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45 Unexpected Things To Do in Paris

This isn’t your typical list of things to see in Paris. Sure, the Louvre is great. And the food is great. But there’s a lot more to the world’s most touristic city than its tourist sites. Here: a guide to what’s special and unexpected in Paris.

Paris is one of those cities that’s always so easy to return to. There are just so many amazing things to do in the city, so many amazing museums, and activities, and parks, and the food—THE FOOD!

Well, by food, I mean cheese. But you get the idea: Paris is exciting. It has been, it is, and it always will be.

Paris isn’t just a place, it’s a way of life.

And while the main tourist attractions shouldn’t be missed, there’s a lot of ways to enjoy Paris. It’s not all museums and walking tours, it’s also the way you soak it all in. Below, my list of unique and unexpected local things to do in Paris.

Unexpected Things To Do in Paris

45 Unexpected Things To Do in Paris - https://travelsofadam.com/2018/03/paris-things-to-do/
  1. Buy baguettes in the same boulangerie every morning until the baker learns your name.
  2. Stand up in the metro when you are sitting in the fold-down seats and the wagon gets crowded. It’s mandatory.
  3. Say “Pardon” if you’re in other people’s way, even if no physical contact is made.
  4. Go for a walk in your local park (Parc de Buttes-Chaumont, Parc Montsouris, Luxembourg, etc.). It doesn’t matter what time of day or the weather.
Parks in Paris
A walk thorough the many parks is mandatory
  1. Look right, look left, skip the red light. This is not Germany.
  2. Offer your help. Seriously. You can carry bags. You can hold doors. You can pick up stuff. Parisians are far friendlier than you think and many will go out of their way to offer help.
  3. Say “Bonjour” upon entering any store. Immediately. Without it, you’ll never get service.
  4. Buy delicious, artisanal cheese on the Rue De Martyrs.
  5. Visit the museums every single weekend. Even if it’s crowded, doesn’t matter. Art is important.
Art and museums
The Electricity Fairy, an artwork by Dufy, mesmerizing many visitors at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art
  1. Dance in front of the Pompidou Center with your gang, or near the Bibliotheque Nationale François Mitterrand.
  2. Drink peppermint tea in the Grande Mosquee on a rainy afternoon.
  3. Acquire an expensive-yet-affordable sense of fashion, without spending thousands of Euros in Lafayette.
  4. Ride a bike. Skate. Hell, even use a futuristic hover-board unicycle. In Paris, the people M O V E .
  5. Look out for the temporary art exhibitions at places like the Tokyo Palace, the Grand Palais, Orsay, or the Pompidou. (Buy your tickets in advance.)
Centre Pompidou
The César exhibition at Pompidou captures many visitors each day
  1. Be prepared to win fights with silence. Learn how to strike a severe look when people lose their shit and start a fight. Take sides without saying a word.
  2. Be gentle to retail workers. To public servants. Understand the French bureaucracy has its limits.
  3. Don’t ever pollute. Ever. There are trash cans everywhere.
  4. Take a selfie in the Simone-de-Beauvoir footbridge.
  5. Be tolerant of other tourists. Most Paris tourists only visit for a few days, often on their own dream trip. Don’t spoil it.
  6. Get used to the architectural beauty and be prepared to always be looking up.
Architecture in Paris
Thank Haussmann for all this symmetry and beauty
  1. Visit the peacocks and ducks at the Île de Bercy, Bois de Vincennes.
  2. Take away food in your local Traiteur Asiatique—small Chinese food takeaways and some of the cheapest food you’ll find in the city.
  3. Go to the small museums with your best friend. Stand between people taking photos and the artworks. Act like you don’t care (because you shouldn’t really care).
  4. Buy macaroons only because you can.
  5. Exercise in public spaces. Along the River Seine. In the open-air gyms. Under the Statue of Liberty.
  6. Dance with your partner at Parc Belleville.
Open Air Dancing sessions
Dance… dance… and dance.
  1. Buy your vegetables in the local market, never in the groceries store.
Buy like a local, learn the secrets of the French cuisine.
  1. Learn the bus routes. The RER routes. The metro routes. Sure, the Paris metro is dirty and crowded and smells of piss more than anything, but it’s that raw beauty which makes it work for so many people. It’s pure democracy. Use it.
Mind the gap!
The Paris Metro has its own strange beauty
  1. Carry an umbrella on cloudy days. Because in Paris, it will always rain.
  2. Join a demonstration at Bastille. Support the strikes. Revolt.
  3. Get used to the military troops strolling around.
  4. Wait in line for ramen at the best restaurants in the Quartier Chinois (Chinatown).
  5. Expect to get lost in the second-hand bookstores, especially those in the Latin Quarter.
This bookstore in Rue Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie specializes on LGBT literature
  1. Learn to ignore obscene manifestations of overwhelming wealth. Yes, there are billionaires among us. They are mortals too.
  2. Go watch French movies in a matinee showing (if you’re staying a while, get a yearly cinema pass).
  3. Be cool with diversity. Don’t be bothered by listening to Arabic, Chinese, German, English or Spanish.
  4. Spend a Sunday in the Jardin des Plantes.
  5. Explore the many flea markets. Look at the products. Find rare items. Buy them (or not).
  6. Appreciate a sunset reflected in the waters of Canal Saint-Martin.
Canal Saint-Martin
The Canal Saint-Martin is perfect for a Sunday afternoon stroll.
  1. Get used to watching heterosexual couples taking wedding pictures at Pont de Bir-Hakeim (formerly the Pont de Passy).
  2. Learn where to buy fancy stuff: flowers at the Quai de la Mégisserie, art between Rue de Seine and Rue de Mazarine, pianos along the Boulevard Saint Germain.
  3. Expect ‘hors de service’ (out of order) signs everywhere. Things break. Paris goes on.
  4. Tolerate the stench of urine under the bridges along the Seine. In fact, better to learn the spots where you have to hold your breath.
The Seine offers many reasons to ‘hold your breath’
  1. Let the many churches be part of your daily life, even if you don’t believe in any god: La Madeleine, Trinite, Saint Sulpice… and of course Notre Dame and Sacre Couer.
  2. Fall in love with the silent, crooked streets.

Paris is beautiful. And its beauty isn’t just in the big monuments, it’s along the streets, in the parks. It’s infused within the city’s very being—a place revolutions have been won and lost, where the people remain resilient. It’s beautiful but also very real. A truly unique city.

Someone asked me recently if I liked Paris. “Isn’t it too crowded, too touristy,” they asked. No. Paris is Paris and there’s no other place like it. A city that’s as pristine and beautiful as it is dirty, rough, and raw.

I think a lot of people visit Paris just once—hitting up all those tourist things to do—and once they’ve checked it off, they’re good. But there’s so much more to this city. It’s the kind of place you can always return to, one that changes frequently. Because Paris isn’t just a place, it’s a way of life. An experience, really, way more than its attractions.

  1. Ed says:

    Awesome! I’m going to Paris this summer so this has come in useful. First time I’ll have been as an adult!

  2. Adam says:

    Ohhhh Paris is a lot of fun Ed! It’s such an amazing city and a unique one at that, I think you’ll really enjoy it as an adult if you’ve already seen the major tourist sites.

  3. Adam says:

    Ohhhh Paris is a lot of fun Ed! It’s such an amazing city and a unique one at that, I think you’ll really enjoy it as an adult if you’ve already seen the major tourist sites.

  4. This list is wonderful, thank you! I’m heading to Paris within the next month so this is so helpful :)

  5. Embracing local culture is one of the most important things when traveling to a new city! These tips are honestly so great, thank you for sharing!

  6. What a great list you shared! A,ways want to go there and spend some day. You shared great tips in your post! Thank you so much for sharing this experiences.

  7. This is like a full Paris bucket list! Absolutely lovely!

  8. Hi Adam,

    This is one cool super list! There’s definitely so much more in Paris :) Thanks for this, I learned a few more non-touristy things to do for my next trip.

  9. thaitor says:

    Paris gives me a nice feeling. The city of love and love, a city that has all the good feelings together.

  10. Paris is such a beautiful place and I want to go back someday. Your post really useful and reminded me of so many things I still have to do in there!

  11. David says:

    The electricity fair is awesome! Such amazing places.

  12. Gurvinder says:

    Your list is fantastic, I definitely try one of your things, i really enjoyed your blog post. thanks

  13. DJ Pank says:

    Very Useful information for paris. Excellent content.

  14. Almas Bashir says:

    This is such a great list of things to do in Paris especially for those who are planning to visit Paris for the very first time. Thanks for such informative article.

  15. otlaat says:

    New post of wonderful way of writing , Amazing photos , I’m glad to be one of your follower , you are the best

  16. What a wonderful post about Paris, Adam! We are so looking forward to these unexpected things we can do in Paris. Fingers-crossed, we can travel this Christmas season. If not, we are surely planning it next year. It really is true when they say “a picture paints a thousand words” as I found your photos telling me a story of how beautiful and serene Paris is. Kudos!

  17. Krunal says:

    Thanks for sharing this!
    Paris is a really fascinating place to visit. The city will keep surprising you every time you visit. You have covered everything one needs to know for their Paris holiday. Great research.

  18. Rati says:

    Great information. Paris is very fantastic city. I want to go here.

  19. Rati says:

    thanks for sharing such beautiful information with us. I hope you will share some more information about other countries. Please keep sharing.

  20. Simon says:

    Awesome…loved reading it throughout. Stunned by the amazing captures and thanks for the tips. Cheers!

  21. Markus says:

    Great blog ..very informative. The clicks are stunning.

  22. jeanne says:

    What a brilliant post and to find it just 10 days before we get to Paris! Woohoo! So excited now!

  23. Agness says:

    Hello Adam, love to go back to Paris and try this wonderful list. Just wanna try something different. Love lots from Taipei…

  24. […] Because a lot of European cities are old (and many are small), sometimes the best way to get around is by foot—or better, by bicycle. There’s a strong cycling culture in Europe which makes for better health overall. And bonus: so many European cities have those lovely little cobblestoned streets and walking at night through a European old town is just so beautiful and oddly peaceful. There’s a reason we all romanticize Paris at night. […]

  25. Paris is love. Thank you so much for this information.
    Wonderful post. Your blogging style is unique.
    Thanks !!

  26. KW Travels says:

    Paris is a beautiful city This city is a symbol of love. Thank you for sharing a piece of wonderful information about Paris. The Electricity Fairy is awesome.

  27. Cloyster says:

    Paris is a great city. Once i was there and most of the things that you have mentioned i enjoyed over there, but still some are remaining. so looking forward to explore them. thanks mate for letting us know about these things.

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