Things to do in Paris

by Yasmine Lesire | Oct 30, 2024 | Paris

Things to do in Paris

by Yasmine Lesire | Oct 30, 2024 | Paris

What are some of the best things to do in Paris? Eating great food and enjoying good bars, are at the top of my list of priorities!

Paris is such a beautiful city with dozens of nice restaurants and cafes. Actually, in 2014, almost 14 000 restaurants and bars were registered in Paris alone.

The arrondissement with the highest density of bars and restaurants is the 11th. In French, it’s called le débit de boisson. So, as you can imagine, if you are looking for things to do in Paris, you will always find something to suit your tastes. However, like in any great city, there are also a lot of tourist traps, and those are the places where you’ll possibly eat the most disgusting croissant or pizza in your life. Yes, bad croissants also exist in Paris, trust me.

As a private French teacher, I often meet students who discover the city and learn French at the same time. Maybe it’s your case as well. Maybe you are in Paris for just one week or as long as two years. In any case, we all deserve to enjoy the city to its maximum potential and it can be a challenge to find the right place for the right occasion.

So, I decided to write down all the best things to do in Paris. Here is my list of all the places that I’ve tried, and liked, in Paris. Enjoy!

The best restaurants in Paris

French cuisine, a Parisian institution. My 14 best places to dine

1. Le bouillon de Pigalle
Cheap French cuisine
22 boulevard de Clichy, 75018

2. Chez Paul (not the bakery)
Traditional French cuisine
13 Rue de Charonne, 75011

3. Bistrot Le Carreau
Excellent and cosy, also a very nice place to have a coffee in the afternoon
1 rue Charles François Dupuis, 75003

4. Chez Casimir
6 Rue de Belzunce, 75010

5. Les Mauvais garçons
Cuisine from Lyon
4 Rue des Mauvais Garçons, 75004

6. L’aubergeade
Prix fixe menu (my favorite)
17 Rue de Chaligny, 75012

7. La Jouvence
Gourmet restaurant
172 Bis Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75012

8. Les Chouettes
32 rue de Picardie, 75 003

9. L’Alchimiste
181 Rue de Charenton, 75012

10. Le Grand Colbert
Chic French brasserie serving incredible seafood
Rue Vivienne, 75002 Paris

11. Les Deux moulins
The famous brasserie where Amélie Poulain was filmed!
15 Rue Lepic, 75018

12. Les Papilles
French restaurant with one (excellent) menu
30 Rue Gay-Lussac, 75005

13. Aux Vins des Pyrénées
25 Rue Beautreillis, 75004

14. Le café de la Nouvelle Mairie
If you want to see French television journalists and other intellectual (or want-to-be) people, this place if for you.
19 Rue des Fossés Saint-Jacques, 75005

15. Santa Carne
One of the best restaurants for all meat lovers 🥩
3 Boulevard Richard Lenoir, 75011

Do you like brunches? Here are 4 addresses not to be missed

1. Soya
Vegan free
20 Rue de la Pierre Levée, 75011

2. Les Bonnes soeurs
8 Rue du Pas de la Mule, 75003

3. Chez Casimir
6 Rue de Belzunce, 75010

4. Treiz Baker
Cute little gem hidden in Saint Germain
English speaking 💖
5 Rue de Medicis, 75005 Paris

Top 4 best pizzerias in Paris

1. Sette Pizza
38 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010

2. Papelini
74 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010

3. Julia
43 Rue de Charenton, 75012 (only take away)

4. Café d’Italie
76 Avenue des Gobelins, 75013

Do you prefer Oriental cuisine?

1. La rose de Damas
6 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 75005
Syrian cuisine with amazing falafels!

2. Miznon
Israeli cuisine with the best cauliflower in town
22 Rue des Ecouffes, 75004
37 Quai de Valmy, 75010
3 rue de la Grange Batelière, 75009

3. Feyrrouz
8 Rue de Lourmel, 75015

Best Asian Food in Paris

1. Hakata Choten
53 Rue des Petits Champs, 75001

2. Dosanko
40, Rue Sainte-Anne, 75002 Paris

3. Ravioli Nord-Est
17 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009
115 Rue Saint-Denis, 75001
11 Rue Civiale, 75010

4. Pho Bom
71 Avenue de Choisy, 75013

Restaurants with views of the Eiffel Tower

eiffel tower restaurants

1. Chez Francis
7 Place de l’Alma, 75008

2. Le Comptoir Principal
29 Boulevard de Grenelle, 75015

3. Perruche
Beautiful rooftop
Printemps de l’Homme, 2 Rue du Havre, 75008

4. Les Ombres
27 Quai Branly, 75007

5. Café de l’homme
17 Place du Trocadéro et du 11 Novembre, 75116

6. Monsieur Bleu
20 Avenue de New York, 75116

7. Georges
6th floor of the Palais Beaubourg
Place Georges Pompidou, 75004

8. Le Zyriab by Noura
Be careful, all other Noura in Paris are rubbish
Level 9 of the Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005

The best places to have a drink in Paris

1. Le barav
6 Rue Charles-François Dupuis, 75003

2. Monsieur Henri
8 Rue de Picardie, 75003

3. Barawine
25 Rue de Charonne, 75011

4. Dauphin
131 Rue Parmentier, 75011

Best places for Drinks and Dates in Paris

La bonne franquette

1. The little red door
60 Rue Charlot, 75003

2. The candelaria
52 Rue de Saintonge, 75003

3. The 1905
One of my favorite cocktail bar in Paris. It’s also a very nice spot for a date with a jazzy atmosphere on Fridays. Just so you know. 😊
25 Rue Beautreillis, 75004

Latino bar

1. Favela chic
18 Rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75011

2. Le Calbar
82 rue de Charenton 75012

Other Cool Places in Paris

1. Ground Control
Located in a former postal sorting hall, it’s a place where people meet. We like to nurture a certain approach to conviviality, which includes good food and festivities, but also encounters in the real world over a coffee, at the foot of an olive tree, in front of an exhibition or in the cockpit of an airplane.
81 Rue du Charolais, 75012

2. Guinguette de Javel
With a large terrace in Paris, La Javelle offers an ideal setting for enjoying an open-air bar in Paris.
Port de Javel Bas, 75015 Paris

3. Le Chinatown de Belleville
Big restaurant where you go to have fun, get drunk and sing like a crazy.
27 Rue du Buisson Saint-Louis, 75010

Would you like to dance in Paris?

things to do in Paris 1. Café Oz
View on the Seine
34 Quai d’Austerlitz, 75013

2. Café Chéri
44 Boulevard de la Villette, 75019

3. Faust
Nice view on Pont Alexandre III and Grand Palais
Pont Alexandre III – Rive Gauche 75007 Paris FR, 75007

4. Le Bus palladium
6 Rue Pierre Fontaine, 75009

5. Le Rouge
77 Rue Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, 75009

Cafés for meetings and to work

1. Le Peloton Café
17 Rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004

2. KB café shop
53 Avenue Trudaine, 75009

3. La Caféothèque
52 Rue de l’Hôtel de ville, 75004

4. La pâtisserie Lacroix
View on Notre Dame
⚡Computer not allowed during the weekends
11 Quai de Montebello, 75005

5. Prêt-à-manger
34-36 Rue du Louvre, 75001
58 Avenue Marceau, 75008

6. Monop’cantine
199 Avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92200 Neuilly-Sur-Seine

Tours of Paris

Visit a Parisian market with a native Parisian!

Flea Markets

1. Les Puces de Saint-Ouen
The Marché aux Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen is the largest concentration of antique and second-hand dealers in the world. France’s fifth-largest tourist attraction, located at the northern gateway to Paris opposite the 18th arrondissement, it takes place every Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

2. Les Puces de Vanves
Every Saturday and Sunday of the year, 380 dealers will welcome you and offer you their finds of the week (furniture and historical objects, garden furniture, lamps, glassware, antique clothes and textiles, paintings, etc.).

The best viennoiseries and pastries in Paris are here

1. Landemaine
My favorite is the givana, a cake similar to a ferrero rocher
PS: ask for the pur beurre, so delicious

2 Rue Crozatier, 75012
121 Rue de Charonne, 75011
28 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75011
130 Rue de la Roquette, 75011
41 Rue Oberkampf, 75011
123 Rue Monge, 75005
26 Rue des Martyrs, 75009
56 Rue de Clichy, 75009
4 Rue du Poteau, 75018
7 Place Cambronne, 75015

2. Le Moulin de Rosa
36 Rue de Turenne, 75003

3. Pâtisserie Lacroix
11 Quai de Montebello, 75005