If you’re planning a trip to French capital, you already know that it’s going to cost you. Here are a few tips to discover Parisian culture without spending a cent!
Say hello to Mona Lisa
Inside the luminous Louvre. © Matt Biddulph
Believe it or not, you can check out the most famous museum in the world for free! If you’re from the European Union and under 26, the Louvre is free all year round. Otherwise, you can wander in this famous institution the first Sunday of the month for free, from October through to March.
If you want to experience something a bit more contemporary, the Pompidou Centre is similarly free for those under 26, and free on the first Sunday of the month to the rest. Perhaps the biggest exhibit is the building itself – a scaffold-friendly, gun-metal structure that stands in direct opposition to Le Marais’ more conventionally charming medieval architecture.
Truth be told, Paris is absolutely flushed with free museums. You can find the complete list here.
Stop time with a stroll along the Canal St Martin
Canal St Martin, Paris. © D&S McSpadden
Whether you’re visiting Paris in summer or winter, this place always offers some much needed calm away from the mania of the capital city. It’s perfect for watching the world go by, with its cast iron bridges, leafy walkways and groups of Parisians resting along the canal sipping wine and basking in the sunset.
During the summer, the city planners organize children’s play areas and puppet shows here, along with sandpits and deck chairs so you can lounge under the Parisian sunshine.
After you’ve had your share of the relaxation, head straight to Bar Ourcq and pick up a set of iron balls to play France’s much-loved game of pétanque. Renting the set is free and it will certainly offer you the chance to meet your new Parisian best friend along the communal canal front.
Seek out the Statues of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty beside the Pont de Grenelle bridge.
New York City’s Statue of Liberty comes with an interesting story. Designed by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, she was sent as a gift to the United States to commemorate over 100-hundred-years of independence in 1886.
The French were so sad to see the Great Green Goddess emigrate to North America that several mini-replicas started to crop up across the country. Several of the best can be found on the streets of Paris, and all are free to access. The most famous and visited version of the statue in the capital was created by Bartholdi for the Exposition Universelle world fair in 1900, which now stands proud in the palatial courtyard of the Musee d’Orsay.
Next on the statue itinerary is the 36 foot-tall replica standing on a man-made island alongside the centre of the Pont de Grenelle, with the Eiffel Tower hovering in the distance. Then go back to the start and see Bartholdi’s original 6-foot bronze maquette of the famous statue in the Musée des Arts et Metiers (where admission is free for all every Thursday after 6pm).
Finally, you’ll find a replica of the NYC Lady of Liberty’s 11-foot wide flame located on the northern edge of the Pont de l’Alma. Originally gifted by the US to mark the centennial year of the NYC monument, it now functions as an unofficial memorial to Lady Diana, who had her fatal car accident here in 1996.
Pay your respects to celebrities in the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
Tucked in the corner of the 20th arrondissement on the right bank of the city, Père Lachaise is the most visited cemetery of Paris, possibly the world. When you hear of the clientèle resting here, its popularity is not so surprising.
Édith Piaf, Yves Montand, Chopin, Molière, Gertrude Stein, Alfred de Musset and Marcel Proust are among the most visited gravestones. Top of the popularity list are Jim Morrison – whose grave is regularly adorned with bottles of Jack Daniels and cigarettes – and Oscar Wilde’s gravestone, complete with messages of love and lipstick kisses.
Some of the graves are quite hard to locate, so be sure to download the official cemetery map online if you want to avoid paying for it on site.
Discover the city on wheels
Skating through the streets of Paris. © Jim Linwood
If there’s a better way to explore Paris than on a set of in-line skates then we are yet to discover it.
The Pari Roller ride started in 1994, growing from a small subculture of bladers to a proud weekly event with attendance in the hundreds. The free group tour is open to both beginners and advanced skaters and, weather permitting, rolls off every Friday night at 10pm from Place Raoul Dautry near Paris-Montparnasse metro station. If you prefer to skate in daylight, the Rollers & Coquialles company offer similar tours departing every Sunday at 2pm next to the Bastille metro station.
It’s a great way to get to know Paris, with the seasoned locals quite literally leading the pack through the centre to the more unique and less-trodden parts of town. Better still, transport police are in attendance, whizzing around and making sure that all traffic circulation is stopped to make sure that you can skate safely.
If you don’t have your own roller skates, you’ll find many regulars loaning out spare pairs on the starting line, or you can rent them directly from the organizers for a couple of euros. It’s a small price to pay for what is an exceptional free tour through the city.
Get a free meal
Get in line for a free dinner at Lockwood Bar and Cafe. © 52 Martinis
They say that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find yourself a free dinner in the French capital!
A surprising number of great restaurants and bars in Paris offer patrons gratis grub. Sample some tasty Moroccan hospitality with a plate of free merguez couscous served with every bought drink at Les Trois Frères in the Little Africa neighbourhood every Thursday. Or go total Francophile at the 10th arrondissement’s Le Tribal Café, which offers a free serving of moules-frites with every cocktail on Wednesdays and Thursdays after 9pm.
Best of the free bunch is Lockwood, an ever-so chic bar in the tech-savvy, unofficially titled ‘Silicon Sentier’ neighbourhood. With moody dark lighting and industrial furnishings, this joint is famous for its delicate Italian aperitivos. The gourmet experiment starts every night at 6pm. Buy yourself a Negroni cocktail and you’ll be invited to a free buffet featuring crostini, charcuterie platters and other Italian specialities. Then wash everything down with a trip down to the vaulted basement beneath for free and plentiful “try before you buy” wine tastings.
Dance until daylight
Rooftop fun at Nuba. © Jacob Khrist
You don’t have to look very far to find nightclubs in Paris that offer free entry. What is a little more tricky is finding spots that are free but so good that they’d be worth paying for!
If electro-rock numbers are your jam, Chez Moune in the famously rowdy Pigalle district is the place to be. The queue outside is always long, but the neon-lit dance-floor and modestly priced cocktail bar is worth the wait.
Then, atop of the impressive Docks en Seine arts complex – featuring boutiques, restaurants, exhibitions centres and the fashion school, Institut Français de la Mode – you’ll find Nuba. This relatively new rooftop terrace club has the hint of exclusivity, yet the dress code is relaxed, the clientèle mixed, and the price of admission is almost always free. Head here for an elaborate bar menu, performances from the biggest names in international dance music and unbeatable views of the south-Parisian skyline.
Find more free city tips on the momondo blog.
