Paris rewards people who slow down. The move isn't to sprint through ten museums in a weekend — it's to find your café, your park bench, your boulangerie, and live in the city the way Parisians do. Open-air drinks in the park are totally fine here, the under-26 and student discounts are everywhere, and most of the best afternoons cost nothing but a baguette and a bottle of wine. Here's how to actually live a semester in Paris instead of just touristing it.
See & Do
The famous stuff lives up to the hype, but pace yourself — buy your museum tickets with your student ID for the discount, and dip into one museum at a time between classes instead of doing a death march. The free wins are the best ones: a picnic in the Luxembourg gardens, the climb up to Sacré-Cœur, sunset under the Eiffel Tower. Paris is built for wandering, so leave time to get lost.
The Louvre — In the 1st. Pick a wing and a couple of must-sees rather than trying to do it all. Walk out through the Tuileries afterward toward Concorde and the obelisk — it lines straight up with the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.
Musée d'Orsay — The old train station full of Impressionists — Monet, Van Gogh, Degas. More manageable than the Louvre and arguably the better visit. A must.
Musée de l'Orangerie — Tiny museum tucked in the Tuileries gardens, built around Monet's sweeping Water Lilies. Ideal when you don't feel like a marathon museum day — in and out in an hour with a head full of beautiful French art.
Eiffel Tower & Trocadéro — Get off the métro at Trocadéro for the classic view, then cross the bridge to the tower. Go up once, then picnic on the Champ de Mars and stay for the light show that sparkles on the hour after dark.
Montmartre & Sacré-Cœur — Take the métro to Abbesses and just head uphill — the artsy old painters' quarter with the best free view in the city from the basilica steps. Wander the back streets around Place du Tertre.
Notre-Dame & Île de la Cité — The Gothic cathedral on the island in the Seine. Walk around the back to the little garden and across to the Left Bank — the riverbanks here are the prettiest stroll in Paris.
Centre Pompidou — The inside-out modern art museum by the Marais (all its pipes are on the outside). Even if you skip the galleries, ride the exterior escalators up for a cheap rooftop view over the city.
Les Catacombes — Right at the Denfert-Rochereau métro in the 14th — miles of tunnels lined with the bones of millions of Parisians. Creepy and unforgettable. Book ahead and go early; they cap how many people are inside.
Jardin du Luxembourg — The best park in the city, in the 6th by the Panthéon. Bring a picnic, a bottle, and your friends, grab the green chairs, and burn an entire sunny afternoon doing nothing.
Where to Eat
Eating well in Paris doesn't mean fancy — it means good bread, good cheese, and knowing where the students go. A boulangerie sandwich, a street crêpe, and a café espresso will carry you through most days. Save the proper sit-down bistro for the nights you want to do it right, make a reservation when you do, and never skip the order of escargots at least once.
Rue Mouffetard (5th) — Your home base for food — a cobbled market street lined with crêpe stands, cheese shops, and cheap eats. Begin up at Place de la Contrescarpe and wander downhill from there.
L'As du Fallafel — On rue des Rosiers in the Marais. The famous falafel in the old Jewish Quarter — always a line, always worth it. The shop across the street does basically the same thing for less of a wait.
Street crêpes — The classic broke-student dinner. Nutella-banana or ham-and-cheese from any stand in the Latin Quarter or Montparnasse, eaten on the walk home.
Bistro French onion soup — Order it at an old-school bistro in the 5th or 7th at least once — it's the dish Paris does better than anywhere. Pair with steak frites and the house red.
Refuge des Fondues (18th) — Fun fondue spot near Abbesses where they serve the wine in baby bottles. Make a reservation and go after watching the sunset from the Montmartre steps.
Angelina (226 rue de Rivoli) — The hot chocolate is the thickest, richest cup you'll ever drink — basically melted ganache. Go after the Louvre as a reward.
Café de Flore / Les Deux Magots (6th) — The legendary writers' cafés in Saint-Germain where Hemingway and Sartre hung out. Overpriced coffee, but worth one slow morning of people-watching.
Breakfast in America — When the homesickness hits — proper American diner breakfast and burgers, with locations in the 5th and the Marais. Get the breakfast burrito.
Pubs, Bars & Nightlife
Parisian nights start late and start cheap — wine in a park or a café terrace, then on to the bars. The student scene clusters in a few spots: the bar streets of Saint-Germain, the dive wine caves, and the neighbourhood of Oberkampf. Pre-game in a park or your flat, roll in a group, and sort out your night métro or a ride home before the last train (around 12:30–1am on weeknights).
Rue Princesse & rue des Canettes (6th) — Near métro Mabillon — a couple of streets packed wall-to-wall with student bars. The whole area is the easiest place to bar-hop in Paris.
Chez Georges (rue des Canettes) — An ancient French wine cave that gets rowdy and packed with Paris students late at night. Go around 10 on a weeknight if you actually want a seat.
Rue Oberkampf (11th) — The locals' bar strip — less touristy than Saint-Germain, lined with bars and music spots. Where you go when you want a real Parisian night out.
Rue Mouffetard bars (5th) — The same market street turns into a bar crawl at night — full of students and easy for meeting people. Lined end to end with cheap places to drink.
Café terraces for an apéro — The French start the night with a drink on a café terrace around 8, when the squares come alive. Place de la Contrescarpe in the 5th is the classic spot.
Picnic apéro in the park — Open drinks are fine in Paris — grab wine and cheese, post up in Luxembourg or along the Seine at golden hour, and let the night build from there.
Big clubs — Paris clubs run late and charge a cover. Worth doing once for the spectacle, but the bars are where the real student scene lives — save the club for a special night.
Markets & Shopping
Shopping in Paris is half wandering — the good stuff is in the neighbourhoods, not the malls. The Marais has the vintage and the boutiques, the grand department stores are worth seeing even if you don't buy, and Monoprix is your everyday lifeline for groceries and toiletries.
Le Marais (3rd/4th) — Get off at St-Paul and wander rue des Rosiers and the surrounding lanes — the best concentration of boutiques and vintage shops in the city, plus it stays open on Sundays when the rest of Paris closes.
Galeries Lafayette (9th) — The grand department store behind the Opéra. Go in just to stand under the enormous stained-glass dome and ride the rooftop for free city views.
Rue Mouffetard market (5th) — The downhill market street for produce, cheese, and bread, plus a proper open-air market at Place Monge on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings.
Boulevard Haussmann (8th/9th) — Your high-street strip — H&M, Zara, Mango and the rest all in a row behind the Opéra when you just need normal clothes.
Boulevard Saint-Michel (5th/6th) — Runs from the Luxembourg gardens down to the Seine — chain stores and cheap-and-cute shops aimed straight at the student crowd.
Monoprix — The French Target — everywhere in the city, open late-ish, and your move for groceries, snacks, toiletries, and the occasional surprisingly good cheap clothing.
Forum des Halles (1st) — The one true indoor mall in central Paris, at métro Les Halles/Châtelet — handy for a rainy day when you want everything under one roof.
Day Trips
Paris sits at the centre of France's train network, so a different world is an easy ride away. Versailles is the obvious one; Giverny is the prettiest; and the Eurostar means you can have lunch in London and be home for dinner. Bank a few of these on weekends you're not travelling further.
Versailles — A short RER C ride out to the palace of the French kings. The interiors are a lot, but the gardens are the real reason to go — bring your student ID for cheaper tickets and a free audio guide, and pack a picnic for the grounds.
Giverny — Monet's house and the actual water-lily garden he painted, about an hour out via the train to Vernon. Go spring through autumn when the gardens are in bloom — it's the most beautiful day trip from Paris.
Disneyland Paris — A direct RER A ride east to Marne-la-Vallée. Pricey and a full day, but a genuinely fun group trip if you've got the time and want a break from cathedrals.
London via Eurostar — The train from Gare du Nord puts you in central London in about 2.5 hours — city centre to city centre, no airport. Book well ahead for the cheap fares and you can do it as a long day trip or a weekend.
Reims (Champagne) — Under an hour on the high-speed train into the Champagne region — a Gothic cathedral and cellar tours where the bubbly actually comes from. A classy day out with friends.
Fontainebleau — A quieter, less crowded royal château southeast of the city, surrounded by a huge forest. The easy alternative when you want Versailles vibes without the Versailles crowds.
Practical Info
Budget: €50–80/day living like a student: boulangerie sandwiches and street crêpes for food, park picnics instead of bars, and free or student-discounted museums. Sit-down bistro dinners and club covers are what stretch the budget.
Best time: May–June and September for warm park weather and long evenings. August empties out as Parisians leave on holiday (some shops and restaurants close); winter is grey but the museums are quiet.
Getting there: Charles de Gaulle and Orly are the main airports, both connected to the city by train and bus — take the RER or a shuttle into the centre rather than an overpriced cab. Skip Ryanair flights into Beauvais; it's a long bus ride from anywhere useful. From London, the Eurostar lands you right at Gare du Nord.
Carry your student ID everywhere — under-26 and student discounts knock money off museums, sights, and transit constantly.
Get a Navigo or load a transit pass on your phone; the métro goes everywhere and a carnet of tickets beats buying singles.
Open drinks are legal — a bottle of wine and a baguette in the park is the cheapest, best afternoon in the city.
Pre-game in a park or café terrace before the bars, and check the last métro (~12:30–1am) before you head out.
Eat where the students eat — rue Mouffetard, falafel in the Marais, street crêpes — and save the proper bistro for the nights it's worth it.
For Paris ↔ London, take the Eurostar from Gare du Nord, not a flight.