Paris, the Way Locals See It
Every Gaido article about Paris, written with the help of our local guides: where to eat, what to skip, and the tours worth your time.
5 Things Worth Your Time on a 2-Day Paris Trip
Two days and a nineteen-item list is how short Paris trips go wrong — not through laziness, but a refusal to cut anything. Five things that actually earn their place: a guided morning through Île de la Cité, a Neoclassical shopping arcade, the Musée d'Orsay instead of the Louvre, the Tuileries at golden hour, and a family-run wine bistro on Rue de Richelieu.
Paris Beyond the Louvre: 5 Cultural Gems Worth Your Time
Paris has more museums per square kilometer than any city in Europe, yet most visitors shuffle through the same three. Five cultural destinations local guides actually recommend — a taxidermy-meets-fine-art mansion, medieval tapestries atop Roman baths, outsider art in Montmartre, Frank Gehry's glass sailboat, and the oldest museum in the city, free to enter.
Walk in Two Straight Lines: A Madeline Private Tour of Paris for Families
If those Madeline storybook words spark nostalgia, imagine watching your children's eyes light up on those very same Parisian streets, hunting for clues. A two-hour scavenger-hunt tour from Opera Garnier to Notre Dame, led by a Liverpool-born local guide who has called Paris home for 25 years.
Don't Leave Paris Without Doing These 5 Things
Five Paris experiences that local guides return to again and again — a forgotten covered market, the square where the old world cracked open, a restaurant with a new chef every three months, a Marais food walk that turns eating into understanding, and the museum that named Impressionism.
Where Locals Actually Go for Coffee and Pastries in Paris
Not all Parisian bakeries are worth your time. These five — tucked into residential neighborhoods and hidden behind unassuming storefronts — have earned the devoted local following that only comes from years of exceptional craft.
Where Locals Actually Eat in Paris: 5 Hidden Food Gems
Most visitors end up at the same overpriced brasseries near the Seine. The real Paris food scene lives in tucked-away bistros, a speakeasy ranked in the world's top 500 bars, and a bakery that won the 2024 Best Baguette in Paris award. Five spots our local guides eat when they're off the clock.
5 Paris Hidden Gems That Tourists Almost Never Find
Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. But the Paris that Parisians actually live in? It's tucked down cobblestone passages and hidden behind unmarked doors. Here are five places locals love that tourists almost never find.