Ten of the best things to do for free in Paris

You don’t have to empty your wallet to absorb culture, admire monuments, or relax in Paris. Some of the city’s most enjoyable experiences won’t cost a cent.

Views

Best shopping and views ... Lafayette Galeries.Credit: iStock

You’ll pay €28.30 ($47) for a view from the Eiffel Tower, but the marvellous view of the Eiffel Tower itself from Palais de Chaillot is available to anyone. You can get a similar bird’s eye outlook over Paris for €7 ($11.50) from the dome of Sacre-Coeur basilica. However, take yourself to the rooftop terrace of Galeries Lafayette department store on Boulevard Haussmann and you’ll save all your Paris panorama money for shopping. See galerieslafayette.com

Monuments

Visit Arc de Triomphe during rare free windows.Credit: iStock

Occasional days are entry-free at top sights, typically on the first Sunday of January, February, March, November and December, so check websites. At the Arc de Triomphe you’ll save €13 ($21), while at the Pantheon (where famous French figures are interred) and Sainte-Chapelle (noted for its stained glass) you’ll save €11.50. The Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned, is free on the same days (except December) for another saving of €11.50. See parisjetaime.com

Scenic spots

Architecture appreciation goals … Place des Vosges.Credit: iStock

You don’t have to cough up for lovely architecture or great vistas. Two top squares are beautiful 17th-century Place des Vosges and hidden gem Place Dauphine, where you can kick back on a bench and admire glorious surrounding buildings. Ponts des Arts, a pedestrian bridge over the Seine, has unbeatable views of monumental Paris including Notre-Dame and, as a bonus, you might be serenaded by students strumming guitars on the footpath.

Cemeteries

Pay respects to the likes of Chopin, Balzac and Oscar Wilde at Pere Lachaise.Credit: iStock

The French capital’s largest and most prestigious cemetery is Pere Lachaise, where you get an eye-catching selection of funerary art in a leafy, park-like setting, and can pay your respects to eternally slumbering luminaries such as Chopin, Balzac, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. Pick up a map in English at the entrance. Meanwhile Alexandre Dumas, Edgar Degas and actress Jeanne Moreau are among the dead famous at Montmartre Cemetery, which has garden-like prettiness. See paris.fr

Museums

The Louvre welcomes visitors free on the first Friday evening of the month.

You’ll pay €17 ($28) for the Louvre, although entry is free on the first Friday evening of each month. Musee d’Orsay is €16 and free on the first Sunday of the month. But municipal museums are always free, such as the Museum of Fine Arts (mediaeval, Renaissance and 19th-century paintings) and Museum of Modern Art (20th-century works). Other excellent free museums are Musee Carnavalet for Paris history, Musee Cernuschi for Asian art, and Musee Cognacq for fine and decorative arts. See parisjetaime.com

Walks

How’s the serenity? Canal Saint Martin.Credit: iStock

It only costs shoe sole to see Paris at its best. Seine River promenades, which have supplied a romantic background for artists and movie-makers, are wonderful, and you can cross a dozen bridges for more great vistas. Less well-known is Canal Saint-Martin in a district trendy with bars and street markets. Former elevated railway viaduct turned 4.7-kilometre Promenade Plantee and former sunken railway line turned 23-kilometre Petit Ceinture park are also worth strolling.

Music

Saint-Eustache holds Sunday organ recitals … all free.Credit: iStock

Many of Paris’ churches have free regular organ recitals, choral music and concerts, such as every Sunday at Saint-Eustache Church, a 12-minute walk from the Louvre. Oratoire du Louvre and Saint-Roch Church are also conveniently located in the 1st arrondissement. Various music conservatories have regular classical-music events, as do town halls. For rock and pop, try La Bellevilloise in Menilmontant district. Summer sees many festivals which, although mostly ticketed, also provide some free events. See parisjetaime.com

Window shopping

Shop ’til you drop … Galerie Vivienne.Credit: iStock

If you can keep your wallet closed then window shopping (or window licking, as the French call it) provides displays of contemporary French fashion and food. Among great covered passageways are Galerie Vivienne, Galerie Vero-Dodat and Passage Verdeau. Top streets include Rue du Commerce, Rue Bonaparte, uber-chic Rue Saint-Honore, Boulevard Haussmann and long Rue de Rivoli, whose eastern end is best. Top markets are the Flower Market and the enormous Saint-Ouen Flea Market, which has everything from vintage clothing to antiques.

Parks and gardens

Paris’ botanical garden, Jardin des Plantes.

Parks aren’t second-best free options but major sights. Hit the Luxembourg Gardens for glorious flowerbeds, statuary, rose gardens and an orangery. The historic Tuileries has a formal French layout and statues by 19th-century sculptor Auguste Rodin. Also providing a sense of history is Jardin des Plantes, founded as a royal herb garden and now France’s largest botanical garden. Not-so-well-known Parc de la Villette has free open-air movies in summer, screened in their original language. See parisjetaime.com

Micro-districts

Micro-district, Cite Florale (floral city).Credit: iStock

While Paris is divided into arrondissements, within those you can find tiny districts filled with little surprises away from beaten tourist trails. Picturesque Butte Bergeyre has attractive art deco villas, a vineyard and hilltop views towards Sacre-Coeur Basilica. Leandre has a bizarrely 1920s English atmosphere, and Butte Aux Cailles the feel of a cobbled village. The latter has its own micro-district, Cite Florale, where wisteria climbs the walls, balconies cascade geraniums, and gardens blossom with flowers.

The writer has travelled as a guest of numerous tour operators over the years.