Paris Sas Museums

What drew you to Paris as a place you might like to visit?

Off the top of my head:

Eiffel Tower
Arc de Triomphe
Napoleon's Tomb
Notre Dame
Sainte-Chapelle
Basilica St-Denis
Pere Lachaise Cemetery
Tuileries Gardens
Luxembourg Gardens
Saint-Sulpice
Walking along the Seine from Notre-Dame to Eiffel Tower
--->Looking at the Bouquinistes stalls lining the Seine near ND
Walking from The Trocadero to Eiffel Tower to Ecole Militaire
The Marais
The Latin Quarter
Pantheon
Saint-Etienne Du Mont (from Midnight in Paris with Owen Wilson?)
Paris Walks (paris-walks.com)

Taking a look at a good guide book is helpful as well. I like Rick's but it doesn't have pretty pictures. I'd take a look at DK or another one as well.

I am not a shopper but there are of course, plenty of shopping opportunities.

One of the best things to do in Paris, is just to 'be' there. Wander around, take a guided walk through Paris Walks (they are great), visit the parks and cemeteries, enjoy an afternoon at a sidewalk cafe just people watching, take a cruise on the Seine. If you don't like museums that's fine, not everyone does, but what DO you like to do? Cathedrals and churches? Monuments - Paris is full of them? Music venues? Fancy restaurants? Shopping? What prompted you to go to Paris to begin with?

What time of year are you going there? That can influence suggestions.

There are loads of things to do other than go to museums, most of them explained in detail in a good guide book. Examples: Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, La Chappelle, Montmartre, Arc du Triomphe, Galleries Lafayette, Tuilleries and Luxembourgh Gardens, La Defense, Chateau Vicennes, Canel St. Martin, Covered Passages, L'Opera, Promenade Plantes, Bascilica St. Denis, open air markets, Seine Cruise, Pantheon, La Magdeline, and this is just a partial list. You can spend hours wandering different neighbor-hoods, discovering hidden corners, or sipping a glass of wine in a cafe and experiencing world-class people watching. Paris is not defined by its museums.

Thanks for the suggestions. We will be there the first week of March and we really enjoy just wandering large cities like Paris and stopping in the cafes, browsing the shops, etc. as some of you suggested. We are just curious though if there is something that would really be fun, other than just wandering around, that we should try to do. Thanks.

My first visit to Paris was in March. I came a few days early in advance of some business meetings in Lyon.

I made no arrangements ahead of time and did little research about the city ahead of time. It was short notice.

And it was tremendous.

Just walking around and seeing the city, its monuments, bridges, and grand buildings was a memorable experience. I know some obsess about planning their itinerary just so and reserving tickets for this thing or that thing in advance.

Paris is a city one can enjoy without any planning ahead of time. One of the most memorable meals I've had in France was the first night I was in town for business, and I wandered around in a jet-lagged daze until I went into a nearly empty bar that served food and ordered their plat du jour.

It was terrific.

As for specifics if you wish to avoid, for some reason, museums, consider the Eiffel Tower, Place Trocadero, l'Arc de Triomphe, the dome and terrace at Galeries Lafayette, Opera Garnier, Luxembourg Gardens, the Pantheon, la Cimitière Père Lachaise, Napoleon's Tomb... those are some of the places I've been that I can recommend.

But there are museums in Paris. Great museums. Artificially crossing them off your list because you don't want to "involve museums" seems, to me, foolish. It would dilute your experience. Make it less than it otherwise would be.

Well, what do you consider "fun".

Maybe a cruise on the Seine would be nice but would that be fun? Depends on you.

An hour or two on a hop on/hop off bus

A visit to St. Denis Basilica to inspect the tombs of French kings, not fun but interesting

Either or both of Paris' major department stores, Galeries Lafayette or Printemps

A street market. Google for days of week and locations My favourite is at Place de la Nation on Saturday mornings..

A walk on the Promenade Plantee, at Place de la Bastille. Not really fun but interesting and good for you.

A visit to the Jacquemart-Andre Museum for a look at at how wealthy intellectuals lived once upon a time. Not at all boring and an hour or two will do it.

.

A wine tasting at O Chateau if you enjoy wine.

Paris Greeters offers great walking tours. They are free, but you can make a donation to the organization afterwards, if you wish. You can select what you're interest in and guides can modify their tour to reflect your interest. Highly recommend. Here's the link for more info: Paris Greeters

It would take you a month to do all that is suggested in the first post.
If you don't like museums, you do not have to go to them.

You should get a hotel - apartment websites have thousands of them, so too much to do.

Walk around, get a good map..."L'Indispensable - Paris par Arrondissement" - about 6 EU.
You'll have everything you need, and you won't get lost.

When you say "museums," don't forget that many of them are not just about fine arts, like the Louvre or the Rodin museums. There are also museums of science, military history, cinema, and more (unfortunately, the museum of the history of Paris itself is closed for renovation).

The Pariscope magazine has comprehensive listings of theater, music, opera, cinema, etc. Rick's guidebooks have a section on how to decode its listings if you don't speak French.

The print version of Pariscope has been out of print for some time. There is a website
http://www.pariscope.fr/

The magazine available now at kiosks is l'officiel des spectacles
with a website of
https://www.offi.fr/

The minute I posted, I realized I should have checked if Pariscope still had a print edition (Time Out London does not). Sorry about the error.

Concerts, spectacles - even if the people involved don't understand French.
Wander around Paris, and get lost.