9 spots to skip in Paris (and where to go instead)

Spoiler alert: Skip the Louvre

Apr 08, 2026

I’ve had the luxury of visiting Paris four times: as a precocious 13-year-old on my first trip abroad; as a thrifty (read: broke) student during my semester abroad; with my sister as a 30-something; and again, last fall, with my mom in tow.

Over the course of those four visits, I’ve learned which Paris experiences are worth the time and the crowds - and which ones aren’t.

Keep reading to learn why you should skip the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, and instead make time for a sidecar tour and a 19th century taxidermy shop.

For mouthwatering macaroons and too-pretty-to-eat pastries:

Skip Ladurée, go to Pierre Hermé instead

Come to Pierre Hermé for the avant-garde macaroon flavors (salted-butter caramel and apples, olive oil and vanilla, cocoa and seaweed, among many, many others), stay for the iconic Ispahan, the rose, raspberry and lychee confection of my dreams. Can confirm: the Ispahan is best enjoyed with a crisp glass of Domaine Vacheron’s 2023 Sancerre.

Need another reason to skip Ladurée in favor of Pierre Hermé? According to our Paris by Mouth food tour guide, Pierre Hermé makes all of their pastries fresh daily. Ladurée is known to freeze and defrost. L’horreur!

For cabinet-of-curiosity vibes, without the crowds:

Skip the Louvre, go to Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

It feels a bit iconoclastic to tell you to skip the world’s most-visited art museum - and I do genuinely love the Louvre.

But what I don’t love? Buying timed tickets months in advance, queuing for anything and everything, and trying to appreciate just a small fraction of the 35,000 masterworks on display with the roar of hundreds of scream-talking tourists ringing in my brain.

That’s why I’m sending you to get your art fix at Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, a private museum that pays homage to the relationship between man and beast.

The vibe is jewel box-meets-naturalist’s lair, home to a taxidermy menagerie, enough weapons to fill an armory, and an extensive collection of animal portraits hung salon-style against a backdrop of silk damask wall coverings and gilded moldings.

My personal favorite space: the Diana cabinet, a dark fairy tale of an installation by Belgian artist Jan Fabre. The walls of the small room are covered in a lush green silk velvet, but you must look up for the pièce de résistance: the ceiling is covered with six owl heads, assembled from duck, pheasant and partridge feathers and outfitted with prosthetic human eyes.

Best of all? The museum still flies under-the-radar, especially with first-time visitors to Paris, which makes for a hassle-free experience. It’s easy to snag same day tickets, galleries are blissfully uncrowded, and you can see the entire museum in less than 2 hours, without feeling rushed.

To get your royal court fix without leaving town:

Skip Versailles, go to Hôtel de la Marine

Full disclosure: I’ve never been to Versailles - not for lack of interest, but lack of time. Doing Versailles justice - with enough time to fully explore the palaces and gardens - is a full day affair.

When my mom and I visited Paris for a long weekend last fall, neither one of us was interested in sacrificing an entire day to make the trek to and from Versailles. Instead, we opted for a visit to Hôtel de la Marine, steps from Place de la Concorde, to see the restored 18th century apartments of Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville-d’Avray, the royal courtier responsible for overseeing the King’s collection of furniture, tapestries and jewelry.

The private apartments have been meticulously restored, and though the opulent furnishings are fit for a king, the spaces still somehow manage to feel lived-in: it was easy to imagine friends gathering for a feast in the dining room or a raucous round of cards in the game room, before the Intendant’s family retired to their private rooms, tucking their toy poodle into a tiny dog bed before closing the silk canopy curtains.

There was eye candy everywhere we looked: polished wood floors with a geometric inlay, towering hand-painted wall panels, enormous tapestries and silk damask wall coverings, and even a miniature Hall of Mirrors in a small, mirrored salon off of the bedroom. This is where Pierre-Elisabeth de Fontanieu was known to entertain his paramours; the mirrors were originally painted with nude women on pedestals, until his successor’s wife insisted on repainting with the more modest cherubs shown today.

We had no issue purchasing same day timed tickets when we visited in early November; high season visitors may prefer to purchase tickets in advance. The audio guide is well worth a listen, bringing the apartment’s inhabitants to life with creative multimedia storytelling (pro tip: hold on to your headset when you’re ogling the chandeliers).

For the best panoramic views in Paris:

Skip the Eiffel Tower, go to the Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel Tower is an extraordinary feat of engineering. But the structure is so tall - the highest viewing platform towers 900 feet above the city while most Parisian buildings top out at just 6-7 stories - that the city’s zinc rooftops, carved limestone facades and wrought iron balconies disappear into the distance.

That’s why I prefer the views from the observation deck of the Arc de Triomphe. At just 160 feet above the city, it’s high enough to get a bird’s eye view of the 12 sprawling Hausmannian boulevards that converge at the Place de l’Étoile roundabout, but not so high that you can’t peek into the windows of the nearby embassies and luxury apartment buildings. This vantage point makes the Eiffel Tower’s scale even more impressive, too: the tower looms over the city, looking almost like a child’s toy haphazardly plopped between the low-rise facades nearby.

Same day, timed tickets are usually available, though you may prefer to book ahead if you’re traveling during peak times. Make sure to wear your walking shoes for the 286-step trek to the observation deck (an elevator is available on an as-needed basis).

Pro tip: if you’re taking the metro, do not follow the signs for the Grande Arche station, as we did. This will land you in La Défense, Paris’ gleaming business district, standing underneath a massive ultramodern arch that is - confusingly - not the Arc de Triomphe. The correct station is Charles de Gaulle-Étoile.

For a jaunt down the Champs-Élysée worthy of a movie montage:

Skip the Champs-Élysée stroll, take a sidecar tour instead

Though the Champs-Élysée looks iconic in photos, the walk from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe leaves much to be desired: the sidewalks are overcrowded and the shops are overpriced, with pickpockets and scammers aplenty.

Enter Retro Tour Paris’ motorcycle sidecar tours. Our dapper driver, Julien, picked us up at Place de la Concorde, helmets and goggles in hand, and whisked us down the Champs-Élysée for a whirlwind spin around the Arc de Triomphe’s chaotic, free-for-all roundabout (confirming that I have no desire to ever drive in Paris). We then wound our way through cobblestoned side streets, gawking at the impossibly elegant Hausmannian apartment buildings and well-heeled pedestrians, before making our way to the Left Bank and ending our tour at the Eiffel Tower.

Tour options range from an hourlong spin through the city to custom half- and full-day itineraries. If you’re traveling in a group, reach out ahead of time to ensure they can accommodate your group size: our sidecar was fit for one person only (my sister gleefully called dibs) while I rode on the back of Julien’s bike.

To shop for handcrafted Parisian ceramics:

Skip Astier de Villatte, go to Alix D. Reynis

Astier de Villatte’s ceramics are a cult-classic for a reason: whimsical patterns, expert craftsmanship, and eye-popping prices to match. But, regrettably, even their flagship location on Rue Saint-Honoré is not equipped to deal with the throngs of fans that make their pilgrimage each year. Even in the off-season, the shop’s interior is stuffy and cramped, and it’s impossible to even turn around without feeling as though you’re at risk of toppling an entire shelf of €600 vases.

Head to Alix D. Reynis’ workshop-cum-boutique in Saint-Germain-des-Prés instead, where you can browse the floor-to-ceiling shelves of Limoges-made porcelain at your leisure. The shop is beautifully styled, expertly merchandised, and (surprisingly) reasonably priced. You’ll feel as though you’re browsing your chic Parisian friend’s perfectly-lit pied-à-terre, and you’ll be hard-pressed to go home empty-handed (unless you, like me, already have a chandelier in your carry-on to contend with).

For brocante browsing, minus the Saint-Ouen overwhelm:

Skip Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, go to a pop-up brocante instead

It pains me to say that you should skip Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. But this labyrinthine network of flea markets in a suburb north of Paris, favored by designers and style insiders alike, can be overwhelming for first-time visitors, even under the best of circumstances. Best to save Saint-Ouen for when you’re fully caffeinated, flush with cash, and have an entire (ideally, sunny) day to devote to treasure hunting.

Instead, when you’re short on time, prioritize finding the nearest brocante using brocabrac.fr as your guide. These neighborhood flea markets pop-up year-round, bringing professional antiques dealers and hobbyists to the streets of Paris.

Depending on the market and the day, you’ll find an eclectic mix of items: when we browsed the brocante along the Rue Saint-Placide, we saw loads of porcelain, silver, jewelry, and bric-a-brac (and yes, enough lighting to make my heart flutter). Some stalls were perfectly curated, while others consisted of just a few partially unpacked boxes; it’s worth taking your time to sift through these boxes, as that’s where the best deals are often found.

Bring cash (though some dealers accept cards for higher ticket items), and if you’re really on top of things, a Hulken tote (IYKYK) to lug your treasures back to your hotel.

For English-language reading material:

Skip Shakespeare and Company, go to The Red Wheelbarrow

I first visited Shakespeare and Company at the tender age of 13, at the height of my binge-reading phase. Though I wasn’t running low on reading material - I’d lugged a 1,000 page copy of Gone with the Wind to Paris with me - I was instantly enamored with Shakespeare and Company’s creaky wood floors, ancient teetering bookshelves, and the cat that dozed peacefully behind the counter. Of course, I didn’t leave empty handed; I walked out with a worn, used copy of The Thornbirds (clocking in at a mere 600 pages) and a pile of postcards.

Fast forward to 2022, when I dragged my sister to Shakespeare and Company after a boozy, four-course lunch at Les Papilles. It was just as I’d remembered it, except for the line that snaked halfway down the block, a first floor that had been streamlined for better traffic flow, and what felt like an emphasis on new titles over used tomes. There was something about it that felt Disney-ified that I just couldn’t put my finger on.

You can imagine my delight, then, to stumble upon The Red Wheelbarrow, a bilingual independent bookstore across from Luxembourg Gardens, on my most recent visit to Paris. This tiny storefront, with its powder blue facade and cheerful red lettered sign, is stocked with hundreds of English-language titles, courtesy of its Canadian-born proprietor, Penelope Fletcher. Tall windows flood the shop with natural light, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves maximize every inch of space, and the library ladder is the stuff of any bibliophile’s dreams.

Shopping for little ones? Make sure to pop next door to The Red Balloon, too, for a broad selection of children’s books.

For old world character and bespoke souvenirs:

Skip Officine Universelle Buly 1803, go to Deyrolle

Officine Universelle Buly 1803 is another Parisian insider-favorite that’s now officially on the TikTok traveler circuit. And it’s hard to blame the TikTokers: though the brand was founded in 2014, it looks and feels like a French heritage brand, with its old world-apothecary-style interiors, beautifully packaged beauty products, and commitment to monogramming anything and everything. Now that it’s gone viral, though, the lines are out-the-door and wait times are at an all-time high.

Deyrolle feels like a well-kept secret in comparison (perhaps thanks to the strict “no photos inside” policy). This second floor taxidermy workshop is a dazzling 19th century wunderkammer - German for “room of wonder” - in every sense of the word; wandering its rooms staged dramatically with every manner of creature feels a bit like stumbling into a zoologist’s fever dream.

Every specimen is as visually arresting as the next; the albino peacock and the gigantic snake skeletons reconstructed under enormous cloches have lived rent free in my head ever since our most recent visit.

Though my squeamish 13-year-old self could only tolerate a short visit, this time around I was enthralled with every detail I laid eyes on: the polished wooden cabinets with turquoise painted interiors, the creepy-crawlies mounted in dizzying geometric patterns, the handwritten scientific labels. I could have spent hours in the back room sifting through the deep drawers filled with perfectly-preserved butterflies, where it’s possible to work with a Deyrolle associate to design your own custom creation 🦋.

I’m already dreaming up my next visit to Paris, and I’d love to know: What spots would you skip, and why?