Paris on a rainy day

Museums

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  Musée du Louvre · Louvre & Opéra · Mon, Thu, Sat, Sun 09:00–18:00; Wed and Fri 09:00–21:00; closed Tuesday; book a time slot · €22 (EEA) / €32 (non-EEA)
  The world's most visited museum: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and 33,000 more works.
• Musée d’Orsay · Saint-Germain · Tue–Sun 09:30–18:00 (Thu until 21:45); closed Monday · €16
  Impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh and Degas in a former Belle Époque railway station.

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  Musée Carnavalet · Le Marais · Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:15); closed Monday · Free (temporary exhibitions extra)
  The history of Paris from prehistory to today, in two Renaissance mansions in the Marais.

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  Hôtel des Invalides · Eiffel Tower · Daily 10:00–18:00 (Tue until 21:00 during temporary exhibitions); closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec · €17
  Army Museum and the Dôme church holding Napoleon’s tomb, in the former soldiers’ hospital.

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  Musée Rodin · Eiffel Tower · Tue–Sun 10:00–18:30 (last entry 17:45); closed Monday · €14
  The Thinker and the Gates of Hell in a mansion and sculpture garden.

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  Grand Palais · Champs-Élysées · Exhibitions Tue–Sun 10:00–19:30 (Fri until 22:00) · €19 (Cézanne exhibition)
  A 1900 glass-and-iron palace for big exhibitions and events; the building itself is a sight.

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  Catacombs of Paris · Saint-Germain · Tue–Sun 09:45–20:30 (last entry 19:30); timed ticket required · €31; reduced €25; ages 8–17 €15
  Underground ossuary tunnels holding the bones of six million Parisians, 20 m below Denfert-Rochereau.

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  Musée de l'Orangerie · Louvre & Opéra · Mon, Wed–Sun 09:00–18:00 (closed Tue); timed ticket required · €12.50
  Monet's eight huge Water Lilies panels in two oval rooms, plus Cézanne, Renoir and Picasso downstairs.

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  Musée Picasso · Le Marais · Tue–Sun 09:30–18:00 (last entry 17:15) · €16
  The world's largest Picasso collection, in the Hôtel Salé, a 17th-century Marais mansion.

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  Musée de Cluny · Islands & Latin Quarter · Tue–Sun 09:30–18:15 (last entry 17:30) · €12
  Medieval art in Roman baths and a 15th-century mansion, home of the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.

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  Petit Palais · Champs-Élysées · Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00; permanent collection free · Free (temporary exhibitions extra)
  Fine-arts museum of the City of Paris in a Belle Époque palace with a lovely garden café.

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  Grande Galerie de l'Évolution · Islands & Latin Quarter · Wed–Mon 10:00–18:00 (closed Tue) · €10; reduced €7; under 26 free
  Natural history museum in a glass-and-iron hall: a parade of stuffed animals and giant whale skeletons.

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  Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie · Le Marais · Tue–Sat 09:30–18:00; Sun 10:30–19:00 (closed Mon) · €15; Cité des enfants extra
  Europe's biggest science museum in La Villette: hands-on exhibitions, a planetarium and the Argonaute submarine.
• Choco-Story Paris · Le Marais · Daily 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) · €18; children 3–11 €9; workshop €50
  Chocolate museum on three floors with tastings, a live demonstration and a hands-on workshop option.

Careful on Mondays: 9 of these museums are closed. Which museums are open today? →

Churches

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  Notre-Dame de Paris · Islands & Latin Quarter · Mon–Fri 07:50–19:00, Sat–Sun 08:15–19:30; towers by online booking only · Free (towers €16)
  The restored Gothic cathedral, reopened in 2024; free entry, book a time slot online.

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  Sainte-Chapelle · Islands & Latin Quarter · Daily 09:00–17:00 (Oct–Mar); timed tickets, book online · €16 (EEA) / €22 (non-EEA)
  A 13th-century royal chapel whose walls are almost entirely stained glass.

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  Saint-Germain-des-Prés · Saint-Germain · Daily about 08:00–19:45 · Free
  Paris’s oldest church and the heart of the literary café quarter, with Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots.

Shopping under cover

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  Galeries Lafayette Haussmann · Louvre & Opéra · Mon–Sat 10:00–19:30, Sun 11:00–19:30 (free rooftop terrace) · Free
  Belle Époque department store with a stained-glass dome and a free rooftop terrace.
• Jacques Genin (chocolatier) · Le Marais · Tue–Fri 11:00–19:00; Sat 11:00–19:30; Sun 11:00–19:00 (closed Mon) · undefined
  Famed chocolatier and caramel maker with a tea room serving a legendary millefeuille and hot chocolate.

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  À la Mère de Famille · Louvre & Opéra · Mon–Sat 09:30–20:00; Sun 10:00–19:30 · undefined
  Paris's oldest chocolate and sweet shop (1761), with a listed Belle Époque interior and old-fashioned sweets.

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  Printemps Haussmann · Louvre & Opéra · Mon–Sat 10:00–20:00; Sun 11:00–20:00 · undefined
  Grand department store under a stained-glass dome, with a rooftop terrace and views of the Opéra.

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  Covered passages (Panoramas, Vivienne) · Louvre & Opéra · Passage des Panoramas daily 06:00–24:00; Galerie Vivienne daily 08:30–20:00 · Free
  Glass-roofed 19th-century arcades with antique shops, old bookshops, tea rooms and mosaic floors.

Food and drink

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  Paname Brewing Company · Le Marais · Daily 11:00–02:00 · undefined
  Craft brewpub with visible tanks and a terrace right on the Bassin de la Villette.

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  Brasserie de la Goutte d'Or · Montmartre · Wed–Sun about 17:00–23:00 (taproom) · undefined
  Pioneering Paris craft brewery (2012) with a taproom next to the vats and rotating food trucks.

More to see indoors

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  Panthéon · Islands & Latin Quarter · Daily 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:15, Oct–Mar); closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec · €13
  A neoclassical temple where France honours its great figures; Foucault pendulum and crypt.

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  Palais Garnier · Louvre & Opéra · Self-guided visit daily 10:00–17:00; online booking required, no tickets on site · €15
  The ornate 19th-century opera house with its grand staircase, foyer and Chagall ceiling.

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  Conciergerie · Islands & Latin Quarter · Daily 09:30–18:00 (last entry 17:30) · €13; combined with Sainte-Chapelle €23
  Medieval royal palace turned prison where Marie-Antoinette was held, with a huge Gothic guards' hall.

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  Marché des Enfants Rouges · Le Marais · Tue–Wed 08:30–20:30; Thu 08:30–21:30; Fri–Sat 08:30–20:30; Sun 08:30–17:00 (closed Mon) · Free entry
  Paris's oldest covered food market (1628): fresh produce plus Moroccan, Japanese, Italian and French lunch stalls.