Even if you’ve never been to Paris you may feel like you already know the City of Light. And in most cities in the world you’d be scraping the barrel trying to find 75 genuinely worthwhile things to do. But that will never be the case in Paris.
Such is the amount of world-beating museums and sights we all know and love, there will never be a shortage of ideas. We reckon you could make another 75 with the rejects and still have the time of your life in Paris.
You can’t compose a list like this without having tried and trusted favourites like the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, but we also have a few recherché places and experiences that merit the extra minutes on the RER or Métro.
Things to do
Museums
The Louvre
The world’s largest and most visited art museum has more than enough material for an article of its own.
The Louvre Palace started out as a medieval fortress, before becoming a gallery for artists to study antiquities and the works of Old Masters in the 1700s.
Fast forward 230 years and you have a museum that you’d need weeks to fully appreciate.
There are antiquities from scores of world cultures and a collection of Renaissance and Baroque art that puts every other museum in the world to shame.
If you are pressed for time, see the crème de la crème like the 2,200-year-old Winged Victory of Samothrace, Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix), the Portrait of François I (Jean Clouet), the enigmatic Gabrielle d’Estrées and one of her sisters (Unknown) and of course the Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci).
Musée d’Orsay
In the astonishing confines of a Beaux-Arts railway station is a compendium of French art and culture from the mid-19th century to 1914. The Gare d’Orsay is on the left bank of the Seine and was completed in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle.
After becoming obsolete for modern rail travel the building sat idle before being listed and turned into one of the largest art museums in the world, filling the gap between the Louvre and the National Museum of Modern Art at the Pompidou Centre.
In this unforgettable environment are scores of iconic works of art by Impressionists and Post-Impressionists like Renoir (Bal du Moulin de la Galette), Cézanne (The Card Players and Apples and Oranges), van Gogh (Starry Night Over the Rhône) and Manet (Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe).
Musée de l’Orangerie
Built by Napoleon III, the grand orangery of the Tuileries Palace’s is a sensational museum for Impressionist and modern art.
The building had been put to a variety of uses before Monet donated his Nymphéas (Water Lilies) panels to the French government.
These were a monument to the end of the First World War and are displayed in the orangery’s fabled oval rooms.
More than 90 years later this cycle of eight paintings on the ground floor remains as subtly powerful as ever.
In the basement you’ll be treated to pieces by some of the most illustrious names in the history of art, like Paul Cézanne, Matisse, Renoir, Rousseau, Sisley, Picasso and Chaim Soutine.
What to eat
French onion soup
In Paris, this soup, made of beef broth, cheese, onions, and toasted bread, is the real deal: it’s rich, filling, and delightfully warm.
Although it’s unclear who created the French onion soup, there are two popular theories about this dish’s roots. One is that it was made for King Louis XV when he got hungry after a hunting trip. The other is that it was made for the Duke of Lorraine, the father of Queen Marie (wife of King Louis XV), who loved it so much he made it for the king and queen.
Baguettes
Baguettes can be found throughout Paris and although they aren’t all created equally, it’s not difficult to find a really, really delicious one. Look for a baguette with a golden, toasted outside and an inside that feels a bit soft when squeezed.
They can be enjoyed plain, topped with jam, or even be used to create a sandwich.
Duck confit
Duck confit is a classic French dish made using just about every part of a duck — the sauces and spices used to flavor the meal tend to vary.
Sources
https://www.insider.com/what-to-eat-in-paris-2019-6#finish-your-meal-with-profiteroles-13
https://www.thecrazytourist.com/best-things-see-paris/
Cezara’s Travel Blog 