Paris is always a good idea. Each season offers charm and attractions, from the holiday decorations and Christmas markets in winter to Paris Plages’ pop-up beaches and swimming spots in summer. If you’re planning a trip to the French capital city and trying to narrow down the top attractions to check off your list, we’ve pulled together 10 of the best, from iconic cabarets to the city’s most spectacular gardens, and the tastiest places to eat and drink between sightseeing.
Cruise the Seine River
The Bateaux Mouches river cruises are one of the best ways to sightsee in Paris since you’ll pass by the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and Notre Dame, which reopens in early December. Take your pick of brunch, lunch or a dreamy dinner on the water at sunset, watching as the city lights up and the Eiffel Tower twinkles on the hour.
Visit the Musée d’Orsay
Paris boasts more than a hundred museums, but one that tops the list is the Musée d’Orsay. Housed in a former Beaux Arts train station, the beloved stop features the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world. You’ll find paintings by all the greats, like Degas, Van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin and more. A few highlights include Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe and Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette.
Admire Sainte-Chapelle’s stained-glass windows
The 13th-century, Gothic-style royal chapel on Île de la Cité may not be as famous as neighboring Notre Dame, but its interiors are some of the most impressive in Europe. Once considered a “new Jerusalem” during the medieval era, Sainte-Chapelle held 22 religious relics, including the Crown of Thorns. Today, the highlight is the set of stained-glass windows, which stretches more than 42 feet high and features 1,113 Old and New Testament scenes.
Stroll through the Tuileries Garden
The former royal family playground in the heart of Paris dates back nearly 500 years and was once where King Louis XIII hunted as a child and Napoleon I’s son played. Sprawling along the Seine, the Tuileries Garden — the current landscaping is the work of the king’s famous gardener, André Le Nôtre — resembles an open-air museum with sculptures by the likes of Auguste Rodin and Jean Dubuffet. Make your way to the western corner, along the Place de la Concorde, where the Musée de l’Orangerie houses a permanent collection of Claude Monet’s Water Lilies series.
Catch a Moulin Rouge show
The capital of cabaret, and one of the most iconic spectacles in Paris, is the Moulin Rouge in Pigalle, whose symbolic red windmill sits below the hilltop village of Montmartre. Known for the dancers’ French cancan high kicks and ruffled skirts, the Féerie revue dinner show features a thousand costumes adorned with feathers, sequins and rhinestones showcased in themed scenes that range from the decks of a pirate ship in Indonesia to a traveling circus.
Eat at the Marché des Enfants Rouge
A highlight in the gallery- and boutique-filled Marais neighborhood, this bustling, maze-like food market is the oldest in the city, dating back to 1615. You’d never guess its age considering the inclusion of more modern vendors and eateries like The Butcher of Paris, where you can post up on a stool along the counter or at one of the wooden communal high-top tables for natural wine, charcuterie and croque monsieur ham- and Comté-stuffed sandwiches.
Browse the Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen flea market
Carve out an entire weekend day to stroll the 12 covered markets sprawling across nearly 17 acres in the northern stretch of Paris. Considered the largest antiques and second-hand goods market in the world, with nearly 5 million visitors browsing its stalls each year, it sells antique tableware and silver, vintage designer bags and clothing, posters, books and furniture for every design aesthetic.
Dine at a classic Parisian bistro
The French bistro concept has been replicated worldwide, but nothing beats what you’ll find in its birthplace. A favorite for locals and visitors alike, Le Bon Georges checks all the boxes: rattan chairs and tables spilling out on the sidewalk terrace, chalkboard signs etched with timeless classics like oeufs mayo (a French egg dish) and pâté en croute (a pastry-wrapped meat pie), a wine list as thick as a Proust book. You can’t go wrong with the chef’s steak tartare, served plain to let the flavor of the meat shine, paired with housemade frites and a sommelier-selected glass of rouge from Burgundy.
Sip cocktails at Bar Hemingway at Ritz Paris
The cigar lounge-style cocktail bar is a Paris institution, lined with memorabilia from one of Forbes Travel Guide’s Five-Star Ritz Paris’ most famous guests: Ernest Hemingway. Bar Hemingway’s Old World ambiance, with its unchanged décor (Hemingway’s typewriter, hand-written letters), wood-lined walls and sumptuous leather booths, make the 25-seat spot feel like a scene from Midnight in Paris. If you’re craving a dirty martini, this is the place, but the house specialty is made-to-order artisanal cocktails adorned with a signature tennis ball-sized rose for the ladies.
Shop at Paris’ oldest department store, Le Bon Marché
Paris’ grands magasins (department stores) are just as much part of the city’s fabric as Saks Fifth Avenue or Bergdorf Goodman are to New York’s. Le Bon Marché, with its Louis-Charles Boileau- and engineer Gustave Eiffel-designed interiors, is the oldest department store in the city. You’ll find a mix of designer and ready-to-wear fashion lines. The ground floor’s bazaar-like arrangement of stands is a great spot to stock up on souvenirs. And if you’re looking for treats to take home, you’ll find plenty at gourmet food emporium La Grande Épicerie next door.
