Le Marais and Bastille
First-timersThe 3rd and 4th: medieval streets, museums, the best bars and a walk to Notre-Dame. Central and pricey.
5 hostels · from €18
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Paris city guide
Things To Do In Paris
Worth the cliché, and worth more than the three days most people give it. Expensive, walkable, and far better once you stop trying to see all of it.
102
Hostels in the city
7.8
Average, from 244,295 reviews
20
Arrondissements, spiralling out from the centre
1st Sunday
When many national museums are free
€2.50
A single metro or RER ticket within Paris
A city best taken in neighbourhoods, not landmarks
Paris is twenty arrondissements spiralling clockwise from the Louvre, and the single most useful decision you can make is to pick three or four of them and walk, rather than crossing the city between monuments.
The famous things are famous for reasons. The Louvre is genuinely overwhelming and should be attacked with a plan; Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire and is free to enter; the Musée d'Orsay in a converted railway station is the better museum for most people.
What makes the city work is smaller: the market streets, the covered passages, the canal in the tenth, the parks where Parisians sit for entire afternoons.
It is expensive but less so than its reputation if you eat at lunch rather than dinner and stand at the bar rather than sitting on the terrace, where the same coffee costs more.
Four days minimum. A week is not too long.
Where to stay
Pick an arrondissement and walk it. Anywhere inside the Périphérique is twenty minutes from the middle.
Latin Quarter
Students and valueThe 5th: the Panthéon, bookshops, cheap student restaurants and the Jardin des Plantes.
7 hostels · from €10
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Montmartre
Views and atmosphereThe 18th: the hill, Sacré-Cœur, steep lanes and a village feel above the rest of the city.
Canal Saint-Martin and Gare du Nord
Nightlife and transportThe 10th: canal-side bars, young crowds, Eurostar and trains north.
5 hostels · from €19
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Montparnasse
Quiet and well connectedThe 14th: cafés with a literary past, a cemetery worth walking, and fast metro to everywhere.
8 hostels · from €31
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Eiffel Tower and the 7th
The postcardWide boulevards, the Champ de Mars, Les Invalides and the tower at the end of the street.
6 hostels · from €11
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Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 12 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Paris
Do the Louvre with a plan and a booked slot: about €22 for EU residents and, since January 2026, €32 for visitors from outside the European Economic Area. It is the largest art museum in the world and trying to see it all is how people end up miserable — pick two wings, take three hours, leave.
The Musée d'Orsay, about €16, in a converted Beaux-Arts railway station, holds the Impressionists and is the museum most people enjoy more.
Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the fire and is free to enter, though queues are long and a time slot booked in advance saves an hour.
Climb something for the view. Sacré-Cœur's dome and the Arc de Triomphe both work; the Montparnasse tower at about €20 has the advantage of a view with the Eiffel Tower in it, which the Eiffel Tower itself does not.
Then walk. Père-Lachaise cemetery, the covered passages of the 2nd, the Canal Saint-Martin and the market street of Rue Mouffetard are all free and are the Paris people remember.
Free things
Free things to do in Paris
Many national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month — the Louvre, Orsay and others — and busy accordingly. EU residents under twenty-six get in free year-round at national museums, which is the single largest saving available to anyone who qualifies.
Notre-Dame is free to enter, as are all the city's churches: Sainte-Chapelle charges, but Saint-Eustache, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Germain-des-Prés do not.
Père-Lachaise cemetery is free and enormous, with Wilde, Chopin and Morrison among its residents.
The parks cost nothing: the Luxembourg gardens, the Tuileries, Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th, and the Promenade Plantée, an elevated park on a disused railway viaduct that predates New York's High Line.
The covered passages of the 2nd arrondissement — nineteenth-century glass-roofed arcades — are free and largely missed.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Paris
Eat your main meal at lunch. The formule — two or three courses at a set price — runs €15 to €22 at midday in places charging €40 in the evening, and it is the single biggest saving in the city.
Boulangeries do lunch for €5 to €8: a sandwich jambon-beurre, a quiche, a slice of something. The baguette de tradition is the one to ask for.
Market streets are where to eat well cheaply — Rue Mouffetard in the 5th, Rue des Martyrs in the 9th, the Marché d'Aligre in the 12th.
Coffee standing at the bar costs roughly half what it costs at a terrace table, and both prices are posted by law.
A glass of wine is €4 to €7, a beer €5 to €8. Service is included on every bill; rounding up is plenty.
Nightlife
Going out in Paris
Neighbourhood-led rather than club-led. Oberkampf and Ménilmontant in the 11th, the Canal Saint-Martin in the 10th, and Bastille are where most nights happen; the Marais has the gay scene and the busiest bars.
Belleville and Pigalle have the late venues, and Pigalle has shed most of its old reputation without losing the neon.
A beer is €5 to €8 and cocktails €10 to €15, cheaper in the 11th and 20th than the centre.
The metro runs until about 1am on weekdays and 2am at weekends, after which it is night buses or a walk — plan the last leg before you need it.
Apéro is the fixed point of the evening: a drink from six, often with something to eat, and it is how most Parisian nights actually start.
Getting around
Getting around Paris
The metro is dense, fast and the default — a single ticket is €2.50, and a carnet of ten loaded onto a Navigo Easy card brings the per-trip cost down. Buy before you travel rather than queueing at every station.
Walk more than you plan to. Paris is small for a capital and adjacent arrondissements are usually fifteen minutes apart on foot, often faster than changing lines twice.
From CDG, the RER B takes about 35 minutes on the €13 airport ticket. Metro line 14 now runs straight to Orly in about 25 minutes on the same €13 ticket.
Vélib bike hire is widespread and the city has built a serious cycle network in recent years, including along the Rue de Rivoli.
Strikes affect transport periodically and are announced in advance — worth checking the day before if you have a train to catch.
Costs
What Paris costs
Expensive, though less so than the reputation if you use the city's own habits. Dorms are €30 to €55, a lunch formule €15 to €22, and a beer €5 to €8.
A day is €65 to €120.
The savings that actually work: eat the main meal at lunch, stand at the bar, buy metro tickets in a carnet, use the first-Sunday free museum days, and stay in the 10th, 11th, 18th or 20th rather than the first six arrondissements.
If you are an EU resident under twenty-six, national museums are free year-round and that changes the budget entirely.
TGV fares to the rest of France drop sharply when booked weeks ahead.
Safety
Staying safe in Paris
Paris is safe for a city its size, and the crime that affects visitors is almost entirely theft rather than violence.
Pickpocketing is organised and persistent on the metro line 1, at Châtelet, around the Eiffel Tower, Sacré-Cœur and the Louvre. Keep bags closed and in front of you on crowded platforms.
The standard scams are worth recognising: the friendship bracelet at the foot of the Montmartre steps, the gold ring picked up off the pavement, the clipboard petition, and the shell game near the tower. All of them open with a stranger addressing you in English.
Gare du Nord and parts of the 18th and 19th are rougher late at night, though rarely more than that.
Do not buy tickets from anyone outside a station. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Paris
A palace, a cathedral and champagne, all under ninety minutes.
Versailles
The palace and its gardens. Book a slot, go early, and give the gardens as long as the building.
Chartres
A Gothic cathedral with the best-preserved medieval stained glass in France, in a small town.
Reims
Champagne cellars and a coronation cathedral, close enough to do easily in a day.
Fontainebleau
A royal château with fewer crowds than Versailles, and a forest of climbing boulders around it.
What's on
What is on while you are there
Free music on every street on 21 June, and a military parade on 14 July.
Staff pick
11 Sep – 10 Jan
Paris Autumn Festival
Experience the cultural extravaganza of the Paris Autumn Festival, a prestigious annual event showcasing a diverse range of artistic performances across the city. From…
Staff pick
7–11 October
The Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre (Montmartre Harvest Festival)
The Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre is a lively celebration of wine, art, and culture in the heart of Paris. With an anticipated attendance…
Staff pick
11–31 October
Fête du cinéma d'animation
Fête du cinéma d'animation in Paris, France, is a celebrated event dedicated to showcasing the richness of animated cinema from France and around the…
Staff pick
12–18 October
Paris Auto Show
Step into the world of automotive marvels at Mondial de l'Auto, an innovative motor show where cutting-edge technology and design converge to redefine the…
Staff pick
22–25 October
Paris Games Week
Witness the spectacle of Paris Games Week, a celebration of all things gaming. Explore an array of activities, from networking to competitive tournaments, that…
Staff pick
28 Oct – 1 Nov
Salon du Chocolat Paris
The Salon du Chocolat Paris is the world’s premier chocolate event, showcasing creations from top chocolatiers and pastry chefs. From live demonstrations and tastings…
Staff pick
12–15 November
MIF Expo Paris
MIF Expo, the premier event celebrating French manufacturing, showcases the expertise and creativity of hundreds of exhibitors across diverse industries. Visitors can explore and…
Staff pick
4–6 December
Salon du cheval de Paris Horse Show
The Salon du cheval de Paris is a prestigious event that gathers equestrian enthusiasts and professionals from around the world. Attendees can enjoy breathtaking…
Hostels
Where to stay in Paris
The largest hostel scene in France, concentrated in the 10th, 11th, 18th and 20th. Live from Hostelworld.
The People - Paris Bercy
Dorms from €33 a night
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Fraternity-Hostel
Dorms from €40 a night
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Eklo Paris Porte de Versailles
Dorms from €35 a night
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Caulaincourt Montmartre by Hiphophostels
Dorms from €41 a night
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The 3 Ducks Eiffel Tower by Hiphophostels
Dorms from €41 a night
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Plug Inn Montmartre by Hiphophostels
Dorms from €38 a night
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Beau M
Dorms from €25 a night
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JO&JOE Paris - Nation
Dorms from €28 a night
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Le Village Montmartre by Hiphophostels
Dorms from €34 a night
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Sustainable
The People Paris Marais
Dorms from €25 a night
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Le Regent Montmartre by Hiphophostels
Dorms from €29 a night
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FIAP Paris
Dorms from €36 a night
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When to go
May, June, September and October. August empties of Parisians and fills with everyone else.
Jan
Cold, grey and cheapest. Museums without queues
Feb
Still grey. Good value and quiet
Mar
Lengthening. Parks starting to work
Apr
Blossom and showers. Busy at Easter
May
Excellent. Terraces open and long evenings
Jun
The best month. Fête de la Musique on the 21st
Jul
Hot and full. Bastille Day on the 14th
Aug
Parisians leave and many small places close. Hot and touristed
Sep
Superb. The city comes back and the weather holds
Oct
Autumn in the parks. Good value
Nov
Grey and wet. Quiet, and the lights go up late in the month
Dec
Christmas markets and lit boulevards. Cold and busy
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. The August emptying is real — a lot of independent restaurants and shops close for two or three weeks, so check before building a trip around a specific place.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
The food line assumes a lunch formule and a light dinner. Free first Sundays and the under-26 EU exemption can cut the doing line to almost nothing.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Paris travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
How many days do I need?
Four minimum, and a week is not too long. The mistake is trying to cross the city between landmarks — pick three or four arrondissements and walk them instead.
Can I go inside Notre-Dame?
Yes. It reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire and entry is free, though queues are long and booking a time slot in advance saves a considerable wait.
Are the museums ever free?
Many national museums are free on the first Sunday of the month, and they are correspondingly packed. EU residents under twenty-six get in free year-round, which is the biggest single saving available if you qualify.
How do I not overspend?
Eat your main meal at lunch, where a two or three course formule runs €15 to €22 in places charging €40 at dinner. Drink coffee standing at the bar rather than at a terrace table. Buy metro tickets in a carnet. Stay outside the first six arrondissements.
Is the Eiffel Tower worth going up?
The view from it is the only one in Paris without the Eiffel Tower in it, which is an argument against. Montparnasse tower at about €20, Sacré-Cœur's dome and the Arc de Triomphe all give you the tower in the picture.
What scams should I watch for?
The friendship bracelet at the foot of the Montmartre steps, the gold ring apparently found on the pavement, the clipboard petition, and the shell game near the Eiffel Tower. They all open with a stranger addressing you in English.
Is August a bad time to visit?
It is hot, crowded with visitors and empty of Parisians — a lot of independent restaurants and shops close for two or three weeks. If there is somewhere specific you want to eat, check it is open before you plan around it.
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