Paris is the most nostalgic city on Earth and the most restless. The nostalgia, the Haussmann boulevards, the zinc-topped bars, the accordion music that drifts from the open window of a third-floor apartment, and the sense that the Paris of the imagination (the Paris of Hemingway, of Piaf, of Doisneau’s photograph of the couple kissing outside the Hôtel de Ville) is still there, just around the next corner, is the reason the 40 million tourists come. The restlessness, the Grand Paris of the new metro lines, the start-up incubators of the Station F in the 13th arrondissement (the largest start-up campus in the world, the 1,000 companies, and the sense that Paris is building its future in a former railway depot), and the new restaurants, the new galleries, and the new energy that has transformed the city in the last decade, is the Paris that the tourists rarely see, and that the Parisians live every day. The old and the new Paris coexist, and the best trip to Paris, the one that feels like a discovery rather than a checklist, finds both. Here is your guide.

Old and New Paris

• The Old Paris, the quartiers and the secrets: The Marais: the 17th-century aristocratic quarter, the hôtels particuliers (the townhouses of the nobility, the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris, the gardens, and the most beautiful free museum in the city. Free, and the courtyard garden is the best secret in the Marais), the Place des Vosges (the oldest square in Paris, 1605, the symmetrical red-brick pavilions, the arcades, and the sense of walking through a painting by Vermeer. The café on the square, the Café Hugo or the Ma Bourgogne, is the essential morning coffee in Paris. ~€5 for an espresso, and the view is included), and the Rue des Rosiers (the Jewish quarter, the falafel, L’As du Fallafel, the queue, the pita, and the best €8 meal in Paris). The Île Saint-Louis: the smaller, quieter, and more beautiful of the two islands in the Seine, the Berthillon ice cream (the most famous ice cream in Paris, the butter-salted caramel, and the queue that is worth 20 minutes of your life. ~€4 a scoop), the walk along the quays at sunset (the Seine, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, and the most beautiful evening walk in Paris), and the Pont Saint-Louis (the bridge that connects the island to the Île de la Cité, the street musicians, and the best free concert in the city). More France →
• The New Paris, the north-east and the energy: Belleville: the working-class neighbourhood in the 20th arrondissement, the street art (the murals of the Rue Dénoyez, the largest open-air street art gallery in Paris, constantly changing, and the most exciting art in the city), the Parc de Belleville (the view from the top, the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré-Cœur, and the skyline of Paris, the best free view in the city), and the food (the Chinese restaurants of the Rue de Belleville, the Tunisian couscous of the Rue des Envierges, and the bo-bun of the Vietnamese restaurants, the most diverse and most affordable food in Paris). The Batignolles: the village in the 17th arrondissement, the organic market (the Marché des Batignolles, the Saturday morning market, the cheese, the bread, and the sense of a neighbourhood that has not been discovered by the tours), the Square des Batignolles (the ducks, the stream, and the most beautiful small park in Paris), and the restaurants (the bistros of the Rue des Dames, the seasonal menus, the natural wines, and the best food in Paris that is not in the Michelin guide). The Bassin de la Villette: the canal, the péniches (the barges converted into bars and restaurants, the best outdoor drinking in Paris in the summer. The Paname Brewing Company, the craft beer on the canal, and the pizza, the most pleasant evening in the north-east), and the swimming in the canal (the Bassin de la Villette, the open-air swimming in the summer, the Seine water, the free pools, and the most surprising summer experience in Paris)
• The essential walk, the Seine from Bastille to the Eiffel Tower: The walk along the Seine, the 7 km from the Port de l’Arsenal at the Bastille to the Eiffel Tower, is the essential Paris experience: the boats, the bouquinistes (the booksellers on the quays, the used books, the old prints, and the most romantic shopping in the world), the Île Saint-Louis and the Île de la Cité (Notre-Dame, the cathedral, the restoration, and the sense of the city’s heart), the Louvre (the palace, the pyramid, and the decision not to go in, the Louvre requires a separate day), the Pont des Arts (the bridge of the love locks, the locks were removed in 2015, and the bridge is now a glass-panelled, love-lock-free, and more beautiful version of its former self), and the Eiffel Tower (the iron lady, the most famous structure in the world, and the view from the Trocadéro, the esplanade across the river, the best free view in Paris). The walk takes 2 hours (without stops), and the reward, the city unfolding along the river, the Seine, and the sense of having walked through 2,000 years of history, is the best free experience in France