Paris has been a tourist city for centuries. The city is steeped in history, art and culture. Most tourists flock to the same top-10 list (think Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, etc.) so those attractions are overcrowded, sometimes overrated and don’t always offer the most pleasant experience.
But there are so many amazing historical sites, museums, parks and food places that go under the radar. These were our top 10 off-the-beaten-path gems we discovered on our 2026 visit to Paris.
Our top 10 hidden gems in Paris
Musée Carnavalet
Whether this is your first time in Paris or a return visit, Musée Carnavalet should be your first stop. This is a free museum that focuses on the history of Paris, from Neolithic prehistory through to the French Revolution and Napoleonic periods. You’ll gain a better understanding and appreciation for Paris and how it evolved over time. It will give you context for nearly everything you visit in the city. Confused about the different French revolutions and the restoration? It will sort that out.
There’s also a lovely courtyard restaurant if you want a peaceful break.
Musée de Cluny
The Musée de Cluny is a medieval arts museum housed in a fascinating set of buildings that includes a late 1st-century Roman bath complex and the 15th-century Hôtel de Cluny mansion, a rare example of medieval civic architecture in Paris. The mansion was built around 1500 on the foundations of the Roman baths for the Abbey of Cluny. The frigidarium (the cold bath room) of the Roman baths was built towards the end of the 1st century and is well preserved.
The museum houses many fragments of the original sculptures from the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. One of the most famous and genuinely most fascinating pieces of medieval art in the museum is the Lady and the Unicorn tapestry set that dates to around 1500.
Musée de Cluny is fascinating for showcasing a period of history that we rarely see elsewhere, and as a bonus, the crowds are minimal compared to other museums and attractions in Paris.
Petit Palais
Petit Palais is a majestic venue built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle and today houses an art museum where the permanent collection is free to visit. While the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay are probably the most popular art museums in Paris, they’re also the most crowded which gets in the way of enjoying the art.
The permanent collection at the Petit Palais contains some outstanding pieces and is quiet enough that you can actually sit down in front of canvases and contemplate them. We particularly enjoyed a large canvas depicting the former Les Halles market, a large canvas depicting the revolution, as well as being alone with Monet and Rembrandt paintings.
Notre-Dame towers
We’re definitely getting into the territory of mass tourism with Notre-Dame de Paris (the most-visited site in Paris since it reopened), but climbing the towers is not to be missed. You’ll need to book a timed visit ticket well ahead of time since capacity is limited in the narrow staircases up the towers. (Yes, you’ll be climbing lots of stairs, so decent physical fitness and decent footwear are necessary.) Since access is strictly based on timed visits, we didn’t experience any crowds or lineups.
During the climb, there are a few spots where space is tight, so they limit the time you can stay in those spots. This includes the Chimera Gallery about two-thirds the way up, as well as the very top summit. But we felt we had enough time at both these spots to enjoy the architecture and the views. Everywhere else on the tour you could linger as long as you wanted.
The tower visit doesn’t get you inside Notre-Dame. You can reserve a free timed entry ticket online for the cathedral interior to skip the queue at security. But if you arrive soon after opening time (around 8am), you’ll avoid the crowds and get in right away. However, if you do arrive to find a lineup, consider going elsewhere. Paris has many other large Gothic churches that are just as interesting (if not more interesting). In particular, Église Saint-Germain des Prés is the oldest church in Paris with one of the prettiest painted interiors.
Château de Vincennes
Just outside the city limits (but right at a metro stop) is the Château de Vincennes, another historical landmark that virtually no tourists know about. The original fortress keep of the castle dates to the 1300s and is the tallest fortress castle in Europe. It was expanded upon by various kings of France until Versailles became the favoured palace, at which point the fortress became a prison.
The grounds of Château de Vincennes are free to enter, where you can admire the building exteriors from the inner courtyard. A paid ticket is required to enter the fortress keep (donjon) and the Sainte-Chapelle, which we’d highly recommend as this was probably the most fascinating castle we’ve visited (with impeccably restored stonework). If you’re visiting on a weekend (and understand French), book the guided visit of the donjon, which takes you to upper levels of the fortress that aren’t accessible on the self-guided visit.
Viaduc des Arts
Near Place de la Bastille is an obsolete elevated railway that was turned into an elevated park and artisan workshops. Lots of places have elevated parks, but the artisan workshops that are found underneath the elevated park will blow you away. You’ll find unique jewellers, glass blowers making designer light fixtures, and musical instrument artisans making violins, clarinets, trombones and harps. You’ll even find a photography studio that takes fashion magazine-quality photos in top-end period costumes.
There are also a few cafés and restaurants nestled within the artisans (but we also found some stunning bakeries nearby).
Bassin de la Villette and Parc de la Villette
For a leisurely stroll, picnic or drink on a terrace, skip the busier and touristy places in the core, and head over to Bassin de la Villette and Parc de La Villette where you can enjoy a drink along the canal in a small bar or terrace among the locals. You’ll escape the tourist crowds and be among locals in a vibrant, happening setting.
Partake in live music or dance
Do yourself a favour, and see some live music or dance while in Paris. Even if it’s not usually your thing, there’s so much variety that you’ll find something that will surprise you.
A unique option is attending an organ recital at Notre-Dame de Paris, where you can hear the largest pipe organ in France shake the ancient cathedral. It also lets you access the interior of Notre-Dame after closing hours, without lineups and under the glow of chandelier light. It’s general entry seating but there’s really no right or wrong seat. Television screens let you see the organist.
At Palais Garnier, the Opéra de Paris offers occasional noontime chamber orchestra concerts that are a small time and money investment and give you proper access to the opulent opera house. Or attend a ballet, as the Paris Opera has one of the best ballet companies in the world.
A full-scale opera production at Opéra Bastille will never disappoint.
Or try seeing an orchestra concert at the Philharmonie de Paris.
If you want something more intimate and unique, attend a cabaret evening at Au Lapin Agile.
Bouillon Chartier
For an affordable, multi-course meal with real Parisian ambiance, go to Bouillon Chartier. There are three locations across Paris, but we found that the Grands Boulevards location had the best vibe, and if you arrived early, there wasn’t a lineup (the two other locations are near train stations and can get busy with people grabbing lunch before their train). Bouillon Chartier gets some tourists, but we found it was mostly a mix of young and old Parisians enjoying the classics at a good price. You’ll likely be seated at a table with strangers, but that’s the tradeoff, and there’s absolutely no expectation of interaction. It’s part of the charm!
Depending on what you order, you can get a three-course meal for less than €15. For each course, you have your choice of many French classics. Starters include oeuf mayonnaise, escargots, foie gras (as well as healthier salad/vegetable options). Main courses include boeuf bourguignon, duck confit, steak frites (pièce boucher), sauerkraut, as well as some pasta, chicken and fish dishes. Dessert options include chocolate mousse, rice pudding and rum baba.
Baguette breakfast
Everybody goes to Paris and France for croissants and pains au chocolat. But what we discovered that we enjoyed even more was a good artisanal baguette with a good semi-salted AOP butter and nice jam. This will be a component of almost any restaurant breakfast in Paris, but you can do it yourself for much cheaper.
Find yourself a good neighbourhood bakery that markets itself as artisanale, which means they bake on site. Google reviews are also your friend; avoid anything lower than a 4/5 and if you can find something that’s 4.5 or higher, you’re in for a treat. You want to buy a baguette tradition (if you’re cool, you simply order a tradition) which is the legally-protected proper baguette made of only wheat flour, water, salt and yeast, without any preservatives or freezing. It will have a nice crispy exterior and a soft aerated interior. You absolutely need to eat it within 24 hours or it will go stale.
Find some semi-salted AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) from a high-end grocery store or specialty store (La Grande Épicerie has a whole butter aisle). French AOP butter has a high 82% butter content from local pasture-fed cattle, making it richer, creamier and more spreadable when still cold. Examples are beurre d’Isigny, beurre Charente-Poitou and beurre d’Échiré.
And top it with your favourite jam. Even small grocery stores in Paris have a large jam section. You can also splurge here, but we found that even the store-brand jams were as good (or better) than North American premium jams, at a fraction of the price.
These were just a few of the standout spots and activities during our month-long arrondissement-by-arrondissement visit of Paris. For more focused recommendations on Paris, read our posts on 7 days in Paris and (Another) 5 days in Paris.
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