The building was a train station before being converted into one of our favorite museums. They're best known for their Impressionist collection, though they have plenty of other media and genres. Worth going just for the architecture and views over the Seine!

The Bon Marche was the world's first department store! Today is is owned by LVMH and has an fun and eclectic selection of fashion, home goods, cosmetics, etc. We really like the paper goods area in the back corner of the top floor.

The Grand Epicerie is our favorite place in the city. It's a giant fancy grocery store/food market with pretty much everything you could ever want to eat. Their cheese counter, bakery, and produce section are notable. They also have a pre-prepared area that's great for an easy lunch. They're part of and next door to the Bon Marche. Excellent for souvenirs to bring home. Last fact - their wine cave is the largest in Paris!

Charles Garnier won the commission to design this opera and ballet venue in 1858. If you want to see the Opera or Ballet, we highly recommend you book at this venue (they also perform at Bastille). You can also buy a ticket and walk yourself through - doesn't take more than half an hour and so beautiful to see.

This is a classic market street in Paris with all the classic shops - the cheese store, wine store, bakery, fruit store, seafood store, etc. There are great restaurants and boutiques on the side streets connecting it to Rue Montmartre. A great area to stroll and have a meal or drink. It's not far from the Louvre and a nice change of pace when you finish with the museum.

This is another fun area with lots of restaurants, boutiques, and museums. We love to shop and explore here. Places des Voges is a historic square with a lovely little park (Victor Hugo lived here). Flux is a cool concept store with a bunch of little shops concentrated on one street. The Picasso museum is great if you're a fan of his work. The Marche des Enfants Rouges is an outdoor food market with lots of excellent restaurant stalls. The falafel place on Rue des Rosiers is worth the hype.

Sylvia Beach founded this bookstore in 1919 and it became a gathering spot for the Lost Generation - Hemingway, Fitzgerald, James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, and more. It closed in WWII and was reopened after the war by American bookseller George Whitman. He instituted the "tumbleweed" policy still in place today - young artists are welcome to sleep in the beds upstairs in exchange for help around the store. One of few places to buy English books (Galignani and Smith & Sons also do).