Things to Do in Paris

Primarily associated with the steady gaze of Leonardo Da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa, Paris' Louvre museum is home to a 35,000-strong collection of paintings and sculptures considered one of the greatest in the world. The contemporary glass Louvre Pyramid heralds the museum's entrance, which millions of tourists flock to every year to feast their eyes on masterpieces that span from antiquity to the 20th century.

Opened in 2005, the Shoah Memorial, or Memorial de la Shoah, is a museum located in the Marais, Paris’ 4th arrondissement, dedicated to the 76,000 French Jews deported from France to Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Honoring their memory through a series of poignant monuments and focusing on educating the public about the harrowing truths of the Holocaust, the museum is one of the country’s most moving tributes to its Jewish population.

Exhibits are centered around a number of memorials including the moving Wall of Names, a series of tall stone plinths listing the names and dates of French Jews lost in the war. The Crypt, a huge Star of David carved out of black marble, is a symbolic tomb for the millions of unburied Jews, containing ashes recovered from the concentration camps, and the heartrending Children’s Memorial showcases eerily lit photographs of some of the 11,000 children murdered. The strikingly effective installations are set against a permanent exhibition of artifacts, photographs and letters reclaimed from the camps, including video testimonies from the some of the 2,500 surviving French Jews, a library and a detailed history of anti-Semitic persecution.

Among the disturbing accounts though, there remains an optimistic outlook, with the focus finally shifting to the recovery of France’s Jewish community and modern day society, and the Memorial mission proclaimed as ‘Understanding the past to brighten the future’.

Tucked behind the Bastille in Eastern Paris, the Marché d’Aligre is one of the capital’s liveliest markets, mixing the traditional and the bohemian with plenty of rustic French charm. The market is split into two parts: the Marche Beauvau, one of the few remaining covered markets in the capital, and an outdoor flea market where everything from antiques and crafts (including many African and Asia works), to clothes and fresh flowers, is on sale. Seasonal fruits, vegetables and meat line the indoor stalls, alongside huge slabs of local cheeses, fresh oysters and delicious baked goods, and there are plenty of free samples available to challenge your taste buds.

The market is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9am-4pm, as well as Sunday mornings; although many stallholders take a break for lunch around 1pm. The surrounding streets are packed with bijou cafes and charming eateries where you can watch the world go by while sampling some fine cuisine. 

The striking edifice presiding over Paris' 5th arrondissement Latin Quarter, the historic La Sorbonne is renowned as one of the first European centers of higher education, housing the prestigious Collège de Sorbonne since its founding in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon.

It’s the building itself that garners the most attention, a sprawling campus rebuilt in 1653 by Cardinal de Richelieu to the designs of architect Jacques Lemercier. A blend of Baroque and Renaissance styles replaced the original medieval structure, but the last remaining building from this period is the iconic domed Romanesque Chapelle de la Sorbonne (the Chapel of La Sorbonne), where the sculpted tomb of Cardinal de Richelieu is housed. A wander through the Sorbonne courtyard and café-lined plaza offers views of the amphitheaters, library and observatory (which was reconstructed by Henri Paul Nénot in the late 19th-century), showcasing a picturesque variety of architectural styles.

Today, the building houses four divisions of the prestigious University of Paris -- the Pantheon-Sorbonne University, the Sorbonne Nouvelle University, the Paris-Sorbonne University and the Paris Descartes University -- as well as the extensive Sorbonne Library, and is open to the public only through pre-book guided tours.

One of largest and most varied antiques and flea markets in world, stretching over an incredible seven hectares, the Marché aux Puces de Saint Ouen (Saint Ouen Flea Market) is more than just a market: it’s a Parisian institution. Listed as a French urban heritage site, the weekend market encompasses up to 3,000 exhibitors and is split into fifteen separate sections, each with a unique atmosphere and array of goods.

With everything from antique furnishings retailing for tens of thousands of Euros to cheap and cheerful souvenirs for less than a Euro, the variety at the market is truly unbeatable. For antique and vintage pieces, the Marché Malassis and Marché Paul Bert areas are most popular, while eccentric treasures abound in the Marché Vernaison, where Moroccan rugs, Chanel perfume decanters, 19th-century ornaments and even French military wares are among the unique finds. Porte de Clignancourt houses the bulk of the bargain clothes stalls, but try Marché Dauphine or Marché Serpette for vintage clothing and jewelry, and for general bric-a-brac and clearance items the Marché Lecuyer has some great bargains.
The historic markets date back to 1885, when a jumble of stalls took over the plot on the city outskirts but today the stretch is more like a rambling village, where jovial banter and heated haggling offer a glimpse of traditional France at its most authentic.  You’ll need to work hard for your bargains though -- with thousands of visitors attending each week, vendors save the best deals for those willing to attempt a bit of local lingo.