As postpandemic travelers return to Paris in droves, here’s a cheat sheet of new hotels and restaurants, under-the-radar exhibits, and other off-the-beaten-path discoveries.
There’s something about summer in Paris. After the less-luminous winter months, an undeniable party vibe infuses the city when the sun doesn’t set until 10 p.m. Parisians crowd sidewalk café terraces, musicians play in the streets, beach bars pop up along the Seine. To add to the electric mood, a bonanza of cultural events—many of them free—light up the Ville Lumière. Add exciting new restaurants, arty venues, and hotels, and you’ve got the ingredients for a red-hot season. Planning a trip? You’re not alone—a postpandemic travel boom has brought throngs of tourists to the capital. Escape the hordes in less-visited neighborhoods and at places so new most travelers haven’t heard of them yet. From a floating photo gallery to a hotel that’s delectably à la mode, here’s a primer on what to see and do in Paris this summer without the crowds.
Seine-side soirées
The quays of the Seine come to life in the summer as the ultimate playground for Parisians. Moored péniches (river barges) and pop-up bars channel the guinguettes, or riverside dance halls that drew revelers starting in the 19th century. Some péniches double as floating concert venues (El Alamein, Le Petit Bain), while others are restaurants (Rosa Bonheur sur Seine, Les Maquereaux, La Démesure sur Seine).
Always popular with locals, Paris Plages is the annual event that brings the “beach” to urbanites unable to leave the city. Even though sand is no longer shipped in, the city has upped the offerings: think pétanque games, instructor-led fitness sessions, and deck chairs along the Rives de Seine park, directly below the Hotel de Ville on the Right Bank, plus a zip line and outdoor swimming pools on the Bassin de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement.
Offbeat culture calendar
This summer, there’s no shortage of blockbuster exhibits on the Parisian cultural calendar. There’s the Basquiat x Warhol: Painting Four Hands show at the Fondation Louis Vuitton (through August 28), Ramses the Great & the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibit at Grande Halle de la Villette (through September 6), and Paris, Capital of Gastronomy, from the Middle Ages to Today explores French culinary traditions at the Conciergerie (through July 16). The Musée du Louvre has also launched a new open-air festival called “Les Étés du Louvre” (through July 20), which includes concerts under the pyramid, theater in the Grande Galerie, and dance in the Tour Lefuel, a little-known architectural jewel in the heart of the palace-turned-museum.
There are also plenty of under-the-radar exhibits and new (and newly renovated) museums to visit this summer. In advance of the 2024 Summer Olympics—in which the opening ceremony will star the Seine—the Galerie Roger-Viollet is exhibiting remarkable photographs of the river from 1860 to 1960 in Paris Rive droite / Rive gauche, les bords de Seine entre labeur et loisirs (Paris Right Bank / Left Bank, the banks of the Seine between work and leisure), which runs through September 30.
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