Photo: Miss Vicky Wine

18 Experiences to Have in Paris Before You Die

Paris Insider Guides
by Doni Belau Oct 5, 2015
1. Learn to play pétanque from a local at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

Une photo publiée par Jade Leboeuf ☀️ (@jade_leboeuf) le

2. Stay up all night at Nuit Blanche and get tipsy on the streets of Paris as you explore this all night art fair.

Une photo publiée par @mac7557 le

3. Stand up and tell your story at Au Chat Noir on a Monday open-mic night. Performances, poetry, monologues, stand-up and beat poetry welcome.

4. Dance the night away on a Sunday at the hipster rooftop resto Le Perchoir when they are closed to the public. This is an invite-only event called Les Endimanchés (your Sunday Best) nights, which occur sporadically throughout the year. There are cocktails by a visiting mixologist, a famous guest chef, a DJ, and good times to be had. Get on the list here.

Une photo publiée par lorene ♠︎ (@trippinonwords_) le

5. Get your groove on at Point Ephémère, the mixed use space which is at once a concert venue, art gallery, studio, café and cocktail bar.

6. Heat Wave in Paris? No problem. Cool down at the gorgeous Hotel Molitor’s retro 1930’s pool that just reopened last year.

7. Meet lifelong friends at one of the Paris Pop-Up dinners created by former Frenchie chefs.

8. Attend the wine-soaked Vendange in Montmartre celebration of the last remaining grape harvest in October.

9. Sing at the top of your lungs with fellow Francophiles at the Fête de la Musique, the all-night music festival held in Paris and throughout France every year on the summer soltice, June 21st.

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10. Kiss a stranger on the Pont des Arts bridge — at midnight on New Year’s Eve while watching the Eiffel Tower fireworks and shouting Bonne Année!

11. Bike across Paris from the top of Montmartre to Chinatown in the 13th on a Vélib. Treat yourself to a bowl of Pho once you arrive.

Une photo publiée par Vélib’ (@velib) le

12. Eat weird things. Paris is the place to try that entrée that makes you squirm — pig’s head, goose liver, snails, tripe, thymus gland, blood sausage or veal’s head; all of which sound much less scary in French.

Une photo publiée par jdfashionfreak (@jdfashionfreak) le

13. Speak 7 minutes in French no matter how much you suck at it at a Franglish event in Paris. The Parisian has to return with 7 in English so you both can be fools together. Don’t worry cocktails are involved!

14. Learn to bake a baguette from a famed French baker.

Une photo publiée par Pão à Mesa 🍞 🍮 ☕ (@paoamesa) le

15. Get a take-out falafel from L’as du Falafel for 5 euros on the ancient street, rue de Rosiers in the former Jewish quarter, now the trendy Marais district. Walk a few blocks to the place des Vosges, the oldest and most beautiful square in Paris. Sit, eat, and enjoy.

Une photo publiée par Rébecca Bouteveille (@rnbouteveille) le

16. Dance like it’s 1915 at a French guinguette. Daytime drinking and dancing brought back into vogue via time capsule from the turn of the century by places like Rosa Bonheur and La Javelle.



17. Spend a day at the Mosquée de Paris. The perfect cure for jetlag is a shower, soak, and a scrub at this North African hammam. This is the oldest in Paris located in the historic mosque from the 1920’s. You can stay nearly all day for under $50. After be sure to sip their mint tea and sit for a while to enjoy the warmth and relaxation. If you don’t care to move on, have some couscous and smoke a hookah.

Une photo publiée par Agathe Roussel (@agatherou) le



18. Sip the incredible L’Apicius Bloody Mary at the gorgeous L’Apicius bar. Housed in a 19th century Hôtel Particulier in the further reaches of the 8th arrondissement, this particular version of the Bloody Mary is made with muddled fresh cherry tomatoes. For more cocktail indulgence, check out Paris Cocktails.

Featured image: Miss Vicky Wine

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