Paris Hidden Gems: 9 Unusual Things to Do

Most Paris guides send you straight to the Eiffel Tower queue and a Louvre ticket you should have booked weeks ago. Do both anyway, they are non-negotiable in 2026, then spend the rest of the trip on the city’s stranger corners: a glass-roofed 19th-century arcade, six million skeletons stacked in old quarries, a basilica built as a political apology, and a cemetery where strangers still leave whiskey on a rock star’s grave. Below are 9 things that reward wandering off the postcard route, plus the bookings you cannot skip.

Paris trip essentials

Essentials Detail
Days needed 4 to 5 for the well-known sights, 7+ to add the list below
Best months April to June, September to early October
Daily budget EUR 90 to 150 / USD 100 to 165, mid-range
Booking gate Louvre and Catacombs are timed-entry only, zero walk-up

Unusual things to do in Paris that are not the Eiffel Tower queue

  1. Walk a shopping arcade with a glass roof instead of a mall. The Passages Couverts in the 2nd arrondissement, Galerie Vivienne, Passage des Panoramas, Passage Jouffroy, are covered 19th-century streets with mosaic floors, old stamp dealers, and secondhand bookshops. Free to wander, open during shop hours.

  2. Go underground with six million of the city’s former residents. The Catacombs hold roughly six million skeletons, moved from overflowing cemeteries starting in the 1780s. Tickets are EUR31, timed-entry only, and release exactly 7 days ahead at 10:00 Paris time on the official site ; there is no walk-up. Check availability on GetYourGuide if the direct release window does not line up with your dates.

  3. Visit the cemetery where fans still leave whiskey on a grave. Pere Lachaise is 44 hectares of tombs and cobbled paths holding Jim Morrison, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and Moliere. Free, open daily, and rarely as crowded as its reputation suggests.

  4. Find the two windmills Montmartre has left. Moulin de la Galette, now a restaurant, and Moulin Radet still stand on Rue Lepic, a hill that ran on windpower long before it ran on paint.

More hidden gems in Paris that locals actually use

  1. Browse book stalls older than the French Revolution. The bouquinistes along the Seine quais have sold secondhand books and prints since the 16th century, and they are part of why UNESCO listed the Banks of the Seine in 1991.

  2. Treat a flea market like a museum with price tags. Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen is one of the largest antiques markets anywhere; browsing costs nothing.

  3. Climb the dome most people skip for the steps. Sacre-Coeur ’s basilica is free, but the dome climb and the streets past Rue des Abbesses are where the crowd from Place du Tertre thins out fast.

  4. Walk into the cathedral half of Paris still thinks is closed. Notre-Dame ’s nave reopened 7 December 2024 and costs nothing to enter; the towers reopened separately in September 2025 for EUR16.

  5. Take the boat at the hour photographers actually want. A dusk Seine cruise from Port de la Bourdonnais runs about EUR19 and covers Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower from the water.

Quick answers before you book

Is Notre-Dame still closed in 2026?

No. The cathedral reopened to the public on 7 December 2024 after the 2019 fire, and by 2026 it has been open well over a year. Entry to the nave is free with no ticket required; an optional timed reservation opens only 72 hours ahead and just skips a second queue, so do not expect to book it weeks out.

Do you need to book the Louvre ahead of time?

Yes. Every visitor needs a timed slot, walk-up is not an option, and the museum is closed every Tuesday. Pricing splits by residency since January 2026: EUR22 for EEA residents, EUR32 for everyone else, with under-18s free. From July through August 2026, the reservation requirement applies to all visitors with no exceptions.

Is the Paris Museum Pass worth buying?

Only if you are hitting three or more paid sights in a day. The pass runs roughly EUR90 for two days up to EUR139 for six, covering the Louvre, Orsay, Sainte-Chapelle, and more, but it excludes the Eiffel Tower entirely, and nine of its included sites still need their own separate timed slot even with the pass in hand.

Where to stay for the odd stuff, not just the postcard stuff

Le Marais keeps you close to the Passages Couverts and the Pere Lachaise Metro line, with shops that stay open Sundays too. Saint-Germain-des-Pres puts Sainte-Chapelle, the Latin Quarter’s bookshops, and the Seine’s bouquinistes within walking distance. Check rates on Booking.com for either neighbourhood before the well-reviewed places sell out.

Getting around without a paper ticket

Since 2025, Ile-de-France runs two flat fares regardless of zone: EUR2.55 for Metro, train, and RER, EUR2.05 for bus and tram. Load them onto a Navigo Easy card, EUR2, no photo needed; paper t+ carnets stopped being sold, and stopped working entirely, after 31 December 2025. Airport tickets are separate: a flat EUR14 covers the RER B from CDG or Metro Line 14 from Orly. Full details sit on Ile-de-France Mobilites .

When to go

April through June and September into early October bring mild weather and thinner crowds than peak summer. August empties out the small independent restaurants and shops, roughly 3 to 23 August, though the sights themselves stay just as busy and the Metro runs as normal. Check the transit map before building an August trip around day trips too: engineering works hit several RER, Metro, and Transilien lines mid-July through mid-August 2026. A partial solar eclipse crosses Europe on 12 August 2026, visible from Paris at about 92 percent occultation around 8:17pm, worth a glance if you are out that evening. December brings Notre-Dame’s first full Christmas season since reopening, alongside the Champs-Elysees illuminations, so book accommodation early.

What this guide skips on purpose

Versailles, Giverny, and Disneyland Paris are day trips from the city, not the city itself; that is a separate itinerary with its own transit and booking rules. Everything above stays inside Paris proper.

Open every interaction with “Bonjour” before switching to English, even at a train station counter; it is the one etiquette rule locals mention more than any other. Book the Catacombs the moment its 7-day window opens if it is on your list; of everything here, it sells out fastest.