Packed with iconic museums and monuments, together with low-key treasures cherished by locals, Paris is a city that emanates “la belle vie” (the good life).
Away from the highlights – the Louvre, Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower – Parisian life ticks along with a coffee on a terrace, a bike ride along the Seine, and wine-fueled lunches with friends in noisy bistros. Blending the blockbuster experiences with these local delights is the key to experiencing the best of Paris. Here are the top things to do.
1. See the Eiffel Tower at night
Dodge the habitual daytime crowd zig-zagging up the Eiffel Tower’s southern-pillar staircase or cruising by lift to the top-floor champagne bar, and experience Paris’ signature spire after dark instead.
Planning Tip: Gastronomic dining in the company of the most beautiful city panorama at Le Jules Vernes, ensnared within Eiffel’s hypnotic metal web on the 2nd floor, is Michelin-starred and magical. But for smoldering, eyeball-to-eyeball views of the so-dubbed Dame de Fer or Iron Lady herself – illuminated at night – enjoy a date night beneath the stars at the summer rooftop bar atop La Shangri-La Paris. Afloat on the Seine, take in the Eiffel Tower views from boat bar Chez Mila or fine-dining bateau Ducasse sur Seine.
2.Go on a treasure hunt at the Louvre
It would take nine months to simply glance at all 35,000-odd masterpieces at the Musée du Louvre, home to one of the world’s finest collections of western art. Join a ThatMuse scavenger hunt to make best sense of the overwhelmingly gargantuan palace-gallery, built as a fortress for Philippe-Auguste in the 12th century and rehashed as a swish royal residence in the mid-16th.
Planning Tip: Hunts are themed, a huge hit with families, and lead you into quieter rooms well beyond the over-crowded likes of Da Vinci’s celebrity Mona Lisa or Michelangelo’s Dying Slave. Count between two and three hours to track down, and snap a photo as evidence, up to 30 artworks – the “pieces of treasure”. Decamp afterwards to Café Le Nemours, one of Paris’ most mythical cafes with an elegant terrace beneath arches, for a coffee or organic Alain Millat peach juice and classic Parisian jambon et fromage baguette sandwich (or something fancier).
3.Take in the views from Arc de Triomphe’s viewing platform
The Arc de Triomphe’s sky-high viewing platform is dramatically less crowded than the Eiffel Tower, but with views to rival. The 50m-high (164ft), Roman-style, triumphal arch commemorating Napoléon’s 1805 victory at Austerlitz is also the best spot to get your head around Paris’ Axe Historique (Historical Axis) – a line of historical monuments forming a perfect east-to-west axis through central Paris.
Admire astonishing vistas stretching from the Louvre, Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées (all east), to the Arc de Triomphe’s modern counterpoint, 1980s-built Grande Arche de la Défense (west). Peer down to watch cars twirling around the city’s busiest roundabout encircling the arch and spinning off along one of eight leafy Haussmannian avenues.
4.Cruise the Seine
Paris’ geographical and spiritual heart is the Seine – it all began on its island twinset after all, with early settlers arriving on Île de la Cité around the 3rd century BCE. Cruising the river with Bateaux-Mouches or aboard a hop-on-hop-off Batobus river boat – part of the city’s public transport system – is a memorable experience. Admire scenic Unesco World Heritage-listed riverbanks, islands, summertime beaches and 37 bridges spanning every architectural era.
Planning Tip: Hopes are high that parts of the river will be clean enough to swim in by 2025. Until then, cool off on hot summer days at floating outdoor pool Piscine Joséphine Baker. Sunset drinks are a rite of passage at floating bar and guinguette (dance hall), Rosa Bonheur sur Seine – as is a dose of contemporary street art a short walk west along the quay to bohemian barge-gallery Fluctuart. To stay on the Seine 24/7, check into floating hotel, Off Paris Seine.
5.Experience village life in Montmartre
Gorging on the spectacular Paris vista that unfolds from the steps of the pearly-white domes of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica – or atop the 300 more steps spiraling up inside the church dome – is a veritable Montmartre moment. But to get under the skin of this fabled quarter of ivy-clad cottages, windmills and artist cafes, it pays to duck down hidden alleys and squares, and explore less-visited streets on the backside of the Butte (as the Montmartre hill is known).
Planning Tip: Reserve a table at clandestine cocktail bar Le Très Particulier, with walled summer garden, in a 19th-century mansion on Ave Junot. Mooch a couple of doors downhill to Villa Leandré at No 23, one of the picturesque cul-de-sacs in Paris with flowery cottage gardens fronting 1920s, terraced brick houses. Another 15 minutes brings you to La Cité Pilleux (45 rue Ganneron, 18e), an equally bucolic dead-end lane with old industrial workshops re-spun as pretty little dwellings.