Top 5 Don't-Miss Spots on Your Trip to Paris

I know I don't have to tell you you should visit the Louvre, Notre Dame, take a day trip to Versailles, but what are some of other things to do in Paris you may not automatically know you should add to your Paris trip itinerary? I'm here to help! 

Whether you are visiting Paris for the first time or the tenth, hopefully at least one of these marvelous places will be new to you. Paris, like many great cities, seems to have an endless supply of museums and other fun places and things to see. I know haven't discovered all of what Paris has to offer yet, but I look forward to my next visit whenever that may be! Here are my top 5 places you absolutely should visit on your next trip to Paris!

Ladurée 

Perhaps like the Louvre and other big sites, I also don't have to tell you you should visit Ladurée. For me it is always a must-visit in any city I should visit that has a location. I will forever blame Sofia Coppola's 2006 Marie Antoinette film for my longtime dream to visit this famous patisserie, and though I have now been dozens of times (most casually to London's Covant Garden location post-cocktails on the way to the Tube at the end of a great night out!), the magic of Ladurée never fades for me. The pastries, including the famous macarons, are of course divine, but so are the teas! I really recommend stopping in for an afternoon tea so you get to experience the beautifully decorated rooms. A personal sized teapot of one of Ladurée's yummy teas will set you back about $8 euros, a fancy pastry is around 10 euros, so you know--about 2 times the cost of your average Starbucks visit ;) In all seriousness, though a pricier snack stop, I really think the experience is worth it! We went for tea twice on this last trip, buying macrons before we left each time to enjoy later, and on the final day of our trip we even stopped in the special tea and candle only boutique along the Tuileries to buy some teas to take home. With several locations around the city, it is easy to find one close to the other attractions on your itinerary to visit!

Parc Monceau

Though the large Tuileries gardens or the Jardin du Luxembourg may be in your plans already, my new favorite park in Paris is the Parc Monceau in the 8th arrondissement. Smaller now than it was when first created in the late 18th century, parc Monceau is filled with utterly charming follies. For those unfamiliar with this landscaping term, a folly is "...a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of garden ornaments usually associated with the class of buildings to which it belongs"(wiki naturally). AKA cute fake roman temples, ruined castle towers, or in the case of parc Monceau even a miniature Egyptian pyramid. Filled with these fun follies, a cute retro carousel, and a gorgeous variety of trees and flowers we enjoyed walking through the park even in the chilly rainy weather we were stuck with that day. With several smaller museums nearby, the parc is a great addition to any day of exploring the city!

Galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie Comparée

Speaking of smaller museums, though the Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée is rather a large building (and huge collection) I had never heard of it before I began doing research for our trip. Part of the complex of museums in Paris' botanical gardens (Jardin des Plantes) and natural history museums, this is a gallery unlike any you have likely visited before. I have been to several natural history museums, I rather like them, but this place really blew my mind. Two floors seem to house every type of skeleton possible, from tiny mice to pterodactyls. Endlessly fascinating on their own, the specimens themselves are arranged and labeled just as they were when the gallery opened in 1898 for the l' Expositions universelles de Paris of 1900 creating an even more transporting experience as you step back in time to view natural history just the way the visitors of the Belle Epoque did. You must visit this museum! (and I've got a whole bunch more photos coming up for you soon in a whole dedicated post soon) A magical place, similar to my next pick...

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(Photo: Marc Dantan, source)

Deyrolle

Unfortunately this next must-visit spot doesn't allow photos inside, so I had to *ahem* "borrow" a few from around the web. Perhaps it is better that they don't allow photography inside however, as then I would have been there for hours just photographing the amazing things inside this storied interior. Since 1831 Deyrolle has been the institution for natural history lovers passing through Paris. In its current location since the 1880s and still the city's favorite (and most famous, even featured in the Film Midnight in Paris) taxidermy shop by far, I had jotted down the address hoping we would have time to try and find the shop to have a browse. I never imagined just how magical it would be inside, with beautiful (and ethically sourced, according to them) taxidermy, sea shells, bones, and corals in old Victorian style wood and glass cabinetry every where you look.

Then there was the entomology room (as seen above with the butterflies), what a dangerous room! You see, I have always wanted framed butterflies, so when faced with a room full of every butterfly (and moth, and beetle, and bee...) imaginable, and helpful attendants ready to place them in shadow boxes for you...my budget just fell to the wayside and I just had to get a butterfly. You can see the specimen I chose in my recent YouTube video (Paris Haul), and though I chose a pricier butterfly (oops) some were really affordable and going through the endless drawers of beautiful colored wings was an enchanting experience to say the least. Even if you don't have any interest in starting a cabinet of curiosities yourself, Deyrolle is a must visit shop in Paris even if you only end up browsing.

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Musée Jacquemart-André

Who doesn't love a glorious house museum? My favorite museums in the world are all house museums (hello Wallace Collection, I miss you!), and the Musée Jacquemart-André is certainly among these. I actually visited this museum on my first visit to Paris in 2012, and unfortunately don't have any photos of my own to show you. I'm pretty sure, at least this was the case when I visited, they don't allow photography inside (goodness I hate that, I sorta understand, but as a blogger I HATE it....). Pity because this place is a visual feast!

The museum consists of the collection amassed by Édouard François André and his wife (herself a painter) Nélie Jacquemart-André. Prolific art collectors in the middle to late Victorian era, the couple curated a glorious collection of paintings, objects, and decorative arts and then built a glorious mansion to house it all. André left everything to his wife, who knowing how her husband wished the house to become a museum, left the house and collection to the Institut de France. Opened to the public in 1913, the museum was instantly popular due to the renown of the couple. The house itself is beautiful, and the artworks inside elevate the place to a fairy tale worthy mansion. I can recommend visiting the museum's restaurant as well as we had a lovely lunch after our visit back in 2012! Put this museum on your list, you will not regret it!

Some other spots to visit? Take the time to visit the inside of the Palais Garnier opera house for the full Phantom of the Opera experience, or just because it is above and beyond gorgeous. A visit to the famous bookshop Shakespere and Co. is always fun, even if sure- you can buy English language books at home. How often can you wander through an extra quaint bookshop with a cat on the second floor and a view of Notre Dame out the front door? Then if you are going to be visiting the Parc Monceau (and you are right?) you must visit the adjacent Musée Nissim de Camondo, as it is another great house museum with beautiful 18th century decorative arts.

Paris is full of great attractions and museums, but it is definitely worth getting off the well beaten (for good reasons don't doubt it!) tourist path and visit some of the smaller or less known places and museums! What are your favorite smaller museums in the places you have visited? And for those who frequent Paris (lucky you!) what else should I not miss next time I visit Paris?