Paris for the Second Time – Things to do in Paris After Your First Trip

One life isn’t enough time to explore everything Paris has to offer. After decades of visiting the City of Light regularly, I still discover new places alongside the old favorites I never get tired of.

When you first visited Paris, you probably toured the must-see attractions. It might be cliché, but have you ever been to Paris without seeing the Louvre, the Orsay, taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower, and eating your weight in croissants and cheese washed down by tiny espressos and lots of red wine?

That said, once you have checked all those boxes, your budding relationship with Paris is not necessarily over.

Maybe your first trip made you fall in love with Paris as I did. Maybe you got lucky and scored a cheap flight. Maybe it is a convenient stop before heading to another European destination, or you have family or friends to visit in the area. No matter what reason you may have to go back to Paris, you will always find something new.

In fact, like fine French wine, Paris is even better appreciated over time. With the touristy sites behind you, now it’s time to explore the city “the right way”. Depending on your tastes, what you enjoyed the first time around, and how you prefer to travel, you will probably like Paris more and more as you tailor your little escapes.

Paris is always changing. The atmosphere changes dramatically from one season to the next. If the hordes of tourists and sweltering heat of the summer months were not your cup of tea, try the shoulder seasons of spring and fall (less touristy) or the magical time of the holidays.

You will have a very different experience on a romantic trip to Paris with your partner or a fun getaway with your best friends. Besides, Paris has so many neighborhoods to explore with drastically different identities; you will feel like you are in a completely different city depending on which arrondissement you stay in.

So now that you have checked the Eiffel Tower off your bucket list and French quirks and customs are not so intimidating, what are the best things to do the second (or third, or fourth…) time you visit Paris?

The short answer: build your second trip around what you loved the first time. If you enjoyed the Louvre, try a smaller museum or revisit it. If Orsay stole your heart, follow Monet to the Orangerie and the Musée Marmottan. If Versailles dazzled you, visit Vaux-le-Vicomte or Fontainebleau. Here are my favorite ideas, grouped by what you loved on your first trip.

If you liked the Louvre…

Go back to the Louvre.

The Louvre is the most visited, as well as one of the largest, museums in the world. If your first visit left you hungry for more, don’t hesitate to renew your acquaintance with this famous landmark and its numerous treasures. The Louvre covers nearly 18 acres, with over 400 rooms and 38,000 works of art on display (not including temporary exhibitions).

After paying your respects to Mona Lisa and her famous friends, you can get lost for hours, if not days, in the labyrinthine corridors, admiring lesser-known masterpieces. You can also opt for a treasure hunt through the Louvre for a different perspective!

The good news is that despite the long lines at the entrance (try the underground entrance through the Carrousel du Louvre if the one at the Pyramids is too disheartening), crowds inside – except around Mona Lisa and consorts – feel relatively small given the monstrous size of the building. Get your ticket ahead of time!

A few practical details for your return visit: the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and open from 9:00 to 18:00 on Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, with late openings until 21:00 on Wednesday and Friday. Since January 2026, tickets cost €22 for visitors from the European Economic Area and €32 for everyone else, and a timed entry slot is strongly recommended, so book on the museum’s official website. Visitors under 18 and EU residents under 26 get in free with ID. If you have been before, look for the temporary exhibition Primeval Waters: Lessons from Mesopotamia, which runs until March 15, 2027.

Explore a smaller museum.

Paris is home to over 100 museums – enough to keep you busy even if it’s raining during your stay. Some of them display collections similar (although significantly smaller) to those in the Louvre. If you enjoyed the antiques and medieval artifacts, head to the Musée de Cluny.

Lovers of Asian art will be transported by the Musée Guimet, while the Musée Jacquemart-André and Cognacq-Jay display art collections from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century exhibited in the (stunning) private homes of the original collectors. 

If you loved Orsay…

Explore more of Monet’s artwork

There is no better place to admire some of Monet’s better-known masterpieces than the Orangerie, nestled in the Tuileries gardens. (Reserve your ticket ahead of time.) Built specially to shelter the massive water lily paintings, it is a serene haven in the heart of it all.

A bit further off the beaten path, the Musée Marmottan is dedicated to the life of the father of French Impressionism.

Monet is not alone, since there is also a beautiful permanent collection including paintings by Delacroix, Manet, Degas, Sisley, Pissarro, Gauguin, and Rodin, among many others. Finally, you may also want to include a day trip to Giverny, the celebrated painter’s last home and inspiration.

Walk in the footsteps of other masters of the nineteenth century

The nineteenth century, which constitutes the piece de resistance of the art exhibited in Orsay, is, arguably, one of the Golden Ages of the City of Light. Other museums around Paris celebrate the work of artists besides Monet in their permanent exhibitions.

For example, you can walk among some of the century’s most recognizable sculptures at the Musée Rodin. (Reserve your ticket ahead of time.) If you enjoy Delacroix’s grandeur, you can see more of his work at the Delacroix Museum.

Other great figures of the time made their home in the “Nouvelle-Athénée” in the ninth district. The Musée de la Vie Romantique, nestled in a charming hôtel particulier with a shaded yard, traces the lives of key figures like George Sand and Chopin. After a long renovation, the museum reopened on February 14, 2026, and admission to the permanent collection is free. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, and the tea room in the garden greenhouse makes a lovely spot for a break.

Wander through Paris’ passages

Orsay was once one of Paris’ main train stations and a nineteenth-century center of social life. I have a particular fondness for the building’s light, airy architecture, which may have changed function but still retains its dreamy aesthetic. If you fell under its spell as I did, you should check out Paris’ covered passages.

Like Orsay, many of them feel like a throwback to a more glamorous time. They have the same glass domes that flood the area below with light, and many of them have charming cafes and boutiques that belong in a period novel.

If you loved Notre-Dame…

Visit Notre Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle

Good news: Notre Dame is open again! The cathedral reopened on December 7, 2024, after more than five years of restoration following the April 2019 fire. Entry is free, and you can reserve a free time slot on the cathedral’s official website to skip the wait (there is also a separate line for visitors without a reservation). The bell towers reopened in 2025 and are worth the climb for up-close views of the gargoyles and the city. Tickets cost €16 and are booked separately on the official towers website. Since Sainte-Chapelle is just a short walk away on the same island, it makes a perfect companion visit, and you can enjoy its (rightfully celebrated) stained-glass windows on the same day.

It sits near Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité, within the walls of the Palais de Justice. Reserve your ticket ahead of time.

Visit the Basilica Saint-Denis

Located off the beaten path, the Basilica of Saint-Denis in the north of Paris is the final resting place of the Kings and Queens of France. Its exterior may not be as impressive as Notre Dame, with its elaborate gargoyles and sculptures, but the interior more than makes up for it.

It is considered the birthplace of Gothic architecture and displays a wealth of stained glass and funerary sculptures.

Visit Saint Eustache Parish

Saint Eustache is a sight to behold with its spider-leg-like arc-boutants. Dead set in the middle of Paris in the bustling Halles district, it is also a center of cultural and musical life. If you miss the organ concerts amplified by Notre Dame’s acoustics, Saint Eustache hosts regular performances by symphony orchestras and choral ensembles such as Chœurs de Radio France and the Orchestre National de France.

It also hosts major music and art festivals year-round, including the Festival d’Automne à Paris (in the fall) and Paris Quartier d’été (in summer).

If you loved the Tuileries…

Head to the Jardin du Luxembourg

Like the Tuileries, the Jardin du Luxembourg was designed for the enjoyment of a Medici queen (in that case, Marie, widow of Henri IV) in 1612. Like the Tuileries, Luxembourg is a Jardin à la Française, with orderly alleys, tamed parterres, and grand perspectives. A charming English garden (think a bit more fantasy and less tidy) was added at the south end in the nineteenth century.

If you enjoyed the abundance of statues in the Tuileries, the gentle atmosphere, and lounging in green chairs by the fountain, you will feel right at home in the Luxembourg Garden. Also, have you seen those pictures of Parisian children with their remote-controlled wooden boats? You can find them here!

Stroll in Parc Monceau

Parc Monceau is the unofficial playground of the well-to-do families of the posh 8^th arrondissement, and a green oasis for the bankers and office employees who work nearby. Plus, it is an active free Wi-Fi area, always good to know when you are traveling! Unlike the Tuileries, with its clean-cut trees and obsession with symmetry, Monceau is an English garden.

It was designed as a “fantasy” garden and hosts several follies that make for very Instagram-worthy shots. If you ever wanted to pose next to an Egyptian pyramid, a Chinese fort, a Dutch windmill, or Corinthian pillars, now is your chance!

Get lost in the Jardin des Plantes

France’s most famous botanical garden covers 28 hectares. It includes a zoo, four museums, and several formal and informal gardens and hothouses: enough to keep you busy for an entire day! Located in the heart of the Latin Quarter, it is a great place to hang out on a spring day in this fun neighborhood.

If you loved Versailles…

Take a trip to Vaux-Le-Vicomte

When Versailles was still a hunting lodge hidden in a swamp, one castle surpassed them all. In fact, Vaux-Le-Vicomte served as the inspiration for what is now known as the epitome of extravagance and luxury. It was built for Fouquet, the hugely successful Superintendent of Finances of young Louis XIV. It was conceived as a symbol of his wealth and love for the arts.

The palace was so over-the-top that the King, jealous, ended up having Fouquet imprisoned and built himself an even more impressive castle. It is easy to find where Louis XIV found his inspiration, from the gilded decorations to the French gardens designed by Le Notre. Vaux-Le-Vicomte is located about an hour away from Paris by car or accessible via train from Gare de l’Est. Another option is the R line from Gare de Lyon to Melun (about 25 minutes), where a shuttle runs to the château (booking required). The château is open daily from mid March to early November, so check the season dates before you go, and tickets for the château and gardens cost €18 in 2026.

Visit the Chateau de Chantilly

The stunning Château de Chantilly, located about an hour north of Paris, is relatively recent but no less impressive. The current castle was built in the nineteenth century after the French Revolution destroyed the original mansion, but it is lavishly decorated. Besides, it is home to the second most extensive collection of antique paintings after the Louvre.

The impressive grounds include several gardens, including formal French gardens with large water mirrors designed by Le Nôtre, and a rustic hamlet said to have inspired Marie-Antoinette’s Petit Trianon. Finally, Chantilly is also a meeting point for horse lovers worldwide, with the Museum of the Horse and year-round equestrian shows.

Step back in time at the Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The Chateau de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, located in the elegant Parisian suburb of the same name, houses the National Museum of Archeology. It was a witness to some of France’s most significant historical events, and the residence of many Kings and Queens of France.

Louis XIV was born and raised here, and Saint-Germain-en-Laye was the theater of some of the young Sun King’s first ambitions as a master builder. The monstrously sized building includes elements dating back to the Middle Ages and a fabulous grand terrace designed by Le Notre, which overlooks the Seine and offers vistas of Greater Paris.

Experience the majestic home of 34 Kings at Chateau de Fountainbleu

It always astonishes me that people who have visited Paris more than once have yet to visit the Chateau de Fontainebleau. Like many of its rivals, it’s about an hour from Paris, but far less crowded. This chateau is 50 years older than the Louvre and 500 years older than Versailles, and the unbroken line of French kings spanning eight centuries mainly used it as a hunting lodge.

Each of the 34 kings and 2 emperors added their own touches, making this spot’s mix of styles especially interesting. Plus, I love the beautiful peacocks that live on the grounds!

UPDATE after the 2026 fire: Fontainebleau Forest is partially reopening to the public at midnight on Saturday, August 22. Around 80% of the forest is now accessible.

If you loved the Eiffel Tower…

Climb up the Tour Montparnasse

Update: the Skydeck closed to visitors on March 31, 2026, when the tower began a major renovation that is expected to run until at least 2030. For a view from above in the meantime, climb the dome of the Sacré-Cœur in Montmartre, go up the Eiffel Tower itself (the only higher viewpoint in Paris), or take a flight in the Ballon de Paris described below.

Catch an exhibition at the Grand Palais

The Eiffel Tower (and Orsay, incidentally) are among the last remnants of the 1889 Universal Exhibition. Most of the buildings were never meant to be permanent; people even talked about taking down the Iron Lady itself. However, some escaped, including the Grand and Petit Palais, and the nearby lavish bridge, Pont Alexandre III.

The Grand Palais, with its dwarfing glass roof, hosts rotating exhibits, from art displays to fashion shows during Fashion Weeks or equestrian competitions. Across the street, the Petit Palais houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts. Finally, Alexandre III is arguably one of Paris’s most beautiful bridges, with its golden statues and fabulous view of the Invalides.

Soar over Paris in a hot air balloon

For a fun experience and a beautiful view over the City of Lights (and the Eiffel Tower itself), head to Parc Andre Citroën in the 15th district. There, you will find the Ballon de Paris Generali, the biggest hot-air balloon in the world, which offers the ultimate bird’s-eye view of Paris.

The flight lasts about 15 minutes. Because it depends on weather conditions, you cannot buy tickets in advance, so plan accordingly.

The flight lasts about 10 minutes and takes you up to 150 meters. Tickets cost €20 for ages 12 and up and €15 for children ages 3 to 11, and you can buy them online ahead of time and exchange them at the counter when you arrive. The balloon is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00, but it only flies when the weather allows, so check the flight status on the official website before you go.

If you loved Montmartre…

Wander through Belleville

If you fell in love with the hilly village of Montmartre, with its artsy vibe and scenic views, but not so much with the hordes of tourists that inhabit its cobblestone streets, you will love Belleville. Like Montmartre, Belleville was once an independent village and has retained its strong identity. Like Montmartre, its cheap rents attracted artists, immigrants, and other denizens.

Like Montmartre, its hilly location offers sprawling views of the city below. Unlike Montmartre, the crowds haven’t discovered this hidden gem yet. However, gentrification is on the way, with many trendy hotels, restaurants, and boutiques. However, Belleville (and nearby Ménilmontant) is still a diamond in the rough. It has a striking street art scene, plenty of gritty bars and restaurants, including many ethnic eateries, and a great nightlife.

Get lost in the Butte aux Cailles

The Buttes aux Cailles neighborhood in the thirteenth district is located off the beaten path. Sleepy and charming by day, it comes alive at night as restaurants and bars open their doors. It is one of those places in Paris where you feel miles and miles away from the city, wandering through cobblestone streets and small houses once inhabited by blue-collar workers.

The tree-shaded squares would not be out of place in a provincial village. It is also a great spot to admire street artists’ work.

Explore the Canal St Martin neighborhood

Like Montmartre, the Canal Saint-Martin area (in the 10th arrondissement) is a hipster haven. Between the cute eco-minded boutiques, the farm-to-table eateries, and a slow-paced lifestyle punctuated by picnics along the river, it is a favorite among Parisians and visitors.

It was once a working-class neighborhood, but the warehouses have been transformed into trendy concert and art venues. The canal, with its half-moon pedestrian bridges and tree-shaded banks, is as scenic as it comes.

What’s Changed in Paris Since Your First Visit

Paris never stands still, so if it has been a few years since your first trip, here are the changes worth knowing about before you go.

Notre-Dame has reopened

Address: 6 Parvis Notre-Dame, Place Jean-Paul II

After more than five years of restoration following the fire of April 2019, the cathedral welcomed visitors again on December 7, 2024. Entry is free, with an optional free reservation, and the bell towers reopened in 2025 with their own ticket.

The Louvre has new ticket prices

Address: Rue de Rivoli

Since January 2026, the Louvre charges €22 for visitors from the European Economic Area and €32 for everyone else. A timed entry slot is strongly recommended, so book ahead on the official website.

The Tour Montparnasse Skydeck is closed

Address: 33 Avenue du Maine

The observation deck closed on March 31, 2026 for a major renovation expected to last until at least 2030. For a view over Paris, try the Sacré-Cœur dome or the Eiffel Tower instead.

The Musée de la Vie Romantique has reopened

Address: 16 Rue Chaptal

After about 17 months of work, this charming museum in the ninth arrondissement reopened on February 14, 2026. Admission to the permanent collection is free.

Second Trip to Paris: Frequently Asked Questions

Start planning your Second (or Third or…) Trip

Of course, these are just a couple of suggestions for your second trip to Paris! Most importantly, you will get to enjoy the City of Light at your own pace and, like the locals, master the art of flȃner (aka walking around without a set goal). You never know what you can find on the next street!

Paris can be overwhelming; there is just so much to see. I’m sending over some bucket list and itinerary suggestions!

Now, how about you? What would you add to my list of places to visit on a second trip to Paris?  Do share!

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