Top 5 Silly Things to Do in Paris

When you visit a place for the first time, especially a legendary place like the French capital, you're usually determined to see as much as you can. Either you play the sophisticated tourist ("Oh how one enjoys art in art's natural habitat!") or the over-excited wide-eyed love-it-all (Wow! Oh, wow! What's that for? WOW!"), you will still spend your time touring the city taking in the beauty and visiting the attractions you've been waiting for so long to see up close.

But if you have the incredible fortune to get there a second time (or, in some cases, a fifteenth!), you lose some of this urgency, and start enjoying the city in a calmer manner that matches its relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Well, then, here are our favourite silly things to do in Paris to have some unplanned fun!

Number 1: Walk into one of the hundreds of boulangeries and ask the shop assistant what everything is 

Bakeries in Paris are a whole other universe, and this comes from a Greek. If you've been to Greece you must have noticed the abundance of delicious food and pastry. Still, Parisian boulangers go out of their way to make it virtually impossible for you to decide what to buy. That doesn't mean they enjoy describing them however! In fact, more often than not, they will get  little annoyed after the third piece of pastry you ask "qu'est-ce que c'est?" about!

Number 2: Go around the attractions and do silly poses trying to get a pic like this:

The City of Lights is full of Instagram worthy monuments and corners. It is also literally full of instagrammers making silly poses trying to get the perfect capture with the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre Pyramid! Embrace it. Stage that picture with you kissing the Eiffel Tower. It's more fun than it looks!

Number 3: Take a ride on a "bateau mouche" and scream every time it goes under a bridge

The iconic boat ride along the Seine is definitely not to be missed. If you're there when it's warm enough, it's worth sitting outside, at the top of the boat. Passers-by will wave at you and scream hellos, well, mostly other tourists, but the occasional Parisian as well, and they're bound to smile when they see how excited you are! Still, don't forget to scream when passing under a bridge! It's liberating. And a little creepy. And your kids will be telling that story for years (Daddy, remember when you screamed in the boat under the bridge?) !!

Number 4: Grab a corner on top of the Monmartre and pretend you're drawing this:

The Hill of Monmartre is one of the most artistic places the world over. It is the place where masterpieces of art and literature where born, the place where cursed poets and tortured artists lived, shared their misery and conceived of some of the most iconic pieces of European art. When you get there, after you've enjoyed a "café au lait" in one of the street side coffeeshops, with arms brushing against the next patron's, you stroll around the dozens of street artists taking in all the different techniques and beautiful imagery. Honestly, it makes you feel a little bad, especially if you're as useless at drawing as I am! Well, don't be. Give the kids a big piece of paper and their crayons and ask them to draw what they see like a real "peintre de Monmartre"!

Number 5: Go to the Disney Store on Champs Elysées and take a picture with each and every hat.

Can a visit to Paris be whole without a quick hop into the children's most favourite shop of all time? Well, admit it, you like it too, and even though you complain about commercialisation under your breath, you wish you could buy that awesome water bottle shaped like Stitch! Well, who says you can't? Disney stores are mysterious places where your childhood creeps up on you and you are giggling and pressing that button that makes Lilo hula hoop before you know it! After all, Disney is the one thing that we completely share with our kids. We all grew up with these characters. Let yourself go, try on the hats, have the kids photograph you. It'll make for your favourite holiday collection!

This is of course our selection and it includes silly things to do that the kids will love and remember. For those prepared to do more extreme stuff and *possibly* even risk their lives, there are other things to try. You can ask a Parisian a question without first saying "Bonjour!" or, God forbid, stand on the left side of the escalators leading to the Metro!


So, what is your favourite silly thing to do in Paris? Write in the comments! Don't forget to subscribe so you can get our latest news and posts! And of course: