A short history of Paris
A few streets east of the Luxembourg Gardens, squeezed between apartment blocks, there's a Roman arena. The Arènes de Lutèce dates from the time the city was called Lutetia, and the walls of a Roman bathhouse from the same era stand inside the Cluny Museum.
To trace the Middle Ages, turn into Rue des Jardins-Saint-Paul in the Marais. A long stretch of the wall King Philippe Auguste built around the city still stands there, and the foundations of his fortress can be walked through in the Louvre's basement. The Bastille prison came down in the 1789 Revolution, and a square with the July Column fills the spot today.
Most of the postcard Paris you know actually comes from the second half of the 19th century, when Baron Haussmann swapped narrow medieval lanes for wide boulevards and cream stone buildings. The Eiffel Tower went up for the 1889 World's Fair. Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire.
Paris neighbourhoods
On a Sunday morning, wander past the Chinese bakeries and North African eateries of Belleville and climb to the top of the Parc de Belleville, and the city spreads out below you. There is plenty of street art and prices are kinder than elsewhere. If your budget is tight but your curiosity isn't, put it on your list.
Batignolles moves at a different pace, with a village-style market, a park full of strollers and quiet cafés. Travelling with kids, it makes a great pause.
Île Saint-Louis is a tiny island, and you can loop it in half an hour in the early evening, past the ice cream shops. If you plan to stay out late, head for the stretch between Bastille and Oberkampf, where the bars and small music venues are.
Where to stay
- Le Marais: Historic lanes, boutiques and cafés, central and easy to walk.
- Saint-Germain-des-Prés: Classic Paris cafés and elegant streets, close to the Louvre and the Orsay.
- Latin Quarter: Student vibe, affordable eateries and a direct RER B link to the airport.
- Montmartre: A village-like hilltop area where hotels cost less than in the centre.
- Canal Saint-Martin: A young, local canal-side area with plenty of bars and bistros.
- Opéra / Grands Boulevards: Many metro lines meet here, with shopping and the airport bus close by.
When to visit Paris
On 21 June music pours out of every corner of Paris. The Fête de la Musique fills the streets with free concerts and summer officially begins. Between April and June, and again in September and October, you get 12-24 °C, open terraces and busy parks. That's the easiest window for walking the city.
Winter is grey, around 3-8 °C. In return, museums quieten down and rooms are easier on the wallet. From late November the department store windows are dressed up, and if you catch the January sales, the shopping is a bonus.
July and August can hit 25-30 °C, and museum queues grow. On 14 July there's a parade on the Champs-Élysées and fireworks at night. In August a good share of Parisians leave town and some neighbourhood restaurants close, so plan around it.
Food culture in Paris
A croissant and a small coffee in the morning, and that's breakfast in Paris. Ask for a café and you'll get an espresso, so say café crème if you want milk. Drink it standing at the bar and it costs less than at a table.
Lunch is where things get serious. Between noon and 2 pm bistros chalk up the dish of the day and a fixed-price menu called a formule, and dinner rarely starts before 7:30 pm. The jambon-beurre sandwich, croque-monsieur, onion soup and steak frites are all worth a try. The cheese course comes before dessert, and the éclairs and tarts in bakery windows deserve a chance too.
Service is already in the bill, so a few euros left on the table is just a nice gesture.
Paris trip budget
Paris isn't cheap, and you'll feel it most on the hotel bill. Someone in a mid-range hotel spends around €180-280 a day, accommodation included. A hostel brings that down to €90-130, while a comfortable trip runs past €400. A nightly tourist tax (taxe de séjour) comes on top.
Getting around by metro costs about €2.50 a ride. For a stay of a few days, loading tickets onto a Navigo Easy card or buying them on your phone makes life easier. The Louvre went up to €32 for visitors from outside the EU in 2026, so book your timed ticket ahead.
The good news is that plenty costs nothing. The permanent collections of the Petit Palais and the Carnavalet Museum, Père-Lachaise Cemetery, the Luxembourg Gardens, Sacré-Cœur and a long walk along the Seine won't cost you a cent.
Prices are approximate as of October 2026.
Build your route on the Paris map
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Nice travel guide