While sometimes overlooked by tourists, there are Paris gems that locals love. This article will share 6 of my favorite hidden gems in the City of Lights.

1. The Canal Saint-Martin

The canal is a longtime industrial waterway that was dug in the 19th century to accommodate barges carrying coal and other goods on the city’s northern outskirts. It is now one of Paris’ trendiest spots, attracting young people with its affordable bars, hip restaurants, and night clubs…more…info

2. Square des Batignolles / Place des Trois-Frères-Carbone or simply “Three Brothers Square” is located at the junction of rue Degas, Avenue Trudaine and Rue du GeneralLeclerc. The square is named after the Batignolles neighborhood which in turn was named after a small group of houses called “Batignolles” built on the edge of an arm of the Seine river by reeds that grow there. Three statues are standing in front of 37 avenues Trudaine, representing Les Trois frères Carbone, composers and musicians who lived at no 3 rue de la Fontaine at the beginning of the 20th century…more…info

3. The Galeries Lafayette Haussmann is Paris’ second-largest department store (after Les Grands Magasins du Louvre) and one of the best-known stores in Europe, with its Art Deco facade visible from the Place de l’Opéra and the magnificent stained-glass dome that contains the large department store restaurant on its top floor. For almost a century, two huge floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows have dominated the rue du Havre entrance to this impressive building…more…info

4. Les Catacombes or Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries in Paris, France, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of the ancient Mines of Paris tunnel network beneath the city streets. More than 300 km (190 mi) of tunnels run underneath Paris, and catacombs are at least 5 stories deep…more…info

5. Maison Européennede la Photographie or MEP, Paris is an institution dedicated to contemporary photography and media. Its history goes back to 1972 where it was created under the name of Musée de la photographie Contemporaine (MPC) in the Palais de Tokyo of the city of Paris with Yolanda Morbelli as its first curator…more…info

6. The Eiffel Tower is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Marsin Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The design, by engineer Gustave Eiffel, unprecedented for the time, was twice rejected by Paris officials, who were concerned about its cost and unconventional design.