Personalize Your Visit to Paris with These Memorable Hands-On Activities

Paris is the most popular international destination for American tourists, yet many never see the real Paris and instead spend their time running from one tourist attraction to the next. While it would be a shame to visit Paris and not see the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame and other key attractions, there's much more to Paris than the tourist hotspots. The problem with Paris for the one-time visitor, in fact, may be the number of "must-see" attractions. Tourists determined to see everything on the "must-see" list, may miss the forest for the trees.

How to Experience the Real Paris

One way to experience Paris as the Parisians experience it is to rent an apartment in one of Paris' many outlying arrondisements, rather than stay in a hotel. Living in Paris for a week or two offers a very different perspective than staying in a hotel and dining in restaurants for every meal. Many booking agencies advertise online and can be helpful in finding a short-term rental.

Enjoy the Essence of Paris

Paris is known for its fine cuisine, perfumes, art and fashions. One way to immerse yourself in these Paris mainstays is to delve into them as an active participant:

Get Personal with Gastronomie

You'll have plenty of occasion to explore Paris cuisine by eating, but why not commit a few hours to a culinary class where you learn French food preparation skills you can take home with you? Two places to try your hand at a single-shot French cooking class include Escoffier Ecole de la Gastronomie and La Cuisine de Marie Blanche, where you can choose to focus on meals or pastry.

Take in a Runway Fashion Show

You can see fashion in the store windows but if you want to take the Paris fashion experience to another level, sign up to watch Galeries Lafayette weekly Tuesday fashion show. Attendance requires advance booking so check online at least a month before you travel.

On the Scent of Scents

Perfume is a popular Paris souvenir. You can buy it in any department store and in specialty stores. But you can make your perfume experience richer by first visiting Le Théatre des Capucines, 39, boulevard de Capucines, Tel. 33 01 42 60 37. Here, you can learn the important role the Nose plays in the perfume-making process and test your own skill at distinguishing perfume families.

Become a Parisian Artist

Watching the artists set up along the Seine and outside of Sacre Coeur is an intrinsic part of the Paris experience. You can join the artists at work and create your own memorable Paris artworks by signing up for a one-session art workshop.

Engaging in hands-on experiences that explore essential Parisian themes will provide more sensory memories to cherish once your Paris visit is done than a soon-forgotten restaurant meal or bottle of perfume from the department store shelf.

Read more about visiting Paris:

Exploring the Shopping Passages of Paris, France

Top Two Paris Cathedrals Travel Guide

Paris Tourist Scavenger Hunts: Carousels and Street Names