Tear Apart a Boulangerie Croissant and Count the LayersBuy a croissant from a local boulangerie and tear it apart. Count the flaky layers — a good one has more than you can hold.Food & DrinkEasy20 min
Get Lost in a Covered PassageFind the glass-roofed Galerie Vivienne near the Palais-Royal and walk its full mosaic-floored length without checking a map.Hidden GemMedium45 min
Funniest Love-Lock MessageHead to the Pont de l'Archevêché behind Notre-Dame, where padlocks still creep back onto the railings, and snap a close-up of the most ridiculous message.Photo HuntEasy30 min
Funniest Métro Station NameRide the métro and write down the silliest station name you pass. Say it out loud in your best accent.ActiveEasy40 min
Stare Down a GargoyleFind a stone gargoyle on an old building and take a photo mimicking its exact grumpy expression.Local DetailMedium35 min
Café Chair OlympicsSit at a sidewalk café with the chairs facing the street (like a local) and order something pointing only with your finger.CultureEasy1 hr
Point at the Stinkiest CheeseWalk into a fromagerie and bravely buy the cheese that smells the most alarming. Eat it on a park bench.Food & DrinkBold30 min
Riverside Book BargainBrowse the green riverside book stalls (bouquinistes) and find the oddest vintage postcard or poster to take home.Hidden GemEasy40 min
Out-Mime a Street PerformerFind a street performer and, from a respectful distance, mirror their moves for a full minute. Tip them after.SocialMedium25 min
Ride a Tiny CarouselFind the double-decker Carrousel de Saint-Pierre at the foot of Sacré-Cœur and take a gloriously unironic spin under Montmartre.FamilyEasy20 min
Run the Canal Saint-Martin Quays at DawnLace up early and run the car-free quays of the Canal Saint-Martin, north toward the Bassin de la Villette, with the regulars before the iron footbridges fill with selfie-takers.ActiveMedium45 min
Run the Coulée Verte Elevated Rail TrailJog the planted, elevated Coulee Verte Rene-Dumont starting behind the Opera Bastille, gliding above the rooftops on an old train viaduct where commuting runners beat the heat.ActiveEasy35 min
Boo the villain at the Luxembourg Guignol theatreSqueeze onto a tiny bench at the Theatre des Marionnettes du Luxembourg, where generations of French kids have heckled the puppet villain since the show still runs Wednesdays and weekends.FamilyEasy50 min
Captain a stick-powered sailboat in the TuileriesRent a little wooden voilier at the Grand Bassin of the Jardin des Tuileries and nudge it across the pond with a long pole, exactly as Parisian children have done since 1906.FamilyEasy40 min
Touch everything at the Cite des EnfantsBook a timed session at the hands-on Cite des Enfants inside the Cite des Sciences in Parc de la Villette, where kids are actually told to push, pump and splash the water-and-wind exhibits.FamilyEasy1 hr 30 min