Paris Holidays

Rather than taking the lift, visitors can climb 674 steps from ground level to the Eiffel Tower's second floor. The route pauses at the first floor before continuing upwards, rewarding the effort with changing views across the Seine, Champ de Mars and surrounding city.

Parc Rives de Seine gives visitors around seven kilometres of riverside space reserved for walking, cycling and other non-motorised movement. Routes along both banks pass central landmarks, bridges and quays while offering a quieter perspective on the architecture lining the Seine.

Visitors can follow this 4.5-kilometre green walkway from Bastille towards the Bois de Vincennes. Created along a former railway line, the route passes over viaducts and through landscaped paths, tunnels and railway cuttings, offering a different way to explore eastern Paris.

Around 20 metres underground, the Paris Catacombs take visitors through former quarry galleries containing the remains of several million Parisians. The public route extends for roughly 1.5 kilometres, combining the unusual underground setting with the history of how Paris dealt with overcrowded cemeteries.

Visitors can rise above Parc André Citroën aboard a tethered balloon reaching around 150 metres above the ground. The elevated viewpoint opens across western Paris towards landmarks including the Eiffel Tower, although flights depend on suitable weather conditions on the day.

Dating from the Gallo-Roman period, the Arènes de Lutèce allows visitors to see one of the few substantial surviving remains of ancient Lutetia. Elements of the arena and stage are still visible within a quiet space in the Latin Quarter, surrounded by the modern city.

Built during the reign of Louis IX in the thirteenth century, Sainte-Chapelle gives visitors one of Paris's finest surviving examples of Rayonnant Gothic architecture. The upper chapel is dominated by towering stained-glass windows depicting hundreds of biblical scenes in intense colour.

Once part of the medieval royal palace on Île de la Cité, the Conciergerie later became a court and prison. Visitors can see its surviving medieval halls while learning about its role during the French Revolution, when Marie Antoinette was among those imprisoned there.

Originally conceived as a church dedicated to Saint Geneviève, the Panthéon later became a national monument honouring significant French figures. Visitors can enter its vast interior and crypt, where Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Voltaire, Émile Zola and Simone Veil are among those interred.

Dedicated to the history of Paris, Musée Carnavalet lets visitors follow the city's story through archaeology, paintings, furniture, photographs, decorative objects and reconstructed interiors. Its collections span early settlement, royal Paris, the Revolution and the social and architectural transformation of the modern capital.

Set inside a former railway station, the Musée d'Orsay introduces visitors to Western art produced between 1848 and 1914. Its collections are particularly renowned for Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works, with painting, sculpture, photography and decorative arts presented beneath the station's great glass roof.

Inaugurated in 1875, the Palais Garnier gives visitors a lavish introduction to Paris's opera tradition and Second Empire architecture. Marble staircases, gilding, sculpture and painted ceilings fill the building, while Marc Chagall's monumental ceiling adds a distinctive twentieth-century layer to the auditorium.

The cafés of Saint-Germain-des-Prés allow visitors to step into a neighbourhood closely associated with twentieth-century writers, philosophers and artists. Establishments including Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots became meeting places for figures connected with literature, existentialism and Paris's post-war intellectual life.

More than twenty historic covered galleries and passages survive across Paris, particularly around the Grands Boulevards. Glass roofs shelter bookshops, cafés, restaurants, galleries and specialist shops, giving visitors a glimpse of the city's elegant shopping culture before the arrival of the great department stores.

Montmartre's steep streets, studios and cafés connect visitors with the neighbourhood that attracted artists including Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani and Van Gogh. Artists still work around Place du Tertre, while museums, former studios and surviving windmills preserve different pieces of the area's creative history.

France celebrates its National Day every 14 July, with Paris at the centre of official commemorations. Visitors can usually see the military parade on the Champs-Élysées alongside public celebrations, concerts and festivities, while the precise programme and timing of evening events can vary from year to year.

Every 21 June, Fête de la Musique fills Paris with live performances across streets, squares, parks and cultural venues. Visitors can hear everything from amateur musicians to larger organised concerts, with many performances free and spread across neighbourhoods throughout the capital.

Usually held in early June, Nuit Blanche transforms Paris into a late-night contemporary arts programme. Visitors encounter installations, performances, concerts and exhibitions in public spaces, museums and cultural venues, often including locations that are not normally accessible at night.

Held annually around late May and early June, Roland-Garros brings international tennis to the clay courts of the Stade Roland-Garros. Visitors can attend qualifying rounds, practice sessions and tournament matches as the French Open progresses towards its singles and doubles finals.

Every spring, the Paris Marathon sends tens of thousands of runners through the capital on a 42.195-kilometre route. Visitors lining the course can see competitors pass major areas and landmarks, with the race traditionally beginning on or around the Champs-Élysées.

Operating in Montmartre since 1889, the Moulin Rouge gives visitors a classic Parisian music-hall experience centred around elaborate staging, costumes, dance and the French Cancan. Its illuminated red windmill remains one of the most recognisable symbols of the Pigalle nightlife district.

An evening cruise gives visitors a different perspective on central Paris as the monuments and bridges along the Seine become illuminated. Typical routes pass sights including Notre-Dame, the Conciergerie, Grand Palais and Eiffel Tower, with sightseeing, dinner and smaller private cruises available.

Rue des Lombards puts visitors within a few steps of several established Paris jazz clubs. Duc des Lombards, Sunset/Sunside and Baiser Salé offer programmes spanning acoustic and contemporary jazz, blues, funk and soul, making the street one of the capital's strongest addresses for live music.

At La Villette, the Philharmonie de Paris gives visitors access to major concerts, exhibitions and the Musée de la Musique. Its programme moves between classical repertoire, jazz, contemporary music and international performances, offering a substantial alternative to the nightlife venues of central Paris.

Le Marais gives visitors a varied evening scene built around restaurants, wine bars, cocktail venues and late-night cafés. The neighbourhood is also an important centre of Paris's LGBTQIA+ nightlife, alongside a wider mix of venues spread through its historic streets.