Day Tours in Paris
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Favorite Paris Day Tours
Strolling Along the Seine. Lovers still walk hand in hand alongside it, and vendors on its banks still peddle everything from postcards to 100-year-old pornography. Some energetic types walk the full 11km (7-mile) stretch of the river, but you may want to confine your stroll to central Paris, passing the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and pont Neuf.
Window-Shopping Along the Faubourg St-Honoré. In the 1700s, this was home to the wealthiest of Parisians; today, it’s home to the stores that cater to them. Even if you don’t buy anything, you’ll enjoy some great window-shopping with all the big names, like Hermès, Larouche, Lacroix, Lanvin, Courrèges, Cardin, St-Laurent, and Lagerfeld.
Enjoying an Afternoon of Cafe-Sitting. The Parisian cafe is an integral part of the city’s life. Even if it means skipping a museum, spend some time at a cafe. Whether you have a coffee or the most expensive cognac in the house, nobody will hurry you, and you can see how the French really live. See our recommendations in chapter 4.
Taking Afternoon Tea à la Française. Get down to the business of rich, luscious desserts like Mont Blanc, that creamy purée of sweetened chestnuts. Try it at the grandest Parisian tea salon: Angélina, 226 rue de Rivoli. A close rival is the Salon de Thé Bernardaud, rue Royale, run by the Limoges-based manufacturer of fine porcelain. Teatime here is unique: A staff member presents you with five porcelain patterns and you choose the one in which you’d like your tea served.
Attending an Opera or a Ballet. In 1989, the acoustically perfect Opéra Bastille was inaugurated to compete with the grande dame Opéra Garnier, then reserved for dance only and eventually closed for renovations. Now the Garnier has reopened, and opera has returned to its rococo splendor. A night here will take you back to the Second Empire,
