Best Non Touristy Things to Do in Paris 2023

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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane, author of the travel guide Get Lost, and welcome to a day of non touristy things to do in Paris. Paris is one of the most popular cities in the world for tourists to visit, so you might think that it would be hard to put together a table of non touristy things to do.

But non touristy doesn’t mean that you’re going to be the only one that does them. It is hard to get off the beaten track in Paris, but it’s not hard to find places and foods that you can only get in Paris.

Sure, you can find croissants elsewhere. But will they be award-winning croissants? Sure you can learn about history at other museums. But will you be able to find the Street of Bad Boys?

On this itinerary of the non touristy things to do in Paris, we will find all of these and more. Don’t waste any more time and follow me.

non touristy Things to Do in Paris

Morning: Le Marais Food Tour

Le Marais, which literally means swamp, has long had a reputation for being one of the most Bohemian parts of Paris. (If you’ve seen the show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the pilot episode references the “whores of Le Marais district”.) However, it’s also been a Jewish neighborhood, and today it’s just very cool and expensive.

That’s why one of the best ways to see Le Marais is on a food tour! With this food tour we’re going to head out on an amazing exploration of some of the most delicious food stores in the city. There will be pastries, there will be wine, there will be cheese, and there will be…falafel? Yes, there will be. And it will all be delicious.

You can go ahead and book this tour for yourself easily!

Check rates and availability by clicking here.

Then get ready for…

Approximately Top 5: Le Marais Food Tour

1) Croissant!

If you’re smart, you won’t have had much breakfast before starting this food tour. After all, there’s easily enough food on the tour to last for a couple of meals. That’s why it’s perfectly appropriate that the tour starts with a fluffy, flaky, buttery croissant.

The bakery where we got these croissants won a special award called “Meilleur Ouvrier de France”. The artisans who win this award get to put a special symbol on their store. If they die or retire and pass the store on to someone else, that new person has to win the prize all over again. You can’t get this recognition through nepotism!

2) Yes, More Sweets

Up next, it’s the famously difficult French cookie known as the macaron. (They’re extremely difficult to make, but they’re quite easy to eat.) Our guide, whom I shall call Remi, said that some more popular macaron bakeries, like Laduree, don’t necessarily make their pastries fresh every day. However, we were lucky enough to stop at a bakery that does.

They also had unique flavors like the Bora Bora, which combines passionfruit, raspberry, and mango. I would say that eating this macaron is definitely one of the most non touristy things to do in Paris. You can even see the three different colors in my photo above.

At the same sweet shop, we also each got to try two different chocolate squares. They had about a grillion flavors, and we could choose whichever we liked. I selected the caramel chocolate, which is always a safe bet, and the cassis chocolate, which is terribly French.

3) Falafel Time

So you might have heard that the most famous falafel place in Le Marais is L’as du Falafel. However, Remi said that he doesn’t actually think it’s the best falafel place in Paris, so he took us somewhere else. (I can’t tell you where! It’s one of the secrets of the tour!)

I can tell you that this restaurant had the most flavorful pita I have ever eaten, which is high praise coming from me because I do loves me some pita. It was also served with roasted eggplant, which added sweet and meaty flavors that only enhanced the falafel.

The house wine was also freely flowing to the delight of everyone on the tour, including a 19-year-old American whose parents very nicely let him partake.

4) Cheese O’Clock

Of course, one of the most non touristy things to do in Paris, or anywhere in France, is partake of their glorious cheeses. After all, France has more than 365 cheeses, so you could cheese it up every day of the year and still not run out of cheese.

We picked up our cheese at the Marche des Enfants Rouges, which actually translates to Market of the Red Children. Some things just sound better in French, don’t they? Market of the Red Children sounds like a particularly frightening episode of The Twilight Zone.

I can’t guarantee which cheeses you’ll get, but ours came from all over France. We had some cheese from the Alps with herbs, some soft cheese from the Dordogne, a mild cheese from the Pyrenees, and Comte, which is my favorite cheese. Remi said it was the most popular cheese in France, so I guess this makes me la bitche basique, cheese-wise.

5) Choux Puffs!

Our final stop was for puff pastries filled with cream, aka choux puffs. Choux means cabbage in French, and I guess these puffs do kind of look like cabbages. Choux is also a term of endearment in French, so if your French boyfriend calls you “my little cabbage”, that’s a compliment. Also, if your French boyfriend has a cute brother you can introduce me to, just let me know.

Once again, you can choose any flavor you like. I picked praline because it made me think of New Orleans, one of my favorite cities, but if you pick a different flavor, I promise not to judge you too harshly.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of the food tour that I can share with you for now. You’ll have to go ahead and buy the tour to find out the rest!

Check rates and availability by clicking here!

non touristy Things to Do in Paris

Afternoon: Musee Carnavalet

Paris is obviously incredibly famous for its museums like the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. However, I wouldn’t put either of those museums on a list of most non touristy things to do in Paris. No, if you’re looking to get off the beaten track and find a cooler Paris museum, I strongly suggest heading to the Musee Carnavalet, which is dedicated to the history of Paris.

If you’ve ever wanted to watch a movie of small French children performing their favorite passages of Moliere, this is the museum for you. You’ll learn all about every major period of Paris’s history, see some amazing furniture, and be terrified by some floating eyes. All this and more with…

Three Fascinating Facts: Musee Carnavalet

1) What’s the Most Unique Exhibit?

Since we’re going for a day of the most non touristy things to do in Paris, let’s get started with something strange. I particularly enjoy the display of old signs from all over Paris. Look at this sign above, which uses a pair of creepy floating eyes to tell you that this store sells glasses.

They remind me of the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg from The Great Gatsby. It’s interesting to see how stores managed to communicate in a time before mass literacy.

And this is my favorite sign, advertising the “Street of Bad Boys”. An elderly French lady and I had a good time cracking up about this one.

2) How old is this museum?

Pretty old! It actually dates back to the 19th century, but the building itself dates back to the 16th century. In the 19th century, a lot of old buildings were destroyed in Paris to “modernize” the city, so the citizens wanted some way to preserve the way that Paris used to look. That’s why Paris bought the Carnavalet Mansion, and it remains popular to this day.

Now the Carnavalet Museum is so big that they actually expanded into the neighboring mansion. If I were one of the other mansions next to the Carnavalet Museum, I’d be holding out for some big bucks in case the museum wanted to buy me. Also, if I were a mansion, it would be hard to write this blog post because I wouldn’t have any fingers.

3) What’s the Coolest Part of the Museum?

So I mentioned that the Carnavalet Museum was created in part to preserve old architectural styles in Paris? Well, one benefit of that is that the museum is full of old rooms that you can just walk around.

Up first, we have a room from the 18th century Hotel d’Uzes. If you’ve ever wanted to live like Rumpelstiltskin, this is a great place to start.

And here is some more fabulousness from the 18th century Hotel de Breteuil. This color is apparently what we call forget-me-not blue, and if I had a living room, I would want it to be in this color.

However, my favorite room is the Fouquet jewelry boutique. It’s an excellent example of Art Nouveau style, though sadly they don’t sell jewelry here.

I mean, look at that peacock! Now that is a way to make your customers feel like fancy ladies. I would buy all my jewelry from this boutique, or indeed any boutique that has such an awesome peacock.

non touristy Things to Do in Paris

Evening: Dinner at Comice

I’m American, and lots of my fellow Americans are nervous about going to a fancy restaurant in Paris. Aren’t the stuffy staff going to judge them for not speaking French? Well, if those are your worries, then Comice is the Michelin-starred restaurant for you.

The staff is extremely friendly, and one of the owners is Canadian, so English is widely spoken. However, the food is authentically French and amazing. The menu changes with the seasons, so you won’t get what I got, but you will be able to have a delicious experience no matter what.

I can guarantee that your dinner will start with an amuse bouche, which is always a semi-experimental snack whipped up by the kitchen that day. My amuse bouche was soup with a little cornbread. How fun! I had never seen cornbread in France before. It always strikes me as the most American of breads, after Wonder Bread.

Of course, you’ll get your real appetizer next, like this summery tuna carpaccio with fennel. At Comice, you’ll always get the most seasonal vegetables, prepared simply so the flavors can come through.

Usually when I think of vegetable courses, I don’t think decadence, but this rich roast cauliflower helped change my mind. Just look at that perfect caramel color on the cauliflower! Don’t you just want to reach through your screen and lick it?

I’m not used to finding a pasta course in Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris, so I was glad that Comice had this on the menu. Just like the cauliflower course, it was simple ingredients, like this perfectly hand-cut pasta, with a classic rich French sauce.

And look at this glorious meat course! It’s the final savory course before the cheese and dessert. The most memorable part of this dish for me was the crackling skin. I know it’s bad for me, but I would eat skin like this all day, if I didn’t think it would give me a heart attack.

Are you worried that we haven’t had enough cheese yet? Then worry no more! We have a delicious cheese course coming up. It’s optional, but I recommend taking the option. It will make your day of the non touristy things to do in Paris that much more special.

You’ll get an assortment of hard, soft, and mild French cheeses. I suggest just letting the waiter choose for you.

At most Paris fine dining restaurants, you’ll get two different desserts: one with fruit and the second with chocolate. Our fruit course was a beautiful palate cleanser made with seasonal stone fruits–if you ordered the wine pairing there won’t be a wine with this dessert.

And nothing says fancy French desserts like a chocolate souffle! The perfect end to a perfect day!

Non touristy Things to Do in Paris

Where to Stay?

Paris, you may have heard, is a rather popular city for tourists. That means you’ll never be starved for choices for where to stay during your day of non touristy things to do in Paris. The important thing is to pick the right neighborhood. In Paris, they don’t always say neighborhood, they might say arrondissement.

And my favorite arrondissement to stay in is the 14th. Most of the Montparnasse neighborhood is in the 14th, so there’s always tons of people around. That way I feel safe as a solo traveler. The last time I was in Paris, I stayed at the Hotel du Lion.

The rooms were small, but clean, the breakfast was very good and filling, and the price was amazing. Plus, the location was super convenient and right by the metro.

If you want a great deal on this hotel, click here.

And if you want to explore great deals on tons of other hotels in Paris, just click here. This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay during your day of non touristy things to do in Paris. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

That’s a day of the Most non touristy Things to do in Paris

What would you do with a Paris travel itinerary? Have you ever been to the street of bad boys? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Paris right now? Email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY spend 24 hours with the most non touristy things to do in Paris.

If you have another day in Paris, add this what to see at Paris day! You can also try 24 hours in Paris. Add on a day of the best what to eat Paris. Check out a day of the best attractions Paris France. And also try the best of what to do Montmartre.