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Okay, most people head to the big Paris attractions to tick them off their bucket list. And so they should, because they’re awesome!
But if you dig a little deeper, there are SO many hidden gems in Paris too. From crazy artistic corners of the city to unbelievable pockets of nature, there are secret spots everywhere.
We’ve been visiting the city of love almost every year for longer than we can remember. So in this guide, I’m sharing the most unique areas and sights in Paris that we’ve uncovered along the way.
You’ll find the address at the end of each section too. Honestly, these are some of the coolest things to do in Paris.
⏰ Tight on time? This is the one to book:
Paris Hidden Gems At A Glance
| Hidden gem | Arrondissement |
|---|---|
| 59 Rivoli artists’ squat | 1st, near the Louvre |
| The I Love You Wall | 18th, Montmartre |
| Rue Crémieux | 12th, near Gare de Lyon |
| Parc des Buttes-Chaumont | 19th |
| Petite Ceinture railway | 12th to 20th (we use the 14th) |
| Montmartre’s sinking house | 18th, Montmartre |
| Statue of Liberty, Île aux Cygnes | 15th |
| The red car at Merci | 3rd, Le Marais |
| La REcyclerie | 18th |
| Musée de la Contrefaçon* | 16th |
| Abbey Bookshop* | 5th, Latin Quarter |
| Les Marches* | 16th |
| Avenue de Camoëns viewpoint* | 16th |
| Grand Mosque of Paris* | 5th |
*Recommended by fellow travellers. Almost all of these are free to visit. You’ll pay for food at La REcyclerie and Les Marches, and it’s worth checking entry prices for the Musée de la Contrefaçon and the Grand Mosque before you go.
Check prices:
Map Of Hidden Gems In Paris
All 14 hidden gems in this guide are pinned below, so you can group the ones that are close together. Just tap a pin for the arrondissement and a quick tip.
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9 Hidden Gems In Paris We Love
59 Rivoli Artists’ Squat
Close to the Louvre is Le Squat du 59 Rue de Rivoli, and it’s a VERY unique art museum!
A group of artists took over this abandoned bank building as a squat in 1999. The city legalised it in 2006, and after renovations it reopened in 2009 with around 30 artist studios.
The walls of 59 Rivoli are covered head to toe in artistic graffiti. Loads of the artists claim a room as their studio and show their work to the public.
The museum is free to enter, but you can make a small donation or buy pieces of art from the hosts.
We’d highly recommend a visit to admire all the creative work (and grab some funky pictures while you’re there).
Plus, when we visited, the artists were actually working in their studios. And we got invited into several rooms to chat about their pieces, which you won’t get in a typical Paris museum!
It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, from 1pm to 8pm.
📍Where to find it: 59 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France
Read more: We just mentioned the Louvre, which is also featured in our post: things to do in Paris: 10 attractions you can’t miss
Le Mur Des Je T’aime (The I Love You Wall)
The I love you wall is possibly one of our favourite hidden gems in Paris.
In keeping with the city’s romantic theme, this wall features ‘I love you’ 311 times in 250 languages, across 612 enamelled lava tiles.
Artists Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito knocked on embassy doors and neighbours’ doors until they’d collected every phrase for this monument of love. How amazing is that?!
If you’re in Montmartre, it’s a great little discovery in a small park, and there are very few tourists.
📍Where to find it: Square Jehan Rictus Paris, 75018 France
Read more: We love Montmartre for so many reasons. It also features in: things to do in Paris: 10 attractions you can’t miss and where to stay in Paris: budget to luxury locations.
Rue Crémieux: Paris’ Most Colourful Street
These little houses in the 12th arrondissement, near Bastille and Gare de Lyon, are a bit like Notting Hill in London. They’re a lovely escape from busy city life.
The colourful streets bring so much life to what would otherwise be a concrete jungle.
And like most Europeans, the residents here wouldn’t call it home without a plant or two outside the front door to finish it off.
The street is absolutely beautiful and it’ll give you home envy, no doubt. But it’s also a residential street where real Parisians live.
So if you’re taking pictures and a local is trying to enjoy their home, it’s worth asking whether they mind first.
If you’re going for photos, morning light hits the pastel houses more evenly. By the afternoon, shadows from the buildings can make the street look much darker and busier on camera!
📍Where to find it: Rue Crémieux, 75012 Paris, France
Read more: We also think Bastille is a great place to stay, so it features on our post: where to stay in Paris: from budget to luxury.
Parc Des Buttes-Chaumont
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont has a permanent spot on our list whenever we’re in Paris. It’s full of waterfalls, bridges and great viewpoints!
It’s tucked away in the 19th arrondissement. And it always feels a bit surreal going from a busy high street to such a peaceful place to eat your lunch!
For us, it’s one of the best free things to do in Paris. It’s also one of our favourite places to escape the city noise, especially after a busy morning sightseeing in central Paris.
Tbh, if you consider yourself a hiker, this will give you your fix.
Plus, the hike up to the viewpoint REALLY gets your blood pumping!
We’ve noticed the park gets especially lively in the early evening, when locals finish work and come for picnics or sunset views. But midday feels much quieter and more relaxed.
📍 Where to find it: Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 1 Rue Botzaris, 75019 Paris, France
Read more: We think that Canal-Saint-Martin is a great base, so it’s featured on: where to stay in Paris: budget to luxury locations
Petite Ceinture: Paris’ Abandoned Railway
The Petite Ceinture is an old railway that loops around Paris. Once the metro arrived, passengers dwindled, and the last passenger train ran in 1934.
Today, many sections of the overgrown tracks are covered with an abundance of greenery and flowers, as well as artistic graffiti.
Around 12 to 13 km of its 32 km are now officially open to walk, with entrances from the 12th to the 20th arrondissements. Our favourite way in is the section in the 14th arrondissement near the Catacombs (enter at 124 avenue du Général Leclerc or opposite 96 bis rue Didot). Stick to the official sections, which are usually open from around 8am to 8pm.
Please learn from us on this one. On our first visit, we didn’t realise parts of the Petite Ceinture are only accessible from certain entrances. So now we always enter via the Catacombs side to avoid dead ends!
From there, you get a break from the busy streets and wander along the railway line surrounded by nature.
Read more: More information about the Catacombs can be found on: things to do in Paris: 10 attractions you can’t miss
Montmartre’s Sinking House
Okay, this clever optical illusion has been right in front of us for years and we’ve only just noticed it lol!
As you walk up the hill towards Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre (the nearest metro is Anvers), there’s a small patch of grass on the right, just before the top.
Look behind you and you’ll spot the vibrant orange house.
Then tilt your phone to the left to snap this quirky optical illusion!
📍Where to find it Sacré-Cœur, 35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris, France
Read more: We love Montmartre for so many reasons. It also features on: things to do in Paris: 10 attractions you can’t miss and where to stay in Paris: budget to luxury locations.
The Statue Of Liberty On Île Aux Cygnes
It’s a tiny piece of New York City, smack bang in the middle of the river Seine!
This miniature version of the real statue was gifted to France in 1889 by the United States to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution.
It’s a quarter of the size, but it’s easy enough to spot. You can get to it from Pont de Bir-Hakeim or Pont de Grenelle along a tree-lined walkway!
The Little Red Car At Merci
This retro little red car keeps popping up on Instagram feeds, and it’s often dressed up with seasonal décor!
If you’re in Le Marais, you’ll find it in the small courtyard just off the main high street.
The Merci concept store behind it has loads of fashion and homeware stores, all laid out in a really hip, trendy design.
Merci’s Used Book Café has walls lined with books, and it’s a lovely spot for lunch. And if you love the red car, Merci opened a second store at 19 rue de Richelieu in 2025, with half a red Fiat 500 mounted on the wall.
📍 Where to find it: 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris, France
Read more: We just mentioned Le Marais which also features on: where to stay in Paris: budget to luxury locations.
La REcyclerie
Among all the fancy restaurants in the city is a proper hidden gem, La REcyclerie.
It’s big on reducing waste and recycling materials, and the locally sourced food is of an impeccable standard.
It used to be a train station, and now it’s a vibrant, quirky café that also runs classes like cooking and gardening!
It’s also right by the Petite Ceinture we mentioned earlier.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t take any photos when we visited, so check out their Instagram to see how cool it is. It’s also one of the official entrances to the Petite Ceinture in the 18th arrondissement.
📍 Where to find it: 83 Boulevard Ornano, 75018 Paris, France
5 More Hidden Gems Recommended By Fellow Travellers
We haven’t made it to these five ourselves yet. But they come highly recommended by fellow travellers and travel bloggers, so they’re well worth adding to your list.
Musée De La Contrefaçon (Museum Of Counterfeiting)
Tucked away on a quiet side street of the chic 16th arrondissement is a discreet, classic building with a dark marble plaque: Musée de la Contrefaçon, or Museum of Counterfeit Goods.
It’d be easy to miss if you didn’t know it was there, which makes it a great little hidden gem in Paris.
Its mission is to educate us about fake goods and ring an alarm bell about their use.
Fake goods have economic consequences, of course, but they can also be deadly – for example when fake medicines or drugs are sold to sick people.
The tiny museum, with only a few rooms, does a credible job in showing off the many types of counterfeit products.
From perfumes to children’s toys to art – in many cases, you’d be unable to tell the real from the fake without the museum’s red dots (red means fake, green means real).
You’ll be surprised at just how many fakes are out there.
We all know about the fake Rolexes and Vuitton bags. But there’s counterfeit ketchup and yoghurt too.
On a rainy or cold day in Paris, it’s the perfect spot to spend an hour, and it won’t really take longer than that.
You’ll learn why you should never, under any circumstance, buy an illegal imitation…
Opening hours are limited and it’s usually closed at weekends, so check before you go.
📍Where to find it: 16 Rue de la Faisanderie, 75116 Paris, France
Abbey Bookshop
Hidden away in the Latin Quarter in Paris is the Abbey Bookshop, home to over 40,000 English-language book titles.
Originally opened in 1989 by Canadian Brian Spence, the bookshop’s slogan is “New books, used books, and rare books“.
And although there are a lot of Canadian books on the bookshelves, there are also plenty of other great reads for the Anglo-speaking community.
It’s impossible to walk past the shop without stopping, because the books are quite literally spilling out onto the pavement.
The building itself is an old 18th-century hôtel, Hôtel Dubuisson, and is now a protected building due to its architectural design.
It’s an Instagrammer’s dream, with books piled on barrows outside, the British, American and Canadian flags flying and, of course, the stunning façade of the building itself.
Rue de la Parcheminerie, originally Rue des Escrivains, was an important part of the book trade in the Middle Ages and is where the business of making books in France first started.
It’s a paradise for book lovers, with wall-to-wall books everywhere you look, inside and out.
This quirky little shop has every genre of book you can imagine. And when you go down the stone steps into the basement, you can lose yourself in the joy of reading.
Every nook and cranny is filled with interesting titles and books you’ve probably never heard of.
Brian is also a big supporter of established and up-and-coming authors, regularly inviting them to host events to promote their books and be a part of the community.
And the best part is that there’s always a pot of coffee waiting for you at Abbey Bookshop.
📍Where to find it: 29 Rue de la Parcheminerie, 75005 Paris, France
Les Marches
Next up on this list of hidden gems in Paris is a recommendation from fellow travel blogger – Ali who runs Inspired Lifestyle.
When you are in Paris, one hidden gem you need to get dinner at is the restaurant Les Marches.
Located near the Eiffel Tower, right between the Seine River and the Museum of Modern Art, Les Marches isa Parisian bistro with some of the best authentic French cuisine, friendly staff, and classic decor.
This restaurant is not tacky, touristy, or overdone with decor and mediocre food like a lot of other restaurants you’ll find in Paris.
Instead, it feels authentic and the food is incredible.
Their menus are seasonal, and on the summer menu we ordered the beef filet with béarnaise sauce and truffle and it was easily the best dinner I had when visiting Paris, which included visiting a Michelin-plated restaurant on a previous night.
The staff was very attentive and friendly, and we had a lovely time sitting out on their patio out front.
The restaurant is tucked away on a quiet street just off of the main road that will take you to the Eiffel Tower, and for being so close to a busy area, it was very quiet and calm where we were located.
One tip I suggest is making a reservation for this restaurant.
Although it is not overly touristy, its close proximity to the Eiffel Tower can make it a little bit busy for dinner time and you likely will have to wait for a table if you do not book ahead of time!
Avenue De Camoëns: A Hidden Eiffel Tower Viewpoint
Paris is a beautiful city, and getting a view of the Eiffel Tower is an unforgettable experience.
It’s hard to beat a picnic in Champ de Mars or a sunset from Place du Trocadero.
The problem is that everyone else in Paris has the same idea, so getting a beautiful photo of the Eiffel Tower without several thousand tourists is a bit of a challenge.
Luckily, there’s a street just a 5-minute walk from Place du Trocadero with an extraordinary view of the Eiffel Tower!
This street is Avenue de Camoëns, and the exact spot is at the top of the staircase called Monument à Luís de Camões.
From here you’ve got loads of great compositions, with the Eiffel Tower and a cute lamp post framed by the Parisian apartment buildings on either side.
It’s especially lovely just before sunset. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes early to set up your shots before the Eiffel Tower lights up, and you won’t have to fight the crowds at Trocadéro.
It never gets too busy, but there are usually a couple of other people around, mostly locals looking to escape the crowds.
Compared to the literal thousands of people nearby, it’s quiet and serene. Definitely a hidden gem!
Getting to the Monument à Luís de Camões is easy, as it’s in the heart of Paris. You’ll most likely walk from Place du Trocadero or Passy metro station.
Make sure to have a working sim card in France and Google Maps to find the location.
The Grand Mosque Of Paris
Right in the heart of Paris, among the city’s iconic attractions, is the Grand Mosque of Paris. It’s a hidden gem that brings together architecture, history and tranquillity.
The architecture draws on Spanish-Moorish styles, with an intricate minaret, an elegant prayer room and towering columns covered in vibrant mosaics.
The craftsmanship is exquisite, and it feels like another world in the middle of Paris.
But the highlight for most visitors is the central garden, full of palm trees, orange trees and cypresses. There’s even beautiful wisteria if you’re visiting in late April.
In the middle of the garden are pink marble fountains, so it’s a calm little oasis away from the chaos of Paris. It’s a perfect place to pause and recharge during your itinerary.
The Grand Mosque of Paris also has an inspiring history.
The mosque was built after World War I to honour Muslim soldiers who fought for France – a story still recognised by French historical institutions today.
And during the dark days of World War II, the mosque was a sanctuary of hope.
It sheltered Jewish people facing persecution, although historians still debate how many were saved.
Located in the 5th arrondissement, you can reach the Grand Mosque by taking Line 7 of the Paris Metro and getting off at the Place Monge station.
When you visit, dress modestly, covering your shoulders.
Scarves are available at the entrance if needed.
As this is a place of worship, photography inside the mosque is restricted, and respectful behaviour is expected at all times.
🎟️ Pair it with a classic: after exploring the hidden gems, a Seine river cruise past the Eiffel Tower is a lovely way to end the day.
Key Information About Paris
Best time to visit: June – October
Flight time from the US East Coast: around 7 to 8 hours
Visa: No visa is required unless you’re staying for more than 90 days
Language: French is the main language, however, most also speak English
Currency: Euros
Plug: Type C and E – you’ll need a travel adapter!
Safety: Paris is a safe city to explore both day and night, however always make sure you pack a money belt!
Hidden Gem Hotels In Paris
There are loads of hidden gem hotels in Paris, you just need to know where to look.
Below are a few handpicked hotels that deserve a mention.
🩺 For travel insurance, we use SafetyWing. You can read why in my honest SafetyWing review.
Paris Hidden Gems FAQs
What are the best hidden gems in Paris?
Our favourites are the Petite Ceinture abandoned railway, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, the I Love You Wall in Montmartre and the 59 Rivoli artists’ squat. They’re all free and feel a world away from the busy tourist spots.
Are the hidden gems in Paris free?
Most of the hidden gems on this list are free to visit. You’ll only pay for food and drink at places like La REcyclerie and Les Marches, and some smaller museums charge for entry.
Can you walk the Petite Ceinture in Paris?
Yes. Around 12 to 13 km of the old railway are officially open to walk, with entrances from the 12th to the 20th arrondissements. The sections are usually open from around 8am to 8pm.
Where is the sinking house in Paris?
It’s in Montmartre, just before the top of the hill as you walk up towards Sacré-Cœur. Look back across the patch of grass on the right, and tilt your phone to get the illusion. The nearest metro is Anvers.
Where is the I Love You Wall in Paris?
It’s in the small Square Jehan Rictus, on Place des Abbesses in Montmartre. It’s free to visit during the garden’s opening hours.
More Paris Guides
Hopefully some of these hidden gems in Paris make it onto your itinerary!
And if you’re looking for more help with your trip, we’ve written loads more guides, which you can find below.
- Things to do in Paris / You won’t want to miss some of these bucket list things to do and see in Paris
- Paris in March / Discover why visiting Paris in March is the perfect time
- Where to stay in Paris / This guide covers all the best areas to stay in Paris, from budget to luxury
- Lisbon 2 day itinerary / another easy European city break
- Porto 2 day itinerary / port cellars, tiled churches and river views
- Barcelona 5 day itinerary / Gaudí, beaches and tapas
- Two days in Bologna / one of Italy’s most underrated food cities
- Prague at Christmas / if you love a festive city break
Millie / Stay Wild Travels.
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Written by
Millie Austin
Hi, I'm Millie, a Brit who swapped a London desk job for life in Lima, Peru. Every guide on Stay Wild Travels comes from my own trips, from hiking the Cotswolds and the Peak District to the Swiss Alps and the Andes, with the honest bits included.
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