Paris – lots of free experiences in the city

Paris - Lots of free experiences and activities that you must see in the city is written by Jens Skovgaard Andersen.

Paris is luxury, but also much more

Although the beautiful capital of France is famous for its luxury, it is certainly possible to find exciting and free experiences in Paris. The capital of France is a huge metropolis with a tremendous attraction for travelers and tourists throughout the ages - including this author.

The entry of low-cost airlines has made it cheap to fly to Paris's various airports. But living in the city is not exactly cheap. On the other hand, there are plenty of exciting free experiences in Paris if you know where to look, from picnics by the Eiffel Tower to the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

Paris is a definite mecca for shopping at the high end of the price scale, and the city is full of luxury.

However, it's also possible to enjoy the city's highlights without breaking the bank, and here's my guide to free activities.

The world's largest works can be found in Paris

Everyone knows the world's largest museum with some of the world's greatest works of art. The Louvre is impressive in every way, and there is always a long queue at the entrance. However, the queue usually moves forward. On the first Sunday of the month from October to March, the Louvre is free to enter, which is why it is on the list of free activities in Paris.

It's an offer not to be missed.

Most pilgrimages to Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa - which is surprisingly small. It can be hard to get past the crowd and get a selfie with the picture. Patience and a little agility are the solution. The Louvre is filled with other great works, such as Venus from Milo. Take the time to explore and take it all as an experience.

It is not only the Louvre that has free entry on the first Sunday of the month. This also applies, among other things, to the impressive Musée d'Orsay on the other side of the Seine and the Pompidou centre.

At these museums, admission is free all year round.

If you are under the age of 26, there are several places where you can enter for free every day. Many of the museums are closed either on Monday or Tuesday, so keep an eye on the opening hours, but otherwise museums are full of free activities.

The Seine is the essence of Paris

Paris is crossed by the river Seine and it is obvious to use the river to navigate. Many of the large known buildings are located along the Seine. There are promenades along the water both at street level and closer to the water.

A large number of bridges cross the Seine and tie Paris together transversely, and a promenade should include at least one trip over the Pont Neuf.

This bridge is known for the thousands of padlocks that loving couples have attached to the bridge with the wish of eternal love. Both for young lovers and for everyone else, letting a padlock symbolize love or friendship is one of the great and free experiences in Paris.

Pont Neuf leads from both north and south to the island of Île de la Cité. There are stairs down to the Square de Vert-Galant park at the tip of the island. Here you can enjoy Paris and the Seine from the water's edge. Île de la Cité is also the island that houses Notre Dame Cathedral.

Before you go in search of the Eiffel Tower, there are plenty of great experiences in the old churches and cemeteries in Parfis.

Notre Dame invites you to free experiences in Paris

The cathedral Notre Damee is unfortunately undergoing reconstruction after it partially burnt down in 2019, so please note that it is not open to visitors at the moment. But it will open again at some point.

Notre Dame is of course known to be the focal point of Victor Hugo's novel The Bell Ringer from Notre Dame. But you do not have to have read the book to get something out of the church. The church room itself is impressive and there are lots of little details to explore.

The cathedral is very popular and you are not going to be alone in there. But it's worth the experience no matter what. If you want to go up to the towers and see the view, it costs something, but the church itself is free to visit.

Most other churches in the city also have free entry, and there is something for every style.

Madeleine Church is built in classical style and looks like a temple from the olden days Greece, while the iconic Sacré-Cœur at the top of Montmartre has an almost romantic expression and an excellent view of the city.

Free experiences in Paris can be found in the beautiful cemeteries

After the churches, it is natural to go to the cemetery. These are also on the list of free activities in Paris, and there are two cemeteries in particular that attract attention as they are the final resting place of some of the international celebrities of the past.

Funeral monuments in France are somewhat more pompous than at home.

There is much to learn about the culture and history by exploring among the many gravestones, mausoleums and memorials, which are close together and a little jumbled together.

Visit the tombs of the famous

In the southern part of the city is the cemetery Montparnasse. Here, with a little luck, a card or just good detective skills, you can find burial sites from celebrities like Samuel Beckett, Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge Gainsburg.

In the eastern part of the city is the large cemetery Père Lachaise.

It houses celebrities such as Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin, Édith Piaf and, not least, Jim Morrison, whose grave site and the fence in front are always decorated with graffiti and various effects.

A stroll with Wikipedia at hand is an excellent introduction to history via Paris' famous residents.

Belleville - street art and crucible

Just north of the Père Lachaise cemetery is one of Paris' most colorful and international districts, Belleville, which is an obvious place to include in my guide to free experiences in Paris.

The district is located up some semi-steep streets and has for many decades welcomed large groups of immigrants from all over the world.

This is also where you will find one of Paris' chinatowns. There is a strip of small and cheap Chinese restaurants, which are crammed with both Chinese Parisians and students from the neighborhood. There is always life in the streets.

Belleville is in some places a large outdoor gallery where street art of any kind are allowed to put colors on the walls. It is also a neighborhood where the political currents can be seen in the streetscape, and where left-wing groups traditionally dominate with posters and messages. This neighborhood invites you to many free activities, and you just have to enjoy it all.

If you walk down Rue de Belleville from the Pyrenees metro station, you pass the stairwell, which was the childhood home of singer Édith Piaf. And you have a nice view down the street with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Forward with the camera in the photogenic Paris

Paris is perfect for long walks through the many streets, and the city's iconic buildings make it an obvious photo destination.

You will very often have the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the high-rise buildings of La Défense, the Church of the Invalides, the Sacré-Cœur or the big Ferris wheel on the Place de la Concorde in the background. It just makes you want to pull out the camera.

A stroll along the Seine to the west will take you past a statue of the Statue of Liberty, which is a smaller version of the one in New York. The silhouette of the Eiffel Tower follows you around the tour.

It is a really good experience to sit with your lunch and look at Paris right next to the free art museum Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris in the embassy area east of the Trocadéro. At the museum itself, you can see works by, among others, Picasso, Matisse and our own Per Kirkeby.

Of course, Paris has also attracted the attention of film directors from near and far. A walk around the streets can be used to spot well-known locations. For example from films such as Amélie, The Da Vinci Mystery and Ratatouille.

It's just a matter of discovering the many free experiences in Paris that you can capture with your camera, from the Arc de Triomphe to the Eiffel Tower.

Picnic and romance on the list of free experiences in Paris

Of course, a romantic city like Paris also has a collection of world-class parks, and since they are open to the public, it is on the list of free activities. The Tuileries, which are next door to the Louvre, are an obvious place to go for a walk. And it's a great place to people-watch.

The same applies to the Luxembourg Garden south of the Seine at the Latin Quarter and the botanical garden further east.

A slightly special park is the Parc de Buttes-Chaudmont, which is laid out on the slopes at Belleville. Here there are both waterfalls and dramatic scenery. Take a sandwich and something to drink in hand and sit down after the walk, which goes somewhat uphill.

Wine and rest by the Eiffel Tower

Another park with an obvious picnic option is the Champ-de-Mars below the Eiffel Tower. With a picnic basket and a bottle of wine with the Eiffel Tower as a neighbor, it doesn't get much more Paris, so it's the last item on my list of free experiences in Paris.

See much more about traveling in France here

We hope you have been inspired on how to enjoy beautiful Paris without breaking the bank.

Bon voyage!