To all my foreign friends, here is a list of places you should visit in Paris. It is a good mix of typical visits and personal recommendations. There is no order, just follow your desires and inspiration to enjoy this great city.
Eiffel Tower
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| La Tour Eiffel |
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| Le Jardin du Trocadéro |
The Eiffel Tower is a must-see, but is very crowed: book the tickets in advance, and choose the simple visit (without lunch up there) early in the morning. Then climb the Trocadéro garden, up to the Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre where you can enjoy (expensive) coffee and cakes in the hype brasseries. If you have time, I recommend you to visit one of my favourite museums: the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine with the incredible collection of moldings of French architecture from the 12th to the 18th century, created by Viollet-le-Duc. It is then easy to go to the Champs-Elysées by walking along the avenue Kléber (~20 minutes) or by métro.
Champs-Elysées
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| Les Champs-Elysées |
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| L'Arc de Triomphe |
The famous avenue with a lot of theatres and luxury shops. The Louis Vuitton shop artistic design is worth to see, even if you are not interested in buying... and <hint>visit its free modern art gallery upstairs</hint>, at least to admire the great view from the terrasse. If you have time, climb the Arc de Triomphe to enjoy the impressive perspective. The unknown soldier ceremony can be interesting.
Le Louvre
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| Le Louvre |
Le Louvre is a must-see, but don't spend there more than 3-4 hours and don't put pressure on yourself: you won't see everything for sure and you will get lost. Book your ticket in advance and enter through Aile Richelieu or Carrousel du Louvre entries in order to avoid the herd; morning is better. If you are not exhausted, then go visit the Palais Royal and around Saint-Germain L'Auxerrois. Some reputed restaurants in the area are Le Fumoir, L'Hôtel du Louvre, and my personal favorite, the typical Taverne Henri IV.
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| Le musée Pompidou |
The modern art museum Centre Georges Pompidou is of great interest, it depends for the temporary collections. The location is full of shops and restaurants, around the Stravinsky Fountain or the passage Molière. For shopping, walk along rue de Rivoli, rue Etienne Marcel or Les Halles (but don't go downstairs!). Rue Montorgueil is also very nice for a coffee break.
Le Marais
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| Le quartier du Marais |
Lots of stuff in the historic district Le Marais: the free Carnavalet Museum, the Place des Vosges, the Archives Nationales; unfortunately, the Picasso Museum is closed. Walk in the rue Vieille du Temple to watch the modern art galleries and do not hesitate to explore the small streets and ancient courts of buildings. The small Jewish quarter in the Rue des Rosiers is nice, but eat falafel only at Chez Hanna otherwise it is at your own risk... and then Synagogue de la Rue Pavée built by the famous architect Hector Guimard (the designer of the Art Nouveau métro entrances). Rue de Bretagne and Le Marché des Enfants Rouges are nice for fooding and shopping. In the evening, Le Café du Marché is frequented by locals as well as tourists. Some nice places for drinking around Rue Vieille du Temple are Le Pick-Clops, La Belle Hortense (wine bar), La Chaise au Plafond, and many others...
Musées d'Orsay et Rodin
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| Le Penseur |
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| A famous Painting by Renoir at Orsay |
Le Panthéon
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| Le Panthéon |
The Panthéon is a nice monument, located in one of the nicest and most student-oriented district of the city. Before the building of the Eiffel Tower, it was the highest point in Paris. For fooding:
- Chic version: Le Comptoir du Panthéon, or le Café Delmas.
- Cheap version: nice terraces around Place Descartes, or the Russian restaurant Gaudeamus.
- Weirdo version: Le Piano Vache
- Drinks: The Bombardier, or other pubs in the area.
A little bit further, nice French crêpes at Creposuk and the Caveau des Oubliettes, with a real guillotine inside!
Ile de la Cité
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| L'île de la Cité |
This is the historic centre of Paris. Visit the Notre-Dame cathedral and the other island, L'île Saint-Louis. There, Berthillon is the best place to eat an ice cream if you get the chance to see it open :-/ (Thanks Simon)
Montparnasse
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| Musée Bourdelle |
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| La Tour Montparnasse |
A nice district, with one of my favourite small museum, the great sculpture Musée Bourdelle, and the nice Montparnasse Cemetray. Then shopping around and eating at the Café Odessa (nice but not cheap) or La Marine, or French crêpes at the Crêperie de Josselin.
Versailles
Pfff... It is supposed to be a must-see, but it will require one full-day (outside Paris), and you risk a strike on the crappiest Parisian MRT line (RER C).
Miscellanous
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| Macarons Ladurée |
- If you travel to Paris, you *have* to taste one of the most famous macarons made by Ladurée or Pierre Hermé (several places around Paris). Still can't make up my mind and tell which are the best... (Thanks Lionel)
- You can combine shopping and great sight from roof at the Printemps department store (Thanks Chloé)
Hotels
Some recommended hotels:
- La Pointe Rivoli (St Paul)
- Hôtel de l'Arcade (Madeleine)
- Hotel Américain (République/Marais)
In case of emergency for Asians
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| Délice de Shandong |
I believe you all prefer to eat French or European food in Paris. But, if you feel some need to eat Asian, here the places I recommend. Most of them are located in the Paris Chinatown (actually also Vietnamtown): nothing great to see except Asian stuff shopping and restaurants. Don't go to the other so-called Asian restaurants, most of them are fake and customized to French tastes.
- Délice de Shandong is a nice Shandong style Chinese restaurant, very close to my home. I know the place since it has been founded: its success proves the quality and diversity of the food
- Chez Van serves tasty hand-made Chinese noodles and others
- Sinorama is a more typical Chinese restaurant with round tables and son on
- Pho 14 are the best Vietnamese noodle soups. Very crowded during the peak hours, but serves all the day
- Lao Lane Xang 1 is a gret Thai/Laos/Viet restaurant, or its more formal big brother, Lao Lane Xang 2 just on the other side of the street
- Rue Sainte-Anne, close to Opéra, is the place to find authentic Japanese restaurants: bento, ramen, udon, soba, tepanyiaki and sushis:
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| Kintaro |
If you are around the XIst district, you can find other authentic Chinese & Vietnamese restaurants around Belleville. (Thanks Léon)
Thanks to Louise for her many hints!
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