16 top local tips on what to do in Paris

10.08.2023 - 07:13 / lonelyplanet.com / Paris / Star / Art

Packed with iconic museums and monuments, together with low-key treasures cherished by locals, Paris is a city that emanates "la belle vie" (the good life).

Away from the highlights – the Louvre, Notre Dame and Eiffel Tower – Parisian life ticks along with a coffee on a terrace, a bike ride along the Seine, and wine-fueled lunches with friends in noisy bistros. Blending the blockbuster experiences with these local delights is the key to experiencing the best of Paris.

Here are the top things to do according to a local.

Dodge the habitual daytime crowd zig-zagging up the Eiffel Tower’s southern-pillar staircase or cruising by lift to the top-floor champagne bar, and experience Paris’ signature spire after dark instead. Even better: book at the Michelin-starred  Le Jules Vernes and dine in the company of the most beautiful city panorama ensnared within Eiffel’s hypnotic metal web on the 2nd floor.

Detour: For smouldering, eyeball-to-eyeball views of the Dame de Fer (Iron Lady) herself, illuminated at night, enjoy a date night beneath the stars at the summer rooftop bar atop La Shangri-La Paris. Can't be in there? See it from the Seine, with Eiffel Tower views from fine-dining bateau Ducasse sur Seine.

There’s a secret to exploring the city’s recent art venue addition, which opened in May 2021 in an 18th-century rotunda where the city’s grain market and stock exchange once were. Reserve tickets online, book lunch in the top-floor Halles aux Graines restaurant run by legendary French chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras, and keep your wits about you when admiring the contemporary art in this world-class collection by French billionaire François Pinault.

The exquisite "marble" replica of a late-Renaissance Giambologna sculpture in the central hall (actually a gargantuan, slow-burning wax candle by Swiss artist Urs Fischer), the pesky "pigeons" perched on the balustrade above, the "cushions" strewn on the occasional chair throughout are not what they seem. This mischievous new gallery has been designed to shock and surprise.

Nothing reveals the backstreet grit and grind of local life quite like Paris’ stash of intoxicating markets. Most neighborhoods have one and Bastille’s morning street marché on Blvd Richard Lenoir is a brilliant introduction.

When hunger strikes, swing through the inconspicuous green metal gate on rue de Bretagne, 3e, in nearby Le Marais to uncover Marché des Enfants Rouges. This is the city’s oldest covered market, dating from 1615, with a maze of food stalls cooking up Moroccan couscous, Japanese bento, Thai curries and other world cuisines. Order a stuffed- and sizzled-to-order toasted sandwich or galette (savoury crêpe) from gregarious Alain at Chez Alain Miam Miam, then grab a pew to lunch with