4 hours alone in Paris- what to do?

[Ichangedmynameonce]

Following on from my earlier thread, I'll have four hours alone in Paris tmw daytime.

What shall I do? I speak zero French :) and don't fancy a museum.

Stroll up to Montmartre if that's feasible (I haven't seen your other thread), have a look round, then settle down outside a café with a drink and people watch.

Sainte Chapelle, the most beautiful place in the world. A little chapel near Notre Dame, built by Louis IX to house a relic of Jesus' crown of thorns. It is basically stained glass wall to ceiling and you feel like you are actually inside a jewel - exquisite! Make sure you go during daytime for all the light to stream in through the glass.

The Opera House does a multimedia tour that can easily fill a couple of hours. It's opposite the Fragonard perfme museum and near Galeries Lafayette.

The Musee Marmottan Monet is off the beaten track so quieter than central museums, but has some amazing paintings.

The catacombs are always worth a visit...

Just wander around and go wherever you end up. I filled about 8-10 hours doing that when I went with DP who was working there.

Highlights were the Curie museum, looking for statues of liberty (there are several in Paris) and walking from the Lourve through a park when I could see the Eiffel tower.

I also went in the Pompidou centre to warm up (it was freezing when I was there), but I think thats closed for refurbishment.

I would ask chat gpt or similar to give me a scenic walking route from a good classic restaurant for lunch to a good classic patisserie for dessert then back to wherever I needed to be via a french pharmacy

Musee de l’Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens to gaze at the huge waterlily paintings.

Wherever you start from just walk around, have lunch, chill and absorb.

These are all wonderful ideas, thank you!
I'm on the train now and very excited.

Is there a particular pharmacy or pharmacy brand people would recommend please? I'm prob more interested in make up than skin care but ideally both. Thank you

Just realised you’ve probably already spent your 4 hours now, but ….

If you want to visit a pharmacie, then there’s one on level -2 at Chatelet metro station that’s great. They’re called para pharmacies, and you’ll find the top brands at really great prices. Nuxe shower gel, for eg, at €6! Nuxe is a great brand, and relatively cheap compared to the UK. I also buy SVR sun cream, Caudalie and La Roche Posay.

What are you in to? At Chatelet, for eg, you could visit Saint Eustache church, and wander up to the Pompidou centre and sit by the fountain there, then stroll around Le Marais. If you’re a cook, then E. Dehillerand is close by. Julia Child’s favourite store, and full of cooking utensils.

Do you like fashion? Also in Le Marais is the Fondation Azzedine Alaia; they’ve currently got an expo with Christian Dior on.

Ooh pleased to see this recommendation as I was just noticing this on the map and thinking it worth a look (we will be staying around 10-15 mins walk north of the Louvre in two weeks).

Pre-book your tickets, as queues are humongous. It’s is beautiful, but personally I was a bit underwhelmed. I have visited Troyes though, one of the stained-glass centres, so my expectations were perhaps higher. Tbh, the new Notre Dame is stunning enough.