Paris can cost a fortune, but some of its greatest pleasures are free, and this week is a particularly good one for them. Sunday 7 June is the first Sunday of the month, when many of the city's national museums open their doors for nothing, and Saturday night brings a free late-night art event at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Add the parks, the riverbanks and the view from Montmartre, all free every day, and you have a full week without spending much at all. Here is your guide to the best free things to do in Paris for the week of 1 to 7 June 2026, with a few low-cost extras if you want them. Any prices are in euros and correct at the time of writing.
Free in Paris this week in 30 seconds. On Sunday 7 June, the first Sunday of the month, the national museums are free for all, from the Musee d'Orsay with its Renoir show to the Orangerie and the Picasso Museum (reserve a free slot online first). On Saturday 6 June the Fondation Louis Vuitton opens late and free for Nuit Blanche. The rest of the week, Montmartre, the Seine, Pere Lachaise and the great parks cost nothing. One caveat: the big monuments are not free this Sunday, only the museums.
Free this week
The headline is the first-Sunday-of-the-month free museum day, which falls on Sunday 7 June. On that day, entry is free for everyone at a long list of national museums, including the Musee d'Orsay and its blockbuster Renoir exhibition, the Orangerie with Monet's Water Lilies, the Picasso Museum, the Musee du quai Branly, the Cluny medieval museum and the Arts et Metiers. It is one of the best cultural deals in Europe. The catch is that several of these museums now ask you to reserve a free timed slot online in advance, so book before you go rather than turning up hoping to walk in. For the full art picture this week, see our Paris art and exhibitions guide.
There is more free culture on Saturday night. The Fondation Louis Vuitton joins the city-wide Nuit Blanche on Saturday 6 June with free late-night access from 8pm to midnight, a rare chance to see its Calder retrospective after dark for nothing. One important caveat to save disappointment: the first-Sunday-free scheme covers the national museums, not the monuments, so the Arc de Triomphe, the Pantheon, Sainte-Chapelle and the Palace of Versailles all still charge admission in June.
The free Paris that never closes
So much of what makes Paris magical costs nothing at all. Climb the hill of Montmartre to the Sacre-Coeur basilica, free to enter, for one of the best views in the city, then lose yourself in the village streets and the artists' square behind it. Wander the medieval lanes of the Marais, browse the bouquinistes' book stalls along the Seine, and cross to the Ile de la Cite to see the exterior of Notre-Dame. The city's great cemeteries are free and extraordinary too: Pere Lachaise, the final resting place of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf, is a hushed open-air museum in its own right.
Then there are the parks. The Jardin du Luxembourg, with its palace, fountains and toy sailboats, is the most beloved green space in the city. The Tuileries roll out between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde, the Champ de Mars gives you a free front-row seat beneath the Eiffel Tower, and the wilder Buttes-Chaumont up in the 19th rewards anyone who ventures off the tourist track. Every one of them is free, and in early June they are at their best.
And there is always more once you start looking. Paris's covered passages, the glass-roofed 19th-century arcades like the Galerie Vivienne and the Passage des Panoramas, are free to stroll and full of old bookshops and tearooms. The Coulee verte, the planted walkway built on a disused railway viaduct that inspired New York's High Line, runs free above the 12th arrondissement. For a panorama without a ticket, ride the escalators to the rooftop terrace of the Galeries Lafayette department store, free and looking straight across to the Opera and the Eiffel Tower. Wander the two river islands, the Ile de la Cite and the impossibly pretty Ile Saint-Louis, or strike out for the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in the northeast, with its cliffs, waterfall and clifftop temple, a local favourite that costs nothing. And the best free show of all comes after dark: the monuments light up, the Seine glitters, and on the hour the Eiffel Tower breaks into its five-minute sparkle, best watched from the Trocadero or the Champ de Mars with a picnic and a bottle of something. None of it costs a centime.
The secret, free Paris
Some of the city's most memorable free moments are the ones the guidebooks skip. Duck into a quiet church like Saint-Eustache or Saint-Sulpice to catch the organ, follow the hidden courtyards and artists' studios of the eastern arrondissements, or seek out the street art of Belleville and the last working vineyard in Montmartre. For a whole trove of these, our guide to the hidden side of Paris wanders through its secret passages and underground wonders, while our guide to the city's secret cultural gems points you to the corners most visitors never find. Almost all of it is free, and all of it is more rewarding than another hour queueing for the obvious.
A free day, well spent
If you want to string it together, a free day in Paris flows beautifully. Start the morning in Montmartre and the Sacre-Coeur, then come down for a long wander through the Marais and along the river, past the bookstalls and the bridges. In the afternoon, dip into one of the free national museums if it is the first Sunday, or simply settle into the Luxembourg gardens with a coffee. As the evening softens, walk the Seine to the Champ de Mars and wait for the Eiffel Tower to start its hourly sparkle, free and unforgettable. If you would rather see the river from the water, a one-hour illuminated evening cruise is a small splurge from €17. Looking for ideas with the children in tow? Our Paris with kids guide has plenty.
Frequently asked questions
What free things are on in Paris this week?
For 1 to 7 June 2026, the highlight is the first-Sunday-of-the-month free museum day on Sunday 7 June, when the national museums including the Musee d'Orsay, the Orangerie and the Picasso Museum are free for all. On Saturday 6 June the Fondation Louis Vuitton opens free and late for Nuit Blanche.
Which Paris museums are free on the first Sunday of the month?
Many national museums, including the Musee d'Orsay, the Orangerie, the Picasso Museum, the Musee du quai Branly, the Cluny medieval museum, the Guimet and the Arts et Metiers. Several now require a free timed slot booked online in advance, and the Louvre is not part of the scheme.
What is the best free thing to do in Paris?
Climbing to the Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre for the view, free to enter, is hard to beat, as is an evening stroll along the Seine to the Champ de Mars to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle. The city's parks and the Pere Lachaise cemetery are also free and unmissable.
Is the Eiffel Tower free?
You cannot go up for free, but admiring it from the Champ de Mars or the Trocadero is free and spectacular, especially on the hour after dark when it sparkles. Tickets to climb or take the lift can be booked in advance with tickadoo.
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