Paris Adventure Guide | 10 Paris Adventures You Need To Do (2024)

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Eiffel Tower

Built in just two years for the 1889 Paris Worlds Fair, the tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world and at the top of almost everyone’s list when they visit Paris.

Closest Metro Station

Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel

Hours of Operation

June to August: 9am – 12:45am

September to May: 9:30am – 11:45am

Admission Prices

Second floor: €10

To the top: €19

By elevator: €6 more

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Eiffel Tower Visitors Guide

Champs-Élysées

Lined with theatres, cafés, and luxury shops, the Champs-Élysées is a great place to shop and people watch.

Possibly the most well known street in Paris, the Champs-Élysées runs for 2km from the Place de la Concorde and ends at the Place Charles de Gaulle where you’ll find the Arc de Triomphe.

Closest Metro Station

Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau

Arc de Triomphe

One of the most famous monuments in Paris, the Arc de Triomphe stands at the western end of the iconic Champs-Élysées street.

The Arc de Triomphe was built to honor those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces are all the names of the French victories and generals and lying beneath it is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Closest Metro Station

Charles de Gaulle – Étoile

Hours of Operation

10am – 11pm

Admission Prices

€13 (or €20 for a guided tour)

Moulin Rouge

Opened in the late 1800s, the Moulin Rouge was a place for the rich to come and slum it offering an extravagant setting for people of all walks of life to mix and mingle.

Nicknamed the First Palace of Women, the Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the can-can dance. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world.

Closest Metro Station

Blanche

Hours of Operation

Dinner: 7pm

Show times: 9pm and 11pm

Admission Prices

Starting at €87

Sacré Cœur Basilica

Located at the highest point of the city at the summit of Montmartre, the Sacré Cœur is a Roman Catholic church and basilica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Basilica is both a political and cultural monument. It is a national reminder of France’s defeat in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and also an embodiment of a conservative moral order that is an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.

Closest Metro Station

Anvers

Hours of Operation

6am – 10:30pm

Admission Prices

Free

Palais-Royal

In the heart of Paris, across from the Louvre is the Palais-Royal. This 17th century Palace, originally named the Palais-Cardinal was home to Cardinal Richelieu.

Although the palace itself is no longer open to the public, the Palais-Royal is still a popular stop for tourists thanks to its peaceful gardens.

Closest Metro Station

Tuileries

Hours of Operation

April to September: 8am – 10:30pm

October to March: 8am – 8:30pm

Admission Prices

Free

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Musée d’Orsay

The Musée d’Orsay housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station, is one of the largest art museums in Europe.

The museum is home to paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s including the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world.

Here you’ll find art from dozens of classic French painters including Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Van Gogh.

Closest Metro Station

Solférino

Hours of Operation

9:30am – 6pm

Thursdays: 9:30am – 9:45pm

Closed Mondays

Admission Prices

Free

The Louvre

This historic monument in Paris located on the Right Bank of the Seine is one of the central landmarks of the city.

The Louvre is the largest art museum in the world most famous for its’ housing of the Mona Lisa painting. Along with over 30,000 other objects of art ranging from prehistory to the 21st century, the Louvre is the world’s most visited art museum with over 8 million people visiting each year.

Closest Metro Station

Tuileries

Hours of Operation

9am – 6pm

Fridays: 9am – 9:45pm

Closed Tuesdays

Admission Prices

€15

Notre Dame Cathedral

The Notre Dame Cathedral is a medieval Catholic cathedral located on the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris.

Widely considered among the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, the Cathedral is one of the largest and best known church buildings in the world.

The cathedral treasury houses some of Catholicism’s most important relics, including the Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails.

Closest Metro Station

Maubert – Mutualité

Hours of Operation

Mon – Fri: 8am – 6:45pm

Weekends: 8am – 7:45pm

Admission Prices

€8.50

The Catacombs

Extending south from the former city gate aptly named the Barrière d’Enfer or Gate of Hell are the Catacombes of Paris.

Created in the late 1700s in order to eliminate the problem of the city’s overflowing cemeteries, the Catacombs are underground ossuaries housing the skulls and bones of over 6 million people.

Closest Metro Station

Denfert – Rochereau

Hours of Operation

9:45am – 8:30pm

Last tickets: 7:30pm

Closed Mondays

Admission Prices

€29

Day trips from Paris

Don't forget to save some time to explore outside of Paris. There's several day trip adventures waiting for you outside the big city.

Among those adventures are exploring the many different castles in the Loire Valley, taking in the majesty of the Palace of Versailles and doing a pilgrimage to Mont Saint Michel.

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10 Amazing Day Trips From Paris

Free walking tours

Paris, along with almost every major city in the world, has companies that offer free walking tours. These tours are usually run by young students who are passionate about telling the story of their city and country.

The tours are probably the best way to explore and learn about the city as the guides will take you to unique places in the city while telling you all sorts of interesting stories.

As a note, while these are "free" walking tours, tips are encouraged at the end of the tour and a €5 tip is the standard.rn

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