The 18 Best Things To Do Alone in Paris

Alone in Paris and don’t know exactly what to do? Being alone doesn’t mean being bored, especially in a city like Paris where the possibilities are numerous. Here’s my list of ideas for you.

 

Climb Montmartre stairs

montmartre
The stairway leading to Montmartre

You can go outside and take a walk to enjoy the Montmartre district.

You can climb up to the Montmartre mound and see the Sacré Coeur. This way you will walk for a bit and enjoy the view at the end. You can also pay one of the several cartoonists on Place du Tertre to draw a caricature of yourself.

 

Take a walk at the Tuileries

jardin des tuileries
The Jardin des Tuileries- Credits : stanze via Flickr

The city of Paris will never run out of parks. To get a nice dose of fresh air, it is always a good thing to go to a Parisian park, especially alone.

The iconic Tuileries Garden is widely enjoyed. It is located very close to the Louvre.

Here you can walk, sit on benches or chairs, lay down on the grass and watch kids play with toy boats in the small pool.

 

Visit the Passage des Panoramas

entrance of the passage des panoramas
The entrance of the Passage des Panoramas – Credits : Rémi Jouan on Wikimedia Commons

In the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, there is a nice roofed passage which kept a style and a charm from distant times.

Indeed, the shops, which are located at each side of the passage, did have a very vintage style we often compare to Paris from a long time ago.

It is covered with a glass roof. There is even a theater and 133 meters of mall hallways for you to enjoy.

 

Go shopping

galeries lafayette
The Galeries Lafayette – emmrichard via Flickr

This is something to do to pass the time if you are alone.

You can’t even count all the places in Paris where you can go shopping anymore. There are so many… but we can advise you to go to the Opéra Haussman sector. There, you can find large stores such as the famous Galeries Lafayette.

 

Take a nap, relax

You can find an unusual bar located at Passage Choiseul in the 2nd Arrondissement of Paris ; it’s a nap bar.

If you feel sleepy, you can go to the ZZZen bar (website in French). It will allow you to sleep in a “relaxation bubble” and even offer you massages.

 

Bargain-hunt at the Saint-Ouen flea market

saint ouen flea market
The Saint-Ouen flea market – Credits : Carsten Sprotte via Flickr

If you choose the right day, during weekends and on Mondays, if you have some money and you want to buy some unusual objects, you must not miss the Saint-Ouen flea market.

Who knows what you will find there?

 

Visit some exotic museums

quai branly exhibition
An Asian arts exhibition at the Quai Branly Museum – Credits : Jean-Pierre Dalbéra via Flickr

Given the fact you are alone, you can take your time and inspect every object if you wish.

To get a different experience from usual museums, you can acquire some knowledge coming from the other side of the planet in some Parisian museums.

Two famous museums we are thinking about :

  • The Quai Branly Museum with its exhibitions about African, Asian, American and even Oceanian civilizations. Here you can see cultures from several, very different people. They come from various places on Earth, but they are all gathered here, and it is very interesting.
  • The Guimet Museum is all about Asian arts. Here you will see artworks people often do not see around here. It is the perfect place to see exotic things from people living on the other side of the planet.

 

Pay tribute to the greatest figures

Père Lachaise
A tombstone in the Père Lachaise – Credits : Pierre-Yves Beaudouin via Wikimedia Commons

From Molière to Jim Morrison, not mentioning Apollinaire and Balzac, at the Père Lachaise you can find prominent people buried who changed the world their own way.

You can contemplate these people’s graves, which most of the time, are unusual or wonderful, but nonetheless interesting to see.

 

Drink and bargain at the Eva Pritsky bar

 

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As we talked about bargaining earlier, here is an unusual concept: someplace mixing up a bar and a flea market.

Everything: the glass, the table, even the painting hanging on the wall is for sale.

This interesting concept will maybe, who knows, find something good among all the objects for sale.

The unique atmosphere from this unique concept is what we enjoy the most here.

 

Discover or rediscover Picasso

picasso museum
Credits: jivedanson via Flickr

If you are interested in this famous Spanish artist from the 20th century, a museum in Paris is fully dedicated to him.

The Picasso Museum is hosted in a mansion and tells the life story of this world-known Modern art figure.

The museum also contains a large part of his artworks. Once again, a big advantage of this visit is that you will be all by yourself, and have all the time you wish to enjoy this museum.

 

Grab a to-go snack

ramen
A ramen bowl- Credits : Guilhem Vellut via Flickr

During your solo-journey in Paris, you may feel a little hungry. Perhaps you wish to eat outside, on a bench or in a park. You’ll have plenty of choices.

We suggest L’Ami Jean at the Invalides. You will have a large choice among to-go traditional dishes coming from south-western France. It’s an unusual concept which will quell your hunger.

Also unusual, you can try the Mardi Crêpe Club. This restaurant only cooks to-go crepes. You will have a wide choice of savory or sweet crepes that you can eat on the way to your next destination, walking the streets of Paris.

And for the most famous to-go dish: ramen from Neko Ramen. (website in French) Expect a lot of different flavours from this exotic Asian cuisine. These homemade dishes will have you discover flavours from the other side of the planet.

 

Use a Vélib

vélibs
Credits : besopha sur Flickr

Vélib is an excellent way to travel in Paris.

With these self-service bicycles, you are free from the subway, with its crowds, strange smells, and from the car and traffic jams.

They are cheap and findable quite everywhere: Paris and its surroundings have around 1400 stations which allow you to borrow one of these bicycles.

There are a lot of cycle paths, and the places you want to visit are close to each other.

 

Visit the Planetarium of the Cité des Sciences

outside the planetarium
Outside view of the Planetarium – Credits: Gabriele Tudico on Flickr

It’s always a breathtaking show: this room is equipped with several high-definition video projectors.

This astronomical simulator will give you gorgeous views showing space and celestial bodies.

The Planetarium’s shows are for all ages, and the duration is usually between half an hour and one hour. They are about subjects like the Moon, black holes, and even Earth with its lights we can see from space.

Needless to say, you will be amazed by this show. Even if you are alone, it is something you must not miss.

 

Watch a movie at the Grand Rex

grand rex
Inside the Grand Rex – Credits: TEDx Paris on Flickr

If you want to take a pause and rest for a bit, especially resting your legs, why not get a ticket to a movie in this iconic movie theater?

Buy a snack and a drink, and sit for two good hours watching the movie of your choice so you can pass the time while you regain some of your energy.

 

Meet new people

 

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You can find a bar with an interesting way to function, Rue Villiot: its concept is to make you make some friends more easily. Here is the Social Bar. (website in French)

This is a bar adopting a very friendly atmosphere. It is very easy to meet some people with, for instance, blind-test games, roleplaying or dancing…

It makes it a very good idea when you go out alone, not to be alone anymore.

Similarly, there are some mobile apps such as OVS (On Va Sortir, website in French) or Meetup which allow you to go outside with an improvised group of people. It is often used for activities like linguistic exchanges, having a drink, going to an exhibition or a conference, etc.

 

Have a drink at a cat bar

 

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The Café des Chats (website in French) is a restaurant and tea room in which dozens of cats live and roam freely.

It is quite unusual because you won’t be alone anymore to have your drink. You will be with several cats eventually giving you some company.

This bar asks you to obey some strict rules, like not to feed the cats yourself.

 

Visit Paris on an electric scooter

If you don’t have any more energy to use a Vélib we mentioned earlier, this activity is just for you.

With this electric scooter by Cityscoot, you can move around Paris to discover the capital city, riding this convenient machine.

Everything is on the app.

You just need to send a copy of your driving license, to register your credit card and book the nearest scooter.

 

Watch the sunset at Champs de Mars (Eiffel Tower)

eiffel tower champs de mars

You can end your day alone with something wonderful to watch: watch the sunset from the Champ de Mars with a nice view on the Eiffel Tower

If the weather is nice enough, you will see a gorgeous orange sky over the shape of Paris’ buildings, as well as the sun setting in the horizon.

There are a lot of other places in Paris to watch a sunset.