Home » Destinations » Europe » France » Paris » 26 Free Things To Do In Paris
- Last Updated on November 3, 2024
Paris is one of the world’s greatest cities. A capital of fashion, food, and art, it’s no wonder this is one of the top tourist destinations in Europe. Spend one afternoon eating patisserie and strolling the romantic boulevards, and you’re sure to fall in love too. One bad thing about Paris is that it can be pricey. However, there are plenty of free ways to soak up the magic of the city. This list of free things to do in Paris, organized in order of importance, will help you narrow down which activities make the cut for your trip. Of note, some of these activities are only free on certain days, so read the description carefully.
Table Of Contents - 26 Free Things To Do In Paris
STAR RATING KEY:
★★★ Top priority
★★ Highly recommended
★ Worthwhile
No Star – Skippable if not interested
Free Things To Do In Paris
1. Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel)
Visiting the Eiffel Tower is the most iconic thing you can do in Paris. This is the most visited monument in the world. The best part is you can visit the base of the tower for free. If you decide to spend money here, you can go up to the top for spectacular views of the city (2nd floor views are also great and are about half the price). You can even have dinner at one of the Eiffel Tower restaurants. You should buy your timed-entry ticket online in advance, as the ticket line can be hours long. Expect long lines and serious crowding throughout the experience, even with advance tickets.
Pro Tip: Arrive 15-30 minutes prior to your time to get through security. You must bring an ID that matches the name on your ticket (they may or may not actually check it). Non-folding strollers and large bags are prohibited (normal-sized backpacks are fine).
Cost and Hours: Free to visit the base of the tower. €17 to go to the 2nd floor, €27 to go to the top. Open 9:30am-10:45pm (open 9:00am-11:45pm Jun 18 – August 31).
Address: Champ de Mars, 5 Av. Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France
Website: www.toureiffel.paris
2. Musée d’Orsay
This is the best impressionist painting museum on earth. If you love impressionism, a journey here is nothing short of a pilgrimage. You will see the best combined collection of Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Pissarro. This is one of our favorite museums in Europe.
Cost and Hours: Free the first Sunday of every month. €16 per adult (online booking recommended). Open Tues-Sun 9:30am-6:00pm (closes 9:45pm Thurs). Closed Mondays.
Address: 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris, France
Website: www.musee-orsay.fr/en
3. Champs-Élysées
First opened in the 1600s, the Champs-Élysées is the quintessential Parisian boulevard. For hundreds of years, Paris has been famous for its broad, tree-lined boulevards, which have inspired cities around Europe. Whether you go for the cafés, shopping, or people watching, no visit to Paris is complete without a stroll down this street.
Address: Champs-Elysees, Paris, France
4. Notre-Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame Cathedral is the most famous church in the world. With its stained glass, pointed spires, and gargoyle-studded flying buttresses, it is the epitome of gothic architecture. Having survived since the 1100s, the church has witnessed France evolve over the centuries since Napoleon was crowned here. This once was the most important landmark to visit in Paris. Unfortunately, the amazing interior was closed following a fire in 2019, and continues to be closed indefinitely. The exterior is also often barricaded off. Therefore, as long as you see Notre-Dame from the Seine, that is enough of a visit for now.
Cost and Hours: Closed indefinitely.
Address: 6 Parvis Notre-Dame – Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
Website: www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/
5. Musée de l’Orangerie
This museum hosts perhaps the most famous impressionist paintings of all time – Monet’s Nympheas (water lilies). These two small rooms of huge paintings are a very quick, but highly rewarding stop on any itinerary. You can skip the rest of the museum, unless you have a particular interest.
Cost and Hours: Free the first Sunday of every month. €12.50 per adult (online booking mandatory). Open Wed-Mon 9:00am-6:00pm. Closed Tuesdays.
Address: Jardin Tuileries, 75001 Paris, France
Website: www.musee-orangerie.fr/en
6. Place du Trocadéro
This is hands-down the best place to see the Eiffel Tower, and one of the best free things to do in Paris. It’s worth going out of your way to go there. After all, if there’s one thing you need from your trip to Paris, it’s a good picture of the Eiffel Tower. There are great benches and grassy areas here to have a picnic or just sit and relax for a while.
7. Musée Rodin
This exceptional museum displays hundreds of Rodin’s sculptures in perhaps the most beautiful museum setting in Paris. The collection is held in an 18th century mansion in the middle of a large French garden. The estate was originally owned by Rodin himself and donated to the government to host this museum. The sheer number of works here can be overwhelming. We recommend starting your visit in the interior to explore the bulk of the collection. When you’re done inside, head to the garden cafe for a snack (sit outside if you can). Finish your visit by walking through the garden, enjoying the collection of bronzes.
Cost and Hours: Free the first Sunday of every month from Oct-Mar. €13 per adult. Open Tues-Sun 10:00am-6:30pm. Closed Mondays.
Address: 77 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris, France
Website: www.musee-rodin.fr/en
8. Stroll Along the Seine
Strolling along the Seine is one of the best free things to do in Paris. Look for areas where there is a pedestrian promenade next to the water (below street level). This is present in most tourist areas, but the sections that have been particularly beautified by the city are on the Left Bank between Pont d’Alma and Musée d’Orsay, and on the Right Bank between the Tuileries gardens and Place de la Bastille. This is one of the few activities that you will find tourists and locals alike enjoying. You can take a bottle of wine down there and enjoy it picnic-style with your feet dangling over the water. During the summer, the city of Paris even trucks in a bunch of sand and creates beaches on these banks (more on Paris beaches here.)
For map details, click on the icon in the top left corner.
9. Stroll Montmartre: From Moulin Rouge to Place du Tertre
Montmartre is perhaps the most beautiful neighborhood in Paris and deserves a tour on its own. This is where artists like Picasso and Van Gogh once lived, and where new artists continue to live and work today. Make a point of getting off the beaten path and exploring the side streets. This is easy to do on your own, but you will learn more with a guide. Consider this inexpensive walking tour, which is highly informative, though it can get a little crowded.
Beware, Montmartre is full of steep hills. If you have limited mobility, or aren’t in the mood for a workout, consider the low-priced tourist train guided tour.
10. Picasso Museum
This museum boasts the world’s largest collection of Picasso’s works. It spans the lifetime of the artist and demonstrates the various styles he exhibited, including impressionism, cubism, mannerism, and deconstructionism. Buy your ticket online in advance to avoid long lines at the entrance.
Cost and Hours: Free the first Sunday of every month. €14 per adult. Open Tues-Sun 10:30am-6:00pm (opens 9:30am weekends). Closed Mondays.
Address: 5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris, France
Website: www.museepicassoparis.fr/en
11. Stroll Saint-Germain-des-Prés
This aristocratic neighborhood is filled to the brim with inviting cafes, luxury shopping, and well-to-do Parisians. Although it is expensive, it isn’t stuffy, so it’s a great place to walk around and stop for a coffee. The main thoroughfare is Boulevard Saint-Germain – stick to this for the backbone of your walk, but make sure to make your way a block or two off of the boulevard every once in a while for a look at the more residential side of this neighborhood.
Pro Tip: This is a good stroll to combine with the Latin Quarter, as Boulevard Saint-Germain will eventually lead you right past the area.
12. Arc de Triomphe
This arch was built by Napoleon in the 1800s to commemorate the French Imperial Army and their many military victories. It has survived to be a symbol of France and has witnessed the most important moments in history since, including the burial of the ashes of the unknown soldier who fought in WWI, the arrival of the Nazis, and General de Gaulle’s victory lap after the end of German occupation.
You can appreciate it from the outside for free, or pay to climb 284 stairs to reach the top for skyline views of Paris, with particularly good views of the Champs-Élysées. Buy your ticket online to save time at the entrance.
Pro-Tip: Don’t cross the traffic circle to get to the arch; instead use the underpass near the Champs-Élyées metro entrance.
Cost and Hours: Free to climb the first Sunday of every month from Nov-Mar, always free to visit the site without climbing. €13 per adult. Open daily 10:00am-11:00pm.
Address: Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France
Website: www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr
13. Place de la Concorde
This square, which marks one end of the Champs-Élysées, is one of France’s greatest. It has been an important square since its inauguration in the 1800s. Not only is it beautiful, with its palatial buildings and ancient Egyptian obelisk, it is also a significant historic landmark. This was the site of the executions of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution.
Address: 75008 Paris, France
14. Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg)
Visiting this beautiful park is one of the best free things to do in Paris. Hidden behind the Palais de Luxembourg (the French Senate building), this garden is lush. Complete with ponds, flower beds, lawns, and sculptures, it resembles an Italian Renaissance garden. In fact, this is what the Italian-born French queen Marie de Medici wanted when she had the palace built in the 1600s. This is the perfect place for a picnic, romantic stroll, or just resting your feet after a long day of sightseeing.
Cost and Hours: Free. Hours vary drastically throughout the year; check the Luxembourg Garden website for detailed hours.
Address: 75006 Paris, France
15. Rue Cler
Rue Cler is a small pedestrian market street near the Eiffel Tower. This is a traditional Parisian street, with its bakery (boulangerie), cheese shop (fromagerie), fish store (poissonnerie), produce market, and confectionery. This is where locals (and tourists) come to buy things to fill their picnic baskets. We highly recommend stopping in one of the shops for a snack. Take your pick of the stores, depending on what food you’re in the mood for – everything we have had here has been delicious.
Address: Rue Cler, 75007 Paris, France
16. Bois de Boulogne
This enormous park is to Paris what central park is to New York City. It was a hunting ground for French kings for centuries, until it was opened to the public by King Louis XVI. Today, it is a free thing to do in Paris to exercise, eat, drink, relax, and unwind. This huge park boasts 2 lakes, various ponds, waterfalls, green spaces, and streams, as well as multiple restaurants and cafes. See the website below for details. Particularly nice spots include the areas surrounding the lakes, as well as the Parc de Bagatelle.
Cost and Hours: Free. Open 24 hours a day.
17. Jardin des Plantes
This botanical garden is a great place for a stroll. It was created in the 17th century as a medicinal plant garden for King Louis XIII, but in the 1700s became the scientific institution it is today. Even now, plant science is being investigated here. But that’s not what you go for – you go to walk around the manicured gardens, and there are plenty of those. The site also houses a small zoo (the oldest zoo in the world), which is interesting, but probably not worth your limited time in Paris.
Cost and Hours: Garden admission is free. Other areas (like the zoo) have additional costs. Open daily 7:30am-8:00pm Apr-Sept, 8:00am-5:30pm Oct-Mar.
Address: 57 Rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Website: www.jardindesplantesdeparis.fr/en
18. Stroll the Latin Quarter
The Latin Quarter is the hip, youthful neighborhood in the 5th arrondissement. It was named this way because, since medieval times, it has had a high concentration of universities (in that age all classes were taught in Latin). Today, it continues to have the bohemian, international vibe that comes with a high proportion of student residents. Unfortunately, a lot of the historic streets have been co-opted by cheap gyro shops or big business, and the area has lost some of its charm. Despite this, it is still one of the top neighborhoods to visit and strolling these streets is a great free thing to do in Paris. You can find some remaining authenticity on the back streets at the eastern edge of the quarter.
Address: Latin Quarter, Paris, France
19. Place des Vosges
On this square once stood a royal palace, at which King Henri II was killed during a joust. His wife, Catherine de Medici, had the palace destroyed following his death. Her son, Henri IV, had this square erected in its place. Today, this plaza is perhaps the prettiest in Paris. Its encompassing red brick townhomes give it an unusually symmetric architecture. Its central manicured gardens make a beautiful oasis of peace within this busy city.
Address: Pl. des Vosges, 75004 Paris, France
20. Jardin des Tuileries
This beautiful garden, designed for Catherine de Medici in the 1500s, stretches from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde. It is one of the biggest gardens in Paris, and the most central. You will certainly visit this place during your trip, as you will inevitably have to walk through it at some point. These park grounds are full of manicured foliage, fountains, sculptures, groves, and flowerbeds. This is the perfect spot to rest your feet after a long day at the Louvre.
21. Sacre-Coeur
This beautiful church is the focal point of Montmartre. The most important part of any visit to Sacre-Coeur is to stand on the front steps and appreciate the view. Once you have done that, step inside to see mosaics, statues, and the history of this basilica. Don’t miss the mosaic ceiling. This church was built after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war as a penance for the sins committed by the French during this period. You can climb the ~300 stairs to the top of its unusual dome for more panoramic views of Paris.
Cost and Hours: Free to enter church. €9 to climb the dome. Open daily 6:30am-10:30pm (dome open 10:30am-8:30pm).
Address: 35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris, France
Website: www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com
22. Palais Royal
This palace belonged to the French royal family for centuries, and even housed Louis XIV as a child. You cannot visit the building itself, but the grounds can be enjoyed. The courtyard, arcades, and gardens are a delight to stroll, and a relaxing free thing to do in Paris.
Address: 8 Rue de Montpensier, 75001 Paris, France
Website: www.domaine-palais-royal.fr/en
23. Pere Lachaise Cemetery
This cemetery holds the graves of some of the most famous Parisians and makes for an interesting stroll. Pisarro, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Oscar Wilde are buried here, among others. The cemetery is big and rambling; use this map to find graves of those you’re interested in. Don’t miss the tombstone of Oscar Wilde, the most beloved resident.
Cost and Hours: Free. Opening hours vary, check the Pere Lachaise website for detailed hours.
Address: 16 Rue du Repos, 75020 Paris, France
24. Place Vendome
This square is one of the most elegant in Paris. It is perfectly proportioned, with symmetrical facades and a regal center. It originally surrounded a statue of King Louis XIV, but this was destroyed by Revolutionaries. Napoleon later replaced this with a large column celebrating his military successes and topped it with a statue of himself. This was subsequently destroyed by rebels, but was later rebuilt.
The famous composer Chopin lived and died here at No 12. Napoleon III’s mistress Eugénie de Montijo (whom he later married) also lived at No 12 and carried on an affair with him before he became emperor.
Address: Pl. Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France
25. Petit Palais / Musée des Beaux-Arts
This free museum holds an extensive collection ranging from Greek antiquities to the 1900s. There are paintings by masters such as Monet, Degas, Rubens, Pisarro, Rembrandt, and Cézanne. It must be said, however, that you won’t see any famous works by these artists – those are in other museums. Still, this is still an excellent free thing to do in Paris, and a worthwhile stop for those on a budget. However, for those with limited time, who only want to see the most important works of art, stick to the 2- and 3-star museums.
Cost and Hours: Free. Open Tues-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm. Closed Mondays.
Address: Av. Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, France
Website: www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en
26. Carnavalet Museum
This fascinating museum tells the story of Paris from prehistoric times to modern day. Rather than being a stuffy museum with lots to read, it recounts Parisian history through artifacts, paintings, models, and even furnished rooms.
Cost and Hours: Free. Open Tues-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm. Closed Mondays.
Address: 23 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris, France
Website: www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en
Practical Info
Getting Around Paris
Paris is easy to get around. You can get anywhere on the subway (AKA metro). Avoid bringing a car into Paris.
How To Avoid Pickpockets
Paris is one of the world’s top destinations for pickpockets. You always have to be on the lookout. Assume anyone trying to get your attention is just creating a ruse for someone else to pickpocket you. This includes people begging for money, offering to give you directions, trying to sell you things, etc. The only sure way to keep your things safe is to keep your valuables in a money belt tucked into your clothes. However, neither of us is willing to do that, so we just hold onto our valuables tightly in crowded places and maintain hyper alertness. If we carry a backpack, we always wear it in front on the street and in the metro.
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