7 Best Sights in Eastern Paris, Paris

Bring a red rose for "the Little Sparrow" Edith Piaf when you visit the cobblestone avenues and towering trees that make this 118-acre oasis of green perhaps the world's most famous cemetery. Named for Père François de la Chaise, Louis XIV's confessor, Père-Lachaise is more than just a who's who of celebrities. The Paris Commune's final battle took place here on May 28, 1871, when 147 rebels were lined up and shot against the Mur des Fédérés (Federalists' Wall) in the southeast corner. Aside from the sheer aesthetic beauty of the cemetery, the main attraction is what (or who, more accurately) is belowground.

Two of the biggest draws are Jim Morrison's grave (with its own guard to keep Doors fans under control) and the life-size bronze figure of French journalist Victor Noir, whose alleged fertility-enhancing power accounts for the patches of bronze rubbed smooth by hopeful hands. Other significant grave sites include those of 12th-century French philosopher Pierre Abélard and his lover Héloïse; French writers Colette, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust; American writers Richard Wright, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas; Irish writer Oscar Wilde; French actress Sarah Bernhardt; French composer Georges Bizet; Greek American opera singer Maria Callas; Franco-Polish composer Frédéric Chopin; painters of various nationalities including Georges-Pierre Seurat, Camille Pissaro, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, Théodore Géricault, Amedeo Clemente Modigliani, and Max Ernst; French jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli; French civic planner Baron Haussmann; French playwright and actor Molière; and French singer Edith Piaf. (To visit the grave sites of a few other famous French men and women, head south to Cimetière du Montparnasse, north to Cimetière de Montmartre, or west to Passy Cemetery.)

One of the best days to visit is on All Saints' Day (November 1), when Parisians bring flowers to adorn the graves of loved ones or favorite celebrities.  Pinpoint grave sites on the website before you come, but buy a map anyway outside the entrances—you'll still get lost, but that's part of the fun.

Le Centquatre (meaning "104") takes its name from its address in a rough-around-the-edges corner of the 19e arrondissement, near Parc de la Villette. The former site of the city morgue, this soaring art hub is home to an offbeat collection of performance venues, shops, and studios (artists of all genres compete for free studio space, and sometimes you can get a peek of them at work). Contemporary art exhibits, some of which charge a small admission, are presented here, as are all manner of concerts, dance performances, performance art, films, and other events, many of them interactive. On-site you'll also find a restaurant, a café, a bookstore, a vintage shop, and a play area for children. There's much to see and do here for the whole family, so check the website before you visit to confirm what's on.

Tucked away south of the Gare de Lyon in the 12e arrondissement, blocks of stone warehouses that once stored wine are now home to Bercy Village ( 28 rue François Truffaut), a collection of boutiques and eateries that stay open unusually late for Paris. Adjacent to the shops is the tranquil Parc de Bercy, with lawns, ponds, and flower beds crisscrossed by gravel paths, and the Jardin Yitzhak Rabin, a garden named for the late Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nearby, at  51 rue de Bercy, a Cubist building by Frank Gehry houses the Cinémathèque Française, a film buff's paradise, showing classic films, many in English; there are frequent homages to directors and actors, plus a cinema bookshop and museum.

Lofty Parc de Belleville is Paris’s highest-altitude park and one of its prettiest. Traversed by shaded, winding lanes interspersed with woods, gardens, and sloping, grassy fields, it’s a lovely spot to have a picnic while taking in spectacular panoramic views of Paris. The park is also home to one of the city’s last cultivated vineyards, with vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier that produce a slightly sparkling wine called Piquette. You are welcome to join in the grape harvest during the last week of September.

If you're tired of perfectly manicured Parisian parks with lawns that are off-limits to your weary feet, this lovely 61-acre hilltop expanse is for you. Built in 1863 on abandoned gypsum quarries and a former gallows, it was northern Paris's first park, part of Napoléon III's planned greening of the city (the emperor had spent years in exile in London, where he fell in love with the public parks). Today this park in the untouristy 19e arrondissement has grassy fields, shady walkways, waterfalls, and a picturesque lake dotted with swans. Rising from the lake is a rocky cliff you can climb to find a mini Greek-style temple and a commanding view of Sacré-Coeur Basilica. A favorite of families, the park also has pony rides and an open-air puppet theater—Guignol de Paris (€7; shows at 3:15 pm and 4:30 pm Wednesday and Saturday, and at 11:15 am and 4:30 pm on Sunday, year-round)—not far from the entrance at the Buttes-Chaumont métro stop. When you've worked up an appetite, grab a snack at the Rosa Bonheur café ( www.rosabonheur.fr), or reserve a table for weekend lunch at Le Pavillon du Lac restaurant.

If your knowledge of Paris history is nul (nil), stop here for an entertaining free tutorial. Built in 1879 as a private museum, the Pavillon today is a restored structure of glass and iron that showcases the city's urban development through the ages. A giant model of Paris traces its evolution (with information in English). There are photos, maps, and videos, plus a giant digital interactive model detailing what Paris is predicted to look like in the future. Reconstruction plans—called Grand Paris—are vast and take into account the 2024 Olympics and beyond. The Pavillon also has a café-bookstore and hosts frequent architecture-theme temporary exhibits.

Almost nothing remains of the infamous Bastille prison, destroyed in 1789, though tourists still ask bemused Parisians where to find it. Until the late 1980s, there was little more to see here than a busy traffic circle ringing the Colonne de Juillet (July Column), a memorial to the victims of later uprisings in 1830 and 1848. The opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989 rejuvenated the area, however, drawing art galleries, bars, and restaurants to the narrow streets, notably along Rue de Lappe—once a haunt of Edith Piaf—and Rue de la Roquette.

Before it became a prison, the Bastille St-Antoine was a defensive fortress with eight immense towers and a wide moat. It was built by Charles V in the late 14th century and transformed into a prison during the reign of Louis XIII (1610–43). Famous occupants included Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade, and the Man in the Iron Mask. On July 14, 1789, it was stormed by an angry mob that dramatically freed all of the remaining prisoners (there were only seven), thereby launching the French Revolution. The roots of the revolt ran deep. Resentment toward Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette had been building amid a severe financial crisis. There was a crippling bread shortage, and the free-spending monarch was blamed. When the king dismissed the popular finance minister, Jacques Necker, enraged Parisians took to the streets. They marched to Les Invalides, helping themselves to stocks of arms, then continued on to the Bastille. A few months later, what was left of the prison was razed—and 83 of its stones were carved into miniature Bastilles and sent to the provinces as a memento (you can see one of them in the Musée Carnavalet). The key to the prison was given to George Washington by Lafayette and has remained at Mount Vernon ever since. Today, nearly every major street demonstration in Paris—and there are many—passes through this square.