Ah Paris, its inhabitants, you, me, love, and all the craziness it inspires, but also its overpriced cafes, ridiculously expensive restaurants, and taxi scams... We love it, but damn, it drains us. So for you my broke little ones, unfortunate souls that Parisian life has left high and dry but unable to leave it, here is a non-exhaustive list of free activities to do in the capital, just to keep loving it without emptying your bank account. And have a great week.
1. Chill at the Buttes Chaumont
2. Enjoy the free nocturne at the Louvre and the Château de Versailles
3. Go to the museum on the first Sunday of the month
4. Have a free couscous at a couscous night at l'Espace B
5. Roll down the slope of Sacré-Cœur on rollerblades
6. Get lost in the illegal Catacombs and scare the crap out of yourself
7. Throw a secret rave at the Tuileries Gardens
Under the ring road. 8. Take a basketball taxi. 9. Complain. 10. Climb all 1362564245 stairs of Montmartre. 11. Swim in the Canal de l'Ourcq in the summer. 12. Visit the sewers of Paris. 13. Take a walk along the Coulée Verte. 14. Stroll through Montmartre at dusk on a warm summer evening, and celebrate the grape harvest at the same time. 15. Take a walk in Paris at night and marvel at its lights. 16. Go to the outdoor cinema at La Villette. 17. Play foosball at Ground Control.18. Enter a random building and go up to the rooftop.
19. Enjoy sparkling water from the fountains.
20. Be instantly transported to Japan by visiting the Kahn garden.
21. Go to the end of the markets and collect unsold items.
22. Have a picnic in Monceau park.
23. Donate blood at the Forum des Halles and receive a free sandwich.
24. Relax on the lounge chairs in the Tuileries.
25. Feed the pigeons.
26. Joke about fare dodging on the metro...
27. Enjoy free fries at Ô Petit Paris.
28. Attend an outdoor meditation class. Find more information here.
Inhale air in a park in the 12th arrondissement. 29. Settle at the Sainte-Geneviève library, nice and cool when it's hot outside. 30. Attend a concert at the Maison de la Radio. 31. Go for a jog along the Seine. 32. Go to the free concerts at the Supersonic or Zorba. 33. Get wasted at Thursday evening art openings. 34. Stroll through the flea markets of Saint-Ouen. 35. Chill at Paris Plages (has anyone been there yet?). 36. Dip your feet in the Canal Saint Martin. 37. Visit 59 Rivoli. 38. Take a free sports class with a coach throughout the month of June at Beaugrenelle. 39. Watch the women's soccer cup at the Forum des Halles.40. Swap at the Boutique Sans Argent (12th arrondissement)
41. Walk faster than everyone else in the metro to make people think you're a true Parisian
42. Pretend to be intellectual with a book at a terrasse without actually managing to read it
43. Make a three-point shot on the colorful basketball court on Rue Duperré
44. Soak up the sun on Rue des Martyrs on Saturday afternoons, when the street is pedestrian-only and no cars pollute your air or auditory space
45. Throw away all the electric scooters you come across on the sidewalk
46. Take a dip in the Villette Basin
47. Spend the whole day making love without leaving
48. Use a book box in the parks of the 9th arrondissement
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49. Go for a wild picking in the Bois de Vincennes
50. Grow your vegetables at the Potager des Oiseaux in the heart of Le Marais