Paris sights

For families with children

Follow the rule: one day — one sight. Children won’t be tired and naughty if they don’t get too much information.

Museum of Magic

If your child is crazy about magic, wizards, and illusionists, it’s the right place for you.

Sophie Nadeau tells the readers why the museum is an absolute must visit in Paris:

The museum of magic not only contains all objects magic related, but also puts on regular shows, making it one of the best small museums in Paris.

Guided tours are held only in French and English.

Address: 11 rue Saint Paul, metro station Sully, Bastille or St Paul.
Working hours: Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday from 14:00 till 19:00.
Price: from €9

Discovery palace

This scienсe museum is worth visiting with schoolchildren to show them funny math, physics, chemistry, and biology. You can touch all the items and press all the buttons.

Linda Mak, the author of mamalovesparis website, tells the readers about the most thrilling performances of the museum:

The Electrostatic presentation was very entertaining but do not sit in the front row on the right-side of the stage, otherwise you will be shocked!

One day is not enough to see everything in the museum: there are too many items and you’ll definitely be tired. It’s better to choose 3 or 4 exhibits and study them carefully.

Address: Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt, metro station Champs Elysées-Clemenceau or Franklin-D.-Roosevelt.
Working hours: from 09:30 till 18:00; Monday is a day-off.
Buy a ticket

La Villette Park

It covers an area of 55 hectares. Here you can:

• walk: more than half of the park is a green zone.

• visit themed gardens, for example, the garden of children’s nightmares, balance, mirrors, dunes, and islands. There are 9 gardens altogether.

• go to the City of Science and Industry with the interactive museum, the real submarine, the spherical cinema, and the planetarium. There is the Children’s City here, with its two discovery areas, one for ages 2–7 and one for ages 5–12. You can buy tickets at a ticket office on the first floor.

• if your child attends a music school, visit the Music Museum in the southern part of the park.

Address: 221 avenue Jean Jaures, metro station Porte de la Villette or Porte de Pantin.
Working hours of La Villette Park — from 06:00 till 01:00. You can find information on this website.
The entrance is free. Look for the rest of the prices on the website.

Astérix Park

You’ll find the world of Asterix and Obelix, characters of French comics, about 30 km away from Paris. Special buses running from the underground parking of the Carrousel store near the Louvre will take you here. You can also get to Aéroport Charles De Gaulle 1 station by RER B train, and then change to the bus.

There are 5 themed areas and 39 attractions in the park.

Things you should know:

• it takes one hour to get here from Paris.
• it’s less crowded on Saturdays than on Sundays.
• it’s cheaper to buy tickets online than at ticket offices.
• there are lots of water attractions so take a change of clothes with you.
• there are 12 restaurants in the park, most of them offer fast food.
• lines are shorter during lunchtime, from 12:00 till 14:00.

share a secret on how to avoid long lines:

We had arranged, for our first day, to have Pass Rapidus … ‘fast passes’ allowing us to jump the queue on eight of their most popular high-adrenaline rides (only once per ride though). The children, particularly, loved these as it meant they could dash between all the popular rides and ride them without having to queue. Pass Rapidus cost €25 each, on top of the entry ticket … but it’s worth it. The queues for a few of the rides were close to 45 minutes long. Without the fast passes, the number of rides you could tick off during your day would be limited.

Address: Plailly, Picardie.
Working hours: usually from 10:00 till 18:00. Days to attend are marked with blue color.

Disneyland

Disneyland Park is located 32 km to the east of Paris. You can get here by RER A train to Marne-la-Vallée / Chessy station, from Gare du Nord by Disneyland Paris Express shuttles with stops at Opera and Chatelet stations, from Paris airports and some hotels by Magical Shuttle.

Things you will find in Disneyland:

• Disneyland Park with the castle of Sleeping Beauty;
• Walt Disney Studios Park in the form of a film set;
• Mini-town Disney Village with restaurants, cafes, and souvenirs stores.

Things you should know:

• if you buy tickets online, you’ll enter the park sooner. Don’t forget to print them.
• take tickets for a certain time at Disney’s FASTPASS ticket machines to skip the lines. It’s free.

FiggyGirl, a tripadvisor user, tells the readers how much time they can spend standing in lines if they don’t have the pass:

Days can vary, and bad weather can make a difference, but you do have to expect high crowd levels generally in the summer holidays. The major rides like Ratatouille and Crush’s Coaster can be up to 2 hours, but not necessarily all day.

• characters of the parade will be well seen at the corner 30 meters before the finish line.
• take water and snacks with you. A bottle of water costs €5–6 in the park.
• measure your child in advance not to waste time in lines: little children can’t ride some attractions.

recommends her favorite Disneyland ride:

I didn’t think anything was better than the classic Pirates ride at Disneyland, but Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland Paris has topped it. The scenes will feel familiar, and the dialogue is in French. The detailed queue sets the mood long before you board. FASTPASS is not available, so ride this one early to avoid a wait.

Address: Marne-la-Vallée.
Working hours: Disneyland Park — from 10:00 till 20:00, Walt Disney Studios Park — from 10:00 till 19:00. For those who stayed at hotels by the park, it works from 08:30 to 09:30.
Buy a ticket

For loving couples

We chose romantic places that are not very crowded.

Port de l’Arsenal Garden

Jeremy Boulat, a user of Google Reviews, knows how to have a good time in this romantic place:

Great little garden nestled in Central Paris. You can’t go wrong here. Bring a picnic basket in a blanket and a lover!

Wall of Love

Perfect place to make a wish or to propose.

tells the readers how to get here:

The I Love You Wall can be found in Square Jehan Rictus, Place des Abbesses, Montmartre. (Metro stop: Abbesses, Line 12.)

Seine embankment

To make the romantic effect long-lasting, go to the embankment. You’ll need a metro or a bus to get there.

You can just sit on a bank.

Or you can take a small cruise.

Elsa, the author of elsastravelblogonparis website, recommends Vedettes du Pont Neuf company:

Board at Pont Neuf, near the Louvre. Boarding times vary by season so check their website by clicking here.

If you buy tickets online, it will cost you €9. If you do it on the spot, you’ll pay €12.

For elderly couples

We mapped out a walking route to see the main sights: you don’t have to run all over Paris and waste energy on public transport.

Triumphal Arch

You can start here. Reach Charles de Gaulle Étoile station by metro and move towards the central Paris street from the Arch.

Champs-Élysées

The street is crowded even at night.

It’s very comfortable to walk here: there are lots of pedestrian crosses on the street.

Hungtraveler, a tripadvisor user, gives a clue to people who want to post something on Instagram:

Specially, you can use free wifi in here.

Élysée Palace, French president’s residence, is located on the central Paris street. You can visit it for free on the second weekend of October.

The boulevard is divided into two zones: the park and shops.

Writing on aluxurytravelblog, Chanta Dewolf says that there is only one store worth visiting on Champs-Élysées:

The highlight of a shopping expedition on this famed street is a visit to the flagship Louis Vuitton store at 101 Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The shop’s window décor, which changes regularly, is often a treat to view in itself. The long line of people waiting for a chance to spend hundreds of euros; is another.

Tuileries Garden starts behind Champs-Élysées. You can see it on the map.

Tuileries Garden

Sculptures, fountains, flower beds, and dark cozy corners — all these things you’ll find in the garden.

recommends visiting The Orangerie Museum located in the park:

Today’s Paris memory is of the exquisite Musee de l’Orangerie, in which eight of Monet’s huge water lily paintings (called the Nympheas) are displayed in two large ovals rooms designed in part by Monet himself so as to achieve the perfect lighting and ambiance. The effect is magical. And while the museum is fairly popular, if you arrive at opening on a weekday, you’re very likely to have to the place all to yourself for a bit, making the experience truly one of a kind. The museum also houses works by Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir and others, but Monet’s water lily canvases are the main draw.

Working hours: from 09:00 till 18:00. Tuesday is a day-off.
Price: €9.
But a ticket

The National Gallery Jeu de Paume is also located in the park. Contemporary art pieces, experimental photos and movies are exhibited here.

Working hours: from 11:00 till 19:00.
Price: €10.

Louvre Museum

It is situated behind the Tuileries Garden. You’ll need a minimum half a day to see at least part of the museum.

Working hours: from 09:00 till 18:00 (Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday), from 09:00 till 21:45 (Wednesday, Friday). Tuesday is a day-off.
Price: €15.
Buy a ticket

• you can buy tickets to the museum at ticket machines in the Carrousel du Louvre underground mall, Tabac Museum kiosks, and FNAK, Auchan, Virgin Megastore, Le Bon Marche, Mediastore stores.
• don’t forget to take an audio guide. You can also download the official museum app.

Victoria, the author of the pommietravels website, tells the readers how to enter the Louvre skipping enormous lines:

You might see the long lines outside the front of the Louvre pyramid and be scared away but there are actually other, less busy entrances, including the Passage Richelieu entrance, Galerie du Carrousel entrance and Porte des Lions entrance – the last one is for groups only.

Orsay Museum

It will take you 10–12 minutes to get from the Louvre to the museum. A rich collection of impressionist works is housed in the former railway station building.

Working hours: from 09:30 till 18:00, on Thursday – till 21:45. Monday is a day-off.

Price: €14. It’s for free on the first Sunday of the month.
Buy a ticket

Notre-Dame de Paris

The ruined cathedral is a few minutes walk and one station away from the Orsay Museum.

Tourists used to visit Notre-Dame de Paris to:

• see famous christian relics: the Jesus Christ’s Crown of Thorns, the Nail with which Christ was crucified, and the part of the Cross.

Bob Adams tells the readers when they can see the sacred Crown:

But the relic is presented inside Notre Dame’s main chapel every first Friday of the month, and every Friday during Lent, as part of a special veneration Mass. Additionally, the crown is displayed from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Good Friday—today—to commemorate the day on which Jesus was crucified.

Friday veneration masses are held at 3 p.m. and are open to the public, including non-Catholics, although only active church members are permitted to receive the eucharist during services.

• make photos from the Northern tower.

Lord, the author of lordaroundtheworld website, reminds about the challenge waiting for photo enthusiasts:

There are approximately 400 steps going up the towers. There’s no lift so this activity is not recommended for pregnant women.

• hear church singing during everyday mass.

Sarah, the author of thewanderblogger, was very impressed by the mass:

It was not the service itself that triggered such a reaction in me. That part was in French and might as well have been in Morse code for as much French as I know. But it was the music – the choir in combination with the organ. Never in my life have I ever heard something so beautiful. Heavenly is the only word in my limited vocabulary that I have to describe it. Looking around at the beauty of the situation – being inside Notre-Dame, the smell of incense in the air, and the sound of the choir in perfect acoustics – you may laugh at me, but it made me want to drop to my knees and weep.

Working hours: from 07:45 till 18:45, on Saturdays and Sundays — till 19:45.
Price: tickets to the Treasury – €4, tickets to the North Tower – €15.

Each person can find his or her favorite sights in Paris. The only thing that shouldn’t be looked at is your smartphone. Otherwise, you may miss something interesting.