While my time in Paris got cut short because of a global pandemic… I am very grateful for the 2.5 months of adventuring that I did have :)
While in Paris, I studied at the public university Paris Diderot. This meant that with my student ID and my visa that proves European residence, I could enter nearly any museum or library for free… even Versailles and the Louvre. It is scary and sad to think that I may never have another opportunity in my life to go to some of the best museums in the world on any day for free. I bet the total cost of all the places I visited would be a few hundred dollars… crazy. Luckily, I was aware of this awesome gift and I visited most of the museums on my list before I was forced to leave Europe. I was also trying to do all the indoor activities to clear way for Spring picnics by the Tour Eiffel and cafe lounging… :/
Here is my bucket list: (bold means I got to it / *not free with student ID)
I hope ONE DAY I return to Paris to finish it!!
Museums
- Musée d’Orsay
- Musée de Louvre
- Musée Picasso (great gallery in le Marais)
- Musée de l’Orangerie (Monet’s huge waterlily paintings)
- Musée Georges Pompidou
- Musée Rodin (best on a nice sunny day)
- Versailles
- Petit Palais
- *L’Espace Lafayette-Drouot (collection of Banksy art, until June 2020)
- *Musée Marmottan Monet (might be my favorite museum, amazing collection of Monet near Bois du Boulogne)
- *Fondation Louis Vuitton (only temporary exhibitons)
- Musée de Judaïsme
- Musée Cognacq-Jay (18th century art)
- Palais de Tokyo (all temporary exhibitions, also called Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris)
- Fondation Cartier (l’art contemporian)
- Atelier des Lumières
- Musée Dali
- Grand Palais
- Pavillon de l’Arsenal ( center for architecture and urbanism)
- Musée Carnavalet (history of Paris)
- Musée de Quai Brenly
Monuments
- Notre Dame
- Tour Eiffel (fun to walk up rather than elevate)
- Sacré-Cœur
- Chapelle Expiatoire (monument à Louis XVI et Marie-Antoinette)
- La Madeleine
- La Panthéon
- Cimetière du Père-Lachaise
- Shakespeare & Company (go to a reading!)
- Arc de Triomphe (go up at dusk)
- Palais Garnier
- Galeries Lafayette
- Sainte-Chapelle (Ile de la Cite)
Libraries
- Bibliothèque Sainte Geneviève (looks like Hogwarts, my favorite)
- Bibliothèque Louis Michel (small library near 12th)
- Bibliothèque Sainte-Barbe (go in the am if you want a table)
- Bibliothèque Mazarin (L-V)
- BPI (Pompidou)
- American Library in Paris (7th, open Dimanche a 13h)
- Bibliothèque Richelieu-Louvoie (L-V)
- Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal (L-V)
- Bibliothèque François Mitterrand
- Bibliothèque Historique de la Ville de Paris (L-S)
Parks
- Bois de Vincennes
- La Coulée Vert
- Jardin des Tulleries
- Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes (went to an orchid exposition here)
- Jardin de Luxembourg
- Canal Saint-Martin (start in the 10th and just walk)
- La Petite Ceinture (out-of-use train railway that circles the city)
- Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
- Parc de la Villette (park with outdoor games)
Day Trips
- Loire Valley (castles)
- Giverny (where Monet lived and painted)
- Champagne région
- Anvers-sur-Oise
- Vitry-sur-Seine
- Normandy
- Fontainebleau (midieval palace of Napolean III)
Markets
- Marché des Enfants Rouges (food market)
- Marché d’Aligre (12e, food market)
- Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen (18e, flea market)
Random
- Match de foot
- Candlelight classical music concerts
- Le Crazy Horse
- L’Aquarium
