Paris of the Parisians

Eiffel Tower

It's crowded, expensive, and there are probably better views in Paris, but it's unforgettable, and well worth the trouble: Visitors to Paris may find Mona Lisa to be less than expected, but the Eiffel Tower rarely disappoints. This is a once-in-a-lifetime, I've-been-there experience. Ideally, arrive with enough light to see the views, then stay as it gets dark to see the lights. At the top of the hour, a five-minute display features thousands of sparkling lights (best viewed from below). Making the eye-popping trip gives you membership in the exclusive society of the quarter of a billion other humans who have made the Eiffel Tower the most visited monument in the modern world.

Crowds overwhelm this place much of the year, with one- to two-hour waits to get in. Weekends and holidays are worst, but prepare for ridiculous crowds any time it's not raining. Booking online allows you to reserve an entry time and skip the ticket-buying line at no extra cost, but it can be worth waiting to time your visit for the best weather (see any of my guidebooks that cover Paris for more tips on avoiding lines at the tower).

Notre-Dame Cathedral

With a pair of 200-foot-tall bell towers, a facade studded with ornate statuary, beautiful stained-glass rose windows, famous gargoyles, a picture-perfect Seine-side location, and textbook flying buttresses, there's a good reason this cathedral is France's most famous church. Incredibly, it has largely recovered from its devastating 2019 fire. Since the interior reopened to visitors in late 2024, pent-up demand has meant long lines for those without advance tickets — book online up to three days in advance.

Paris Plage

This string of fanciful faux beaches — assembled in summer along a one-mile stretch of the Right Bank of the Seine — is a fun place to stroll, play, and people-watch (and it's free!). Besides the sand, beach chairs, hammocks, and potted palms, you'll also find "beach cafés," climbing walls, prefab pools, trampolines, a library, beach volleyball, badminton, and Frisbee areas. (Other less-central areas of town, such as Bassin de la Vilette, have their own plages.)

Thierry Gauduchon

For many, Paris merits hiring a Parisian as a personal guide — and Thierry is a terrific guide and a gifted teacher (+33 6 19 07 30 77, [email protected]).

Place des Vosges

Henry IV built this grand square in 1605 and called it "Place Royale." As he'd hoped, it turned the Marais into Paris' most exclusive neighborhood. Just like Versailles 80 years later, this square was a magnet for the rich and powerful of France; it also served as a model for civic planners across Europe. Victor Hugo lived on the square in the mid-1850s, when he wrote some of his most important works. Today you'll see children frolicking in the sandbox, lovers warming benches, and pigeons guarding their fountains while trees shade this escape from the glare of the big city.

Galeries Lafayette

Galeries Lafayette, occupying three buildings, is a must-see for its stunning ceiling, trad-chic ambience, suspended glass walkway (free but book your time slot ahead), and city views from the rooftop. Aside from the sensational belle époque dome, highlights include the champagne-and-coffee bar overlooking the dome, Parisian souvenirs (and a good-value cafeteria with views) on the sixth floor, and a grand, open-air rooftop with a view of tout Paris.

Panthéon

This state-capitol–style Neoclassical monument celebrates France's distinguished history and people, balances a Foucault pendulum, and is the final resting place of many French VIPs.

Opéra Garnier

This gleaming grand theater of the belle époque was built for Napoleon III and finished in 1875. It's the masterpiece of architect Charles Garnier, who oversaw every element, from laying the massive foundations — which straddle an underground lake (inspiring the mysterious world of The Phantom of the Opera) — to choosing the wallpaper color. His cohesive design was so admired that the building came to be known as the Palais Garnier. Today it's home to ballet, some opera, and other performances. To see the interior, you can either take a guided tour (a good value, but book ahead), explore the public areas on your own (using the audioguide and/or the self-guided tour in my guidebooks), or attend a performance. Highlights include the Grand Staircase, the various chandeliered reception halls, the 2,000-seat auditorium with the Marc Chagall ceiling, and a few exhibits on the building and opera.

Hôtel des Invalides: Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb

The Army Museum in the Hôtel des Invalides provides worthwhile coverage of several wars, particularly World Wars I and II. See medieval armor, Napoleon's horse stuffed and mounted, Louis XIV-era uniforms and weapons, and much more. The best part is the section dedicated to the two world wars, especially World War II. Visiting the different sections, you can watch the art of war unfold from stone axes to Axis powers. At the center of the complex, Napoleon lies majestically dead inside several coffins under a grand dome — a goose-bump-inducing pilgrimage for historians.

Arc de Triomphe

The foot of this magnificent arch is a stage on which the last two centuries of Parisian history have played out — from the funeral of Napoleon to the goose-stepping arrival of the Nazis to the triumphant return of Charles de Gaulle after the Allied liberation. Examine the carvings on the pillars, featuring a mighty Napoleon and an excitable Lady Liberty. Pay your respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then climb the 284 steps to the observation deck up top, with sweeping skyline panoramas and a mesmerizing view down onto the traffic that swirls around the arch.

Champs-Élysées

This famous boulevard is Paris' backbone, with its greatest concentration of traffic (although it's delightfully traffic-free on the first Sunday of the month). From the Arc de Triomphe down Avenue des Champs-Elysées, all of France seems to converge on Place de la Concorde, the city's largest square. And though the Champs-Elysées has become as international as it is Parisian, a walk down the two-mile boulevard is still a must.

Tuileries Garden

Paris' grandest park was once the private property of kings and queens. Today it links the Louvre, Orangerie, and Orsay museums with the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées.

Luxembourg Garden

This lovely 60-acre garden is an Impressionist painting brought to life. Slip into a green chair pondside, enjoy the radiant flower beds, go jogging, play tennis or basketball, sail a toy sailboat, or take in a chess game or puppet show. Some of the park's prettiest (and quietest) sections lie around its perimeter. Notice any pigeons? The story goes that a very poor Ernest Hemingway used to hand-hunt (read: strangle) them here.

Caveau de la Huchette

This fun, funky, and welcoming old club hosts live jazz and frenzied dancing every night, with a mostly younger crowd who seem to thrive in the tight space of an ancient cellar in the Latin Quarter.

Deux Chevaux car tours

If rumbling around Paris and sticking your head out of the rolled-back top of a funky old Citroën 2CV car à la Inspector Clouseau sounds like your kind of fun, this may be your best bet for a final-evening adventure. (Skip this tour in the daylight.) This bare-bones car is France's version of the VW Beetle and hasn't been made for decades. Ask your guide to honk the horn, run the silly little wipers, and open and close the air vent — c'est magnifique! Two enterprising companies have you covered with a veritable fleet of these "tin-can" cars: 4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie ("4 wheels under 1 umbrella"), which offers several tours with candy-colored cars, and Paris Authentic, with similar options. The informal student-drivers are not professional guides and their services can be unreliable — but they will speak some English.

See the Travel Details above for recommendations highlighted in bold, excerpted from Rick's guidebooks.

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Hi, I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe. This time we're in a city that puts the sparkle in life like none other: Paris! Thanks for joining us.

Paris is a city of world-class attractions — perhaps the most popular city in Europe — but more fundamentally, it's a city of locals — of Parisians. As a visitor, its rewarding to see this city — beyond its great sights — as a place millions call home.

Enjoying the Paris of the Parisians, we'll cruise the River Seine and share in French pride. We'll shop for a dinner party the way Parisians do, and enjoy vibrant life on the riverbanks, and we'll groove with the locals at an underground jazz club, before finishing by celebrating the City of Light in vintage style.

We start with a sight near and dear to the Parisians: the Eiffel Tower. They built it in 1889 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution and to show off at a World's Fair. And this muscular symbol of the Industrial Age has been showing off ever since.

This thousand-foot-tall tower was the marvel in its day — an engineering feat trumpeting progress and ingenuity. And today it's a major tourist attraction.

Lines can be long. But we've booked online in advance and can go right up. In its day, this elevator must have been a marvel. We're checking out all three levels.

The first level, at about 200 feet, has a restaurant, a few amusements, and nice views.

But my favorite view is from the second level. At about 400 feet, it's plenty high.

From here I can spot the big sights we'll be visiting and take a moment to get the lay of the Parisian land.

And, for a price, you can go all the way to the top. Imagine the spectacle a century ago atop what was the world's tallest structure, enjoying an airplane view before there were airplanes.

After summiting, I enjoy walking down from the second level without the elevator for a close-up look at Eiffel's Erector-set construction: thousands of iron beams and countless rivets.

Talk about a confident age: They built this entire thing on schedule in about two years, with prefabricated parts. And when the fair was over, they planned to tear it all down. Thank goodness they reconsidered.

For perhaps a more relaxing overview of the city, I like a touristic cruise up and down the river. Boats go all the time and come with a light narration. The Seine is the lifeblood of Paris. It's busy with boatloads of both cargo powering from the Atlantic deep into France and tourists enamored with the parade of Parisian landmarks.

The bridges — bestowed on the city by kings and emperors over the centuries — tell a story. "N" means "thanks to Napoleon." The delightfully ornamented AlexandreIII Bridge celebrates a French/Russian alliance from 1892. And Pont Neuf — that means the "new bridge" — is actually the oldest. From 1607, it was the first stone bridge crossing the Seine.

The city was born in ancient times on an island in the middle of the river. It was here on the Ile de la Cité, centuries before Christ, that the Romans conquered a local fishing tribe called the Parisii, and founded a city named for them: Paris.

And on that island, built upon the ruins of a Roman temple, was the Notre-Dame Cathedral. Imagine the faith of the people who built this — breaking ground in 1163 on a building which wouldn't be finished for 200 years. And the faithful have been worshipping in this church — inspired by its art and architecture — for more than 800 years. Gothic architects incorporated the latest technology — flying buttresses — to support the heavy rooftop. And its ghoulish gargoyles multi-task: They serve as fancy rainspouts and scare away the evil spirits.

The church is dedicated to "Our Lady" (or notre dame, in French). Mary cradles the baby Jesus while the rose window provides a majestic halo.

Heroically rebuilt (and looking brand new) after the tragic fire of 2019, today the beloved Notre-Dame is, as much as ever, a beacon of hope for the City of Light.

Just upstream from the Ile de la Cité is another island, the petite Ile St. Louis, connected to its big sister by a cute pedestrian bridge. This smaller, more residential island is a reminder of how even in the historic core of the city, Paris is a collection of neighborhoods. The island gives us a first taste of this city's love of good living. It seems to specialize in that joie de vivre — from thriving bistros to decadent ice cream shops, to families and friends gathering on the banks of the river.

Centuries ago, the banks of the Seine were just miserable mud, like a mucky cesspool. Then, in the 1800s, these embankments were built — and today, the city no longer turns its back on its river.

Its renovated banks are now thriving — a great equalizer where all citizens can enjoy a waterfront perch. All along the river, Parisians savor the moment, gathering with friends and enjoying a picnic dinner. Summer evenings bring out the crowds, young and old, enjoying urban living at its best.

Once-busy expressways along the riverbank are now closed to cars. And each summer, the city government creates an urban beach for its people ["Paris Plage"]. They truck in potted palm trees, hammocks, lounge chairs, and 2,000 tons of sand to make a popular fun zone — a virtual riviera in the city center.

And the fun spills all along the riverbanks. Here, it's a multigenerational free-for-all — people dancing their hearts out, like an impromptu music festival. Inviting scenes like this offer a perfect chance to see Paris at play…and play with Paris.

Paris can be overwhelming. To feel more settled, I like to choose a neighborhood and make it home. And it seems like each neighborhood has a market street that gives it a small-town charm.

For those learning the fine art of living Parisian-style, market streets can be ideal. My local friend, Nathalie, is shopping for a dinner party on Rue Cler, and I'm tagging along.

Rick: So in France, I like the way it's all about seasonal, and that means good flavor. It's almost like a religion. You have to have the best flavor.
Nathalie: Yeah. You have to have the best flavor, the best colors, and — for example, like tomatoes. You don't eat tomatoes during the winter because they are tasteless.
Rick: If it's in season, it's local.
Nathalie: Oh, yeah. Most of them come from the Ile de France, you know — it's around Paris. And especially — look at this. Look at this.
Rick: These are beautiful.
Nathalie: Yeah. Look at this tomato. You can have this one, this color, little ones like this, you know? This one, for example — you see?
Rick: I can see that now. So it's gonna — we know it's gonna be flavorful, but also you're thinking how it looks.
Nathalie: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Rick: So you're raising the bar. It's seasonal and it's pretty.
Nathalie: Yep.

Rick: OK, it's time for the meat course. There's a lot of options.
Nathalie: Yeah, yeah. But as it's summer, we don't want to eat too much meat, so lamb chops are perfect. Bonjour monsieur — bonjour. Je voudrais des petites côtes d'agneau là. Cette. Je l'ai cuite pendant combien de temps?Butcher: Pour rosé [unintelligible] deux, trois minutes chaque côté.
Nathalie: OK, deux, trois minutes.
Rick: So what did he tell you?
Nathalie: I asked him, How long should I cook them? He said, if you like them rosé, he say — not too cooked, you know: two or three minutes on each side. That's it.
Rick: So I love this. You know this man. You trust his advice.
Nathalie: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, because they know. Ce sera tout pour aujourd'hui — merci. Oui.

Rick: Ah, yes. The cheese shop. This is just a festival of molds.
Nathalie: Smell! Smell how good that is. In a French meal, you really have to have cheese. Oh, we'll take this — Camembert à la truffe — un morceau. That's beautiful. It's truffled Camembert. It's a new thing. Before, they started with the Brie, but now they do the Camembert. It's so good. It's so good. Hard cheese now, you see…morceau de Comté. Vous avez du mois… I like 24-months-old Comté because it's flavory.
Rick: Flavor. OK. So the older is more flavor.
Nathalie: Oh, the older is better. Oui, oui. C'est bien, c'est bien.

The street is lined with shops to cover each item on Nathalie's menu. Up next…wine!

Nathalie: Bonjour, Corinne! Bon…
Rick: So, we know our meat, we know our cheese. Now we select the correct wine.
Nathalie: Absolutely. You can't have, like, any wine with your food. You have to pick up the right wine because it is combination of wine and food that people enjoy in France.

For the lamb chops, we select a light red wine, and something more robust for the cheese course.

Nathalie: Ça c'est, uh, l'Argent Bordeaux?
Corinne: Absolument.
Nathalie: Et c'est un Médoc. We like that.
Rick: This is so beautiful with the cheese…
Nathalie: Yeah.
Rick: And now with the wine neighboring…
Nathalie: Exactly.
Rick: …on the same street with beautiful people who are experts to help us out…
Nathalie: Absolument. Absolument.
Rick: Life is good.
Nathalie: OK. Oh, life is good.

And no French dinner would be complete without a fresh-baked baguette and a bouquet of flowers for the table.

Nathalie: This one would be perfect.
Rick: This here?
Nathalie: Yeah. This, like little sunflower.
Rick: That's nice.
Nathalie: And this one. I like this one, the pinky one. Look how pretty…yeah.

Nathalie: Thank you, Rick. It was — it was fun.
Rick: Bon appétit.
Nathalie: Merci beaucoup.
Rick: Merci, Nathalie. Au revoir.
Nathalie: Bye-bye.

I'm hopping the Métro to visit another neighborhood. Paris has the most extensive subway system on the continent, and it's clearly the fastest and most convenient way to get around town. Trains come frequently; the system is state-of-the-art and easy to use. It works, and the people here love it!

The Marais is another distinct Parisian neighborhood. And I'm meeting up with my friend and fellow tour guide, Thierry Gauduchon.

Rick: I love the Marais.
Thierry: Of course, you do. I mean, this is a typical classical neighborhood of Paris. Look at the beautiful atmosphere! Look at the architecture everywhere, you know?
Rick: Yeah. Yeah.
Thierry: And this is my neighborhood. I live here.

I love to take a moment just to appreciate Parisian street scenes like this. Once a mucky slum — "marais" means swamp — it was drained and gentrified in the 17th century by King Henry IV.

With Henry's support, Place des Vosges became the centerpiece of what was the finest neighborhood in town.

Thierry: The Marais is a pretty small part of Paris, a very small neighborhood, but now this is the place to be.
Rick: And this would be the center, this Place des Vosges.
Thierry: Exactly. We say it's "bobo."
Rick: Bobo?
Thierry: Bobo. First "bo" stands for bourgeois, second "bo" for bohemian.
Rick: I like that: bobo.
Thierry: It's very bobo.

The parklike square is a reminder that Paris is more than a collection of world-class museums. For millions of people, it's home — a place to raise a family, enjoy a relaxed retirement…or rendezvous with a lover.

The Marais has long been home to Paris's Jewish community.

Thierry: So historically, they're the oldest Jewish neighborhood of Paris.
Rick: OK. So why did the Jews settle here?
Thierry: Because we thought there was some swamps here. Swamps.
Rick: OK.
Thierry: And nobody wanted to come over here. It was a very poor real estate, you know, very cheap part of the city.
Rick: I remember when I first came here, this was delis and so much Jewish business here.
Thierry: Still a couple of them left, but most of the time, you can see everywhere some trendy shops, boutiques everywhere.
Rick: It's a good example of how neighborhoods — they evolve and change their personality.
Thierry: Evolution of so many neighborhoods, you know.
Rick: If it's cheap, it attracts the bobo.
Thierry: Exactly. You're right. It's a new word for you, "bobo." That's pretty cool.
Rick: And then it becomes trendy!
Thierry: Exactly.

And trendy Marais boutiques make for fun window-shopping. Paris is famous for its fashion.

Rick: So the window is like a work of art.
Thierry: Yeah. We say it in French, "lèche-vitrine," like, to "lick the window." Literally, you lick the window. You want to step in, you want to spend money, you want to become French.

Along with classy boutiques, Paris is famed for its elegant department stores. Invented here in Paris, department stores were the first to offer the convenience and efficiency of a variety of small shops under one roof. And the Galeries Lafayette's roof is a fine example. Its centerpiece is a belle époque dome. Dating from 1912, it's an unforgettable example of Art Nouveau — and a hit with shoppers.

The good life in Paris is easy to take for granted, but today's freedoms and civil liberties didn't come without a struggle. And the pinnacle of that struggle — an epic event that reverberates in the spirit of its people to this day — was the French Revolution. It was launched in 1789 with the storming of a prison that stood on this square.

That notorious prison was called the Bastille. Angry Parisians stormed it, released its prisoners, and then tore it down.

Today, it's one of Europe's great non-sights: There's nothing left to see. But what we do see is the modern city that followed that revolution — a city designed not for kings but for people.

That urban design goes back to the mid-1800s, when the government commissioned Baron Haussmann to modernize the city including its riverside embankments. Along with that, he ripped up most of medieval Paris and created the city's grand boulevards. And he lined those avenues with what became known as Haussmann architecture: stately buildings with uniform facades, wrought-iron balconies, and iconic slate rooftops.

Paris has built upon that planning heritage, making the city ever more green and livable: creating pedestrian zones, favoring bikes and public transit over cars, and even turning elevated rail lines of the Industrial Age into skinny greenbelts high above street level, ideal for bikers and strollers.

Today, like a citywide game of "connect the dots," wide Parisian boulevards lead to famous landmarks — like the Panthéon, built to honor illustrious Parisians — and to the stately opera house.

The opera's lobby, as big as the auditorium itself, provided the public an elegant showcase in which to see and be seen. A dazzling hall — just right for sipping champagne — leads into the grand theater famously crowned with a wonderous ceiling by Marc Chagall.

Another majestic avenue leads to the Hôtel des Invalides. Built by Louis XIV in the 1600s as a veterans' hospital, this massive building now houses Europe's greatest military museum. And, under a grand dome — which glitters with 26 pounds of thinly pounded gold leaf — lies the majestic tomb of Napoleon.

The Arc de Triomphe was finished just in time for the funeral procession that welcomed Napoleon's body home in 1840. The stately arch is a memorial to France's many military campaigns, and is particularly stirring on national holidays, when it flies the French flag.

And that arch caps the city's main drag, arguably Europe's grandest avenue: the Champs-Élysées. Built in the 1600s, it originated as a queen's carriageway leading away from the palace gardens.

The boulevard has been redesigned. With fewer lanes for cars and wider sidewalks, it's a promenade not for royals, but for the people.

Some days it's the finale of the Tour de France bike race. Some days it's decked out for Christmas, for Bastille Day parades…and some days its entirely car-free.

In post-revolutionary France, the people rule, and there's always a garden or park nearby. Perhaps the finest originated as the king's backyard, the Tuileries. The cafés, gardens, and ponds provide a fine place to simply enjoy a quiet moment of contemplation in the middle of the city.

Here in Luxembourg Gardens there's a tranquility — a refined orderliness, enjoyed by young and old alike. The gardens are impeccably tended. And for generations, children have launched dreams on this pond. Beyond its glorious monuments and buildings, Paris is a city simply in love with life.

Paris is home to the ultimate café culture. With thousands of cafés, there's always one nearby.

These are where friends rendezvous — and we're meeting up with Steve Smith, co-author of my France guidebook and a consummate café sitter.

Rick: Café sitting — quintessentially Parisian.
Steve: Yeah. It is. It is. I think the first cafés were invented here — since the 1600s. People have been coming to places just like this to talk to each other, to get out of their small apartments, and enjoy life — and be part of it, not be separated from it. Slowing down is the whole point, Rick. It is the whole point. You're not judged by how much you've accomplished in a day by any means in this country. You're judged by whom you've talked to, how much are you savoring life — however you define it.
Rick: A lot of times, back home, when I go to my favorite café, it seems like a temporary office space. Everybody's got a laptop!
Steve: It seems like a library me. I know what you mean! But here, there's noise in the café because people are talking to each other. You won't see a laptop. The point of coming to a cafe is not to work. It is to visit.
Rick: It's a requirement not to be in a rush.
Steve: And why would you, when you have five weeks' paid vacation and a 35-hour work week? And did I mention every Catholic holiday? They have time to enjoy doing exactly what we seem to have to wedge in to a busy day.
Rick: It's one of the bad things about travel. You realize how good other people have it.
Steve: Yes. It's true.
Rick: I've got so many friends that I've heard complain about slow service in France.
Steve: Yeah. Well, slow service is good service over here.
Rick: That's right.
Steve: In fact, you won't get your bill until you ask for it. It's rude for the waiter to present the bill before you ask for it.
Rick: What's your take on the tipping situation in a place like this?
Steve: Five percent. That's good. The waiters are paid well. They get health benefits. They get retirement. They're not working for a tip. A tip is a polite thing to do if the service was good.
Rick: So you could just round it up?
Steve: I think rounding up is a really — if it's €18, leave €20.
Rick: It really is about enjoying the moment. And it's — you know, for me, it's theater. I've sat right here many times over the years, and it never gets old. I mean, look how these seats are set up. It is a theater, and the stage…is Paris.

The leisurely afternoon soon turns into a bustling evening and much of Paris lights up after dark. The characteristic lanes of the Latin Quarter thrive with a fun-loving energy popular with tourists. And that includes jazz clubs.

Rick: I love how jazz is so American, and at the same time, it's very Parisian and French.
Steve: You're right about that, man. It was the rage between the wars — thanks to American soldiers. Still is today. In fact, there are jazz clubs everywhere. I'm gonna take you to my favorite.

In this well-established haunt [Caveau de la Huchette], which fills a centuries old cellar with lovers of jazz and dance, locals and tourists alike mix it up.

Steve and I have a fun ritual for capping any visit to Paris:

Steve: Enchanté.

We're taking a blitz tour of the city's best nighttime views. While you can do it by taxi or Uber, we're splurging for a ride in a vintage car — a Deux Chevaux.

Driver: Paris is La "Ville de Lumière," which means the "City of Lights," and it's magic at night.

The French raise floodlighting to an art form. And with a city as beautiful as Paris, it's no wonder. The stately Arc de Triomphe crowns its boulevard. Les Invalides, with its golden dome marking Napoleon's tomb, is magnifique. The nostalgic blades of Moulin Rouge keep turning as red lights still tempt lost souls in Pigalle. Notre-Dame is particularly dramatic after dark. Sightseeing boats enliven the river and its sparkling bridges. The pyramid at the Louvre glows from within. And the Eiffel Tower stands like a reliable friend to the millions of Parisians proud to call this, the City of Light, their home.

Traveling here, I realize I could come back to this city for the rest of my life and never get enough. And that's why, to me, Paris is the capital of Europe. Thanks for joining us! I'm Rick Steves. Until next time, keep on travelin'.