Things to do — Paris

The essentials are numerous and well known. The Eiffel Tower (booking essential, €14-30 depending on level, 1665 steps or elevator) remains the absolute icon — ideal at sunset for the double effect of view + hourly light show after dark. The Louvre Museum (booking, €22) demands at least 4 hours to cover the essentials (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Italian painting); arriving at opening (9 am) avoids the worst crowds. The Musée d'Orsay (€16) is the Impressionist counterpart — Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas — in a former railway station with spectacular architecture. Notre-Dame de Paris reopened in December 2024 after five years of post-fire restoration; the 12th-century Gothic cathedral once again becomes an absolute must. The Pompidou Centre (€16) houses modern and contemporary art in the iconic building by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.

For districts, the Marais (3rd/4th) is probably the most charming: medieval lanes, 17th-century mansion houses, fashion boutiques, Place des Vosges (Paris's oldest royal square), Picasso Museum, Carnavalet Museum (Paris history, free). Montmartre (18th) with the Sacré-Cœur, the Place du Tertre and cobbled lanes retains its bohemian atmosphere — visit early morning before the tour buses arrive. Saint-Germain-des-Prés (6th) for Parisian elegance and literary heritage: Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots (Sartre, Beauvoir, Hemingway), bookshops, art galleries. The Latin Quarter (5th) for student energy: Panthéon, Jardin des Plantes, Grande Mosquée. The Seine banks between Île Saint-Louis and the Eiffel Tower offer one of the most beautiful urban walks in the world, UNESCO-listed.

The second-tier museums (often less crowded but remarkable): Quai Branly Museum (African, Asian, Oceanic and American art, Jean Nouvel architecture), Rodin Museum (sculptures in an 18th-century mansion with gardens), Orangerie Museum (Monet's Water Lilies in 2 oval rooms he designed), Jacquemart-André Museum (Belle Époque private collection), Petit Palais (City of Paris collections, free), Bourdelle Museum (Rodin's student sculptor, free), Cernuschi Museum (Asian art, free).

For pâtisserie lovers: Pierre Hermé (macarons), Cédric Grolet (trompe-l'œil fruits), Philippe Conticini, Yann Couvreur, Cyril Lignac, Du Pain et des Idées (reference bakery). For bistro gastronomy: Le Bouillon Chartier (since 1896, modest prices), Brasserie Lipp, La Coupole, Le Train Bleu (Gare de Lyon, classified Belle Époque decor). For an accessible starred restaurant: Garance, Solstice, Frenchie, Septime — a starred lunch at €60-90 remains possible.

Finally, day trips from Paris: Versailles (RER C, 35 min, château + UNESCO gardens, full day), Disneyland Paris (RER A, 35 min, Europe's most visited park), Fontainebleau (train from Gare de Lyon, 40 min, UNESCO château), Giverny (Monet's gardens, 1h by car, May-October), Chantilly (Condé Museum, racecourse, 25 min by train).