21 Best Things To Do In Paris

Paris really surprised us. We had a short, 4-day stay in Paris this year before heading off to London. The visit was short, but surprised us in the best ways. The food was delicious, and the coffee scene was top-notch.

Snobby, pretentious waiters brushing off English-speaking Americans?? yeah right! We experienced none of that. While there may not be small talk by default Americans are used to, we overall had friendly and attentive service throughout our stay.

Here’s a list of the best things to do in Paris based on our visit. At the end, we’ll let you know what we didn’t like!

Le Peleton Café

A petite shop pumping out good quality coffee. It was lightly raining the first morning after touching down in Paris at Charles de Gaulle Airport. In fact it was lightly raining throughout our entire stay in Paris. But our first coffee stop was at Le Peleton Café en route to a pastry class (more on that later).

I expected the bicycle theme here to end with visuals, but cycling is a core part of the café’s function, to my surprise: they rent out bicycles and hold weekly cycling outings and tours.

My first impression of Parisian coffee was good! Surprisingly, it was on par with third-wave style coffee, which I enjoy back home in California, and with Oatly to boot. It’s a tiny shop, but we were lucky to snag seats in a hole-in-the-wall facing the street—very cute vibes. Good pastry, too. A few quick sips, and we were off to our nearby pastry class.

Like many others on our Europe trip, I found Le Peloton Café listed on the James Hoffman subreddit for Paris suggestions. I went to the most popular spots recommended, and this list did not disappoint.

Type of activity: Coffee shop
Price: $ ($7 pp)
Neighborhood: Le Marais, 4th Arrondissement
Address: 17 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris, France
Website

La Cuisine Paris – Pastry Class

This was an amazing three-hour group class we took, led by pastry chef Gracie, who currently works at the Ritz bakery. Her energy, excitement, and love for the craft made this a very fun and educational experience for us!

Everything we learned to make was based on puff pastry. The class is structured in reverse simply because there’s no time for us to make and use our own pastry dough due to time constraints. So we start by using what I assume to be the previous class’ pastry dough, and then we make our own layered pastry dough for what I again assume to be the next class’s use.

We got an insight into a lot of the little techniques used for baking and context on French pastry culture, including laws! For example, did you know the law requires real butter croissants to have straight ends, while ones with curved ends denote margarine? And that toppings on pastries must match what is filled inside, for obvious logistical reasons of not misleading consumers, but it is very important for people with allergies to know what’s in their food. For example, a croissant filled with sweet almond paste must be topped with almonds (and not be topped with, say, raspberries).

You get to take SO many pastries home that we couldn’t even finish ours in time. At the end of the class, Gracie also gave us a map of nearby recommendations that included favorite patisseries, coffee shops, and tourist spots. I loved that this class was small and you learned so much in such little time.

Type of activity: Cooking class
Price: $$$ ($150 pp)
Neighborhood: Le Marais, 4th Arrondissement
Address: 80 Quai de l’Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris, France
Website

L’Ami Jean – French Bistro

This was our first French bistro, and it was a delight. Everything just seemed to line up. It was packed with patrons, making for a lively and small dining room. Many attentive and friendly waiters eased our uncertainty with snobby French waiter service (spoiler alert: we didn’t experience this at all during our trip). They had a partially open kitchen view, and all kitchen staff were vocal and lively, with some regulars chatting up the cooks.

And then, of course, there’s the food. What a great welcome to Paris! We had a fillet of fish, razor clams, a mouthwatering dish of mushrooms, a soft-boiled egg, and cream. We even had roast pigeon, and it was so tender! It reminded us of our first time trying pigeon in Tokyo. Everything here was perfectly executed, and we left our first Euro-restaurant sans tip like bandits.

Since L’Ami Jean gets really packed, I recommend making a reservation ahead of time on their website. It’s also walkable distance to the Eiffel Tower, so we recommend eating here instead of touristy spots.

Type of activity: French bistro
Price: $$ ($65 pp)
Neighborhood: 7th Arrondissement
Address: 27 Rue Malar, 75007 Paris, France
Website

Visit the Eiffel Tower

This is one of those must-see things when traveling, just because it’s iconic. We heard it’s best to check out the famous tower from afar since you can’t really get a proper look at it up close. Buildings all over block the view of the tower unless you’re heading in from just the right angle.

The day we visited, there was moderate rain, so we didn’t stay too long. But we headed all the way up to the base, where there were vendors selling souvenirs. We saw people taking the elevator to get views from the top—something we had no interest in doing. But the surrounding park was very lush and cool to hang out in for a few minutes. Another cool tip is to wait until nighttime to visit because it sparkles!

Type of activity: Historical monument
Neighborhood: 7th Arrondissement
Address: Champ de Mars, 5 Av. Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France
Website

Pink Mamma – Modern Italian Food

Pink Mamma is a very popular restaurant we booked many weeks in advance. Even with reservations, we stood in the reservation line, and we were let in first, just as they opened for dinner service. I can’t imagine how long the walk-in line would have taken. If you can’t make it to Pink Mamma, they also own several other restaurants, like East Mamma in the 12th arrondissement or Ober Mamma in the 11th arrondissement.

We were really lucky to have been seated on the top floor, which had a glass roof. This gave us beautiful rainy yet sunny views even as we were nearing 8 or 9 p.m. in the evening. There are also multiple floors, so you may also be seated elsewhere.

My favorite foods here were the burrata cheese with crushed tomatoes on the side and the fried potatoes (which were only about 5 Euros!). The potatoes were impossibly crispy and would have easily been over $10 back home. Another dish that was also memorable was the truffle pasta, one of their most well-known dishes. While this wasn’t the best pasta I’ve ever had, I did appreciate its al dente texture and flavorful truffle sauce that wasn’t too overpowering.

Type of activity: Italian cuisine
Price: $$ ($40 pp)
Neighborhood: 9th Arrondissement
Address: 20bis Rue de Douai, 75009 Paris, France
Website

Little Red Door – cocktail bar

We visited Little Red Door in Paris because it made #6 on the 50 World’s Best Bars list. In the past, we’ve visited #3 Handshake Speakeasy during our trip to Mexico City, #5 The Connaught Bar during our visit to London, and #7 Licorería Limantour, also in CDMX, and we’ve had fairly good experiences with the list recommendations.

This is a sizable bar with plenty of seating inside, but it was rather dark, so you may need to squint to read the menu. I really liked my drink, the Kabosu, which had citrus liquor, limoncello, yuzu, and egg white–it’s super refreshing after a carb-filled dinner at Pink Mamma.

My favorite thing about this bar is not anything about the bar itself but about us waiting in line to get in. A couple behind us spotted a bakery across the street that sold “gluten-free sugar-free” baked goods. The guy’s deadpan comment to his partner had me dying: “why even bother?”

Once you arrive at Little Red Door, you’ll need to wait in line outside if it’s too busy inside. However, the line goes fairly quickly, especially if you have a smaller party. It’s a popular spot, so I recommend coming during the week.

Type of activity: Bar
Price: $ ($20 pp)
Neighborhood: 3rd Arrondissement
Address: 60 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris, France
Website

Kawa – café

We have a local coffee shop in Orange County, California (Play) that served THE best shot of espresso I’ve had to date in 2024. So when I learned Kawa café & roaster was based in Paris, I knew I had to visit their shop.

The day we visited, it was headed by two women (rare!). They were delightfully friendly and helpful. This shop was tiny, with about four bar seats and maybe three to four table seats. The rest of the back wall was reserved for coffee beans and coffee brewing equipment for sale. This was the tiniest and cutest modern coffee shop vibe, which I absolutely loved.

I was impressed to see the baristas pull out aesthetic recipe cards for each roast that the customers ordered. The card had details for the coffee dose, yield, water temperature, etc. I do this at home but have never seen this level of detail at a shop.

This shop is a coffee shop dream and goal for me, but for now, I’ll just have to visit next time I’m in Paris! Kawa has a few locations, but the one we visited was at 96 Rue des Archives, 75003 Paris, France.

Type of activity: Coffee shop
Price: $ ($5 pp)
Neighborhood: 4th Arrondissement
Address: 96 Rue des Archives, 75003 Paris, France
Website

Le Moulin de la Galette

We found this restaurant on the spot while trying to escape the massive crowds at Place du Tertre. It was insanely crowded there, so we ran off to the side streets to find something that looked good on Google Maps. This restaurant inside a huge blue windmill that served a lot of classic French fare caught our eye, and we were on our way!

We got the streak frites, which was very good. Not to mention the amazingly dressed side salad (hidden behind the fries there). And, of course, we had to try our first escargot in France. The snails were perfectly cooked, and the garlic butter was delicious.

Type of activity: Traditional French cuisine
Price: $ ($35 pp)
Neighborhood: 18th Arrondissement
Address: 83 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris, France
Website

Clove – café

Half of what made this visit great for me was escaping the light Paris rain to sit by the window side in Clove café on an overcast day. A slightly chilly breeze snuck in each time customers opened the door to this peaceful shop, but everything just added to the cute shop vibes.

This café has a plaque at the counter proudly stating, “This is a laptop-free shop,” meaning it’s a shop to quickly enjoy your coffee and then gtfo! The coffee was great, and the workers were knowledgeable and friendly. It was my first iced coffee of the trip and it was perfect! I was also surprised about their bathroom’s clean, modern aesthetic.

Type of activity: Coffee shop
Price: $ ($5 pp)
Neighborhood: 18th Arrondissement
Address: 14 Rue Chappe, 75018 Paris, France
Website

The Louvre

The honest review here is that Le Louvre is a hot, crowded mess. We’ve never been to Paris, but it was one of the touristy things we wanted to see. The museum grounds and nearby parks and streets are huge. There are hundreds of people waiting at the main entrance near the pyramid to buy tickets and get in line. And because of the ongoing construction, walking to an entrance made it even longer.

A great tip we got from researching before arriving was to pre-purchase your tickets online and use the Carousel entrance. You have to reserve a time slot so they can manage the crowds trying to get in but don’t even try to go into the main entrance. When you walk across the street and use the Carousel entrance, you’ll find ZERO wait.

Once inside, the museum was super crowded, and it was pretty humid for such a rainy and cold day. In some rooms, like the main atrium and the room where the Mona Lisa was, it was like being at a music festival. If you escape to other less popular wings (still with masterpieces), you can escape the crowd.

When I’m back in Paris and am feeling a museum, I’ll probably try the Musée d’Orsay, as recommended by other visitors, for another massive collection of masterpieces but without the crowds.

Type of activity: Museum
Price: $ ($25 pp)
Neighborhood: First Arrondissement
Address: Champ de Mars, 5 Av. Anatole France, 75007 Paris, France
Website

La Maison d’Isabelle – patisserie

Don’t let the slightly sloppy and melty appearance of La Maison d’Isabelle’s pain au chocolat deceive you. Yes, this patisserie also has a casual swap meet presence and is filled with pigeons out front. But hot damn, if this isn’t the best pain au chocolat I’ve ever had. It was recommended to us by Gracie, our pastry chef from La Cuisine, and I am so happy we got to try it.

We went here later in the evening, so they were out of all the other puff pastry options. The outer layer was nice and crisp, with a light but perfectly chewy and buttery center. We stood under an overhang right outside, enjoying this pastry as the local pigeons also enjoyed the gourmet crumbs.

Type of activity: Boulangerie
Price: $ ($5 pp)
Neighborhood: 5th Arrondissement
Address: 47ter Bd Saint-Germain, 75005 Paris, France
Website

Parcelles – French restaurant

If you’re looking for traditional bistro food that’s quintessentially Parisian, then Parcelles is a great example. We ordered potato gnocchi with sage butter, tuna carpaccio with milk-soaked almonds, French oysters, and roasted pork with peas and carrots. It’s definitely a very simple meal, but the ingredients were incredibly fresh.

Parcelles was a constant recommendation all over the internet for up-and-coming contemporary Parisian restaurants. It’s a small restaurant tucked in Le Marais and easily accessible by metro. Because it’s so popular, reservations are highly advised. Lunch reservations open one month in advance, and dinner reservations open two weeks ahead.

Type of activity: Bistro, traditional French cuisine with a contemporary style
Price: $$$ ($75 pp)
Neighborhood: 3rd Arrondissement
Address: 13 Rue Chapon, 75003 Paris, France
Website

The French Bastards – pastries & sandwiches

You might be getting sick of me saying that things in Paris were the best I’ve ever had, but we have another one here. Don’t worry; at the end of the post, I’ll also tell you everything I hated so you know I just don’t like everything.

From The French Bastards, this chocolate eclair absolutely killed it. It had perfect chocolate choux pastry, a lightly sweetened chocolate filling, a rich dark chocolate glaze on top, and a sparing amount of chocolate nibs on top. This was a light eclair, and each bite was heaven. For only 4€ each, this was a steal.

We tried this and the classic croissant, which was also good. The French Bastards had a ton of other pastries we didn’t get to try, but I’m sure the long line in front and behind us made a dent in the other puff pastry goods, cakes, and sandwiches.

We actually came back here on a second day to try the pain au chocolat, baba au rhum, and got a vegetarian baguette sandwich with pesto, burrata, arugula, and pesto, both of which were excellent. The eclair will stay burned in my memory, though. Until next time, The French Bastards! Lucky for us, The French Bastards has a few locations, but we went to the Saint-Denis one.

Type of activity: Boulangerie, patisserie
Price: $ ($10 pp)
Neighborhood: Multiple
Address: 181 Rue St Denis, 75002 Paris, France (also multiple locations)
Website

Stohrer – patisserie, chocolate, cakes

Stohrer is a cute bakery whose shop reminds me of other French bakeries I’ve visited in Palo Alto, California. Little did I know they were modeled after actual Parisian shops! I must say this shop felt a little bit fancier and had sort of an intimidation factor from the workers who just wanted me to hurry up to place my order and be on my way.

They weren’t rude, but there was a slightly different vibe here. But you know what? The kouign amann we tried above was killer. It was perfectly flaky, crunchy without being too hard, and with a decent amount of sweetness. This pastry is great paired with a nice cup of coffee. This pastry was so rich we didn’t finish it in a day, and I was actually nibbling on it one or two days after, and it was still amazing.

Type of activity: Patisserie
Price: $ ($8 pp)
Neighborhood: 2nd Arrondissement
Address: 51 Rue Montorgueil, 75002 Paris, France
Website: https://stohrer.fr/

E. Dehillerin – kitchen supply store

Known to be the oldest kitchen supply store, and Julia Child’s favorite, the iconic E. Dehillerin was a must-visit for us gear nerds. And this shop definitely has its charm. It’s not anything like visit to Sur La Table, this is way more like visiting a garage-turned VHS rental shop than the polished new chain kitchen supply stores of today.

Exploring this shop was really fun, though! They focus on stocking high-quality (pricey), timeless pieces of cooking equipment with minimal gimmicky toys (I did spot some boxes stuffed way in the back with Cedric Grolet’s face all over them, though, ha!).

How the shop works is that most items do not have a price listed on them directly but rather an item number. You’ll see folders with item numbers and prices listed on nearby shelves. Some items have stock available to pick up and take to the cashier. However, other items, like the copper pans, require help from the staff. You need to flag one down and show them which items you’d like to purchase. They’ll write down a receipt for you to take to the cashier and pay. We came out with a copper pan, a few paring knives as gifts, and some canelé molds for some baking experiments at home later!

Type of activity: Kitchen store
Neighborhood: First Arrondissement
Address: 18-20 Rue Coquillière, 75001 Paris, France
Website

Motors Coffee

I was very excited to step into the shop and see Motors had some expensive toys in the back of the shop, which weren’t even their main equipment in use. A slick Slayer single group ($11k USD!) as well as 1 or 2 Weber EG-1 grinders (yikes, $4095 USD a piece)– a coffee nerd’s dream.

But at the front of the shop, I believe, was a more standard, multi-head La Marzocco knocking out most of the busy line’s drinks. This shop was buzzing with patrons, inside and out, with barely enough room to walk inside.

But they served coffee in ceramic cups (the only way I’ll drink hot coffee). I loved the outside walkway seating for people watching on this busy street, and the coffee was great. Definitely will come back!

Type of activity: Coffee shop
Price: $ ($5 pp)
Neighborhood: First Arrondissement
Address: 7 Rue des Halles, 75001 Paris, France
Website

Maison – Japanese & French fusion restaurant

Eating at Maison was a dream and very much satisfied my missing Japan. Even though it was in the middle of Paris, this restaurant was the epitome of modern farmhouse vibes. It was a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine. Surprisingly, Japanese vibes even took over the Toto bidet toilets—of which we saw many on our Japan trip, but this was the only appearance we saw in Paris.

Chef Sota Atsumi, a Tokyo native, serves a filling five-course lunch tasting menu starting at 85€ that lasts about three hours. My favorite part about this restaurant is the design and open-kitchen concept. You get to see the staff cook and set the entire menu along a huge farmhouse table lit by the skylight above. The warm brick-red terracotta tiles also amplify a homey warmth in the peaceful loft space.

Some of my favorite courses were fresh asparagus and roe mousse, stuffed onion mushrooms, guinea fowl, and the strawberry pavlova dessert. This is a great spot for a nice lunch if you want fine dining at a more affordable price. It’s also not too hard to get reservations online.

Type of activity: Japanese French fusion
Price: $$$ ($90 pp)
Neighborhood: 11th Arrondissement
Address: 3 Rue Saint-Hubert, 75011 Paris, France
Website

Sabre

A trendy shop for trendy flatware turned out just as I expected. You can pair multiple kinds of finishes with an endless amount of colors and materials for handles. We walked away only slightly scathed with one set of utensils, which you’ll eventually find in photos for future recipes here!

If you have your eyes on Sabre cutlery, I would definitely recommend making a stop because each color and finish looks different from the photos online. Also, French prices are much cheaper than US online prices, and there is also a VAT refund if you spend over 100€.

Type of activity: Tableware
Price: $$$
Neighborhood: 3rd Arrondissement
Address: 17 Rue Vignon, 75008 Paris, France
Website

La Grande Épicerie de Paris – gourmet grocer

Think Whole Foods, but extremely gourmet and with even more departments. It might actually be more like Eataly if you’ve had a chance to visit that, but 10x bigger. I mean, where else can you find a dedicated gourmet sandwich nook, butter and cheese tasting, caviar fridges, and countless aisles of upscale gourmet goodies in a grocery store?

We walked away with a lot of butter, which they vacuum-sealed for us for 1€, which we kept in fridges until flying back home to the States. Prices were relatively affordable, too. We got about 6 types of butter, mustard, and chestnut pastes for 30€. If you need tips on what types of butter to buy, I like the butter from these brands: Beurre Bordier and Isigny Ste Mere.

To top it off, we spotted the legendary street magician David Blaine on our way out!

Type of activity: Specialty grocery store
Neighborhood: 7th Arrondissement
Address: 38 Rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris, France
Website

Restaurant Georgette – French restaurant

This was our farewell dinner in Paris. Restaurant Georgette is a very French-feeling bistro with seating outside, but for dinner service, everything shifted to inside only. It was bustling with a jam-packed dinner service. The interior was elegant and slightly rustic without being pretentious.

Our favorite dishes were actually the appetizers. We had a delicious chorizo mouse dish topped with egg, bacon, and cream that changed the way I think of mousse at all. And I couldn’t say no to a savory ice cream. The sweet onion and pepper tart with onion ice cream was such a cool combination–like a savory pie a la mode. I would probably skip the Caesar salad, which I didn’t expect to be loaded with so much chicken, because it wasn’t anything to write home about.

The stairway down to the toilets underground was the fanciest blue tile portal I’ve ever descended. It definitely caught me by surprise how nice this was.

Type of activity: Brasserie
Price: $$ ($50 pp)
Neighborhood: 6th Arrondissement
Address: 44 Rue d’Assas, 75006 Paris, France
Website

Places we would not visit again in Paris

Not trying to call out anyone here specifically, but just so you readers know we don’t like everything we do or eat, and gives context to what we do like. Below are the things we wouldn’t do on a future visit to Paris.

Visit the Louvre museum. It’s such chaos with huge crowds here, that its hard to focus or enjoy the museum without people and noise.

Getting pastries at a highly rated bakery chain did not turn out well. The raspberry croissant at Bo&Mie was soggy and we did not finish it.

Visit Place du Tertre. It was so crowded and populated with crowds of tourists and street vendors selling souvenirs we’d never bring back.

I was excited for Reyna, a modern take on Filipino food since most of our experiences with this genre turn out great. However Reyna’s offering was a bit off. There was something slightly wrong, or at least not to our taste with each dish. For example the rice was too gummy, the bagoong flavoring was much too weak on the asparagus, the chicken was a bit dry, and the pandan dessert was strange. I must say the fried chicken had a great quality and crispy batter, and our waiter was great though.