It’s not only possible to visit Paris for the day, you can also spend a day sightseeing without ever having to lay eyes on the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe or the Notre Dame. Here are some quirky things to do on a Paris day trip.
Here in the UK, we tend to think of Paris as the ultimate in sophistication. To an extent, Paris’ glamorous reputation is justified, as spending just two minutes in a trendy Parisian bar will attest. But there’s much more to Paris than the Left Bank, as I learned during a recent enlightening day trip to the city. In fact, this trip to Paris left me with two distinct impressions: first, that a day trip from London is a completely realistic possibility; and second, that you can actually sightsee in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomph or any of those usual icons that thoughts of the city might conjure up in your head.
Quirky Paris Attractions
The first thing I’d suggest that you do on a day trip to Paris is visit one of its many quirky museums, which usually lose out to big-hitters like the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. I went to Espace Dali, which brings to life the works of surrealist artist Salvador Dali in his characteristically off-the-wall style. It’s a fantastic place to explore, especially if you’re a Dali fan. But I’ve subsequently found out that there are far more quirky museums in Paris that I was aware of. Paris is home to everything from a Smoking Museum to a Perfume Museum, and even a Playing Cards Museum. But on my next day trip, I’m hoping to visit the Museum of Vampires and Imaginary Monsters: an essential stop for lovers of anything from Dracula to Buffy to Twilight, I think.
Laze on the beach
If you’re planning a day trip to Paris in June or July, here’s another quirky thing you can do: go to the beach. The River Seine is one of Paris’ most famous features, and every summer since 2002, the roads around the river have been turned into artificial beaches. The scheme, known as Paris- Plages (‘Paris Beaches’) sees the paths along the river banks blocked off and lined with sand and palm trees to create a beach-like setting. Unsurprisingly, I’ve heard that the beaches are very popular in summer but I really think it would be a great activity for people on day trips in Paris, especially if you know the weather will be good. Deals on Eurostar breaks mean that day trips to Paris are an affordable summer holiday option. And if you’ve got children, I can guarantee that they’ll find the idea of going to the beach in the middle of the city a lot of fun.
Paris’ Quirkiest Bars
If you’re travelling with your partner or friends, there’s no better way to round off a day trip to Paris than with a drink in one of its many bars. Again, I’d suggest avoiding the usual Paris fare and heading to one of its quirkier options, like the Ice Kube (where everything’s made from ice) or the medical-themed L’Urgence bar.
On my recent day trip, my friend and I went to Zero de Conduite, a “child” themed bar that serves drinks in babies bottles, plays cartoons in the background and has lots of board games to play. It’s not to everyone’s taste but we had so much fun, we considered skipping our train home and even looked at a few hotels, before sadly realising that we had to be at work the next day.
An article by Jamie Monteath.
