the auditorium itself seats only 2,000. The building’s massive foundations straddle an underground lake (inspiring the mysterious world of the Phantom of the Opera). The real show was before and after the performance, when the elite of Paris—out to see and be seen—strutted their elegant stuff in the extravagant lobbies. Think of the grand marble stairway as a theater. Is it just me, or does the upstairs foyer feel like it belongs at Versailles? As you wander the halls and gawk at the decor, imagine this place in its heyday, filled with beautiful people sharing gossip at the Salon du Glacier.
From the uppermost floor open to the public, visitors can peek from two boxes into the actual red-velvet performance hall. Admire Marc Chagall’s colorful ceiling (1964) playfully dancing around the eight-ton chandelier (guided tours take you into the performance hall; you can’t enter when they’re changing out the stage). Note the box seats next to the stage—the most expensive in the house, with an obstructed view of the stage...but just right if you’re here only to be seen. Snoop about to find the side library, information panels describing costume management, and a portrait gallery of famous ballerinas and guests.
Nearby: The ho-hum Fragonard Perfume Museum (described next) is on the left side of the Opéra, and the venerable Galeries Lafayette department store (marvelous views from roof terrace) is just behind. Across the street, the illustrious Café de la Paix has been a meeting spot for the local glitterati for generations. If you can afford the coffee, this spot offers a delightful break.
Near Opéra Garnier, this perfume shop masquerades as a museum. Housed in a beautiful 19th-century mansion, it’s the best-smelling museum in Paris—and you’ll learn a little about how perfume is made, too (ask for the English handout).
Cost and Hours: Free, daily 9:00-17:30, 9 Rue Scribe, Mo: Opéra, RER: Auber, tel. 01 47 42 04 56, fragonard.com.
This thoroughly enjoyable museum-mansion (with an elegant café) showcases the lavish home of a wealthy, art-loving, 19th-century Parisian couple. After visiting the Opéra Garnier and wandering Paris’ grand boulevards, get inside for an intimate look at the lifestyles of the Parisian rich and fabulous. Edouard André and his wife Nélie Jacquemart—who had no children—spent their lives and fortunes designing, building, and then decorating this sumptuous mansion. What makes the visit so rewarding is the excellent audioguide tour (in English, included with admission, plan on spending an hour with the audioguide). The place is strewn with paintings by Rembrandt, Botticelli, Uccello, Mantegna, Bellini, Boucher, and Fragonard—enough to make a painting gallery famous.
Cost and Hours: €11, includes audioguide, not covered by Museum Pass; daily 10:00-18:00, Mon and Sat until 20:30 during special exhibits; can avoid lines by purchasing tickets online (€2 fee) and printing receipt, 158 Boulevard Haussmann, Mo: St. Philippe-du-Roule, bus #80 makes a convenient connection to Ecole Militaire; tel. 01 45 62 11 59, musee-jacquemart-andre.com.
After Your Visit: Consider a break in the sumptuous museum tearoom, with delicious cakes and tea (daily 11:45-17:30). From here walk north on Rue de Courcelles to see Paris’ most beautiful park, Parc Monceau.
This free museum displays a broad collection of paintings and sculpture from the 1600s to the 1900s on its ground floor, and an easy-to-appreciate collection of art from Greek antiquities to Art Nouveau in its basement. Though it mostly houses second-choice art, there are a few diamonds in the rough, including pieces by Rembrandt, Courbet, Monet, and the American painter Mary Cassatt. The building itself is impressive, and the museum café is lovely. If it’s raining and your Museum Pass has expired, the Petit Palais can make a worthwhile detour.
Cost and Hours: Free, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, Thu until 20:00 for temporary exhibitions (fee for those exhibits), closed Mon; audioguide-€5; across from Grand Palais on Avenue Winston Churchill, a looooong block west of Place de la Concorde, Mo: Champs-Elysées Clemenceau; tel. 01 53 43 40 00, petitpalais.paris.fr.
This grand exhibition hall, built for the 1900 World’s Fair, is used for temporary exhibits. The building’s Industrial Age, erector-set, iron-and-glass exterior is striking, but the steep entry price is only worthwhile if you’re interested in any of the several different exhibitions (each with different hours and costs, located in various parts of the building). Many areas are undergoing renovations, which may still be under way during your visit. Get details on the current schedule from a TI, in Pariscope, or from the website.
Cost and Hours: Admission prices and hours vary with each exhibition; major exhibitions usually €11, not covered by Museum Pass; generally open daily 10:00-20:00, Wed until 22:00, some parts of building closed Mon, other parts closed Tue, closed between exhibitions; Avenue Winston Churchill, Mo: Rond Point or Champs-Elysées, tel. 01 44 13 17 17, grandpalais.fr.
Though Paris keeps its historic center classic and skyscraper-free, this district, nicknamed “le petit Manhattan,” offers an impressive excursion into a side of Paris few tourists see: that of a modern-day economic superpower. La Défense was first conceived more than 60 years ago as a US-style forest of skyscrapers that would accommodate the business needs of the modern world. Today La Défense is a thriving commercial and shopping center, home to 150,000 employees and 55,000 residents.
For an interesting visit, take the Métro to the La Défense Grande Arche stop, follow Sortie Grande Arche signs, and climb the steps of La Grande Arche for distant city views. Then stroll gradually downhill among the glass buildings to the Esplanade de la Défense Métro station, and return home from there.
La Grande Arche de la Fraternité: The centerpiece of this ambitious complex, this mammoth arch was inaugurated in 1989 on the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. It was, like the Revolution, dedicated to human rights and brotherhood. The place is big—Notre-Dame Cathedral could fit under its arch. The “cloud”—a huge canvas canopy under the arch—is an attempt to cut down on the wind-tunnel effect this gigantic building creates.
Lunch on the Steps: Join the locals and picnic on the arch steps; good to-go places are plentiful (and cafés are nearby).
The Esplanade: La Défense is much more than its eye-catching arch. Survey the skyscraping scene from the top of the steps. Wander from the arch back toward the city center (and to the next Métro stop) along the Esplanade (a.k.a. “le Parvis”). The Esplanade is a virtual open-air modern art gallery, sporting pieces by Joan Miró (blue, red, and yellow), Alexander Calder (red), and Yaacov Agam (the fountain with colorful stripes and rhythmically dancing spouts), among others. La Défense de Paris, the statue that gave the area its name, recalls the 1871 Franco-Prussian war—it’s a rare bit of old Paris out here in the ’burbs.
As you descend the Esplanade, notice how the small gardens and boules courts (reddish dirt areas) are designed to integrate tradition into this celebration of modern commerce. Note also how the buildings decrease in height and increase in age—the Nexity Tower (closest to central Paris) looks old compared to the other skyscrapers. Dating from the 1960s, it was one of the first buildings at La Défense. Your walk ends at the amusing fountain of Bassin Takis, where you’ll find the Esplanade de la Défense Métro station that zips you out of all this modernity and directly back into town.
(See “Marais Neighborhood & Nearby” map, here.)
The Marais neighborhood extends along the Right Bank of the Seine, from the Pompidou Center to the Bastille, the prison of Revolution fame. But don’t waste time looking for the Bastille; the building is long gone, and just the square remains.
With more pre-Revolutionary lanes and buildings than anywhere else in town, the Marais is more atmospheric than touristy. It’s medieval Paris, and the haunt of the old nobility. During the reign of Henry IV, this area—originally a swamp (marais)—became the hometown of the French aristocracy. In the 17th century, big shots built their private mansions (hôtels) close to Henry’s stylish Place des Vosges.
With the Revolution, the aristocratic splendor of this quarter passed, and the Marais became a dumpy bohemian quarter so sordid it was nearly slated for destruction. In the mid-1800s, the wrecking ball was poised over the Marais: Napoleon III had ordered Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann to modernize Paris by blasting out narrow streets to construct broad boulevards (wide enough for the big guns of the army, too wide for revolutionary barricades). By 1910, the renovation was almost complete, and a big boulevard was planned to slice right through the Marais. But then the march of “progress” was halted by one tiny little event—World War I.
Naturally, when in Paris you want to see the big sights—but to experience the city, you also need to visit a vital neighborhood. The Marais fits the bill—a trendy place of fashion boutiques, quiet cafés, art galleries, narrow streets, leafy squares, Jewish bakeries, aristocratic châteaux, nightlife, and real Parisians. It’s the perfect setting to appreciate the zest and flair of this great city. When strolling the Marais, stick to the west-east axis formed by Rue Ste. Croix de la Bretonnerie, Rue des Rosiers (heart of Paris’ Jewish community), and Rue St. Antoine. On Sunday afternoons, this trendy area pulses with shoppers and café crowds.
The following sights are listed roughly in geographical order from east to west, starting at the heart of the Marais.
Henry IV built this centerpiece of the Marais in 1605 and called it “Place Royal.” As he’d hoped, it turned the Marais into Paris’ most exclusive neighborhood. Walk to the center, where Louis XIII, on horseback, gestures, “Look at this wonderful square my dad built.” He’s surrounded by locals enjoying their community park. You’ll see children frolicking in the sandbox, lovers warming benches, and pigeons guarding their fountains while trees shade this escape from the glare of the big city (you can refill your water bottle in the center of the square).
Study the architecture: nine pavilions (houses) per side. The two highest—at the front and back—were for the king and queen (but were never used). Warm red brickwork—some real, some fake—is topped with sloped slate roofs, chimneys, and another quaint relic of a bygone era: TV antennas.
The insightful writer Victor Hugo lived at #6—at the southeast corner of the square—from 1832 to 1848. This was when he wrote much of his most important work, including his biggest hit, Les Misérables. Inside you’ll wander through eight plush rooms and enjoy a fine view of the square (free, fee for optional exhibits—usually about €7, and usually not worth paying for; Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, last entry at 17:40, audioguide-€5, 6 Place des Vosges; Mo: Bastille, St. Paul, or Chemin Vert; tel. 01 42 72 10 16, musee-hugo.paris.fr).
At the Carnavalet Museum, French history unfolds in a series of stills—like a Ken Burns documentary, except you have to walk. The Revolution is the highlight, but you get a good overview of everything—from Louis XIV-period rooms to Napoleon to the belleépoque. Though explanations are in French only, many displays are fairly self-explanatory.
Cost and Hours: Free, fee for some temporary (but optional) exhibits, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon; avoid lunchtime (11:45-14:30), when many rooms may be closed; audioguide-€5, 23 Rue de Sévigné, Mo: St. Paul, tel. 01 44 59 58 58, carnavalet.paris.fr.
Visiting the Museum: The best part of the Carnavalet is the Revolution section. No period of history is as charged with the full range of human drama: bloodshed, martyrdom, daring speeches, murdered priests, emancipated women, backstabbing former friends—all in the name of government “by, for, and of the people.” To find this section, enter and turn right at the information counter, then turn left and go up the steps at the end of the room. Walk through the red hall to the next room where you’ll see stairs leading to La Révolution.
You’ll see paintings of the Estates-General assembly that planted the seeds of democracy and a model of the Bastille, the hated prison that was the symbol of oppression. Read the “Declaration of the Rights of Man.” See pictures of the ill-fated King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette, and the fate that awaited them—the guillotine. You’ll see portraits of all the major players in the Revolutionary spectacle—Maximilien de Robespierre, Georges Danton, Charlotte Corday—as well as the dashing general who would inherit the new democracy and turn it into dictatorship...Napoleon Bonaparte.
Whatever you think about Picasso the man, as an artist he was unmatched in the 20th century for his daring and productivity. The Picasso Museum has the world’s largest collection of Picasso’s work. Following a major, multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation, the Picasso Museum should be open in time for your visit. Check the museum’s website (musee-picasso.fr) for the latest on the reopening, and ask for a floor plan when you arrive.
Cost and Hours: Likely €10, covered by Museum Pass, additional fee for temporary exhibits, free on first Sun of month and for those under age 18 with ID; likely open daily 9:00-19:30, some Sat until 22:00, last entry 45 minutes before closing; 5 Rue de Thorigny, Mo: St. Paul or Chemin Vert, tel. 01 42 71 25 21, musee-picasso.fr.
Visiting the Museum: Some 400 paintings, sculptures, sketches, and ceramics are here, spread across four levels of this mansion in the Marais. A visit here walks you through the full range of this complex man’s life and art.
Born in Spain, Picasso was the son of an art teacher. As a teenager he quickly advanced beyond his teachers. In 1900, Picasso set out to make his mark in Paris, the undisputed world capital of culture. The brash Spaniard quickly became a poor, homesick foreigner, absorbing the styles of many painters (especially Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec) while searching for his own artist’s voice. When his best friend committed suicide, Picasso plunged into a “Blue Period,” painting emaciated beggars, hard-eyed pimps, and himself, bundled up against the cold, with eyes all cried out (Autoportrait, 1901).
In 1904, Picasso moved into his Bateau-Lavoir home/studio on Montmartre, got a steady girlfriend, and suddenly saw the world through rose-colored glasses (the Rose Period, though the museum has very few of these). With his next-door neighbor, Georges Braque, Picasso invented Cubism, a fragmented, “cube”-shaped style. He’d fracture a figure (such as the musician in Man with a Mandolin, 1911) into a barely recognizable jumble of facets, and facets within facets. In a few short years, Picasso had turned painting in the direction it would go for the next 50 years.
After World War I, Picasso moved from Montmartre to the Montparnasse neighborhood. In 1940, Nazi tanks rolled into Paris. Picasso decided to stay for the duration and live under gray skies and gray uniforms. The most famous of Picasso’s gray-colored war paintings—Guernica—chronicled the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Picasso painted it in Paris, but the work now hangs in Madrid.
At war’s end, he left Paris, finding fun in the sun in the south of France. The 65-year-old Pablo Picasso was reborn, enjoying worldwide fame and the love of a beautiful 23-year-old painter named Françoise Gilot. Picasso’s Riviera works set the tone for the rest of his life—sunny, light-hearted, childlike, experimenting in new media, and using motifs of the sea. He was fertile to the end, still painting with bright thick colors at age 91.
Once the largest in Western Europe, Paris’ Jewish Quarter is much smaller today but is still colorful. This street—the heart of the Jewish Quarter—has recently become the epicenter of Marais hipness and fashion. While Rue des Rosiers is still lined with Jewish shops and kosher eateries, the district’s traditional population is being squeezed out by the trendy boutiques. The intersection of Rue des Rosiers and Rue des Ecouffes marks the heart of the small neighborhood that Jews call the Pletzl (“little square”). Lively Rue des Ecouffes, named for a bird of prey, is a derogatory nod to the moneychangers’ shops that once lined this lane.
Eating: If you’re visiting at lunchtime, you’ll be tempted by kosher pizza and plenty of cheap fast-food joints selling falafel “to go” (emporter). L’As du Falafel, with its bustling New York deli atmosphere, is terrific (at #34, sit-down or to go, closed Sat). The Sacha Finkelsztajn Yiddish bakery at #27 is also good (Polish and Russian cuisine, pop in for a tempting treat, sit for the same price as take-away, closed Tue). Nearby, the recommended Chez Marianne cooks up inexpensive Jewish meals and serves excellent falafel to go (at corner of Rue des Rosiers and Rue des Hospitalières-St-Gervais).
This fine museum, located in a beautifully restored Marais mansion, reconstructs the Jewish culture of community through its artistic heritage. It tells the story of Judaism in France and throughout Europe, from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem to the theft of famous artworks during World War II. Displays illustrate the cultural unity maintained by this continually dispersed population. You’ll learn about the history of Jewish traditions, from bar mitzvahs to menorahs, and see the exquisite costumes and objects central to daily life. The museum also displays paintings by famous Jewish artists, including Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, and Chaim Soutine. English explanations posted in many rooms provide sufficient explanation for most; the included audioguide provides greater detail.
Cost and Hours: €7, includes audioguide, covered by Museum Pass, Sun-Fri 11:00-18:00, closed Sat, last entry 45 minutes before closing, 71 Rue du Temple; Mo: Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville a few blocks farther away, RER: Châtelet-Les Halles; tel. 01 53 01 86 60, mahj.org.
This sight, commemorating the lives of the more than 76,000 Jews deported from France in World War II, has several facets: a WWII deportation memorial, a museum on the Holocaust, and a Jewish resource center. Displaying original deportation records, the museum takes you through the history of Jews in Europe and France, from medieval pogroms to the Nazi era. But its focal point is underground, where victims’ ashes are buried.
Cost and Hours: Free, Sun-Fri 10:00-18:00, Thu until 22:00, closed Sat and certain Jewish holidays, 17 Rue Geoffroy l’Asnier, tel. 01 42 77 44 72, memorialdelashoah.org.
One of Europe’s greatest collections of far-out modern art is housed in the Musée National d’Art Moderne, on the fourth and fifth floors of this colorful exhibition hall. The building itself is “exoskeletal” (like Notre-Dame or a crab), with its functional parts—the pipes, heating ducts, and escalator—on the outside, and the meaty art inside. It’s the epitome of Modern architecture, where “form follows function.” Created ahead of its time, the 20th-century art in this collection is still waiting for the world to catch up.
Cost and Hours: €11-13 depending on current exhibits, free on first Sun of month, Museum Pass covers permanent collection and view escalators, €3 Panorama Ticket lets you ride to the sixth floor for the view (doesn’t include museum entry); Wed-Mon 11:00-21:00, closed Tue, ticket counters close at 20:00, arrive after 17:00 to avoid crowds (mainly for special exhibits); audioguide-€5, café on mezzanine, pricey view restaurant on level 6, Mo: Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville, tel. 01 44 78 12 33, centrepompidou.fr.
Visiting the Museum: Buy your ticket on the ground floor, then ride up the escalator (or run up the down escalator to get in the proper mood). When you see the view, your opinion of the Pompidou’s exterior should improve a good 15 percent. Find the permanent collection—the entrance is either on the fourth or fifth floor (it varies). Enter, show your ticket, and get the current floor plan (plan du musée).
The 20th century—accelerated by technology and fragmented by war—was exciting and chaotic, and the art reflects the turbulence of that century of change. In this free-flowing and airy museum, you’ll come face-to-face with works from the first half of the 20th century, including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, Paul Klee, Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, and many more.
The contemporary collection highlights post-1960 works, including Andy Warhol’s pop art. You’ll also see fewer traditional canvases or sculptures and lots of mixed-media work, combining painting, sculpture, welding, photography, video, computer programming, new resins, plastics, industrial techniques, and lighting and sound systems. Even skeptics of modern art will find that after so many Madonnas-and-children, a piano smashed to bits and glued to the wall is refreshing.
View from the Pompidou: Ride the escalator for a great city view from the top (ticket or Museum Pass required), and consider eating at the good café.
Nearby: The Pompidou Center and the square that fronts it are lively, with lots of people, street theater, and activity inside and out—a perpetual street fair. Kids of any age enjoy the fun, colorful fountain (called Homage to Stravinsky) next to the Pompidou Center.
Looking more like a grand château than a public building, Paris’ city hall stands proudly. The Renaissance-style building (built 1533-1628, and reconstructed after a 19th-century fire) displays hundreds of statues of famous Parisians on its facade. Peek through the doors to see elaborate spiral stairways, which are reminiscent of Château de Chambord in the Loire. Playful fountains energize the big, lively square in front.
This spacious stage has seen much of Paris’ history. On July 14, 1789, Revolutionaries rallied here on their way to the Bastille. In 1870, it was home to the radical Paris Commune. During World War II, General Charles de Gaulle appeared at the windows to proclaim Paris’ liberation from the Nazis. And in 1950, Robert Doisneau snapped a famous black-and-white photo of a kissing couple, with Hôtel de Ville as a romantic backdrop.
Today, this is the symbolic heart of the city of Paris. Demonstrators gather here to speak their minds. Crowds cheer during big soccer games shown on huge TV screens. In summer, the square hosts sand volleyball courts; in winter, a big ice-skating rink. There’s often a children’s carousel, or manège. Now a Paris institution, carousels were first introduced by Henri IV in 1605—the same year the Place des Vosges was built. Year-round, the place is always beautifully lit after dark.
The mayor of Paris, who has one of the most powerful positions in France, presides here. Mayorship is seen as a stepping-stone to the French presidency (as it was for Jacques Chirac).
This two-mile-long, narrow garden walk on an elevated viaduct was once used for train tracks and is now a good place for a refreshing stroll or run. Botanists appreciate the well-maintained and varying vegetation. From west (near Opéra) to east, the first half of the path is elevated until the midway point, the pleasant Jardin de Reuilly (a good stopping point for most, near Mo: Dugommier), then it continues on street level—with separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists—out to Paris’ ring road, the périphérique.
Cost and Hours: Free, opens Mon-Fri at 8:00, Sat-Sun at 9:00, closes at sunset (17:30 in winter, 20:30 in summer). It runs from Place de la Bastille (Mo: Bastille) along Avenue Daumesnil to St. Mandé (Mo: Michel Bizot) or Porte Dorée, passing within a block of Gare de Lyon.
Getting There: To get to the park from Place de la Bastille (exit the Métro following Sortie Rue de Lyon signs), walk a looooong block down Rue de Lyon hugging the Opéra on your left. Find the low-key entry and steps up the red-brick wall a block after the Opéra.
Littered with the tombstones of many of the city’s most illustrious dead, this is your best one-stop look at Paris’ fascinating, romantic past residents. Enclosed by a massive wall and lined with 5,000 trees, the peaceful, car-free lanes and dirt paths of Père Lachaise cemetery encourage park-like meandering. Named for Father (Père) La Chaise, whose job was listening to Louis XIV’s sins, the cemetery is relatively new, having opened in 1804 to accommodate Paris’ expansion. Today, this city of the dead (pop. 70,000) still accepts new residents, but real estate prices are sky high (a 21-square-foot plot costs more than €11,000).
The 100-acre cemetery is big and confusing, with thousands of graves and tombs crammed every which way, and only a few pedestrian pathways to help you navigate. The maps available from any of the nearby florists help direct you to the graves of Frédéric Chopin, Molière, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Jim Morrison, Héloïse and Abélard, and many more.
Cost and Hours: Free, Mon-Fri 8:00-18:00, Sat 8:30-18:00, Sun 9:00-18:00, closes at 17:30 in winter, last entry 15 minutes before closing; two blocks from Mo: Gambetta (not Mo: Père Lachaise) and two blocks from bus #69’s last stop; tel. 01 55 25 82 10, searchable map available at non-official website: pere-lachaise.com.
Stroll along the hilltop of Butte Montmartre amid traces of the many people who’ve lived here over the years—monks stomping grapes (1200s), farmers grinding grain in windmills (1600s), dust-coated gypsum miners (1700s), Parisian liberals (1800s), Modernist painters (1900s), and all the struggling artists, poets, dreamers, and drunkards who came here for cheap rent, untaxed booze, rustic landscapes, and cabaret nightlife. In the jazzy 1920s, the neighborhood became the haunt of American GIs and expat African Americans. Today it’s a youthful neighborhood in transition—both slightly seedy and extremely trendy.
The Sacré-Cœur (Sacred Heart) Basilica’s exterior, with its onion domes and bleached-bone pallor, looks ancient, but was finished only a century ago by Parisians humiliated by German invaders. Otto von Bismarck’s Prussian army laid siege to Paris for more than four months in 1870. Things got so bad for residents that urban hunting for dinner (to cook up dogs, cats, and finally rats) became accepted behavior. Convinced they were being punished for the country’s liberal sins, France’s Catholics raised money to build the church as a “praise the Lord anyway” gesture.
Cost and Hours: Church—free, daily 6:00-22:30, last entry at 22:15; dome—€6, not covered by Museum Pass, daily May-Sept 9:00-19:00, Oct-April 9:00-17:00; tel. 01 53 41 89 00, sacre-coeur-montmartre.com.
Getting There: You have several options. You can take the Métro to the Anvers stop (to avoid the stairs up to Sacré-Cœur, buy one more Métro ticket and ride up on the funicular). Alternatively, from Place Pigalle, you can take the “Montmartrobus,” a city bus that drops you right by Sacré-Cœur (Funiculaire stop, costs one Métro ticket, 4/hour). A taxi from the Seine or the Bastille saves time and avoids sweat (about €13, €20 at night).
Visiting the Basilica: The five-domed, Roman-Byzantine-looking basilica took 44 years to build (1875-1919). It stands on a foundation of 83 pillars sunk 130 feet deep, necessary because the ground beneath was honeycombed with gypsum mines. The exterior is laced with gypsum, which whitens with age.
Take a clockwise spin around the crowded interior to see impressive mosaics, a statue of St. Thérèse, a scale model of the church, and three stained-glass windows dedicated to Joan of Arc. Pause near the Stations of the Cross mosaic to give St. Peter’s bronze foot a rub. For an unobstructed panoramic view of Paris, climb 260 feet (300 steps) up the tight and claustrophobic spiral stairs to the top of the dome (especially worthwhile if you have kids with excess energy).
Montmartre’s main square (Place du Tertre), one block from the church, was once the haunt of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and the original bohemians. Today, it’s mobbed with tourists and unoriginal bohemians (best on a weekday or early on weekend mornings). From the main square, head up Rue des Saules to find Paris’ lone vineyard and the Montmartre Museum (described later). Return uphill, then follow Rue Lepic down to the old windmill, Moulin de la Galette, which once pressed monks’ grapes and farmers’ grain, and crushed gypsum rocks into powdery plaster of Paris (there were once 30 windmills on Montmartre). When the gypsum mines closed (c. 1850) and the vineyards sprouted apartments, this windmill turned into the ceremonial centerpiece of a popular outdoor dance hall. Farther down Rue Lepic, you’ll pass near the former homes of Toulouse-Lautrec (at Rue Tourlaque—look for the brick-framed art-studio windows under the heavy mansard roof) and Vincent van Gogh (54 Rue Lepic).
This beautifully lit black gallery (well-described in English) offers a walk through statues, etchings, and paintings by the master of Surrealism. The Spaniard found fame in Paris in the 1920s and ’30s. He lived in Montmartre for a while, hung with the Surrealist crowd in Montparnasse, and shocked the world with his dreamscape paintings and experimental films. Don’t miss the printed interview on the exit stairs.
Cost and Hours: €11, not covered by Museum Pass, daily 10:00-18:00, July-Aug until 20:00, audioguide-€3, 11 Rue Poulbot, tel. 01 42 64 40 10, daliparis.com.
This 17th-century home re-creates the traditional cancan and cabaret Montmartre scene, with paintings, posters, photos, music, and memorabilia. Once the residence of Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Maurice Utrillo, the museum now houses the original Lapin Agile sign, the famous Chat Noir poster, and Toulouse-Lautrec’s dashing portrait of red-scarved Aristide Bruant, the earthy cabaret singer and club owner.
Cost and Hours: €8, includes good audioguide, not covered by Museum Pass, daily 10:00-18:00, last entry 30 minutes before closing, 12 Rue Cortot, tel. 01 49 25 89 39, museedemontmartre.fr.
Paris’ red light district, the infamous “Pig Alley,” is at the foot of Butte Montmartre. Ooh la la. It’s more racy than dangerous. Walk from Place Pigalle to Place Blanche, teasing desperate barkers and fast-talking temptresses. In bars, a €150 bottle of (what would otherwise be) cheap champagne comes with a friend. Stick to the bigger streets, hang on to your wallet, and exercise good judgment. Cancan can cost a fortune, as can con artists in topless bars. After dark, countless tour buses line the streets, reminding us that tour guides make big bucks by bringing their groups to touristy nightclubs like the famous Moulin Rouge (Mo: Pigalle or Abbesses).
Paris is brilliant after dark. Save energy from your day’s sightseeing and experience the City of Light lit. Whether it’s a concert at Sainte-Chapelle, a boat ride on the Seine, a walk in Montmartre, a hike up the Arc de Triomphe, or a late-night café, you’ll see Paris at its best. Night walks in Paris are wonderful. My self-guided Historic Paris walk (see here) is terrific after dark.
Adjust your expectations to the changing times. Paris will always be the City of Light, but it shines a little dimmer these days. In an effort to go green and reduce costs, Paris has toned down the lighting on several monuments, including the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre’s glass pyramid.
With a lively mix of American, French, and international musicians, Paris has been an internationally acclaimed jazz capital since World War II. You’ll pay €12-25 to enter a jazz club (may include one drink; if not, expect to pay €5-10 per drink; beer is cheapest). See Pariscope magazine under “Musique” for listings, or, even better, the Paris Voice website (parisvoice.com). You can also check each club’s website (all have English versions), or drop by the clubs to check out the calendars posted on their front doors. Music starts after 21:00 in most clubs. Some offer dinner concerts from about 20:30 on. Here are several good bets:
Caveau de la Huchette, a fun, characteristic old jazz/dance club, fills an ancient Latin Quarter cellar with live jazz and frenzied dancing every night (admission about €12 on weekdays, €14 on weekends, €6-8 drinks, daily 21:30-2:30 in the morning or later, 5 Rue de la Huchette, Mo: St. Michel, recorded info tel. 01 43 26 65 05, caveaudelahuchette.fr).
Autour de Midi et Minuit is an Old World bistro at the foot of Montmartre, sitting above a cave à jazz. Eat upstairs if you like, then make your way down to the basement to find bubbling jam sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday and concerts on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (no cover, €5 minimum drink order Tue-Wed; €16 cover Thu-Sat includes one drink; jam sessions at 21:30, concerts usually at 22:00; no music Sun-Mon; 11 Rue Lepic, Mo: Blanche or Abbesses, tel. 01 55 79 16 48, autourdemidi.fr).
For a spot teeming with late-night activity and jazz, go to the two-block-long Rue des Lombards, at Boulevard Sébastopol, midway between the river and the Pompidou Center (Mo: Châtelet). Au Duc des Lombards is one of the most popular and respected jazz clubs in Paris, with concerts nightly in a great, plush, 110-seat theater-like setting (admission €20-30, buy online and arrive early for best seats, cheap drinks, shows at 20:00 and 22:00, 42 Rue des Lombards, tel. 01 42 33 22 88, ducdeslombards.fr). Le Sunside, run for 19 years by Stephane Portet, is just a block away. The club offers two little stages (ground floor and downstairs): “le Sunset” stage tends toward contemporary world jazz; “le Sunside” stage features more traditional and acoustic jazz (concerts range from free to €25, check their website; generally at 20:00, 21:00, and 22:00; 60 Rue des Lombards, tel. 01 40 26 46 60, sunset-sunside.com).
For a less pricey—and less central—concert club, try Utopia. From the outside it’s a hole-in-the-wall, but inside it’s filled with devoted fans of rock and folk blues. Though Utopia is officially a private club (and one that permits smoking), you can pay €3 to join for an evening, then pay a reasonable charge for the concert (usually €10 or under, concerts start about 22:00). It’s located in the Montparnasse area (79 Rue de l’Ouest, Mo: Pernety, tel. 01 43 22 79 66, utopia-cafeconcert.fr).
This historic little cabaret tries its best to maintain the atmosphere of the heady days when bohemians would gather here to enjoy wine, song, and sexy jokes. Today, you’ll mix in with a few locals and many tourists (the Japanese love the place) for a drink and as many as 10 different performers—mostly singers with a piano. Performers range from sweet and innocent Amélie types to naughty Maurice Chevalier types. And though tourists are welcome, there’s no accommodation for English speakers (except on their website), so non-French-speakers will be lost. You sit at carved wooden tables in a dimly lit room, taste the traditional drink (a small brandy with cherries), and are immersed in an old-time Parisian ambience. The soirée covers traditional French standards, love ballads, sea chanteys, and more (€24, €7 drinks, Tue-Sun 21:00-2:00 in the morning, closed Mon, best to reserve ahead, 22 Rue des Saules, tel. 01 46 06 85 87, au-lapin-agile.com).
For classical music on any night, consult Pariscope magazine (check “Concerts Classiques” under “Musique” for listings), and look for posters at tourist-oriented churches. From March through November, these churches regularly host concerts: St. Sulpice, St. Germain-des-Prés, La Madeleine, St. Eustache, St. Julien-le-Pauvre, and Sainte-Chapelle.
Sainte-Chapelle: Enjoy the pleasure of hearing Mozart, Bach, or Vivaldi, surrounded by 800 years of stained glass (unheated—bring a sweater). The acoustical quality is surprisingly good. There are usually two concerts per evening, at 19:00 and 20:30; specify which one you want when you buy or reserve your ticket. VIP tickets get you a seat in the first nine rows (€40), Prestige tickets cover the next 15 rows (€30), and Normal tickets are the last five rows (€25). Seats are unassigned within each section, so arrive at least 30 minutes early to get through the security line and snare a good view.
You can book at the box office, by phone, or online. Two different companies present concerts, but the schedule will tell you whom to contact for tickets to a particular performance. The small box office (with schedules and tickets) is to the left of the chapel entrance gate (8 Boulevard du Palais, Mo: Cité), or call 01 42 77 65 65 or 06 67 30 65 65 for schedules and reservations. You can leave your message in English—just speak clearly and spell your name. You can check schedules and buy your ticket at euromusicproductions.fr. Flavien from Euromusic offers last-minute discounts with this book when seats are available (limit 2 tickets per book). VIP tickets are discounted to €30, Prestige tickets to €25, and Normal tickets to €16. The offer applies only to Euromusic concerts and must be purchased with cash only at the Sainte-Chapelle ticket booth close to concert time.
Salle Pleyel: This concert hall on the Right Bank hosts world-class artists, from string quartets and visiting orchestras to international opera stars. Tickets range from €10 to €150, depending on the artist and seats you choose, and are usually hard to come by, so it’s best to order online in advance (252 Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, Mo: Ternes, tel. 01 42 56 13 13, sallepleyel.fr).
Other Venues: Look also for daytime concerts in parks, such as the Luxembourg Garden. Even the Galeries Lafayette department store offers concerts. Many of these concerts are free (entrée libre), such as the Sunday atelier concert sponsored by the American Church (generally Sept-June at 17:00 but not every week and not in Dec, 65 Quai d’Orsay, Mo: Invalides, RER: Pont de l’Alma, tel. 01 40 62 05 00, acparis.org).
Paris is home to two well-respected opera venues. The Opéra Bastille is the massive modern opera house that dominates Place de la Bastille. Come here for state-of-the-art special effects and modern interpretations of classic ballets and operas. In the spirit of this everyman’s opera, unsold seats are available at a big discount to seniors and students 15 minutes before the show. Standing-room-only tickets for €15 are also sold for some performances (Mo: Bastille). The Opéra Garnier, Paris’ first opera house, hosts opera and ballet performances. Come here for less expensive tickets and grand belle époque decor (Mo: Opéra; no performances mid-July-mid-Sept). To get tickets for either opera house, it’s easiest to reserve online at operadeparis.fr, or call 01 71 25 24 23 outside France or toll tel. 08 92 89 90 90 inside France (office closed Sun). You can also go direct to the Opéra Bastille’s ticket office (open daily 11:00-18:00).
Various museums are open late on different evenings—called visites nocturnes—offering the opportunity for more relaxed, less crowded visits: the Louvre (Wed and Fri until 21:45), Orsay (Thu until 21:45), Rodin (Wed until 20:45), Pompidou Center (Wed-Mon until 21:00), Grand Palais (Wed until 22:00), Holocaust Memorial (Thu until 22:00), Quai Branly (Thu-Sat until 21:00), and Marmottan Museum (Thu until 20:00). Parts of the Army Museum are open Tuesdays until 21:00 (April-Sept).
Spectacles in the Gardens: An elaborate sound-and-light show (Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes) takes place at Versailles (€23, mid-June-mid-July Fri-Sat at 21:00, mid-July-mid-Sept Sat only at 21:00, chateauversailles.fr).
Go for an evening walk to best appreciate the City of Light. Break for ice cream, pause at a café, and enjoy the sidewalk entertainers as you join the post-dinner Parisian parade. Remember to avoid poorly lit areas and stick to main thoroughfares. Consider the following suggestions.
This is one of Paris’ most spectacular views at night. Take the Métro to the Trocadéro stop and join the party on Place du Trocadéro for a magnificent view of the glowing Eiffel Tower. It’s a festival of hawkers, gawkers, drummers, and entertainers.
Walk down the stairs, passing the fountains and rollerbladers, then cross the river to the base of the tower, well worth the effort even if you don’t go up (tower open daily mid-June-Aug until 24:45, Sept-mid-June until 23:45).
From the Eiffel Tower you can stroll through the Champ de Mars park past tourists and romantic couples, and take the Métro home (Ecole Militaire stop, across Avenue de la Motte-Picquet from far southeast corner of park). Or there’s a handy RER stop (Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel) two blocks west of the Eiffel Tower on the river.
The Avenue des Champs-Elysées glows after dark. Start at the Arc de Triomphe (observation deck open daily, April-Sept until 23:00, Oct-March until 22:30), then stroll down Paris’ lively grand promenade. A right turn on Avenue George V leads to the Bateaux-Mouches river cruises. A movie on the Champs-Elysées is a fun experience (weekly listings in Pariscope under “Cinéma”), and a drink or snack at Renault’s futuristic car café is a kick (at #53, toll tel. 08 11 88 28 11).
This stroll features floodlit views of Notre-Dame and a taste of the Latin Quarter. Take the Métro (line 7) to the Pont Marie stop, then cross Pont Marie to Ile St. Louis. Turn right up Rue St. Louis-en-l’Ile, stopping for dinner—or at least a Berthillon ice cream (at #31) or Amorino Gelati (at #47). At the end of Ile St. Louis, cross Pont St. Louis to Ile de la Cité, with a great view of Notre-Dame. Wander to the Left Bank on Quai de l’Archevêché, and drop down to the river for the best floodlit views. From May through September you’ll find several moored barges (péniches) that operate as bars. Although I wouldn’t eat dinner on one of these barges, the atmosphere is great for a drink, often including live music on weekends (daily until 2:00 in the morning, closed Oct-April, live music often Thu-Sun from 21:00). End your walk on Place du Parvis Notre-Dame in front of Notre-Dame (tower open Fri-Sat until 23:00 in July-Aug), or go back across the river to the Latin Quarter.
Day or night, this skinny riverfront park dotted with modern art makes for a pleasant walk, but it’s especially fun on balmy evenings in the summer, when you may encounter rock music and salsa dancing. It’s on the Left Bank across from Ile St. Louis, running between the Arab World Institute and Jardin des Plantes (free, music around 20:00, very weather-dependent, Quai St. Bernard, Mo: Cardinal Lemoine plus an eight-minute walk up Rue Cardinal Lemoine toward the river).
Several companies offer evening tours of Paris. You can take a traditional, mass-produced bus tour for €25 per person, or for a little more (around €100 per couple), take an hour-long, vintage-car tour with a student guide. A pedicab will take you around for €40-50 per hour. Do-it-yourself-ers can save money by hiring a cab for a private tour (€50 for one hour). All options are described below.
If rumbling around Paris and sticking your head out of the rolled-back top of a funky old 2CV car à la Inspector Clouseau sounds like your kind of fun, do this. Two enterprising companies have assembled a veritable fleet of these “tin-can” cars (France’s version of the VW “bug” that hasn’t been made since 1985) for giving tourists tours of Paris day and night (Paris Authentic and 4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie). Night is best. The student-guides are informal, speak English, and are passionate about showing you their city. Appreciate the simplicity of the vehicle you’re in. Notice the bare-bones dashboard. Ask your guide to honk the horn, to run the silly little wipers, and to open and close the air vent—c’est magnifique! They’ll pick you up and drop you at your hotel or wherever you choose.
Paris Authentic offers many options (€45/person for 2 people for a 1-hour tour, €33/person for 3 people; €160/couple for a 2-hour tour that includes Montmartre and a bottle of champagne, 10 percent tip is appropriate, 23 Rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, mobile 06 64 50 44 19, parisauthentic.com, paris@parisauthentic.com).
4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie, which translates to “4 wheels under 1 umbrella,” offers comparable tours with candy-colored cars and drivers dressed in striped shirts and berets. They offer several options; the Essential Ride lasts 1.5 hours and costs €90 per person for two, €60 per person if you fit three passengers, and €180 if you want the whole backseat to yourself (tel. 08 00 80 06 31, mobile 06 67 32 26 68, 4roues-sous-1parapluie.com, info@4roues-sous-1parapluie.com).
Experience the City of Light at an escargot’s pace with your private chauffeur pedaling a sleek, human-powered tricycle from TripUp Pedicab Tours. Call ahead, book online, or flag one down; they usually work until about 22:00 (€40-50/hour, mobile 06 98 80 69 33, tripup.fr, contact@tripup.fr).
Below I’ve listed two different night tours run by City Vision. Tickets are sold through your hotel (no booking fee, brochures in lobby) or directly at the City Vision office at 214 Rue de Rivoli, across the street from the Tuileries Métro stop.
The nightly Paris Illuminations tour connects all the great illuminated sights of Paris with a 100-minute bus tour in 12 languages. The double-decker buses have huge windows, but the most desirable front seats are sometimes reserved for customers who’ve bought tickets for the overrated Moulin Rouge. Left-side seats are better. Visibility is fine in the rain.
These tours are not for everyone. You’ll stampede on with a United Nations of tourists, get a set of headphones, dial up your language, and listen to a tape-recorded spiel (which is interesting, but includes an annoyingly bright TV screen and a pitch for their other, more expensive excursions). Uninspired as it is, the ride provides an entertaining overview of the city at its floodlit and scenic best. Bring your city map to stay oriented as you go. You’re always on the bus, but the driver slows for photos at viewpoints (€26, kids-€16, 1.75 hours, departs from 2 Rue des Pyramides at 20:00 Nov-March, at 22:00 April-Oct, reserve one day in advance, arrive 30 minutes early to wait in line for best seats, Mo: Pyramides, tel. 01 42 60 30 01, pariscityvision.com).
City Vision also offers Paris Illuminations-By Minibus, which are minivan night tours following a similar route to the bus tours. They will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel (€55, kids-€40, 2 hours).
I recommend a loop trip that takes about an hour and connects these sights: Notre-Dame, Hôtel de Ville, Ile St. Louis, the Orsay Museum, Esplanade des Invalides, Champ de Mars park at Place Jacques Rueff (five-minute stop), Eiffel Tower from Place du Trocadéro (five-minute stop), Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Place de la Concorde, and the Louvre. The trip should cost about €45 (taxis have a strict meter of €36/hour plus about €1/kilometer).