Numerous café-théâtres, cinemas, bars, jazz clubs and restaurants make for an environment that is both lively and richly varied every day and in particular during special events such as: la nuit des musées, la fête de la musique (June 21), le festival soirs d’été, Bastille Day, Paris plage, les journées du patrimoine, les journées des jardins, and I love Rue Charlot.
- Museums -
WALKING DISTANCE:
Musée Picasso
The Musée Picasso has over 5,000 works of art by Picasso including 3,700 works on paper, ceramics, sculptures in wood and metal, and paintings. This is complemented by Picasso’s own personal art collection of works by other artists, including Cézanne, Degas, Rousseau, Seurat, de Chirico and Matisse.
www.museepicassoparis.fr/en
Musée Carnavalet
The Carnavalet Museum is dedicated to the history of the city. Several paintings of Madame de Sévigné, who was considered the most beautiful woman in Paris and was famous for her letter-writing, lived in the Hôtel Carnavalet from 1677 until her death in 1696. Bedroom of Marcel Proust 1871-1922.
www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en
Musée de l’Histoire de France
Museum of French History and a part of the French National Archives.
www.archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr
Musée Cognac Jay
The museum contains an exceptional collection of fine art and decorative items, with an emphasis on 18th century France.
www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr/en
Maison de Victor Hugo
Maison de Victor Hugo is the house, in the Place des Vosges, where Victor Hugo lived for 16 years from 1832–1848, after publishing The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Notre-Dame de Paris).
www.maisonsvictorhugo.paris.fr/en
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Museum of Arts and Crafts is an industrial design museum that houses the collection of the National Conservatory of Arts and Industry, which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the preservation of scientific instruments and inventions.
www.arts-et-metiers.net
Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
Exhibits at The Museum of Hunting and Nature celebrate the relationships between humans and the natural environment through the traditions and practices of hunting. The museum has been characterized by the Smithsonian magazine as “one of the most rewarding and inventive in Paris” and is described as quirky, astonishing, strange and eclectic.
www.chassenature.org
Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle
The French National Museum of Natural History was founded in 1793 during the French Revolution. The museum now comprises 4 sites in Paris, including the original location at the royal botanical garden, and directs its research and education efforts at the effects on the environment of human exploitation.
www.mnhn.fr/en
Institut du Monde Arabe
The Arab World Institute promotes cooperation and exchanges between France and the Arab nations, particularly in the areas of science and technology, contributing to the understanding between the Arab world and Europe.
www.imarabe.org
Maison Européenne de la Photographie
The Maison Européenne de la Photographie is a major center for contemporary photographic art. It owns about twenty thousands works of art, mostly photographs (silver and digital photography) and videos.
www.mep-fr.org/english
Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaisme
The Museum of Jewish Art and History traces the evolution of the Jewish world via its artistic and cultural heritage, focussing on the history of the Jews in France since the Middle Ages and evoking the communities of Europe and North Africa. Its collection, one of the finest in the world, comprises religious objects, manuscripts, textiles and unique archive documents.
www.mahj.org/en
Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou
The Pompidou Centre was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini. It houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne, which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe.
www.centrepompidou.fr/en
Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge
The National Museum of the Middle Ages houses a variety of important medieval artifacts, in particular its tapestry collection, which includes the six fifteenth century The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.
www.musee-moyenage.fr
DIRECT ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
(WITHIN 30 MINUTES):
Musée du Louvre
The Louvre Museum is a historic monument and the world’s most visited museum, which opened in 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings. Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited making the museum one of the largest in the world.
www.louvre.fr/en
Musée des Arts Décoratifs
The Museum of DecorativeArts houses and displays furniture, interior design, altar pieces, religious paintings, objets d’arts, tapestries, wallpaper, ceramics and glassware, plus toys from the Middle Ages to the present day.
www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/en
Musée d’Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh.
www.musee-orsay.fr/en
Musée de L’Orangerie
The Musée de l’Orangerie is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the Tuileries Gardens. Though most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, among others.
www.musee-orangerie.fr/en
Jeu de Paume
The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is an arts centre for modern and postmodern photography and media located in the Tuileries Gardens.
www.jeudepaume.org
Musée du quai Branly
The Quai Branly Museum opened in 2006, and is the newest of the major museums in Paris. It features the indigenous art and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.
www.quaibranly.fr/en
Musée de l’Armée
The Army Museum is a national military museum of France located at Les Invalides. The museum’s seven main spaces and departments contain collections that span the period from antiquity through the 20th century.
www.musee-armee.fr/en
Petit Palais
The Small Palace, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts. It displays a remarkable collection of 18th and 19th-century painting and sculpture. There is also a relatively small but important collection of ancient Greek and Roman art.
www.petitpalais.paris.fr
Grand Palais
Great Palace, is a large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex, which was built in the style of Beaux-Arts architecture.
www.grandpalais.fr/en
Musée Jacquemart-André
The museum was created from the private home of Edouard André (1833–1894) and Nélie Jacquemart (1841-1912) to display the art they collected during their lives.
www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/en
Musée Nissim de Camondo
One of the most sumptuous private homes from the early twentieth century in Paris: an opportunity to discover the taste of a great collector and to get a glimpse of the everyday life of an aristocratic home.
www.en.parismuseumpass.com
Fondation d’entreprise Louis Vuitton
The building of the Louis Vuitton Foundation is an art museum and cultural center designed by the architect Frank Gehry, and is adjacent to the Jardin d’Acclimation in the Bois de Boulogne.
www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en
Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain
The Fondation Cartier is a contemporary art museum in a glass building designed by Pritzker Prize architect Jean Nouvel.
fondation.cartier.com/#/en
Musée national de la Marine
The National Navy Museum is a maritime museum. The permanent collection originates in a collection that dates back to King Louis XV of France (1710-1774).
www.musee-marine.fr/en
Musée Galliera
The Musée Galliera is a museum of fashion and fashion history.
www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/en
Musée d’art moderne de la ville de Paris & Palais de Tokyo
The City of Paris’ Museum of Modern Art and Palace of Tokyo are two major museums dedicated to Modern and Contemporary art of the 20th and 21st centuries, located near the Trocadéro.
www.mam.paris.fr/en
Musée du Luxembourg
Established in 1750, the Musée du Luxembourg was initially an art museum located in the east wing of the Luxembourg Palace. In 1884 the museum moved into the former orangery of the Palace and is used for temporary exhibitions.
www.en.museeduluxembourg.fr
Musée Marmottan Monet
Originally a hunting lodge, Musée Marmottan Monet features a collection of over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works works with the largest collection of Claude Monet works in the world. In addition it houses the Wildenstein Collection of illuminated manuscripts and the Marmottan collection of Napoleonic era art and furniture as well as Italian and Flemish primitive paintings.
www.marmottan.fr/uk
- Monuments -
WALKING DISTANCE:
Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris
The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture.
www.notredamedeparis.fr
La Sainte Chapelle
The Holy Chapel is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture, and one of the most extensive in-situ 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns – one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom.
sainte-chapelle.monuments-nationaux.fr/en
Place des Vosges – Maison de Victor Hugo
Originally known as the Place Royale, The Place des Vosges is the oldest planned square in Paris and one of the finest in the city. Inaugurated in 1612 with a grand carrousel to celebrate the wedding of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, it is the prototype of all the residential squares of European cities that were to come. N° 6, Maison de Victor Hugo.
maisonsvictorhugo.paris.fr/en
La Conciergerie
The Conciergerie is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were taken from the Conciergerie to be executed on the guillotine at a number of locations around Paris.
www.conciergerie.monuments-nationaux.fr/en
Cimetière du Père Lachaise
Père Lachaise Cemetery is notable for being the first garden cemetery, as well as the largest cemetery in the city. Tombs of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf.
www.pere-lachaise.com
Bastille
For most of its history, The Bastille was a fortress, used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 in the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement, and was later demolished and replaced by the Place de la Bastille.
Canal Saint Martin
Construction of the canal was ordered by Napoleon I in 1802, in order to create an artificial waterway for supplying Paris with fresh water, food (grain), building materials, and other goods, carried on canal boats. It was funded by a new tax on wine.
www.timeout.com/paris
DIRECT ACCESS BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
(WITHIN 30 MINUTES):
Tour Eiffel
Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair, The Eiffel Tower was initially criticized by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become both a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world.
www.toureiffel.paris/en.html
Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile
The Triumphal Arch is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. It was the tallest triumphal arch in existence until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolucion in Mexico City (1938), and The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang (1982).
www.arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr/en
Catacombes de Paris
The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries. They hold the remains of about six million people and fill a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of historical stone mines, giving it its reputation as “The World’s Largest Grave”.
Direct access by Public transportation (within 30 minutes)
www.catacombes.paris.fr/en
Eglise Saint-Sulpice de Paris
Saint-Sulpice is the second largest Roman Catholic church in the city, only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame. The Great Organ is perhaps the most impressive instrument of the romantic French symphonic-organ era and the summit of Cavaillé-Coll’s craftmanship and genius. The sound and musical effects achieved in this instrument are almost unparalleled.
www.saint-sulpice-paris
Montmartre & Basilique du Sacré-Coeur
Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur on the summit of highest hill in the city and as a nightclub district. During the Belle Epoque, many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh. Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films.
www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/english
AROUND PARIS – EASY ACCESS
(ABOUT ONE HOUR):
Château de Versailles
The Palace of Versailles is a royal château, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital. The court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.
www.en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
Fondation Claude Monet
The House and Garden of Claude Monet in Giverny, some 80 kilometers west of Paris, have been recognised as a “Maison des Illustres” and “Jardin remarquable” rewarding their outstanding qualities. The estate was classified as a Monument historique in 1976.
www.fondation-monet.com/en
Château de Fontainebleau
The Palace of Fontainebleau is located 55 kilometres southeast of Paris, and is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and later château was the residence of French monarchs from Louis VII through Napoleon III. Napoleon I abdicated his throne there before being exiled to Elba. Today it is a national museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
www.chateaudefontainebleau.fr
Château de Vaux-Le-Vicomte
A baroque French château constructed from 1658 to 1661 for Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances of Louis XIV, the château was an influential work of architecture in mid-17th-century Europe. At Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architect Louis Le Vau, the landscape architect André Le Nôtre, and the painter-decorator Charles Le Brun worked together on a large-scale project for the first time. Their collaboration marked the beginning of the “Louis XIV style” combining architecture, interior design and landscape design. The garden’s pronounced visual axis is an example of this style.
www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en
Château de Chantilly
Owned by the Institut de France, the château houses the Musée Condé. It is one of the finest art galleries in France.
www.domainedechantilly.com/en
- Restaurants & Cafés -
L’Ambroisie
9 Place des Vosges, 75004 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 78 51 45
www.ambroisie-paris.com
Astier
44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 57 16 35
www.restaurant-astier.com
Au Bascou
38 Rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 69 25
www.au-bascou.fr
Breitz
111 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 13 77
www.breizhcafe.com
Café Charlot
38 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 44 54 03 30
www.cafecharlotparis.com
Café du Marché
38 Rue Cler, 75007 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 47 05 51 27
www.cafe-du-marche.fr
Café Pinson
6 rue du forez, Paris 3e
Tel. +33 (0)9 83 82 53 53
www.cafepinson.fr/home/
Chez Omar
47 Rue de Bretagne, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 36 26
www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review
Les Comptoirs de Carthage
27 Rue de Picardie, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 73 74 69 66
www.comptoirsdecarthage.fr
Les Chouettes
32 Rue de Picardie, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 44 61 73 21
www.restaurant-les-chouettes-paris.fr
Les Enfants Rouges
9 Rue de Beauce, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 48 87 80 61
www.facebook.com/enfantsrouges
Le Café des Musées
49 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 96 17
www.lecafedesmusees.fr
Le Progrès
7 Rue des Trois Frères, 75018 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 64 07 37
www.restaurant-argentin-paris.fr
Marché des Enfants Rouges
39 rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
Marcovaldo
61 Rue Charlot, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)9 80 44 86 49
www.marcovaldo.fr/
Pramil
9 Rue du Vertbois, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 03 60
www.pramil.fr
Robert & Louise
64 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 78 55 89
www.robertetlouise.com
The Broken Arm
12 Rue Perrée, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 44 61 53 60
www.the-broken-arm.com
- Shops -
Mariage Frères
30 Rue du Bourg Tibourg, 75004 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 72 28 11
www.mariagefreres.com
Dammann
15 Place des Vosges, Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 44 54 04 88
www.dammann.fr
Meert
16 Rue Elzevir, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 49 96 56 90
www.meert.fr
Jacques Genin
133 Rue de Turenne, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 45 77 29 01
www.jacquesgenin.fr
La Maison du Savon de Marseille
17 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 71 40 21
www.maison-du-savon.com
Le Slip Français
137 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 77 92 79
www.leslipfrancais.fr
- SIGHTSEEING & SHOWS -
Esprit de Paris
Private tour in Paris with a young, chic and knowledgeable guide.
www.esprit-de-paris.com
Rendez-vous with Paris
Rendez-vous with Paris is a tourguide agency in Paris. Private tours with a local. Marais, Saint Germain, Montmartre, the Latin Quarter, the Louvre, book your private tourguide in Paris.
www.rendezvouswithparis.com
Paris Authentic
Visit Paris, yes, but visit Paris in a 2CV! The Paris Authentic’s Parisian drivers offer a tour of Paris charming for an unusual discovery of the capital.
www.parisauthentic.com
Vedettes du Pont Neuf
Discover Paris and its monuments by day or by night the time of a boat cruise on the Seine.
www.vedettesdupontneuf.com
Opéra Bastille
Place de la Bastille, 75012 Paris
Tel. +33 (0) 892 89 90 90
www.operadeparis.fr
Opéra Garnier
8 Rue Scribe, 75009 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 71 25 24 23
www.operadeparis.fr
Moulin Rouge
82 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 53 09 82 82
www.moulinrouge.fr
Duc des Lombards
42 Rue des Lombards, 75001 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 33 22 88
www.ducdeslombards.com
Le Bataclan
50 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 43 14 00 30
www.bataclan.fr
Cité de la Musique
221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 44 84 44 84
www.citedelamusique.fr
Sainte Chapelle
8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 53 40 60 80
www.sainte-chapelle.monuments-nationaux.fr
Autour de Midi et Minuit
11 Rue Lepic, 75018 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 55 79 16 48
www.autourdemidi.fr
Cirque d’Hiver de Paris Bouglione
110 rue Amelot 75011 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 47 00 28 81
www.cirquedhiver.com/en