Paris is nothing if not walkable. It’s a big city where walking is not only encouraged, but genuinely enjoyable. Not only are the streets of Paris designed with pedestrians in mind, but there are so many sights and sounds in every direction that you can hardly ever grow sick of it.
In other words, it’s the perfect for making discoveries. Of course, while the city boasts plenty of tourist attractions, there are lots of other hidden gems that add depth to your experience of it. Without further ado, here are five lesser known places to visit in Paris:
The Jardin des Tuileries ferris wheel
Every summer, the Jardin des Tuileries hosts an amusement park with classic rides, games and food stalls. The most interesting ride? It’s arguably the ferris wheel – a tall white observation wheel towering above the park.
When you ride it, you can catch breathtaking views of the city that rival those of the Eiffel Tower. In fact, I’d argue that since the ferris wheel is more centrally located than Paris’ most famous landmark, the views are even more interesting. Look to your left and you can see the Seine. Look to your right and you can see Sacré Coeur in the distance. Behind you, the Louvre and its glass pyramids are smaller than ever.
When I rode the ferris wheel, a thunderstorm erupted out of nowhere, and within a few minutes, I could see lightning in the fast-greying sky above. As rainfall came, people began exiting the park in droves, seeking shelter in the Rivoli arcades across the road.
While the ride costs around 10€, it was such an incredible experience that I’d be more than happy to do it again. The only problem is that I now have to wait until next summer.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Situated in the 19th arrondissement, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont doesn’t get a lot of tourists. Which, depending on your perspective, might not be such a bad thing. It’s admittedly quite a distance from central Paris, but if you make the trip, you won’t be disappointed.
Opened in 1867, the park features a Roman-style temple on a hill surrounded by a lake. With its long winding paths, steep hills, leafy trees, hidden caves, abandoned railway tracks and swaying bridges, Buttes-Chaumont doesn’t feel like a typical Parisian park. In fact, I would describe its vibe as a kind of gothic Central Park.
In summer, you can find loads of people picnicking on the grassy slopes. And in winter,
when temperatures go below zero, you can sometimes see people skating on the frozen lake like absolute mad men.
La Grande Épicerie
If you’re into food (and honestly, who isn’t?), you have to visit La Grande Épicerie in the upmarket 6th arrondissement. Literally meaning ‘The Big Grocer’s Shop’ (although I prefer the badly translated ‘The Big Spice House’), it’s a four-storey department store dedicated to international cuisine.
Here, you can find immaculately presented, high quality meat, vegetables, bread, coffee and pretty much anything else you can imagine. If you’ve ever wondered what 129€ wild North Sea salmon tastes like, well, here’s your chance.
While the bottom floor features a wine cellar, the first floor (or second floor for Americans) has designer furniture and its own restaurant.
Although many of the products exceed my budget, you can also find more affordable items such as flat whites, ham and cheese baguette sandwiches with truffle oil, and canned octopus.
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Next to the Panthéon in the bookish Latin Quarter is a Renaissance cathedral called Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. Although lesser known than Notre Dame – which, let’s face it, steals all the limelight – it’s interesting in its own right.
Known for housing the shrine of St Geneviève, the patroness saint of Paris, it also contains the tomb of Blaise Pascal, the 17th century philosopher, theologian and mathematician who, among other things, invented Pascal’s triangle, Pascal’s wager, and (quite possibly) the bus system. So next time you catch public transport, you’ll know who to thank.
Depending on when you visit, you may get to experience the mysterious sounds of 20th century classical music emanating from the cathedral’s enormous organ.
Bibliothèque François Mitterrand
Located in the 13th arrondissement, in the far south-east of Paris, is a public library named after the late French president. For me, what’s interesting about the library isn’t so much what it contains on the inside (which to be honest I’ve never actually seen), but what it looks like on the outside.
Featuring four tall glass buildings (designed to look like the corners of a book) on a sort of mount, with long wooden stairs facing towards the Seine, it’s a unique modernist structure that looks unlike anything else in Paris.
If you go there in the summer months, you can often catch people dancing for TikTok in front of the glass reflections. Or, if you cross the gently sloped bridge, you can cross the Seine to the Parc de Bercy on the other side.
