self walking tours in paris

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Self Guided Walking Tours of Paris

In this post, you will find a free, self-guided walking tour of the historic heart of Paris, along with a map and a GPS-enabled audio option.

The route includes many locations we cover in our free guided walking tours, so we offer you lots of information based on our knowledge of the history of what you will be seeing in this self-guided tour.

This tour starts on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter before exploring Île de la Cité and ends at the Louvre Museum.

When you are done with this self-guided tour, why not try our others?

• Right Bank Landmarks
• Latin Quarter
• Père Lachaise Cemetery

Like this one, they come with maps, routes, and in some cases, audio tour versions.

You can use these to discover the city at your own pace or as a preview of what you will see on a live-guided tour, like our free walking tours of Paris .

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SELF-GUIDED TOUR - HEART OF PARIS

The tour starts on the Left Bank in the Latin Quarter, passes through Île de la Cité and ends at the Louvre Museum.

The route is a little less than 3 kilometers (just under 2 miles).

If you'd like to enhance your experience, you might like to use our accompanying GPS-led audio tour , developed and narrated by one of our local tour guides, Andrew.

The audio tour is a more detailed version of the written information below. It costs just 2.99€ per download.

Here is a sample of the tour.

Click on the map to expand or to download it to your phone.

For directions between stops, use the map above or download a PDF version of this tour.

1. Place Saint-Michel

Place Saint-Michel is simple – a triangle between two streets, uniform buildings along both, designed by the same architect, a walk of smooth cobblestone.

The centerpiece is St. Michael defeating a devil; far above them are four statues symbolizing the four cardinal virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice.

This monument came to be because of the 1848 Revolution and a cholera epidemic in Paris that followed it which killed thousands.

This idea of abstract concepts given human form had been popular during the Revolution, the big one, representing the kind of big virtues – like the Four Cardinal Virtues – that everyone could strive for, instead of a single human being whose actions and legacy would turn people against each other.

Simultaneous with the creation of Place Saint-Michel, Napoleon III’s renovation brought the Boulevard Saint-Michel into being, and that is the next part of the walk.

2. Boulevard Saint-Michel

The character of the street you’re on – wide-open space lined with trees and long, harmonious buildings, plus, often, a view of some landmark in the distance – was a central part of the renovation plan, or the Haussmann plan, as it’s also known.

Georges-Eugène Hausmann was a Paris technocrat. Aside from health reasons, he also made the case to the parliament that wide streets would help prevent so many revolutions in the future.

Many buildings along this road are fine examples of the French 2nd Empire style.

On the left side of the street, just after Boulinier, a used book store, you’ll see the ruins of ancient Roman-style baths.

This is a preview of the Cluny Museum, which you’ll see from the front soon.

3. The Sorbonne

The Sorbonne, or the University of Paris, has been here since 1150, making it the second oldest university in Europe.

It’s the place where some of the fundamentals of today’s education system – things like doctoral degrees – were first put into practice.

The Sorbonne helped put Paris, and the Latin Quarter, on the map. 

It’s hard to overstate how many big names are connected with this institution, then and since.

Among them are churchmen John Calvin and Thomas Aquinas, scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, writers Voltaire, Balzac, Jean-Paul Sartre, T.S. Eliot, Elie Wiesel, Susan Sontag and so many more.

4. Cluny Museum

This is the Cluny Museum, formerly the Cluny Mansion. The name comes from the Cluny monks to whom it belonged and they were named for the city where they were based.

In 1340, they obtained what was left of the thermal baths you saw earlier and built this structure beside them.

Today, it’s France’s National Museum of the Middle Ages. It’s more an art museum than a history museum, with excellent exhibits on tapestries and stained glass.

Apart from those, the museum also has early medieval art from before the Gothic era – the style called Romanesque – medieval work from the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire, and some other late, near-Renaissance pieces from the era of the tapestries.

There are also some much older artifacts in that oldest part of the property, the Roman baths. 

It’s open every day but Tuesday from 9:15 am to 5:45 pm. Regular tickets are 5 Euros, sometimes more if there’s a special exhibit going on ( more info ).

However, it’s free for teenagers, EU citizens under 26, and, on the first Sunday of each month, for everyone. It’s also free with a Paris Museum Pass .

5. The Church of Saint-Severin

Pause here for a moment to take in the atmosphere of the medieval city.

Saint-Severin is a 13th-century church, and the Rue Saint-Severin, the road just past it, is from that same era.

Look down to the left and you can imagine the crowdedness of these roads, shared by carts. pedestrians and animals and whatever was thrown from upper windows.

And you can imagine how easy it would be to improvise a barricade across one of these streets if you wanted to.

6. Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauve

The Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauve, or St. Julian the Poor, began construction in the 12th century, around the same time as Notre-Dame, and steady changes since have made it a mash-up of styles.

But it started Romanesque, the early medieval style that preceded Gothic, and you can see the heaviness of that style, compared to which Gothic would have seemed so revolutionary.

While it was originally a Roman Catholic church, today it’s used by Melkite Greek Catholics, who are part of an Eastern Catholic community, based in the Middle East.

The square is called the Square Rene Viviani, mostly known for its view of Notre-Dame.

The grounds are littered with big pieces of limestone – in the 19th century when Notre-Dame was renovated and also contains a locust tree believed to be the oldest tree in Paris, about 400 years old.

7. Shakespeare and Company Bookstore

This is the second of two bookstores called Shakespeare and Company, the other stood just southwest of here, and both focused on English language books. 

An American named Sylvia Beach opened it, and as both a bookstore and a lending library, it came to be the haunt of writers and artists, including Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, and Pablo Picasso.

The bookstore provided more than just a place for future artistic celebrities to meet; it also stocked and eventually published books that were banned back home, including James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.

This Shakespeare and Company was founded by George Whitman, who offered lodging to writers in exchange for volunteer work, and if you step inside, you’ll see some of their beds.

8. Left Bank - Pont au Double

On the quays along the banks of the Seine, Shakespeare and Company has plenty of competition in the bookselling business: bouquinistes , the booksellers who set up shop in little stalls along the river. 

From around the bridge, you can get a few important views. First is the Seine itself. The name Seine comes from Sequana, the name of an ancient river goddess. 

The river is the reason for human interest in this site going back millennia, and the Île de la Cité offered a relatively easy crossing, as well as an opportunity to build low bridges and control traffic up and down the river. 

On the opposite side of the water from here is the Île de la Cité. From here you can see the big picture of the island. 

On the west end, to your left, is the Palais de la Justice, the former site of the royal palace and still home to parts of the French government. 

On the east side, to the right, has been religious turf for even longer – Notre-Dame has stood here since 1163.

Before, there was another Christian cathedral that was likely a Roman temple, and those were sometimes built on sacred sites that were older still. 

Nowadays, there’s not much on the island besides that; Haussmann eliminated most of the residences here.

9. Notre-Dame (Exterior)

This cathedral was started in the 1100s and enhanced with some of its flashiest elements over the next few centuries.

You can see one of those additions: the flying buttresses, those gracefully curved stone supports arrayed along the side of the building. 

The cathedral has 2 beautiful rose windows, both designed in the 13th century, but they were recreated in the 19th century, and they weren’t the only parts of the cathedral added so recently. 

The same is true of much of the stained glass, the spire (now destroyed by the fire), all the gargoyles, and the heads of statues on the western side. 

To help fund that restoration, Victor Hugo penned his novel Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame . 

Looking at the cathedral from the front, you can see an overwhelming number of sculptures and reliefs.

For a time when most attendees were illiterate and didn’t understand the Latin language in which the sermons were given, the church façade itself was the illustrated version of the Bible. 

Over the main western doors, on what’s called the tympanum, is a relief of Judgement Day, with the separation of souls bound for eternal paradise or eternal torment. 

To the left, over the Portal of the Virgin, is a statue of Saint-Denis, who would have needed no introduction for most attendees.

He was beheaded by the Romans for the threat he posed to other religions. 

Now, he’s a patron saint of Paris and he’s also known across the Catholic world as someone to pray for relief from headaches.

In April 2019, a fire led to the collapse of much of the roof and a spire, plus collateral damage from impact, smoke, and water to much of the rest of the building and the artwork inside.

Hundreds of firefighters contained the disaster and kept it from doing more harm. 

The archaeological crypt under the parvis is now open and contains remains of the Roman city, plus models of what Notre-Dame looked like at the various phases of its life.

Tickets are 9€ or for free with a Paris Museum Pass .

Notre-Dame Cathedral's reopening is scheduled for December 8, 2024.

10. Rue de Lutece

Straight ahead, you can see the Palais de la Justice, the next stop.

To your right is the Marché aux Fleurs Reine Elizabeth II, a beautiful, 200-year-old outdoor flower and plant market, operating daily from 9:30 - 19:00 (7 pm).

Lutèce is the French variation of “Lutetia” the ancient Roman name for Paris. The full name was Lutetia Parisiorum – Lutetia of the Parisii. 

The Parisii were the tribe that lived in this area before the Roman conquest, and as you may have guessed, they give the city its modern name.

Though we refer to Roman in this tour, it is Gallo-Roman, to be exact.

The region’s population was the Gauls, a Celtic people, and while they were conquered by the Romans, local culture in the early centuries CE was a fusion of both. 

There’s a limited understanding of the geography of ancient life here – the ancient Gallic city was probably out west in today’s suburbs, and the Roman city, originally on the Left Bank, moved onto the island in the third century to be more easily defended. 

At the end of Rue de Lutèce is Boulevard du Palais, with the massive palace complex on the opposite side of the street.

11. Palais De Justice and Sainte-Chapelle

Altogether, what you see here is the Palais de la Cité. The site has served state functions as far back as being the home of Roman governors in the early years CE.

As for French kings, it was the royal palace until the 14th century, when it moved to various locations across the Seine on the Right Bank, including the Louvre. 

From here you can see Sainte-Chapelle or the Sacred Chapel, easily identified by the tall steeple on the left side of the complex.

As for going inside Sainte-Chapelle, the wait can be long, but you’ll see some of the world’s most impressive stained glass. 

The upper chapel, up a narrow spiral staircase from the entrance and once only accessible by the king and his family, is surrounded by windows, and comprehensive cleaning and restoration completed in 2014 have them in ideal form. 

The lower chapel, the portion originally made for the general population of the palace, has a highly decorated Gothic vaulted ceiling. 

Sainte-Chapelle 's hours are:

• April 1st to September 30th, 9:00 - 19:00 (7 pm)
• October 1st to March 31, 9:00 - 17:00 (5 pm)

Tickets are 13€ per person over 18 years of age; under 18 years old have free admission.

You can also be admitted for free with a Paris Museum Pass .

You can also get a combination ticket with our next stop, La Conciergerie, for 20€, but it’s only available from the La Conciergerie ticket desk; you won’t find it online.

12. La Conciergerie

La Conciergerie is famous as the last residence of Queen Marie Antoinette before she was executed early in the French Revolution. It was also a prison before and after her time. 

La Conciergerie

The royal palace had moved to new locations across the Seine in the 14th century. But some state functions stayed behind here, including part of the French court system. 

In the absence of the king himself, the place was run by a surrogate – a concierge – giving this building its name.

While the Revolution began with the liberation of a prison, the Bastille, it soon took over the palace and found uses for everything there. 

Sainte-Chapelle became storage, the space where the parliament of nobles met became the home of the assembly and the Revolutionary Tribunal, and the prison became... the prison. 

The royalty and their supporters, and eventually all kinds of perceived enemies, were imprisoned, tried, and executed, close to 3,000 of them in this building alone.

The Cell of Marie-Antoinette

In terms of the interior, La Conciergerie is a stark, simple building compared to Sainte-Chapelle, although still majestically Gothic.

Some spaces are set up as they would have looked during the Revolution, including the cell of Marie-Antoinette, which is now a chapel dedicated to her.

Hours : 

• 9:30 - 18:00 (6 pm). Last entry at 17:30 (5:30 pm)
• Early closure on December 24 and January 1 at 17:00 (5 pm)

Lastly, you can purchase a combination ticket that includes La Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle for 20€, available from the La Conciergerie ticket desk; you won’t find it online.

There are guided tours (at an additional cost) every day at 11:00 and 15:00 (3 pm) and virtual reality 'histo-pads' available for rental at a modest price. 

At the end of the block, on the corner of the palace, is the first of the palace’s four towers, Tour de l’Horloge.

13. Tour de L'Horloge

Tour de l’Horloge means clock tower, and the clock is hard to miss!

This was the first public clock in Paris, installed in the 14th century, although the decorated face you see now came along a couple of hundred years later and has been restored a few times since. 

The figures on either side are personifications of law and justice – you may be able to see the plaque on the left and the scales on the right. 

The clock face is covered by a small roof.

If you have especially sharp eyes and you look straight up at the underside of that roof, you can see a repeating pattern of intertwined letters: sometimes H and C, for King Henri II and his queen, Catherine de Medici, and sometimes H and M, for King Henri IV and his queen, Marguerite de Valois.

14-15. Place Dauphine

Place Dauphine is another city square, a triangle really; the rows of buildings that border it on the north and south sides slowly converge, leading to the edge of the island. 

Make your way gradually through to that point.

King Henri IV had a son, who would eventually become King Louis XIII, but until he took the throne, he was the Dauphin, or the crown prince. 

Dauphin also means dolphin; a couple of them are featured on the French coat of arms. 

Anyway, during his son’s boyhood, Henri IV converted a private palace garden into a public square and called it Place Dauphine, or Crown Prince Square. 

The buildings have mostly been redone since then; you can get a feel for the original square at the other end, the last buildings where the two sides converge to frame a statue of Henri IV.

16. Pont Neuf

The space where Henri stands is called the Square du Vert Galant, and it’s a relatively new piece of land.

River islands like Île de la Cité naturally build up this way on their downstream side. 

The New Bridge, when it was new at the start of the 1600s, just touched the tip of the island. 

Today, Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge still running across the Seine, and the others have followed its lead.

This one was specifically designed not to have houses on it, so as to offer a view of the Louvre, which is where we’re going next.

17. Quai du Louvre

First, the sights on the Left Bank. 

Directly across the Pont Neuf you can see the Monnaie de Paris, France’s mint, operating for more than a millennium and still producing Euros today.

The building includes a museum on the history of the institution itself and on other money-related matters.

Next to it, you’ll see a wide building with a dome in the middle, the Institut de France.

Founded as a school, this is the home to intellectual institutions like the Académie Française. 

The Academy does many things, including giving life-changing monetary prizes to artists, but it’s best known for promoting a stiff view of what constitutes correct French. 

Crossing the river in front of the Institut de France is another bridge, the Pont des Arts or Bridge of the Arts, named to match with the Louvre, the Palais des Arts or Palace of the Arts.

It’s a pedestrian-only metal bridge commissioned by Napoleon, and the view it offers makes it a popular spot for artists or just souvenir photographers.

There’s a tradition – purely touristic – of attaching locks to the bridge; you’ll endear yourself to Parisians if you decide not to do this.

18. Louvre Museum and Tuileries Gardens

The Louvre used to be a royal palace, and it’s easy to tell. (See our in-depth post on how to visit the Louvre Museum ).

The Louvre remained private after the royalty moved out, and it housed a private collection of art until the Revolution, at which point, in 1793, it was opened to the public.

The open space to the west of the Louvre, centered on a large sculpted hedge, is the Place du Carrousel, and it used to be the location of another royal palace – the Tuileries Palace, destroyed in the late 19th century.

It left behind the arch opposite the Louvre – the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, built to celebrate the military victories of Napoleon and to welcome arrivals to that palace. 

Beyond it are a couple of stairways, leading down into the former location of the moat, which contains some sculptures from the old palace. 

And beyond that is the Tuileries Gardens. At one time an exclusive royal garden, this too became public during the Revolution, and it’s another option for the next part of your adventure.

The gardens have a lot to see – it’s a sculpture garden with about 200 pieces, including several by famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

The gardens are bigger than the Louvre, so you could easily find yourself walking further in this park than you have through this entire tour so far!

Luckily, there are a couple of cafes around the middle if you need somewhere to rest.

It’s free to enter the gardens and is open every day, with hours changing seasonally.

• January through December 7:30 - 19:30 (7:30 pm)
• June, July and August 7:00 - 23:00 (11:00 pm)
• April, May and September 7:00 - 21:00 (9:00 pm)

At the far end of the gardens is the Jeu de Paume , a contemporary art museum and L'Orangerie museum dedicated to impressionist and post-impressionist paintings.

This magnicient museum is a must-visit in Paris. It's open 9:00 - 18:00 (6 pm) daily, except Tuesdays. Tickets are 12,50€ or free with a Paris Museum Pass .

Beyond these museums are Place de la Concorde and the Champs Élysées, included in our self-guided tour of Paris' Right Bank !

For more ideas in Paris, including things to do in the Latin Quarter, Marais, and Montmartre , check out our website, linked in the notes.

And look for our articles and audio tours about lots of other cities - you’ll find links in the notes for those, too. 

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One Day in Paris France – A Free Self Guided Walking Tour of Paris

There’s nothing better than taking the time to stroll around a beautiful city and delight in its ambience. And there’s no better city to indulge in such a pastime than Paris. After all, this is the birthplace of flâneur – the word the French use to describe the act of strolling idly; sauntering, while observing the goings-on around you.

Usually, my time in Paris is limited to rushed stopovers. But recently I got to spend an afternoon getting reacquainted with “la Ville Lumière”. And it was while practising the art of flânerie that I was able to rediscover the highlights of Paris organically, without an agenda.

What unfolded was a beautiful free walking tour of Paris, taking in some of the city’s most pleasurable sights.

Free Paris Walking Tour Map

If you want to maximise your time in Paris, getting the train is a great alternative to flying. Forget check-in times, collecting baggage and having to schlep into central Paris on the metro or bus. The TGV or Eurostar will drop you right near the heart of Paris. Both the Gare de Lyon or Gare du Nord train stations are a fantastic place to start a walking tour of Paris.

The self-guided walking tour of Paris mapped out below starts from the Gare de Lyon and could take as little as an afternoon (if you don’t linger too long at any one-stop) or the entire day if you take time to appreciate each site. Walking is a great way to explore the city and get your bearings – and it’s so much more fun than taking the metro!

Total walk = 12km / 2.3 hours 

Get your free printable version of this map here.

One Day Tour of Paris

Stop #1 bastille.

A swift 10-minute walk from Paris’s Gare de Lyon station will have you outside the Place de la Bastille. Once the site of a prison, it was stormed on what is now known as “Bastille Day” and destroyed during the French Revolution.

While you can still see the outline of the prison marked on the ground, now all that stands here is the 52m high  Colonne de Juillet – a tribute to the 504 lives lost during another revolution in 1830. From the Place de la Bastille you can take a short detour along the Bassin de l’Arsenal to see the colourful houseboats moored at its banks.

Stop #2 Le Marais

If you had to choose just one district of Paris to explore, my advice would be to park yourself in Le Marais. With oodles of old-world charm wrapped in a layer of style and luxury, Le Marais offers the quintessential Paris experience.

Browse the boutiques, soak up the sun in a leafy park, or station yourself in a cafe to watch the passersby. Whatever you do in Le Marais, you’ll be sure to have experienced Paris at its finest.

Stop #3 Hotel de Ville and the Circular Pavilion

The Hotel de Ville is a city hall on a grande scale. Its intricate exterior is only surpassed in beauty by the artwork on display inside the impressive building. Located on the banks of the Seine, the square that houses the Hotel de Ville makes the perfect resting spot and regularly holds concerts and seasonal events throughout the year.

Hearing the name “Circular Pavilion” might have you imagining an entirely different building. Deceivingly, the angular construction completely defies its name. Instead, ‘circular’ comes from the idea of recycling and up-cycling. A message reflected by the use of recycled materials used in its construction.  

The sight of the recycled door  façade  against the flamboyant nature of the Hotel de Ville makes a startling contrast!

Stop #4 Notre Dame

The Cathedral of Notre Dame is one of France’s most famous landmarks . Situated on the Île de la Cité – a natural island in the River Seine – it’s just a short walk from the Hotel de Ville over the Pont d’Arcole. Stop here to admire the building’s amazingly detailed sculpture work, gothic style, and grandiose structure that took over 170 years to build.

It’s worth venturing inside (entrance is free) if only to appreciate the stunning effect of the stained glass windows.*

*Sadly, the cathedral is currently closed due to the devastating fires of 2019.

Stop #5 Pont Neuf

At the opposite end of the Île de la Cité you’ll discover Pont Neuf – the oldest bridge in Paris. Although it’s perhaps preferable to admire it from afar – in order to take in the 12 arches that support the structure – walking over the Pont Neuf is an experience also.

As I heard one passerby explain, “the Pont Neuf used to be the Eiffel Tower of Paris”. Meaning, before Paris’s iconic landmark was around, the Pont Neuf was the city’s most famous attraction.

These days it has taken over as the prime spot for placing ‘love locks’ – padlocks adorned with lovers names before being affixed to the bridge. An honour that used to belong to the nearby Pont des Arts until they were removed due to safety concerns.

Stop #6 Louvre Palace & Pyramid

If you’ve only got 1 day in Paris, you probably won’t have the chance to appreciate the works on display inside the world’s largest museum – the Louvre. But you’ll still be able to admire the architecture of the Louvre from the outside!

Napoleon Courtyard, framed by the Louvre Palace, is an amazing place to sit and soak up the atmosphere. Often you’ll be accompanied by the melodic harmony of a busker or two, and always by the sounds of several dialects being spoken around you.

The Louvre Pyramid, which is actually the biggest of five pyramids onsite, serves as the entrance to the museum. Designed by Ieoh Ming Pei, the architect behind the  Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, it was constructed to the same proportions as the Pyramid of Giza. It consists of 673 glass panels in the shape of diamonds and triangles – giving the effect of sparkling jewels as it reflects the light.

Read more about the Louvre Palace here.

Stop #7 Tuileries Garden

A short jaunt across the road from the Louvre Museum will have you crossing the Carousel Gardens and entering the Tuileries Garden. This formal French garden in the centre of Paris is accentuated with ponds, fountains and statues. 

Pull one of the iconic green metal chairs to the water’s edge and settle in for the afternoon with a good book, or to watch Paris’ younger residents sailing model boats. In the hottest months, seek shade in one of the benches tucked under rows of leafy green trees.

Stop #8 Place de la Concorde

The eighth stop on your Paris walking tour, the Place de la Concorde, lies in between the Tuileries Gardens and the Champs-Élysées. Even though it’s called a ‘square’, Place de la Concorde takes on the form of an Octagon. At the eight points surrounding the square is a monument representing a French city; Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest, Rouen, Lille and Strasbourg. And it’s in the middle of the square you’ll find the oldest monument in Paris – the Luxor Obelisk.

At over 3,300 years old, this Egyptian obelisk was transferred to Paris in 1833 – taking a ginormous effort in those times. On either side of the obelisk, you can see the Fontaine des Mers and the Fontaine des Fleuves. Despite so much to see in the area, it’s not the most serene area to go for a stroll – with multiple lanes of traffic heaving through the square with every green light.

Stop #9 Champs-Élysées

While the Jardins des Champs-Elysées at the lower end of the avenue are very much worthy of a Sunday stroll, it’s been said that the Champs-Élysées has had its heyday. Now it’s a hub for the fashion stores and cafés which line either side of the almost 2km long avenue.

In any case, tourists still flock here in droves and it does still hold the charm of yesteryear – most noticeably when you look up! In the middle of the road (take care when crossing!) you’ll be met with an outstanding view of the avenue and the Arc de Triomphe in the distance.

Stop #10 Arc de Triomphe

At the upper end of the Champs-Elysées lies the Arc de Triomphe. The Arch, which is the biggest in the world, was commissioned by Napoleon and completed in 1836. It’s difficult to judge from afar just how mammoth a structure it is until you stand underneath it. At just shy of 50m, the Arc de Triomphe towers over the Place Charles de Gaulle, making people and cars look miniature at its foot.

The Arc is a full-scale attraction, with a museum, tours and viewing platform – plan some time to visit if you can. The viewing platform offers the one the best views over Paris (including a great perspective of the Eiffel Tower) and the Champs-Elysées.

Stop #11 Jardins du Trocadéro

From the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot you’ll have a fantastic view over the Jardins du Trocadéro, and of course, the Eiffel Tower which looks almost surreal as it appears in front of you. Try not to get too sidetracked from the gardens though, as they offer an incredible experience in their own right.

The Fountain of Warsaw is the main feature of the gardens – a large mirror-like basin in which multiple fountains shoot water up to 12m in the air. In summer, the garden creates a spectacle as lights illuminate the fountains from below.

If visiting Paris with kids , there is a playground right next door and a carousel to delight the little ones .

Stop #12 Eiffel Tower

The last stop on your self-guided walking tour of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, is the most iconic landmark in the city of lights! You can see it rising up above the slate grey rooftops around the city, but seeing it up close is another experience entirely.

While taking the elevator to the summit offers a breathtaking birds-eye view of the city, the best way to view the tower itself is to make yourself comfortable in the park below. The Champ de Mars park extends out in front of the tower and is the perfect place for a picnic, impromptu game of boules, or simply enjoying the convivial atmosphere.

And there you have it, your one day tour in Paris has come to an end! If you have the time, I’d recommend hanging out at the last stop until sunset so you can experience the magic of the Eiffel Tower at night (it’s one of the loveliest things to do on an evening in Paris !). And then once you’re ready to rest your weary feet, there is a few Metro stops close by.

The Champ de Mars/Tour Eiffel is the closest, followed by Bir-Hakeim and Ecole Militaire.

Essentials for your Free Walking Tour of Paris

For walking tours in Paris, there are a few things you’ll need to take with you to make the most of your one day in Paris:

• A quality, lightweight camera – I recommend the Sony A6000
• A phone to use Google Maps, or you can print out the map (above) ahead of time. Keep a map of the metro lines handy too.
• A reusable water bottle – you can fill it up at drinking fountains en route.
• A few euros. Don’t rely on cards, as some places won’t accept them for small items. Also, you’ll need coins for the public toilets in popular spots.
• Keep cool and look the part with a lightweight linen dress, sandals and sunnies. And don’t forget a travel-safe purse for carrying the items above!

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23 comments.

Brilliant itinerary Nadine! I’ve never followed a walking route through Paris and this is a great way to see the ‘big’ sights in one go. Loved your photos and tips too – it makes me want to jump on Eurostar immediately!

Thanks Nancy! Walking is such a great way to get around – as you normally end up discovering a few surprises on the way too (whether by accident or not!). Keep an eye out for some cheap tickets 😉

This is the walking tour that I usually propose when I have guests (usually starting from Notre Dame) on a Paris Getaway. The thing is that when we arrive at Pont Alexandre III they are so destroyed that they are just happy watching the Eiffel Tower from the right bank :-))

I can’t wait to use your tour, but perhaps you should align your map points (letters) with your text points (numbers)!! Thanks!

Hi Kiim, Good point about the letters/numbers, thanks! I’ll fix that up asap. I’m also working on a cool printable map to go with this post so stay tuned 🙂

We loved your walk Nadine. It gave us and our teenager a great day out, we did some shopping and we saw some great Parisienne landmarks.

Hi Liz, Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed the walk! Thanks for letting me know my plan was useful 🙂

This was an amazing and spot on walking tour. We followed everything that we wanted to see plus we expirience other sites that were along the way like Iglesi Saint Paul – Saint Louis which was an amazing find beautiful church. This made our only day in Paris amazing and we took into consideration on what to bring along for the long journey. Thank you Nadine

Oh, that’s such lovely feedback Saul! I’m so glad the walking tour helped you to enjoy your time in Paris 🙂

Wonderful itinerary. Thanks ❤️❤️❤️

You’re very welcome 🙂

Hi Nadine I just did the same a day in Paris walk tour as mentioned by yourself – thank you for putting this together as it helped me make most of my short time – notes made me feel I was on a guided tour. – le Marais was amazing totally unexpected

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience

Hi Nandu, thanks for the feedback! I’m so glad this walking tour helped you enjoy your time in Paris!

Its going to be my 2nd visit to Paris, and I am already sure that this walk is going to be even more fun than the HoHo bus ride we took last time. The map is part of my travel pouch already. Thanks in advance. You are doing a great job!

Awesome! I’m sure you’ll have a great time 🙂

This was amazing! Must say it is very long so be prepared for that. I combined it with the new Lime Scooter rentals in Paris, and it made it much easier. I would recommend this to anyone because I feel like I’ve seen almost everything in one day! I will say this though a if you plan on stopping and visiting many of the stops, this will take you more than one day. I only went up the Eiffel Tower at the end and it was still a 6 hour mission. Would be great split into two days if you wanted to go into places like the Notre Dame and the Arc de Triumph. Overall it was amazing and I would definetly recommend it!

Yes, it’s a long walk for sure – my feet were quite sore by the end (but I didn’t wear appropriate footwear!). You could absolutely break it down and do it over a few days to allow time for sightseeing on the way. Thanks for your comment!

Hello Nadine, Thank you for the itinerary! This will be a lifesaver. We only have one day in Paris, and this will ensure we get to see the best parts for sure! I see that you have it listed as a 2.5 hour walk, but realistically, (like Hannah posted above), how long would it take if we were to stop at the landmarks? I guess I could do the math, add a half-hour here, and an hour there, but I was just wondering if you had a good idea from feedback you might have received. Thanks!

Hi Patrick, I came up with this itinerary from doing the walk myself and it took a full afternoon with stops for lunch, browsing, to look at landmarks etc. So around 12pm – 7pm. You could most definitely cover it all in a full day if you don’t spend more than an hour at each stop. Hope that helps!

This looks like a great walking route! I’ve been looking for something like this as we’ll be walking with our dog & kids so we’ll take it slow. Do you know specifically if any of the points on your itinerary don’t allow dog access?

Sorry, I don’t know that specifically. But Travelnuity has a great guide on visiting Paris with dogs which may help you. You can find it here .

Thank you very much for your amazing job, Nadine. We visited Paris many years ago, but we didn’t have such a great tool. We’ll be in Paris again, just in four days, and thanks to you now we know what we will do on the first day!

That’s great Michael – hope you love the walk!

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Walking in Paris — 5 perfect walks through Paris with maps

By: Author Emily

Posted on Last updated: November 27, 2023

The quaint cobblestone streets, winding alleys and Haussman buildings — the ones with the stone facades and wrought iron railings — that you picture when you think of a Paris postcard are all very much real. Walking through Paris is definitely the best way to explore those scenes.

While Paris is incredibly walkable,  it’s also quite big. To help narrow the scope, we’ve put put together a few walking routes that will guide you through some of the best parts of Paris. In this guide, we’ll explore Paris on foot with the help of five detailed maps.

These walking routes are designed with first-time visitors it mind. They offer a self-guided walking tour through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods, most popular tourist attractions and most charming streets in Paris.

Wander … but within reason

The French have a term — Flâner — which means to wander aimlessly through a city. There’s no similar word in English, and I would argue that’s because we’re bad at it. And by “we,” I guess I mean Americans.

I recently moved to New York and there is no wandering here. Even in Central Park, everyone has somewhere to be. And they’re not just trying to get there , they’re usually working out the next five places they need to be, too.

Neither is inherently better. Simply a difference in speed and lifestyles from two sides of the pond.

But what happens when a New Yorker goes to Paris and all the tips say to wander aimlessly but their Type A brain simply cannot do that? What about the people who want to wander, but within reason?

Enter this post. We’re here for the people who need a little direction more than “Just explore!”

On these maps, we’ve plotted the city’s top attractions, noted some of the most beautiful streets and flagged our favorite stops along the way. But from there, you can amble through nearby alleys, pop into hidden cafes and discover your own favorite spots to really make the journey your own.

We’ve drawn the box but you can color inside and outside the lines however you choose.

Paris walking routes explored in this post

• Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts — A must-do for first time visitors
• Latin Quarter & the isles — A balance of city energy and quiet streets
• Le Marais — A trendy neighborhood in a historic setting
• Montmartre — A beloved and beautiful art district on a hill with great views
• Eiffel Tower & the Seine — A charming walk through a Paris postcard

Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts Walking Guide

This is my favorite way to start a trip to Paris. Whether this is your first time in Paris or you’re a repeat visitor, this walk is a great way see many of Paris’ iconic sights in one long stretch. It features the city’s most famous boulevard, a beautiful park, iconic views and shopping galore.

This walking route in full is about 3 miles. If you were walking straight through, it would take about an hour. We don’t recommend that, though. There are so many things you can see and do along this walk that you could easily fill an entire day if you wanted.

Arc de Triomphe

Champs-élysées.

• Tuileries Gardens
• Pont de Arts

A few quick tips for using this map.

• To view the map in Google Maps, click the expand icon on the top right corner.
• Click the star icon to save the map to your Google account for later.
• To access the map next time, open Google Maps > click the Saved tab > click Maps.

Tips for this walk

• Don’t start too early. Most of the stores at the start of this walk don’t open until 10 or 11 AM. Take some time to enjoy breakfast and coffee before you head out for the day.
• Book tickets in advance. If you want to visit the top of the Arc de Triomphe or go inside the Louvre , it’s best to book a timed ticket in advance. Popular dates and times can book up days in advance.
• The Louvre deserves an entire day . That said, if you’d like to go inside the Louvre we’d recommend doing it on a different day and arrive when they open if possible. It’s a huge museum and it gets very crowded, especially in the afternoon. On this walk, we recommend just stopping by the pyramid and maybe the shops below.
• Eat along the way. There are plenty of cafes and street food vendors along this route. I don’t specifically call out many throughout this post because there are options everywhere. I’d personally recommend picking up small bites everytime you pass something yummy, like a crepe from a street vendor in Champs-Élysées Gardens, an appetizer at a bar off Saint-Honoré and ice cream in Tuileries Garden.

The view from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Self-guided walk from Arc de Triomphe to Pont de Arts

This walk begins at Arc de Triomphe. The best way to get there will usually be by train, but it may vary based on your exact hotel location. The nearest Metro strops are Kléber station which serves the 6 train and  George V or Argentine which serves the 1 train.

Arc de Triomphe is located in the center of a busy traffic circle. Do not attempt to walk to the monument from street level. There is a pedestrian tunnel with access points (marked in yellow below) on Champs-Élysées and Grande Armée streets that will lead you to the base of the Arc de Triomphe. This is where the entrance to the monument is located, but you can also visit the base at street level for free.

You can go inside and to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Timed entry tickets are required and cost €13 for adults. Everyone under 18 is free. The views from the top are incredible and it’s a great alternative to going to the top of the Eiffel Tower .

Even if you aren’t going inside the moment, it’s still worth seeing it from the street. The best views are on Champs-Élysées, which is convenient because that’s where we’re heading next.

One of the most famous, most filmed and most beautiful streets in Paris is Champs-Élysées. It’s akin to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Oxford Street in London and Fifth Avenue in New York.

The street is lined with trees, which are stunning all the time but even more so in autumn and Christmastime. There’s tons of shops and stores, ranging from Zara to Louis Vuitton. Whether you’re shopping or window shopping, you are likely to be dazzled along the way.

Some of my favorite shops along Champs-Élysées are:

• Disney Store: They have always have a line up of Paris-specific Disney merchandise and lots of toys that kids will love to look at (and ask for).
• Galeries Lafayette: This is a great indoor mall to warm up in the winter or cool off in the summer.
• Nike House of Innovation: This store is a fusion of Nike Store and science museum. It’s a fun stop for the athlete and/or toddlers in your family.
• Ladurée : This pastry shop is famous for their macarons. They have many locations all over Paris (and the world). This location has a full sit-down restaurant (reservations recommended), but they also have a separate line to get treats to go.

Champs-Élysées Gardens

At the south-east end of Champs-Élysées, the shops give way to a garden. It’s lovely to walk thought, but it’s not the best for siting and staying awhile. (We’ve got an even more beautiful garden coming up in a bit.)

There are several theaters throughout the gardens. Along the way, you’ll also pass the Grand Palais and Petit Palais (museums) and Élysée Palace (official residence of the French president).

At the end of the garden you’ll run into Place de la Concorde. The plaza is basically a really busy traffic intersection with an Egyptian obelisk in the center. My recommendation? Skip it. Instead, turn left on Rue Royale and walk a block to Rue Saint-Honoré.

Rue Saint-Honoré

This street is your high-end fashion street. Designer brands like Hermès, Versace, Fendi and Christian Louboutin all have storefronts on Rue Saint-Honoré between Avenue de Marigny and where the street ends near the Louvre.

Even if $1,500 shoes are out of your budget, the window shopping alone is worth even a short stroll down this street. Plus, like I said, a detour down this street is better than crossing the traffic puzzle at Place de la Concorde.

If you’re looking to wander, this is a good area to do it. There are lots of side streets in this area that lead to unique shops, fancy hotels and swanky cafes and bars.

One of the most famous stops around here is Angelina, which is famous for their decadent hot chocolate. It’s a high-end, sit-down restaurant though, so dress accordingly. Because it’s so famous, reservations are recommend because they get very crowded. (Be sure to book early, too. They book up well over a month in advance.)

There’s also several places for fancy cocktails in cozy, immaculately decorated bars. Some of the most popular picks in the area are Bar Hemingway (inside the Ritz Paris), Bar 8 (inside the Mandarin Oriental) and Harry’s New York.

I buy designer things so infrequently that I take photos marking it as a life event

Tuileries Garden

After some shopping and maybe some light day-drinking, cut back to Tuileries Garden. This is one of the most beautiful gardens in Paris. If you were looking for a green space to relax, maybe have a picnic or let the kids play for a bit, this is the spot. (By the way, if you’re visiting Paris with kids be sure to check out this post for all our best tips.)

You don’t have to walk down every pathway in the park, but try a few different ones! You’ll find outdoor cafes, several ponds and fountains, and interesting sculptures. The grounds are immaculately landscaped with beautiful trees, flowers and bushes which really shine in the spring and fall. There’s also a great playground, which the kids will love.

At the southeastern end of the garden, you’ll run into what looks like the Arc de Triomphe. Don’t worry. You didn’t find a wormhole and travel back two miles to where you started your day. This is a second and slightly smaller monument called Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and it was designed at the same time as the Arc de Triomphe.

Louvre Museum

Just beyond Tuileries Gardens is the world famous Louvre art museum. The iconic glass pyramid is in an open plaza above the entrance to the museum. The plaza is a popular place for photos, souvenir shopping from street vendors, and just general relaxing with a view.

Below the plaza is Carrousel du Louvre, which is an indoor shopping mall with a food court. To get down there, look for one of the stairways around the edge of the plaza. A lot of people don’t know is that there’s also an inverted glass pyramid below ground, and this is where you’ll find it. Pretty cool!

Now, if you’re planning to visit the museum, you could certainly do that in the afternoon after making this walk. Alternatively, you could flip this walk and start at the Louvre and do the rest in reverse order. However, we don’t think it’s worth trying to smoosh the Louvre into an otherwise busy day.

The Louvre is gigantic and it’s hard to see everything even with a full day. If you want to go inside, we recommend getting the earliest entry time you can and spending a relaxing, long day there.

Pont des Arts

Exit the Louvre and head towards the Seine. Look for the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. It’s between Pont du Carrousel (a car traffic bridge) and Île de la Cité (an island in the middle of the river).

The bridge offers excellent views all around. You can see the Eiffel Tower in one direction and Pont Neuf on the either. There are benches along the way to relax after a long day.

If you’re heading home after Pont des Arts, the nearest Metro stop is Pont Neuf, which serves the 7 train.

View of Pont Neuf from Pont des Arts

Continue your Journey

• Peruse used books and art prints at the bouquinistes, the iconic green box stalls along the Seine
• Enjoy a meal or a coffee at a classic cafe in Saint Germain, maybe Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots
• Start your next walk through Latin Quarter & the isles

Latin Quarter & the isles Walking Tour

The Latin Quarter is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Paris, dating back more than 2,000 years. It has winding streets and tiny alleys that are filled with lively cafes, very old buildings and bookshops galore. It’s a mesh of tourist traps and authentic history, dotted with museums and gardens for good measure. The district is home to Sorbonne University, and the student population keeps the area young.

The isles refer to Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis, which are literal islands in the middle of the Siene. They comprise quaint shopping streets, famous churches and maybe the best ice cream in Paris. It’s a bit quieter than the banks on either side, but they’re delightful neighborhoods for a stroll.

This walk isn’t short and clocks in at just under 4 miles. But with breaks for meals and coffee along the way, it actually fills a day quite nicely.

• Shakespeare & Company

Île Saint-Louis

Rue Mouffetard

Luxembourg Gardens

As a reminder, here are some quick tips for using this map.

• Plan this walk on a Saturday . In order to feel the energy of this area, you want to visit when it’s got some life to it and that’s typically the weekend. The Rue Mouffetard market closes on Sunday afternoon, which is why we suggest Saturday specifically. Do note that many places are closed on Mondays.
• Bring cash (Euros) . Most restaurants and cafes in this area will take credit cards, but most street vendors don’t. Cash will be helpful for other odds and end purchases too, like renting a tiny sail boat to float around the pond in Luxembourg Gardens.
• The gardens are best in the summer. During the summer months, the gardens in Paris are alive . Not only are they the most beautiful during that time, but they’re also a social hub for tourists and locals alike. In the later fall and winter months, they can feel quite desolate.
• If you have little ones, split this walk over two days. This is a long walk and will wipe out most adults. I originally planned this walk with our toddler, but they totally crashed half way through. If you’re co-travellers have little legs, make this one a two-day journey.
• Skip Jardin des Plantes if you have to. If this walk is too long or you’re short on time and have to cut something, cut Jardin des Plantes. It’s out of the way and not a must see, so it’s a good way to shorten this day up a bit. That might mean skipping Rue Mouffetard, too.

Self-guided walk through Latin Quarter & the isles

This walk begins at at Pont Neuf, which is a famous bridge that passes through Île de la Cité. Ideally you would take the 7 train and get off at Pont Neuf. However, depending on where you’re staying, you could also take the 4 or 10 trains to Odéon. From there you could walk back to Pont Neuf or just skip the bridge and head straight to Fontaine Saint-Michel.

If you walked across Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge as part of the previous walking route, you’ll have already gotten a great view of Pont Neuf.

This stone bridge was first opened for use in 1604 and is the oldest bridge over the Seine that’s still in use today. There are 381 stone masks, or mascarons, carved into the bridge which represent mythical divinities. There’s also a large statue of Henry IV where the bridge crosses Île de la Cité.

After crossing the bridge to the Left Bank, walk along the south side of the Seine. Peek at the many bouquinistes, which are the little shop stalls in the green boxes. They sell art prints, books, little souvenirs and other odds and ends. It’s hard to believe something so cute and notoriously French actually exists in real life.

Fontaine Saint-Michel

In a couple blocks you’ll come to a second bridge, Pont Saint-Michel. Turn right (away from the Seine) and you’ll run into Fontaine Saint-Michele.

This is a stone fountain in a square, which was constructed in 1860. The square around it is often bustling with tourists passing through. There’s not much seating, so people will sit along the base of the fountain itself. You can usually see a street musician or dance troupe performing in front of it.

You don’t need to stay long here, but it’s a great entry point to the Latin Quarter.

Rue de la Huchette

Just across Boulevard Saint-Michele from the fountain is Rue de la Huchette. This two block street is one of the oldest in Paris. It’s famous for having the highest concentration of restaurants in the city — none of them particularly good.

The tiny pedestrian street is cramped with souvenir shops, pubs and creperies. Lining the street are many old buildings with their own stories to tell. One dates back to the 1600s. Another is said to have been a residence of Napoleon Bonaparte.

The street is very touristy, but that’s okay! Most people reading this are tourists and you shouldn’t feel bad about doing popular things. Get a Nutella crepe and let yourself go.

While you’re in this area, it’s a good time explore some of the side streets. I’d recommend popping south a few blocks to the The Abbey Bookshop.

Shakespeare and Company

Just past the end of Rue de la Huchette is Shakespeare and Company. The bookstore opened in 1951 and quickly became a literary beacon for English writers in Paris. Today, there’s often a line out the door to get into the cramped bookshop.

Fun story. The owner, inspired by his own experience with the kindness of strangers, always allowed creatives to sleep for free in the book shop. The invitation was open to writers, artists and other intellectuals, and there were three rules. Each guest had to read a book a day, help the shopkeep for a couple hours, and write a one-page autobiography. Today, thousands of biographies have been collected and archived in the shop.

You should actually read the history of the founder and the bookshop, which is told much more eloquently here .

Attached to the bookstore is a cafe by the same name. I can’t come to Paris and not stop here for a cappuccino and this Paris institution.

Right across the river from Shakespeare & Company is Notre Dame cathedral.

I have been to almost 50 countries and have visited houses of worship in all of them. Nothing hit me quite like walking into Notre Dame on my first visit in 2017. I know that’s probably the most cliche favorite church to have, but it’s mine.

Unfortunately, the inside of Notre Dame is still closed after a fire in 2019 burned much of the cathedral. You can still access the courtyard in front of it and see the church and the famous gargoyles from the outside.

Pass around the back of Notre Dame and cross over Pont Saint-Louis onto Île Saint-Louis. Step onto the island and you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time and maybe teleported to a small French village. It’s quaint and quiet, but don’t read that as boring. There are darling boutiques, amazing restaurants and somehow less crowds than the rest of Paris.

Focus your attention on Rue Saint-Louis en l’Île, the main street that runs through the heart of the island. In a few blocks you’ll hit Berthillon ice cream shop. People argue it’s the best ice cream in all of Paris. The shop’s been around and run by the same family since the 1950s. I must confess, we haven’t actually tried it! The timing just didn’t work out for us, but it’s on our bucket list for sure.

When you’re done exploring the island, cross back to the Left Bank via Pont de la Tournelle or Pont de Sully.

Tino Rossi Garden & Jardin des Plantes

Now it’s time to relax with a bit of nature. The next part of this walk starts at Tino Rossi Garden. It’s a wonderful transition from the bustle of the city to the serenity of Jardin des Plantes.

Jardin des Plantes is a huge botanical garden. About half the garden space is a ticked zoo, which costs €10-13 per person. For the sake of time during this busy day though, we’d suggest skipping the zoo. Instead, follow the paths that cuts straight through the southern portion of the gardens.

Now we’re back to shopping and eating. After Jardin des Plantes, head toward Square Saint-Médard. There are a few ways to get there and any will work. This square has an open air market which is open most days except Sunday afternoon and Monday.

After the market, head north on Rue Mouffetard. The street is so charming and beautiful, from the shops to the buildings themselves. It’s another one of the oldest streets in Paris and its said to have been the main inspiration for Victor Hugo when he wrote Les Miserables.

When Rue Mouffetard hits Rue Clovis, turn left and head to Luxembourg Gardens. Be sure to take note of the Pantheon as you pass by. This is also a popular attraction to visit, but this long walk doesn’t leave time to go inside.

Luxembourg Gardens is my favorite park in all of Paris. In the summer, the flowers are stunning, while in the fall the changing leaves steal the show. Take some time wandering through the gardens, but be sure to take some time to sit near the pond in front of Luxembourg Palace.

In the summer, there’s a small stand near the pond where you can rent wooden boats to sail on the pond in the summer. Theres a great story about the boats, which you can read here .

• Visit the observation deck at Montparnasse Tower and enjoy a cocktail on the roof with views of the entire city at sunset
• Continuing your shopping spree on Boulevard Saint-Germain
• Get a glass of wine at a charming local bar like Chez Georges or Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels
• Start your next walk through Le Marais

Le Marais Walking Guide

The Marais has so much personality. It’s historic but trendy. Religious but LGBT friendly. Urban but quaint.

My desire to explore Le Marais is what inspired me to write this entire post. Everything I read about the neighborhood said “just go and walk around” or “it’s a great place to get lost.” I do not do well with these types of directions. I always end up on the wrong streets and wasting time in places that honestly aren’t that great.

So if you also want to explore Le Marais, but want to know just where to explore, I’ve got you covered. This route passes through some of the main shopping streets, landmarks and squares in the heart of Le Marais. With some basic landmarks flagged, you’ll feel empowered to take a few extra turns along the way as you Flâner .

Saint-Jacques Tower

Rue de rivoli, place des vosges, jewish quarter, marché des enfants rouges, square du temple.

• Get coffee first. Not far from start of this walk is Motors Coffee. It’s a great coffee shop with killer banana Nutella bread. Start here.
• Start in the afternoon . This neighborhood is slow to wake up. Come in the afternoon for the best energy. It’s also a good place to be in the evening, as there’s a wide array of bars and restaurants.
• Consider a guided tour . There’s a lot of really deep and interesting history in Le Marais. If you’re into that sort of thing, there are several free walking tours through the area, like this one .
• Wander within reason . I’ve noted the high streets and notable sights on this map, but I’ve also noted a larger general area that represents the heart of Le Marais. If you have time and interest, wandering down any of these streets will serve you well.

Self-guided walk through Le Marais

This walking tour begins at Saint-Jacques Tower. To get there by train, take the 1, 4, 7, 11 or 14 trains to Châtelet station.

The tower you see today is all that remains of a 16th century church that was destroyed during the French Revolution. For €12, you can climb 300 steps to the top of the tower. It’s usually not too crowded. The tower is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM – 6 PM.

Even if you don’t go inside, the tower is beautiful to look at and surrounded by a lovely and quaint garden. There’s a small playground on one side for children, too.

Continue east down Rue de Rivoli. This is a one of the mail thoroughfares that cut through Le Marais and it’s lined with lots of big-box and thrift stores and also restaurants. There are lots of cool buildings along the way, including one you literally can’t miss, Hôtel de Ville. This massive building primarily serves as a government building, but they do occasionally have public exhibitions and guided tours.

Consider a detour off this main street to see Saint-Gervais church, Rue des Barres or Mémorial de la Shoah holocaust memorial. There are cute boutiques and some really interesting, really old buildings in this area.

Try to make it back to Rue de Rivoli by Saint Paul Station. If you have little ones, there’s a small carousel ride that might quickly become their favorite thing about their Paris trip.

Next up is the main square in Les Marais, Place des Vosges. It’s a perfectly square park that even has square trees! It’s a popular square that’s great people watching and relaxing.

Many reviews I read said that Place des Vosges was too crowded and to seek out less popular squares like Place Sainte-Catherine. I disagree. I think the energy at Place des Vosges is why you should go there.

Exit the park onto Rue des Francs Bourgeois, which another main shopping street. This one is features more high end designers and boutiques like Maje and Ted Baker.

Turn left onto Rue Pavée and then right on Rue des Rosiers and you’ll have found the soul of the Jewish Quarter. This short street is filled with jewish restaurants, bookshops and synagogues. There is so much history in this area if you know where to look. I’d highly recommend this article which talks about the history in much more depth.

If you’re hungry, this is a good place to pick up some falafel. L’As du Fallafel is the most popular pick.

Rue Vieille du Temple

Rue des Rosiers and the Jewish quarter ends at Rue Vieille du Temple. This is another photogenic shopping street with high-end boutiques and charming cafes.

Some of the cutest portions of this street are actually to the left between the Jewish Quarter and Rue de Rivoli. If you have time, walk a few blocks out of your way through that section. Alternatively, you can just turn right and head north right off the bat for an abridged version of this street.

When you run into a large 6-way interchange, turn left onto Rue de Bretagne. This street will lead you to Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest food market in Paris.

This market has vendors selling fresh produce and meats, but also full restaurants with bar and table service. It’s a popular place to get a meal in a unique setting.

Personally, this market didn’t do it for me. It was smaller than I expected (much smaller than Borough Market , which is what I was picturing) and nothing really stood out to me to try (granted, I’m a vegetarian). Instead of waiting for a table at the cramped restaurants, we walked a bit up the road and got pizza at a cafe. (Also uninspired, I know, but at least we were comfortable.)

Round out your time in Le Marais with a visit to Square du Temple. It’s a beautiful garden with a memorial to Elie Wlesel, playground and pond.

We actually had to cut our day a little short and didn’t make it all the way here, but I’d prioritize it next time.

• Visit a museum such as the National Archives Museum, Picasso Museum or the Museum of the Art and History of Judaism.
• Get cocktails! This area is known for it’s nightlife, but even an early drink in the area is fun. Try Candelaria (speakeasy) or read this list for best bars in the area.
• Head over La Coulée Verte Paris, an elevated garden on an old train line (similar in concept to the High Line in New York City)
• Start your next walk through Montmartre

Montmartre Walking Guide

Montmartre is often people’s favorite place in Paris and with good reason. It has winding cobble stone streets, artists painting portraits, views over most of Paris, and it’s literally topped off with a breathtaking basilica.

This is another area that can get a bad rap for being “too touristy,” but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. This walking route will guide you through the main areas of the neighborhood, which yes, includes the tourist attractions along the way.

Montmartre isn’t just about the attractions, though. The best way to enjoy the area is simply to spend time there. By that I mean sit on the steps for awhile. Plan to get a meal at a street-side cafe. Go into the shops and stores. If you’re just checking off sights, the neighborhood will just pass you by.

For that reason, this walk is much shorter in distance than the first three. It’s just over a mile. The neighborhood isn’t that big, so even if you wander off the path, which is encouraged, you still won’t be covering too much distance. This walk can be covered in about half a day.

Montmartre Funicular

Sacré-cœur, place du tertre, rue de l’abreuvoir, le bateau-lavoir, moulin rouge.

• Dine at a charming cafe. Montmartre is dripping with Instagrammable cafes. Le Consulat, La Maison Rose, La Taverne de Montmartre and Le Potager are all highly rated and beautiful restaurants in the area.
• Take a mini Picasso tour . The renowned painter Pueblo Picasso lived and painted in Montmartre for many years. You can see his house, studio and favorite spots in the neighborhood. Here’s a great guide that details the history and exact locations of all things Picasso in Montmartre.
• Come during different times on different trips . During your first trip to Paris, I’d suggest visiting in the early afternoon when it’s the most busy, but then try different times during subsequent visits. Come in the evening and watch the sunset from the steps of Square Louise Michel. If you want to get a portrait, come around 11 when they set up for the best pick of artists.
• Plan your route wisely. If you look at Google maps, it’s easy to feel like you can move around the district pretty quickly. Be warned! The neighborhood of Montmartre has a huge hill in the middle, which is what Sacré-Cœur sits atop. I’d suggest taking the funicular up, seeing everything at the top at once, then working your way down as you explore the rest of the neighborhood.

Self-guided walk through Montmartre

This route begins in the center of the Montmartre neighborhood at the Abbesses subway station, which serves the 12 train. Alternatively, you could take the 2 train to Pigalle station and walk up Rue des Martyrs to Rue Yvonne le Tac.

Walk along Rue Yvonne le Tac and then Rue Tardieu till you reach the base of Square Louise Michel. Just about everyone will be making the same walk between Abbesses and the square, so the street is always lively.

A funicular is a type of cable-based train that is usually used on very steep hills, and Montmartre has one. There are several different stair cases that lead up the hill, including the notable steps up Square Louise Michel, but the funicular is the easiest way to get to the top.

The base of the Montmartre funicular is located here in the southwest corner of Square Louise Michel. You can use a Paris Metro travel card or single ride ticket to ride the funicular. There is a ticket kiosk near the entrance to the funicular where you can purchase a ticket if you don’t already have one. You cannot tap to pay with a credit card on Paris Metro transportation, including the funicular.

It’s a short trip to the top and a car departs every few minutes. The funicular just makes one stop, which is at the top of the hill here . When you exit, turn right and you’re just steps away from Sacré-Cœur.

Sacré-Cœur is the basilica at the top of Montmartre. The church was consecrated in 1919. It was initially proposed as a way for France to seek religious redemption for kidnapping the pope under Napoleon. (You can read about that wild story here .)

Sacré-Cœur is free to enter and is open daily from 6:30 AM – 10:30 PM. Inside there are several statues, stained glass windows, and an immaculate pipe organ built by the same person who built the organ for Notre Dame. The organ is played on Sundays during mass and evening prayer at 4PM. For a small fee — for which they accept credit cards or cash — you can light a prayer candle inside the church.

You can also go to the top of the dome at Sacré-Cœur. The dome is open everyday from 10:30 AM – 5:30 PM and costs €7 for adults. There is no elevator to the top, so you’ll need to be able to climb 300 steps. I’ve never actually been to the top of the dome because the views from the ground are so good.

Square Louise Michel

The basilica sits at the top of Square Louise Michel. Before you continue with this walk, take a short break on the steps here and enjoy the view.

The square is lined with steps which are always filled with people enjoying the sweeping views of Paris. There’s often street performers and hawkers selling beers right from the cardboard case. The cops will always come and shut them down, but they always come right back. It’s a fun dance.

This is one of my favorite views in Paris. It’s also a great place to see the sun set if you’re here in the evening.

Pass the church and make your way to Place du Tertre. The small streets along the way have lots of souvenir shops, food vendors like creperies and ice cream shops, and a couple small art galleries. I’d suggest walking, but there’s also a cute little train that you can take.

Place du Tertre has capitalized on the artsy past of this neighborhood. Today it’s filled with artist painting portraits and selling their work. The outside of the square is all open-air cafes filled with people sipping wine and people watching.

If you’re looking to get a portrait drawn, come around 11 when they’re setting up. The best artists can get lines quickly. If you’re just coming to observe, come in the afternoon when it’s the most crowded.

Leave (some of) the crowds behind and make your way down to Rue de l’Abreuvoir. This means taking a steep walk down the hill on Rue des Saules until you see the unmissable pink and green La Maison Rose restaurant.

If you go straight past it, you’ll actually see Clos Montmartre. It’s the oldest operating vineyard in Paris; not something you’d expect to find in the middle of a city. It is not typically open to the public (minus a few special tours throughout the year), but you can see the vines from the street.

Back at our pink restaurant, though, turn onto Rue de l’Abreuvoir.

This street is beautiful. There are stone walls dripping with ivy, charming Parisian buildings and cobblestone sidewalks. It’s a delightful stroll and photographer’s dream. It’s a short street and it ends at the statue of the boobs (aka Buste de Dalida).

Just around the corner you’ll hit Square Suzanne Buisson. If you need a break and/or if the kids want to play, make a pit stop here. It’s a small square, but it’s a good respite.

Next, make your way toward Place Émile Goudeau. The route in my map above will take you down a tiny alley, which may feel like the wrong way but isn’t. Just keep going and you’ll soon hit the cobblestone square.

The square looks out onto Le Bateau-Lavoir, which was the studio rented by Picasso when he moved to Paris. The original studio was destroyed, and the building today is the the renovated version. To this day, the building serves as an artists’ residence. It is not open for tours.

Even if you are not interested in art history, it’s still a cool place to say you’ve been. And at the very least, it’s a good signpost on your journey through the neighborhood.

Rue des Abbesses

As your Montmartre walking tour comes to an end, make your way back to the main street of Rue des Abbesses. You should arrive on the street not far from where you started at the train station. This time you’re going to go the other way. This section of the street has — you guessed it — shops and restaurants.

This stretch feels a bit less touristy than the other direction and is more practical stores versus souvenir shops. It’s a good place to get an ice cream or a glass of wine. Otherwise, this walk can probably be done briskly as you’re out of the more classical Montmartre area at this point.

While you’re in the area, it’s worth it to finish your day at Moulin Rouge. Yes, that Moulin Rouge.

The venue has been hosting shows and performances since 1889, and today operates as a dinner theater. For about €200 a person, you can enjoy a full meal and performance at this iconic theater.

Even if you don’t go inside, it’s worth it to see the marquee and legendary red windmill. There is a median in the middle of street where you can safely stand and take photos.

• Continue exploring Clichy Street, which is famous for its countless sex shops
• Walk over the suspension bridge at Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. To get there, take the 2 train from Blanche station across from Moulin Rouge to Colonel Fabien and then walk about 10 minutes to the park.
• Get cocktails at Lulu White, voted one of the best cocktail bars on Paris .
• Start your next walk around the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower & the Seine Walking Guide

We’ve made it to the Eiffel Tower, and this walk is truly all about the Iron Lady. This section focuses on getting to the Eiffel Tower and enjoying all the best views of it. It’s a good idea to pair this walk with your visit to the Eiffel Tower, otherwise you may find portions of this walk redundant.

Technically, this walk in full is about 4 miles. That said, you can certainly make it much shorter by cutting down the portions on Rue Saint-Dominique and/or along the Seine.

Rue Saint-Dominique

Champ de mars, eiffel tower, trocadéro gardens, pont alexandre iii.

• Have a plan for getting Eiffel Tower tickets . If you’d like to go up into the Eiffel Tower in the afternoon or evening, be sure to book your ticket in advance. Tickets go on sale 60 days in advance and book up quick, especially for the summit. Otherwise, plan to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before the tower opens in the morning to beat the crowns.
• Start at Bleu Olive . This coffee shop is conveniently located near the start of Rue Cler. It’s a good option for breakfast to begin your day or for a coffee to take with you. Note: they’re closed on Sundays and don’t open till 10 AM on Saturday.
• Avoid Mondays. Many stores are closed on Mondays, which will make parts of this walk less fun.
• Take this walk in reverse . The walk along the Right Bank (north side) of the Seine offers stunning views of the Eiffel Tower. If you flip this route, you’ll be approaching the Eiffel tower and can enjoy the view the whole time.
• Bring a blanket. If you have a small packable picnic blanket , bring it on this walk. It’ll be nice to have if you spend time sitting on the grass at Trocadéro Gardens.
• Enjoy this walk in the evening . If you start around 2 or 3 PM (Tuesday – Saturday), you’ll enjoy a bustling market on Rue Cler and a lovely early evening at the Eiffel Tower. Watch the sun set from Trocadéro Gardens and then enjoy the City of Light by night as you walk along the Seine. Perfection.

Self-guided walk around the Eiffel Tower

The best place to start this walk is the La Tour-Maubourg station which serves the 8 train. If that’s not convenient, you can also take the 13 train to Varenne station. Head west on Rue de Grenelle until you reach Rue Cler.

Rue Cler is often said to be the most beautiful street in Paris. The market street is only one block long, but it’s jam packed with shops selling the freshest produce, local meat, French cheese, wine, pastries and more. It’s like it was made to build the perfect picnic basket to take to Champ de Mars.

Tuesday through Saturday the shops are open from 8 or 9 AM till about 7 PM. The market is only open until 2 PM on Sundays and nearly all the shops are closed on Mondays.

At the end of Rue Cler you’ll hit Rue Saint-Dominique. This street is lined with traditional Hausmann buildings, which is probably what you picture when you think of Paris. It’s a popular shopping street with Eiffel Tower views.

Most of the shopping is to your right, but the Eiffel tower is to your left. If you really are not interested in shopping or are pressed for time, you can turn left after Rue Cler and enjoy a smaller segment of this beautiful street. But if you have extra time, I’d recommend turning right so you get a bit more out of it. Continue walking until you hit Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg. Then turn around and head back down Rue Saint-Dominique until you hit Champ de Mars.

Champ de Mars is iconic, but to be honest, it’s never what I want it to be. I always pictured it to be an open, flat park when you can have a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. However, there’s actually lots of trees and I feel like there’s always construction. I’d suggest walking through it, but if you’re looking for a place to sit I’d argue Trocadéro Gardens is better.

What Champ de Mars does offer, though, is a great approach to the Eiffel Tower. She looms large from this angle and you will be itching to visit the summit.

Ah yes. We’ve made it 7,000 words into this post before finally making it to the Eiffel Tower.

If you’re planning to go inside, be sure to check out my complete visitor guide to the Eiffel Tower . It has tips for where to enter, how to avoid lines, best floor order to visit the tower and more.

If you’re not planning to go to the top of the tower, you can still technically walk underneath it. To get there, you will need to pass through the security. Follow the signs for visitors who do not yet have tickets. After security, you’ll have access to the plaza at the base of the tower and can see it right up close. If you’re not going up, just skip the lines for the ticket office and proceed to an exit.

If you aren’t interested in passing underneath the Eiffel tower, you can simply walk around the outer perimeter and carry on to Pont d’Iéna. There’s also a carousel right by bridge, which is a highlight for children and Instagrammers alike.

If you ask me, the best views of the Eiffel Tower are from Trocadéro Gardens. This is the garden I picture when I think of picnics in front of the Eiffel Tower. From this hill, you’re treated to the best views of the tower, plus the Seine and its bridges. It has a great view of the tower any time, but one of my favorite times to come here is in the early evening when the sun sets and the tower starts to light up.

There’s lots of grass space to sit, so it’s nice to have a blanket. There’s also  food vendors at the base of the gardens, so pick up a crepes or drink before you head up the hill. You’ll also usually find hawkers unofficially selling Champagne and beer, which can actually be quite nice. It’s technically illegal to drink in Paris parks, but police are generally very lenient with beer and wine.

NOTE: In the provided map, Google does not think you can cross Avenue de New York at near the Eiffel Tower, but you can. There is a pedestrian walk sign at the street light here. So you can ignore that detour. 

Walk along the Seine

After you’ve enjoyed a good long sit at Trocadéro Gardens, continue your walk along the Seine for even more beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower. I like to the follow the north side of the river, which eventually becomes Jardin d’Erivan. This riverside garden is lined with trees which become truly stunning in the fall.

At each bridge you pass, turn around to get another epic view of the Eiffel Tower. You’ll pass three, counting Debilly Footbridge, before you get to Pont Alexandre III.

This decorative bridge was built in the late 1800s. It’s a lovely bridge, but mostly I note it here as one final amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. You can still see it from the next bridge too, but it really starts to hide at that point.

If you cross this bridge, you’ll head into Esplanade des Invalides which leads right back to where this walk began. Alternatively, if you turn left and head away from the river, you’ll pass between the Petit and Grand Palais and on to Champs-Élysées. And just like that, our walks have come full circle.

• Continue walking along the Seine, passing Tuileries Garden and onward toward the isles
• Take a boat cruise along the Seine and see Paris from a new perspective
• For a family dinner, get pizza at the hip and delicious Mokus l’Écureuil near Trocadéro Gardens

More From This Trip

• British Airways Business Class Review – 777 from JFK to LHR
• London Travel Guide
• Things to do in London with Kids – Family Travel Guide + Tips
• How to Use the London Underground – A Beginner’s Guide to the Tube
• Bankside Hotel London Review
• London Eye Visitor Guide – How to Visit the Iconic Ferris Wheel in London
• Stonehenge Visitor Guide + Inner Circle Tour Review
• Little Venice London Boat Ride Guide & Review
• Visiting London Transport Museum
• Complete Guide to Big Ben in London
• Borough Market Visitor Guide
• Best Views of Paris that Aren’t the Eiffel Tower
• Visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris – A Complete Guide
• Walking in Paris – 5 perfect walks through Paris with maps
• Paris with Kids – Planning Guide, Things To Do & Tips
• Montparnasse Tower Visitor Guide + Tips
• Amsterdam with Kids – Planning Guide, Things To Do & Sample Itinerary

Monday 28th of August 2023

thank you for actually being objective as to what you can skip! me & my feet appreciate it!

Thursday 7th of September 2023

Oh good! I'm happy to hear that! I hope you have a great trip!

Tuesday 21st of March 2023

This is a stunning post. Top marks for the maps of the routes! And a great read. Thank you.

Self-Guided Walking Tour of Paris

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I had the opportunity to spend a long weekend in Paris with a friend who had never been there before. There was a lot to see and not much time, so I worked up a self-guided walking tour of Paris for us that would hit many of the top tourist sites.

See the main tourist sites in a half day self-guided walking tour of Paris

There are a few “can’t miss” Paris attractions that we had to be sure to see – Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower. Lisa, my friend and travel buddy, also wanted to see the Champs Elysées. We were staying in the Left Bank just a couple of blocks from Notre Dame, so we started our tour there.

This is a list of the primary tourist sites we saw and/or visited on our self-guided walking tour of Paris:

• Sainte Chapelle
• Conciergerie
• Louvre Museum
• Tuileries Garden
• Place de la Concorde & the Luxor Obelisk

Les Invalides

• Golden flame (Flame of Liberty)
• Champs Elysées
• Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

NOTE: As you probably know, after the fire at Notre Dame, you can no longer enter the cathedral. Last time I was there, there was a large fence around the perimeter. There is also no access to “Point Zero” out front.

Map of Paris tourist sites – walking tour

As you can see from the walking tour map below, it is possible to walk around Paris in a day, sightseeing at the main central tourist sites. Of course there’s much more to see and do in Paris, but this is a great walking itinerary for Paris.

The full walk is about 5 miles, if you don’t wander too far off the path. You could hop on the Metro for some of the longer stretches of walking to speed things along. Keep reading below the map for details on each location. If this is more walking than you’re up for, there’s an abbreviated list at the bottom of the page, along with some other suggestions.

Paris Left Bank

We started on the Rive Gauche, Paris’ famous left bank. Our first stop was Shakespeare & Company, a well-known bookstore with books sold in English. The original store was a hangout for many of the lost generation writers, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and James Joyce. The store at the current location was popular with many of the beat-generation writers like Anaïs Nin, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs. It’s literary and quirky, and still a great place to get some books. I bought Hemingway’s  A Moveable Feast , and  Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. I was in Paris, after all! They may ask you if you want your books stamped. This is a stamp they put inside the cover and makes for a memorable souvenir.

From Shakespeare & Company we walked around the corner to L’Eglise St. Julien le Pauvre (the Church of Saint Julien the Poor), one of the oldest churches in Paris, which is now often used as a concert venue. Next to the church is also a small park, the Square René Viviani, home to the oldest tree in Paris.

You can see Notre Dame de Paris, the iconic church, from the park, and it is the next stop on the walking tour.

See the main sites of Paris with a relaxing dinner cruise

A Seine river cruise is a great way to see the city. Whether you take a relaxing boat ride with audio tour or a Paris dinner cruise, you can see the main tourist sites of Paris as you float by.

There can sometimes be a line of people waiting to get into Notre Dame. It generally moves quickly; the holdup is because of security checks at the door. There is a separate line to climb the towers, and it’s generally a very long line. Entrance to the cathedral is free; the tower climb has a small fee. While there, be sure to look for the “Point Zero” marker in the pavement out front. This is the point from which all distances in France were traditionally measured.

From Notre Dame, walk by Sainte Chapelle, then the Conciergerie, prison where Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, was kept before she was taken to the guillotine. Keep going to see Pont Neuf, which translates as New Bridge. It is the oldest bridge in Paris, though it was the first one not made of wood which is how it came to be the oldest bridge in Paris today. On one of the pillars of the bridge, look for a marker that indicates where Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burned. Paris is full of interesting historical markers like this.

First a fortress, then a royal palace, the Louvre became a museum when the royals moved to the Palace of Versailles. It’s most famous treasure is the Mona Lisa (La Jaconde, as they call it in France), though it contains so much more. If you’re going in, be sure to check out the Egyptian collection.

Outside the museum is the famous glass pyramid by architect I.M. Pei. This was being built during my very first trip to Paris. You can walk up to the pyramid for pictures without going in to the museum.

Tips for visiting Mont St Michel in France – you can do it as a day trip from Paris!

Tuileries Gardens

Continue your walk through the Jardin des Tuileries, or Tuileries Garden. These were the gardens of the Tuileries Palace and were created by Catherine de Medici. Don’t look too hard for the palace; it was burned during an uprising in 1871.

Pont des Arts

This was the first metal bridge in Paris, and was built during the reign of Napoleon I. (Yes, there was more than one Napoleon.) Now it is most famous for being the place where tourists hang locks to show their love. Your love doesn’t need a lock, please don’t do this. They keep taking them down. If you put a lock on the bridge, it’s now in a garbage dump somewhere. Seriously, don’t do it. And don’t get me started on throwing the keys into the river.

Place de la Concorde

It is a peaceful name for the former Place de la Revolution, which was the site of the guillotine where King Louis XVI was decapitated. In the center of the Place you will no longer find a guillotine. Instead there is an Egyptian obelisk; a gift from the Egyptian government. The story is that in return for the priceless piece of antiquity, the French government gave the Egyptians a big clock. The clock has never worked. You can still see it in Cairo, not working. The Egyptians are still mad about it.

Need a break from walking?

The Paris hop-on hop-off buses are an alternative way to get around the city. You can see the main sites of the city on a relaxed timetable, and give your legs a break!

You have probably seen the golden dome of Les Invalides by now. The “invalids” name is because its original purpose was to be a hospital and retirement home for veterans. Parts of it are still used for that purpose today, though it is perhaps better known for its army museum and for being the place to see Napoleon’s tomb.

The Golden Flame

Near the Alma bridge (Pont de l’Alma) you can see the Flame of Liberty (la Flamme de la Liberté), a replica of the flame from the torch of the Statue of Liberty. It is supposed to be a symbol of friendship between France and the U.S.A., but most people think it is a monument to Princess Diana as it is located near the Alma Tunnel where she was killed in a car accident. People leave photos and messages near it, in honor of the Princess.

Love Paris? See all my Paris posts.

Champs Elysees & Arc de Triomphe

The Champs Elysées is the most famous street in France. Its name means “Elysian Fields’, and it runs between the Place de la Concorde (the place with the obelisk) and the famous triumphal arch (Arc de Triomphe). It’s full of high end shops and is a bit like the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, if you’re familiar with that. Walking along it, you can cross to the center of the road for some great photos of the Arc de Triomphe.

When you get to the Arc de Triomphe, there is an underground passage to get to it. DO NOT try to cross the road. There are signs to the passage, though I always have to wander around until I figure out where it is.

Under the arch is the tomb of the unknown soldier, as well as monuments to others who fought and died for France. For a fee, you can go to the top of the arch for a view of Paris.

There’s still one place you’ve got to go! (It’s a line from the song Bonjour Paris in the movie Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire .) The Eiffel Tower is undoubtedly the most recognized icon in France and is a must-see stop on your Paris self-guided walking tour. Admire it from a distance, get some great photos, and then get a ticket and head on up for a spectacular view all across Paris! If your legs aren’t too tired, change it up by taking the stairs back down!

Get a guide or do a self-guided walking tour of Paris?

Self guided walking tours are great if you want to wander at your own pace, stop at cafés along the way, or linger in the places that interest you most. But if you don’t want to go it alone you can always hire a guide to show you around. Guides are helpful with language barriers and telling you the history of places you might not have known on your own. GetYourGuide has some great small group tours and offer many niche activities, like photography trips, or food-based tours.

What are the main sites to see in Paris for a quick walking tour?

If this is more walking than you care to do, or want a quick overview of Paris must-see locations, here’s my list:

From there, hop on the Metro or your preferred method of transportation and head to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. That’s it, Paris in a day.

How can I see Paris without walking so much?

The Seine river boat cruises are the ideal way to see the sites of Paris without a lot of walking – and they’re really affordable, even for budget travelers. Most of the must-see tourist locations in Paris or located in clear view of the river, and there is audio that accompanies it so you can hear the history as well. I do this every time I’m in Paris – it never gets old. Pro-tip – take the cruise just before sunset. You head out in the daylight and return in the dark as everything lights up. Get details on a River Seine Cruise in Paris.

You can also take one of the Paris hop-on hop-off buses. It’s a great way to see the sites of the city while giving your legs a break.

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Self Guided Walking Tour of Paris Along The Seine

One of our favorite ways to get to know a city is to explore it on foot. During our 2 week trip to Europe over the summer, we had a fantastic time completing our self guided walking tour of London along the Thames and decided to replicate the experience for Paris. In this post, we’re sharing all the details of our self guided walking tour of Paris along the Seine.

This tour will take 3-5 hours to complete at a leisurely pace, depending on if you just walk it straight through with minimal stops or if you decide to indulge in some of the museums and experiences on the way. The journey begins at the Eiffel Tower and winds its way along the Seine to the Louvre with lots of fun stops and opportunities to get to know The City of Love during the walk.

We did this self guided walking tour of Paris with Kayla’s mini adventurer who was just shy of turning 2, so this guide includes some of the special little stops you can do that will make the journey enjoyable for little ones as well.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. That means at no additional cost to you, we will earn a commission from your purchase which will go toward bringing you more travel tips, tricks, and tidbits .

If you want to explore other areas of Paris on foot, be sure to check out our post on 12 Fun Things To Do In Montmartre . This charming area of Paris feels more like a French village than part of the bustling capital city of France .

The Eiffel Tower

This self guided walking tour of Paris begins at the city’s most iconic landmark – The Eiffel Tower. While most people have it on their bucket list to see during their time in Paris, first timers may not know that you can go inside the Eiffel Tower !

For varying price points, you can purchase tickets to go up to the 1st, 2nd, and top floors of the Eiffel Tower. Not only will you have fantastic panoramic views of the city, you’ll also be able to dine inside the Eiffel Tower if you wish! Each level has dining options at different price points. There are also little shops inside where you can get one of a kind souvenirs to commemorate your trip! You can either purchase tickets through the Eiffel Tower website or have a guided tour of the Eiffel Tour coupled with a Seine River Cruise .

If you do decide to venture inside, just be sure you pay attention to what you’re paying for. Some tickets only give you access to the stairs and others give you access to the elevator.

Underneath the Eiffel Tower is a carousel that children will enjoy riding – and it makes for such cute pictures with the Eiffel Tower serving as a great backdrop! If you have children, they may also like seeing a traditional French marionnette puppet show at the Marionnettes du Champ de Mars Paris . The theatre is located right by the Eiffel Tower and only costs €6 per person to attend. This is a fantastic fun way to show your children a bit of French culture that they are sure to remember!

After finishing your fun with the Eiffel Tower, make your way toward Pont d’léna bridge. Just before you get to the bridge, veer right onto the wide walking path where you’ll continue on your way for 1.5 miles (2.4km) toward Place de la Concorde. The walking path is very wide and parents should be comfortable letting their little ones out of the stroller to stretch their legs along the way since vehicles are not allowed on the path. It also has fantastic river views for most of the walk!

Photo Ops & Museums

You won’t have to go far before you have excellent photo opportunities of the Eiffel Tower without any other tourists in your photos! During your walk, you’ll see boats bobbing in the river, art installations, historical monuments, and beautiful bridges.

You may also like visiting the couple of museums you’ll pass in this stretch. At Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac , you can see tribal art from around the world. The Paris Sewer Museum shows you “the city beneath the city”, and Fluctuart: Center of Urban Art gives you a chance to enjoy art, books, and a casual meal on the water.

World Famous Macarons

Our favorite stop was Le Café Pierre Hermé , where we got to buy some absolutely delicious macarons. There is a little stand alone shop on the side of the path just before Pont de l’Alma bridge. Since this stop is toward the beginning of the walking tour of Paris, you’ll have a delicious treat if you get snacky during your walk!

There is an ongoing debate over whether Pierre Hermé or Ladurée has the best macarons in the world. We didn’t get to try the latter, but we can confirm the macarons from Pierre Hermé are both beautiful and extremely tasty. They make a fantastic gift to bring back home to someone!

The Most Beautiful Bridge in Paris

You can cross Pont de la Concorde bridge which will deposit you right at Place de la Concorde, but we chose to take the one just before it – Pont Alexandre III bridge.

This bridge is so incredibly beautiful and is one of the most ornate bridges in Paris! It has stunning gilded statues standing tall on pedestals at each corner of the bridge, dozens of beautiful old lampposts adorned with cherubs, and intricate stone garland along the outer sides with gilded details. There are some great photo opportunities on the bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the distance or off the bridge if you’d like a picture of the entire bridge in all its glory!

Place de la Concorde

From the bridge, it is less than a 10 minute walk to Palace de la Concorde – the largest square in Paris.

There are 2 beautiful fountains on either side of the square with an enormous Egyptian obelisk at its center and palatial buildings dotting the perimeter. The obelisk is over 3000 years old and dates back to the reign of Ramses III. Its twin remains at their original location in front of Luxor Temple in Egypt, which Kayla got to see when she went on a tour of Egypt with Bucket List Travel .

History buffs will be interested to know that during the late 1700s, the square was home to the executions of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. After their deaths, the Reign of Terror began and a guillotine was permanently installed at Place de la Concorde for 2 years. During that troublesome time of the French Revolution, over 1,100 people were publicly executed in the square.

If you want a hearty meal, consider heading over to Ferdi while you’re in this area. This unpretentious eatery is said to have the best cheeseburger in Paris. In fact, it’s Kim Kardashian’s favorite, and the restaurant is often frequented by other celebs as well! Ferdi is only a six minute walk from Place de la Concorde and only one block over from Jardin des Tuileries.

Jardin des Tuileries

On the eastern side of Place de la Concorde is one of the entrances to Jardin des Tuileries , a massive public garden with a fascinating history and a lovely space to spend a sunny day in Paris. It directly connects Place de la Concorde to the Louvre.

The garden was first commissioned by Queen Catherine Medici and was much smaller than it is today. Over time, it was heavily expanded upon, but it wasn’t until 100 years after its original construction that it got its iconic French classical landscaping design that it retains today and the garden became open to the public to enjoy.

In 1783, over 400,000 people gathered in and around the garden to watch a hot air balloon ascend with 2 people inside. Benjamin Franklin had come to Paris to watch the trials and the world waited for news of whether the flight was successful. Up until that point, only farm animals had been up in a hot air balloon. Not only was the flight a success with the balloon traveling 27 miles, it became known as the world’s first manned flight!

Today, the gardens offer ample space to stretch your legs. There are cafes dotted throughout, serene fountains, beautiful sculptures, and lots of shady trees that are perfect for picnicking under. Little ones will enjoy riding the carousel located at the heart of the gardens and older kids will love playing on the massive playground directly beside the carousel.

If you are visiting Paris during July and August, children and adults alike can have hours of fun at the Fête des Tuileries – a massive fair set up in the gardens with over 60 attractions! Art lovers will enjoy visiting the Musée de l’Orangerie any time of year, where you can see 8 of Monet’s water lily paintings.

If you want a fun filled day for your children any time of year, consider taking them to Disneyland Paris! It is an easy day trip from the city center. Check out our roundup of 10 Things to Know For Disneyland Pari s as a jumping off point to plan your extra magical day.

After you’ve had your share of fun in the gardens, you’ll want to exit on the complete opposite side of the park that you entered, which will take you to the Louvre.

The Louvre Museum

The last stop on this self guided walking tour of Paris is the Louvre Museum. The museum opened in 1793. While the palace once housed French royals, today it is home to 35,000 works of art – the most famous one being the Mona Lisa .

Outside of the Louvre, you’ll be able to get pictures with the iconic glass pyramids and the beautiful buildings that make up the Louvre. On the inside, you’ll find rooms and hallways dripping in splendor. The formal palace has maintained its opulent design throughout the years, with several rooms being masterpieces in and of themselves.

It can be a bit confusing to navigate a large museum, but especially the largest museum in the world. To help you out, the Louvre has curated some self guided visitor trails of varying lengths to assist you if you’re unsure where to begin.

If you start feeling peckish after a day filled exploring, the museum has several cafes. Many people flock to Angelina though, as it is renowned for having some of the best hot chocolate in the world.

If you’ve done this walking tour of Paris from start to finish, give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve had a long day exploring, but it was one filled with beauty and fun things to do. Take a taxi or an Uber back to your accommodations since you spent so long on your feet today – you can easily catch one right outside the Louvre!

Let us know in the comments below your favorite stops on our Self Guided Walking Tour of Paris!

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8 thoughts on “Self Guided Walking Tour of Paris Along The Seine”

Just wonderful – I have to go back to Paris one day 🙂

I love exploring cities by foot and I love Paris. This self guided walking tour is perfect. 🤍

I always love a good self guided walking tour! I can’t decide about the favorite stop from this Paris walking tour, I love them all!

I haven’t stopped at the carousel before, even when we took our girls. Something new to do next time!

Lovely tour, it’s such a great city to walk around too!

Paris is one of my favorite travel destinations. We always take a romantic walk along the Seine!

I’ve always longed to travel to Paris, and your post confirms that I need to go before long. Thank you for the specific tips about how to enjoy the landmarks – I need to try a macaroon!

I am a big fan of exploring cities on foot and immersing myself in neighborhoods. This is a perfect self-guided walking tour of Paris.

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103 Free Self-Guided Walks in Paris

I've already prepared our list of  15 places to visit in Paris  and now it's time to see how we work these points of interest into long days of walking in the French capital. My first step (pardon the pun!) was to look for online self-guided walks in Paris that others have prepared and were generous enough to share. I've found quite a few so I'm sharing them here with you.

First, a quick recap and update

I finished booking our flights yesterday! Very excited! We'll be flying into Paris in late March and returning from Berlin ten days later.

If you've been following my posts, you may remember that the original plan was to visit Normandy as well as Paris. I found us very cheap flights - from our home in Israel to Paris - for under $30 per ticket. I was waiting for Easyjet to open their spring flights so I could book our return flights. That happened yesterday but alas, I couldn't find cheap flights going back from Paris to Israel for our dates. The cheapest I could find came at $250 per ticket. You may think that's not a lot, but once you've had the sweet taste of $30 flight tickets... you can't go back. I mean, we paid a total of $120 for the four of us on our first flight, paying more than double that for one person just seemed too expensive.

So, I played around with destinations and dates and discovered that flying from Paris to Berlin and then flying from Berlin to Israel turned out to be a cheaper option, saving us about $400 in total. So, Paris and Berlin it is. Sorry, Normandy! You look awesome and I'm sure we'll visit someday!

For now, let's get back to Paris and the walks.

We love walking in cities to explore them "à pied", as the French say. I found more than a hundreds good and free  self-guided walks in Paris , so I decided to put them together here as one central resource -

1.  The Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau official site - 13 self-guided walks in Paris

I guess this is the website of the Parisian tourist information office. They have 13 suggested routes you can take to explore Paris on foot. These include basic itineraries such as " Monumental Paris " covering the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides, the Pont Alexandre III and other majestic buildings and monuments; Or " Mythical Paris " covering the Louvre, Concorde, the Tuileries gardens, the Grand Palais and the Champs-Elysées.

They also have more "advanced" self-guided walks in Paris, including " Timeless Paris " covering the ancient cathedrals and the Latin Quarter, and " Glamourous Paris " covering the The Opera House, the Palais-Royal, the Madeleine and the grands boulevards. And if you think you've seen it all, they even have suggestions such as " Undiscovered Paris " and a tour of the neighborhoods around the city.

Click here to access these walks

2.  GPSMyCity.com - 52 self-guided walks in Paris

A nice selection of walks with interactive maps (allowing you to zoom in and out). Some of the suggested walks are based around a specific area, such as the Montmartre, Les Marais, or Les Halles. Others focus on themes such as the French Revolution, Antique hunting, gourmet food and even a "Da Vinci Code" hike.

Click here to access these walks.

3. Paris Walking Tours - 10 self-guided walks in Paris

This company offers a ten free self-guided walking tours on their website, alongside paid guided ones.  Each of the self-guided walks is either an actual route from point A to point B or a stroll in a particular park or neighborhood. These are textual descriptions, illustrated with pictures but without any maps. Shouldn't be too difficult to map them out properly using Google maps.

Click here to see suggested walks  (scroll down for the list).

4.  Great Paris Walks by TimeOut Magazine - 8 self-guided walks in Paris

A collection of 8 self-guided walks by the magazine experts. The descriptions are witty and fun to read (these are professional writers after all!). They certainly make you want to go out there and start exploring.

The themes vary. They include the more traditional themes of the French Revolution, Architecture and Montmartre, as well as "niche" walks focused on Hemingway and Samuel Beckett. There's also a self-guided visit to the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise.

Click to access these walks

5.  History walks in Paris - 6  self-guided walks in Paris

This is the personal website where long-time fan of the city Ann Branston shares six suggestions for self-guided tours of Paris, divided by periods. You can choose from Middle Ages Paris, or move forward in time and tour Paris by the century - from the 15th to the 20th.

I love how Ann gives you a concise description of what you'll find in each walk, along with distances and estimated time to finish it. You can then download a PDF file of the self-guided tour. The file includes an overview of the period as well as a detailed stop-by-stop description of the route. You can tell these guides are a labor of love. Perfect for the more "advanced" visitor and for history buffs.

Click to see Ann's website and access the walks

6.  Tour by Transit - 3 self-guided walks in Paris

Tour by Transit shares two classic walks and one that's definitely off the beaten track. The classic routes are divided by the Seine river: One focusing on the right bank, while the other is all about the places south of the river, on the left bank. The third route is a little bit different. It goes along a repurposed railway line that has been turned into a walking park called the Promenade Plantee. Each walk includes clear directions and a map.

7.  Frommer's  - 3 self-guided walks in Paris

The iconic travel guide offers you three self-guided walks in Paris on its website. They cover three popular areas: Montmartre, the Latin Quarter and Les Marais. There are no maps but there are summaries, and lists of points of interest along each route.

Click to access the walks

8.  Invisible Paris  -  3 self-guided walks in Paris

Three unique self-guided walks by the Invisible Paris blog that take you to the lesser-known places in the city. The theme of the first walk is the women of Paris through the ages and it explores the area of Pigalle. The second focuses on modern architecture, with interesting stops along the left bank of the Seine. The third walk takes you through the streets around Menilmontant and Belleville where you can see the local street art.

These walks are quite "off the beaten path". Probably not ideal for a first visit in Paris, unless you're interested in one of these specific topics. You can download each walk in a text-version which includes in-depth descriptions, pictures and maps.

9. Free Tours By Foot - 1 self-guided walk in Paris

A nice walk through 14 stops, more or less along the banks of the Seine. From the Louvre, through the Champs-elysee and ending at L’Hôtel national des Invalides, this is a basic tour of some of the city's more prominent landmarks. There's a convenient interactive map to see where everything is and a detailed explanation about each stop.

Click to see the tour. 

10.  Kevin & Amanda's Hidden Paris - 1 self-guided walk in Paris

I loved this suggested stroll through some picturesque alleys of Paris. This blog post has fabulous photos that really make me want to follow in Kevin and Amanda's footsteps. Fortunately, they included a clear interactive map!

Click for Kevin & Amanda's stroll through Hidden Paris

11.  About.com's walk of Les Marais  - 1 self-guided walk in Paris

Courtney Traub, About.com's Paris experts, offers a self-guided tour of Les Marais. A slideshow takes you through the nine stops in this tour, each accompanied with a short description of what you'll be seeing.

Click to access the walk

12.  The Fat Chemist's self-guided walk of the Montmartre

This blogger takes you through a slightly "different" tour of the Montmartre in a detailed and fully-illustrated post. I liked the unique photos and the attention to detail. I'm not sure if it makes me want to go there myself, or maybe makes me feel like I already have? There is a good map though, so it should be easy to follow and find these unique statues and street sights.

Click to access this walk

That's it - lots of walking to do!

I'm going to return to this post soon, as I form our own itinerary in Paris. I'll probably pick at least three or four of these self-guided walks as "anchor activities". Let's just hope that the weather's nice enough so we can wear out our walking shoes and get to know the city!

How about you? Any recommendations for specific areas in the City Of Lights which we should be visiting? I'd love to hear all about your impressions of walking Paris in the comments section below!

Great info. This is going to be fun to make some of these part of our trip. Another place for walks is A French Frye In Paris. Cory Frye takes you on a walk with detailed history and fun facts every Saturday on YouTube, just like if you were on one of his tours.

Thanks for the recommendation, Debbie! Enjoy your next Paris trip!

Merci beaucoup! The time you took to visit these sites and compiled them in one blog post is remarkable!

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Montmartre Walking Tour: Self-Guided Walk of the 18th

Last Updated on 23rd May 2023 by Sophie Nadeau

This post may contain affiliate links. Please check out my  privacy policy  and  disclosure  for more information.

Quirky architecture, rich history, and the fact that Montmartre has been a muse for artists, poets and writers alike for centuries make it the perfect spot to get lost in, perhaps even for a few hours. Here’s a Montmartre Walking tour ; a self-guided walk full of quirky activities and sites.

Montmartre. If there’s one arrondissement I could return to again, and again, it’s this time-warp in central Paris. The sights, the smells, and of course, all of the cobbled lanes come together to form a little piece of quirky France that’s best explored on foot.

Psst. If you’re planning to visit Paris, then we’ve created a gorgeous 100+ page eBook full of beautiful photos and insider tips by a local. Included you’ll find hidden gems, arrondissement guides, walking tours, suggested itineraries, and more. Find more information here.

Montmartre Walking Tour: Practical Advice, Tricks & Tips

Parvis du sacré coeur, sacré coeur, musee de montmartre, clos montmartre, la maison rose, rue l’abreuvoir, place dalida, moulin de la galette, picasso’s paris studio, le consulat café, place du tertre, le refuge des fondus, le mur des je t’aime, l’objet qui parle, enjoyed following this free and self-guided montmartre walking tour of the 18th arrondissement pin it now, read it again later:.

Before you head out on your Montmartre Walking Tour, there are certain things you should know. Firstly, make sure that you wear suitable walking shoes: this is one area of Paris where there really  are  plenty of cobbled lanes.

Though the walking time is just 26 minutes, allow yourself at least a couple of hours to ensure that you have enough time to see all the sites and attractions along the way (after all, there are plenty of museums, small streets, and eateries you may want to spend a while in along the way) .

If you’re considering stopping for lunch, and perhaps also an afternoon tea, then allocate yourself an entire half day of your time in Paris to complete this tour, especially if you’re planning to explore the museum.

Walking time: 26 minutes

Distance Covered: 2km

Places to see on this Montmartre walking tour

Begin your self-guided walking tour of Paris at the Parvis du Sacré-Coeur, the gateway to Montmartre. You can reach the Parvis du Sacré-Coeur via a number of different routes.

The nearest metro station is Anvers (line 2 blue) and you can walk up the numerous steps from the Carousel, up to the Sacré-Coeur. Just be sure to bring some water and snacks if it’s a hot day as it’s a pretty steep climb up!

If you approach the Basilica from this direction, you’ll pass the Sinking house of Montmartre along the way. Alternatively, you can reach the Parvis via the funiculaire de Montmartre (Montmartre funicular) . Opened in 1900, the journey lasts a minute and a half and costs the same as one metro ticket.

Once at the top, take a moment to admire the landscape, and the city of Paris sprawling out below you. This is your first glimpse of Montmartre and a portal into another time zone…

The iconic Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur has been a place of worship for thousands of years (during Roman times, it was even used as a pagan place of worship) . And, let’s face it, you predominantly visit Montmartre to catch at least a quick glimpse of the iconic Basilica.

Entry to the church is free, though no photographs are allowed inside (though I’m sure you’ll see plenty of people trying to take photos during your visit!). If you so wish, you can also pay a fee to go inside the interior top dome of the basilica to get an even better view of Paris from above.

Pretty in pink, and complete with a set of gardens dedicated to Renoir, Musée de Montmartre is the perfect introduction to life in Montmartre, and the culture which has grown up around the area.

Located at 8-14 Rue de Cortot, here you’ll find a selection of artworks by many a famous resident of the area, as well as a brief history of Montmartre itself.

Purchase your Musée de Montmartre ticket here.

If you really want to get an understanding of Montmartre, and the history of the area, then no Montmartre Walking Tour would be complete without a visit to the Clos Montmartre , one of the last working vineyards in the middle of Paris. Situated just to the rear of Musée de Montmartre, the vineyard produces just a few bottles of wine annually.

Incredibly famous since the rise of Instagram, La Maison Rose stands at the end of one of the prettiest roads in Paris and is surrounded by cobbled streets. The restaurant/ café is open daily for food and drinks and is pretty much as cute as you can imagine (from the photo) .

There has been a coffee shop at La Petite Maison Rose for well over a hundred years, and this small bar on the side of Montmartre was once a boarding house where writers would come to enjoy their lunchtime meals for a modest price.

Today you can still enjoy traditional French fare on the little chairs and tables outside of the Parisian café. However, you should note that the café gets incredibly busy and so be sure to head here mid-week and earlier in the day if possible!

The pretty little road of rue de l’Abreuvoir overlooks the Sacré-Coeur and some of the prettiest architecture Montmartre has to offer. Many of the houses are covered in ivy.

Rue de l’Abreuvoir also happens to be one of the best places to see Wisteria in the city come wisteria season in April/ May. The street takes its name from an ancient watering trough situated in its centre, and dates back all the way to the 14th-century.

Perhaps the prettiest square in Paris, Place Dalida is well worth a stroll around, and perhaps a quick stop to snap a photo or two. The square is named after the iconic singer Dalida, an Egyptian/ Italian who called Paris home during her most famous years.

Once upon a time, the hill of Montmartre and its surrounding countryside was home to a whole multitude of windmills. Though this is no longer the case, a few still survive to this day. Moulin de la Galette is a testament to the history of Montmartre, as well as its enduring culture.

Today, the Moulin (windmill) operates as a restaurant and is open on a daily basis for lunch and dinner. A windmill has stood here, in this spot, since at least the 17th-century.

As you will have already seen from your time at the Montmartre Museum, the area has inspired countless artists, writers, and poets for centuries. One of the most famous of these was Picasso, who spent a lot of time in Montmartre when he was starting out.

As a result, he set up shop in Montmartre, Le Bateau-Lavoir to be precise. Though much of the building was sadly destroyed by fire in the 1970s, the façade survived and the building was reconstructed.

Perhaps the cutest cafeé in Paris (if one coffee house is even allowed to claim that title) , Le Consulat is well worth a look when you’re in Montmartre. Situated at 18 Rue Norvins, this little café is overlooked by the Sacré-Coeur, a cobbled street and is the perfect place to stop off for a quick coffee. For exactly how to order a coffee in Paris, I’ve written a short guide here !

If you want to see where the artists spend their time in Paris nowadays, then you need to look no further than Place du Tertre. Filled with little artists’ stalls, here you’ll find painters painting  en plein air .

There’s even the chance to purchase some of their artworks (if you’re looking for a particularly unusual souvenir from France to bring home with you).

Surrounding the Place du Tertre square, you’ll find a large selection of cafés and shops selling ice cream, snacks, and larger meals- though I don’t recommend actually eating around here.

If you’re looking for traditional French cuisine, as well as a convivial dining experience, then Le Refuge Des Fondus is the place to head to. Enjoy wine, by the [baby] bottle- yes, the wine quite literally is served in baby bottles. Here, you’ll also find more fondu than you could possibly eat (and it’s oh so delicious!)

A wall dedicated to all things love, the wall has ‘ Je T’aime ‘, (or I love you for all my English speaking readers) in over 250 languages, with over 300 declarations of love listed in total!

Spend the penultimate stop on your Montmartre Walking Tour celebrating love, and stop to admire the wall for a short moment. The I love you wall is at the base of the Butte Montmartre and comprises 612 tiles of enamelled lava. All in all, it’s well worth a look!

Finish off your Montmartre walking tour by indulging in a typically Parisian- and more specifically Montmartre- pastime. That’s right, try vintage shopping  a la Parisienne  in L’Objet Qui Parle (the talking object). 

This vintage shop in Paris stocks quite literally everything; from drawings to ceramics, to the bizarre. It offers you the chance to purchase a particularly unique souvenir from your time in Montmartre, and Paris in general…

Sophie Nadeau is a full time travel writer and photographer focused on cultural experiences in Europe and beyond. When she's not chasing after the sunset (or cute dogs she sees on her travels) she can be found reading, playing video games, and going on long hikes with her husband.

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11 Comments

Hello! This is great post, thank you for it! I personally love Montmartre and looking forward to visit Paris and especially this place again very soon. If I follow your suggestion, it could be quite different experience than previously. I love your website, keep great work! Bye Renata

We enjoyed following your tour and seeing some of the sights of Montmartre. However please include that the Fondu shop is only open at night. A big disappointment for us hoping to enjoy its fare!

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How long would you allow for this walking tour?

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We will be doing the walking tour of Montmartre this weekend October 14 Will stop by the bust of Yolinda Dalida. She sang with Julio Iglesias la Vien En Rose She took her own life

Don’T stop with just walking around Montmarte. Stay in Montmarte . Live like a local i can thoroughly recommend renting an apartment through perfectlyparis. The lovely and ever so helpful Gail Boisclair can help you find the most perfect apartment to stay in as she specializes in the Montmarte area. I have stayed no less than 5 times at different apartments and would never consider renting from any other company.

I absolutely love the Montmartre area, whenever I’m in Paris I try to visit and go to the same ice cream store. The views over Paris from the Sacré Coeur are just incredible! xo

I love your Montmatre walking tour! All the stops are absolutely picturesque. I also agree with your “time-warp” description. It’s been years since I was in Paris, but my memories of my afternoon in Montmatre are the most vivid for this very reason. I would love to go back!

Awesome walking tour! Paris has some many hidden gems that you can only discover by walking around the city. Thanks for this very informative post. I will save for when I visit Paris again.

Free self-guided St Germain walking tour, Paris (with map)

Posted on Last updated: September 10, 2024

Explore Paris’ intellectual and bohemian neighbourhood with this free self-guided St Germain walking tour, which takes in the district’s churches, cafés, palaces and parks – map and directions included.

* This site contains affiliate links , where I get a small commission from purchases at no extra cost to you.

Located on Paris’ Left Bank in the 6th arrondissement , Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of the city’s most famous neighbourhoods. Over the years it’s been a meeting place for intellectuals, a centre of the post-war Jazz Age and a bohemian hub for artists and writers.

Today St Germain is a fashionable neighourhood full of designer boutiques, smart restaurants and art galleries. It’s also my Parisian second home, where I always stay when I visit the city. So let me take you on a St Germain walking tour to discover the area’s historic churches, museums and gardens – with a few delicious extras along the way.

A self-guided walking tour of St Germain

Start your St Germain walking tour on the Pont des Arts bridge over the Seine, in front of the Louvre. The nearest Métro stations are Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre (Lines 1 and 7) and Pont Neuf (Line 7), both of which are around a five-minute walk away.

Pont des Arts

The original Pont des Arts was built in 1802 to connect the Louvre and Institut de France. It was the first metal bridge in Paris, but after wartime bombing and boat collisions it was declared unsafe in 1977. A steel version was built to replace it, using the same design except with seven arches instead of the original nine to match the nearby Pont Neuf.

The Pont des Arts has long been popular with artists, and you’ll still see painters on the bridge. It was also where Paris’ controversial love locks trend started. The first padlock was added in 2008 and eventually they built up so much that the railings collapsed from the weight. They’ve now been replaced with glass panels to stop locks being added.

Walk south across the bridge towards the imposing dome-roofed Institut de France, which is home to arts, humanities and science academies. At the end of the bridge turn right and walk along Quai de Conti, then take a left turn up Rue Bonaparte.

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts

On your right you’ll pass l’École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (National School of Fine Arts), Paris’ oldest and most famous art school. You’ll often see students carrying portfolios, hoping to repeat the success of previous pupils like Monet, Degas and Renoir – whose artworks you can see a few minutes’ walk away at the Musée d’Orsay.

Carry on along Rue Bonaparte, where many of its elegant townhouses have been turned into arty shops and galleries, with everything from antique vases to modern art installations on display. Look out for number 5, the birthplace of painter Édouard Manet, and number 24 where novelist Henry Miller lived in the late 1920s.

Ladurée

Next up is an edible work of art – the macaron. The Rue Bonaparte branch of Ladurée is one of eight stores across Paris where they sell over 15,000 of their signature macarons a day. Macarons seem to be everywhere now but Ladurée’s are the classics – light and airy with a different range of colours and flavours available each season.

Ladurée’s window displays are a work of art in themselves, with a rainbow of pastel shades and elegant packaging. There’s usually a queue out of the door for a spot in their tea room, but you can get a macaron to take away for €2.50 (or a box of six for €19.50).

Just after the Ladurée shop, turn left down Rue Jacob, then take the first right down Rue de Füstenberg where you’ll find the Musée National Eugène Delacroix.

Musée Delacroix

In a courtyard just off pretty Place de Fürstenberg, the Musée Delacroix is dedicated to French painter Eugène Delacroix. Delacroix was considered to be France’s leading Romantic artist and produced over 9140 paintings and drawings over his lifetime. He also painted frescoes in the Church of Saint-Sulpice and Palais du Luxembourg.

The museum (closed Tuesday) is inside the apartment where he lived and worked for the last six years of his life before he died in 1863. It has a selection of Delacroix’s drawings, sketches and letters on display as well as personal items like photos and his easel.

At the end of Rue de Füstenberg, turn right and walk along Rue de l’Abbaye until you rejoin Rue Bonaparte in front of the Bonaparte Café, with the church to your left.

Église de Saint Germain des Prés

The Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is one of the oldest churches in Paris, with foundations which date back to the third century. It was originally the church of a Benedictine abbey located outside the city walls of medieval Paris and surrounded by fields – known as prés in French – although it’s hard to imagine it now.

During the French Revolution the abbey was used to store saltpeter, one of the ingredients of gunpowder, until it all went up in a huge explosion. It destroyed the abbey and two of the original three towers, just leaving the current church and one tower still standing.

Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore

Just across from the church on Boulevard St Germain are two of the Left Bank’s most famous cafés – the Deux Magots and Café de Flore. At the start of the twentieth century they were full of philosophers, writers and intellectuals debating the meaning of life. Regulars would choose one over the other, and they’ve been rivals ever since.

Follow in the footsteps of Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre – who lived just around the corner at number 42 Rue Bonaparte – to the Deux Magots . Or call in to Picasso’s favourite instead, the Art Deco Café de Flore . Don’t miss their hot chocolate, which is made with a jug of hot milk and a jug of melted chocolate that you mix together.

Cross busy Boulevard St Germain and continue south down Rue Bonaparte until you reach Place Saint-Sulpice on your left. If you’re feeling hungry, just across the road at 72 Rue Bonaparte there’s a Pierre Hermé shop where you can pick up macarons, chocolates and pastries. Then walk down Place Saint-Sulpice towards the church.

Église Saint-Sulpice

Saint-Sulpice church is Paris’ second-largest church after Notre-Dame cathedral. It was built in late Baroque style between 1646 and 1870 and is known for its distinctive double towers. Though if you look closely you can see that they’re not quite identical – the one on the right was left half-finished and you can see right through as it’s still hollow inside.

Inside the church you can see a fresco by Delacroix in the Chapel of the Holy Angels and fonts carved by sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. Saint-Sulpice is also famous for its organ and you can hear it in action if you visit around midday after Sunday mass.

Carry on along Rue Saint-Sulpice then turn left into Rue Mabillon and immediately right into Rue Lobineau. You’ll pass the Marché Couvert Saint-Germain, a big covered market that’s a good place to pick up fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and cheese (closed Mondays). Then go right down Rue de Seine/Rue de Tournon towards the Luxembourg Palace.

Palais du Luxembourg

The impressive Luxembourg Palace was built in the 17th century for Italian-born queen Marie de Medicis, mother of King Louis XIII. After her husband was assassinated, she wanted a palace that reminded her of home, so sent her architect to Italy to copy Palazzo Pitti in Florence. But she didn’t live there for long before being exiled by her son.

The palace was briefly used as a prison during the French Revolution before being converted into a legislative building. It was used by Hermann Göring as the Lutfwaffe headquarters during WWII, and now houses the French Senate.

Turn right and follow Rue de Vaugirad to the entrance to the Luxembourg Gardens next to the Musée du Luxembourg , an art museum inside a former orangery.

Jardin du Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Gardens are a green oasis of 23 hectares which surrounds the Luxembourg Palace, with lawns, fountains, sports courts and playgrounds. They’re your classic Parisian park, with old men playing boules and couples strolling hand-in-hand.

There are over 100 statues around the gardens, including a mini replica of the Statue of Liberty and 20 statues of famous women – including Marie de Medicis who established the gardens – around a central lake where you’ll often see children sailing model boats.

After a stroll through the gardens, finish your self-guided St Germain walking tour next to the Medici Fountain, which was originally built for Marie de Medicis but was moved and rebuilt around 1864. The Terrasse de Madame café is just behind you where you can get a cup of coffee or glass of wine and watch the world go by.

Otherwise you can either head right along the edge of the park where it’s a few minutes’ walk to the Luxembourg RER station. Or head left along Boulevard St Michel past the Sorbonne art school and Cluny Le Sorbonne Metro station and back up to the Seine.

Self-guided St Germain walking tour map

If you’d like to do this St Germain walk yourself, click on the map below to access directions through Google maps. The route is around 3.5km (2.2 miles) and takes 45 minutes to walk straight through, but allow a couple of hours to include stops along the way.

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Jill Richardi

Tuesday 2nd of July 2019

We opted for your self-guided tour today. It was wonderful! We tasted macarons at Ladurée’s, and their flavors are so intense and fresh. Loved the locks on the bridge and will return to Café de Flore tomorrow. Thank you!

Monday 8th of July 2019

Ah brilliant, so glad that you enjoyed it!

Travel Blog | Travel Inspiration

Free Self-Guided Walking Tour Of Montmartre, in Paris

If you’d love to explore the legendary Montmartre area of Paris and don’t know where to go and what to do, you need this self-guided walking tour of Montmartre.

Why be held back by a slow group tour if you can find your own way and go at your own pace, without missing out on key information and local stories?

My FREE self-guided walking tour of Montmartre gives a manageable route that will take you to the main sights and prettiest streets, highlighting things to do along the way, plus places to eat. I’ve even thrown in a suggestion of where to stay in Montmartre.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. These are links to products or experiences I recommend and if you were to buy something after clicking on them, I might earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Any earnings go towards the upkeep of this blog, which I appreciate.

Table of Contents

Is Montmartre Worth Visiting?

I definitely recommend it! It’s a charismatic area of Paris. I made a point to visit Montmartre on my first visit to Paris – and I’ve been back many, many times since. I think it’s one of the most romantic things to do in Paris for couples – but I’ve also really enjoyed it with friends and when travelling in Paris solo . Montmartre is for everyone!

A big part of the appeal of Montmartre is its cultural story ; the role it has played in Paris’s history. Between 1872 and 1914, it was the beating heart of the Belle Époque, the golden age of art and innovation in Paris and across Europe. It was a bohemian hotspot and many artists, writers and performers lived and/or worked in Montmartre, where the rents were low. Among them were Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh.

Montmartre was once a hilltop village outside the city limits of Paris. And even though it has been a long time since it was enveloped by the city, it retains a quaint village feel , with its narrow cobbled streets and some cute cottages. There are even a couple of windmills and a small vineyard that remains!

And during Springtime , Montmartre is one of the places you can see cherry blossoms in Paris .

The hilltop location adds another reason to explore Montmartre: its elevated status gives some great views over Paris . The best is from the Basilica of Sacré Cœur de Montmartre, which sits like a gleaming white crown atop the butte of Montmartre.

Overall, Montmartre is a great part of Paris to explore. In fact, wandering Montmartre on foot it’s one of the things I suggest you do even if you only have a small amount of time in Paris. It features in my Paris 4-day itinerary , my Paris two-day itinerary and even my Paris one-day itinerary !

What You’ll See On This Self-Guided Walking Tour Of Montmartre

A few of the Montmartre highlights you’ll discover on this walking tour:

• The beautiful Basilica of Sacré Cœur de Montmartre
• Place du Terte , the beating heart of Montmartre
• Picture-perfect bohemian cafes including La Maison Rose & Le Consulat
• Pretty cobblestone streets including Rue de l’Abreuvoir & Escalier du Calvaire
• Artistic landmarks, including Musée de Montmartre & Le Bateau-Lavoir
• Montmartre’s tiny vineyard, Vigne du Clos Montmartre
• Contemporary monuments, including Wall of Love & Le Passe-Muraille
• Peaceful parks, including Square de la Turlure & Square Suzanne Buisson
• One of the classic Parisian cemeteries, Cimetiere de Montmartre

Self-Guided Walking Tour Of Montmartre in Paris

I’ll step you through this self-guided walking tour of Montmartre, describing the route and also the things to do in Montmartre along the way. However, there’s also an interactive map at the end of this article to help you find your way around.

How long does it take to walk Montmartre? In total, there are around 50 minutes of pure walking, but of course, it will take longer than that as you’ll be stopping to look at and do things along the way. I’d suggest you give yourself a couple of hours to do this walk.

Heads up: this route includes some hills! There is one place where you can avoid a steep incline by taking a funicular, but it’s hard to avoid some steepness altogether, so be aware there are slopes and steps involved.

1. Start: Anvers To Sacré-Cœur

Our walking tour of Montmartre starts at Anvers Metro station because it is the closest Metro to the most spectacular landmark in Montmartre, Sacré-Cœur . Anvers station has one of those classic Art Nouveau Metro entrances, so the first thing you do might be to admire that for a moment.

After that, head uphill along souvenir shop-heavy Rue de Steinkerque toward the Sacré-Cœur Basilica . At Place Saint-Pierre, you’ll be at the bottom of the gardens below Sacré-Cœur, and you could find a nice spot to photograph the basilica with the old-school fairground rides in the foreground.

You can either continue to walk up the hill, through Square Louise Michel OR you could take the easy route via the funicular to the left of the gardens (this costs the same as a single ticket on the Metro: €2.15 each way). Either way, you’ll end up at the top of the hill on Place du Cardinal Dubois, which is right in front of the basilica.

The iconic Neo-Byzantine-Romanesque-style Sacré-Cœur sits on the summit of the butte of Montmartre. From the graceful white dome, on a clear day, it is possible to see all of Paris and the surrounding countryside for fifty km around. It is the second-most visited monument in Paris, after the Eiffel Tower.

Things to do around Sacré-Cœur

• Admire the view over Paris. From Place du Cardinal Dubois, you get a southward vantage point
• Admire the Basilica in all its gleaming travertine glory – it is impressive both outside and inside (and entrance is free)
• Climb up into the elegant dome . For a fee and after you’ve climbed 300 steps, you will discover even better panoramic views over Paris
• Enjoy the perspective-bending view of the ‘sinking buildings’ on Rue Lamarck – a classic photo op is to line the camera up with the steep hillside instead of the houses.

2. Rue de la Bonne & Square de la Turlure

Once you’ve had your fill of the Sacré-Cœur, you might be tempted to follow the crowds westward down Rue Azais or Rue du Chevalier de la Barre towards the famous Place du Tertre. But resist!

Don’t worry, this walking tour of Montmartre will bring you to Place du Tertre, but later on.  First, we’re headed to slightly the less touristy northern part of Montmartre, starting with a small city park behind Sacré-Cœur: Square de la Turlure (also known as Marcel Bleustein Blanchet Square).

To get there, walk all the way around the basilica and onto Rue de la Bonne , where you’ll find the park on the right-hand side. This small, attractive park has a nice arched walkway and some places to sit, but the main thing I like about it is the view of Sacré-Cœur from the back. It’s a view I haven’t seen often, with the campanile (belltower) very prominent.

Walk a bit further down Rue de la Bonne and you’ll come to a corner with a view down the hill, over apartment buildings and courtyards. The last time I was here, I paused for a while to watch some people play pétanque down there.

3. Rue Saint-Vincent To La Maison Rose

Head left down Rue Saint-Vincent , which is a handsome street with some more viewpoints, attractive squares and staircases.

Soon you’ll come to a junction with Rue des Saules. On the right is Lapin Agile , a 19th-century cabaret bar. This place was in the centre of artistic Paris at the turn of the century and became a favourite spot for struggling artists and writers, including Picasso and Modigliani.

On the left, you’ll find what looks like a garden, but is actually a vineyard, Vignes du Clos Montmartre , which still produces wines from a variety of grapes. Unfortunately, it’s closed to the public, but it is interesting to see the oldest vineyard in Paris, even though you can only look at it from the street.

Head up Rue des Saules and on the right, soon you’ll find a popular spot in Montmartre: La Maison Rose was another artist’s hang-out at the turn of the 20 th century, and also in the 1960s and 70s . This pink café/restaurant with pint-green shutters is an Instagram favourite due to its picturesque exterior and pretty pavement seating area. This could be a good spot to take a break and get some refreshments if you need them. In spring and summer, it will be very popular for brunch, so you might be best to book ahead. However, if you come on a Monday or Tuesday, it won’t be open.

From here, our walking route continues down Rue de l’Abreuvoir, but you could detour to Montmartre Museum .

It’s a small museum, which tells the story of bohemian Montmartre in the 19 th and 20 th Centuries, with lots of Art Nouveau prints and classic Toulouse Lautrec posters and artefacts, including details about the rise of the Can-can dance. It also has a preserved studio of artist Suzanne Valado; a cafe and a lovely garden, which has a view over Vignes du Clos. I’ve been a couple of times and really enjoyed it.

4. Rue De l’Abreuvoir

La Maison Rose is at the top of Rue de l’Abreuvoir , widely touted as one of the most beautiful streets in Paris . And they’re not exaggerating. This cobbled street has a number of charming pink and ivy-clad cottages along it.  However, if you reach the bottom and you’re not impressed with it, turn around and look back up the hill.

Not only is the curved cobblestone street lined by those quaint buildings, but the domes of the Sacré-Cœur are visible just beyond it – it’s so quaint and gorgeous.

The best place to appreciate the view of Rue de l’Abreuvoir is from Place de Dalida , the corner of the street where there’s a small bronze bust. This is Buste de Dalida , a tribute to one of France’s most popular singers. She lived in Montmartre until her tragic death in 1987.

There are some steps from here down to Place Constantin Pecqueur, from where you could take another detour and check out handsome Rue Calaincourt, if you like. But if you want to stick with my route, you’ll be turning into one of the remaining (for now!) quiet corners of Montmartre next…

5. Allée des Brouillards, Square Suzanne Buisson & Place Marcel Ayme

From Place Dalida, take the pedestrian passageway next to a gated garden. Its sign isn’t that obvious, but it is signposted as Allée des Brouillards . It’s a short passageway, but quite pretty and I don’t normally see many other people on it, so it still feels ‘lesser known’ (I won’t say ‘hidden gem’, because that will be over-promising!). Once you’ve walked down it, if you look back the way you’ve come, you should be able to see the bell tower of the Sacré-Cœur, above the treetops.

Allée des Brouillards ends in some cute, ivy-clad steps at Place Casadesus , where you will see the entrance to a park.

Suzanne Buisson Square a small park, which is a good spot to sit and simply soak up the vibes of Montmartre. It has a nice fountain, some seating and a pétanque terrain (I had to look that up: it’s the name for the area pétanque is played). If you need a rest by this point, this is a good place to do it.

Whenever you leave the square, head to the junction of Rue Giradon and Avenue Junot. There’s a detour you could take down Avenue Junot to peek at Villa Leandre , another of the prettiest streets in Paris, in my opinion.

And in Place Marcel Ayme , there’s a quirky statue that appears to be emerging from within the wall, Le Passe-Muraille . There are also some cherry trees here, which are so pretty when in bloom.

The southern end of Rue Girardon has Theatre Lepic. And right at the end, you’ll find Le Moulin de la Galette , a restaurant made famous by the Renoir painting Bal du moulin de la Galette . This is a great place to grab lunch if you’re here around lunchtime.

The restaurant is named for the 17th-century windmill, whose owners were famous for their galette bread.

6. Rue Lepic To Place Du Tertre

At Le Moulin de la Galette, turn right along Rue Lepic . This will curve to the left as you head uphill. Where it comes to a junction, you’ll see a small octagonal building called La Commanderie Du Clos Montmartre , a pretty but decommissioned water tower.

Head right here along Rue Norvins and soon you’ll be in a quaint cluster of establishments including a shop selling old prints called Galerie Butte Montmartre the very picturesque Le Consulat cafe. This is another place that is frequently found on ‘cutest in Paris’ lists and it claims past patronage from artists including Picasso, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and Monet.

It will likely feel busier here: you’re heading into the more touristy part of Montmartre now.

Unless you fancy a bite to eat in Le Consulat, carry on to the right of it and soon you’ll be in Place du Tertre . This square was opened to the public in 1635 as Montmartre village central square and was a hub of activity during Montmartre’s bohemian period in the late 19 th and early 20 th centuries.

If you’re in Paris in winter , Place du Tertre will be a quiet space to wander between trees; in summer, it will be packed with artists selling their wares and terrace seating for the many restaurants around the edges.

If you can find a spot, grab a drink on a terrace and enjoy the buzz. I prefer Chez Eugene , which offers a good view of the square for people-watching.

Once you have had enough (or if it is just too hectic for you to linger there), get ready for some downhill walking, because the next stop is lower down the butte of Montmartre.

7. Escalier Du Calvaire & Place Émile Goudeau

On the southern side of Place du Tertre, you’ll find a set of pretty steps, descending down the hillside: Escalier du Calvaire . Walk down the steps, enjoying the view as you go.

At the bottom, turn right along Rue Gabrielle and stay with the road as it bears left. Soon you’ll come to a small square with trees, benches and an attractive Wallace Fountain. This is Place Émile Goudeau and not only does it have a pretty view between buildings, it was home to another artist’s landmark: Le Bateau-Lavoir .

Le Bateau-Lavoir (or, Washhouse Boat) was the nickname for a kind of unofficial clubhouse for several artists in the late 1800s, most famously Pablo Picasso. Here he painted several works, including a painting that signalled his move into cubism, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon .

8. The Wall Of Love

From Place Émile Goudeau, head downhill and down Rue Ravignan, then left onto Rue des Abbesses and into Place des Abbesses. This is a small square with one of only two original ‘Dragonfly’ entrances to the Metro. There’s also a cute old carousel and in December, this is the location of one of the sweetest Christmas Markets in Paris .

Here you’ll find Square Jehan Rictus and the Wall of Love . This monument to love was created in 2000 and is composed of 612 tiles, on which the phrase ‘I love you’ is featured 311 times in 250 languages. See if you can find it in your language!

9. Rue Des Abbesses To Cimetiere De Montmartre

From the Wall of Love, head west along Rue des Abbesses , a classic Parisian street with plenty of cafes with street terraces. When you come to Rue Tholoze on the right, check out the Art Deco cinema, Studio 28 , which was featured in the movie Amelie. It was the first avant-garde cinema on the right bank and opened in 1928. They play a mix of movies, including some in English. It could be somewhere to come back in the evening to if you’re staying in Montmartre.

At the junction by the Terrass Hotel , you’ll find Cimetiere de Montmartre on the left and ahead of you. Officially known as the Cimitière du Nord, Montmartre Cemetery opened in 1825. It is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise cemetery and the Montparnasse cemetery.

Strolling a cemetery might not be for everyone, but I suggested it for a couple of reasons. One is the sheer impressiveness of some of the tombs here. In the UK, we tend to have single headstones on graves, but the fashion here is clearly grander. The graves are often marked with tall stone tombs, many with a striking gothic style.

It’s also interesting because there are some historical figures buried here, including the impressionist painter Edgar Degas, writers Emile Zola and Alexandre Dumas and the film director François Truffaut. Dalida’s tomb is also here – and it’s quite a spectacle.

The entrance to the cemetery is a little way along Rue Caulaincourt.

If You Want To Continue Your Exploration Of Paris On Foot…

By this point in your journey, I hope you’ve had an enjoyable tour of Montmartre and that your head is of full of the charming things you’ve seen along the way. 

However, if you’re hungry for even more, I encourage you to explore beyond this walking route – it’s never a bad idea to do off the beaten path in Paris .

You could also continue onto nearby Boulevard de Clichy to visit the famous Moulin Rouge theatre: the birthplace of the Can-can and the inspiration for the 2001 movie of the same name. The Moulin Rouge is still a working theatre where you can see cabaret.

If you do that, be warned: it’s not as glam as it looks in the movie!  It’s in Pigalle, a red light district in Paris, and the road it’s on is kinda sleazy with lots of sex shops and ‘girls girls girls’ kind of establishments.

Map: Self-Guided Walking Tour Of Montmartre Route

Here are the route and markers for key attractions along this walking tour of Montmartre.

How To Use This Map : Click the tab in the top left-hand corner of the map to view the layers. If you click the icons on the map, you can get more information about each one.  If you click the star next to the map’s title, it will be added to your Google Maps account. To view it on your phone or computer, open Google Maps, click the menu, go to ‘Your Places’ or ‘Saved’, then click Maps and you will see this map in your list.

Where To Stay In Montmartre

I stayed in a great hotel in Montmartre: Terrass” Hotel . It’s an excellent 4-star hotel with two big attractions: it has some rooms with a view of the Eiffel Tower and it has a nice rooftop restaurant and terrace bar – again, with great views.

I treated myself to one of their Eiffel Tower rooms and it was lovely: a big room with all the amenities I could ask for. Terrass” Hotel is definitely one of the best places to stay in Paris for first-timers .

Other Hotels in Paris

If you want some more hotel ideas, here are some of the other Paris hotels I recommend. I’ve stayed at these hotels myself recently (in the last 2 years), and I’d happily return to them:

La Finca Hôtel & Spa (formerly called the Hotel Auberge Flora) is a 3-star hotel in the vibrant Bastille area, which has lots of bars and cafes. The rooms are small but comfortable, have all the amenities you need, plus the staff are friendly. They have a bar downstairs and they offer a simple, affordable breakfast in the morning.

Hôtel Diva Opéra  is a boutique 4-star hotel in Fauberg-Montmartre , which is really central, making it a great place to stay if you want easy access to places like the Grands Magasins of Boulevard Haussmann and some of the best covered passages in Paris

Hotel Regina Louvre is a grand old hotel next to the Louvre . This 5-star is traditional and also luxurious, with some elegant Art Nouveau design features in the lobby. Some rooms have a view of the Eiffel Tower (mine did – it was a wonderful surprise!)

For more ideas on places to stay, check out my post on the best hotels in Paris for first-timers .

Where To Eat In Montmartre

I’ve already mentioned La Maison Rose and Le Consulat , both of which are picture-perfect brunch/lunch spots, with bohemian heritage. However, I really liked these two places:

• Le Moulin de la Galette – I mentioned this place earlier. It has an interesting heritage and a classic French menu. I had onion soup followed by classic steak frites there and it was delicious!
• La Boite aux Lettres – this small and unpretentious bistro on Rue Lepic has an innovative menu with a focus on seasonal produce.

In Conclusion

Walking is a great way to explore the historic and culture-rich area of Montmartre in Paris. I hope this free self-guided walking tour helps you discover the best of Montmartre. However, if you feel like you’d prefer to follow a guide, you could join a guided walking tour of Montmartre .

And if you’re interested in even more ideas about the historic corners of Paris, check out my review of the best covered passages in Paris . And if you’re travelling to Paris solo, dive into my comprehensive guide to solo travel in Paris .

Have fun strolling around Montmartre!

If you like this article, I'd be delighted if you shared it!

About The Author

Martha Knight

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Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Marais Neighborhood

 Francisco García Collado / EyeEm / Getty Images

The  Marais  is one of Paris’ oldest and most visually stunning quarters. First developed in the 12th century, the neighborhood, whose name means "swamp" in French and once  was  one, went from being a royal favorite under Henri IV and Louis XIII, to falling into ruin after the French Revolution of 1789 . Since its revival in the 1960s, it has shone as a center of Parisian artistic and cultural life. It has also significantly gentrified, evolving from a mostly working-class and immigrant neighborhood to one of the most affluent and prestigious areas in the city. This, of course, is not to the liking of all, but whatever your stance, it's undoubtedly made it a stunning place to walk around, eat, drink, and lounge.

Tips and Background Information

The Marais is one of the only areas that preserves the narrow streets and architectural styles of Medieval and Renaissance-era Paris . Most of Paris was overhauled in the mid-19th century under the direction of Napoleon III and architect Baron Georges Eugène Haussmann.

The wide, sweeping boulevards and grey, classical-inspired apartments that characterize places like the Champs-Elysées and Montparnasse are the work of Haussmann, who also modernized Paris by installing sewer and water systems. The Marais has a much different flavor. Its dramatic residences or hôtels particuliers , artisan’s boutiques, galleries, lavish squares, and fascinating history are worth reserving at least a half-day of exploration for.

Tips for This Self-Guided Walking Tour

• The tour should take around two to three hours at a moderate pace.
• You can also pick and choose the sights that most interest you and see them in any order. Use our suggestions for eats and drinks to take any needed breaks.
• Make sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and to bring a backpack and reliable city map .
• Rainy days are not ideal for this tour.

The Hôtel de Sens: Medieval Royal Residence

TripSavvy / Taylor McIntyre

First up on this self-guided tour is a look at a little-known, but gorgeous, old medieval residence known as the Hotel de Sens.

Get off at Metro Pont-Marie (line 7), or by exiting at Metro Hôtel de Ville (lines 1 or 11) and walking East up Quai de Hôtel de Ville until you reach Metro Pont-Marie. Turn left on Rue des Nonnains des Hyères. Immediately to your right, you should see the majestic Hôtel de Sens .

The Residence

Stop here for a moment to admire this medieval residence's elegant formal gardens and dramatic design. On a sunny day, sitting on one of the garden benches to contemplate is a real treat.

Interesting Facts

• Built between 1475 and 1519, the medieval residence originally housed the archbishops of Sens, the order of bishops that Paris belonged to during the middle ages.
• The mixed architectural styles visible in the Hôtel de Sens show the transition that occurred between medieval and Renaissance styles over the course of the hôtel's construction.
• Henri IV's ex-wife, Queen Margot, took up residence in 1605. Known for her eccentricity and lavish tastes, Queen Margot pursued many love affairs here. She is even rumored to have collected the hair of her lovers to fashion wigs from them.

Walk through the garden area and turn right around the building to see the main facade of the residence.

• The main facade shows medieval-style turrets and windows and a keep characteristic of fortresses. The arched entryway leads into a courtyard.
• Today, the residence houses an art library.

Remnants of a Medieval Paris Fortress

From the Hôtel de Sens, walk down Rue des Figuiers until it turns into Rue de l'Avé Maria. Turn left onto Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul.

The Fortress

To your left, above the basketball courts, you can see the remnants of the medieval fortress built by King Philippe-Auguste in the 12th century, and whose foundations can be seen at the Louvre . You're now facing the largest remaining section of the enormous wall that once surrounded Paris. It's pretty unassuming, right? It's very easy to overlook this important architectural detail entirely, given how little the city highlights it to passersby.

• The fortress was built by Philippe-August to keep invaders out. It also defined the borders of 12th century Paris. Certain parts of the Marais were excluded from the protection of the king, who banned certain populations, including Jews, from the city.
• Just behind the wall is the famed Lycée Charlemagne. Historical figures such as romantic poet Gerard de Nerval were schooled here.
• If you look down to the far right side of the wall, you can see the remains of two towers, also part of the medieval city.

On the right side of Rue des Jardins Saint-Paul, there are several covered passageways. Go ahead and walk through one of them.

The Saint-Paul Village: Antique Shopping and History

The covered passageways will bring you into a series of quiet, interconnected courtyards known as the Saint-Paul Village.

The Village

Art galleries, fine antiques, food shops, and artisan boutiques selling unique home decorations can be found here. Weekend yard sales are frequent. Take some time to explore.

• A women's monastery built in 630 was once located here.
• In 1360, King Charles V built an official residence, the Hôtel de Saint Pol, here. The site would serve the Parish of the Kings of France for nearly two centuries.
• In 1970, much of the village was still without running water, and serious hygiene problems led to major renovations.
• Today, antique dealers and collectors count the Village Saint-Paul as one of the best spots in Paris for finding treasures of historical importance.

After exploring the village, take one of the right-side exits through the passageways. You should find yourself on a busy street, Rue Saint-Paul. Turn left.

Rue Saint-Paul counts plenty of charming traditional bars, bistros, and sandwich shops. Take a break here if you'd like.

To continue the tour, walk down Rue Saint-Paul until you reach Rue Saint-Antoine.

In 1559, Henri II died here during a tournament when his guard, Montgomery, pierced his eye with a lance.

Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church

Turn left and stay on the left side of the street. Walk about a block. You should soon reach the St.Paul-St.-Louis Church , which is located at 99, Rue Saint-Antoine.

• Commissioned by Louis XIII and completed by 1641, the Church is one of the oldest examples of Jesuit architecture in Paris. The Jesuit style features classical elements such as Corinthian pillars and heavy ornamentation.
• The church was inspired by the baroque-style Gesu Church in Rome.
• The current Lycée Charlemagne was once the church convent. In 1763, the Jesuits (a Catholic order prominent during the Renaissance) were expelled from France, and the convent became a school.
• The church features a 195-foot dome. It is best appreciated from the interior because the columns of the three-tiered church facade hide the dome.
• The Cardinal Richelieu gave the church's first mass in 1641.
• The church was pillaged and damaged during the 1789 French Revolution. St.-Paul-Saint-Louis briefly served as a "Temple of Reason" under the Revolutionary government, which banned traditional religion.
• Though many artifacts were stolen from the church during the Revolution, some important works were spared. The most impressive is Delacroix' Christ in the Garden of Olives (1827), which can be seen near the entrance.

Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine

 TripSavvy / Taylor McIntyre

Exit the church and cross Rue Saint-Antoine. Continue walking straight, down Rue de Sévigne. Make a direct right onto Rue d'Ormesson. You should find yourself on a quaint square, la Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine. Yes, there are a lot of saints on this tour.

The Place du Marché Sainte-Catherine is an example of how quaint and village-like the Marais can be, though, during weekends and high tourist season, this is not always the case.

Enjoy the cheerful atmosphere of the square. You may see neighborhood kids bounding about since this is a favorite spot for play.

• Built in the 13th century, in honor of Saint Catherine.
• The buildings surrounding the square are recent, in Parisian terms anyway: they date to the 18th century.
• The square was made pedestrian-only last century. Since then, it has become a favorite spot for laid-back, greenery-enhanced sipping and nibbling. Take an opportunity to do so here, if you'd like.

Hôtel de Sully: Residence Dating to the Renaissance

Go back to Rue Ormesson and walk in the opposite direction from where you first came. Turn right onto Rue de Turenne, then left back on to Rue Saint-Antoine. Walk to #62. You should find yourself at another historical residence, the Hôtel de Sully.

The Hôtel de Sully

Entering the Hôtel de Sully, walk through a reception area to the main courtyard. Here you can observe the neoclassical style characteristic of the residence. Greek-inspired statuary and reliefs abound. Twin sphinxes face each other at the foot of the staircase leading out of the courtyard.

• A former minister of Henri IV, Sully, once resided here.
• The cobblestone-paved front courtyard features a celebrated series of sculptures representing the four elements and the two seasons. Make sure to walk around the courtyard to get a feel for these.
• The Orangerie, or second courtyard, features a classical formal garden and an ornate stone lattice, which you can see on the right side when entering the garden.

Place des Vosges

Walk straight across the Orangerie and head to the right. A passageway should lead you out of the garden and into a covered gallery - part of the magnificent Place des Vosges .

An Unparalleled Square

Place des Vosges is quite arguably Paris' most beautiful square . Walking under the covered galleries leading out from the Hôtel de Sully, notice that they are part of an assembly of 36 red brick and stone pavilions surrounding the majestic, tree-shaded square. The Place des Vosges served as royal stomping grounds for centuries. Today it is a wonderful place to unwind, stroll, and dine.

• The square originally housed the royally-owned Hôtel de Tournelles. Charles VII and Louis XIII both lived at Tournelles.
• In the early 17th century, Henri IV's demands for an opulent residence within the city lead to the construction of the Place des Vosges, then called the Place Royale .
• Celebrated author Victor Hugo lived at #6. The Maison Victor Hugo museum dedicated to the writer of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables is located there today.
• Today, the galleries are occupied by fine art galleries, restaurants that tend toward the pricey, and classical musicians who set up shop and attract large crowds.
• The small park in the center of the square is one of the few places in Paris where you can sit on the grass, but watch out for signs reading pelouse en repos (the lawn is resting!)-- this means you're temporarily not allowed to sprawl out on the grass.

The Rue des Francs-Bourgeois: Popular for Sunday Shopping

TripSavvy / Taylor McIntyre 

Leave the Place des Vosges by walking in the opposite direction from Rue Saint-Antoine and the Hôtel de Sully. Turn left onto Rue des Francs-Bourgeois.

Once a street where artisan weavers worked, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois is still a major center of fashion and design. It is one of the Marais area's most popular shopping districts, and most of the shops are open on Sundays, including some of Paris's top perfume shops such as Diptyque. It also houses some impressive but often overlooked, Renaissance-era buildings. Take some time to browse some of the unique fashion and jewelry boutiques here and to admire the historic residences.

• It was named after the destitute occupants of the "almshouses" that were built here and who were freed from having to pay taxes.
• At the corner of Rue de Sévigné and Rue des Francs Bourgeois is the Hôtel Carnavalet, built in 1548. Today it houses the Museum of the History of Paris, also known as the Musée Carnavalet. This is one of Paris's many free museums, and the permanent collection is memorable. On the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois side, you can peer through the decorated iron gates into the Carnavalet's lavish formal gardens.
• Just across from the Hôtel Carnavalet on Francs-Bourgeois is the Hôtel Lamoignon, built in the late 16th century by Diane of France, daughter of Henri II. Today it houses the Historical Library of the City of Paris. You can visit the courtyard by turning left on Rue Pavée.
• At #29 bis and #31 is the Hôtel d'Albret. It was built in the 16th century and renovated in the 17th century. Today it houses administrative offices for the Cultural Affairs department of Paris.

Continue down Rue des Francs-Bourgeois. You will see other Renaissance-style residences lining the street. Keep on the left side and turn left on Rue Vieille du Temple.

This is the artery of nightlife in the area. Lots of charming, quirky bars and restaurants can be found here.

Rue des Rosiers: Culture and Street Food in the Old Jewish Quarter

Has this tour whetted your appetite? If so, you're in luck: the last stop allows you to taste some delicious traditional treats like falafel and pastries in the old Jewish quarter around the Rue des Rosiers. 

From Rue Vieille du Temple, make a left on a narrow street called Rue des Rosiers. 

Historic Jewish Quarter

Rue des Rosiers is the main thoroughfare of the Marais' historic Jewish quarter . Walking down this street and seeing the facades scrawled in Hebrew and French, many of them dating to the early 20th century, you can sense the rich history here.

• The area is also known as the Pletzl , which means square in Yiddish.
• Large Jewish communities have lived here on and off for centuries, starting in the 13th century, when the area was known as "The Old Jewry." At the constant mercy of kings who periodically expelled them from France, Jews only acquired a measure of stability in the early 19th century, under Napoléon I.
• During WWII, the neighborhood was especially targeted by the Nazi occupation and the collaborationist French police. Many schools in the area attest to that, including one that can be found off of Rue de Rosiers, at 6, Rue des Hospitalières-St.-Gervais. A commemorative plaque stands at the boy's school here. 165 students from this school were deported to concentration camps.
• Today, the street and the surrounding neighborhood is well-known for its delicious Middle Eastern and Yiddish/Eastern European specialties. Now is the time to take a break!

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Secret Montmartre: a free self-guided Montmartre walking tour

April 12, 2018 by Karen Turner 14 Comments

Planning your visit to Montmartre and tired of the crowds of Paris?  This guide to one of Paris’ most famous arrondissements covers secret locations that you won’t read about on most other travel blogs with a complete self-guided walking tour of Montmartre with map.

I lived only a stone’s throw away from Montmartre during my part of my time in Paris, so I often wandered up to Pigalle and Montmartre.  In this guide to Montmartre, I cover the history as well as the little villages/streets that make Montmartre truly special. The walking tour of Montmartre should take about 2  hours. The total distance covered is 4 kilometers (2.5 miles).

Warning : Not all of these locations are public property, so ask permission before you go inside.  Enter at your own risk. (I will warn you when you can’t fully enter, so don’t worry!) 

Pickpockets are an issue near Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. I’ve tried to route you away from the most touristic parts of Montmartre, but some bits are unavoidable. Click for tips on avoiding pickpockets in Paris.

You’ll find a map of this Montmartre walking tour at the bottom with step by step directions that you can print (or save on your phone).

• 0.1 A brief history of Montmartre before the walking tour
• 0.2 Your self guided walking tour of Montmartre
• 0.3 Start off at Pigalle
• 0.4 Cité du Midi
• 0.5 Villa des Platanes
• 0.6 Moulin Rouge
• 0.7 Cité Véron
• 0.8 Café des Deux Moulins
• 0.9 Maison de Van Gogh
• 0.10 45 Rue Lepic
• 0.11 Rue Durantin
• 0.12 Bateau Lavoire
• 0.13 Rue d’Orchampt
• 0.14 Le Moulin de la Galette
• 0.15 Villa Léandre
• 0.16 Place Dalida
• 0.17 Rue de l’Abreuvoir
• 0.18 La Maison Rose
• 0.19 Clos Montmartre
• 0.20 Rue de la Bonne
• 0.21 Sacre Coeur
• 0.22.1 Optional: Biscuiterie de Montmartre for macarons
• 0.23 Le mur des je t’aime
• 0.24 End: Abbesses Metro
• 0.25.1 Click for the downloadable PDF directions of the MontmartreWalkingTour.
• 1.0.1 Anything else that you’d add? Feedback on this walking tour/route appreciated!

A brief history of Montmartre before the walking tour

The name of Montmartre was named for the namesake hill from Roman times (Mount Mars). In the medieval ages, most of Montmartre was an abbey, however this abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution. For many years, this area was distinct from Paris, only a commune on the outskirts.

During the time of the impressionists, Montmartre gained a reputation for cafes, dance halls, and cabarets, which attracted many artists to the area.  This included Vincent Van Gogh, a favorite painter of mine whose roots I traced in Belgium , and Picasso. If you can imagine many windmills in Montmartre, there were dozens in Van Gogh’s time.

The Belle Époque ended and many of the artists who came to the former village for cheap rent ended up being pushed out.  Despite many tourists and increasing housing prices in this arrondissement, Montmartre still has some working artist studios remaining.

This walking tour will bring you to one of these hidden art studios if you’re lucky enough to get inside. (Art is one of my favorite mementos from traveling although I’ve only recently started collecting it.)  Montparnasse proved to be the next bohemian area in Paris.

Your self guided walking tour of Montmartre

This walking tour is intended for people who are fine with uphill/downhill walks as well as stairs. Without stopping, the total walking tour should take about one hour, so give yourself two hours if you intend to enjoy your morning or afternoon in Montmartre.

The distance covered on the walking tour is 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles.  Be sure to reward yourself with French macrons at a bakery after your long walk.

Start off at Pigalle

Pigalle is rapidly changing from its slightly sketchy past as the home of the red-light district in Paris.  (We’ll discuss this another day!).  However, start your journey at the Pigalle Metro station, along lines 2 and 12.

Cité du Midi

From here, you’ll need to cross the road towards Cité du Midi, which was made famous in the namesake film (“Cité du Midi”).  Down this street, you’ll find a charming street filled with ivy away from the loud crowds and tourists in Paris.

Here, you’ll find white-washed doors with a hint of exclusivity.  Similarly, you’ll find the former Pigalle Baths as well as the former Pigalle Theatre.  At the time that I visited, a gate was about to be constructed near the back area, so be sure to appreciate this stunning little village of Paris before it’s closed off to the public.

Villa des Platanes

This private villa constructed in 1896 is a blend of architecture styles. Although the imposing gate keeps most curious passerby’s out, my friend Emily and I were lucky enough to be invited in by a resident. 

Outsiders are not allowed inside Villa des Platanes, so you’ll have to make do with viewing it from the exterior unless a resident invites you in.  My photos might be the closest that you get to entering, but it’s still beautiful through the fence.

Moulin Rouge

How can you miss the The Moulin Rouge? I personally think that it’s best seen at night or around dusk. The Moulin Rouge is the birthplace of the can-can dance and you can still go to (touristy) shows at the Moulin Rouge. You’ll be away from the crowds soon, but keep an eye on your stuff here.

This narrow street has been perfectly preserved from the 1920s, which you can find from its iconic post marking the entrance.  This was the home of Montmartre’s longtime mayor and its greenery is a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of Paris.

Towards the end of the alley, you’ll find a stunning 1920s house stuck in time although it might not be viewable once the gate goes up again.

Café des Deux Moulins

Any  Amélie fans here? This iconic cafe was her place of work in the film.  You can still sit in this cozy French cafe, which has a poster of Audrey Tautou in case you forgot which movie that I’m talking about.  I’m a sucker for movie locations, so I had to pass by here.

Maison de Van Gogh

As a Van Gogh fan, I had to pass this landmark, which was Van Gogh’s home in Paris.  Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo lived on the fourth floor of this building (42 Rue Lepic). 

Van Gogh painted on the streets of Montmartre for two years using this home as his home base until he moved to the South of France.  You cannot enter unless you’re having a function, but you can admire its exterior at least.

45 Rue Lepic

This functional studio is one of the few artist studios in Montmartre that you can still enter today.  During weekdays (typically between 9-5pm), you’ll be able to enter this partially-open covered passage that still is home to artisans.

Please be quiet and polite as it’s a privilege for the public to enter this area and this policy might change if people are inconsiderate.  For those looking for a true masterpiece to bring home, consider stopping by the studio of Véronique Darcon Cazes , a famous French artist who produces stunning mosaics.

Rue Durantin

I just enjoy walking down this cute street. Although I have never gotten beyond the entry again, the “Cour aux Juifs”  is viewable from number 40’s entry gate.

Bateau Lavoire

This building was once used as Picasso’s studio.  It’s not open to the public, however it’s still rented to artists and writers from all the over the world for minimal rent.   The original building is not there, but you’ll know you found it if you find the green doors.

Rue d’Orchampt

For graffiti, you’ll want to walk down this short street to admire the local and foreign graffiti artists who have left their mark.  Although it’s illegal to do so, this is one of the most coveted streets in Paris and you’ll likely see completely different street art than what I saw. 

Look for the iconic Space Invaders graffiti that you’ll spot all around Paris, made by a French graffiti artist.

Le Moulin de la Galette

Le Moulin de la Galette is certainly a tourist attraction, however it’s worth stopping to see one of the last remaining windmills in Montmartre. At one time, Montmartre was covered in windmills as they were commonly used to grind materials. 

This windmill, a favorite of Vincent Van Gogh, was used for grinding flour. The owners of the windmill created a brown bread (Galette) that was so popular that the windmill got its name from it. The building underneath has had many purposes over the years, however it’s now a restaurant.

Villa Léandre

From here, make a left onto Avenue Junot prior to making another left to reach Villa Léandre, which is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful streets of Paris. 

There used to be a mill here, however this street built in the 1920s is one of Paris’ most exclusive streets where the homes sell in the millions.  The houses have colorful accents and raised roofs.  (I’m kicking myself for not getting a good photo. Thank you to Lucie for this beautiful photo!)

Place Dalida

This stunning location, named for the famous singer is one of the best viewpoints in Paris of Montmartre.  Say hit to the bust of Dalida and continue up the stunning Rue de l’Abreuvoir, one of the most beautiful streets in Paris.  Some say that Paris in the rain is enchanting, but you can judge for yourself if you prefer it in the rain compared to a clear night right after a downpour.

Rue de l’Abreuvoir

This winding street was named for the water trough that used to exist at 15 Girardon Street.  It’s definitely a lovely street to walk along. Even my husband wandered off to admire the details on the ornate buildings.

La Maison Rose

The house was purchased in the early 1900s by Germaine Gargallo, the wife of a well known painter.  The house become a famous gathering place for artists.  However, it truly became famous after painter Utrillo created a painting of it.  It’s lovely to view and photograph from the exterior.

Clos Montmartre

Ever since the Romans conquered Paris, there has been a vineyard in Montmartre and it is the oldest vineyard in Paris.  Now sponsored by the city government, the vineyard at Clos Montmartre creates a small number of bottles per year that are sold for charity.  (Tours are free although you must pay for a tasting.) It’s just really cool to see a vineyard in the middle of the city.

Rue de la Bonne

For the best views of Sacre Coeur without the crowds, walk around the other side of Rue de la Bonne for epic views of the Sacre Coeur. Despite the crowds near the front of Sacre Coeur, there’s almost nobody else here.

Sacre Coeur

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, Sacre Coeur, is one of the most famous churches in Paris. Built in the late 1800s, this impressive church is actually best seen from quite a bit below as the crowds and height make it difficult to get the perfect photo. 

This is one of the best spots in Paris to sit to enjoy the sunset over the city although I caution to be aware of your stuff as it’s also a favorite of pickpockets.  You can climb the tower for the highest views in Paris!

Place du Tertre

Place du Tertre is quite touristy, but if you love watching street artists work, this is one of the best places to sit outside.  After seeing a real atelier, this might not appeal to you,. 

The alleyways around here are particularly pretty (especially once you get far away from the Starbucks).  I’ve not included a photo of the main square, but you can find some gorgeous alleyways and stairways off of it.

Optional: Biscuiterie de Montmartre for macarons

If you’re feeling a bit hungry at the end of this walking tour of Montmartre, consider stopping off at this well-known bakery in Montmartre for macarons. (You’re almost done!)  You’ll find many cafes in the areas as well as picturesque stairways.

Le mur des je t’aime

This world-famous mural of love written in many languages is a favorite among instagrammers and couples in love.

End: Abbesses Metro

Your little tour of Montmartre ends at one of the cutest Paris metro entrances (in my opinion). The entrance is one of the only remaining glass covered Guimard original Metro entrances in Paris.  Abbesses is the deepest metro station in Paris and part of line 12. Expect stairs.

Map of the self-guided walking tour of Montmartre

Click for the downloadable PDF directions of the MontmartreWalkingTour .

Have you been to montmartre, anything else that you’d add feedback on this walking tour/route appreciated.

Click for a walking tour of the Paris covered passages,  my guide to the 14th arrondissement , tips for visiting France on a budget , an one day itinerary for off the beaten path Paris , and tips for avoiding pickpockets in Paris .

Save this post for later!

About Karen Turner

New Yorker–born and raised. Currently living in the Hague, the Netherlands after stints in Paris and Amsterdam. Lover of travel, adventure, nature, city, dresses, and cats.

Reader Interactions

April 14, 2018 at 3:32 am

You found some of the cutest spots! I am so sad I missed these spots when I went last summer, Great post!

April 14, 2018 at 5:34 am

Haven’t been to Montmartre yet but definitely taking advice from your walking tour the next time I’m in France! I notice there’s barely any people in your photos, which would make a lovely environment for taking in all the details in the surroundings =)

April 14, 2018 at 10:20 am

I wish I had this guide when I stayed in Montmartre during my trip to Paris last winter. I LOVED the area. Stumbled upon a great view of the Eiffel Tower up the road from Sacre Coeur. Great memories <3

April 14, 2018 at 11:36 am

Thanks for such a wonderfully detailed guide! There’s so much to know about this beautiful corner of France. You’ve captured this area stunningly in your words and pictures!

April 14, 2018 at 12:46 pm

Love this guide! I really liked Montmartre but hardly had any time to explore it when I was there so this is perfect for when I get back to Paris! Love all your walking tour guides. 🙂

April 14, 2018 at 1:33 pm

I think my last comment didnt go thru 🙁 I love Paris and pretty much want to go right now after reading this. This is the best way to see a city!

April 14, 2018 at 5:16 pm

I love self-guided walking tours! It’s my favourite way to experience a city. Thanks for sharing your secret places to check out 🙂 Montmartre looks so charming indeed.

April 19, 2018 at 5:41 am

Merci Beaucoup for this detailed guide. We’re visiting Paris in May. Looking forward to exploring Montmartre.

May 15, 2018 at 12:50 am

After literally hours of Pinterest searching over time. Found your so perfect for us guide to Montmartre. Staying there 10 days from May 29 on Rue Orsel. All other guides are tourist destinations. We want to wander, be delighted and enjoy just being there. Not my first trip. Thank for this inspiring walking guide. Will be taking it and reporting back when we return to Canada. Cheers.

May 15, 2018 at 6:02 pm

Hi Angela, Thank you so much for your kind comment and glad that you found what you were looking for! I really hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you have any feedback, so I can tweak it if needed.

Best, Karen

July 6, 2019 at 8:26 am

We did this tour in reverse with the family. Staring around 7pm on a warm sunny evening, we stopped and ate at Le Moulin de la Galette and watched the sun go down. Finished at Moulin Rouge around midnight. For two artist who have only read about these places, it was a real treat and your guide made for one of our most memorable nights in Paris. Thank you!

July 30, 2019 at 7:38 pm

I was there in August 2018 and did the off the beaten path self walking tour. I was rewarded with some of the nicest spots in Paris. Highly recommended to every one who don’t like the crowds and touristy spots. I got off the Lamarck Metro station and made my way down Montmarte. It was an amazing day.

February 11, 2020 at 12:18 am

This is such an amazing list. Thank you for sharing!!

May 3, 2022 at 5:08 pm

This was such a great tour to take! I also appreciate that if you follow the order you don’t have to climb many stairs, haha. I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing! 🙂

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Self-guided walking tours in Paris

Explore the most famous districts of the french capital with tootbus. discover the treasures, secrets and mysteries of paris with our guided bus tours . continue your city tour on foot with the new tootbus app feature: tootwalk..

Walking tours in Paris

You can best discover a city and its treasures by walking around and getting lost in the streets. Immerse yourself in Paris and soak up the atmosphere of the different districts. A romantic city and a true open-air museum, the City of Light offers wonder around every corner.

In order to discover all the facets of the capital, Tootbus unveils its new service: Tootwalk . This free experience is available when you hop off the bus. The tours are designed to start near the bus stops. You can start the tour whenever you want. To start, launch the application and follow the instructions. Pick up the tour whenever you want, right where you left off.

With a tailor-made audio tour and information about the area you are visiting, discover Paris through a personalized immersive experience. Commentary is available in English, French and Spanish. The Tootbus application becomes your best companion to discover the city.

Tootbus offers you eight walking tours that allow you to take sightseeing and thematic tours in famous districts of the capital. These one-hour guided tours of Paris' must-see places are accessible from your smartphone thanks to the Tootbus application available on App Store and Google Play . Perfect to keep your daily stroll busy!

Let’s Tootwalk in Paris

1/ olympic games around the eiffel tower.

Embark on a journey around the Eiffel Tower where sports meet culture. Discover the fascinating secrets about the Olympic games, both past and present, this upcoming summer 2024, around this iconic Parisian monument.

2/ Following the Athletes along the Seine 

Strive along the Seine River and make your way through discovering the rich history that surrounds the waters as well as uncover Olympic related anecdotes.

3/ Marais: he Emblem of Freedom in Paris

Free yourself in this rustic and charming medieval-like neighborhood filled with its aesthetic alleyways, numerous concept stores and rich history that led towards empowering freedom . A place filled with pride and joy that revolutionized spirits in Paris.  

4/ Architectural Treasures of the Left Bank

Discover the “Rive Gauche” of the capital (left bank) where the harmony of renaissance meets Haussmanian building, and contemporary structures. An experience filled with treasured and evolving architecture.

5/ Emily in Paris (1 hour)

Follow in Emily's footsteps in Paris and discover the addresses of the hit series during this walking tour that will reveal Emily's every secret...

Starting point Tootwalk:

Blue route : Hop off at stop 4 Notre-Dame - Quartier Latin

6/ Paris, the Fashion Capital (1 hour)

With its dozens of luxury brands, Paris has a worldwide reputation. Discover the world of fashion during a one-hour walk in Paris. An experience combining the discovery of the city and emblematic visits to the boutiques of the brands that have made the capital famous. From Printemps Haussmann to Chanel, Dior and others... Fashion will no longer hold any secrets for you.

Blue route : Hop off at stop 1 Printemps/Galerie Lafayette or stop 6 Concorde

7/ The Parisian art of living (1 hour with break at La Durée)

Renowned for the quality of its hotels and cuisine, Paris cultivates the art of living in all its forms. Live your day like a Parisian. A 45-minute tour to discover the habits and pleasures of the capital's inhabitants . From the Louvre  to Notre-Dame and the Musée d'Orsay, Parisian life will reveal some of its secrets...

Blue route : Hop off at stop 2 Musée du Louvre or at stop 4 Notre-Dame Quartier Latin or at stop 5 Musée d’Orsay. 

8/ Around the Iron Lady (1 hour)

The Eiffel Tower has been the symbol of France and Paris for decades. Tootbus offers you a one-hour tour of the majestic city of Paris. Under the watchful eye of the Eiffel Tower, discover the historical monuments of the area. Incredible views to appreciate the city of Paris as you have never seen it before.

Blue route : Hop off at stop 8 Trocadéro or at stop 9 Tour Eiffel or at stop 10 Pont Alexandre III

To continue your walking tour of the capital, discover our top 20 parks in Paris .

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The 11 best walking tours in Paris

Get to know the glorious French capital on foot via one of these themed walking tours in Paris

Landed in the City of Light for the first time? Don’t be intimidated. This place is big. Really big. And there’s so much going on it can be hard to know where to start. But luckily for you globe-trotters, we’re here to help out. If you’re an out-of-towner with next-to-no knowledge of Paris, we think booking a walking tour might be your best bet. Thanks to a guide who knows what they’re talking about – and, more importantly, where they’re going – you’ll have sussed out this city in no time. So, what are you waiting for? Pack your comfiest shoes and set out on a tour of one of the finest cities in the world. Here’s our pick of the best walking tours in Paris right now, from tip-top  chocolatier trips to erotica-themed excursions (yes, really). 

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Been there, done that? Think again, my friend.

Best walking tours in Paris

1.  hit all the main sights in one go.

One for the newbies: this two-hour tour will take you to all the big Parisian landmarks. Think Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, all in a smaller group setting. It’s even led by a clued-up guide who’ll keep you informed as you go. Or you can just Google stuff along the way instead. 

Time Out tip:  Be sure to wear something that covers your shoulders and knees, as certain pit stops are places of worship and can deny entry if you're too exposed. 

2.  Ramble around hilly Montmartre

Immerse yourself in la vie bohème – Bohemian Montmartre is one of Paris’s most charming (and historic) areas. This tour will take you around the hilly northern district, stopping at cool shops and some of the finest food spots in the area. Of course, you can expect the odd historical anecdote... or three.

Time Out tip: Make sure your camera's fully charged, as atop the highest hill in the city lies some of the best panoramic views Paris has to offer. 

3.  Stroll through streets rich with criminal history

True-crime fans will love this historical crime Paris walking tour. Embrace the Parisian streets from a different, slightly eerie, perspective. Join the darker side of Paris on a walking tour learning all about the dangerous past of the criminals who roamed the streets before you. Visit sites of executions, stroll the routes known for dodgy dealings, and discover the maze of side streets – the helping hand for criminals to outrun the law. Hold onto your purses.

Time Out tip:  Listen out for the surprising facts and shocking anecdotes your clued-up guide has up their sleeve. 

4.  Delve into the depths of the Catacombs

You know, like that film? One of the French capital’s eeriest attractions, these underground  ossuaries hold the remains of more than six million Parisians. Your guide will fill you in on the long and storied  past of this spooky subterranean cemetery. Definitely one for fans of spine-chilling adventures.  

Time Out tip: You can opt for a hosted tour, which comes with a 30-minute briefing outside the catacombs, or dive straight in with a self-guided audio tour. 

5.  Explore Paris by night

This late-night tuk tuk tour will introduce you to the city just as it starts to get dark – you’ll journey along the Seine, around the courtyard of the Louvre, and then pay a visit to some lesser-known (and largely tourist-free) attractions.

Time Out tip:  This is the perfect tour to do with your significant other if you happen to be on a couples holiday. 

6.  Walk in the footsteps of Coco Chanel

Fashionistas can see Paris through the eyes of one of the 20th century’s greatest designers. The tour will begin at Coco’s favourite café, Angelina – renowned for its hot chocolate. Then you’ll venture on to Rue Saint-Honoré, where Chanel lived, and see the site of her first shop (which remains today). Lastly, you can rummage through a vintage shop in the hope of scoring some old-school designer goods. 

Time Out tip:  The audio guide set-up of this tour means you can begin at any time and go completely at your own pace. All you need to do is download the VoiceMap app. 

7.  Spy some stunning street art

For something beautiful and slightly less touristy, take a moment to admire the in-your-face artwork lining walls all over the city. Learn about some of the capital’s most well-known street artists, and discover the techniques they use to scale those mighty Haussmannian façades. Make sure to bring a camera, you'll have heaps of good photo ops. 

Time Out tip: Make the most of your local, knowledgeable guide by asking as many questions as you like. 

8.  Satisfy your sweet tooth

Treat that sweet tooth with a delectable tour of the city’s most impressive chocolatiers. Learn all about the history of confectionery in Paris by visiting some swanky sweet shops along the Right Bank and, best of all, get your sticky mitts on some freebies. Our pro tip: wear elasticated trousers and thank us later. Bon Appétit.

Time Out: Be sure to get your fair share of hot drinks, with tea, coffee and even hot chocolate available. 

9.  Whizz round the coolest kid-friendly sights

It can be hard keeping the tots entertained when you’re in a new city. But we've got you covered. This fun tour caters to families with young children, with light commentary, frequent breaks, stops for food and a playground included in the route. 

Time Out tip:  You'll be able to secure some amazing family pictures on this tour worth hanging up at home. 

10.  Live it like Emily

Immerse yourself in the life of a bourgeois 'it girl' with this Emily in Paris walking tour. Inspired by the hit TV show, you'll visit key filming locations from the series while immersing yourself in the charm of Paris from La place de l'Estrapade to the Seine. Just a forewarning, you'll want to wear your comfiest shoes.

11.  Discover the great women of paris

The history books love an underdog, don't they? On this two-hour tour, you'll discover the stories of the women who helped shape French history all the while walking along the mesmerising left bank. You'll meet just outside Luxembourg Gardens where you'll uncover some hidden gems and learn about these lesser-known historical figures. Pray for good weather, and, voila, you'll have the perfect day out. 

Not done exploring the city yet?

More paris tours.

Take a look through our complete list of the best tours in Paris. 

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Paris Walking Tours

Four Paris Neighborhood Walks

There is really no better way to explore the sights, sounds and ambience of a city than by walking. Central Paris, where many of the famous landmarks are located, is compact enough for most people to explore on foot, especially if you enjoy walking. When you walk, you will see a lot more architectural details and absorb more of the beauty in the parks and gardens compared with cruising past them in a tour bus. You can stroll along stopping when you like to examine whatever interests you in as little or much as you like. If you feel the inclination, you can venture up any interesting side streets to discover things that are off the beaten path. 5 kilometres may sound like a long walk but its really only a little over an hour of walking time.

To help you explore Paris on foot we have put together the following self-guided Paris walking tours for you. You can get complete turn by turn instruction for each walk by clicking on the corresponding links below.

Paris Walking Tour - River Seine and Left Bank Highlights 6.4 kms

Paris Walking Tour - Champs-Élysées / Right Bank Highlights - 5.3 kms

Promenade Plantee Walk - 4.8 kms

Day Trip and Walking Tour of the Medieval City of Provins - 5.4 kms

More great places to enjoy walking in Paris

In addition to the above, there are many other places in Paris that lend them self to exploring on foot. These of course include any of Paris's many parks. The larger parks like Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes and can easily take up the better part of a day to explore on foot. Of course any of the historic neighbourhoods in Paris are also best explored on foot including The Latin Quarter , Beaubourg and Montmartre . Another great place for enjoying a long stroll are the picturesque banks of Canal St-Martin

Fully Guided Walking Tours

In addition to the self-guided walking tours above you may want to consider one or more of the following fully guided walking tours.

• See the complete line of Paris Experiences on Viator

• RADICAL STORAGE

Paris Tours

Self-guided sightseeing tour of Paris

Take a self-guided tour of Paris and discover the highlights of the most romantic city in the world. Experience the culture, best sights, and hidden gems that Paris has to offer. 

Paris food tour

Do you want to discover Paris in a great, unique and memorable way?  Sign up for the Paris food tour! Organized by experts of the local culture and food tradition. Through this food tour they will lead you through some of the most beautiful and some of the most historical parts of Paris. As well as eating fantastic food, you […]

€85 (Kids: €42.50)

Walking Tours Paris

Paris is a timeless city filled with history, culture, and romance. On our walking tours of Paris, you’ll explore the city’s most famous sights and discover its lesser-known corners at the same time!

We combine the best of Parisian culture and history as well as its modern landmarks into unforgettable walking excursions. You can customize every tour to suit your needs and interests. From food and art lovers to shopping addicts and history buffs, we have something for everyone.

Many things make Paris a fantastic city for a vacation. It’s located on the banks of the Seine River and has lots of bridges that create a romantic atmosphere. The City of Light, as it is sometimes called, is home to a great art scene, culture, and architecture, including the most visited monument in the world, the Eiffel Tower. It boasts beautiful old stone buildings and cathedrals. And it is filled with famous museums, such as the Louvre, art galleries, theaters, and other attractions. Paris also has several significant monuments that include Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, and Palace of Versaille.

We’ve crafted our tours to show you Paris like never before. From the top of the Eiffel Tower to the Seine river cruise, we help you create unforgettable memories in Paris.

OUR TOP-RATED WALKING TOURS OF PARIS

If you want to make the most of your time in Paris and experience it like a local, our self-guided tour is what you need. All you have to do is download an app, and your smartphone will become your perfect travel companion. The tour provides offline maps which will guide you to the best sights in Paris. It also includes public transport recommendations, historical insights, and tips on the city so you can get the most of your walking tours in Paris.

You can customize your walking route at your leisure. For example, before you go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, plan what else you’d like to see in Paris. Our app has several suggested routes of famous sights and activities. Moreover, you can navigate with the offline map so that you’ll avoid getting lost no matter where you are in the city.

• High-quality digital audio guides to several famous sites and attractions.
• Different tour routes (including walking and bicycle routes).
• Tips on public transport.
• Spots with free WIFI connection, exchange and charging points.
• admission tickets to attractions and museums;
• food and beverages;
• headphones and mobile devices.

Supported languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Chinese

WHY OUR PARIS WALKING TOURS ARE THE BEST?

There are few things in life more beautiful than the French capital, but Paris can also be a confusing city to visit. Our guided tours will take you through the most important places of Paris while informing you about its rich history and culture. Getting to know the City of Light from a local’s perspective will allow you to discover its astonishing secrets. With our help, you’ll be able to enjoy a truly Parisian experience and have an unforgettable holiday.

Enjoy views of Notre Dame de Paris, wander the famous Latin Quarter, visit the Louvre Museum and feel the romance in Montmartre. All this at your own pace!

Tourists flock to this city on the Seine in their droves seeking an elusive imagined Paris that lives in a set of images: carelessly flicked cigarettes; rock star philosophers debating; the smell of freshly baked baguettes wafting from the baskets of passing bicycles; beauty in all things – buildings, art, food, clothing, people and ideas.

Urbs' audio tours of Paris  are the ultimate way to see the sights, including the many hidden gems dotted throughout the city. Whether you’re visiting for a day trip or longer, there’s no better way to take it all in than a self-guided walking tour of Paris .

The Urbs Way

Listen & discover.

Enjoy 4+ hours of audio content written by cultural experts Explore 70+ fascinating cultural locations Discover 130+ restaurants, cafes, bars and shops recommended by local writers

Plan your route.

Plan your perfect day with our unique route plotting function You can also use one of our curated routes which can be amended according to interests, schedule and budget

Book tickets

Find out which locations require tickets Book attractions and activities in advance to avoid the queues

This is modern Paris

Romantic, breathtaking, chic and cultured – the city of Paris and its bright lights never fail to impress. It’s said that you have to visit Paris at least once in your lifetime - and with so much to experience, it’s easy to see why a visit to the French capital is not only rich in art history, but also a fun city to base yourself – alone, with a loved one, or even with a group of friends. Whether this is your first or seventh visit to the capital, you’ll want to have a plan in order to visit the best parts, to discover something new, and to have a memorable time, which is why self-guided walking tours of Paris are so popular. The Urbs app allows you to plan your own schedule and add all your favourite sights and attractions, with recommendations from those in the know. It’s a bit like a France travel podcast, travel guide book and modern travel hack rolled into one. So why not join us on a journey of discovery and history, and make new memories at the same time!

J’adore Paris

Ready to put your audio tour of Paris together? Here are some of the walks, attractions and neighbourhoods currently trending that you can find more about on the app. Why not add them to your list.

​ Paris has a reputation for some of the best art and culture in the world. Here you can find the finest galleries and museums, including the Musee d’Orsay, the Musee National Picasso and the Centre Pompidou. However, the best place to start your audio tour of Paris is the Louvre Museum, home to some of the world’s most famous artworks, including the Mona Lisa. Better still, our audio tour answers all your pressing questions, saving you the hassle of having to Google afterwards. If you plan to visit several museums, a Paris Museum pass will serve you well.

Green space

​ There are so many beautiful parks and gardens within the square mile of the city, making the perfect backdrop for your audio tour of Paris. Jardin du Luxembourg is a popular spot with locals, with plenty of information and signage in the area. But perhaps, for the best view, get off the beaten track and head to Montmartre. Across the sweeping skyline, you can see why it’s the basis for many well-known French artworks.

Boutique shopping

As you immerse yourself in your self-guided walking tour of Paris, don’t forget to make time for shopping. There are so many neighbourhoods in Paris for fashion lovers, including the district of Le Marais, which more than lives up to its name as a shoppers’ haven. Head to either Rue des Francs-Bourgeois or Rue Vieille du Temple for luxury bijou shops in the heart of the city.

Iconic landmarks

If you visit just one place on your audio tour of Paris, make it the Eiffel Tower. Located in the Champs de Mars, this world-famous landmark is a prerequisite for your visit. During your walking tour, be sure to take lots of photos for your Instagram account.Some of the sights that also have to be visited include the epic Champs Elysées – a stunning piece of architecture within the city, and of course Notre Dame - which is still undergoing renovation.

Finally, for your audio tour of Paris, head to the lively Latin Quarter for fun evening entertainment, popular with students. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to book tickets for the mesmerising Moulin Rouge – it’s all part of the mandatory French experience!

Café culture

​ Food and Paris go hand-in-hand. If you have a sweet tooth, one of the best places to order crepes and a coffee is Breizh Café – a real gem hidden away in the Marais district. That said, walk around any local square and you can find a market stall selling delicious local foods. The city, of course, has tons of restaurants, where you can sample five-star dining like no other. To really impress, head to Le Cinq at the Four Seasons.

Access Paris by app

​ Before you take off on your French adventure, there’s something you need to do. Download the Urbs app to your iPhone or smartphone device – the only way to create your Paris audio tour. Here’s some of the benefits in doing so:

Bespoke travel plan

Why do the same tourist route as everyone else, when you can curate your very own audio tour of Paris? Or, if you’re looking for inspiration, choose from one of the many walking tours available.

Discover something new

Whether you’re looking for a hidden gem, or local tip, our self-guided tours can be mixed and matched from over 400 options, allowing you to discover Paris and places of interest.

To get about the city with ease and enjoy the many attractions, book ahead of time using the Urbs app – it’s a great help, especially for big groups.

Download the app

Planning a trip to Paris? Then don’t miss the chance to access the city in this audio feast, now available to download on Android and iOS devices.