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The 12 Best Free Things to Do in Paris (2026)

Updated October 2026 · 12 picks

The best free things to do in Paris in 2026 are visiting Notre-Dame and Sacré-Cœur, the free museums (the Petit Palais, Musée Carnavalet and Musée d'Art Moderne), Père Lachaise Cemetery, the Luxembourg Gardens and the free rooftop terrace at Galeries Lafayette.

Paris is surprisingly generous: the permanent collections of the City of Paris museums are free, the great churches cost nothing to enter, and some of the best views in town are from public steps and department store roofs.

1. Notre-Dame Cathedral — 4th arr. · Île de la Cité

Paris's great Gothic cathedral, reopened in 2024 and free to enter.

Best for First-timers · Families · Budget

Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire, and its restored nave, chapels and rose windows are brighter than they have been in generations. Entry is free.

Reserve a free time slot online to skip most of the line, or go at opening time. Masses are open to everyone, and there are often free organ recitals — check the cathedral's calendar.

Good to know: The tower climb is paid, but the view of the façade from the square and from Square Jean XXIII behind the cathedral is free.

6 Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

2. Sacré-Cœur & Montmartre — 18th arr. · Montmartre

A free basilica and the best free panorama in Paris from its steps.

Best for First-timers · Couples · Budget

The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur is free to enter, and the terrace in front of it, at the top of the Butte Montmartre, looks across the whole of Paris. Its huge apse mosaic is one of the largest in the world.

Then wander Montmartre's lanes: Place du Tertre, Rue de l'Abreuvoir, the Montmartre vineyard and the Wall of I Love Yous in Square Jehan Rictus. All free.

Good to know: Avoid the street sellers and "friendship bracelet" scam on the main steps — take the Rue Foyatier stairs at the side or the funicular (metro ticket).

35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 75018 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

3. Petit Palais — 8th arr. · Champs-Élysées

A free Beaux-Arts palace of art with a lovely garden café.

Best for Art lovers · Couples · Budget

Built for the 1900 World's Fair, the Petit Palais is the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts. Its permanent collection — from antiquity to Courbet, Monet, Cézanne and Art Nouveau — is free, and the building itself, with its golden gates and mosaic floors, is a showpiece.

The semicircular inner garden with its café is one of the city's calmest spots. Closed on Mondays.

Good to know: Pop across the street to see the Grand Palais's glass roof and then walk down to Pont Alexandre III.

Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

4. Musée Carnavalet — 3rd arr. · Le Marais

The free museum of the history of Paris, in two Marais mansions.

Best for History · Families · Budget

The Carnavalet tells the story of Paris from prehistoric canoes to the present day, with shop signs, paintings of the old city, Revolutionary relics and reconstructed rooms, including Marcel Proust's bedroom. The permanent collection is free.

The formal gardens are a peaceful break from the Marais' busy streets. Closed on Mondays.

Good to know: Pick up the free floor plan — the museum is a maze of rooms across two buildings.

23 Rue de Sévigné, 75003 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

5. Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris — 16th arr. · Trocadéro

A free collection of 20th-century art, including Matisse and Dufy's giant electricity mural.

Best for Art lovers · Budget

In the Palais de Tokyo's east wing, the City of Paris's modern art museum has a free permanent collection that covers Fauvism, Cubism and beyond, with Matisse's La Danse and Raoul Dufy's vast mural La Fée Électricité as highlights.

Temporary exhibitions are paid. The terrace between the two wings looks across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.

Good to know: With the Centre Pompidou closed until around 2030, this is the best free modern art in Paris.

11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

6. Maison de Victor Hugo — 4th arr. · Place des Vosges

Victor Hugo's apartment on the Place des Vosges, free to visit.

Best for History · Budget · Couples

Victor Hugo lived on the Place des Vosges for 16 years, and his second-floor apartment is now a free museum of his life, with his own drawings and the extravagant Chinese drawing room he designed. The courtyard café is a quiet stop.

Afterward, sit under the arcades or on the lawns of the Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris. Closed on Mondays.

Good to know: Combine it with the Carnavalet, a five-minute walk away, for a free morning in the Marais.

6 Place des Vosges, 75004 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

7. Père Lachaise Cemetery — 20th arr. · Père Lachaise

The most visited cemetery in the world — a hilly city of tombs and famous graves.

Best for History · Budget · Couples

Père Lachaise covers a large hillside in eastern Paris with cobbled lanes, chestnut trees and elaborate tombs. Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Édith Piaf, Chopin, Molière and Gertrude Stein are among those buried here.

It is free and open daily. Allow two hours, and pick up a map at the entrance or download one in advance — it is easy to get lost.

Good to know: Enter at the top (Gambetta metro) and walk downhill to the main gate on Boulevard de Ménilmontant.

16 Rue du Repos, 75020 Paris, France

Google Maps

8. Luxembourg Gardens — 6th arr. · Saint-Germain

The quintessential Paris park, with the Medici Fountain and the Senate palace.

Best for Families · Couples · Budget

Formal paths, fountains, statues of French queens, orchards and the big octagonal pond: the Jardin du Luxembourg is Paris at its most elegant. Free entry, free green chairs.

There is a large playground (small fee), puppet shows and pony rides for kids. Open from early morning until dusk.

Good to know: The Medici Fountain on the east side is the most romantic corner — bring a picnic.

Rue de Médicis – Rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

9. Galeries Lafayette Rooftop Terrace — 9th arr. · Opéra

A free rooftop with views over the Opéra Garnier to the Eiffel Tower.

Best for First-timers · Couples · Budget

Take the escalators to the top of the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store to reach a free open-air terrace with a near-360° view: the Palais Garnier's green roof right in front, the Eiffel Tower and, on a clear day, Sacré-Cœur.

On the way, look up at the store's famous stained-glass dome. The terrace is open during store hours, weather permitting.

Good to know: Go just before closing in summer for golden evening light over the rooftops.

40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France

Google Maps Website

10. Coulée Verte René-Dumont — 12th arr. · Bastille to Bois de Vincennes

The world's first elevated park, on an old railway viaduct.

Best for Couples · Walkers · Budget

Long before New York's High Line, Paris turned a disused railway into a planted walkway. The Coulée Verte starts near Bastille on top of the Viaduc des Arts (whose arches house craft workshops) and runs east for several kilometers toward the Bois de Vincennes.

It is a peaceful, green walk above the traffic, past apartment windows and through gardens and tunnels.

Good to know: Walk the first section from Avenue Daumesnil to Jardin de Reuilly — the most beautiful part.

1 Coulée Verte René-Dumont, 75012 Paris, France

Google Maps

11. Canal Saint-Martin — 10th arr. · Canal Saint-Martin

Iron footbridges, locks and plane trees — the city's favorite place for an evening picnic.

Best for Couples · Budget · Locals

The Canal Saint-Martin runs north from République through a series of locks and green iron footbridges, lined with cafés, bookshops and boutiques. On warm evenings, locals sit along the edge with wine and takeaway.

Walk north to the Bassin de la Villette, where the canal widens. It's free, and the best way to see a less touristy Paris.

Good to know: Pick up a picnic from Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis or Du Pain et des Idées nearby.

Quai de Valmy, 75010 Paris, France

Google Maps

12. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont — 19th arr. · Buttes-Chaumont

Paris's most dramatic park, with cliffs, a lake and a hilltop temple.

Best for Families · Couples · Budget

Built in the 1860s on an old quarry, the Buttes-Chaumont is the most theatrical of Paris's parks: steep lawns, a lake with an island crowned by the Temple de la Sibylle, a suspension bridge and a cave with a waterfall.

The temple has views to Sacré-Cœur. On weekends it fills with Parisian families and picnickers. Free entry.

Good to know: Climb up to the Temple de la Sibylle for the best view, then grab a drink at Rosa Bonheur in the park.

1 Rue Botzaris, 75019 Paris, France

Google Maps

Frequently asked questions

Which museums in Paris are free?

The permanent collections of the City of Paris museums are always free, including the Petit Palais, the Musée Carnavalet, the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris and the Maison de Victor Hugo. Temporary exhibitions are paid. National museums such as the Louvre and Orsay are free for under-18s and EU residents under 26.

Is the Louvre ever free?

Yes — the Louvre is free on the first Friday evening of each month except July and August, but you still need to book a free time slot online. It is also free for under-18s, and for EU residents under 26.

Where can I see Paris from above for free?

The steps of Sacré-Cœur, the rooftop terrace of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, Parc de Belleville and the top of Parc des Buttes-Chaumont. For a paid view, the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower are the classics.

Is Notre-Dame free to visit?

Yes. Entry to Notre-Dame is free, and you can reserve a free time slot online to skip most of the line. Only the tower climb is paid.

What are free things to do in Paris with kids?

The playgrounds and toy sailboats of the Luxembourg Gardens, the islands and caves of the Buttes-Chaumont, the Petit Palais, and picnics on the Seine riverbanks. For paid highlights, see our guide to the best attractions in Paris.

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