Must-see in Paris

Perched on the Left Bank along the Seine, the Beaux-Arts building housing Musée d’Orsay was once a railway station. Today, it’s home to the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist artwork, complete with all of France’s masters—Manet, Monet, Degas, and Van Gogh—hanging under its elegant arches. Like many museums in Paris, it’s closed on Monday and fills up fast on weekends and holidays. My suggestion is to make this a weekday activity and book tickets ahead of time. You can even book a combined ticket and 90-minute guided tour of some of the museum’s masterpieces for around €26 ($28).

Head out to the northeast part of Paris, to the 19th arrondissement, where one of the largest and oldest green spaces in the city sits. Dotted with caves, waterfalls, a suspended bridge, a lake, and plenty of viewpoints, this park is a popular one for locals year-round since the trails are great for walks or runs. In the summer, claim your patch of grass early in the day since the park fills up fast with sunbathers and picnickers. On one of the hilltops, you’ll find the popular indoor-outdoor bar, Rosa Bonheur, known for its LGBTQ-friendly spirit (especially on Sundays).

A monument that doesn’t need an introduction, if you’re going to see one tourist attraction in Paris, this should be it. The wrought-iron lattice landmark is symbolic of the city and shows off 360-degree views from the second and top floor—which is nearly 900 feet high. Two entrances in the gardens lead to the Eiffel Tower’s esplanade, but the east entrance is often less crowded. Save time by buying tickets in advance online, and be sure to choose whether you want elevator access (important for those with mobility challenges).

Once a palace to the kings of France, the Louvre is now one of the world’s most legendary museums, with collections spanning nearly 10,000 years of history. It’s hard to cover so much ground in a few days—let alone hours—so choose a few sections or one of the DIY “trails” that will take you through iconic pieces like the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Botticelli frescoes. Open daily except Tuesdays, tickets (around €17 or $19 when purchased online) get you access to permanent and temporary exhibitions, but you should reserve a time so you won’t have to wait as long to enter.

The street-level exhibition space in the heart of gallery-lined Marais showcases a collection from French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson—a photojournalism pioneer—and his wife, Martine Franck, a documentary and portrait photographer. The archives include a range of items, such as vintage prints, contact sheets, drawings, publications, correspondences, rare books, and more. You’ll find regularly curated exhibits from the archives, plus work by contemporary photographers. The Foundation is open every day except Monday and offers guided tours on select Saturdays.

The Champs-Élysées may be the city’s most famous thoroughfare, but a better way to get your bearings is from the city’s best “avenue”: the Seine. River cruises last around an hour and depart every 30 or 45 minutes during high season (April to September) or every 45 minutes the rest of the year. Children under 4 are free, and adult tickets are around €15 ($16), and it’s not necessary to book in advance. Time your cruise around sunset or when it’ll be passing by the Eiffel Tower on the hour, when the landmark’s lights twinkle for five minutes every hour from dusk until just before midnight.

Housed inside the Hôtel Salé, considered one of the most extravagant of the grand Parisian houses from the 17th century, the Musée National Picasso features the largest collection of work by artist Pablo Picasso in the world. Hidden away in the Marais, you’ll find a variety of the legend’s creations —including paintings, sculptures, engravings, and drawings—arranged in permanent and temporary exhibitions. The collection spans some 200,000 archival items and 5,000 works, offering an in-depth look into the life and progression of Picasso’s art. If you’re not one to spend a half-day at a museum, this is the perfect spot to pass through, since you can easily breeze through the permanent collection in about an hour.

Inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence, Queen Marie de Medici created the Luxembourg Gardens in 1612 on the border of Saint-Germain-des-Près. Spanning 60 acres, the land is split into two parts: French and English gardens, with a geometric forest and pond creating the border. Think of this as Paris’s Central Park, with more than a hundred statues scattered throughout, an orangerie, chess and tennis courts, and remote-control boats. You’ll often find photography exhibits on display and live concerts, so you can easily spend half the day strolling and lounging in the gardens, and kids will also be entertained thanks to the puppet theater, carousel, and playground area.

If you’re spending the day near the Eiffel Tower, stop in the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, which sits on the bank of the Seine. The curved, flowing Jean Nouvel-designed building—shielded by a suspended garden—weaves around a wild, 2.4-acre garden with 150 different species from around the world. The expansive, open exhibition space features permanent and temporary collections revolving around four regions: Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. If that’s not impressive enough, head to the panoramic restaurant, Les Ombres, on the museum’s roof terrace for one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

One of the few spots where you can sit on the grass in the Marais, Place des Vosges is one of the oldest squares in Paris and one of the most iconic. Often called Victor Hugo’s square since the “Les Misérables” author’s home-turned-museum is among the many 17th- and 18th-century mansions lining the gardens and public park, the square—which date back to the 1600s—now draws a mix of well-heeled Parisians, students, and artists to the manicured lawns and surrounding galleries and cafes.

Nestled among the couture houses on Avenue George V, the Crazy Horse’s history dates back to the 1950s and weaves in elements of New Wave, New Realism, and Pop Art movements. The music may be more contemporary today, but you still get the core from when it was created in the form of topless, top hat-wearing dancers on rotating couches. Legendary designers like Christian Louboutin and Chantal Thomass are behind the barely-there lingerie and stilettos, and, over the past 70 years, major names in the fashion world from Karl Lagerfeld to Paco Rabanne have contributed to the cutting-edge costumes.

The Parisian cabaret dates back to 1889 and unfolds on the top floor of the iconic, neon windmill-adorned building at the foot of Montmartre Hill. The French version of a showgirl, with its the feather-clad costumes, is just as infamous as the French cancan. Doors to the 850-seat hall open at 7 p.m. and 120 servers work in harmony, pouring Champagne and passing plates around the dining room. Dine while the Moulin Rouge orchestra is playing and prepare to watch the Féerie show, which kicks off at 9 p.m. (tickets start at around €205, or $225).

Housed in the hôtel particulier on 5 Avenue Marceau, where the designer spent 30 years working on his collections, the museum and its exhibition spaces have been refreshed to appear like the original couture house. Surprisingly, the only museum of its scale in Paris focused on the work of a sole couture designer showcases a mix of retrospective displays and temporary thematic exhibitions revolving around the legendary designer’s many motifs. Open daily except Monday, the museum also hosts monthly visits of the atelier (in French) with the conservation team, who open the archives of the couture house.

Starting behind the Bastille opera house and running above Avenue Daumesnil to the Jardin de Reuilly and, eventually, to the Porte Dorée and Bois de Vincennes, the 2.8-mile former railway line (originally known as the Coulée Verte) is Paris’s version of the New York City High Line. Punctuated by lime and hazelnut trees, vines, and rosebushes, the elevated linear park runs through a variety of different areas in the 12th arrondissement. One of the highlights along the way: the Viaduc des Arts, a collection of galleries and boutiques built in the vaults along the converted train line below the promenade.

Linking the Port de l’Arsenal to the La Villette canal basin, the stretch of the Canal Saint-Martin running through the area named after it is a popular place for strolling across Venetian-style footbridges popularized by French films like “Amélie.” Everyone from picnickers to pêcheurs (fishermen) hang along the banks throughout the day, while in the evening it gets slightly rowdier with music playing and groups of locals and tourists alike sipping wine by the water. Get a sense of how the canal connects stretches of the city on a cruise passing through the locks, or pop in the small covered market and stock up on French goodies like cheese from the Fromagerie Saint-Martin, which displays more than 100 different types.

While the Eiffel Tower may be the most iconic monument in Paris, the best view of the capital is from the 56th-floor Observation Deck of the Montparnasse Tower. Rising nearly 650 feet above the city, the 360-degree vantage point shows off prime panoramas of the Eiffel Tower, since the observatory’s height sits between the second and third floors of the Eiffel Tower. Book tickets online, and you won’t even have to wait to get up and see the views.