Top 10 Things To Do in Paris (by Niv Bosruk)
Forget the Eiffel Tower and go with a native Parisian visit to discover the 10 best things to see and do in the city of love. Want to visit Paris differently? Here we go!
Niv Borsuk shares his best advice and lets you discover her favorite places for sightseeing Paris. Visiting Paris is not all about the Eiffel Tower, the Champs-Elysées or the Arc de Triomphe. Paris is above all a city that feeds my curiosity and surprises me day after day. It’s a city that gives you the opportunity to meet people and to feel good about yourself. In the end, it’s a city to go to if you want to enjoy life. Want to visit Paris? Here are my top 10 best things to see if you do not know what to do in Paris.
1. Soak up the atmosphere of “Chez Georges”
11 Rue des Canettes, 6th arrondissement
Near the old market of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, you can find small streets full of bars and restaurants that will satisfy all your culinary desires. Personally, I love to go to “Chez Georges”, a charming wine bar where you can enjoy wines for three euros a glass, enjoy the works of art that are exposed and engage in conversions with people or play board games.
2. Dance until the end of the night at Café Charbon
109 rue Oberkampf, 11th arrondissement
After drinking several glasses of wine for 3 euros each and it is time now to dance, I go to Oberkampf in the direction of Café Charbon. Although the place is often fully-packed, this brasserie Parisienne with typical Parisian decor and mainstream music makes me want to dance until the end of the night. This is also a great way for visiting Paris differently.
3. Watch people go by at Saint Bernard Quay
Quai St Bernard, 5th arrondissement
Originally, Quai Saint-Bernard was one of the entrances to the fortified city of Paris and the place where the wine market was held. Over the centuries, Quai Saint-Bernard has been gradually transformed into a public park, to the delight of Parisians. This is the perfect place to go if you like to watch people go by, if you like to soak in the sun or if you like to watch street dancers. If you do not know what to do in Paris, this is a place to be. As you can see, places of interest in Paris are not only monuments.
4. Relax in the Rodin museum garden
79 Rue de Varenne, 7th arrondissement
What to do in Paris if you want to relax? Nothing better than strolling in the garden of the Rodin Museum – a charming garden. Admission is free for under 26 years old and € 1 or € 2 otherwise. The garden is open every day except Mondays from 10:00 to 17:45. Take a quiet book and picnic with you and relax. You can also admire the great works of Auguste Rodin charged with emotions that are located all around you without setting foot in a museum.
5. Avoid the “Mona Lisa”
Louvre, 1st arrondissement
OK. If you really want to, you can go see Mona Lisa. I’ve seen her once and her cheeky smile is worth a look. But I did not go back to see her the times I went back to the Louvre. I preferred to visit the Richelieu court, a place of interest in Paris full of light and filled with inspiring sculptures rather than elbowing my way through the crowd who go to see “The Mona Lisa”.
6. Have a good time near the kiosk at Jardin du Luxembourg
Luxembourg Gardens, 6th district
Visiting Paris and the Luxembourg Garden is not all about its fountains, its well-shaven lawns, flower beds, ping-pong tables and green metal seats. The bandstand – located near the eastern entrance of the garden – regularly hosts musical events to visit Paris on the party side.
7. Go to the opera for 5 euros
120 Rue de Lyon, 12th arrondissement
After having read the Opéra Bastille website, choose your favorite opera show and note the date in your diary so as not to miss it during your visit to Paris. On the day of the show, bring a book with you to take care of you while you are queuing up and meet the doors of the Opéra Bastille at around 4pm. At 6pm, the doors of the opera open and 30 tickets are available at a modest price of € 5 (2 tickets per person maximum). If you are lucky, a regular Parisian will give you a number – to keep your seat in the queue – which will allow you to wait for the opening of the opera sitting comfortably in a cafe rather than standing outside. At the beginning of the show, you will be directed to your place and will pass in front of the best lodges. Look at the seats that are empty and carefully note their location. You should be able to sneak down during intermission to have a dream place during the second half of the show. Thanks to this technique, I was able to enjoy the second part of the show sitting in the second row closest to the stage! To make tourism in Paris without breaking the bank, you have to be smart!
8. Visit the Paris Pagoda
57 Bis Rue de Babylone, 7th arrondissement
Hidden behind trees at the street level of Babylon is an Asian pagoda which houses a small cinema of art and test, known under the sober name “The Pagoda”. During your visit to Paris, you can have tea in the little garden cafe – open in summer – when the weather is nice, before watching a movie. If you have a small hollow, do not hesitate to stop on the way “Au Pied de Fouet”, a French restaurant located just 150 meters from the cinema where you can enjoy traditional dishes of French gastronomy from 10 € the dish , a must in Paris.
9. Take the bus
In Paris, the bus is a less popular means of transport than the metro. Yet it is an ideal mode of transport to move while admiring the beauty of Parisian streets and travel more directly. Indeed, there are 353 bus lines in Paris against just 16 metro lines: there is always a bus that goes where you want to go! My favorite line is line 84. I get on the bus to the Pantheon, then can admire the charming garden of Luxembourg. The bus continues along Boulevard Saint-Germain, then crosses the Place de la Concorde towards the Saint-Augustin church before ending near Parc Monceau. Want to take the bus? Go to a subway station and ask the counter for a map of the bus lines. Enjoy your visit to Paris otherwise.
10. Get out in the streets of Paris
Even if you have already visited Paris many times, this city will always surprise you. Just walk the streets to discover a new café, a bakery, a bar, a small square or a museum. Head to the place that inspires you the most: The Latin Quarter will be the ideal place if you are looking for a student and intellectual atmosphere during your visit to Paris, the Invalides if you appreciate the imposing architecture of the place, Montmartre if you have the soul of an artist, Belleville if you want to find the atmosphere of Paris of yesteryear. You can also walk the streets randomly and “lose” to discover places you would never have discovered otherwise! To visit Paris to find places of interest is not only to read the Routard and follow the indications.
