Hidden gems in Paris
Skip the tourist circuit. These Paris spots are the ones locals actually send their out-of-town friends to.
Top spots in Paris
Musée d'Orsay
Culture7e
Beaux-Arts station turned Impressionist temple — go for the Van Goghs.
Le Marais
Food & Drink3e / 4e
Falafel queues, vintage boutiques and the prettiest medieval streets.
Canal Saint-Martin
Outdoors10e
Iron footbridges, picnic banks and Sunday afternoon natural-wine bars.
Montmartre
Culture18e
Sacré-Cœur views, cobbled lanes and the last working windmill.
Père Lachaise
Outdoors20e
Tree-lined cemetery — Wilde, Chopin, Morrison and the city's quietest hill.
Where to eat
Septime
$$$$Modern French · 11e
Bertrand Grébaut's tasting menu — book three weeks out at 8am sharp.
Frenchie
$$$Modern bistro · 2e
Tiny dining room on a cobbled passage — go for lunch if dinner is gone.
Le Comptoir du Relais
$$$Bistro · 6e
Yves Camdeborde's all-day bistro on the Carrefour de l'Odéon.
Du Pain et des Idées
$Bakery · 10e
Escargot pastries and pain des amis on the Canal — Christophe Vasseur's flagship.
Clamato
$$$Seafood bar · 11e
Septime's walk-in seafood annex — oysters, ceviche, natural wine.
Frequently asked
- Locals' under-the-radar picks include Musée d'Orsay, Le Marais, Canal Saint-Martin. These are the places that don't show up on the first page of mainstream travel guides.