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The 9 best walking tours in Paris

Get to know the glorious French capital on foot via one of these themed walking tours in Paris

Landed in the City of Light for the first time? Don’t be intimidated. This place is big. Really big. And there’s so much going on it can be hard to know where to start. But luckily for you globe-trotters, we’re here to help out. If you’re an out-of-towner with next-to-no knowledge of Paris, we think booking a walking tour might be your best bet. Thanks to a guide who knows what they’re talking about – and, more importantly, where they’re going – you’ll have sussed out this city in no time. So, what are you waiting for? Pack your comfiest shoes and set out on a tour of one of the finest cities in the world. Here’s our pick of the best walking tours in Paris right now, from tip-top  chocolatier trips to erotica-themed excursions (yes, really). 

RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in Paris

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Best walking tours in Paris

1.  Hit all the main sights in one go

One for the newbies: this two-hour tour will take you to all the big Parisian landmarks. Think Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, all in a smaller group setting. It’s even led by a clued-up guide who’ll keep you informed as you go. Or you can just Google stuff along the way instead. 

Time Out tip:  Be sure to wear something that covers your shoulders and knees, as certain pit stops are places of worship and can deny entry if you're too exposed. 

2.  Ramble around hilly Montmartre

Immerse yourself in la vie bohème – Bohemian Montmartre is one of Paris’s most charming (and historic) areas. This tour will take you around the hilly northern district, stopping at cool shops and some of the finest food spots in the area. Of course, you can expect the odd historical anecdote... or three.

Time Out tip: Make sure your camera's fully charged, as atop the highest hill in the city lies some of the best panoramic views Paris has to offer. 

3.  Stroll through streets rich with criminal history

True-crime fans will love this historical crime Paris walking tour. Embrace the Parisian streets from a different, slightly eerie, perspective. Join the darker side of Paris on a walking tour learning all about the dangerous past of the criminals who roamed the streets before you. Visit sites of executions, stroll the routes known for dodgy dealings, and discover the maze of side streets – the helping hand for criminals to outrun the law. Hold onto your purses.

Time Out tip:  Listen out for the surprising facts and shocking anecdotes your clued-up guide has up their sleeve. 

4.  Delve into the depths of the Catacombs

You know, like that film? One of the French capital’s eeriest attractions, these underground  ossuaries hold the remains of more than six million Parisians. Your guide will fill you in on the long and storied  past of this spooky subterranean cemetery. Definitely one for fans of spine-chilling adventures.  

Time Out tip: You can opt for a hosted tour, which comes with a 30-minute briefing outside the catacombs, or dive straight in with a self-guided audio tour. 

5.  Explore Paris by night

This late-night tuk tuk tour will introduce you to the city just as it starts to get dark – you’ll journey along the Seine, around the courtyard of the Louvre, and then pay a visit to some lesser-known (and largely tourist-free) attractions.

Time Out tip:  This is the perfect tour to do with your significant other if you happen to be on a couples holiday. 

6.  Walk in the footsteps of Coco Chanel

Fashionistas can see Paris through the eyes of one of the 20th century’s greatest designers. The tour will begin at Coco’s favourite café, Angelina – renowned for its hot chocolate. Then you’ll venture on to Rue Saint-Honoré, where Chanel lived, and see the site of her first shop (which remains today). Lastly, you can rummage through a vintage shop in the hope of scoring some old-school designer goods. 

Time Out tip:  The audio guide set-up of this tour means you can begin at any time and go completely at your own pace. All you need to do is download the VoiceMap app. 

7.  Spy some stunning street art

For something beautiful and slightly less touristy, take a moment to admire the in-your-face artwork lining walls all over the city. Learn about some of the capital’s most well-known street artists, and discover the techniques they use to scale those mighty Haussmannian façades. Make sure to bring a camera, you'll have heaps of good photo ops. 

Time Out tip: Make the most of your local, knowledgeable guide by asking as many questions as you like. 

8.  Satisfy your sweet tooth

Treat that sweet tooth with a delectable tour of the city’s most impressive chocolatiers. Learn all about the history of confectionery in Paris by visiting some swanky sweet shops along the Right Bank and, best of all, get your sticky mitts on some freebies. Our pro tip: wear elasticated trousers and thank us later. Bon Appétit.

Time Out: Be sure to get your fair share of hot drinks, with tea, coffee and even hot chocolate available. 

9.  Whizz round the coolest kid-friendly sights

It can be hard keeping the tots entertained when you’re in a new city. But we've got you covered. This fun tour caters to families with young children, with light commentary, frequent breaks, stops for food and a playground included in the route. 

Time Out tip:  You'll be able to secure some amazing family pictures on this tour worth hanging up at home. 

Not done exploring the city yet?

More Paris tours

Take a look through our complete list of the best tours in Paris. 

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19 Best Paris Walking Tours

By Melissa Liebling-Goldberg

From ancient Roman times to the medieval period to the French Revolution to the 20th century World Wars, history has stacked on top of itself in key locations all over Paris. Find out exactly where to retrace the steps of the famous—and infamous—throughout the City of Lights, from royal gardens to market streets and grand boulevards. On these walks, which range from short and scenic to long and layered, you'll do it all: go canal-side, where the guillotine fell, find out where famous painters lived and died, and much more. Our list of Paris' best historic walks has something for ever level of history-lover.

Jardin des Tuileries Arrow

This sprawling, spectacular park is the beating heart of Paris' public spaces. Standing proudly between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, and along much of the Seine's Right Bank in the 1st Arrondissement, Tuileries Garden ("Jardin des Tuileries") has a history as long and distinguished as it is impressive, from its inception as an aristocratic playground in the 16th century, to becoming a public space in the 17th century, to serving as the site of numerous French Revolution skirmishes in the 18th century. With more than 55 acres, the park offers plenty of room to stroll and lots of photo ops. Keep an eye out for Auguste Rodin's iconic "Le Baiser" ("The Kiss") on the West Terrace. If you have anywhere to go in this part of Paris, skip the taxi or the metro and walk there on foot through the Tuileries. You'll see something different every time.

Place de la Concorde Arrow

Place de la Concorde is the largest public square in Paris, originally created in honor of Louis IV but probably best known for being the spot of the French Revolution's guillotine executions, including his successor Louis XVI. This majestic spot connects the end of the Tuileries Gardens and the beginning of the Champs-Élysées. The Luxor Obelisk, an ancient Egyptian obelisk mounted in the place in the 1830s, anchors the open space. It's a busy intersection of multiple streets, so expect traffic on your way to cross to see the obelisk and the gorgeous lateral views.

Place de la Bastille Arrow

The Place de Bastille is an open square where the infamous Bastille prison once stood—and fell, igniting the French Revolution. The Colonne de Juillet in the center commemorates the revolution of 1830, as well. This is a spot that is heavily trafficked by Parisians, whether heading out for dinner, shopping, or home. You'll see a broad cross-section of the city there, which is a nice counter-balance to the weighty historical events that have unfolded there.

Steph Koyfman

Alex Erdekian

Laura Walsh

Jamie Spain

Île Saint-Louis Arrow

Île Saint-Louis is known for the elegance and grandeur of its hôtel particuliers, developed by builder Christophe Marie and designed by Louis Vau (the architect of Versailles). Built over a 30 year period in the 17th century, the houses on the island diverged from the typical wealthy homes of the time by focusing on the views outward over the Seine, rather than into an interior courtyard. The island, which was originally two natural islands that were combined in a feat of engineering, remain pristine examples of architecture from the 17th and 18th centuries. Architecture and design buffs will love the island for its historical importance, but also for the quality of the buildings like the famed Hotel Lambert. And of course, the views are unparalleled.

Jardin des Plantes Arrow

The Jardins des Plantes, or Botanical Gardens, is a popular park for families (members of all ages!) to visit. Not only are the trees and plants gorgeous to explore, but the garden is part of the National Museum of Natural History (Muséum Nationale d'Histoire Naturelle) so there are multiple exhibition spaces throughout, as well as a zoo. Built in 1898 for the World's Fair, the structure housing the Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie is also worth seeing for the historic architecture, and the kids will enjoy seeing the dinosaur skeletons inside!

Pont Alexandre III Arrow

This ornate and elaborate bridge was inaugurated in 1900 to time with the Exposition Universelle in 1900, echoing the Beaux-Arts style of the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais it leads to. The name of the bridge commemorates the signing of the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892, signed by Tsar Alexander III. During the day, the bridge is a major crossing between the Left and Right banks. On the Rive Droite, you alight at the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, leading to the Champs-Élysees. On the Rive Gauche, you arrive at the grassy expanse of the Invalides. That means you'll pass a mix of tourists and locals day and night, many of whom stop and take photos.

Canal Saint-Martin Arrow

Canal Saint-Martin runs through one of the hippest neighborhoods in Paris. While the canal itself was commissioned in 1802 by Napoleon I to bring fresh water into the city, the vibe is distinctly contemporary with some of Paris's hottest restaurants, cafés and bars scattered alongside it. The contrast of the urban (think graffiti) with the placid (think canal tour boats) is one of the distinct charms of the walk.

Place de Furstenberg Arrow

Built in the 6th century, Place de Furstenberg (technically a road, not a plaza) was originally attached to the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey. It owes its current name and form to Cardinal Guillaume-Egon de Furstenberg, who initiated a renovation and extension to the Abbatial Palace in 1586. The main reason most tourists will find themselves in the Place de Furstenberg is if they are visiting the Musée National Eugène Delacroix. The famous French painter lived on the Rue de Furstenberg and his former home has been converted into a popular museum dedicated to his work.

Place des Vosges Arrow

Nestled in the side streets of the charming and hip Marais, the Place de Vosges is the oldest square in Paris (it was originally part of Henri II and Catherine de Medici's palace before being opened up to the public by Henri IV). Ringed on all sides by arched walkways and red brick buildings, the square has a symmetrical layout of trees leading into a central garden. You'll often find students picnicking or studying while small children run through the dusty paths. It's a perfect landmark to orient yourself around in the popular neighborhood.

Place de la République Arrow

The Place de la République is now the largest public plaza in Paris, following a renovation that was finished in 2013. Originally known as the Place du Château d’Eau, the plaza took on its current rectangular shape under Haussmann. At 918 feet by 394 feet, the plaza is a large gathering place for Parisians thanks to family-friendly activities and a café with outdoor seating. While you walk to see the famous statue of Marianne (the female embodiment of the French Republic) in the center of the plaza, you'll see a mix of Parisians and tourists utilizing the space.

Quai Voltaire Arrow

Walking along the Seine is always magical, but the Quai Voltaire on the Left Bank offers the extra-charming addition of les bouquinistes, the beloved booksellers that have wooden stands along the elevated sidewalk. Catch long views over the Seine towards the Louvre to the west and Notre Dame on the east, or turn away from the river to gaze at the buildings on the south side of the street, which include the art shop Sennelier, frequented by artists from Cézanne to Picasso.

Marché Président Wilson Arrow

The Marché Président Wilson (a.k.a. Marché d'Alma) is the largest of the open air food markets in Paris, popping up in the 16th Arrondissement every Wednesday and Saturday. You'll find a mostly local crowd strolling through the stalls packed with every cheese, meat, fruit and vegetable to choose from, with many vendors having been at the market for years. Running alongside the market are several top museums if you want to combine art and food—spot cutting-edge art at the Palais de Tokyo and fashion at the Palais Galliera.

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont Arrow

Unlike most of the rest of the major parks in Paris, this is a natural space without any rigid formality. The 62-acre park, opened in 1867 as part of the Paris Universal Exposition, is built on a former quarry; there are rocky elevations to traipse up with amazing views of the city, including Sacre Couer in nearby Montmartre. And seeing as it's in the 19th arrondissement, you can expect an authentic Parisian experience, off the beaten tourist path—you'll likely need to take a quick metro or taxi ride to get there.

Place du Trocadéro Arrow

This is Paris on a grand scale. The Place du Trocadéro sits in the midst of the curving wings of the Palais de Chaillot, before giving way to the sloping Jardins du Trocadéro below. With perhaps the best view of the Eiffel Tower in the city (you are elevated directly across the Seine from it), you are constantly experiencing multiple historical eras at once. Stroll easily across the open place or take a meandering walk through the garden (more exercise if you reverse the order and work your way up.)

Rue Saint-Jacques Arrow

One of the oldest (if not the very oldest) street in Paris dates back to when it was a major artery of the Roman city Lutetia, well-traveled in medieval time by those making the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, which housed the remains of the apostle Saint James. Nowadays, Rue Saint-Jacques cuts through the Sorbonne, offering up plenty of student foot traffic throughout the day. You'll be excused for your own intellectual curiosity in looking at the buildings where many of France's first printing presses were located, a claim to fame for the street.

Galerie Vivienne Arrow

Galerie Vivienne is a covered shopping arcade, originally built in 1823 and designed by architect François-Jean Delannoy. It remains open to the public for shopping in a mix of high-end boutiques (Jean-Paul Gaultier opened his first flagship in the arcade in 1986, for example). The glass and steel roof lets in sunlight down to the mosaic floors, making this a uniquely beautiful way to shop and stroll on your way to the nearby Palais-Royal .

Rue des Rosiers Arrow

Rue des Rosiers was the main street of the Jewish portion of Paris (known in Yiddish as "Pletzl"). While the Marais is no longer a Jewish neighborhood, traces of the original inhabitants remain on this pedestrian street, now filled with chic boutiques sitting alongside traditional bakeries. Young Parisians flock to the stores for shopping outings, while tourists often come for strudel and bagels at longtime establishments like Sacha Finkelsztajn.

Square René-Viviani Arrow

Square René-Viviani is a charming and intimate garden (named for a former Prime Minister of France), offering spectacular views of the nearby Notre Dame Cathedral. The star of the square is the oldest living tree in Paris, a black locust, said to have been planted in 1601 by Jean Robin, who was the herbalist and gardener to Henri III, Henri IV, and Louis XII. There is also a fountain, created by artist Georges Jeanclos, that tells the story of St. Julien but also stands to commemorate the Jewish children killed during the Vichy regime.

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Paris Walking Tours from the Best Local Guides (Updated 2024)

Paris walking tours with local guides.

We have given more than 100,000 Paris walking tours since our founding in 2010. Join us for:

• The best designed tour routes – Montmartre, Marais, Left Bank, Right Bank, and many more.
• The best trained local guides – real Parisians with both knowledge and passion for the city of Paris
• Most convenient times and durations – 90 minute walking tours designed to maximize your time

There can be so many options when it comes to walking tours in Paris! So many guest reviews.   And so many attractions – the Louvre museum, the Palace of Versailles, the Arc de Triomphe, the river Seine, etc. Just how can you pick the right guided Paris tour?

Our advice when visiting Paris is first to always hire a local guide, because you will see more of the city. And second, to look for: authenticity, guide quality, value for money, and overall guest enjoyment.

Discover Walks offers Paris walking tours that explore the art, the food, the landmarks, and the local gems of France’s City of Light.

Find the best Paris walking tours by category now

Browse our selection of guided paris tours below, your best day in paris private tour.

Customize a perfect day with Discover Walks Paris

Free tours for today & tomorrow

RAIN OR SHINE. INSTANT BOOKING

Montmartre free walking tour

From Moulin Rouge to Sacré Coeur - the last village

Le Marais free walking tour

Trendy Marais tour, mansions and fashions

Le Louvre’s Great Highlights

The museum you do not want to miss

Left Bank, Notre Dame and Latin Quarter tour

From Notre Dame to Panthéon

Paris in two days premium tour

let us customize a perfect stay

Montmartre Private Walking Tour

MOULIN ROUGE TO SACRÉ COEUR

Paris with kids

PRIVATE TOUR – LET’S KEEP EVERY FAMILY MEMBER HAPPY!

Foods of Paris: The Grand Tour

Private tour – our high-end food selection

Paris Flea Market Guided Tour – small group

A fun adventure at the world's largest antiques market

Paris’ #1 Montmartre Food Tour

French foods with a French foodie

Hidden Gems and Secret Paris free tour

JUMP OFF THE TOURIST MAPS

Montmartre Night Tour with Champagne

Paris landmarks free walking tour.

Right bank tour with Discover Walks Paris

Seine River Hop-On Hop-Off Cruise in Paris

Cruise along Paris’ Seine River

Design your tour

Jewish paris tour.

explore Jewish Marais of the past and present

Paris At Night Private Tour With River Cruise With Champagne

Louvre, Palais Royal & Seine River

Customize your Half Day in Paris

The best of Paris in a custom private tour

Paris Cooking Class: Lunch, Wine & Market Visit

Indulge in a true gourmet French experience

Paris: 2-Hour French Pastry Cooking Class

Discover how to make French pastries from a trained chef

Paris: 2-Hour Behind the Scenes Bakery Tour

Learn how to make French pastries from a top French baker

Paris Street art tour

The best walls of Paris

Paris Cooking Class: Learn How to Make Macarons

Discover how to make macarons from an expert instructor

Paris: Latin Quarter Wine and Food Tasting Tour

Explore Latin Quarter and Indulge in Delicious treats

Paris: Wine and Cheese Lunch

Taste different French wine varieties paired with delicious cheeses

Paris: Versailles Food & Palace Bike Tour

Explore Versailles on a bike tour & sample French delicacies

Paris: Le Marais Food & Wine Tasting Tour

Wine and Dine in the Parisian neighborhood of Le Marais

Paris: Montmartre Best Art, Culture and Food Tour

Discover the rich Parisian history of art, music and food

Explore Paris with Local City Tour Guides

How to choose the right free walking tour in Paris for you

When picking a tour, you want to take three factors into consideration – your time, your money and you yourself (or your group).

1 – Your Time Planning what you do in Paris is greatly affected by the number of days you have in the city. The average tourist spends only three nights in Paris. Most overseas visitors spend 4 to 5 nights. Fitting all of Paris’ world-known attractions into 3 to 5 days is not easy! Hiring a guide can help you optimize your time.

2 – Your Money Paris can be expensive to be sure, but many of the city’s highlights are free (Notre Dame, the view from Montmartre, and the special feeling on Pont des Artes to name three). The five-star restaurant can set you back a week’s pay and more – but a sandwich from the local bakery can be a memorable experience. Discover Walks runs the gambit from the very economical free walking tours of Paris , to our flagship “Best Day Ever” customized premium tour of Paris . Our free tours have all of our love of Paris – we don’t hold anything back. If you choose a private tour instead, with us at Discover Walks money will buy you time, personalized service and door-to-door attention.

3- And You!

You and your travel companions are the most important ingredient. We have guests who spend three days in the Louvre and Orsay and one day with Discover Walks and feel they got the best of Paris. Other guests never go inside a museum, they take all seven of our neighborhood tours and feel they really know Paris (and are ready to move here).

If this is your first trip to Paris, we have many ways for you to get the most out of your visit. If you have been to Paris several times, we have created tours that take you off the tourist path, to see more of the real Paris.

Guided Walking Tours Offer the Best Views of Paris

The less time you have in Paris, the more you will want your guide to take you to the best views. Panoramic views help you understand the city better. And they leave you with a lasting impression to take home with you.

One-Day Visit.

We advise you to read below even if you are spending more than one day in Paris, as we give suggestions that you may want to put to use.

High Budget: We have many guests who come from London just for the day. They arrive at Gare Nord train station at 9:30 in the morning and they leave after dinner. Most often, they book our Best Day Ever Tour .

Our guide meets them at the train station and is with them all day as we sweep through Paris in grand style – if they want, we get them reservations for dinner someplace special (the most popular right now is Restaurant Jules Verne at the top of the Eiffel Tower – great dinner and a view that no one forgets.)

Mid/Low Budget: Many other guests with only one day want to get a feel of the city. We recommend first doing a neighborhood tour like our Right Bank Landmarks Tour . In 90 minutes the Discover Walks guide has them feeling like a Parisian, helps them find a good local bistro for lunch.

These guests often stroll past a couple of iconic sites. No need to go inside, from the outside you get a great sense for Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, or the Louvre museum. For the Orsay, Rodin, and Picasso museums. You might end the day having dinner in trendy Marais or one the many places in Montorgueil or in St. Germain des prés.

If you ‘need’ the top of the Eiffel Tower, Orsay, or the Louvre, then we recommend you buy ‘skip-the-line’ tickets at least 30 days in advance. We have many of these special tickets as part of our tours and as a service with our private tour guests.

Two or More Day Visit With two or more full days in Paris, you can start to add things that you have a personality affinity for, alongside the must-sees. First time to Paris? Look at the major landmarks. Been here before? Explore Paris more in-depth, and explore some off-the-beaten-track experiences. Where to start?

To enjoy Paris from the start, to get a feel for the city and to become comfortable, we recommend doing a Discover Walks tour on your first day. Your Discover Walks guide will treat you like an invited guest, like a friend who is visiting our city.

During your time with us, we will not only tell you what you are seeing, we can also explain why things are the way they are in Paris. Our most popular tours are our Food Tour , Best Day Ever, and our neighborhood Private Tours.

Our most popular free walking tour is Montmartre. But all our tours get rave reviews. Perhaps because our guides are all true locals, with a passion for our home city.

We suggest you pick a tour that covers something that interests you – Right Bank (for major landmarks and good orientation), Trendy Marais (to see old Paris Mansions, quaint streets and trendy new Paris), Notre Dame and Left Bank (blend of students, art and bohemian life), St. Germain (the river, old money, art and Hemmingway) and Hidden Gems (the surprising gems in the neighborhood next to the Louvre).

Why Discover Walks as Your Guide?

More than two-thirds of the people who take one tour with Discover Walks decide to take a second tour – and very often a third and a fourth as well. We are thrilled by this, as visitors choose Discover Walks for spending their precious time in Paris. We love Paris. Showing our city to you is a real treat for us. We will treat you the best that we know.

Best things to see and do in Paris

Paris is the capital of France and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the entire world. It is one of the places highest on the list of cities you should visit at least once in your life because of everything it has to offer culturally, in terms of its monuments, architecture, and cuisine. In addition to the main attractions of the city like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, or the Montmartre and Le Marais neighborhoods, take a free walking tour to get to discover some of the lesser-known parts of the city where the River Seine flows. 

On any of the free guided tours we offer in Paris , you will be able to find a large selection of unmissable places to visit with your local guide who will show you the hidden charms and the way of life of this amazing city. You can’t leave Paris without having gone to visit the Saint Chapelle Church, the Louvre Museum, the gardens of Champs Elysées, Sacré Coeur Basilica, Pont Neuf (the New Bridge) over the Seine, Luxembourg Gardens, the Parisian Catacombs,  Vendome Square, Les Halles Market, the Pompidou Center, Orsay Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, the Latin Neighborhood, Tuileries Gardens, the Galleries Lafayette, Garnier Opera, or the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. 

Many travelers leave their reviews and opinions after having done their free walking tour in Paris (in the morning or afternoon) and they evaluate the route and their experience with the local guide. After, there may be other cities you want to visit and do a guided tour with a local guru like Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, or Nice. 

What is included in the Essential Free Tour of Paris?

What will i discover on the free tours through montmartre, paris, what is the atmosphere like on the free tours through paris at night, what will we explore on the free tours through the latin quarter of paris, are there free tours at the eiffel tower in paris, what awaits me on the free tours through monumental paris, what are the free tours of parks and gardens in paris like, what do the free tours of street art and graffiti in paris involve, free walking tour near paris, others cities to visit after paris, find other guruwalks in paris, where are you traveling to.

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Getting around paris, paris travel guide, paris essentials, train travel, paris arrondissements, experience history, food & wine on these top-rated walking tours of paris.

Paris, we are not the first ones to proclaim, is meant to be seen on foot. Walking in Paris lets you experience the heart and soul of the city. And walking an expert guide will get you to places you wouldn't discover on your own; into shops, buildings, and narrow streets you didn't even know were there. Here are the top ten walking tours that get you out on the streets of Paris, as chosen by us!

Our Top-Rated Walking Tours In Paris

1. Ten Tastings Gourmet Food & Wine Tour… Acclaimed tour of the best of Paris food

2. The History of Paris Walking Tour… Iconic sites in the historic center of Paris

3. A Taste of Montmartre Food & Wine Tour… Culinary tour of the village on the hill

1. Ten Tastings Gourmet Food & Wine Tour…

2. The History of Paris Walking Tour…

3. A Taste of Montmartre Food & Wine Tour…

1. A Taste of Montmartre Food & Wine Tour

Join a food-expert guide for a walking tour of historic Montmartre to taste some of the best foods found in France — charcuterie, cheeses, wine, pastries, chocolate, bread. This quartier , which once used to be a village on the hill, is famous for its cobblestone streets, café and terraces, and for the bohemian crowd who once lived here. While you're up in Montmartre sure to spend some time to view Paris from its highest point, Basilique du Sacré-Coeur .

2. The History of Paris on a Walking Tour

In the center of Paris, spend a morning or an afternoon with an expert guide learning highlights of the history of the city as you see with your own eyes the iconic sites that make the place so famous. You'll visit Catherine de Medici's Jardin des Tuileries , marvel at Notre Dame Cathedral, stroll the Champs-Elysées, and much more on this 2½ walking tour. This well-like promenade can is available as a semi-private tour or, if you prefer, a private tour for just you and your party.

3. Discover the Food of Saint Germain des Prés

Saint Germain des Prés is one of the oldest and most charming quartiers of Paris. It's famed for the literary and artistic celebrities who lived and worked here, but it's equally well-know for the number and quality of its food shops. On a morning or afternoon a food-expert guide leads you through the neighborhood to some of the best of those shops. Along the way there's plenty of sampling!

4. Explore Île de la Cité

In the true heart of historic Paris, on an island in the Seine, walk in the footsteps of figures like Louis IX and the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. Île de la Cité is packed with important memories of French history. You visit La Sainte Chapelle, Notre Dame, and La Conciergerie , the prison where Marie spent her last days, and other important landmarks. It's not often that you learn so much while viewing so much historic and scenic beauty.

5. Chocolate & Pastry Walking Tour

We have to face the facts — Paris and chocolate simply go together! There are dozens, hundreds, of gourmet chocolate & pastry shops in the city, making confections so dreamy they're unlike anything you've eaten before. This very popular walking tour takes you to Saint Germain des Prés where you focus in on the top chocolateries and patisseries , with insightful commentary by your expert guide… and plenty of sampling.

6. Walk the Iconic Neighborhoods of Paris

This is a fun concept — a series of short , 90-minute tours, each one of which introduces you to one of Paris' iconic quartiers (neighborhoods). WIth an expert local guide, learn about the Marais or Montmartre, the Latin Quarter or Saint Germain des Prés. Choose one of five Paris districts to visit on a guided walking tour, each one steeped in history and filled with fascinating places to explore. You may end up doing all the tours!

7. Ten Tastings Gourmet Food & Wine Tour

Any tour that starts out at a Parisian boulangerie automatically gets our attention. Especially when what follows are visits to (and tastings at) some of the most acclaimed food and pastry shops in the city. Taste award-winning macarons. Savor some of the finest French cheeses. Visit the patisseries favored by Louis XV. The hits (and bites) just keep on coming. Oh… we forgot to mention the sandwiches and the chocolates.

8. Explore The Marais & Its Historic Jewish Quarter

Traverse the historic Marais with a professional English-speaking guide and explore the medieval Jewish Quarter, today an active hub of community life. There's so much to see in this quartier , and your guide really makes it come alive — the Hotel de Ville , historic churches, cobblestone streets, Hôtel Carnavalet (home to the history of Paris museum), Place des Vosges, and much more.

9. Food & Wine of the Marais Walking Tour

This very popular food tour also walks you through the Marais to visit the top food & wine shops in the historic quartier , tasting the best of French foods like cheese, charcuterie, baguettes, chocolate, and wine. You start your tour at the oldest food market in the city. This one is garnering high praise from satisfied travelers.

10. Paris Catacombs with VIP Access

Right up there in creepiness is this activity, although perhaps we should say "right down there". Enter the world of the underground, the catacombs beneath the city where 6 million Parisians are laid to rest. But you don't have to go on your own. Join this small-group tour when an expert guide not only skips past the lineups, but explains the history of this eerie landmark. You also get to visit the darkest corners, usually off limits to visitors.

One more warning, although not a creepy one. Tours of the Catacombs, this one included, usually sell out months in advance, so planning is important.

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Charming & Artistic Montmartre

This fascinating “village” in northern Paris was the home to many famous artists, such as Dali, Picasso, and Van Gogh. Wander the historic, narrow cobbled streets as you ascend to the highest point in Paris.

Take the Montmartre Walking Tour

Small group tours.

Learn the captivating history and stories of famous Parisian sights and residents while strolling through the most beautiful city in the world. Unlike other walking tours, we limit our group sizes to 10 persons to enhance and maximize the guest experience. We invite you to learn about and experience Paris with us!

Eiffel Tower

Built for the Universal Exposition of 1889, this 300 meter high iron structure designed by Gustave Eiffel has become the symbol of Paris and France around the world.

See the Eiffel Tower!

Medieval Marais

Some of the oldest buildings in Paris can be found in the Marais.

Reserve the Marais Tour now!

Pere Lachaise

Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison and many others are buried at this beautiful cemetery in Paris

Visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery!

Historic Passages

One of the most picturesque and interesting passageways can be found in the Latin Quarter.

Take a stroll through history!

Haunted Paris

Discover the ghosts and legends of Paris' past!

Take the Haunted Paris Tour!

Most popular tours.

Versailles Palace Tour 85€

Louvre Masterpieces Tour 50€

Montmartre Tour 20€

Haunted Paris Tour 22€

Père Lachaise Cemetery Tour 20€

Latin Quarter Tour 20€

Marais Tour 20€

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Classic Paris Restaurants: L’Escargot Montorgeuil

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Paris walking tours

Journey through Olympic history in the heart of Paris

A walk from the Place de la Concorde to the Eiffel Tower, with commentary by guide Tristan Bayle, to plunge into the heart of Paris Olympic history.

Occupation and Liberation of Paris, from1940 to 1944

Relive the period that marked French history 80 years ago, and immerse yourself in the historical and political context of the Occupation of Paris in the 20th century, on this unforgettable guided tour. N.B. : The visit with a scheduled date is only available for 2 people or more (from €140).

Sing'In Montmartre

The guide and singer Anne-Sophie Guerrier brings you on a musical journey through Montmartre. This visit will retrace the life of famous singers who lived in the neightborhood : Édith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Dalida...

Les secrets de Paris à mobylette

Parcourez les rues parisiennes au guidon d'une ancienne mobylette, restaurée et convertie à l'électrique et (re)découvrez l'histoire de Paris et ses quartiers-villages sous cet angle insolite ! 

The rebel women of sport

Feminists in the City invites you to the 14th arrondissement of Paris to retrace the hidden history of women's sport.

Walking Tour of the Jewish Marais

Join le Marais historic district guided walking tour to discover Paris Jewish culture past and present.

Midnight in Paris movie tour

Join Juliette Dubois on her movie-themed Ciné-Balade tour of the Latin Quarter and discover the locations that inspired Woody Allen for his film ‘Midnight in Paris’. Travel back to the Paris of the Roaring Twenties!

Pantin, renewal and gentrification: the new Brooklyn?

Let's guide you through the streets of Pantin, the new Parisian Brooklyn, where the resident types mutations go along with the building brands transformations. 

The Parisian Chinatown

Discover the Chinatown district of the south of Paris with this guided tour. You will learn many things about Asian community of Paris : temples, food, usages.

Historical Guided Tour within hôtels particuliers of the Île de la Cité and the Île Saint-Louis in Paris

Step back in time and immerse yourself in the captivating aventure of Paris's historic treasures during an exclusive guided tour of the Ile de la Cité and the Ile Saint-Louis, with a passionate guide from L’Echappée Belle, who will reveal the secrets and fascinating history behind each iconic monument and hôtel particulier (private mansion).

The Paris Marais: the birthplace of parisian private mansions

Explore the elegant essence of Paris's Marais district on a captivating guided tour, by L'Echappée Belle, of its sumptuous hôtels particuliers. 

Parisian Père Lachaise cemetery: in the kingdom of celebrities

L'Echappée Belle will take you through the graves of renowned figures of this famous cemetery, a parisian relaxing place in the shade of the big trees.

Secret Montmartre

Guillaume Le Roux reveals the secrets of Montmartre, during this Paris guided walk off the beaten track.

The real name of South Pigalle is La Nouvelle Athènes

Discover Nouvelle Athènes, a neo classical quarter of Paris. A lot of people know Montmartre and its hill, Pigalle and its neon lights, but rare are those who took the time to explore this part of the 9th arrondissement of Paris extending from place Pigalle to the Notre Dame de Lorette Church.

Arabic street food & historical tour

Gourmet Barbès! Paris is not only a classic representation of luxury and pure French tradition. The capital has always been a melting pot of different cultures from all over the world which makes Paris a unique city.

Belleville : Télégraphe, Place des Fêtes, Mouzaïa, Buttes Chaumont

From Télégraphe to the Buttes Chaumont, the 19th arrondissement is probably one of the most popular neighborhoods of Paris. Come take a look at its history and its transformations during this walking tour with Le Vrai Paris!

Street Art tour in Paris Belleville

Discover the history and culture of graffiti in the 20th arrondissement of Paris in Belleville and Ménilmontant, two popular neighborhoods made for urban and artistic expression.

Street art tour: the murals of Paris’s 13th arrondissement

Take a street art tour in the south of Paris and discover murals and graffiti painted by renowned international artists including Obey, Inti, C215, and Seth.

The French Revolution in the Paris Marais

With your guide from Interkultur, dive into the tumult of the French Revolution in Paris, where every stone in the Marais harbours the secrets of an era seething with ideals and revolt.

Bucolic Paris: the charming Saint-Martin Canal

Get off the beaten track in the historic centre of Paris and follow our guide for a bucolic stroll along the Canal Saint-Martin.

Ciné-balade, guided walking tour in Montmartre in the footsteps of your favorite movies

During this ciné-balade (a movie-themed guided walk) in Montmartre, Juliette Dubois will tell you anecdotes and facts about the film industry in this famous Parisian district, the most filmed of the capital. 

Birdwatching in Paris - Buttes Chaumont Park

Come and see the unique urban bird life living in the dramatically landscaped Parc des Buttes Chaumont, in north-eastern Paris.

Eiffel Tower Movie tour

Let’s dive for two hours into the history of the cinema around the Eiffel Tower, the star among the stars, and the district of Passy.

Food & History in Chinatown

Visit the Chinatown district in the south of Paris and learn about Paris’s East Asian community: temples, food and customs. Guided tour includes tastings of Asian food and ends in a restaurant.

Art route at Paris Père Lachaise cemetery: in the footsteps of the great masters

Join us on this two-hour tour to discover the poets, writers, musicians and painters in their final resting place, the Père-Lachaise cemetery.

An artistic stroll: discovering artists at Paris Montparnasse cemetery

Welcome to our guided tour of Montparnasse Cemetery, a place steeped in history and emotion where great artists rest in peace. Join us for a captivating exploration of this sanctuary of creativity and memory. 

Paris through the lens of François Truffaut

During this movie-walk on the tracks of François Truffaut's films, Juliette Dubois will take you to the director's favorite neighborhood, in the 9th arrondissement and on the borders of the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

Jean-Luc Godard movie tour

During this film walk in the footsteps of Jean-Luc Godard's films, Juliette Dubois will take you through the director's favorite neighborhoods, from the Luxembourg Gardens to Saint-Michel and the Sorbonne.

Agnès Varda movie tour

Come enjoy a movie tour in Paris Montparnasse in the footsteps of Agnès Varda, a famous Frenco-Belgian actor-director, filmmaker and screenwriter, with this cine-balade by Juliette Dubois.

Père-Lachaise movie tour

This original Paris guided tour by Juliette Dubois of Cine-Balade will show you the Père-Lachaise cemetery in a new light: you will discover the tombstones and the stories of many of the most famous French filmmakers and actors.

Ciné-Balade Musicals and romantic movies

Discover the romantic side of Paris through the eyes of filmmakers on this tour led by Juliette Dubois of Cine-Balade.

Montreuil and Méliès movie tour

Follow Juliette Dubois of Cine-Balade through the streets of Montreuil, located close to downtown Paris, to discover the stages where Georges Méliès and other filmmakers shot films, from the pioneering to the contemporary.

Paris Flea market movie tour

Between the stalls, the sellers and the antique hunters, come and discover the Saint-Ouen flea market from a cinematographic perspective during this Cinébalade by Juliette Dubois!

Gourmet and history tour in Sceaux

Visit this little city of the south suburb of Paris. Enjoy his fresh food market and delicatessen shops of the pedestrian city center, discover the 17th century park designed by André Le Nôtre and his historical legacy with Corinne Jager!

Historical guided tour of Montmartre

Thanks to a guided tour that follows the Montmartre hill towards the rue de Clignancourt before starting its ascent and descent, discover the stories of the popular and working-class Montmartre with local guide Anouk Colombani.

Latin quarter: the soul of Paris

Discover the latin quarter as you've never seen it before! Between tradition and modernity, follow your guide: he has a lot to teach you. 

Going on a (free) walking tour in Paris and its most cosmopolitan districts is a fun and original way to visit Paris. You can discover neighborhoods though the prism of street-art , movies , architecture, history, art , traditions and myth and heroes. 

Go on a walking tour in Paris and discover its Indian, Chinese, North African and Subsaharan African communities among others. Discover new traditions, customs, cultures and cuisines  with a passionate guide.

During your Parisian stroll you'll discover the Grand Paris with its new districts springing up every day, and its old neighborhoods being rehabilitated to accommodate eco-neighborhoods, new tramways, metro and train stations and of course the future Olympic sites. You can also choose walks in the sightpleaseing, not to be missed districts of Paris like Montmartre, Pigalle, Opéra and the Grands Boulevards.

You will have access to the backstage of the major cities of the Parisian region with technical visits of the locks and the Parisian canals. You'll also have access to big business hubs such as La Défense, trade markets (Saint-Denis, Rungis) and administrative sites such as the Nouveau tribunal de Paris

Our Paris urban walks in small groups allow visitors to enjoy a human-scale visit where they can ask questions while discovering the story behind working class neighborhoods in Paris and its region such as Montreuil, Ivry-sur-seine, Belleville-Ménilmontant, Barbès, la Goutte-d'or or even Pigalle among others. 

You can also  visit Paris as a family  or enjoy free visits of Paris and its region .

Free self-guided Marais walking tour, Paris (with map)

Posted on Last updated: February 20, 2024

Explore Paris’ medieval heart with this free self-guided Marais walking tour, featuring this picturesque district’s mansion houses, museums and monumental gardens – with map and directions included.

* This site contains affiliate links , where I get a small commission from purchases at no extra cost to you.

Go back in time with a tour of the Marais, Paris’ medieval quarter. Its name means ‘marsh’ and the area was originally swampland. It became a fashionable residence for royalty and 17th-century aristocrats, but fell out of favour after the French Revolution. Today it’s been restored and gentrified, and has strong Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities.

The Marais mainly escaped Baron Haussman’s modernisation of Paris in the 19th century, so has a different feel to a lot of the city, with narrow cobbled streets, elegant squares and mansion houses. It’s also home to some of Paris’ best museums and galleries. So join us on a self-guided Marais walking tour to discover the area’s historic highlights.

A self-guided walking tour of the Marais

Start your Marais walking tour outside Paris’ Hôtel de Ville. The closest Métro station is Hôtel de Ville (Lines 1 and 11) in the square in front of the building. It’s also less than 10 minutes’ walk from Cité (Line 4) and Châtelet (Lines, 1, 4 7, 11 and 14) stations.

Hôtel de Ville

The Hôtel de Ville is Paris’ city hall and the mayor’s official residence. It was built between 1533 and 1628, and has survived wars, riots and being burnt to the ground by the revolutionary Paris Commune in 1871. It took 19 years to rebuild after the fire, with the exteriors recreating the original design and new, lavish ceremonial rooms inside.

The square in front of the Hôtel de Ville was once used for public executions, with a guillotine set up here during the French Revolution. But today it’s used for less gory public activities, like a festive market at Christmas and a big screen for sports events.

Walk around the back of the Hôtel de Ville , following Rue de Rivoli past the BHV Marais department store. Turn right down Rue de Lobau then left along Place Saint-Gervais. Follow the road to the left of Saint-Gervais church down Rue François Miron.

Rue François Miron

Rue François Miron is one of the oldest streets in Paris, with two medieval half-timbered buildings on the left. The Maison du Faucheur and Maison du Mouton (House of the Reaper and House of Sheep) are named after the occupations of the people who lived there. It’s thought they were built in the 14th century, with the upper floors added later.

In 1607 the façades were covered with plaster to reduce the risk of fire, and were only uncovered in 1967. Many buildings from this period were destroyed during Baron Haussman’s 19th-century redevelopment of Paris, so these two are quite rare.

Turn right at the crossroads following Rue de Jouey, then take the second right down Rue du Figuier and walk as far as the Hôtel de Sens at the end of the street.

Hôtel de Sens and Bibliothèque Forney

With its golden stone archways and turrets, Hôtel de Sens looks like a fairytale castle tucked away in a quiet street in the Marais. It was built in the 15th century for Tristan de Salazar, the Archbishop of Sens, though he died before it was completed.

Look carefully and you can see a cannonball embedded above the entrance, with the date 28 July 1830 below it – dating back to the French Revolution. The Hôtel was later used as a factory and warehouse until the City of Paris took it over and restored it. It’s now home to the Forney Library, with a collection of books on decorative arts and a pretty garden.

Carry straight on, passing Square Marie-Trintignant (where there’s a free public toilet) on your right, then turn left down Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul. Through the archways on your right is the Village Saint-Paul, a collection of art, antique and gift shops set around cobbled courtyards – with a couple of cafés if you want to stop for a drink.

Wall of Philip II Augustus

Between 1190 and 1213, French King Philip Augustus built a great wall around the edge of Paris to protect the city while he was away on the Crusades. Once it was finished it ran for over 5km, stood six to eight metres tall and was three metres thick at the base.

The last of the wall’s gates were knocked down in the 1680s. And although most of the sections of wall left behind have been incorporated into buildings, you can see one of the longest stretches of it on your left, at the end of Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul.

Turn left down Rue Charlemagne then right down narrow Rue du Prévot, which joins onto Rue de Rivoli. Go right and you’ll see a church to your right.

Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis

The Church of Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis was the first Baroque church built in Paris, in a change to the usual Gothic style. It was built in 1627 for the Jesuits on the orders of Louis XIII, and was inaugurated by Cardinal Richelieu. But after the Jesuits were banished in 1762 it was used as a warehouse before being restored and used for services again.

Author Victor Hugo’s daughter Leopoldine got married here in 1843, and he donated two fonts to mark the occasion which you can still see today. And when he wrote Les Misérables , he included it as the church where Cosette and Marius get married.

Continue along the main road, which becomes the Rue Saint-Antoine. Then go through the arched doorway on your left which is marked ‘Hôtel de Sully’.

Hôtel de Sully

The Hôtel de Sully is another of the Marais’ impressive mansion houses. It was built in the 17th century for Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully and close friend of King Henri IV. It’s now the headquarters of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, who manage France’s historic monuments. And although the building isn’t open to the public, you can walk through its courtyards and admire the beautiful façades and courtyard garden.

Walk through the doorway in the far right corner which leads into the Place des Vosges.

Place des Vosges

The Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris, a perfectly symmetrical space set around a central garden. It was originally known as the Place Royale and was a fashionable place for the nobility to live in the 17th–18th centuries, with its red brick buildings contrasting with the medieval architecture of the Marais.

Former residents include Cardinal Richelieu and Victor Hugo, whose old house in the corner of the square is now the Maison de Victor Hugo museum (free entry, closed Mondays). And underneath the vaulted arches around the square are high-end antique shops, art galleries and cafés where you can stop for a coffee or a glass of wine.

At the opposite side of the square from where you entered it, walk to the west along Rue des Francs Bourgeois and you’ll see the Musée Carnavalet to your right.

Musée Carnavalet

The Musée Carnavalet takes you through the history of Paris, from prehistory to the present day (free entry, closed Mondays). Baron Haussmann had the idea for the museum in 1866, and stored objects and documents at the Hôtel de Ville while the museum was being built – which didn’t work out too well as his collection was destroyed in the 1871 fire.

It’s been rebuilt since, and the museum is now spread across two mansions. There are recreated rooms from different periods in Paris’ history, furniture, paintings and objects including the Hôtel de Ville’s original charred door and a chunk of the Bastille.

From the museum, carry on along Rue des Francs Bourgeois as far as Rue Pavée.

At this point you can take a short diversion to visit the Musée Cognacq–Jay (for 18th-century art and sculpture) or Musée Picasso . Go straight on at the junction and turn right up Rue Elzevir for the Musée Cognacq–Jay. Or walk past that museum and carry on along the Rue de Thorigny for the Musée Picasso.

Otherwise turn left down Rue Pavée, passing La Mouette Rieuse bookshop and café which does a great hot chocolate. Then turn right down the Rue des Rosiers. Look out for the entrance to the Jardin des Rosiers Joseph Migneret on your right, a tranquil community garden. Turn right at the end of the street then left onto Rue des Blancs Manteaux.

Église Notre-Dame des Blancs Manteaux

Go through an unassuming doorway on your left into the Catholic Church of Notre-Dame des Blancs Manteaux (named after the white mantles worn by the monks who founded the original church in 1258). The current Baroque church was built in the 1680s, and has an ornate Bavarian wooden pulpit and 17th-century paintings and sculptures.

Then go straight on and you’ll see the entrance to the National Archives on your right.

Archives Nationales

France has one of the oldest and biggest National Archives in the world. And the documents collected from before the French Revolution are held in two mansions in the Marais – the Hôtel de Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan – which are surrounded by gardens.

The Hôtel de Soubise is where you find the Musée des Archives Nationales (free entry, closed Tuesday). It displays a mix of exhibits from the archive’s collection, which goes all the way back to the first century AD. You can also see the ornate Rococo interiors.

Carry straight on across the junction onto Rue Rambuteau. When you reach a major junction with Rue Beaubourg, the Pompidou Centre will be in front of you. If you do a small diversion to the right here down Impasse Berthaud you can visit the Jardin Anne Frank, a lovely memorial garden with benches and a childrens’ play area.

Centre Pompidou

The Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou (aka the Pompidou Centre ) is instantly recognisable for its quirky, inside-out architecture, with colourful pipes and escalators outside the building. It was designed by architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano and opened in 1977 – taking its name from the president who commissioned it.

Inside there’s the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, as well as a public library and exhibition space. There is an entry fee for the museum, but it’s free to climb up to the top floor where you get fantastic views out across Paris.

Walk around the side of the Pompidou Centre and finish your Marais walking tour by the colourful Stravinsky Fountain. The nearest Métro station is Rambuteau (Line 11), on the corner of Rue Rambuteau and Rue Beaubourg. Or it’s just a few minutes’ walk along Rue du Renard back to the Hôtel de Ville and its Métro station (Lines 1 and 11).

Self-guided Marais walking tour map

If you’d like to do this Marais walk yourself, click on the map below to access directions through Google maps. The route is around 3.8km (2.4 miles) and takes around an hour to walk straight through, but allow several hours to include stops along the way.

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Free self-guided walking tour of Montmartre, Paris

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Johanna Bradley

Tuesday 20th of February 2024

I can tell I missed some interesting things in the Marais from reading your guide, Lucy. If I ever go back...

Lucy Dodsworth

Monday 26th of February 2024

Thanks Jo, and hopefully one day!

Nomadic Matt's Travel Site

Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

The Best Walking Tours in Paris

I love visiting Paris . I’ve been going there for over nine years and have yet to tire of the history, the charm, or the food (and wine!).

Over the years, I’ve taken a million different tours of this amazing city to learn more about what makes it tick. For four months in 2019, I lived in Paris and had the opportunity to check out even more walking tours.

And there was a lot to check out!

There are dozens upon dozens of companies covering all aspects of life in Paris, and it can be hard to make a sense of all those endless Viator and TripAdvisor listings. It’s crazy how many tour companies there are!

I mean, I’ve tried so many tour companies and I STILL have more on my list to try (and some to retry).

That said, having sampled a ton of tours (and having organized my own tours in Paris for a while), I wanted to share the best walking tour companies in Paris to help you plan your trip and save money in this iconic destination.

Best Overall Tour

What makes Take Walks amazing is that they get better access than most tour companies. You get to skip the line, go before or after other tours so you have the space to yourself, and get fun guides who are knowledgeable in their field. Their tours are reasonably priced too. I think they are the best tour company in Paris. I’ve gone on five of their tours and loved them all.

Best Free Tour

New Europe Tours

New Europe is one of the most popular free walking tour companies in all of Europe. Their main free tour takes you around the center of Paris and gives you a historical overview of the city. They also run a good (but paid) tour of Montmartre, and they have a really fun pub crawl as well if you’re looking to hit the bars with other travelers.

While those may be the best free and paid tours in the city, Paris has a lot more to offer — no matter your interests. Here are 10 other insightful and educational tours in the city!  

1. Devour Food Tours

Tours last 1.5-3.5 hours. Tickets start at 69 EUR.

2. Simply France

Tours last 3 hours. Tickets start at 49 EUR.

3. Meeting the French

Tours last 2 hours. Tickets start at 60 EUR.

4. City Free Tour

Tours are free and last 1.5-2 hours. Just be sure to tip! Longer private tours are available upon request for an additional fee.

5. Discover Walks

Free tours last around 90 minutes. For the paid tour options, prices start at just 10 EUR.

6. Localers

The World War II tour is particularly insightful and does a great job of illuminating the war’s true cost to Paris. I also really liked the Scandalous Paris tour, which highlights Paris’ brothels and the town’s more colorful past. There’s also an insightful literary tour too that takes you through the literary history of the city’s left bank. This is a solid mid-range tour company for travelers looking for value.

Most tours last 2-5 hours. Tickets start at 49 EUR.

7. Paris Bar Crawl

Tours start at 8:30pm Thursday-Saturday and last until you decide to go home! Tickets are 13 EUR online (15 EUR in person) and include a free shot in each bar as well as admission to the club.

Honorable Mention: Get Your Guide

Walking tours are a great way to get below the surface of Paris . Every time I visit, I always make sure to try a new one. Having an expert guide to answer your questions while providing in-depth, local knowledge is the best way to deepen your experience as a traveler.

Get Your In-Depth Budget Guide to Paris!

For more in-depth information, check out my guidebook to Paris written for budget travelers like you! It cuts out the fluff found in other guides and gets straight to the practical information you need to travel around Paris. You’ll find suggested itineraries, budgets, ways to save money, on- and off-the-beaten-path things to see and do, non-touristy restaurants, markets, bars, transportation and safety tips, and much more! Click here to learn more and get your copy today!

Book Your Trip to Paris: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Use Skyscanner to find a cheap flight. They are my favorite search engine because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the biggest inventory and best deals. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. Some of favorite places to stay in the city are:

• St. Christopher’s Canal
• 3 Ducks Hostel
• Les Piaules

If you’re looking for more places to stay, here for my favorite hostels in Paris . And, if you’re wondering what part of town to stay in, here’s my neighborhood breakdown of the city !

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for nomads)
• Insure My Trip (for those over 70)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Looking for the Best Companies to Save Money With? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use to save money when I’m on the road. They will save you money when you travel too.

Want More Information on Paris? Be sure to visit our robust destination guide on Paris for even more planning tips!

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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Walking in Paris — 5 perfect walks through Paris with maps

By: Author Emily

Posted on Last updated: November 27, 2023

The quaint cobblestone streets, winding alleys and Haussman buildings — the ones with the stone facades and wrought iron railings — that you picture when you think of a Paris postcard are all very much real. Walking through Paris is definitely the best way to explore those scenes.

While Paris is incredibly walkable,  it’s also quite big. To help narrow the scope, we’ve put put together a few walking routes that will guide you through some of the best parts of Paris. In this guide, we’ll explore Paris on foot with the help of five detailed maps.

These walking routes are designed with first-time visitors it mind. They offer a self-guided walking tour through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods, most popular tourist attractions and most charming streets in Paris.

Wander … but within reason

The French have a term — Flâner — which means to wander aimlessly through a city. There’s no similar word in English, and I would argue that’s because we’re bad at it. And by “we,” I guess I mean Americans.

I recently moved to New York and there is no wandering here. Even in Central Park, everyone has somewhere to be. And they’re not just trying to get there , they’re usually working out the next five places they need to be, too.

Neither is inherently better. Simply a difference in speed and lifestyles from two sides of the pond.

But what happens when a New Yorker goes to Paris and all the tips say to wander aimlessly but their Type A brain simply cannot do that? What about the people who want to wander, but within reason?

Enter this post. We’re here for the people who need a little direction more than “Just explore!”

On these maps, we’ve plotted the city’s top attractions, noted some of the most beautiful streets and flagged our favorite stops along the way. But from there, you can amble through nearby alleys, pop into hidden cafes and discover your own favorite spots to really make the journey your own.

We’ve drawn the box but you can color inside and outside the lines however you choose.

Paris walking routes explored in this post

• Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts — A must-do for first time visitors
• Latin Quarter & the isles — A balance of city energy and quiet streets
• Le Marais — A trendy neighborhood in a historic setting
• Montmartre — A beloved and beautiful art district on a hill with great views
• Eiffel Tower & the Seine — A charming walk through a Paris postcard

Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts Walking Guide

This is my favorite way to start a trip to Paris. Whether this is your first time in Paris or you’re a repeat visitor, this walk is a great way see many of Paris’ iconic sights in one long stretch. It features the city’s most famous boulevard, a beautiful park, iconic views and shopping galore.

This walking route in full is about 3 miles. If you were walking straight through, it would take about an hour. We don’t recommend that, though. There are so many things you can see and do along this walk that you could easily fill an entire day if you wanted.

Arc de Triomphe

Champs-élysées.

• Tuileries Gardens
• Pont de Arts

A few quick tips for using this map.

• To view the map in Google Maps, click the expand icon on the top right corner.
• Click the star icon to save the map to your Google account for later.
• To access the map next time, open Google Maps > click the Saved tab > click Maps.

Tips for this walk

• Don’t start too early. Most of the stores at the start of this walk don’t open until 10 or 11 AM. Take some time to enjoy breakfast and coffee before you head out for the day.
• Book tickets in advance. If you want to visit the top of the Arc de Triomphe or go inside the Louvre , it’s best to book a timed ticket in advance. Popular dates and times can book up days in advance.
• The Louvre deserves an entire day . That said, if you’d like to go inside the Louvre we’d recommend doing it on a different day and arrive when they open if possible. It’s a huge museum and it gets very crowded, especially in the afternoon. On this walk, we recommend just stopping by the pyramid and maybe the shops below.
• Eat along the way. There are plenty of cafes and street food vendors along this route. I don’t specifically call out many throughout this post because there are options everywhere. I’d personally recommend picking up small bites everytime you pass something yummy, like a crepe from a street vendor in Champs-Élysées Gardens, an appetizer at a bar off Saint-Honoré and ice cream in Tuileries Garden.

The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Self-guided walk from Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts

This walk begins at Arc de Triomphe. The best way to get there will usually be by train, but it may vary based on your exact hotel location. The nearest Metro strops are Kléber station which serves the 6 train and  George V or Argentine which serves the 1 train.

Arc de Triomphe is located in the center of a busy traffic circle. Do not attempt to walk to the monument from street level. There is a pedestrian tunnel with access points (marked in yellow below) on Champs-Élysées and Grande Armée streets that will lead you to the base of the Arc de Triomphe. This is where the entrance to the monument is located, but you can also visit the base at street level for free.

You can go inside and to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Timed entry tickets are required and cost €13 for adults. Everyone under 18 is free. The views from the top are incredible and it’s a great alternative to going to the top of the Eiffel Tower .

Even if you aren’t going inside the moment, it’s still worth seeing it from the street. The best views are on Champs-Élysées, which is convenient because that’s where we’re heading next.

One of the most famous, most filmed and most beautiful streets in Paris is Champs-Élysées. It’s akin to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Oxford Street in London and Fifth Avenue in New York.

The street is lined with trees, which are stunning all the time but even more so in autumn and Christmastime. There’s tons of shops and stores, ranging from Zara to Louis Vuitton. Whether you’re shopping or window shopping, you are likely to be dazzled along the way.

Some of my favorite shops along Champs-Élysées are:

• Disney Store: They have always have a line up of Paris-specific Disney merchandise and lots of toys that kids will love to look at (and ask for).
• Galeries Lafayette: This is a great indoor mall to warm up in the winter or cool off in the summer.
• Nike House of Innovation: This store is a fusion of Nike Store and science museum. It’s a fun stop for the athlete and/or toddlers in your family.
• Ladurée : This pastry shop is famous for their macarons. They have many locations all over Paris (and the world). This location has a full sit-down restaurant (reservations recommended), but they also have a separate line to get treats to go.

Champs-Élysées Gardens

At the south-east end of Champs-Élysées, the shops give way to a garden. It’s lovely to walk thought, but it’s not the best for siting and staying awhile. (We’ve got an even more beautiful garden coming up in a bit.)

There are several theaters throughout the gardens. Along the way, you’ll also pass the Grand Palais and Petit Palais (museums) and Élysée Palace (official residence of the French president).

At the end of the garden you’ll run into Place de la Concorde. The plaza is basically a really busy traffic intersection with an Egyptian obelisk in the center. My recommendation? Skip it. Instead, turn left on Rue Royale and walk a block to Rue Saint-Honoré.

Rue Saint-Honoré

This street is your high-end fashion street. Designer brands like Hermès, Versace, Fendi and Christian Louboutin all have storefronts on Rue Saint-Honoré between Avenue de Marigny and where the street ends near the Louvre.

Even if $1,500 shoes are out of your budget, the window shopping alone is worth even a short stroll down this street. Plus, like I said, a detour down this street is better than crossing the traffic puzzle at Place de la Concorde.

If you’re looking to wander, this is a good area to do it. There are lots of side streets in this area that lead to unique shops, fancy hotels and swanky cafes and bars.

One of the most famous stops around here is Angelina, which is famous for their decadent hot chocolate. It’s a high-end, sit-down restaurant though, so dress accordingly. Because it’s so famous, reservations are recommend because they get very crowded. (Be sure to book early, too. They book up well over a month in advance.)

There’s also several places for fancy cocktails in cozy, immaculately decorated bars. Some of the most popular picks in the area are Bar Hemingway (inside the Ritz Paris), Bar 8 (inside the Mandarin Oriental) and Harry’s New York.

I buy designer things so infrequently that I take photos marking it as a life event

Tuileries Garden

After some shopping and maybe some light day-drinking, cut back to Tuileries Garden. This is one of the most beautiful gardens in Paris. If you were looking for a green space to relax, maybe have a picnic or let the kids play for a bit, this is the spot. (By the way, if you’re visiting Paris with kids be sure to check out this post for all our best tips.)

You don’t have to walk down every pathway in the park, but try a few different ones! You’ll find outdoor cafes, several ponds and fountains, and interesting sculptures. The grounds are immaculately landscaped with beautiful trees, flowers and bushes which really shine in the spring and fall. There’s also a great playground, which the kids will love.

At the southeastern end of the garden, you’ll run into what looks like the Arc de Triomphe. Don’t worry. You didn’t find a wormhole and travel back two miles to where you started your day. This is a second and slightly smaller monument called Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and it was designed at the same time as the Arc de Triomphe.

Louvre Museum

Just beyond Tuileries Gardens is the world famous Louvre art museum. The iconic glass pyramid is in an open plaza above the entrance to the museum. The plaza is a popular place for photos, souvenir shopping from street vendors, and just general relaxing with a view.

Below the plaza is Carrousel du Louvre, which is an indoor shopping mall with a food court. To get down there, look for one of the stairways around the edge of the plaza. A lot of people don’t know is that there’s also an inverted glass pyramid below ground, and this is where you’ll find it. Pretty cool!

Now, if you’re planning to visit the museum, you could certainly do that in the afternoon after making this walk. Alternatively, you could flip this walk and start at the Louvre and do the rest in reverse order. However, we don’t think it’s worth trying to smoosh the Louvre into an otherwise busy day.

The Louvre is gigantic and it’s hard to see everything even with a full day. If you want to go inside, we recommend getting the earliest entry time you can and spending a relaxing, long day there.

Pont des Arts

Exit the Louvre and head towards the Seine. Look for the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. It’s between Pont du Carrousel (a car traffic bridge) and Île de la Cité (an island in the middle of the river).

The bridge offers excellent views all around. You can see the Eiffel Tower in one direction and Pont Neuf on the either. There are benches along the way to relax after a long day.

If you’re heading home after Pont des Arts, the nearest Metro stop is Pont Neuf, which serves the 7 train.

View of Pont Neuf from Pont des Arts

Continue your Journey

• Peruse used books and art prints at the bouquinistes, the iconic green box stalls along the Seine
• Enjoy a meal or a coffee at a classic cafe in Saint Germain, maybe Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots
• Start your next walk through Latin Quarter & the isles

Latin Quarter & the isles Walking Tour

The Latin Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Paris, dating back more than 2,000 years. It has winding streets and tiny alleys that are filled with lively cafes, very old buildings and bookshops galore. It’s a mesh of tourist traps and authentic history, dotted with museums and gardens for good measure. The district is home to Sorbonne University, and the student population keeps the area young.

The isles refer to Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis, which are literal islands in the middle of the Siene. They comprise quaint shopping streets, famous churches and maybe the best ice cream in Paris. It’s a bit quieter than the banks on either side, but they’re delightful neighborhoods for a stroll.

This walk isn’t short and clocks in at just under 4 miles. But with breaks for meals and coffee along the way, it actually fills a day quite nicely.

• Shakespeare & Company

Île Saint-Louis

Rue Mouffetard

Luxembourg Gardens

As a reminder, here are some quick tips for using this map.

• Plan this walk on a Saturday . In order to feel the energy of this area, you want to visit when it’s got some life to it and that’s typically the weekend. The Rue Mouffetard market closes on Sunday afternoon, which is why we suggest Saturday specifically. Do note that many places are closed on Mondays.
• Bring cash (Euros) . Most restaurants and cafes in this area will take credit cards, but most street vendors don’t. Cash will be helpful for other odds and end purchases too, like renting a tiny sail boat to float around the pond in Luxembourg Gardens.
• The gardens are best in the summer. During the summer months, the gardens in Paris are alive . Not only are they the most beautiful during that time, but they’re also a social hub for tourists and locals alike. In the later fall and winter months, they can feel quite desolate.
• If you have little ones, split this walk over two days. This is a long walk and will wipe out most adults. I originally planned this walk with our toddler, but they totally crashed half way through. If you’re co-travellers have little legs, make this one a two-day journey.
• Skip Jardin des Plantes if you have to. If this walk is too long or you’re short on time and have to cut something, cut Jardin des Plantes. It’s out of the way and not a must see, so it’s a good way to shorten this day up a bit. That might mean skipping Rue Mouffetard, too.

Self-guided walk through Latin Quarter & the isles

This walk begins at at Pont Neuf, which is a famous bridge that passes through Île de la Cité. Ideally you would take the 7 train and get off at Pont Neuf. However, depending on where you’re staying, you could also take the 4 or 10 trains to Odéon. From there you could walk back to Pont Neuf or just skip the bridge and head straight to Fontaine Saint-Michel.

If you walked across Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge as part of the previous walking route, you’ll have already gotten a great view of Pont Neuf.

This stone bridge was first opened for use in 1604 and is the oldest bridge over the Seine that’s still in use today. There are 381 stone masks, or mascarons, carved into the bridge which represent mythical divinities. There’s also a large statue of Henry IV where the bridge crosses Île de la Cité.

After crossing the bridge to the Left Bank, walk along the south side of the Seine. Peek at the many bouquinistes, which are the little shop stalls in the green boxes. They sell art prints, books, little souvenirs and other odds and ends. It’s hard to believe something so cute and notoriously French actually exists in real life.

Fontaine Saint-Michel

In a couple blocks you’ll come to a second bridge, Pont Saint-Michel. Turn right (away from the Seine) and you’ll run into Fontaine Saint-Michele.

This is a stone fountain in a square, which was constructed in 1860. The square around it is often bustling with tourists passing through. There’s not much seating, so people will sit along the base of the fountain itself. You can usually see a street musician or dance troupe performing in front of it.

You don’t need to stay long here, but it’s a great entry point to the Latin Quarter.

Rue de la Huchette

Just across Boulevard Saint-Michele from the fountain is Rue de la Huchette. This two block street is one of the oldest in Paris. It’s famous for having the highest concentration of restaurants in the city — none of them particularly good.

The tiny pedestrian street is cramped with souvenir shops, pubs and creperies. Lining the street are many old buildings with their own stories to tell. One dates back to the 1600s. Another is said to have been a residence of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The street is very touristy, but that’s okay! Most people reading this are tourists and you shouldn’t feel bad about doing popular things. Get a Nutella crepe and let yourself go.

While you’re in this area, it’s a good time explore some of the side streets. I’d recommend popping south a few blocks to the The Abbey Bookshop.

Shakespeare and Company

Just past the end of Rue de la Huchette is Shakespeare and Company. The bookstore opened in 1951 and quickly became a literary beacon for English writers in Paris. Today, there’s often a line out the door to get into the cramped bookshop.

Fun story. The owner, inspired by his own experience with the kindness of strangers, always allowed creatives to sleep for free in the book shop. The invitation was open to writers, artists and other intellectuals, and there were three rules. Each guest had to read a book a day, help the shopkeep for a couple hours, and write a one-page autobiography. Today, thousands of biographies have been collected and archived in the shop.

You should actually read the history of the founder and the bookshop, which is told much more eloquently here .

Attached to the bookstore is a cafe by the same name. I can’t come to Paris and not stop here for a cappuccino and this Paris institution.

Right across the river from Shakespeare & Company is Notre Dame cathedral.

I have been to almost 50 countries and have visited houses of worship in all of them. Nothing hit me quite like walking into Notre Dame on my first visit in 2017. I know that’s probably the most cliche favorite church to have, but it’s mine.

Unfortunately, the inside of Notre Dame is still closed after a fire in 2019 burned much of the cathedral. You can still access the courtyard in front of it and see the church and the famous gargoyles from the outside.

Pass around the back of Notre Dame and cross over Pont Saint-Louis onto Île Saint-Louis. Step onto the island and you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time and maybe teleported to a small French village. It’s quaint and quiet, but don’t read that as boring. There are darling boutiques, amazing restaurants and somehow less crowds than the rest of Paris.

Focus your attention on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, the main street that runs through the heart of the island. In a few blocks you’ll hit Berthillon ice cream shop. People argue it’s the best ice cream in all of Paris. The shop’s been around and run by the same family since the 1950s. I must confess, we haven’t actually tried it! The timing just didn’t work out for us, but it’s on our bucket list for sure.

When you’re done exploring the island, cross back to the Left Bank via Pont de la Tournelle or Pont de Sully.

Tino Rossi Garden & Jardin des Plantes

Now it’s time to relax with a bit of nature. The next part of this walk starts at Tino Rossi Garden. It’s a wonderful transition from the bustle of the city to the serenity of Jardin des Plantes.

Jardin des Plantes is a huge botanical garden. About half the garden space is a ticked zoo, which costs €10-13 per person. For the sake of time during this busy day though, we’d suggest skipping the zoo. Instead, follow the paths that cuts straight through the southern portion of the gardens.

Now we’re back to shopping and eating. After Jardin des Plantes, head toward Square Saint-Médard. There are a few ways to get there and any will work. This square has an open air market which is open most days except Sunday afternoon and Monday.

After the market, head north on Rue Mouffetard. The street is so charming and beautiful, from the shops to the buildings themselves. It’s another one of the oldest streets in Paris and its said to have been the main inspiration for Victor Hugo when he wrote Les Miserables.

When Rue Mouffetard hits Rue Clovis, turn left and head to Luxembourg Gardens. Be sure to take note of the Pantheon as you pass by. This is also a popular attraction to visit, but this long walk doesn’t leave time to go inside.

Luxembourg Gardens is my favorite park in all of Paris. In the summer, the flowers are stunning, while in the fall the changing leaves steal the show. Take some time wandering through the gardens, but be sure to take some time to sit near the pond in front of Luxembourg Palace.

In the summer, there’s a small stand near the pond where you can rent wooden boats to sail on the pond in the summer. Theres a great story about the boats, which you can read here .

• Visit the observation deck at Montparnasse Tower and enjoy a cocktail on the roof with views of the entire city at sunset
• Continuing your shopping spree on Boulevard Saint-Germain
• Get a glass of wine at a charming local bar like Chez Georges or Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
• Start your next walk through Le Marais

Le Marais Walking Guide

The Marais has so much personality. It’s historic but trendy. Religious but LGBT friendly. Urban but quaint.

My desire to explore Le Marais is what inspired me to write this entire post. Everything I read about the neighborhood said “just go and walk around” or “it’s a great place to get lost.” I do not do well with these types of directions. I always end up on the wrong streets and wasting time in places that honestly aren’t that great.

So if you also want to explore Le Marais, but want to know just where to explore, I’ve got you covered. This route passes through some of the main shopping streets, landmarks and squares in the heart of Le Marais. With some basic landmarks flagged, you’ll feel empowered to take a few extra turns along the way as you Flâner .

Saint-Jacques Tower

Rue de rivoli, place des vosges, jewish quarter, marché des enfants rouges, square du temple.

• Get coffee first. Not far from start of this walk is Motors Coffee. It’s a great coffee shop with killer banana Nutella bread. Start here.
• Start in the afternoon . This neighborhood is slow to wake up. Come in the afternoon for the best energy. It’s also a good place to be in the evening, as there’s a wide array of bars and restaurants.
• Consider a guided tour . There’s a lot of really deep and interesting history in Le Marais. If you’re into that sort of thing, there are several free walking tours through the area, like this one .
• Wander within reason . I’ve noted the high streets and notable sights on this map, but I’ve also noted a larger general area that represents the heart of Le Marais. If you have time and interest, wandering down any of these streets will serve you well.

Self-guided walk through Le Marais

This walking tour begins at Saint-Jacques Tower. To get there by train, take the 1, 4, 7, 11 or 14 trains to Châtelet station.

The tower you see today is all that remains of a 16th century church that was destroyed during the French Revolution. For €12, you can climb 300 steps to the top of the tower. It’s usually not too crowded. The tower is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 6 PM.

Even if you don’t go inside, the tower is beautiful to look at and surrounded by a lovely and quaint garden. There’s a small playground on one side for children, too.

Continue east down Rue de Rivoli. This is a one of the mail thoroughfares that cut through Le Marais and it’s lined with lots of big-box and thrift stores and also restaurants. There are lots of cool buildings along the way, including one you literally can’t miss, Hôtel de Ville. This massive building primarily serves as a government building, but they do occasionally have public exhibitions and guided tours.

Consider a detour off this main street to see Saint-Gervais church, Rue des Barres or Mémorial de la Shoah holocaust memorial. There are cute boutiques and some really interesting, really old buildings in this area.

Try to make it back to Rue de Rivoli by Saint Paul Station. If you have little ones, there’s a small carousel ride that might quickly become their favorite thing about their Paris trip.

Next up is the main square in Les Marais, Place des Vosges. It’s a perfectly square park that even has square trees! It’s a popular square that’s great people watching and relaxing.

Many reviews I read said that Place des Vosges was too crowded and to seek out less popular squares like Place Sainte-Catherine. I disagree. I think the energy at Place des Vosges is why you should go there.

Exit the park onto Rue des Francs Bourgeois, which another main shopping street. This one is features more high end designers and boutiques like Maje and Ted Baker.

Turn left onto Rue Pavée and then right on Rue des Rosiers and you’ll have found the soul of the Jewish Quarter. This short street is filled with jewish restaurants, bookshops and synagogues. There is so much history in this area if you know where to look. I’d highly recommend this article which talks about the history in much more depth.

If you’re hungry, this is a good place to pick up some falafel. L’As du Fallafel is the most popular pick.

Rue Vieille du Temple

Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish quarter ends at Rue Vieille du Temple. This is another photogenic shopping street with high-end boutiques and charming cafes.

Some of the cutest portions of this street are actually to the left between the Jewish Quarter and Rue de Rivoli. If you have time, walk a few blocks out of your way through that section. Alternatively, you can just turn right and head north right off the bat for an abridged version of this street.

When you run into a large 6-way interchange, turn left onto Rue de Bretagne. This street will lead you to Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest food market in Paris.

This market has vendors selling fresh produce and meats, but also full restaurants with bar and table service. It’s a popular place to get a meal in a unique setting.

Personally, this market didn’t do it for me. It was smaller than I expected (much smaller than Borough Market , which is what I was picturing) and nothing really stood out to me to try (granted, I’m a vegetarian). Instead of waiting for a table at the cramped restaurants, we walked a bit up the road and got pizza at a cafe. (Also uninspired, I know, but at least we were comfortable.)

Round out your time in Le Marais with a visit to Square du Temple. It’s a beautiful garden with a memorial to Elie Wlesel, playground and pond.

We actually had to cut our day a little short and didn’t make it all the way here, but I’d prioritize it next time.

• Visit a museum such as the National Archives Museum, Picasso Museum or the Museum of the Art and History of Judaism.
• Get cocktails! This area is known for it’s nightlife, but even an early drink in the area is fun. Try Candelaria (speakeasy) or read this list for best bars in the area.
• Head over La Coulée Verte Paris, an elevated garden on an old train line (similar in concept to the High Line in New York City)
• Start your next walk through Montmartre

Montmartre Walking Guide

Montmartre is often people’s favorite place in Paris and with good reason. It has winding cobble stone streets, artists painting portraits, views over most of Paris, and it’s literally topped off with a breathtaking basilica.

This is another area that can get a bad rap for being “too touristy,” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. This walking route will guide you through the main areas of the neighborhood, which yes, includes the tourist attractions along the way.

Montmartre isn’t just about the attractions, though. The best way to enjoy the area is simply to spend time there. By that I mean sit on the steps for awhile. Plan to get a meal at a street-side cafe. Go into the shops and stores. If you’re just checking off sights, the neighborhood will just pass you by.

For that reason, this walk is much shorter in distance than the first three. It’s just over a mile. The neighborhood isn’t that big, so even if you wander off the path, which is encouraged, you still won’t be covering too much distance. This walk can be covered in about half a day.

Montmartre Funicular

Sacré-cœur, place du tertre, rue de l’abreuvoir, le bateau-lavoir, moulin rouge.

• Dine at a charming cafe. Montmartre is dripping with Instagrammable cafes. Le Consulat, La Maison Rose, La Taverne de Montmartre and Le Potager are all highly rated and beautiful restaurants in the area.
• Take a mini Picasso tour . The renowned painter Pueblo Picasso lived and painted in Montmartre for many years. You can see his house, studio and favorite spots in the neighborhood. Here’s a great guide that details the history and exact locations of all things Picasso in Montmartre.
• Come during different times on different trips . During your first trip to Paris, I’d suggest visiting in the early afternoon when it’s the most busy, but then try different times during subsequent visits. Come in the evening and watch the sunset from the steps of Square Louise Michel. If you want to get a portrait, come around 11 when they set up for the best pick of artists.
• Plan your route wisely. If you look at Google maps, it’s easy to feel like you can move around the district pretty quickly. Be warned! The neighborhood of Montmartre has a huge hill in the middle, which is what Sacré-Cœur sits atop. I’d suggest taking the funicular up, seeing everything at the top at once, then working your way down as you explore the rest of the neighborhood.

Self-guided walk through Montmartre

This route begins in the center of the Montmartre neighborhood at the Abbesses subway station, which serves the 12 train. Alternatively, you could take the 2 train to Pigalle station and walk up Rue des Martyrs to Rue Yvonne le Tac.

Walk along Rue Yvonne le Tac and then Rue Tardieu till you reach the base of Square Louise Michel. Just about everyone will be making the same walk between Abbesses and the square, so the street is always lively.

A funicular is a type of cable-based train that is usually used on very steep hills, and Montmartre has one. There are several different stair cases that lead up the hill, including the notable steps up Square Louise Michel, but the funicular is the easiest way to get to the top.

The base of the Montmartre funicular is located here in the southwest corner of Square Louise Michel. You can use a Paris Metro travel card or single ride ticket to ride the funicular. There is a ticket kiosk near the entrance to the funicular where you can purchase a ticket if you don’t already have one. You cannot tap to pay with a credit card on Paris Metro transportation, including the funicular.

It’s a short trip to the top and a car departs every few minutes. The funicular just makes one stop, which is at the top of the hill here . When you exit, turn right and you’re just steps away from Sacré-Cœur.

Sacré-Cœur is the basilica at the top of Montmartre. The church was consecrated in 1919. It was initially proposed as a way for France to seek religious redemption for kidnapping the pope under Napoleon. (You can read about that wild story here .)

Sacré-Cœur is free to enter and is open daily from 6:30 AM – 10:30 PM. Inside there are several statues, stained glass windows, and an immaculate pipe organ built by the same person who built the organ for Notre Dame. The organ is played on Sundays during mass and evening prayer at 4PM. For a small fee — for which they accept credit cards or cash — you can light a prayer candle inside the church.

You can also go to the top of the dome at Sacré-Cœur. The dome is open everyday from 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM and costs €7 for adults. There is no elevator to the top, so you’ll need to be able to climb 300 steps. I’ve never actually been to the top of the dome because the views from the ground are so good.

Square Louise Michel

The basilica sits at the top of Square Louise Michel. Before you continue with this walk, take a short break on the steps here and enjoy the view.

The square is lined with steps which are always filled with people enjoying the sweeping views of Paris. There’s often street performers and hawkers selling beers right from the cardboard case. The cops will always come and shut them down, but they always come right back. It’s a fun dance.

This is one of my favorite views in Paris. It’s also a great place to see the sun set if you’re here in the evening.

Pass the church and make your way to Place du Tertre. The small streets along the way have lots of souvenir shops, food vendors like creperies and ice cream shops, and a couple small art galleries. I’d suggest walking, but there’s also a cute little train that you can take.

Place du Tertre has capitalized on the artsy past of this neighborhood. Today it’s filled with artist painting portraits and selling their work. The outside of the square is all open-air cafes filled with people sipping wine and people watching.

If you’re looking to get a portrait drawn, come around 11 when they’re setting up. The best artists can get lines quickly. If you’re just coming to observe, come in the afternoon when it’s the most crowded.

Leave (some of) the crowds behind and make your way down to Rue de l’Abreuvoir. This means taking a steep walk down the hill on Rue des Saules until you see the unmissable pink and green La Maison Rose restaurant.

If you go straight past it, you’ll actually see Clos Montmartre. It’s the oldest operating vineyard in Paris; not something you’d expect to find in the middle of a city. It is not typically open to the public (minus a few special tours throughout the year), but you can see the vines from the street.

Back at our pink restaurant, though, turn onto Rue de l’Abreuvoir.

This street is beautiful. There are stone walls dripping with ivy, charming Parisian buildings and cobblestone sidewalks. It’s a delightful stroll and photographer’s dream. It’s a short street and it ends at the statue of the boobs (aka Buste de Dalida).

Just around the corner you’ll hit Square Suzanne Buisson. If you need a break and/or if the kids want to play, make a pit stop here. It’s a small square, but it’s a good respite.

Next, make your way toward Place Émile Goudeau. The route in my map above will take you down a tiny alley, which may feel like the wrong way but isn’t. Just keep going and you’ll soon hit the cobblestone square.

The square looks out onto Le Bateau-Lavoir, which was the studio rented by Picasso when he moved to Paris. The original studio was destroyed, and the building today is the the renovated version. To this day, the building serves as an artists’ residence. It is not open for tours.

Even if you are not interested in art history, it’s still a cool place to say you’ve been. And at the very least, it’s a good signpost on your journey through the neighborhood.

Rue des Abbesses

As your Montmartre walking tour comes to an end, make your way back to the main street of Rue des Abbesses. You should arrive on the street not far from where you started at the train station. This time you’re going to go the other way. This section of the street has — you guessed it — shops and restaurants.

This stretch feels a bit less touristy than the other direction and is more practical stores versus souvenir shops. It’s a good place to get an ice cream or a glass of wine. Otherwise, this walk can probably be done briskly as you’re out of the more classical Montmartre area at this point.

While you’re in the area, it’s worth it to finish your day at Moulin Rouge. Yes, that Moulin Rouge.

The venue has been hosting shows and performances since 1889, and today operates as a dinner theater. For about €200 a person, you can enjoy a full meal and performance at this iconic theater.

Even if you don’t go inside, it’s worth it to see the marquee and legendary red windmill. There is a median in the middle of street where you can safely stand and take photos.

• Continue exploring Clichy Street, which is famous for its countless sex shops
• Walk over the suspension bridge at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. To get there, take the 2 train from Blanche station across from Moulin Rouge to Colonel Fabien and then walk about 10 minutes to the park.
• Get cocktails at Lulu White, voted one of the best cocktail bars on Paris .
• Start your next walk around the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower & the Seine Walking Guide

We’ve made it to the Eiffel Tower, and this walk is truly all about the Iron Lady. This section focuses on getting to the Eiffel Tower and enjoying all the best views of it. It’s a good idea to pair this walk with your visit to the Eiffel Tower, otherwise you may find portions of this walk redundant.

Technically, this walk in full is about 4 miles. That said, you can certainly make it much shorter by cutting down the portions on Rue Saint-Dominique and/or along the Seine.

Rue Saint-Dominique

Champ de mars, eiffel tower, trocadéro gardens, pont alexandre iii.

• Have a plan for getting Eiffel Tower tickets . If you’d like to go up into the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon or evening, be sure to book your ticket in advance. Tickets go on sale 60 days in advance and book up quick, especially for the summit. Otherwise, plan to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the tower opens in the morning to beat the crowns.
• Start at Bleu Olive . This coffee shop is conveniently located near the start of Rue Cler. It’s a good option for breakfast to begin your day or for a coffee to take with you. Note: they’re closed on Sundays and don’t open till 10 AM on Saturday.
• Avoid Mondays. Many stores are closed on Mondays, which will make parts of this walk less fun.
• Take this walk in reverse . The walk along the Right Bank (north side) of the Seine offers stunning views of the Eiffel Tower. If you flip this route, you’ll be approaching the Eiffel tower and can enjoy the view the whole time.
• Bring a blanket. If you have a small packable picnic blanket , bring it on this walk. It’ll be nice to have if you spend time sitting on the grass at Trocadéro Gardens.
• Enjoy this walk in the evening . If you start around 2 or 3 PM (Tuesday – Saturday), you’ll enjoy a bustling market on Rue Cler and a lovely early evening at the Eiffel Tower. Watch the sun set from Trocadéro Gardens and then enjoy the City of Light by night as you walk along the Seine. Perfection.

Self-guided walk around the Eiffel Tower

The best place to start this walk is the La Tour-Maubourg station which serves the 8 train. If that’s not convenient, you can also take the 13 train to Varenne station. Head west on Rue de Grenelle until you reach Rue Cler.

Rue Cler is often said to be the most beautiful street in Paris. The market street is only one block long, but it’s jam packed with shops selling the freshest produce, local meat, French cheese, wine, pastries and more. It’s like it was made to build the perfect picnic basket to take to Champ de Mars.

Tuesday through Saturday the shops are open from 8 or 9 AM till about 7 PM. The market is only open until 2 PM on Sundays and nearly all the shops are closed on Mondays.

At the end of Rue Cler you’ll hit Rue Saint-Dominique. This street is lined with traditional Hausmann buildings, which is probably what you picture when you think of Paris. It’s a popular shopping street with Eiffel Tower views.

Most of the shopping is to your right, but the Eiffel tower is to your left. If you really are not interested in shopping or are pressed for time, you can turn left after Rue Cler and enjoy a smaller segment of this beautiful street. But if you have extra time, I’d recommend turning right so you get a bit more out of it. Continue walking until you hit Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg. Then turn around and head back down Rue Saint-Dominique until you hit Champ de Mars.

Champ de Mars is iconic, but to be honest, it’s never what I want it to be. I always pictured it to be an open, flat park when you can have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. However, there’s actually lots of trees and I feel like there’s always construction. I’d suggest walking through it, but if you’re looking for a place to sit I’d argue Trocadéro Gardens is better.

What Champ de Mars does offer, though, is a great approach to the Eiffel Tower. She looms large from this angle and you will be itching to visit the summit.

Ah yes. We’ve made it 7,000 words into this post before finally making it to the Eiffel Tower.

If you’re planning to go inside, be sure to check out my complete visitor guide to the Eiffel Tower . It has tips for where to enter, how to avoid lines, best floor order to visit the tower and more.

If you’re not planning to go to the top of the tower, you can still technically walk underneath it. To get there, you will need to pass through the security. Follow the signs for visitors who do not yet have tickets. After security, you’ll have access to the plaza at the base of the tower and can see it right up close. If you’re not going up, just skip the lines for the ticket office and proceed to an exit.

If you aren’t interested in passing underneath the Eiffel tower, you can simply walk around the outer perimeter and carry on to Pont d’Iéna. There’s also a carousel right by bridge, which is a highlight for children and Instagrammers alike.

If you ask me, the best views of the Eiffel Tower are from Trocadéro Gardens. This is the garden I picture when I think of picnics in front of the Eiffel Tower. From this hill, you’re treated to the best views of the tower, plus the Seine and its bridges. It has a great view of the tower any time, but one of my favorite times to come here is in the early evening when the sun sets and the tower starts to light up.

There’s lots of grass space to sit, so it’s nice to have a blanket. There’s also  food vendors at the base of the gardens, so pick up a crepes or drink before you head up the hill. You’ll also usually find hawkers unofficially selling Champagne and beer, which can actually be quite nice. It’s technically illegal to drink in Paris parks, but police are generally very lenient with beer and wine.

NOTE: In the provided map, Google does not think you can cross Avenue de New York at near the Eiffel Tower, but you can. There is a pedestrian walk sign at the street light here. So you can ignore that detour. 

Walk along the Seine

After you’ve enjoyed a good long sit at Trocadéro Gardens, continue your walk along the Seine for even more beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower. I like to the follow the north side of the river, which eventually becomes Jardin d’Erivan. This riverside garden is lined with trees which become truly stunning in the fall.

At each bridge you pass, turn around to get another epic view of the Eiffel Tower. You’ll pass three, counting Debilly Footbridge, before you get to Pont Alexandre III.

This decorative bridge was built in the late 1800s. It’s a lovely bridge, but mostly I note it here as one final amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. You can still see it from the next bridge too, but it really starts to hide at that point.

If you cross this bridge, you’ll head into Esplanade des Invalides which leads right back to where this walk began. Alternatively, if you turn left and head away from the river, you’ll pass between the Petit and Grand Palais and on to Champs-Élysées. And just like that, our walks have come full circle.

• Continue walking along the Seine, passing Tuileries Garden and onward toward the isles
• Take a boat cruise along the Seine and see Paris from a new perspective
• For a family dinner, get pizza at the hip and delicious Mokus l’Écureuil near Trocadéro Gardens

More From This Trip

• British Airways Business Class Review – 777 from JFK to LHR
• London Travel Guide
• Things to do in London with Kids – Family Travel Guide + Tips
• How to Use the London Underground – A Beginner’s Guide to the Tube
• Bankside Hotel London Review
• London Eye Visitor Guide – How to Visit the Iconic Ferris Wheel in London
• Stonehenge Visitor Guide + Inner Circle Tour Review
• Little Venice London Boat Ride Guide & Review
• Visiting London Transport Museum
• Complete Guide to Big Ben in London
• Borough Market Visitor Guide
• Best Views of Paris that Aren’t the Eiffel Tower
• Visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris – A Complete Guide
• Walking in Paris – 5 perfect walks through Paris with maps
• Paris with Kids – Planning Guide, Things To Do & Tips
• Montparnasse Tower Visitor Guide + Tips
• Amsterdam with Kids – Planning Guide, Things To Do & Sample Itinerary

Monday 28th of August 2023

thank you for actually being objective as to what you can skip! me & my feet appreciate it!

Thursday 7th of September 2023

Oh good! I'm happy to hear that! I hope you have a great trip!

Tuesday 21st of March 2023

This is a stunning post. Top marks for the maps of the routes! And a great read. Thank you.

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Self Guided Walking Tours of Paris

In this post, you will find a free, self-guided walking tour of the historic heart of Paris, along with a map and a GPS-enabled audio option.

The route includes many locations we cover in our free guided walking tours, so we offer you lots of information based on our knowledge of the history of what you will be seeing in this self-guided tour.

This tour starts on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter before exploring Île de la Cité and ends at the Louvre Museum.

When you are done with this self-guided tour, why not try our others?

• Right Bank Landmarks
• Latin Quarter
• Père Lachaise Cemetery

Like this one, they come with maps, routes, and in some cases, audio tour versions.

You can use these to discover the city at your own pace or as a preview of what you will see on a live-guided tour, like our free walking tours of Paris .

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SELF-GUIDED TOUR - HEART OF PARIS

The tour starts on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter, passes through Île de la Cité and ends at the Louvre Museum.

The route is a little less than 3 kilometers (just under 2 miles).

If you'd like to enhance your experience, you might like to use our accompanying GPS-led audio tour , developed and narrated by one of our local tour guides, Andrew.

The audio tour is a more detailed version of the written information below. It costs just 2.99€ per download.

Here is a sample of the tour.

Click on the map to expand or to download it to your phone.

For directions between stops, use the map above or download a PDF version of this tour.

1. Place Saint-Michel

Place Saint-Michel is simple – a triangle between two streets, uniform buildings along both, designed by the same architect, a walk of smooth cobblestone.

The centerpiece is St. Michael defeating a devil; far above them are four statues symbolizing the four cardinal virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice.

This monument came to be because of the 1848 Revolution and a cholera epidemic in Paris that followed it which killed thousands.

This idea of abstract concepts given human form had been popular during the Revolution, the big one, representing the kind of big virtues – like the Four Cardinal Virtues – that everyone could strive for, instead of a single human being whose actions and legacy would turn people against each other.

Simultaneous with the creation of Place Saint-Michel, Napoleon III’s renovation brought the Boulevard Saint-Michel into being, and that is the next part of the walk.

2. Boulevard Saint-Michel

The character of the street you’re on – wide-open space lined with trees and long, harmonious buildings, plus, often, a view of some landmark in the distance – was a central part of the renovation plan, or the Haussmann plan, as it’s also known.

Georges-Eugène Hausmann was a Paris technocrat. Aside from health reasons, he also made the case to the parliament that wide streets would help prevent so many revolutions in the future.

Many buildings along this road are fine examples of the French 2nd Empire style.

On the left side of the street, just after Boulinier, a used book store, you’ll see the ruins of ancient Roman-style baths.

This is a preview of the Cluny Museum, which you’ll see from the front soon.

3. The Sorbonne

The Sorbonne, or the University of Paris, has been here since 1150, making it the second oldest university in Europe.

It’s the place where some of the fundamentals of today’s education system – things like doctoral degrees – were first put into practice.

The Sorbonne helped put Paris, and the Latin Quarter, on the map. 

It’s hard to overstate how many big names are connected with this institution, then and since.

Among them are churchmen John Calvin and Thomas Aquinas, scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, writers Voltaire, Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre, T.S. Eliot, Elie Wiesel, Susan Sontag and so many more.

4. Cluny Museum

This is the Cluny Museum, formerly the Cluny Mansion. The name comes from the Cluny monks to whom it belonged and they were named for the city where they were based.

In 1340, they obtained what was left of the thermal baths you saw earlier and built this structure beside them.

Today, it’s France’s National Museum of the Middle Ages. It’s more an art museum than a history museum, with excellent exhibits on tapestries and stained glass.

Apart from those, the museum also has early medieval art from before the Gothic era – the style called Romanesque – medieval work from the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire, and some other late, near-Renaissance pieces from the era of the tapestries.

There are also some much older artifacts in that oldest part of the property, the Roman baths. 

It’s open every day but Tuesday from 9:15 am to 5:45 pm. Regular tickets are 5 Euros, sometimes more if there’s a special exhibit going on ( more info ).

However, it’s free for teenagers, EU citizens under 26, and, on the first Sunday of each month, for everyone. It’s also free with a Paris Museum Pass .

5. The Church of Saint-Severin

Pause here for a moment to take in the atmosphere of the medieval city.

Saint-Severin is a 13th-century church, and the Rue Saint-Severin, the road just past it, is from that same era.

Look down to the left and you can imagine the crowdedness of these roads, shared by carts. pedestrians and animals and whatever was thrown from upper windows.

And you can imagine how easy it would be to improvise a barricade across one of these streets if you wanted to.

6. Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauve

The Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauve, or St. Julian the Poor, began construction in the 12th century, around the same time as Notre-Dame, and steady changes since have made it a mash-up of styles.

But it started Romanesque, the early medieval style that preceded Gothic, and you can see the heaviness of that style, compared to which Gothic would have seemed so revolutionary.

While it was originally a Roman Catholic church, today it’s used by Melkite Greek Catholics, who are part of an Eastern Catholic community, based in the Middle East.

The square is called the Square Rene Viviani, mostly known for its view of Notre-Dame.

The grounds are littered with big pieces of limestone – in the 19th century when Notre-Dame was renovated and also contains a locust tree believed to be the oldest tree in Paris, about 400 years old.

7. Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

This is the second of two bookstores called Shakespeare and Company, the other stood just southwest of here, and both focused on English language books. 

An American named Sylvia Beach opened it, and as both a bookstore and a lending library, it came to be the haunt of writers and artists, including Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Pablo Picasso.

The bookstore provided more than just a place for future artistic celebrities to meet; it also stocked and eventually published books that were banned back home, including James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.

This Shakespeare and Company was founded by George Whitman, who offered lodging to writers in exchange for volunteer work, and if you step inside, you’ll see some of their beds.

8. Left Bank - Pont au Double

On the quays along the banks of the Seine, Shakespeare and Company has plenty of competition in the bookselling business: bouquinistes , the booksellers who set up shop in little stalls along the river. 

From around the bridge, you can get a few important views. First is the Seine itself. The name Seine comes from Sequana, the name of an ancient river goddess. 

The river is the reason for human interest in this site going back millennia, and the Île de la Cité offered a relatively easy crossing, as well as an opportunity to build low bridges and control traffic up and down the river. 

On the opposite side of the water from here is the Île de la Cité. From here you can see the big picture of the island. 

On the west end, to your left, is the Palais de la Justice, the former site of the royal palace and still home to parts of the French government. 

On the east side, to the right, has been religious turf for even longer – Notre-Dame has stood here since 1163.

Before, there was another Christian cathedral that was likely a Roman temple, and those were sometimes built on sacred sites that were older still. 

Nowadays, there’s not much on the island besides that; Haussmann eliminated most of the residences here.

9. Notre-Dame (Exterior)

This cathedral was started in the 1100s and enhanced with some of its flashiest elements over the next few centuries.

You can see one of those additions: the flying buttresses, those gracefully curved stone supports arrayed along the side of the building. 

The cathedral has 2 beautiful rose windows, both designed in the 13th century, but they were recreated in the 19th century, and they weren’t the only parts of the cathedral added so recently. 

The same is true of much of the stained glass, the spire (now destroyed by the fire), all the gargoyles, and the heads of statues on the western side. 

To help fund that restoration, Victor Hugo penned his novel Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame . 

Looking at the cathedral from the front, you can see an overwhelming number of sculptures and reliefs.

For a time when most attendees were illiterate and didn’t understand the Latin language in which the sermons were given, the church façade itself was the illustrated version of the Bible. 

Over the main western doors, on what’s called the tympanum, is a relief of Judgement Day, with the separation of souls bound for eternal paradise or eternal torment. 

To the left, over the Portal of the Virgin, is a statue of Saint-Denis, who would have needed no introduction for most attendees.

He was beheaded by the Romans for the threat he posed to other religions. 

Now, he’s a patron saint of Paris and he’s also known across the Catholic world as someone to pray for relief from headaches.

In April 2019, a fire led to the collapse of much of the roof and a spire, plus collateral damage from impact, smoke, and water to much of the rest of the building and the artwork inside.

Hundreds of firefighters contained the disaster and kept it from doing more harm. 

The archaeological crypt under the parvis is now open and contains remains of the Roman city, plus models of what Notre-Dame looked like at the various phases of its life.

Tickets are 9€ or for free with a Paris Museum Pass .

Notre-Dame Cathedral's reopening is scheduled for December 8, 2024.

10. Rue de Lutece

Straight ahead, you can see the Palais de la Justice, the next stop.

To your right is the Marché aux Fleurs Reine Elizabeth II, a beautiful, 200-year-old outdoor flower and plant market, operating daily from 9:30 - 19:00 (7 pm).

Lutèce is the French variation of “Lutetia” the ancient Roman name for Paris. The full name was Lutetia Parisiorum – Lutetia of the Parisii. 

The Parisii were the tribe that lived in this area before the Roman conquest, and as you may have guessed, they give the city its modern name.

Though we refer to Roman in this tour, it is Gallo-Roman, to be exact.

The region’s population was the Gauls, a Celtic people, and while they were conquered by the Romans, local culture in the early centuries CE was a fusion of both. 

There’s a limited understanding of the geography of ancient life here – the ancient Gallic city was probably out west in today’s suburbs, and the Roman city, originally on the Left Bank, moved onto the island in the third century to be more easily defended. 

At the end of Rue de Lutèce is Boulevard du Palais, with the massive palace complex on the opposite side of the street.

11. Palais De Justice and Sainte-Chapelle

Altogether, what you see here is the Palais de la Cité. The site has served state functions as far back as being the home of Roman governors in the early years CE.

As for French kings, it was the royal palace until the 14th century, when it moved to various locations across the Seine on the Right Bank, including the Louvre. 

From here you can see Sainte-Chapelle or the Sacred Chapel, easily identified by the tall steeple on the left side of the complex.

As for going inside Sainte-Chapelle, the wait can be long, but you’ll see some of the world’s most impressive stained glass. 

The upper chapel, up a narrow spiral staircase from the entrance and once only accessible by the king and his family, is surrounded by windows, and comprehensive cleaning and restoration completed in 2014 have them in ideal form. 

The lower chapel, the portion originally made for the general population of the palace, has a highly decorated Gothic vaulted ceiling. 

Sainte-Chapelle 's hours are:

• April 1st to September 30th, 9:00 - 19:00 (7 pm)
• October 1st to March 31, 9:00 - 17:00 (5 pm)

Tickets are 13€ per person over 18 years of age; under 18 years old have free admission.

You can also be admitted for free with a Paris Museum Pass .

You can also get a combination ticket with our next stop, La Conciergerie, for 20€, but it’s only available from the La Conciergerie ticket desk; you won’t find it online.

12. La Conciergerie

La Conciergerie is famous as the last residence of Queen Marie Antoinette before she was executed early in the French Revolution. It was also a prison before and after her time. 

La Conciergerie

The royal palace had moved to new locations across the Seine in the 14th century. But some state functions stayed behind here, including part of the French court system. 

In the absence of the king himself, the place was run by a surrogate – a concierge – giving this building its name.

While the Revolution began with the liberation of a prison, the Bastille, it soon took over the palace and found uses for everything there. 

Sainte-Chapelle became storage, the space where the parliament of nobles met became the home of the assembly and the Revolutionary Tribunal, and the prison became... the prison. 

The royalty and their supporters, and eventually all kinds of perceived enemies, were imprisoned, tried, and executed, close to 3,000 of them in this building alone.

The Cell of Marie-Antoinette

In terms of the interior, La Conciergerie is a stark, simple building compared to Sainte-Chapelle, although still majestically Gothic.

Some spaces are set up as they would have looked during the Revolution, including the cell of Marie-Antoinette, which is now a chapel dedicated to her.

Hours : 

• 9:30 - 18:00 (6 pm). Last entry at 17:30 (5:30 pm)
• Early closure on December 24 and January 1 at 17:00 (5 pm)

Lastly, you can purchase a combination ticket that includes La Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle for 20€, available from the La Conciergerie ticket desk; you won’t find it online.

There are guided tours (at an additional cost) every day at 11:00 and 15:00 (3 pm) and virtual reality 'histo-pads' available for rental at a modest price. 

At the end of the block, on the corner of the palace, is the first of the palace’s four towers, Tour de l’Horloge.

13. Tour de L'Horloge

Tour de l’Horloge means clock tower, and the clock is hard to miss!

This was the first public clock in Paris, installed in the 14th century, although the decorated face you see now came along a couple of hundred years later and has been restored a few times since. 

The figures on either side are personifications of law and justice – you may be able to see the plaque on the left and the scales on the right. 

The clock face is covered by a small roof.

If you have especially sharp eyes and you look straight up at the underside of that roof, you can see a repeating pattern of intertwined letters: sometimes H and C, for King Henri II and his queen, Catherine de Medici, and sometimes H and M, for King Henri IV and his queen, Marguerite de Valois.

14-15. Place Dauphine

Place Dauphine is another city square, a triangle really; the rows of buildings that border it on the north and south sides slowly converge, leading to the edge of the island. 

Make your way gradually through to that point.

King Henri IV had a son, who would eventually become King Louis XIII, but until he took the throne, he was the Dauphin, or the crown prince. 

Dauphin also means dolphin; a couple of them are featured on the French coat of arms. 

Anyway, during his son’s boyhood, Henri IV converted a private palace garden into a public square and called it Place Dauphine, or Crown Prince Square. 

The buildings have mostly been redone since then; you can get a feel for the original square at the other end, the last buildings where the two sides converge to frame a statue of Henri IV.

16. Pont Neuf

The space where Henri stands is called the Square du Vert Galant, and it’s a relatively new piece of land.

River islands like Île de la Cité naturally build up this way on their downstream side. 

The New Bridge, when it was new at the start of the 1600s, just touched the tip of the island. 

Today, Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge still running across the Seine, and the others have followed its lead.

This one was specifically designed not to have houses on it, so as to offer a view of the Louvre, which is where we’re going next.

17. Quai du Louvre

First, the sights on the Left Bank. 

Directly across the Pont Neuf you can see the Monnaie de Paris, France’s mint, operating for more than a millennium and still producing Euros today.

The building includes a museum on the history of the institution itself and on other money-related matters.

Next to it, you’ll see a wide building with a dome in the middle, the Institut de France.

Founded as a school, this is the home to intellectual institutions like the Académie Française. 

The Academy does many things, including giving life-changing monetary prizes to artists, but it’s best known for promoting a stiff view of what constitutes correct French. 

Crossing the river in front of the Institut de France is another bridge, the Pont des Arts or Bridge of the Arts, named to match with the Louvre, the Palais des Arts or Palace of the Arts.

It’s a pedestrian-only metal bridge commissioned by Napoleon, and the view it offers makes it a popular spot for artists or just souvenir photographers.

There’s a tradition – purely touristic – of attaching locks to the bridge; you’ll endear yourself to Parisians if you decide not to do this.

18. Louvre Museum and Tuileries Gardens

The Louvre used to be a royal palace, and it’s easy to tell. (See our in-depth post on how to visit the Louvre Museum ).

The Louvre remained private after the royalty moved out, and it housed a private collection of art until the Revolution, at which point, in 1793, it was opened to the public.

The open space to the west of the Louvre, centered on a large sculpted hedge, is the Place du Carrousel, and it used to be the location of another royal palace – the Tuileries Palace, destroyed in the late 19th century.

It left behind the arch opposite the Louvre – the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, built to celebrate the military victories of Napoleon and to welcome arrivals to that palace. 

Beyond it are a couple of stairways, leading down into the former location of the moat, which contains some sculptures from the old palace. 

And beyond that is the Tuileries Gardens. At one time an exclusive royal garden, this too became public during the Revolution, and it’s another option for the next part of your adventure.

The gardens have a lot to see – it’s a sculpture garden with about 200 pieces, including several by famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

The gardens are bigger than the Louvre, so you could easily find yourself walking further in this park than you have through this entire tour so far!

Luckily, there are a couple of cafes around the middle if you need somewhere to rest.

It’s free to enter the gardens and is open every day, with hours changing seasonally.

• January through December 7:30 - 19:30 (7:30 pm)
• June, July and August 7:00 - 23:00 (11:00 pm)
• April, May and September 7:00 - 21:00 (9:00 pm)

At the far end of the gardens is the Jeu de Paume , a contemporary art museum and L'Orangerie museum dedicated to impressionist and post-impressionist paintings.

This magnicient museum is a must-visit in Paris. It's open 9:00 - 18:00 (6 pm) daily, except Tuesdays. Tickets are 12,50€ or free with a Paris Museum Pass .

Beyond these museums are Place de la Concorde and the Champs Élysées, included in our self-guided tour of Paris' Right Bank !

For more ideas in Paris, including things to do in the Latin Quarter, Marais, and Montmartre , check out our website, linked in the notes.

And look for our articles and audio tours about lots of other cities - you’ll find links in the notes for those, too. 

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Walking Tours in Paris

Paris is a walking city. You simply won’t be able to fully appreciate the flavor of the place if you don’t stroll through the streets and absorb the sights, sounds, and even smells that make up its sensory identity. A mere city block can encompass several centuries’ worth of history. The tours are three of the city’s best areas for ambling about.

For more walking tours see Frommer's 24 Great Walks in Paris.

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Free tours in Paris

• Tours in Paris

Architecture, art, food, fashion & style - Paris does it best!

It's little wonder the most visited city in the world is Paris. Wander down the Champs Elyceés by must-see sights like the iconic Eiffel tower & magnificent Arc de Triomphe, venture to the vibrant Montmarte district, explore cafés & cabarets and marvel at the splendor & beauty of the romantic 'city of lights' - you'll see Paris oozes a unique elegance & sophistication flavoured with an avant-gard bohemianism that simply cannot be matched elsewhere.

You can delve deeper into Paris on freetour.com recommended free walking tours to learn all about the city's culture, history, people & places, see wonderful sights including Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur Bascillica & Place de la Concorde, discover lesser-known secrets and get useful hints & tips from a friendly local Parisian guide.

Then, why not enjoy famous French food & wine from a huge variety of restaurants, leave a love lock on Ponts des arts bridge over the Seine, ponder the smile of Da Vinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre, browse Paris' markets or shop 'til you drop on Les Grands Boulevards. Come evening be entertained at The Moulin Rouge, embrace the nightlife in the trendy bars & clubs of Oberkampf or lively dive bars & venues of Bastille. With so much to do & see, you will never experience everything Paris has to offer in one visit so prepare for many returns to this majestic, favorite capital throughout your lifetime.

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Covered Passages of Paris: A free self guided walking tour of Paris arcades with map

January 21, 2018 by Karen Turner 20 Comments

If you’re visiting Paris, you might be looking for something unusual to do in Paris besides seeing the Eiffel Tower.  Either way, you will not want to miss the arcades of Paris.   In my time living in Paris, I loved getting lost in the covered passages in Paris, which retain an air of magic and make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time.

This free self-guided walking tour through Paris should give you glimpse into the secret Paris that Parisians know, love, and guard with their lives. This walk through the covered passages of Paris includes some of Paris’ most beautiful passages, including Passage Verdeau, Galerie Vivienne, and Passage des Panoramas as well as some off the beaten path attractions.

This free walking tour of the covered passages in Paris is about 4 kilometers total and it should take you about an hour without stopping, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

You’re better off doing your walk through the Paris arcades prior to 5pm on a weekday if possible as shops might close after 5pm and it will be less crowded.  Plan for about 2-3 hours if you follow this itinerary with stopping off to take photos.   Click for my perfect four days in Paris itinerary.

*PRINTABLE MAP OF COVERED PASSAGES AT BOTTOM WITH STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS*  You can also do this route in reverse very easily. 😉

• 1 Starting point of the walk
• 2 Passage Verdeau
• 3 Lunch or dinner at Le Bouillon Chartier
• 4 Passage Jouffroy ​
• 5 Passage des Panoramas
• 6 Galerie Colbert ​
• 7 Galerie Vivienne
• 8 Jardin du Palais Royal & Surrounding Galeries
• 9 Le Palais Royal
• 10 Galerie Véro-Dodat
• 11 Stop for a cocktail at Le Reset
• 12 Passage du Bourg l’Abbé & Passage du Grand Cerf
• 13 Passage Molière
• 14 59 Rivoli
• 15 If you’ve visited any of the covered passages in Paris, which one is your favorite? ​

Starting point of the walk

Start off your trip at the Cadet Metro Stop , which is along the 7 line.  Walk a block towards Passage Verdeau.  On the way, you’ll pass La Mere de Famille , a beautiful old school Parisian confectery.

Passage Verdeau

 Passage Verdeau is a covered arcade built in 1847 named for its founder.  It is an antique lovers paradise with many antique bookshops.  Even if your budget is fairly low, you can get some lovely vintage postcards from Paris.

Passage Verdeau tends to be less crowded than the surrounding passages. Arcades are the precursors to modern-day malls as we know them.

Lunch or dinner at Le Bouillon Chartier

If you’re hungry for lunch or dinner, be sure to get in line at Le Bouillon Chartier, one of Paris’ most affordable French restaurants.  The line can be long although the atmosphere as well as the food is worth it.  

Amazingly, Parisians actually come here, so although you’ll find tourists and an English menu (if necessary).  The menu changes daily and if you’re after trying traditionally French food, be sure to stop off here.

Passage Jouffroy ​

Passage Jouffroy is my favorite passage in Paris and it is one of the most famous passages in Paris for good reason.  Its interesting window displays as well as the fact that it houses a hotel (Hotel Chopin), museum, and nightclub within its walls.  

Within Passage Jouffroy, you’ll find the quirk factor with businesses like La Maison du Roy, specializing in antique inspired decorations, as well as Cannes Fayet, which specializes in walking sticks/canes.  I also have a weakness for the miniature furniture store on the corner next to Hotel Chopin.

If you’re interested in staying in the covered passages, you can stay at Hotel Chopin , a charming boutique hotel in the middle of Passage Jouffroy with a friendly cat.

Passage des Panoramas

 If you continue forward, you’ll be in Passage des Panoramas, which is full of vintage stamp/coin shops as well as restaurants.  Here, you’ll find one of Paris’ best restaurants for gluten free dining at Noglu .  

After you see the passage, exit and walk a couple blocks down towards Galerie Colbert (check hours).

Galerie Colbert ​

Galerie Colbert has limited hours as it’s part of the National Library.  Its stunning marble columns might still call to you.  When I visited, we were the only ones there besides a random person scurrying between rooms.

Unlike other Parisian covered passages, there are no stores here, but the atmosphere is a nice change. Don’t be deterred by the security guards although I’d avoid bringing a backpack if possible as it might cause issues.

Galerie Vivienne

After visiting Galerie Colbert, walk around the block to see Galerie Vivienne, another famous passage although you’ll find it full of tourists.  Within it, you’ll still find a variety of shops, mostly with luxury goods, although there’s some adorable used bookstores.  

I didn’t successfully get into the one with the miniature second story, but you’re likely to find plenty to admire within this long passage. It has multiple entrances, so just be aware of where you exit.

Jardin du Palais Royal & Surrounding Galeries

Afterwards, walk through the iconic Jardin du Palais Royal.  Imagine yourself in a movie here.  This is the domain of Parisians walking their dogs although depending on which side you’re closer to, you’ll discover some galeries surrounding Jardin du Palais Royal with exclusive clothing brands as well as artisanal goods.  

If you’re looking for something truly unique, stop off along Galerie de Valois and Galerie de Montpensier after enjoying a relaxing stroll in the park.

Le Palais Royal

After walking through Jardin du Palais Royal, you’ll end up by Le Palais Royal, the former royal palace dating back to the 17th century.  It’s now used by the French government although you’ll find tourists and Parisians posing on its striped columns within the courtyard.

Galerie Véro-Dodat

Although Galerie Véro-Dodat is a bit smaller than some of the other covered passages in Paris, I loved how quiet and serene it was.

Given that you’re about to enter one of the most crowded parts of Paris, enjoy this moment and the beautiful black-and-white floor marble floor tiles.  Interestingly, it was one of the first galeries to have gas lighting, an achievement at the time.

There used to be more businesses in Galerie Véro-Dodat, but after after stagecoaches declined in popularity, its location close to a stagecoach hub meant that it lost a lot of businesses. There’s some clothing businesses and high-end art galleries within the gallery today.

Stop for a cocktail at Le Reset

After this, you’ll be walking through a very high traffic area. If it’s almost five (somewhere), stop off at Reset.  Reset is one of my favorite bars in Paris.

If you’re into video games, this geeky bar is a must with some delicious cocktails accompanied by old-school videogames.  This is where you’ll find me out in Paris. 😉

Passage du Bourg l’Abbé & Passage du Grand Cerf

After a refreshing drink, you can stop in at Passage du Bourg l’Abbé, one of the smallest passages in Paris, with many art galleries.

It’s very close to the entrance to Passage du Grand Cerf, so if you’re not tired of Passages yet, be sure to stop in at the little boutiques. The entrances for these are a bit tougher to spot compared to the larger galleries. ​

Passage Molière

Continue walking towards Passage Molière, which differs considerably from the other galleries that you’ve seen so far. It’s not a covered passage as it’s open-air, but it has cobblestones still, which gives it an old world vibe with a twist.

It became famous for the theatre located there for many years, but you’ll find boutiques that cater to things that you never knew that you needed. I know it’s not technically a covered passage, but if you’re into secret Paris, be sure to stop in here.

Lastly, stop in at 59 Rivoli, an artist-owned building that used to be an artist squat.  Now, this building has been apportioned into artist studios and every day people can stroll in most days (besides Monday) to see the artists in action.

The facade is often changing although it’s always a unique sight to behold and be sure to bring some extra cash with you as you might find some interesting art (along with stories) to bring home with you as you can discuss the work with the artists themselves.

Most of the artists ask people NOT to take photos of their work without permission, so be careful shutter-bugs when visiting this off the beaten path sight in Paris. 

I hope you enjoyed this self guided walking tour of Paris’ covered passages and it encourages you to discover a bit more of the parts of Paris that make it truly special.  Click for another local’s one day guide to off the beaten path Paris .

If you’ve visited any of the covered passages in Paris, which one is your favorite? ​

Click for the printable version of the map.

About Karen Turner

New Yorker–born and raised. Currently living in the Hague, the Netherlands after stints in Paris and Amsterdam. Lover of travel, adventure, nature, city, dresses, and cats.

Reader Interactions

January 26, 2018 at 3:51 pm

What an amazing walking tour! I currently live in Paris and have been meaning to explore the other covered passages besides Galerie Vivienne. Thanks for sharing!!

January 27, 2018 at 9:40 am

I hadn’t realised they were so extensive, what a wonderful guide!

January 27, 2018 at 9:56 am

Sure does look like some hidden gems here! Will keep it in mind when I next visit Paris.

January 27, 2018 at 8:33 pm

Karen… this is SO excellent! I have NO idea these even existed! Absolutely adding this to my to-do list when I (eventually) make it over to Paris – and the map is super helpful. 😀

January 28, 2018 at 4:06 pm

This is so awesome! I’m heading to Paris for the first time next month and love the idea of exploring all the little galleries and passages.

March 17, 2018 at 10:37 pm

Hi, Thanks for this wonderful information. I had no idea these existed, but definitely want to wander through them next month when in Paris. Is there a printable version of the directions?

March 20, 2018 at 3:42 pm

Thank you – this walk looks amazing. Please can you also email me a printable version of the directions?

Thank you in advance,

March 29, 2018 at 5:40 am

Hi there, Loved reading it and would also love a printable version

All the best Åse

March 29, 2018 at 5:45 am

Hi Åse, Glad to hear that and thanks for reading. You’ll find a link to the printable version right above the map. 🙂

Best, Karen

April 30, 2018 at 1:16 pm

Heading to Paris on our honeymoon in a few weeks and would also love a printable map of this tour of arcades!!

Thank you!! JW

April 30, 2018 at 5:10 pm

You’ll find the printable version within the article if you look towards the end!

June 19, 2018 at 8:38 pm

The passages are very nice. However, we had a terrible dining experience at Le Bouillon Chartier. One dish was inedible, the steak was chewy and hard, we sent it back, the waiter ignored us, then made a joke about it, took the utensils from my companion’s hand to show that the steak was soft, it was so hard that he spilled half of the french fries on the table trying to slice the steak! What type of waiter dare to challenge a customer like that and take the utensils from their hands? That give you some perspective of this place attitude. At the end, we complained to the maitre but he was so busy seating people. This restaurant was 100% full of tourists, they don’t really care about returning customers. I would not encourage people to dine there. Otherwise, the galleries and passages are great places to walk around.

February 9, 2019 at 7:52 pm

My wife and I absolutely love this post and have added this walk to our Paris itinerary. Our first time in Paris for 6 nights the first week in June, 2019. Thank you for the wonderful ideas!

Jeff & Deb

March 14, 2019 at 3:50 am

Makes me want to go back to Paris just for these passages!

May 2, 2019 at 4:10 am

There is no link to print the walk only for the map. Help! I leave for Paris and would love, love being able to do this. Thank you.

June 7, 2019 at 11:59 pm

Hello. I used the link she provided with the map and it worked really well. Enjoy!

August 19, 2019 at 2:28 pm

This was so amazing! Only bummer is that I saved it for my last day, which was a Monday, and the majority of the shops are closed on Sunday/Monday! Best to go Tuesday-Saturday, as advice to fellow travelers!

Thank you for the tour, though. I’d never have found these otherwise!

February 28, 2022 at 4:32 am

Thanks for the advice! I am leaving for Paris in three days for slightly over two weeks. I had originally planned to visit the passages on a Monday. I’ll be making some changes to my itinerary. Thank you!!!

November 7, 2020 at 1:31 am

I was wondering what the hours are for the shops. Although they probably varyI would like to get a general idea so I don’t head out too early. Thanks.

September 3, 2022 at 7:29 am

Congrats Karen. That information is so good. Im going for the first time to Paris, I will keep your recommendations in mind, thanks so much!

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15 Best Free Walking Tours in Paris

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A little piece of heaven resides in the food and fashion capital of France that can be experienced on the free walking tours in Paris.

With a profound history full of the French Revolution memoirs, iconic pieces of architecture, and the ever enchanting Eiffel Tower – these walks unveil the heart and soul of the city that envelopes you with an air of love.

So, without any further ado, let’s explore our list of Paris’ best walking tours.

Please note that some free walking tours of Paris are exclusively in English, while others are in Spanish or other languages. Make sure to pick the right one before booking.

1 – Freetour Paris Essential

Unveil the many faces of Paris as you treat yourself to an introduction to the best tourist attractions , such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, the iconic Louvre Museum, and the quintessential Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, all in 3 hours.

Even better, roam like a Parisian as you wander through its streets and discover all the intriguing facts that make this the “city of love and light.”

• See reviews

2 – Latin Quarter and Luxembourg Gardens

Immerse yourself in the fine art of the Parisian-style student life as you tour the Latin Quarter— which is the intellectual neighborhood of the bohemian Paris.

Experience for yourself the spellbinding history of the ‘Sorbonne University’ and learn why it holds so much significance all over the world.

That’s not all; enjoy the stately Luxembourg Gardens and its Palace, in addition to visiting down many side streets and local hidden gems.

3 – Freetour Legends and Mysteries of Paris

Paris harbors a plethora of mysteries and secrets in its bosom, some of which will be unfolded on this walking tour.

Firstly, the guide will scrounge out the legends of demons and angels that lie hidden in the walls of the structurally mesmerizing Notre Dame Cathedral.

From holy stories, get ready to jump right into both the eerie ghost encounters Pablo Picasso had during his life which later became a muse for his black canvases and the grotesque stories attached to the Hotel De Ville.

4 – Montmartre Free Walking Tour: From Moulin Rouge to Sacré Coeur

Set afoot in the underrated yet ethereal town of Montmartre on this free walking tour in Paris where the guide will take you on a rollercoaster of alleys infused with vibrant culture.

You’ll encounter the unearthed gems of Montmartre from the brightly hued vineyard, the Man who walked through the wall, and some undiscovered views of Paris.

That’s not all, come up and close with Picasso’s workshop and the place where Impressionist Art was birthed.

5 – Fragonard Perfume Museum Free Tour

Uncover the delicate art of perfumery through a guided tour to the Fragonard Perfume Museum that dates back to the nineteenth century.

Learn the meticulous process of putting together perfumes right from picking the raw materials to pouring a world-class fragrance into a labeled bottle.

Emblazoned on the walls is an assortment of old perfume bottles from Ancient Egypt which will transport you back in time.

6 – Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees

Plunge deep into the enormous yet enriching history of the city, from the nineteenth century to the present, on this free walking tour in Paris.

Gazing at the intricately constructed buildings, you’ll come across the spectacular sights of the Tomb of Napolean Bonaparte, the infamous Emperor.

Get spellbound by the legendary Théâtre National de Chaillot as you take in romantic puffs of fresh air near the Eiffel Tower.

7 – Free Walking Tour of Le Marais

Discover the fun district of Le Marais that makes everyone’s heartthrob with awe.

You’ll feel on cloud nine as you’re encircled by glorious art galleries that house the works of inspired hands and fashion stores that transport you into their glamorous world.

Enjoy the best falafel in town as you step foot into the Jewish district and lose yourself in the aura of the authentic Parisian lifestyle.

8 – Paris Uncovered – Free Walking Tour

Every breath you take in Paris will go into your box of memories as a cherished moment, such is the grandiose of this city.

Peel off the inherent layers of history on this guided tour as you walk from Palais De Justice to the Quartier Latin.

That’s not all; embrace the chilly wind hitting your face as you walk across the architectural beauty, Le Jardin de Luxembourg.

9 – Free walking tour Paris – How to be Parisian!

Melt into the mold of Parisians as you step into their world for a day on this free walking tour to Paris, unraveling their way of life.

Feel your spirits enliven as you catch glances of Arc De Triumph, Palais Royal, and Saint Chapelle.

Moving forward onto a plethora of radiantly built bridges, you’ll catch yourself mesmerized with the luscious beauty of the Luxembourg garden and many more breathtaking sights.

10 – Beauty of Paris – Free walking tour

Do you know why Paris attracts a multitude of tourists? If you don’t, this guided tour will be an eye-opener for you as it’ll present on a platter the most lauded neighborhoods of Paris.

From the happening Goute d’Or to the underrated Montmartre and Latin Quartier to the awe-inspiring and gorgeous epitome of art, the old Louvre Museum, this tour will take you everywhere with insightful commentary.

11 – Free Tour Paris Mon Amour – The essentials of the Rive Gauche

Lumbering around in the vast streets of Paris evokes the sensation of utmost felicity and courtesy to its lively aura.

A step into the Museum of Modern Art will call out the artist in you and another step into the Wine Museum will leave all your senses pleased.

On this tour, you’ll discover the most exhilarating spots like the Eiffel Tower, Princess Diana Square, and many patisseries, all of which celebrate the Parisian culture in its full glory.

12 – Charm Montmartre, a village in the heart of Paris – free tour

Delve into the charisma of the village of Montmartre, enriched with extraordinary spots like the Wall of Love with innumerable engravings pouring affection.

Further on this tour, soak in the gorgeous sight of the Sacre Coeur Basilica and not to miss the oldest standing church in Paris, the historic Saint Pierre De Montmartre.

13 – Free walking tour Paris – Awesome night in the love city

Watch the blinking lights on the Eiffel Tower as it sparkles at night to lighten up the whole city.

With an amiable guide, discover the city of love at the strike of dusk on a free walking tour in Paris, which takes you from Quai Saint-Bernard in all its glory to the beautiful Eiffel tower.

After capturing these enchanting views, sit down for a sip at the legendary Buddha Bar.

14 – Free walking tour Paris – Full history and culture

On this free walking tour in Paris, revel in the stories inscribed on every wall and corner of this city with an informative commentary.

As you listen to the many anecdotes of the Lock Bridge, move on to admiring the Arc De Triomphe and Jardin de Place Royal.

On top of that, drive up your spirits in the most luxurious way as you step into the largest square in Paris, Place de la Concorde.

15 – The Paris Free Photoshoot Tour

With a city painted with such enriched culture and gorgeous sightings as Paris, not capturing all its essence and glory would totally be a crime.

So, on this free tour, get yourself a professional photographer who will take you to the city’s most iconic hotspots- idyllic to forever transform your presence into memories through photos.

We hope you enjoyed our selection of the best free walking tours in Paris. Do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions.

Enjoy Paris 🙂

A Review on Paris Greeters Authentic Free Walking Tour in Paris

A re you planning a trip to paris and looking for things to do for free walking tours, paris greeters is a fabulous choice below you can read my review on the amazing tour my family of 4 took with this lovely organization..

The post A Review on Paris Greeters Authentic Free Walking Tour in Paris appeared first on Marcie in Mommyland .

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• D-Day Beaches and Normandy Vacation Packages
• Day Trips From Paris
• Spirit of Black Washington DC
• Tours of Black Paris – Walking And Private Bus Tours
• Paris Walking Tours

Tours of Black Paris – Walking And Bus Tours

With our Walking The Spirit Black Paris & Beyond , you can discover and experience the rich Black heritage in Paris from the passionate people who created the genre,  in 1994.

Today, our signature walking and private bus Tours of Black Paris   continue to educate, engage and delight; our guides welcome you like favorite visiting relatives.

At the foot of Montmartre with Julia guide

WALKING THE SPIRIT TOURS OF BLACK PARIS  at a glance

Walking tours.

• Writers, Artists & Intellectuals in the Latin Quarter  – Stroll through the arts district, open air markets and literary caf é s to discover the haunts and homes of creative genius. Listen to the challenges faced by African-American intellectuals, artists, military and musicians in early 20th century Paris and the stunning outcomes.
• The Entertainers in 1920s Lower Montmartre   – Relive the exciting Roaring 20s in what was the Black Montmartre community of Baker, Bricktop and Bechet.
• Africa In Paris  – Explore the vibrant La Goutte d’Or neighborhood and its everyday activities of open-air markets, cloth shops and dapper clothing shops, hair salons, cultural venues – all while learning its social and political past and present.
• From Harlem-sur-Seine to Africa in Pari s   – Combine the rich jazz history of 1920′s Lower Montmartre with Paris’ diverse face of today in the 18th district.
• Pioneers of the Left Bank  – Soak up the ground-breaking achievements of Diaspora intellectuals around the Sorbonne and the post-WWII jazz greats in neighboring St. Germain-des-Pres
• Black Images in the Louvre – On this private tour, discover how people of color are depicted through centuries of masterpieces and why.
• Colonialism, Slavery & AntiSlavery walk -Behind the walls of famous sites hide the stories of decisive events and people who enabled slavery and disabled colonialism, includes the Alexandre Dumas family of statues.

Want to see it all in half a day ?

PRIVATE BUS TOURS

• Spirit of Black Paris  – Half-Day Bus Tour – On this private 3.5 hour half-day bus tour you journey past well-known sites and lesser-known corners, learning the rich Black history rarely told in guidebooks or traditional tours. Learn of Sally Hemings on the Champs-Elysées, aviator Eugene Bullard at the Arc de Triomphe, WEB Dubois at Opera, 369th Harlem Infantry Regiment in Lower Montmartre, Bricktop and Langston Hughes in the shadow of the Moulin Rouge and many more. End with a half hour walk through the Arts district. Hotel pick up and drop off .
• Spirit of Black Paris 5-hour bus and combo bus/walking tours ( for groups of 6+ and educational institutions only ) – This 5-hr tour combines the Spirit of Black Paris bus tour + Writers, Artists and Intellectuals walking tours.  Begin with a comprehensive Bus Tour, stop for a snack break, and continue your fascinating day immersed in the haunts and stories of Wright, Baldwin, Henry O. Tanner, Miles Davis and more  in the Latin Quarter/St.Germain-des-Pres district.  Hotel pick up . Food costs not included .
• Tour & Lunch – After your inspiring glimpse at Black and contemporary Paris, what’s more relaxing than lunch with your guide. Dine at a restaurant that complements the tour content. ( Your and your Guide’s Lunch at your charge) .

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CLICK Tour Options and Services 2022 to DOWNLOAD all our pdf tour options & services flyer with full descriptions.

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What People Are Saying:

I have learned so much these two weeks from you and your marvelous network! The enthusiasm and deep knowledge of your impressive team was shared with our travelers making their experience rich and rewarding. Our travelers come to learn and all agreed that this trip was exceptional.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

This tour far exceeded our expectations. As a serious history devotee my appetite for local D.C. black history was more than satisfied in an amazing full-day experience with our guide. One tour highlight was the Frederick Douglass mansion in Anacostia. Our guide, along with being an expert in his field, is a warm, energetic individual who loves his work. This was one of the best tours we have ever taken and is highly recommended.

You’re the best!!! This is to reiterate our grateful thanks to you for such a wonderful trip/vacation in Paris. This was our first time in Paris and it was glorious . All of your well planned activities and meals were beyond our expectations. Plus, this was our first time traveling with members of our group.

I am submitting this on behalf of my client and myself, our experience working with Julia was amazing and very impressive. Her specialty tours are golden for Paris as in the words of my client "who would have thought"? She is very professional and provided a wonderful overview of the tours which actually have me excited and eager to book all clients who travel to Paris. Her services are definitely a great asset to Paris!!

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Spotlight on Paris

About this tour.

Be filled with joie de vivre as you soak in the romance and unparalleled charm of Paris. Savor dinner at the Eiffel Tower featuring wonderful French cuisine and breathtaking views of Paris. Choose how you explore the neighborhood of Montmartre – at the Musée de Montmartre or the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. Explore priceless treasures in the Louvre Museum. Learn about the history, architecture and gardens of Versailles, one of the world’s most opulent royal palaces. Enjoy ample free time to discover Paris independently. Glide down the Seine on a romantic river cruise. Revel in the allure of the city and take in its spectacular sights, history, architecture, art, and cuisine.

Your Tour Includes

• 1 Handpicked Accommodations
• 2 Choice on Tour Options

Included Highlights

• Champs-Elysees
• Arc de Triomphe
• Eiffel Tower Dinner
• Louvre Museum

Your Tour at a Glance

5 Breakfasts

4 - Very Active

Travel Style

Customize your tour.

Optional Excursions

Starting at $40.00

Activity Level

• Level This Tour

For specific details about this tour's activity level and other info to know before you book your trip, click here.

Extension Style

Travel styles, highlights and inclusions.

Must-See Inclusions:

Explore the treasures of the Louvre Museum with a museum expert.

Feel like a royal when you tour the Palace of Versailles and its gardens with a local insider.

• Take a walk down to the Ile de la Cité to snap a picture of the façade of the awe-inspiring Notre Dame.

Cultural Experiences:

Navigate Paris like a local by riding the metro to destinations.

Feel like a true Parisian when you discover the beloved neighborhood of Montmartre.

Explore the Le Marais neighborhood’s winding streets, gorgeous old mansions, and oldest planned square in Paris.

Culinary Inclusions:

Enjoy an exclusive dinner at the Eiffel Tower with unparalleled views of the “City of Light.”

Feel the hustle and bustle of the city with your personal foodie guide and sample French delicacies on a walking food tour.

Admire the city skyline as you float down the Seine on a relaxing dinner cruise.

• Place des Vosges
• Parisian Food Tour
• Versailles Palace & Gardens
• Choice on Tour
• Seine River Dinner Cruise

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Getting Prepared

Know before you go, travel tips, enhance your tour.

Pre and Post Tour Extensions

• Choice On Tour

Unique Experience

Cultural Experiences

Enhance Your Trip

• Tour Extensions

While in Paris you will have the choice between two activities. First, you can choose to visit the awe-inspiring Sacré-Coeur Basilica, the second highest point of the city after the Eiffel Tower, and enjoy free time to explore the area. Or, you can choose to Learn about the neighborhood’s famous artists and writers at the Musée de Montmartre, a historic 17th century house that gives you a glimpse into the artistic side of town

Prolong your stay in the French capital with a 2-night hosted post extension. Step back in time during a locally guided walking tour centered on the French Revolution, enjoy a full day at leisure to explore Paris as you please, indulge in the local cuisine during an included dinner at a local Brasserie and slide into the backseat of a vintage retro car to cruise along chic boulevards peering up at the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe from the car’s open roof.

• Paris - Extension Begins
• This morning, step back in time during a walking tour centered on the French Revolution. Your expert guide evokes the shadows of Marie Antoinette and Robespierre as you journey back to the tumultuous years of 1789-1799. Visit landmarks such as Place de la Bastille (where the infamous prison once stood) and Place de la Concorde where the revolutionary government erected a guillotine in the square (and where King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793). The afternoon is yours to explore more of the French capital independently. Perhaps you’ll stroll through the Beaubourg neighborhood and take in the whimsical moving fountain of the Centre Pompidou for Contemporary Art. Dedicated to the former French President Georges Pompidou, this building represents the first major example of 'inside-out' architecture with its structural, mechanical and circulation systems exposed on the exterior of the building. Today this eclectic building synthetizes the blend of tradition and innovation that distinguishes Paris.
• The day is yours to explore more of the French capital on your own. Perhaps you’ll wander over to the Left Bank of the Seine River and plunge into the bohemian atmosphere of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood and the Latin Quarter. Or visit one of the city’s iconic museums, such as the highly acclaimed Musée D’Orsay. The former railroad station now houses some of the world’s best impressionist art. This evening, celebrate the end of your extended stay in Paris with dinner in a local brasserie* before sliding into the backseat of a vintage retro car, cruising through the chic boulevards and peering up at the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe from the car’s open roof.
• Paris - Depart for Home
• Wish France adieu as you return home.

Live the Parisian life in style as you join your Tour Manager on a captivating excursion to the Opera District. Take advantage of an immersive experience with Parisian luxury and peruse famous name brand stores to embrace the glam of haute couture fashion. Pass by the stunning opera house of Palais Garnier before getting a glimpse into the history of perfume making at Fragonard Museum. Indulge your senses and scan the ancient artisan bottles, learning about the art of creating the perfect scent. A specialist will help you choose your own cologne, providing an irreplaceable souvenir from your Parisian getaway. Continue on to the famous Galeries Lafayette – a well-known French department store that features a mesmerizing stained glass dome. You might even be able to get a closer look at the dome on the glass skywalk, which reaches out directly below the center of the dome. Cap off the adventure with a trip to the rooftop to admire the city from above. With a drink in hand, marvel at the breathtaking views of the Opera House & Eiffel tower. Enjoy free time to explore the neighborhood and shop before heading back to the hotel by metro.

Join us for a spectacular evening in one of Paris’s most beloved institutions, the famous Paradis Latin. Situated in a building associated with Napoleon and rebuilt by Gustav Eiffel himself, the Paradis has been running here since 1889. Enjoy a sumptuous dinner with wine, then bring on the champagne and let the show commence!

Take a walk down to the Ile de la Cité to snap a picture of the façade of the awe-inspiring Notre Dame.

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9 Places to See the Summer Olympics Without Setting Foot in Paris

You may have trouble finding accommodations or tickets to events in Paris, but other destinations around France are hosting sports like soccer, sailing, basketball and surfing.

By Sophie Stuber

For sports fans, Paris will be the center of the universe this summer — and with 15 million Olympic and Paralympic visitors expected, it will feel like it, with crowds and high prices. But Paris isn’t the only Olympic site in France: Nine destinations outside the metro region are also hosting events, giving travelers a way to catch some action without getting caught up in the crush.

In places like Bordeaux, Marseille and even Tahiti, you can watch top athletes compete in soccer, basketball, sailing and surfing. (Tickets have been added in batches, so if the ones you want aren’t available, keep checking the ticketing site, tickets.Paris2024.org . If all else fails, the official resale platform opens on May 15 .)

And when you’re not watching sports, you can take advantage of museums, parks, design centers, and fresh food and wine options. In Nantes, you can even ride a mechanical elephant.

Here are some ideas for planning your own alternative Olympic trip.

Basketball: July 27 to Aug. 4; tickets from 50 euros ($54).

Handball: Aug. 6 to 11, tickets from €45.

Start with a stroll around Vieux-Lille and a coffee in the Grande Place, taking in the colorful facades of this city near the Belgian border. Head over to the St.-Sauveur area to see the Art Deco belfry and exhibitions at Gare St.-Sauveur , a former train station. On Sundays, at the rambling Wazemmes market , about 400 vendors offer produce, fish, plants, fabrics, textiles and leather goods. Head out to Parc du Héron , east of the city, to see the LaM museum (€7), with works by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Joan Miró. Lille is better known for beer than for wine, and the Brasserie Gobrecht offers brewery tours every Saturday (reservations recommended).

Where to stay: Hotel de la Paix (€354 per night); Hotel Carlton (€406).

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 2; tickets from €24.

Capital of a region best known for its wine, this small southwestern city sells local wine-walk maps at its tourist office. Stop by the Marché des Capucins , a local indoor market that also houses Bistro Poulette , a slightly chaotic and very delicious spot serving moules-frites, or mussels with fries. In the afternoon, check out the Bassins des Lumières (€15), the largest digital art center in the world, and the Cité du Vin (€21), which offers wine-tasting experiences. To wind down in a quiet wine bar, try Yarra , or for a cocktail, Symbiose . If you have time for side trips, spend a day in St.-Emilion, about 27 miles away, where you can sample great wines. Or check out the nearly 340-foot-high Dune du Pilat , the tallest sand dune in Europe — about 37 miles southwest of Bordeaux, near the beach town of Arcachon.

To stay: Les Chambres de Marie (€170); La Maison Galiène (€259); Yndo Hotel (€355); Le Palais Gallien Hôtel & Spa (€419).

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 8; tickets from €24.

The street signs in Nantes are in both Breton and French, reflecting the city’s historical ties to Brittany. Start at Talensac Market for picnic supplies, especially radishes, local cheeses and strawberries. Pick up local delicacies like Gâteau Nantais (almond poundcake) and Far Breton (flan with Armanac-soaked prunes). Take your picnic lunch to the courtyard of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne , a medieval castle and museum (courtyard is free; museum is €9). On the Île de Nantes, a former shipyard has been transformed into a wild mechanical theme park. The Machines de l’Île mixes Jules Verne’s stories with Leonardo da Vinci’s designs in the form of a ridable mechanical elephant and sea creatures (€9.50 for the elephant ride or gallery visit). The Mémorial de l’Abolition de l’Esclavage (free) covers Nantes’s history as the most active slave-trading port in 18th-century France. The artists behind the glass-and-concrete memorial, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Julian Bonder , aimed to create “a metaphorical and emotional reminder of the primarily historical, but also very current, struggle for the abolition of slavery.”

To stay: Hotel Voltaire Opéra (€103); Hotel de la Cité (€120).

Châteauroux

Shooting: July 27 to Aug. 5; tickets from €24.

The small city not far from the Loire Valley is named for Château Raoul , the 10th-century castle that’s now part of a local official’s private residence. The best view of the château is from the Gütersloh Bridge. Follow the “coulée verte” — or green corridor — along the banks of the Indre River, stopping by Parc de Belle-Isle , which has a lake for swimming, with kayaks and stand-up paddle boards to rent, as well as a beach, playgrounds and camping. The Franciscan Cordeliers Convent (free), which dates to the 13th century, today offers contemporary art exhibits and miles of gardens, and the Bertrand Museum (free), a former 18th-century townhouse, showcases diverse collections in each of its 26 rooms, including the plaster original of the Camille Claudel sculpture “Sakuntala.”

To stay: Au Lys Blanc (€138); Les Rives du Château (€210 for a two-bedroom apartment).

Lyon and St.-Étienne

Soccer: Lyon, July 24 to Aug. 9; tickets from €24. St.-Étienne, July 24 to 31; tickets from €24.

It will be easy to catch soccer matches in either Lyon or St.-Étienne, only an hour apart by train or car in east-central France. In Lyon, often called the gastronomic capital of France, visit the majestic Notre-Dame de Fourvière Basilica , then savor an ice cream at La Fabrique Givrée . Explore the city’s network of covered passageways, called traboules — originally for workers to transport textiles and later used during World War II by the French Resistance for clandestine meetings. Then climb up to the Pentes de la Croix-Rousse neighborhood, with its tiny streets, shops and views of Lyon below. On a clear day, you can even see Mont Blanc. The Lugdunum museum (€7) and the nearby Roman theater (€4) take visitors back to 43 B.C., when Lyon was known as Lugdunum, and La Maison des Canuts (€9.50), covers the city’s history as a capital of silk.

Between Lyon and St.-Étienne, Pilat Regional Natural Park offers more than 900 miles of rocky terrain for hiking and biking, culminating at the summit of 4,700-foot Crêt de la Perdrix , with views of the Alps and Massif Central range.

St.-Étienne, about 40 miles southwest of Lyon, is transforming its historical industrial identity into one of design and innovation. At the heart is the Cité du Design (€4.50), the former site of a weapons factory, which has served as a center for art and research since 2010. The complex, now a key economic force in the city, is open to the public year-round and hosts art and design exhibitions.

To stay in Lyon: Fourvière Hotel (€189); Hôtel du Théâtre (€323).

To stay in St.-Étienne: Le Parc 42 (€113); Le Golf Sauna (€269).

Sailing (including windsurfing, kitesurfing and more): July 28 to Aug. 8; tickets from €24.

Soccer: July 24 to Aug. 6; tickets from €24.

This Mediterranean port city mixes urban grit and natural beauty. Start by visiting Le Panier, the village-like oldest part of the city. Try navettes , a traditional orange flower biscuit, and sample some sardines or panisses , traditional chickpea fries, on a sunny terrace. Detour through the touristy but pleasant Old Port on the way to Mucem (€11), the first major museum dedicated to Mediterranean civilization and cultures. Have a pick-me-up at Deep Coffee Roasters , a specialty roaster tucked away between touristy shops. At sunset, climb up to Cours Julien , a hip neighborhood with beautiful views for your apéro. Don’t miss the Cité Radieuse , a UNESCO-listed apartment complex that shows off the architect Le Corbusier’s Modernist mastery (you can stay at the hotel in it). And just southeast of the city, the Calanques , a series of small, narrow coves , offer miles of oceanside trails and rocky scrambles along turquoise water.

To stay: Hotel Le Corbusier (€229); Maison Juste (€300).

Soccer: July 24 to 31; tickets from €24.

Summer is peak season in Nice, the queen city of the French Riviera, where the mountains meet the Mediterranean. Run, bike or in-line skate along the Promenade des Anglais , a four-mile seaside path. Then climb up to the Colline du Château , a rocky hill east of the promenade with views of Nice and even as far as the Alps. For a longer walk, follow the trails from Coco Beach to the Cap de Nice along the coves. Then head to Cours Saleya , a pedestrian section of the Old Town, with flower stands, antiques and local food like the socca , a chickpea pancake. The Musée de Préhistoire Terra Amata (€5), constructed on top of an excavation site, reveals what Nice was like up to 400,000 years ago. Or just enjoy one of Nice’s pebbled beaches in a lounge chair.

To stay: Hôtel Rossetti (€186); Yelo Mozart (€238).

Teahupo’o, Tahiti

Surfing: July 27 to 31 ( events could shift through Aug. 4, depending on surf conditions); fan zones free.

For surfing’s second Olympics since its debut in Tokyo, the competition takes place far from mainland France in Tahiti, part of French Polynesia. Since the wave is offshore, there will be two ticket-free fan zones — Taharu’u Beach and Paofai Gardens — to watch the events on large screens. A third fan zone at PK0 beach in Teahupo’o will have free tickets but limited access. Tahiti offers white sands and turquoise lagoons in addition to near-perfect waves. For snorkeling, try the lagoon near Maui Beach , five miles from Teahupo’o. For black volcanic sands, head to Taharu’u Beach, about 20 miles northwest of Teahupo’o. About 45 miles from Teahupo’o, Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, with a population of about 26,000, offers a variety of local delicacies like poisson cru: raw fish with lime juice and coconut milk, served with rice. Sample local fare, including steak frites and skewered veal heart, from food trucks, called roulettes, at Place Vai’ete, on the waterfront, near the Papeete Market.

To stay: Kia Ora Lodge (€265, seven miles from Teahupo’o); Punatea Village (€73, six miles from Teahupo’o).

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

An earlier version of a picture with this article was published in error. The image showed the French town of Cassis, not Marseille, where several Olympic events will take place this summer. It has been replaced.

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Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .