The Atlas Obscura Guide To

Paris

130 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Paris, France

Unusual
Attractions
in Paris

Catacombes de Paris

The Catacombs hold secrets much stranger than the bones stacked within them.

Museum of Vampires and Legendary Creatures

The macabre collection of Jacques Sirgent, an expert scholar on the undead and all of their trappings.

Laetitia Barbier

Added by Laetitia Barbier

59 Rivoli

Notorious artist squat renovated into legal studios.

Allison

Added by Allison

Père Lachaise Cemetery

France's most famous cemetery, with some of its most curious tombs.

Added by meelar

Petite Ceinture

Abandoned railway line circling the city of Paris.

Allison

Added by Allison

House of Nicolas Flamel

The oldest stone house in Paris was built by its most famous alchemist.

Allison

Added by Allison

Shakespeare and Company

This iconic Parisian bookstore doubles as the "Tumbleweed Hotel" for traveling writers.

Madiha Bataineh

Added by Madiha Bataineh

Bibliothèque nationale de France (National Library of France)

This massive library holds what was once largest book collection in the world.

Added by cinapelayo

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Unique
Food & Drink
in Paris

Aligot

Gastro Obscura

Aligot

These extra-cheesy potatoes resemble decadent fondue.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

Floating Island

Gastro Obscura

Floating Island

The 17th-century dessert plants an isle of meringue in a sea of custard.

Gastro Obscura

Anne Ewbank

Added by Anne Ewbank

Vin Mariani

Gastro Obscura

Vin Mariani

Presidents and popes loved this cocaine-infused wine.

Gastro Obscura

rachelrummel

Added by rachelrummel

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Stories
About Paris

Sibyle Moulin, a beekeeper, cares for the bees on this storied roof.

The People Keeping Bees on Paris's Most Famous Landmarks

Bees make honey on the rooftops of the Notre Dame and Musée d'Orsay.

by Courtney Lichterman

August 10, 2018

A rat enjoying life in Paris's Parc de Bercy.

One District in Paris Is Creating a Map of Rat Sightings

The rodent map marks reports of animals both dead and alive.

by Sarah Laskow

A Guinea baboon in the Paris zoo.

50 Escaped Baboons Shut Down a Paris Zoo

Precisely how they got out remains a mystery.

by Natasha Frost

January 26, 2018

Experts confirmed that <em>Hill of Montmartre with Stone Quarry</em> (1886) was sketched by Vincent van Gogh.

Found: Two New Drawings by Vincent van Gogh

Sketches of Montmartre by the elusive Dutch Postimpressionist.

by Vittoria Traverso

January 16, 2018

A corpse is carried out through the morgue, c. 1840s.

Death as Entertainment at the Paris Morgue

In the late 19th century, tourists flocked to see bodies and guess how they got there.

by Michael Waters

January 11, 2018

A 19th-century engraving of the Marquis de Sade, whose works were as political as they were pornographic.

The Manuscript of '120 Days of Sodom' Has Been Declared a National Treasure

A nation embraces the Marquis de Sade's controversial masterpiece.

by Natasha Frost

December 18, 2017

New York's Times Square was home to a number of these adult movie theaters, many of which were closed during the AIDs epidemic.

The Little Death of the Adult Movie Theater

The final erotic cinema in Paris is closing its doors after over 40 years.

by Natasha Frost

December 04, 2017

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's "Monument des Aéronautes" once stood proudly in the Porte des Ternes.

France's Lost Pigeon-and-Balloon Memorial Is Well Worth Remembering

The statue—made by the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty—paid tribute to a flock of 19th-century war heroes.

November 16, 2017

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