Renting a car in Paris is a great way to see the local sights, venture to great nearby attractions such as Euro Disney, and head further afield on fantastic day trips.
Here are some of the best things you can do.
The big tickets
If it’s your very first time visiting Paris, you’ll probably want to tick off all the main attractions. Start with the city’s icon itself, the Eiffel Tower.
Standing 1,050 feet tall, Gustave Eiffel’s elegant masterpiece is a huge draw, and you can reserve tickets online to skip the long lines. You’ll speed to the top in a lift for an unparalleled view of Paris.
Don’t ignore the lower floors though – the 1st has a fine restaurant, with food served in a picnic basket. From time to time an ice rink even opens here, providing one of the most unique skating venues in the world.
Climb the 284 steps of the Arc de Triomphe and you’ll be able to see the 12 avenues spreading out from it. Sitting at its base is the symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, commemorating those who lost their lives in more recent battles.
Then there's the remarkable and iconic Notre Dame de Paris, where construction began in 1163 and finished in the 14th century.
Art attack
The cobbled streets of the Montmartre district retain their ramshackle charm. Street artists vie to sketch your portrait and musicians can be found performing on many corners.
At the district’s peak is Sacré-Coeur. Ascend to its dome and enjoy yet another stellar view of the city, as well as of La Savoyarde – the largest bell in France.
The Louvre packs phenonemal art in all year round of course, and you can catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa’s enigmatic smile. There are arguably greater works to see here though, including the Venus de Milo, Rembrandt’s Bathsheba at Her Bath, incredible Mesopotamian winged bulls from 700BC, Michelangelo’s Dying Slave and Delacroix’s stirring Liberty Leading the People.
The Musée d’Orsay is perhaps more accessible and is just as worthy of your attention, however. Inside a gorgeous old railway station from the height of art-nouveau, it’s peppered with Rodin sculptures and a comprehensive range of work by Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir.
The food of France
Paris is renowned for its incredible palaces of fine food, the kind of places that are garlanded with awards and have five members of staff waiting on your table. But Paris has always been fiercely democratic, so you’ll find plenty of unpretentious brasseries and boulangeries here too.
The street food renaissance has also landed in Paris, with food trucks dotted around the city and street markets opening up to new tastes. Head to Big Fernand on Rue Faubourg for bulging burgers made from Charolais beef topped with Fourme d’Ambert cheese.
There’s so much more of this fairytale city to discover, and car rental in Paris will allow you to explore it all, as well as venture into the charming French countryside beyond.