Paris works for almost every kind of traveler: the first-timer ticking off bucket-list landmarks, the repeat visitor hunting for something more local, the foodie who plans their whole trip around eating, and the history lover who could spend a day underground in the Catacombs. The trick is knowing which tourist activities in Paris actually match the way you like to travel.
In this guide, we organized everything by traveler type so you can skip straight to what you like. Each section covers the best activities, practical details, and booking tips to help you make the most of your time in the City of Love!
For first-timers: The classic Paris checklist
Eiffel Tower tour
The Eiffel Tower rising above Paris’ skyline
If it's your first time in Paris, the Eiffel Tower is non-negotiable, but how you experience it makes a big difference. An Eiffel Tower tour includes skip-the-line access and a guide who covers the tower's history from its debut at the 1889 World's Fair to its current status as the world's most visited paid monument.
Evening visits are especially rewarding; the tower sparkles for five minutes every hour on the hour after dark, and it never gets old. Book summit tickets well in advance, particularly between April and September, when they can sell out two to three weeks ahead.
Klook Tip: If you're visiting the Eiffel Tower between April and September, book at least a week ahead. Summit tickets during peak summer sell out fast.
Paris city tour and Seine River cruise
Visit all these famous Paris spots in one tour!
If it’s your first time, a Paris city tour and Seine River cruise combo is one of the smartest ways to spend an early day. The bus tour loops past all the main Paris tourist attractions, like the Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame, the Louvre Museum, and the Musée d'Orsay, giving you a solid look of where everything is before you go deeper into an area.
Then, the Seine River cruise lets you see the same stretch of city from the water, which is a completely different experience. This kind of overview tour is useful if you only have a few days in Paris and want to make confident decisions about where to spend your time.
For culture lovers: Museums, art, and history
Louvre Museum guided tour
Join a Louvre Museum guided tour
The Louvre is the world's most visited museum. A Louvre Museum guided tour is the most efficient way to see the highlights (Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace) without spending your first hour just trying to navigate the building. A good guide also brings the works to life with context you wouldn't get from an audio guide alone.
For a full culture day, the Louvre Museum and Seine River cruise combo pairs the museum with an afternoon on the water: two of the most iconic tourist activities in Paris, neatly bundled.
Paris Catacombs tour
Know more about the Paris Catacombs when you join a guided tour
Few tourist activities in Paris are as memorable as the Catacombs. Located beneath the 14th arrondissement, this underground ossuary holds the remains of over six million people, relocated here from overflowing city cemeteries in the late 18th century.
The main public section takes about 45 minutes to walk through, and a guided Paris Catacombs tour layers on the history of how this space was used during the French Revolution and both World Wars.
Lines at the entrance can stretch very long in summer, so booking skip-the-line access in advance is worth it. It's not suitable for very young children or anyone with a fear of enclosed spaces, but for history lovers, it's one of the best experiences the city offers.
Klook Tip: The underground temperature is a constant 14°C (57°F) year-round, so make sure to bring a light layer regardless of the season.
For nightlife lovers: Paris after dark
Moulin Rouge cabaret show
Moulin Rouge Paris
The Moulin Rouge has been running since 1889, and today's shows are as theatrical and high-energy as ever. The famous French cancan, elaborate feathered costumes, live music, and a packed, glittering hall make this one of the most uniquely Parisian experiences you can have after dark.
Shows run nightly and book out fast, especially on weekends, so plan ahead. For a complete evening, the Moulin Rouge show and Seine River cruise combination covers cabaret and the river in one night out, which is a great option if you want to see the illuminated city before the show starts.
Seine River cruise at night
Hop on the Seine River cruise at night and see the Eiffel Tower lit up
A Seine River cruise at night hits differently from the daytime version. The monuments along the banks, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower, are all lit up, and cruising past them at water level as the city glows is one of the more spectacular tourist activities in Paris. Most evening cruises run about an hour and include commentary in multiple languages.
The Seine is at its most charming between sunset and midnight, and summer sunset departures in particular sell out, so book ahead. You can also book a Seine River Dinner Cruise experience if you want to make your night extra special, especially if you’re celebrating an important occasion.
For foodies: Eating and drinking your way through Paris
Paris food tour
Montmartre food tour
If you’re a foodie, a Paris food tour is one of the best tourist activities in Paris. Tours run through neighborhoods like the Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and Montmartre, stopping at bakeries, cheese shops, wine bars, and market stalls along the way. Over two to three hours, you'll typically try croissants, aged fromage, charcuterie, macarons, and a glass or two of wine.
The best tours are small-groups and run by guides who know the vendors personally, so it's a much more engaging experience than a self-guided wander. Morning tours often hit the freshest bakery stops; evening tours lean more heavily into wine and cheese.
Our recommended Paris food tours
Klook Tip: Let your guide know about any dietary restrictions when booking. Most food tours can accommodate vegetarians and common allergies without issue.
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées
Aerial view of the Champs-Élysées | Photo by Mo Eid on Pexels
The stretch from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées is one of Paris's best eating and drinking avenues. After taking in the rooftop views from the Arc, the avenue below has everything from traditional brasseries to patisseries worth stopping at. Most visitors only photograph the exterior, but the summit adds a whole different layer to the visit.
Plan around 45 minutes to an hour at the Arc itself, then let the Champs-Élysées set the pace for the rest of your afternoon. For an efficient first-timer's day, pairing it with a city bus tour that swings past the main Paris tourist attractions is a smart move.
For outdoor adventurers: Getting active in the city
Paris bike tour
Tour around Paris on a bike
Paris is more bikeable than you’d expect, and a Paris bike tour is one of the most enjoyable ways to cover a lot of the city without burning out your legs on cobblestones. Most guided tours run two to three hours and follow routes along the Seine, through the Marais, around the Île de la Cité, and past the Tuileries Garden.
Your guide handles the navigation, which means you can focus on cycling and actually look around rather than stare at a phone map.
Spring (April to June) and early autumn (September to October) are the best times of year for a Paris bike tour, with mild weather, manageable crowds, and great light in the late afternoon.
Klook Tip: Evening bike tours are especially good along the Seine — the illuminated monuments at night make for a very different ride from the daytime version.
For day-trippers: Escaping the city
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
One of the most popular day trips from Paris is the Palace of Versailles. You can read about the Hall of Mirrors and the gardens beforehand, but the scale of the place still hits differently once you’re there. Between the palace rooms, the formal gardens, and the Grand Trianon estate, you can spend a full day here and still feel like you’ve only seen part of it.
If you want the stories behind what you’re seeing, book a Versailles Palace guided tour. It helps make sense of the history instead of just walking through one grand room after another. If you prefer to go at your own pace, a self-guided visit with priority entry works well too, especially if you already know which areas you want to focus on.
Giverny and Monet's gardens
Claude Monet’s lily pond
For a slower, more scenic day trip from Paris, Giverny is a lovely choice. This is where Claude Monet lived and painted for more than 40 years, and it still feels closely tied to the world you see in his paintings. You’ll find his restored house, the Japanese bridge, and the water lily pond that inspired some of his most famous works.
Giverny is about 80 kilometers from Paris, so joining a tour to Claude Monet’s home and gardens can make the journey simpler, especially if you’d rather have transport arranged for you. Late spring to early summer is especially lovely, when the gardens are full of color, though the estate is worth visiting across its open season.
It’s also a good choice if you want a day trip that feels softer and less crowded than Versailles. But if you’re short on time and want to see both, you can book a Monet’s Gardens and Palace of Versailles day tour, which pairs Giverny’s calm, flower-filled setting with the scale and grandeur of Versailles in one itinerary.
For budget travelers: Free tourist activities in Paris
Paris is an expensive city, but some of its best experiences cost nothing at all.
Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur: Climbing the hill to Sacré-Cœur Basilica is free, and the views across Paris from the forecourt are worth every step. Spend a couple of hours wandering Place du Tertre and Rue Lepic and you'll see a side of the city that feels very different from the tourist center.
Tuileries Garden: Running between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, this is one of Paris's most beautiful public spaces and completely free to enter. Perfect for a slow morning walk or a picnic between museum visits.
Île de la Cité and Notre-Dame exterior: The exterior of Notre-Dame Cathedral and the island it’s located on are free to explore. The square in front of the cathedral marks Point Zéro des Routes de France; the point from which all road distances in France are officially measured.
Free museum Sundays: Most major Paris museums, including the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Centre Pompidou, offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month. If your trip dates are flexible, it's worth building your visit around one of these.
Check out more free things to do and attractions in Paris with our Klook guides!
FAQs about tourist activities in Paris
What are the best things to do in Paris for first-time visitors?
If it’s your first time in Paris, you must visit the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, join a Seine River cruise, and take at least one neighborhood walk (such as in Montmartre and the Marais). A Paris city tour on your first day also helps you familiarize yourself with the city before you go deeper into specific areas.
What are the top 5 tourist attractions in Paris?
The five most visited Paris tourist attractions are the following:
1. The Eiffel Tower
2. The Louvre Museum
3. Notre-Dame Cathedral
4. The Arc de Triomphe
5. The Palace of Versailles (as a day trip)
The Seine River, Montmartre, the Musée d'Orsay, and the Paris Catacombs are all close behind. Many of these clusters are in the same areas, so combining two or three in a single day is very doable with a bit of planning.
What are the most unique things to do in Paris?
Some of the most unique tourist activities in Paris include the Catacombs tour, a Paris food tour through local market streets, an evening bike tour along the Seine, and a Moulin Rouge cabaret show.
What are the best free activities in Paris?
The best free tourist activities in Paris include visiting Sacré-Cœur and walking around Montmartre, walking through the Tuileries Garden, exploring the courtyards and galleries of the Marais, and seeing the exterior of Notre-Dame on the Île de la Cité. Many major museums also offer free entry on the first Sunday of each month.
What do tourists do in Paris?
Most tourists in Paris split their time between the iconic landmarks (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre-Dame, Arc de Triomphe), the river (Seine River cruises and walks along the banks), the food scene (cafés, bakeries, wine bars, food tours), and the neighborhoods (Montmartre, Le Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés).
More Paris travel guides for you
What is Klook?
Klook is a leading pan-regional experiences platform in Asia Pacific, purpose built to digitalize experiences and make them accessible to every traveler.
Our mission is to build the digital infrastructure for the global experience economy — empowering merchants to share their passions and travelers to discover the heartbeat of each destination. We operate a mobile-first, curated platform featuring diverse experiences across global destinations.
