15 Most Beautiful & Interesting Walking Streets in Paris
Looking for the most beautiful walking streets in Paris? Read on for details – I’ve got some great suggestions for you!
Beyond the incredible monuments, glitz, and food that make Paris such a dream to visit, perhaps my favorite thing is just how beautiful the streets are.
The attention to detail on the buildings is just incredible – intricate carvings, balconies, flowers, and stately doors. Seriously, you can tell that people cared about their work and wanted to do more than just “good enough”.
Much of Paris’s beautiful streets can be attributed to George Haussmann’s renovation of Paris in the 19th century. Under Emperor Napoleon III’s directive, he replaced cramped medieval alleyways with broad avenues, uniform architecture, and expansive green spaces, notably reshaping avenues like the Champs-Élysées.
The Grand Boulevards became emblematic of Haussmann’s Paris, famed for their wide, tree-lined avenues and elegant façades. Today, the classic Parisian architecture style is known as “Haussmanian architecture,” and I am IN LOVE with it!
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that despite having visited Paris seven times, simply walking the streets is still one of my favorite activities to do whenever I come back.
So, below, I have compiled some of my favorite, stunning streets to wander and explore for you to also enjoy!
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15 Beautiful Walking Streets in Paris to Stroll
1. Boulevard Saint Germain
Boulevard Saint Germain is the main artery through the Latin Quarter and Saint Germain neighborhoods, and is a wide, tree-lined avenue with beautiful buildings.
There are a lot of attractions and points of interest accessed by Boulevard Saint Germain. The street starts very close to the Musée d’Orsay and ends right next to La Sorbonne.
You can find Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore on Blvd Saint Germain – these two famous cafes were extremely popular with the artists, writers, and intellectuals that descended on Paris in the late 1800s and early 1900’s.
The Saint Germain des Pres church, a gorgeous, colorfully painted church that is a total hidden gem in Paris, is also on the boulevard, and the Jardin de Luxembourg and the Pantheon are just a short walk away.
2. Parc Monceau to Avenue Hoch
Parc Monceau is a very upscale and gorgeous park popular with locals in the 8th arrondissement. This is my personal favorite garden in Paris (when I spent 3 months in Paris, I lived just 10 minutes away and came here all the time, so it does have some sentimental value for me).
As you walk the wide paths, you can admire the pond lined with Corinthian columns, the big rotunda at the main entrance, and the statues, bridges, and flowers throughout the park.
While I do adore this park, I’m generally not including parks and gardens on this list of walking streets, but here’s why I’m making an exception. If you walk along the main, middle pathway in Parc Monceau, you can exit via the West Gate and continue walking on Avenue Hoch all the way to the Arc de Triomphe.
In fact, you can see the Arc peaking out between the trees, even while you’re still in the park. It’s a beautiful and off-the-beaten-path …path… to stroll in Paris!
3. Rue Cler
Rue Cler is a delightful pedestrian-only market street just a few minutes away from the Eiffel Tower. One of the best ways to enjoy the Eiffel Tower is by picking up picnic supplies from Rue Cler, then heading over and enjoying a delightful Parisian picnic on the Champs de Mars (the green space in front of the tower).
There are a lot of options on Rue Cler, including a few boulangeries, multiple fruit stands, a couple of small grocery stores, and several stands selling hot foods to take away (roasted chicken and potatoes, etc).
You can also find multiple wine shops and a fromagerie (although the fromageries are just off Rue Cler, such as Fromagerie Cantin here or Fromagerie de Grenelle here).
4. Canal Saint Martin
Canal Saint Martin is a 4.6 km long canal that cuts through the center of the right bank of Paris, connecting the Seine to Canal de l’Ourcq in the north. The canal was built in the early 1800s and was used heavily during that century.
Although water traffic has dwindled significantly from when it was first built and used in the early 1800’s, the canal is still used today for shipping and tourist boats.
Most people who visit the canal do so to walk the paths along both banks, cross the multiple bridges, or hang out at the many cafes and restaurants that line the shores.
Note that the canal is quite long and the section right by the Seine isn’t the most scenic. Instead, I’d walk along the section near the Republique metro station – it’s a charming area with great vibes, especially on a warm evening.
5. Passage Vivienne and Passage des Panorames
One thing that many first-time visitors to Paris don’t realize is that the city has several very pretty covered passageways. Two of the most prominent and beautiful passageways are Galerie Vivienne and Passage des Panorames, which are very close to each other and just north of the Louvre and the Palais Royal.
Galerie Vivienne is such a lovely passageway, complete with arched ceilings with skylights and beautiful mosaics covering the floor. Passage des Panorames is also very charming, but is a little narrower, giving it a more intimate feeling.
Both of these “streets” are filled with little shops, cafes, and restaurants, and are a particularly good place to visit in Paris when it’s raining.
6. Champs Elysées
No list of walking streets in Paris would be complete without mentioning the famous Avenue des Champs Elysées. The Champs Elysées is a long, grand, wide boulevard leading from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe.
The name means “Elysian Fields” a paradise for heroes of Greek mythology, and it is generally considered the most famous avenue in the world.
The Champs Elysees is home to a variety of luxury boutiques and trendy shops, movie theaters, and cafés and restaurants. The street is tree-lined and the sidewalks are wide – it’s a fantastic street for strolling down and admiring the view.
If you don’t want to walk the entire avenue, there are 3 different metro stops spaced even out along the Champs Elysées. The closest to the Arc de Triomphe is George V, then Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau.
I have two tips for walking the Champs: First, walk up the street towards the Arc de Triomphe, not away from it. The view of the Arc as you walk up is incredible!
In the same vein, make sure you cross the street at some point during your stroll so you can admire the view up the street and the way it leads up to and frames the massive Arc.
7. Rue de l’Abreuvoir
Rue de l’Abreuvoir is a short but oh-so-charming street in the back end of Montmartre. This street starts by the famous La Maison Rose cafe (an adorable pink cafe), and then curves down to the Place Dalida.
When you get to the bottom of the street, turn around and admire the tops of the Sacré Coeur domes peaking out behind the buildings and the gentle curve of the street as it climbs the small hill.
This is one of my favorite spots to visit in Montmartre.
8. Rue Lepic
Rue Lepic is also in Montmartre and is a long street that does a dramatic curve as it slopes down the hill before ending at the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret.
This is the perfect walking street – generally few cars, a cobblestoned road, and beautiful buildings with stately doors. You’ll pass Moulin de la Galette, one of Montmartre’s two remaining windmills (windmill is moulin in French) – there used to be over 30 here!
The section of Rue Lepic between Rue des Abbesses and Blvd Clichy is a great market-like street, with a fromagerie, chocolates, bakery and pastry shops, and numerous cafes, including Café des Deux Moulins, where scenes in the movie “Amélie,” were set.
9. Along the Seine
Whenever I visit Paris, I always end up walking the pathways along the Seine – they are so peaceful and relaxing. The Seine sits just a little bit below street level of the city, with ramps or stairs leading down to pedestrian-only sidewalks by the river.
These pathways run essentially the entire length of the Seine within central Paris, and there are access points approximately every 1-2 bridges, so it’s not hard to get down to the water’s edge.
And while there aren’t any *bad* sections of the Seine the area between Ile Saint Louis and Place de la Concorde might just be my favorite area, particularly the left bank (the southern side of the Seine).
I also really love walking the Seine near the Eiffel Tower for some great Eiffel Tower viewpoints! Here, I’d recommend walking on the right bank (north side) for the best views.
10. Rue de Rivoli
Rue de Rivoli is the long street that runs parallel to the the Seine, starting from the west at the Place de la Concorde. It then goes along the Jardin de Tuileries and the Louvre Museum, and continues past Hotel de Ville until it reaches Place des Vosges in the Marais.
Along the Louvre, the Rue de Rivoli has a covered sidewalk lined with archways and laid with pretty tiles and you can find a mix of souvenir shops, upscale boutiques and hotels, and cafes (like Angelina – a great place to get hot chocolate in Paris).
Once you get past the Louvre, Rue de Rivoli morphs into a trendy shopping street, with a mix of boutique and budget-friendly stores and chains to shop at.
11. Coulée Verte
La Coulée Verte, nestled in the 4th arrondissement (the Marais), is a delightful elevated walkway on a repurposed railway line. This line operated from 1853 to 1969, before it was transformed into a green corridor designed for pedestrians.
The path features a paved trail, stunning views of the Parisian landscape, and wild vegetation reminiscent of “train emplacements.” This is a local favorite and, at 4.5 km long, is one of longer streets designed for walking in Paris.
12. Rue Montorgeuil
Rue Montorgueil is a pedestrian-only market-like street in Le Marais filled with lots of little shops to pop into.
The street is cute and has many charming shops, plenty of cafes and restaurants (perfect for people watching), and your traditional staples like boulangeries (bakeries), chocolateries, fromageries (cheese shops), boucheries (meat shops), and fruit stands.
A La Mere de Famille and Stohrer are a couple of well-known dessert shops (chocolate and pastries) on Rue Montorgueil.
I love stopping in the fromageries for some local cheese (you can ask a worker for a recommendation), or a “baguette tradition” from Boulangerie Blouet on the north end of the street.
13. Avenue de New York
Avenue de New York is the street that runs right along the Seine, right across from the Eiffel Tower. The street is sometimes combined with the Voie George Pompidou.
This street has a nice sidewalk and excellent views of the Eiffel Tower. It’s a really great area for an Eiffel Tower photo-op, as there’s a little ledge you can sit on, and trees that line the street and beautifully frame in the tower. This is a great street to walk down before or after your visit to the Tour Eiffel.
14. Boulevard Haussman
Boulevard Haussman runs through the 9th arrondissement and is part of the “Grands Boulevards” area of Paris.
The street is named for George-Eugene Haussman, the prefect of Paris from 1853-1870. He who worked tirelessly to improve sanitation, repair roads, construct new grand boulevards, design beautiful facades on buildings, and essentially turn Paris from a rather run-down and decrepit city into the stunning capital it is today.
In fact, the style of facades on the buildings throughout Paris is known as “Haussmanian architecture.”
As you walk down this wide Boulevard, you’ll pass multiple theaters, bars, and upscale shopping establishments including the gorgeous Opera Garnier, and Galeries Lafayette and Printemps (two stunning and upscale “malls”).
15. Rue d’Arcole to Rue du Renard
Finally, the last great walking street on this list takes you from Notre Dame up to the Marais. If you start at Notre Dame, you can walk north on Rue de l’Arcole and cross the Seine on Pont de l’Arcole.
You’ll walk through the square in front of the beautiful Hotel de Ville (City Hall), and then continue heading north along Rue du Renard. Rue du Renard takes you past the Centre Pompidou (the “inside out” modern art museum in Paris), and into the heart of the Marais, the trendy district in Paris.
Tip: You can find many of the free museums in Paris in the Marais.
Beautiful Streets in Paris – The Wrap Up
Paris is really best experienced on foot, where you can soak up the sites and the views. Be sure to hit up a few of these great streets, whether they are top attractions or more hidden gems, on your next trip to Paris.
