Is someone on your Christmas gift list visiting Paris next year? Then I’ve got you covered with my list of amazing Paris gift ideas. From fantastic tours to unique activities, these creative gifts for people visiting Paris will certainly make your gift receiver’s trip to the City of Light extra special.
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Unique Paris tours
One of the BEST Paris gift ideas is arranging a unique Paris tour for your friend or family member. There are LOTS of fabulous tours available in the city, but I think these ones are essential Paris tours. Your giftee will learn about the city and have an incredibly memorable experience in the process.
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Closing time at the Louvre tour
Many first-time visitors to Paris want to visit the Louvre, but these special tours by Walks offer a real advantage over other tours. The Louvre receives a whopping 30,000 visitors every day, but your gift recipient can avoid the crowds on these late-afternoon tours. They include skip-the-line tickets and fascinating insight from expert guides on the top masterpieces of the Louvre. If your giftee will be in Paris on a Friday, book them on this day. This is when the museum is open late and has even fewer visitors, so they’ll have the museum almost to themselves.
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Meet the Impressionists: Musee d’Orsay tour
Do you have an Impressionist fan on your gift list? This tour is an excellent match for them. Set within a former train station, the Musée d’Orsay displays one of the world’s BEST collections of Impressionist art. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh – all the big names are here and your gift recipient will love the incredible stories and background provided by the guides on this amazing tour.
Book a Meet the Impressionists: Musée d’Orsay Skip-the-Line Tour
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Hidden gems of Montmartre tour
I LOVE Montmartre – but there’s so much more to it than the touristy section at the top of the hill. Help your gift recipient discover the true spirit and hidden gems of this former village by booking this tour. As they explore the cobblestone back streets of this hilly neighborhood, they’ll see historic art studios, lovely local shops, and fantastic views of Paris, plus stop for a tasty croissant.
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Skip-the-line Eiffel Tower & Trocadero tour
Going up the Eiffel Tower might be on your giftee’s list of things to do in Paris and this tour is a fantastic way to experience it. Tickets to the Eiffel Tower can be really hard to get (they sell out super quickly!), so your gift recipient won’t have to worry about these by taking this tour. They’ll also learn tons of cool facts about the world’s most famous tower and take in some amazing views of it from across the river at Trocadero – away from all those crowds.
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Small-group Versailles half-day tour
Located in the Paris suburbs, Versailles is another of the most popular places to see while visiting Paris. It is HUGE and CROWDED, so we don’t generally recommend trying to visit it yourself. Instead, your giftee will have a wonderful experience of Versailles on these great half-day tours. The group meets in Paris and takes the short train journey together, getting the background info on the palace along the way. Arriving at the palace complex, the tour includes the top highlights of the palace interiors (including the Hall of Mirrors) and a look at the estate’s stunning gardens.
Book a Day at the Palace: Small Group Paris to Versailles tour
Amazing foodie tours and classes
Does your Paris visitor love FOOD? Then they’ll be super excited to take a Paris food tour or cooking class during their stay. There are quite a lot on offer in Paris, but the Love and Paris team and I have tried these ones and think they’re among the very best in the city. We hope your gift recipient will enjoy them too.
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Ultimate Paris food tour
This fantastic tour offers a comprehensive intro to French cuisine. It takes place in the Marais, which is one of my favorite Paris neighborhoods. Accompanied by a food expert, your giftee will visit a whole bunch of different food shops as well as the oldest covered market in Paris. They’ll try cheese, pastries, award-winning bread, wine, and much more. There are over 11 tastings in all, which is enough food for a full lunch.
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French market tour and cooking class with lunch
There’s no better way to understand French food and dining habits than trying your hand at preparing classic French dishes yourself. These excellent cooking classes start with visiting a local market street where your gift recipient will pick out supplies for the class. Returning to the nearby school, they’ll put on aprons and get down to prepare a multi-course lunch, guided by a friendly French chef. They’ll then try out your tasty creations paired with French wines – bon appetite!
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Pastries and chocolate tour
If you’ve got a sweet tooth on your gift list, book them this delicious tour. The tour delves into the delectable world of chocolates and pastries in Paris. It travels between the Marais and the Montorgueil area, the historic heart of Paris’s food scene. It visits many top food shops from historic pastry shops to top-notch contemporary bakeries. It includes plenty of samples like crêpes, chocolates, croissants, and other mouth-watering pastries.
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Family baking class
Families with small kids on your list will ADORE this dessert class. A fabulous way to introduce kids to French food, it covers the basics of classic French desserts, cakes, and tarts. The great class adapts to the seasons and could feature crème brûlée, seasonal fruit tart, chocolate tea cake, or Eiffel Tower cookies. In addition to being super fun, it’s a unique bonding experience for parents and children.
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Montmartre like a local: food & wine tour
Your gift recipient can combine visiting popular Montmartre with learning about French food on this unique tour. It provides a taste of local life in Montmartre while discovering the best family-run establishments in this lovely former village. The tour includes 10 food tastings and two drinks such as pastries, cheese, award-winning bread, and organic wine.
Cool Paris activities
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Jewelry design workshop in Le Marais
Instead of gifting some jewelry, give your friend or family member the opportunity to make their own during this original workshop. After a behind-the-scenes tour of a luxury jewelry atelier in the Marais, they’ll design their own unique piece of jewelry. They’ll then carry on the discussion over a meal in the designer’s Parisian home. It’s a pretty cool experience.
Book a Design Your Personalized Luxury Jewelry in Paris Workshop
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City highlights tour by vintage sidecar
If you’d like to offer a unique overview of Paris to your giftee, consider these really fun sidecar tours. They’ll zoom around the city, seeing its top sites including the Eiffel Tower, Arc du Triomphe, the Champs Elysées, and Les Invalides. We’ve tried out these tours and loved every minute of it!
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Paris perfume workshop
Perfume is a popular Christmas gift and these amazing workshops allow your gift recipient to create their very own scent. It’s held in an artisanal perfumery in the Marais and starts by going over the history and basics of perfume creation. Afterward, participants put their newly acquired knowledge to work by creating their own scent. They’ll leave with a small bottle of their fragrance which is a very special Paris gift.
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Custom hat workshop with Lady Gaga’s hatmaker
This is another unique Paris gift idea during which your gift recipient gets to make their own original Paris souvenir. The class takes place in the workshop of a world-famous hat maker who’s created custom hats for many top celebrities. Fashion ateliers are VERY difficult to access in Paris, so this experience is that much more unique. Your giftee will have a first-hand look at this Parisian craftsmanship and then personalize their own made-to-measure creation.
Craft a unique souvenir hat with Lady Gaga’s renowned hatmaker
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Paris wine-making workshop
This is a super unique experience for any wine lovers on your holiday gift list. The only place in Paris where you can make your own wine, the workshop is held in historic wine cellars commissioned by King Louis XV. Led by a wine-maker guide, your giftee will first learn about different grape varietals before making their own personal blend. Afterward, they’ll get to create a personalized wine label and leave with their custom-designed bottle of wine.
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Moulin Rouge cabaret tickets
Chances are your gift recipient will be super surprised and thrilled with tickets to Paris’s famous cabaret. One of the most popular evening activities in Paris, the Moulin Rouge has a fantastic show that goes beyond just Cancan dancers. For an extra sparkling evening, you can also choose to include dinner or champagne with their tickets.
The Paris Pass
If you don’t know which sites your Paris visitor would like to see, you could gift them access to virtually ALL of them. The Paris Pass is a paid pass that grants entrance to 90 attractions in the city, including most of the top sites like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and Versailles. The pass also includes over 30 experiences like boat cruises, tour buses, walking tours, and food and wine experiences. It’s available for 2, 3, 4, or 6 days and adult passes range from €169 to €279. We go into further detail on the Paris Pass in this article.
Tour Gift Card
If you’re not entirely sure what type of tour your gift recipient might like, you could get them a tour gift certificate. This way, they’ll be able to book their preferred experience. Some tour companies that offer gift certificates include Eating Europe, Fat Tire Bike Tours, and Context Travel.
Souvenir photoshoot
Souvenir photos of your loved one in Paris could be another amazing gift for them. This private photo shoot is led by experienced English-speaking photographers and uses the Eiffel Tower as a gorgeous backdrop. If another place is special to your Paris gift recipient, they can arrange the portrait session in other areas.
Hotel bookings and upgrades
Do you know if your gift recipient has booked their hotel yet? If they haven’t, then they would certainly LOVE a night or two at a nice Paris hotel. If they have booked, you could always call up the hotel (hotel staff in Paris all speak English), and see if you can upgrade their hotel or add something special. Most hotels offer special add-ons, like bottles of champagne, spa treatments, and meals. You can usually do this over the phone or they’ll send you a payment link by email.
Then you could print out a photo of the item and slip it into a card to make it a wonderful surprise when you exchange gifts.
If you do want to book the hotel for them, you might find the perfect Paris hotel in one of our hotel guides.
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Luggage and travel accessories
One thing your Paris giftee will definitely need is luggage. If you don’t think they’ve purchased some recently, then this could be a VERY appreciated gift. The size might depend on the length of their trip. If you think it’s just a quick trip, they probably just need a carry-on, but if they’re coming for five days or more, they might need a checked bag instead.
We’re big fans of Away’s suitcases – because they’ve got really handy charging ports for electronics. They also have some smaller accessories like packing cubes, pouches, and toiletry bags.
You might also find the perfect match on the websites of Paravel and Horizn Studios. I love that they’re sustainably made, beautiful, and really high-quality pieces that will last your gift recipient for years.
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Virtual French Lessons
The last on my list of Paris gift ideas is a super USEFUL one – and that’s French lessons. While more and more French people speak English, especially in the service sector, I tend to recommend that visitors learn at least some French. They can get by with some basics, but learning more French will definitely offer your gift recipient the chance to better interact with the French – and maybe even make some French friends.
Some of the Love and Paris team have actually taken French classes with Lingoda and really loved its approach. The classes are available online AND 24/7 so they work really well for people with busy schedules. They have small group classes as well as one-on-one lessons so participants can really practice speaking (which is the hardest part!). This way your giftee will feel comfortable arriving in Paris and will have more ease at navigating the city, such a fantastic present!
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