After a couple of trips to Paris, a dozen films about the city, and hundreds of photographs, it seems that we already know everything about the main French city. But thank God, there are still secret sights here, where you will not meet crowds of tourists with the help of a free walking tour Paris. If you have had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower more often than in your hometown, and you navigate the Louvre without diagrams and maps, this material is for you.
European House of Photography
The museum is located in the center of Paris, the Marais quarter, so you won’t have to look long. The European House of Photography owns a huge collection of photographs – about 20 thousand photographs of various subjects. There are also:
- lecture halls;
- specialized bookstores;
- even cafes designed by the architect Nestor Percal.
Whatever time of year you come to Paris, there is always an exhibition worth visiting at the European House of Photography.
Eat nearby. Photography, as you know, cannot be enjoyed on an empty stomach, and then be sure to visit the charming pancake shop on the next street. At Crêperie Suzette you can eat one of 15 types of French crepes with aromatic coffee. Take your seats on the street!
Cemetery of Montparnasse
While tourists hustle in the cemeteries of Montmarte or look for the grave of Edith Piaf on Pere Lachaise, head to Montparnasse. If the names Beckett, Maupassant, Sartre, and Beauvoir mean something to you, then you just have to get here. This is the second-largest Parisian cemetery, after Pere Lachaise. The amazing thing is that it still works – you can quite catch someone’s funeral.
Since the place is in a residential area, it is very quiet here. While walking around the cemetery, you can meet couples walking peacefully with prams or reading books on the benches.
Eat nearby. How about a juicy burger with golden fries so tall you’ll get tired of eating it? At L’Echoppe de Paris, the food is very generous and tasty – the board on which the burger is served takes up more than half of the table, and the sandwich is always served with the freshest salad and sauces prepared according to old recipes. It is a pity that there is not much space inside.
Great Arch of Defense
The fact that has been in Paris, you can find yourself in several more cities, you already know. Therefore, if you miss New York with its frantic pace of life, go to the Défense quarter, which the locals have long called „Parisian Manhattan.“ It is worth coming here at least in order to compare Paris with all these old streets and architecture, with modern Paris.
It is in this quarter that one of the unique buildings not only in all of France but also in the world is located – the Grand Arch of Defense. Just imagine a huge cube 112 m wide, 108 m long, and 110 m high, and inside the Cloud booth. Here you will be pleased not only with a beautiful appearance – at the very top of the arch, there are cafes and viewing platforms where you can enjoy the beauties of the western part of Paris.
Eat nearby. If you don’t feel like staying in the cafe upstairs, we have a decent alternative. Don’t be too lazy to walk to O Petit Club to try real African food at a good price by Parisian standards.