the Seine, Notre-Dame reopened, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, with the motorhome left at a campsite on the edge of the city, the city explored by metro, and Versailles and Disneyland a train ride away
Paris is a city to explore on foot and by metro, and the motorhome stays outside. The centre lies on the Seine: on the Île de la Cité stand Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024 after the fire, and the Sainte-Chapelle with its stained glass; on the Right Bank the Louvre and the Tuileries, and opposite, on the Left Bank, the Musée d'Orsay in the old railway station; further downstream the Eiffel Tower. Then the Latin Quarter with the Panthéon, the Marais with the place des Vosges, and at the top of the hill Montmartre with the Sacré-Cœur. A train ride away are the Palace of Versailles and Disneyland Paris, each with its own page. For those travelling by motorhome Paris calls for two preparations: a campsite, because there is no motorhome stopover in the city and in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes you cannot stop at night, and the Crit'Air sticker, because everything inside the A86 motorway is a low emission zone.
Sleeping
Stops and overnight stays
Inside Paris there is no motorhome stopover, and in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes stopping at night is forbidden to all vehicles. You sleep at a campsite: the Paris one, in the Bois de Boulogne, open all year but inside the low emission zone; the one at Champigny, on the Marne; the one at Maisons-Laffitte, on the Seine, outside the zone and on the RER A. For Versailles there is the town's campsite, three kilometres from the palace. For Disneyland there is the resort car park, where a motorhome paying the day rate can also stay the night, or the Jablines campsite, with the bus to the parks. None of the campsites publishes a price list: the price is given by the online booking.
Camping de Paris, Bois de Boulogne
2 allée du Bord de l'Eau, 75016 Paris
the city's campsite, a CityKamp of the Huttopia group, in the Bois de Boulogne on the bank of the Seine: seven hectares of level pitches on grass, in the shade of the trees, three renovated toilet blocks, the bar, breakfast, bread in the morning and bike hire all year round. Reception is open at least from 7:00 to 21:00; arrival is from 14:00 and departure by noon, and from 1:00 to 6:00 the barrier is closed. You go into the city with the campsite shuttle to metro line 1 at Porte Maillot, with a ticket bought at reception, or with bus 244 from the Moulins Camping stop: from Porte Maillot line 1 takes you to the Louvre in a quarter of an hour. Pets are allowed, one per pitch and for a fee, but they are not allowed on the shuttle. The electricity has the blue European socket, the CEE: those with a different plug bring an adapter. The campsite is inside the low emission zone, and says so itself: without the right Crit'Air sticker, do not come
410 pitches in all, about thirty of them for tents only
The operator does not publish a price list for the pitches: the price is given by the online booking. The pitch includes two people, the motorhome and water filling and emptying; electricity is paid separately. From 3 April to 24 September 2027 every booking costs 26 euros in fees. For one or two nights you pay everything when booking · +33 1 45 24 30 00 · campingparis.fr
110 boulevard des Alliés, 94500 Champigny-sur-Marne
an eight-hectare campsite on the Marne, east of the city, next to the Parc du Tremblay, open all year with reception day and night. The pitches are on grass or gravel, and the Grand Confort ones have water and drainage; the toilets are heated. At reception you can buy public transport tickets and Disneyland tickets. You go into the city with bus 101 to Joinville-le-Pont station and then the RER A. Arrival is from 16:00 and departure by noon.
ElectricityWaterGrey waterToiletsShower
The operator does not publish a price list: the price is given by the online booking · +33 1 43 97 43 97 · campingchampigny.paris
a chain campsite, on the Seine at Maisons-Laffitte, north-west of Paris, with 165 pitches, those on the river with 16 amp electricity and the others with 10, and a heated swimming pool. It is outside the low emission zone: it is the campsite for those with a Crit'Air 3 or older motorhome. You go into the city with the RER A from Maisons-Laffitte station: the operator says three quarters of an hour to the Champs-Élysées and the Louvre. The same line goes straight to Disneyland, at the other end, and Versailles is nineteen kilometres away. In winter it is closed
ElectricityToiletsShower
The operator does not publish a price list: it gives pitches from 19 euros a night, without saying on which dates, and the price for the day is given by the online booking · +33 1 39 12 21 91 · sandaya.fr/nos-campings/paris-maisons-laffitte
the Versailles campsite, in the Porchefontaine district, 3.2 kilometres from the palace: you get there on foot or by bike. It has a motorhome service area, three toilet blocks, a covered heated swimming pool and bread in the morning, and a supermarket a hundred and fifty metres away. The Nature pitches, without electricity, are only for tents and small vans. The RER C, the operator says, is a few steps away, and goes to Paris. Versailles is outside the low emission zone. It is the stopover for the night before or after the Palace of Versailles
169 pitches in all; for motorhomes the Confort and Confort Plus pitches, with electricity
ElectricityWaterGrey waterToiletsShowerLaundry
The operator does not publish a price list: the price is given by the online booking · +33 1 39 51 23 61 · europe.huttopia.com/site/camping-versailles
the open-air car park in the centre of Versailles that the tourist office points motorhomes to during the day, if there is room, six hundred and fifty metres as the crow flies from the palace. How many spaces there are for motorhomes and whether there is a height limit the page does not say. At night motorhomes go to a campsite or to an equipped stopover, the tourist office writes. In front of the palace, on the place d'Armes, there is no provision for motorhomes
services not recorded
0.60 euros per quarter of an hour at the car rate; the tourist office does not say whether a motorhome pays the same. You can also pay with the PayByPhone app
the motorhome section of the Disneyland visitor car park, next to the two parks. The car park opens at 8:00 and closes with Disneyland Park, and motorhomes are the only vehicles that may stay outside opening hours: once the rate is paid, the dated receipt and the QR code open the motorhome area until 10:00 the next morning. The extra day is paid by credit card at the exit, or by other means at the Donald desk at the entrance to Disneyland Park. Caravans and trailers are not allowed in, and the vehicle must not be larger than a coach. The rules forbid putting tables, chairs and awnings outside and washing the motorhome, and the car park is not guarded. Water, waste disposal and electricity are not mentioned on the Disneyland website. The coordinates are those of the visitor car park: the space, the rules say, is shown by the staff on arrival
services not recorded
40 euros a day for a motorhome, from Disneyland's price list read on 25 October 2026, and with the same rate you stay the night, until 10:00 the next morning. Leaving later costs another day, 40 euros. With the Disneyland Pass parking is free, and a motorhome pays a supplement of 15 euros a day · disneylandparis.com/it-it/servizi-per-gli-ospiti/tariffe-parcheggi
the campsite inside the Jablines-Annet leisure park, five hundred hectares of lakes with beaches, nine kilometres from Disneyland. The pitches are half on grass and half on hard ground, with 16 amp electricity; water at the service area is taken with a token from reception. The two toilet blocks are open day and night. For Disneyland there is public bus 2263, which leaves from the campsite every day and takes twenty minutes, and park tickets are sold at reception. The lake beaches open at weekends in May. The operator has not yet published the 2027 dates
129 pitches of 80 to 100 square metres, 60 with electricity, water and drainage
The operator does not publish a price list; in October 2026 people who stayed there paid 108 euros for three nights with electricity. Children under 3 years do not pay · +33 1 60 26 09 37 · camping-jablines.com
In Paris the motorhome stays at the campsite, and you go into the city by metro, RER, bus and on foot. Before setting off you need the Crit'Air sticker, and those with an older motorhome have to choose their campsite and their day of arrival.
The low emission zone of the Métropole du Grand Paris covers everything inside the A86 motorway, which is itself excluded: Paris, the Boulevard Périphérique and the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes. Only vehicles with the Crit'Air 0, 1 and 2 stickers may drive there: Crit'Air 3, 4 and 5 and vehicles without a class are excluded. For vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes the ban applies from Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00, public holidays excluded; for heavy vehicles every day at the same times. The sticker is needed even when parked, and for foreign vehicles too. The period without fines ends on 31 December 2026: from 2027 the fine is 68 euros. The article of law that abolished the low emission zones was struck down by the Constitutional Council on 21 May 2026: today the zone exists, and it is worth checking it again before setting off
The Crit'Air sticker can only be ordered on the official website certificat-air.gouv.fr, in Italian too, with a photo of the registration document: for a vehicle registered abroad it costs 5.11 euros including postage, and it arrives by post at the address on the registration document in about ten working days. Order it at least a month ahead. Other websites that sell it charge more. For cars and light vans a Euro 5 or 6 diesel is Crit'Air 2 and may enter; a Euro 4 diesel, from 2006-2010, is Crit'Air 3 and may not
Motorhomes over 3.5 tonnes: the official pages call vehicles above that weight heavy vehicles, but they do not mention motorhomes, and it is not stated whether a heavy motorhome follows the hours for cars or those for lorries. Ask on the Métropole's freephone number, 0 805 29 93 09
The Pass ZFE 24h gives any vehicle twenty-four days of exemption a year: the vehicle is registered on the Métropole's website at least fifteen days in advance, and each day is requested at least twenty-four hours in advance. Whether it is valid for foreign number plates the page does not say
The Périphérique has a 50 km/h limit, and the left-hand lane, on weekdays from 7:00 to 10:30 and from 16:00 to 20:00, when the white diamond is lit, is reserved for vehicles with at least two people on board, public transport and taxis
Sleeping in a motorhome on the street: there is no motorhome stopover in the city, and in the Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes a by-law of the Ville and the Préfecture de police forbids stopping and parking from sunset to sunrise, even in the car parks along the roads, even in front of the campsite
Public transport tickets: in 2026 a journey by metro, train or RER costs 2.55 euros, and one by bus or tram 2.05. Paper tickets are no longer sold: you buy the rechargeable Navigo Easy card, 2 euros at the stations, or use the Île-de-France Mobilités app; the book of ten tickets no longer exists. The Navigo Semaine, for all zones, costs 32.40 euros; the Paris Visite, also for all zones, 30.60 for one day, 78 for five. The airport ticket costs 14 euros
For Versailles take the RER C to Versailles Château Rive Gauche, from Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel, from Saint-Michel Notre-Dame or from Musée d'Orsay: half an hour on the train and eight minutes on foot to the palace. For Disneyland the RER A to Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy, three quarters of an hour from Châtelet-Les Halles
The Paris Museum Pass is valid for more than fifty museums and monuments, including the Louvre, Orsay, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, the Panthéon, the towers of Notre-Dame and Versailles, but not the Eiffel Tower: it costs 85 euros for two days, 105 for four, 125 for six, counted from the first entry. Time slots at Orsay, the Sainte-Chapelle, the towers of Notre-Dame and the Palace of Versailles must be booked even with the pass, and at the Louvre it is recommended. It is worth it from the age of 26 upwards: before that, citizens and residents of the European Union get in free almost everywhere
Seeing
Sights
Three days on foot and by metro. The first on the water: the Île de la Cité with Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie, then along the Seine to the Louvre and the Tuileries, and in the evening the boat. The second on the Left Bank, from Orsay to the Eiffel Tower, with the Panthéon if it fits in. The third to the north and east, the Marais with the place des Vosges and Montmartre with the Sacré-Cœur. Versailles and Disneyland need a day each. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
1
Notre-Dame
Church · free entry · 48.85294, 2.35005
6 parvis Notre-Dame, place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris
the cathedral of Paris, on the eastern tip of the Île de la Cité, one of the most famous Gothic buildings in the world and the Notre-Dame of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel; it has belonged to the State since 1905. On the night of 15 to 16 April 2019 a fire destroyed the roof and the spire and brought down some of the vaults. After five years of works it reopened on 7 December 2024, with the spire rebuilt and the vaults and the stone light-coloured again. Entry is free, even without booking; on the official website, and only there, you can take a free time slot which on busy days means a shorter wait. Opening hours change with the services, and are on the website. The towers are climbed separately, only with a booked time slot and while places last: 424 steps, and the view over the cathedral and the city; not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo or for small children. They are included in the Paris Museum Pass and free under 18 years, and on 1 May they are closed.
the chapel that Louis IX had built in his palace, finished between 1248 and 1249 in less than seven years, to house the Crown of Thorns and the other relics of the Passion that he had been buying since 1239. It is a great reliquary of glass: in the upper chapel the stained glass windows take the place of the walls, and it is for them that people come. The relics left with the Revolution. It stands inside the Palais de Justice: arrive at the security checks at the time of your booking and allow up to half an hour of waiting on busy days. The time slot must be booked with the Paris Museum Pass too.
Opening hours every day; from 1 April to 30 September 9:00-19:00, with last entry at 18:15; from 1 October to 31 March 9:00-17:00, with last entry at 16:15. Closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December · free under 18 years and, for European Union citizens, under 26; the full price is on the monument's website · +33 1 53 40 60 80 · sainte-chapelle.fr
The Île de la Cité, the Conciergerie and the Vert-Galant
Walk · free entry · 48.85741, 2.34033
the island in the middle of the Seine where Paris was born. Together with the Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, on the quai de l'Horloge, is what remains of the Palais de la Cité, the residence of the kings from the tenth to the fourteenth century, and it can be visited with the Paris Museum Pass. At the other tip of the island, next to the Pont Neuf, is the square du Vert-Galant, a garden at water level under the willows: the place to sit and watch the river. From the island a bridge takes you across to the Île Saint-Louis.
the Seine is seen from the quais, on foot, and from the water. The Batobus is the hop-on hop-off boat: nine stops, Eiffel Tower, Musée d'Orsay, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Notre-Dame, Jardin des Plantes, Hôtel de Ville, Louvre, place de la Concorde and Invalides, and with the 24 or 48 hour ticket you get on as many times as you like; the Notre-Dame stop is on the quai de Montebello, among the boxes of the bouquinistes. The Bateaux-Mouches instead offer the cruise with commentary, past the Invalides, Orsay, the Louvre, the Concorde, the Hôtel de Ville, Notre-Dame, the Conciergerie and the Eiffel Tower: the ticket has neither a set time nor a date: it is good for a year, and you can board any departure.
Opening hours from April to October the Bateaux-Mouches leave every half hour from 10:00 to 22:00, in winter less often · the Batobus 23 euros for 24 hours and 27 for 48, children 13 and 17; the Bateaux-Mouches 20 euros, children 10, free under 4 years, and on their website 17 and 8 euros · batobus.com
the palace of the kings on the Right Bank, between the Seine and the rue de Rivoli, which became the most visited museum in the world. Inside are Western art from the Middle Ages to 1848, the Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, the graphic arts and Islamic art: the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top of the Daru staircase, the Grande Galerie. The glass pyramid stands in the Cour Napoléon, which can be crossed on foot from 7:30 to 21:00. The museum advises booking a time slot even for those who get in free, because it is the only sure way to get in, and tickets are only sold on ticket.louvre.fr: street sellers and look-alike websites are not the museum. On the first Friday of the month, after 18:00, entry is free, except in July and August. The ticket is also valid for the Delacroix museum, on the same day or the next.
Opening hours Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 9:00-18:00, Wednesday and Friday 9:00-21:00; closed on Tuesday, 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Last entry is one hour before closing · from 14 January 2026, 22 euros for citizens and residents of the European Economic Area and 32 for everyone else; free under 18 years and, in the European Economic Area, under 26; the audio guide 6 euros · louvre.fr
the garden that leads from the Louvre to the place de la Concorde, with its avenues, flower beds, ponds and iron chairs, and the Louvre palace at the end; in spring the trees in blossom. It is the way to walk from the Louvre to the Concorde, and from there to the Champs-Élysées. There are free public toilets at the place de la Concorde entrance and on the rue de Rivoli, opposite the rue du 29-Juillet.
the museum of art from 1848 to 1914, inside the Gare d'Orsay, built at the end of the nineteenth century on the Left Bank, opposite the Louvre: painting, sculpture, decorative arts and photography, and above all the Impressionists and those who came after them, Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Rodin. The museum's interior was designed by the Italian architect Gae Aulenti. Of the station there remain the great vault and the great gilded clock. From 10 March 2026 until summer 2028, because of the works on the reception areas, entry is only with a booked time slot, even with the Paris Museum Pass, and with the pass you enter from the Seine side.
Opening hours Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday 9:30-18:00, last entry at 17:00; Thursday 9:30-21:45, last entry at 21:00. Closed on Monday, 1 May and 25 December · free under 18 years, from 18 to 25 for European Union citizens, and for everyone on the first Sunday of the month; the full price is on the museum's website · musee-orsay.fr
Champ de Mars, 5 avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris
the iron tower finished in 1889 for the Universal Exhibition, which became the symbol of Paris. It has three levels: the first and second can be reached on foot, 674 steps, or by lift, the top only by lift from the second level. Prices and opening hours, which change with the season, are on the official website, where you buy the ticket with a set time; the Paris Museum Pass does not include it. You see it from the lawn of the Champ de Mars and from the other bank, from the Trocadéro, with its fountains, and at its foot there is a Batobus stop.
the church that Soufflot designed for St. Genevieve, at the top of the hill of Sainte-Geneviève, in the heart of the Latin Quarter, between Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, the Sainte-Geneviève library and the Sorbonne: the finest view is from the rue Soufflot, coming from the Luxembourg Gardens. The Revolution made it the temple of the great figures of France: Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Jean Moulin, Marie Curie, Simone Veil and Joséphine Baker are honoured here.
Opening hours every day; from 1 April to 30 September 10:00-18:30, with last entry at 17:45; from 1 October to 31 March 10:00-18:00, with last entry at 17:15. On the first Monday of the month it opens at 12:00. Closed on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, and sometimes for ceremonies · free under 18 years and, for European Union citizens, under 26; the panoramic terrace is paid separately on site, 3.50 euros even with the Paris Museum Pass; the full price is on the monument's website
the Right Bank district between the Hôtel de Ville and the Bastille, in the 3rd and 4th arrondissements, with the seventeenth century mansions of the nobility. The name means marsh, but the land was fertile. At its centre is the place des Vosges, built between 1605 and 1612 for Henry IV, which was called the place Royale: one of the first examples in France of a square designed all at once, with identical houses of brick, slate and stone on all four sides, the arcades and the garden in the middle. A few steps away is the Musée Carnavalet, the museum of the history of Paris, in two mansions linked by a gallery, with the entrance at 23 rue de Sévigné and the box garden laid out in the courtyard; opening hours and exhibitions are on the Paris Musées website.
the white basilica at the top of the hill of Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, in a stone that does not hold the smog and turns whiter with the rain. It is a church with adoration day and night: no photographs in the nave, and between 10:30 and 17:00 you wait ten or fifteen minutes to get in. The dome is climbed on foot, 280 steps up a narrow staircase, with no lift, and from the top you see the whole of Paris. You get there by metro line 2 to Anvers and then the funicular, a minute and a half from the square Louise-Michel, every day from 6:00 to 0:45, with a metro ticket, or by metro line 12 to Abbesses. All around is the painters' village of the Belle Époque: the place du Tertre with its easels, the rue de l'Abreuvoir climbing between the low houses, the Maison Rose on the corner.
Opening hours the basilica every day of the year 6:30-22:30; the dome every day 10:15-17:30, with last entry at 17:00, and it closes in the middle of the day for a break · the basilica is free; the dome 8 euros from 16 years, 5 up to 15, on site only · sacre-coeur-montmartre.com
the palace of Louis XIV, about twenty kilometres to the west, outside the low emission zone, with the Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces), Le Nôtre's gardens with their fountains and Marie Antoinette's Trianon. With the RER C from Paris it is half an hour. It has its own page, with the tickets, the Grandes Eaux and the order of the day.
Opening hours from 1 April to 31 October the palace Tuesday to Sunday 9:00-18:30, the Trianon from 12:00; closed on Monday, and in 2025 and 2026, according to the newspapers, on 1 May · the Passeport, with the palace, the gardens and the Trianon, from April to October 35 euros, 32 for citizens and residents of the European Economic Area · +33 1 30 83 78 00 · chateauversailles.fr
Disney's two parks about thirty kilometres to the east, at Chessy: Disneyland Park, the one with the castle, and since 29 March 2026 Disney Adventure World, which used to be called Walt Disney Studios, with the world of Frozen. With the RER A from Châtelet-Les Halles it is three quarters of an hour, and Marne-la-Vallée-Chessy station is in front of the gates. It has its own page, with the tickets, the motorhome car park and the quietest days.
The ticket has a date, and the price changes with the day: check it on the calendar on the official website · disneylandparis.com
Paris has an event almost every week, and here are the ones that change the city for those arriving: the festivals that fill the streets, the museum nights, the sport that closes the centre, and in summer the fountains of Versailles.
Next: New Year's Eve on the Champs-Élysées · 31 Dec
31Dec
New Year's Eve on the Champs-Élysées
on 31 December
the open-air party on the avenue, with images projected onto the Arc de Triomphe and fireworks at midnight, free and very crowded
4Apr
Paris Marathon
in April
the marathon, on a Sunday in April through the streets of the city, which in 2027 reaches its fiftieth edition. The route comes out a few weeks before: on that day, in the centre, get around on foot or by metro
17 May › 6Jun
Roland-Garros
between May and June
three weeks of tennis, the French tournament on clay, in the stadium at the Porte d'Auteuil, on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne
14Jul
Bastille Day, the Fête nationale
on 14 July
the military parade on the Champs-Élysées in the morning and, in the evening, the fireworks from the Champ de Mars, below the Eiffel Tower, after a concert; you watch from the Champ de Mars and the Trocadéro, free. In 2026 the fireworks were set off on the evening of the 13th, for the tenth anniversary of the Nice attack: a declared exception
This year's dates are not out yet
Chinese New Year Parade
in February or March
the lunar new year parade in the Asian quarter of the 13th arrondissement, between the avenue de Choisy, the porte de Choisy and the avenue d'Ivry, on a Sunday a few weeks after the lunar new year, with two weeks of exhibitions and shows around it. In 2026 it was on 1 March, from 12:00 to 17:00, free. On those days parking in the district is restricted
Foire de Paris
between late April and early May
the big fair of home, cooking and crafts, about ten days at Paris Expo, at the Porte de Versailles: in 2025 there were four hundred thousand visitors and fourteen hundred exhibitors. It fills the south-west of the city and its car parks
European Night of Museums
in May
one Saturday evening the museums open free of charge from sunset to midnight, in Paris and all over France. In 2025, the last edition with a date read on an official page, it was on 17 May
Les Grandes Eaux musicales at Versailles
from April to October
the fountains of the Palace of Versailles gardens playing to music, fifty-five fountains and pools and about six hundred water features, with Baroque music in the groves opened for the occasion, from 9:00 to 19:00. In 2026 they were held from 3 April to 1 November, on Saturdays and Sundays, on Tuesdays in May and June and on public holidays, except 1 May. The ticket is for the gardens, and does not include the palace: in 2026 it cost 13 euros for Europeans and 16 for everyone else, free up to 5 years
Les Jardins musicaux at Versailles
from April to October
on the other days of the week, except Monday, the groves of the Palace of Versailles gardens open with Baroque music and some fountains switched on at set times, as at the Bassin du Miroir and the Bassin de Neptune. In 2026 from 1 April to 30 October, at the same prices as the Grandes Eaux
Les Grandes Eaux nocturnes at Versailles
on Saturday evenings in summer
the fountains of the Palace of Versailles gardens lit up, in the evening until after 23:00, and on some evenings with fireworks. In 2026 on Saturdays from 6 June to 19 September and on 14 July. Those who go sleep in Versailles
Paris Plages
in July and August
the beach on the riverside of the Rives de Seine park and at the Bassin de la Villette, with deckchairs, boules, games and sports classes, free. In 2026 from 4 July to 30 August, every day from 10:00 to 18:30
Montmartre Grape Harvest Festival
in early October
the grape harvest festival of the 18th arrondissement, five days from Wednesday to Sunday around the Clos Montmartre vineyard and the Sacré-Cœur, with concerts, shows and talks. In 2026 it was the ninety-third, from 7 to 11 October
Christmas on the Champs-Élysées
from late November to early January
the lights along the avenue and a Christmas market at the end of the Champs-Élysées, which the Ville de Paris put out to tender for the 2026 season, from 22 November to 4 January
Remember
Useful tips
The Crit'Air sticker is ordered at least a month ahead, only on certificat-air.gouv.fr. With a Crit'Air 3 or older motorhome you sleep at Maisons-Laffitte, outside the low emission zone, and arrive and leave in the evening or at the weekend; the Bois de Boulogne campsite is inside the zone
The Paris campsite takes motorhomes up to 8.50 metres, and from 3 April to 24 September every booking costs 26 euros in fees. In spring book early: it is the campsite of everyone who comes to Paris by motorhome
Closing days: the Louvre on Tuesday, Orsay on Monday, and those who want to see both alternate them. On 1 May the Louvre, Orsay, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Panthéon and the towers of Notre-Dame close, and in 2025 and 2026, according to the newspapers, so did the Palace of Versailles; the Sacré-Cœur stays open
Book the time slots before setting off: at the Louvre it is recommended, at Orsay compulsory until summer 2028, and at the Sainte-Chapelle, the towers of Notre-Dame and the Palace of Versailles they are needed even with the Paris Museum Pass. At Notre-Dame you can also get in without one
The spring school holidays in Paris, in 2027, run from 3 to 18 April; but those of the north and west of France, zone B, last from 17 April to 2 May, and Versailles and Disneyland feel the difference. From Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May 2027 there is the Ascension long weekend, for the whole of France
Metro tickets: the Navigo Easy costs 2 euros and is rechargeable, or use the Île-de-France Mobilités app. Paper tickets no longer exist
Under 18s, and citizens and residents of the European Union under 26, get in free almost everywhere: they do not need the Paris Museum Pass
With a dog: it is not allowed on the Paris campsite shuttle, and at Disneyland animals are not allowed into the parks
Onion soup in a motorhome can be made if the oven has a grill: the cocotte goes under the heat from above
Paris · part two
and then?
What to do, what to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
Experiences from here
What we did starting from here, ordered by driving time.
Paris eats in bistrots and buys its bread at the bakery. The dish par excellence of Les Halles, the old wholesale market, is soupe à l'oignon gratinée, onion soup with bread and cheese finished in the oven. The croque-monsieur, sliced bread, ham and toasted cheese, was already being served in 1910 in the cafés of the boulevard des Capucines, near the Opéra. The baguette has been on UNESCO's intangible heritage list since 2022, and every year the Ville de Paris awards a prize to the best one: in 2026 it went to Le Fournil Didot, at 103 rue Didot, in the 14th. From the countryside to the east come Brie de Meaux, the largest of the bloomy-rind cheeses, made with raw milk, and Brie de Melun, smaller and saltier, both designations of origin since 1980. The Parisian macaron, two smooth shells with a filling in the middle, is said to have taken its present form at the beginning of the twentieth century, at Ladurée. For food shopping there is the marché d'Aligre, in the 12th, open-air and covered; the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in the city, in the Marais, burnt down on the night of 11 to 12 October 2026.
peel the onions, slice them and let them turn golden in the butter in a saucepan
when they start to colour add two tablespoons of water, so that they do not burn, and leave them over a gentle heat until they just caramelise: they are what gives the stock its colour
add the flour, which gives a little body, deglaze with the white wine and pour in the stock
bring to a gentle boil and leave to cook for about twenty minutes; season with salt and pepper
toast the slices of bread and place them in the bottom of a cocotte that can go in the oven
pour in the soup: the bread floats back up, and you cover it with the grated cheese
put the cocotte under the oven grill until the top is well browned
the towers of Notre-Dame above the trees of the quay, seen from the SeinePhoto: Szczecinolog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the side of Notre-Dame with the rebuilt spire and the south rose window, from Square René-VivianiPhoto: Rémih, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Christ the Judge in the tympanum of the central portal of Notre-Dame, in the evening lightPhoto: Chabe01, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the nave of Notre-Dame after the restoration, with the pale vaults and the apse windows at the endPhoto: Wozart, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the apse of Notre-Dame on the tip of the Île de la Cité and the houses of the Île Saint-Louis, on a spring eveningPhoto: L-BBE, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0the Conciergerie on the Quai de l'Horloge, with the Batobus passing on the SeinePhoto: xiquinhosilva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Square du Vert-Galant with its willows on the tip of the Île de la Cité, and the Pont NeufPhoto: xiquinhosilva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the spire of the Sainte-Chapelle above the gilded railings of the Palais de JusticePhoto: Mmo75, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the upper chapel of the Sainte-Chapelle looking towards the apse, between the stained glass and the chandeliersPhoto: Pierre Poschadel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0the Passion windows above the relic altar, in the upper chapel of the Sainte-ChapellePhoto: Thomon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0a Bateau-Mouche on the Seine near Notre-Dame, with a tree in blossom on the quayPhoto: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the sign of the Batobus Notre-Dame stop on the Quai de Montebello, among the boxes of the bouquinistesPhoto: jean-louis Zimmermann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0people sitting on the quay along the Seine, with a boat and the Île de la Cité in the distancePhoto: dconvertini, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0the Pont Alexandre-III with its lamps and gilded groups on the columns, and the dome of the Grand Palais behindPhoto: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0a pavilion of the Louvre and the arcades with statues on the facade, from the museum squarePhoto: Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Cour Carrée of the Louvre with the fountain in the middlePhoto: xiquinhosilva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Grande Galerie of the Louvre, with paintings on the walls and light from the skylightPhoto: Mbzt, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top of the Daru staircase in the LouvrePhoto: Wilfredor, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the Louvre palace seen from the flowerbeds of the Jardin des TuileriesPhoto: Michelle Maria, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0trees in blossom and the pool along the Grande allée of the TuileriesPhoto: Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Musée d'Orsay, the old railway station, on the Seine with a boat passing in frontPhoto: Seko Naotomo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0the great gilded clock of the old Orsay station, inside the museumPhoto: Lomita, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro, with the fountains and the Pont d'IénaPhoto: flightlog, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the Eiffel Tower from the lawn of the Champ de MarsPhoto: Pavel Soro London, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the Eiffel Tower on the bank of the Seine, with moored bargesPhoto: Nicolas Halftermeyer, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0the Panthéon at the end of Rue Soufflot, with its dome and flags in front of the columnsPhoto: Guilhem Vellut, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the crossing of the Panthéon under the dome, with the marble floor and the columnsPhoto: David Pendery, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Sacré-Cœur on top of the hill of Montmartre, above the terraced gardensPhoto: Hytioz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Rue de l'Abreuvoir climbing between the low houses of Montmartre, with the domes of the Sacré-Cœur at the endPhoto: Ana Paula Hirama, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0the Maison Rose on the corner of Rue de l'Abreuvoir, in MontmartrePhoto: Ed Ogle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0painters and their easels under the trees of Place du TertrePhoto: I&D Sioma, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0a fountain on Place des Vosges in front of the brick and stone pavilionsPhoto: Guillaume Baviere, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0one of the taller pavilions of Place des Vosges, with the arched passage belowPhoto: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the patterned box hedges in the courtyard of the Musée CarnavaletPhoto: Formulavee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau entrance to the Tuileries metro stationPhoto: Arthur Weidmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0a fruit and vegetable stall under the striped awnings of the Aligre marketPhoto: Jesús Gorriti, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
