We all adore Paris, but it’s not exactly a budget destination. Here's how to enjoy it on the cheap.
From its designer emporiums, to its five-star hotels, visitors need heavy wallets to stay in City of Light, especially around the Olympics. But the good news is, there’s plenty to do for free in the French capital, even including watching some Olympic events, this July - August. Here’s 10 of the best things to do for nothing:
The Paris Olympics were always going to be memorable, starting with the Opening Ceremony. The event is being hosted along the Seine – the first time the Opening Ceremony of a Summer Games has been held outside of a stadium – meaning if you’re there on July 26, you can see it for free from the upper quays, on 80 giant screens, including the parade of athletes. It’s bound to be an amazing spectacle. For details visit paris2024.org
You can also attend some of the Olympic events for free, if you are in the city during the Games, including the road cycling, marathon, marathon swimming and triathlon. The swimming (1.5km), cycling (40km) and running (10km) events in the triathlon take place in the middle of Paris, on the Seine, along the quays and on the Champs-Elysees. There are also free fan zones around the city and a Champions Park at the Trocadero, where fans can meet medal-winners. For details, visit parisjetaime.com
Seeing the Mona Lisa and other masterpieces in the Louvre, is usually top of most tourists’ wish-lists, but not many people know there are ways to get in free, if you are organised. During evenings on the first Friday of each month (except July and August) and every July 14 (unless it’s a Tuesday), you can have free entry to the world-renowned art gallery, if booking online. Under-18s and other select categories are also free – for eligibility, visit louvre.fr
For an art gallery with permanent free entry, then head to the Petit Palais on Avenue Winston Churchill, just off the Champs-Elysees. It has masterpieces including Rembrandt, Cezanne, Gaugin, Monet and Degas. The building was erected for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, with the Grand Palais, opposite. Visit petitpalais.paris.fr
Most visitors pay to go up the Eiffel Tower, but when you think about it, the best thing about the world-famous monument, is the view of it – and you can enjoy that for nothing. Watch the unbelievably romantic evening light show from a picnic blanket in the Champ de Mars, right by the landmark.
If you fancy a boat trip along Paris’ canals, there is a way to do if for free. Not as a stow-away, but by catching the complementary boat service on the Canal Saint-Denis, from the Corentin Cariou metro station, to Le Millenaire shopping centre in Aubervilliers. Visit le-millenaire.klepierre.fr
The fire of 2019 decimated the Notre-Dame cathedral, but the good news is, restoration is underway and the building is due to reopen in December. Volunteers of the CASA association continue to show people around on daily tours, for free. For times, visit notredameparis.fr
In the heat of July and August, the beach comes to Paris, on the banks of the Seine and also the Bassin de la Villette, where you can swim. Outside of the Olympics, these hot spots usually offer somewhere to cool off, complete with deckchairs and ice-cream vendors.
Some of the city’s most beautiful destinations are its parks. You can make like Emily in Paris and jog, walk, or social-media yourself eating a croissant in the lovely Jardin du Palais Royal, or Jardin du Luxembourg, in the 6th arrondissement. This huge space was commissioned in the 1600s and is full of formal gardens, statues, pond and Medici fountain. Visit parisjetaime.com
Visit some of Paris’ famous former residents, in the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, in the 20th arrondissement. The final resting place of everyone from Edith Piaf to Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust to Jim Morrison, “the most hauntingly-romantic walk in Paris”, is in the most-visited cemetery in the world. Visit perelachaisecemetery.com
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