things to do in Paris –
October 2012

• Get a Paris City Pass
  Free entrance to sixty of the city's best museums and monuments plus unlimited rides on the Metro.
  Read Our Complete Guide to Paris City Passes »
• Arrange Your Paris Airport Transfer
  By private car, shuttle van, taxi, train or bus.
  Read Our Complete Guide to Paris Airport Transfers »
• Book Your Activities in Advance
  Don't wait until the last minute, many activities and events fill up quickly.
  Read Our Guide to Day Trips from Paris »

Things to Do in Paris – Activities

NEW! Loire Valley Wines & Châteaux Tour

Famous for castles, rivers and bridges, the Loire Valley is also famous for its diverse and delicious wines. Sancerre, Muscadet, Vouvray, Anjou, Saumur and Chinon — these are the famous wine appellations you discover on a Loire Valley full-day wine & châteaux tour. Along the way explore Château de Chambord, Château de Chenonceau and Château de Nitray.
• Loire Valley Wines & Châteaux Tour »

NEW! On the Trail of Van Gogh & Monet

Go beyond Paris museums to see where the masterpieces of France were created. This carefully-crafted day trip takes you to Normandy to explore Giverny and Auvers sur Oise where Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh lived and painted over 100 years ago. Group size is limited to 8 people and a classic French lunch is included.
On the Trail of Van Gogh & Monet »

NEW! Paris to Provence

Enjoy the ride through French countryside on the TGV and in precisely 2 hours and 41 minutes arrive in sunshine in Avignon. See the best of Provence from St Remy de Provence, Pont du Gard to the ancient town of Les Baux. After a full day in Provence, you are returned to the Avignon train station for a relaxing ride back to Paris.
• Paris to Provence Day Trip »

Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge & Seine River Cruise

This popular tour combines the best of Paris. Take a tour of the Eiffel Tower, an evening cruise on the Seine with dinner and then over to the Moulin Rouge for champagne and a show. The best part — all the details are taken care of. Remember, you're on vacation!
• Book Your Eiffel Tower, Moulin Rouge & Seine River Cruise »
• Complete Guide to the Moulin Rouge »
• Guide to Eiffel Tower Tours »

Romantic Horse & Carriage Ride

Crisp, fall days are perfect for taking a horse and carriage ride through the streets of Paris. Trot on cobblestone streets past the most famous Paris landmarks with a blanket to keep you warm and a glass of champagne to keep you refreshed.
• Book A Romantic Horse & Carriage Ride »
• Good Places to Drink Champagne in Paris »

D-Day Tour From Paris – Day Trip

A Paris Insiders Guide favourite

This is one of the most popular day trips from Paris. Visit the historic Normandy D-Day beaches and the surrounding battelfields — events that marked the begining of the end of World War II. We recommend the small group tour in a minivan, that collects you at your Paris hotel.
• D-Day Tour From Paris – Day Trip »

• Read Our Complete Guide to Day Trips from Paris »

October 2012 Paris Updates

Paris is world famous for its gourmet food. Get the inside scoop on the Paris food scene by booking a food activity before you leave home.

Read our reviews of the best Paris food and wine tours, tastings and trips. Remember to book in advance, before you arrive in Paris; these tours are popular and sell out! We show you how to book online easily. Read our guides —

• Insiders Guide to Paris Food & Wine Activities »
• Insiders Guide to Private Day Trips to Champagne »
• More Paris Food & Wine Walking Tours »
• More Wine & Champagne Tours »

Things to Do in Paris – Events

Salon du Chocolat

Chocolate lovers unite! If you're in Paris and a chocolate lover, this event will plug you into the latest choco-trends with plenty of chocolate tastings, demonstrations and symposiums.

Meet the growers of cocoa, taste delicacies from the best Paris chocolatiers, and attend the famous Chocolate Dresses Fashion Show.

• Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
• October 31 to November 4, 2012
• Website »

Nuit Blanche – White Night 2012

Things to do in Paris – Night. This fantastic event is the brainchild of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë. His idea was to create a Paris all-nighter with monuments, museums, and theaters kept open from dusk to dawn. Ten years later, Nuit Blanche is more popular than ever. Expect to be one of thousands that stay awake all night exploring the artistic side of Paris. At dawn, revellers enjoy a free breakfast compliments of the Hôtel de Ville. How cool is that!?
• October 6, 2012

Fête des Vendanges

Join the festivities at Montmartre's Mairie (town hall) as they harvest their annual crop to produce 500 bottles of Clos Montmartre. It's the last working vineyard in Paris and Montmartians celebrate with parades, tastings and wine-related festivities.
• Montmartre Mairie
• October 10 to 14, 2012
• Website »

Things to Do in Paris – Ballet

Tribute to George Balanchine

Balanchine was one of the most signficant choreographers of the 20th century. Experience his artistic periods from classic Franco-Russian to the post-modern. The Paris Opera Ballet performs three signature works with music by Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Don't miss this one-performance-only special.
• Palais Garnier
• October 15
• Buy TIckets Onlin – Tribute to George Balanchine »

The Rake's Progress – Opera at Palais Garnier

A Paris Insiders Guide favourite

Stravinsky's morality three-act opera is set in 18th century England and was inspired by a series of eight paintings by Hogarth. The setting is classic 18th century Mozart but with Stravinsky's dazzling orchestral style. Performed in English.
• Palais Garnier
• October 12, 19, 22, 25, 28, 30
• Find Tickets for The Rake's Progress »

• Complete List of Performances at Palais Garnier October 2012 »

Things to Do in Paris – Classical Music

Vivaldi – The Four Seasons

Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's legacy to classical music. Listen to the seasons as interpreted by Italian legend – Antonio Vivaldi.
• La Sainte Chapelle
• October 1, 6, 7
• Book Your Tickets Online »

Bach Sonatas & Partitas

These six works by Bach were completed in 1720 and today are an integral part of the violin repertoire, frequently performed and recorded. Enjoy Bach's masterpieces performed in the acoustically perfect La Sainte Chapelle.
• La Sainte Chapelle
• October 2, 7
• Get Tickets Online »

Quatuor Classik

Things to do in Paris – Historic Venue. Famous adagios will be performed by the Quatuor Classik Ensemble focusing on the the baroque, classical, and romantic periods.
• La Sainte Chapelle
• October 5
• Book Your Tickets Online »

London Symphony Orchestra

Marvel at the contrast between Brahm's and Szymanowski's second symphonies. Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D Major is light and joyful, influenced by the post-Romantic generation. Szymanowski's Symphony No. 2 is more dramatic and soulful.
• Salle Pleyel
• October 7
• Get Your Tickets Online »

Classical Music Concert Series

Listen to the best of Mozart, Paganini, Handel and Bach performed in La Sainte Chapelle, a hidden treasure of Paris architecture. There are performances most days in October, check for available dates.
• La Sainte Chapelle
• Most dates in October
• Buy Your Tickets »

Bach & Brahms: David Grimal & Les Dissonances

In this beautiful and fabulous modern venue with amazing acoustics hear Bach's work dedicated to Frederick II, plus two famous violin works by Bach and Brahms, played by the musical ensemble, Les Dissonances.
• Cité de la Musique
• October 23
• Book Your Tickets »
• Complete List of Concerts at Cité de la Musique October 2012 »

• Complete List of Classical Music Concerts in Paris October 2012 »
• Guide to Paris Culture »

Things To Do In Paris – Opera de Paris

The Marriage of Figaro

A Paris Insiders Guide favourite

This opera masterpiece by Mozart and Da Ponte was written in 1786, inpsired by the novel and play by Pierre Beaumarchais, who has a street named after him in the Marais. This popular comic opera is once again performed by the Paris Opera Company.
• Opera de la Bastille
• October 2, 4, 7, 13, 19, 22, 25
• Book Online – The Marriage of Figaro »

Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)

Jacques Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann is performed by the Paris National Opera Company. The popular French libretto in three acts was first performed in 1881 in Paris. This is considered to be Offenbach's masterpiece, and was his last work. Performed in French.
• Opera de la Bastille
• October 1 & 3
• Buy Tickets Online – Les Contes d'Hoffmann »

La Fille du Regiment

The Daughter of the Regiment. A fast-pace comedy, Donizetti sets to music the story of a young girl who is adopted by a regiment of grenadiers. This Paris National Opera Company's production is full of tenderness with a love story that leaps beyond borders and social class. Performed in French.
• Opera de la Bastille
• October 21, 27, 30
• November 2, 6, 8, 11
• Order Tickets – La Fille du Regiment »

• Complete List of Performances at Opera de la Bastille October 2012 »

Things to Do in Paris – Museums & Exhibitions

Bohemias – From Leonardo da Vinci to Picasso

Explore your inner gypsy! Over 200 masterpieces of painting, photography and music with a Bohemian focus are featured in the Grand Palais. The Romantics – Manet, Courbet and Baudelaire – took a special shine to Bohemians and represented gypsies in art.
• The National Galleries of the Grand Palais
• Ends January 14, 2013

The Sources of Aboriginal Painting

Things to do in Paris – New. Explore Aboriginal art with this original exhibit from Papunya in the heart of the Australian desert. See over 160 paintings and nearly 100 objects that link the land to the history of Australian aboriginal art.
• Musée Quai Branly
• October 9 to January 20, 2013
• Free Entrance with the Paris Museum Pass or 7€ at the door.

Raphael in Rome

For the first time, a brand new collection of Raphael's final works! The Louvre, in partnership with the Prado Museum in Madrid, brings together the works of Italian Renaissance master Raphael painted during his time in Rome at the end of his life.
• Louvre Art Museum
• October 1 to January 31, 2013
• Free Entrance to the Louvre with the Paris Museum Pass or 9.50€ at the door.

Rodin: Flesh and Marble

Things to do in Paris – Reopening. To celebrate the reopening following the museum renovation, sixty marble statues are presented in this exceptional Rodin exhibition. Included are the uber-famous works The Kiss and The Thinker.
• Musée Rodin Website »
• Until March 3, 2013
• Free Entrance with the Paris Museum Pass or 6€ at the door.

• Read The Complete Guide to the Paris Museum Pass »