Are you looking to take a walk in Paris in the evening but don’t yet know the city well? Don’t worry! We have prepared a selection of some of the best neighborhoods to walk around in at night, complete with maps.
If you are in a rush, here are a few of our favorites places to take a walk at night in Paris:
- The most emblematic walk: from Invalides to the Trocadéro
- The best place for food and drinks: Mouffetard Street
- The best place to escape the crowds: the Butte Bergeyre
- The most charming place: the Butte-aux-Cailles
1) The Champs-Elysées
What could possibly be better for a midnight stroll than the most beautiful avenue in the world?
In around forty minutes, you can walk the famous avenue from Place de la Concorde, located in front of the Tuileries Garden, to the Arc de Triomphe.
If you need a quick break, you can easily find a bench in the Champs-Elysées garden or on the footpaths alongside the avenue. You will also pass by several food stands where you can buy drinks and snacks.
At the end of your stroll, why not go to the rooftop of the Arc de Triomphe to experience a nighttime view of Paris? You have until 10:30pm to enjoy it!
2) From the Esplanade of the Invalides to the Trocadéro Plaza
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If you want to take a walk among some of the most emblematic monuments of Paris, I recommend that you start at the Esplanade of the Invalides and walk to the Trocadéro Plaza.
On the way, you will pass by the Hôtel des Invalides. When you reach the Champ de Mars, you can start walking towards the Eiffel Tower. You will get to see the Grand Palais Éphémère, the Human Rights Monument, and the ponds. Soon enough you will reach the Eiffel Tower garden.
After taking a moment to admire the Eiffel Tower, you can cross the Seine on the pont d’Iéna to reach the Trocadéro gardens and, finally, the Trocadéro plaza itself.
The walk will last around an hour (or a little more if you are walking leisurely). With all the visual landmarks, it is hard to get lost during this stroll!
3) The Seine quays
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The Seine quays are always a good option for a stroll, whether during the day or at night.
One of the perks of this walk is that the quays are only for pedestrians and bikes, so you don’t have to worry about cars.
Even better, numerous bars are located on the quays, and many of them have patios where you can stop to enjoy the view of the river and the boats.
Our favorite walk on the Seine quays is the following: for a one hour walk, go down onto the quays in front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral and walk towards the Eiffel Tower. You can take a break or stop at any time to climb back up onto the sidewalks and find a restaurant for dinner.
4) Île Saint-Louis and Île de la Cité
The starting point of this emblematic stroll on the two islands of the Seine is the Barye Square, located at the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis.
For around thirty minutes (or more if you take your time), you will zigzag between famous monuments: walk by the Hôtel Lambert, go see the Pont Marie, then go south to see the pont Tournelle. Then you can check out Place Louis Aragon at the western tip of the island and cross the Pont Saint-Louis that connects the two islands.
Next, walk on the quays alongside the Notre-Dame Cathedral in the direction of the pont d’Arcole, the pont Notre-Dame, and the Tour de l’Horloge of the Palais de la Cité. If you continue towards the Sainte-Chapelle and walk alongside the quays, you will reach Place Dauphine.
You will end your stroll at the famous Saule Pleureur de la Pointe (The Weeping Willow of the Tip) at the western tip of the Île de la Cité. There you can enjoy a beautiful view of the Seine’s banks.
If you want to find bars and restaurants, the Latin Quarter is located on the southeastern side, making this the ideal place to end your walk.
5) The Pantheon and Mouffetard street
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If you want to wander bustling streets to find good places to eat and drink, I recommend the streets around the Pantheon, especially Mouffetard street.
If you walk along Clovis street on the eastern side of the Pantheon, you will soon find Descartes street and, a few meters away, Mouffetard street.
Mouffetard street is a lively street in the 5th district where you can find restaurants with international cuisine: sushi, crepes, Libanese, Greek, or Italian cuisine, cocktail bars, etc. The hardest part is picking just one!
It’s a nice place to walk at night, especially around Place de la Contrescarpe. You should definitely wander along the surrounding little streets that will bring you back to the Pantheon, the Latin Quarter or, further south, towards the Saint-Médard church.
6) The parks in summer
During summer, the municipality of Paris changes the hours of many of its parks, usually from the beginning of July until September. This allows you to walk and enjoy the fresh evening air as late as midnight in most of them.
On this list (site in French) of the parks that are open at night, you will find the Montsouris park, the Villemin garden, and the Louise Michel square with a view of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica.
Our recommendation: the Buttes-Chaumont park, for its bridges, ponds, and view of Paris and the Montmartre Hill in the distance.
7) The Butte Bergeyre
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If you are looking for a quiet place far away from the tourists in the city’s center, you will like taking a little stroll around the Butte Bergeyre housing project.
Located next to the Buttes-Chaumont park, the Butte Bergeyre is ideal for a midnight walk far away from the shops, tourists, restaurants, and noisy shopping streets. You can only access it by one road and two sets of stairs, which contributes to its quietness.
The best time to visit is at sunset. You can enjoy the light, the peacefulness, and the panoramic view of the city near the shared garden.
8) Montmartre
The area surrounding the Sacré-Coeur Basilica is a good place for a stroll, even at night.
Behind the basilica, you will discover the lovely streets of the hill and their numerous restaurants and cafés. Walk down Chevalier de la Barre street, Mont-Cenis street, and Cortot street and you will reach the famous restaurant La Maison Rose, which is known as much for its cuisine as its aesthetic facade.
If you continue walking towards l’Abreuvoir street, you can pass by Dalida’s statue and take the lovely allée des Brouillards. A few streets away, you will find the famous statue of “Le Passe-Muraille” (“The Walker-through-Walls”, inspired by a short story written by Marcel Aymé) half-stuck in the wall.
Your walk doesn’t have to end until you want it to. Feel free to explore the surrounding streets of the Montmartre Hill, they are just as lovely!
9) Le Marais district
Le Marais district is the ideal neighborhood to walk in if you want to discover beautiful monuments on every corner and wander down historical streets. At night, the district is very lively thanks to its numerous bars and restaurants.
It would be a shame to recommend a precise itinerary in a place where it’s so pleasant to simply wander around, but there are a few landmarks that you should make sure you see during a one-hour walk:
- Place des Vosges almost looks like a gigantic cloister thanks to the huge arcades that surround it. You can also find numerous art galleries here.
- The Pompidou Center’s interesting design will surely surprise you.
- Quartier du Temple is an easy place to walk around.
There are many art galleries and museums in this neighborhood. Most of them are not open in the evening, but the buildings themselves are worth seeing, even at night (Picasso National Museum, Carnavalet Museum, National Archives Museum, etc.).
In addition to the monuments, the shopping streets of Le Marais and the cafés’ facades are always beautifully decorated, making it quite pleasant to walk there at night.
10) Montparnasse
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The district is now famous for its tower and train station, but it was once renowned for its intellectual and cultural life.
The heart of the district is obviously the Montparnasse tower, and that is where we suggest that you start your walk.
From there, walk down Edgard Quintet boulevard and turn onto Rue de la Gaîté. This street is always lively thanks to its many bars and restaurants, and the theaters on it have beautiful facades.
Next, walk along the Montparnasse cemetery and up Raspail boulevard toward the church Notre-Dame des Champs. Feel free to explore the bustling surrounding streets like Odessa street, Montparnasse street, or Delambre street.
Your stroll can last as long as you want to wander in the district, and it’s impossible to get lost if you keep the tower in sight!
The Montparnasse tower is open until 10:30pm, and it’s a great place to enjoy an incredible nighttime view of Paris. If you’d rather, you can also go to one of the numerous movie theaters in the district.
11) La Butte-aux-Cailles
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If you want to discover a little village in the middle of Paris, you should walk around La Butte-aux-Cailles
Located next to Place d’Italie, this little neighborhood is far removed from the Haussmannian architecture of the rest of Paris. It’s quite the opposite: you will find little houses with only one or two floors and paved streets. It almost feels like being in the countryside!
Again, the best way to discover the area is to wander along the lovely, quiet streets.
Here are a few landmarks that you must see during your visit:
- Around the Brassaï garden: Alphand street, Barraud street, and Sigaud street
- To find restaurants: Cinq Diamants street and Butte aux Cailles street
- La Petite Alsace (The Little Alsace) on Daviel street: half-timbered houses that provide a change of scenery
- Villa Daviel: a lovely paved dead end
Bonus: even if the sun is setting, keep an eye out for street art!
Our advice: take the metro and get off at the Corvisart station, which is located right in front of the Brassaï garden.
12) Chinatown, the Asian district
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The Asian district of Paris is located in the middle of the triangle made by Choisy avenue, d’Ivry avenue, and Masséna boulevard. It is an ideal place for a one-hour stroll.
This district is a great place to walk at night because of the restaurants (on Choisy avenue and d’Ivry avenue, between Tolbiac street and Baudricourt street) and the lanterns and decorations that the restaurants light up at night.
The district also has many street art paintings; the fresques at 64 Choisy Avenue are especially worth seeing. Many of these works take inspiration from Asian culture, which makes them even more unique.
It’s even better to walk around Chinatown during the Chinese New Year, when the district is the most decorated and lively.
13) Along the Valmy and Jemmapes quays
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If you want to walk near the water, I recommend that you check out the Valmy and Jemmapes quays, which are located alongside the Saint-Martin canal.
You can start at Faubourg du Temple street in front of the Frédéric Lemaître square. Walk up towards passerelle des Douaniers, which connects the two quays. You will now have to choose one, but don’t worry – several footbridges connect them, so you can cross at any time.
We recommend walking north along the canal: you will pass by a few locks, footbridges, and quite a few cheap restaurants on the quays. The atmosphere is relaxed, and it’s nice to take a break on the quaysides with something to eat.
Your stroll ends at the bassin de la Villette, which is also a swimming pool, but you can choose to continue until La Villette, whose park is open until 1am.
You can expect it to take around forty minutes to walk from passerelle des Douaniers to the bassin de la Villette, not including the time it takes to stop for food if you choose to do so.
I aim to share my tips and recommendations for the beautiful country of France. My goal is to help you plan your next adventure, whether it’s a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime trip. From finding the best hotels and restaurants, to discovering unique activities and sights, I’ve got you covered!
