Travelers dreaming of seeing Monet’s water lilies at the Musée de l’Orangerie, browsing the bookshops and galleries of the Marais, picnicking beside the Canal Saint-Martin, climbing the steps of Montmartre, or settling in for steak-frites and a bottle of beaujolais at a neighborhood bistro, take note: It just got easier to visit the City of Light.
On August 13, Delta Air Lines announced that it will launch the first-ever nonstop flights between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG).
The new route begins March 27, 2027 (and is bookable as of August 15, 2025), and will operate daily during the summer travel season. It will also mark Delta’s first long-haul international route from Austin and make the carrier the only U.S. airline currently flying nonstop between the Texas capital and Europe.
The approximately 10-hour nonstop flight will be operated aboard an Airbus A330-900neo with four cabin options: Delta One, which features lie-flat seats with privacy doors; Delta Premium Select, the airline’s premium economy cabin with wider seats and more legroom; Delta Comfort, which offers extra legroom near the front of the main cabin; and Delta Main, the standard economy cabin.
While Paris will be the main attraction for many travelers, the new flight also opens up easier access to destinations farther afield. Charles de Gaulle is one of Europe’s biggest international hubs, and through Delta’s joint venture with Air France-KLM, passengers arriving from Austin will be able to connect onward to nearly 70 destinations across Europe, India, and Africa.
The Paris flight is the latest piece of a much larger domestic expansion for Delta in Austin. By summer 2027, the airline expects to serve roughly 30 destinations from AUS and operate more than 70 departures on peak days.
An Afar-approved Paris mini guide
Afar’s Paris-based writers and local sources are constantly reporting on the latest and greatest neighborhoods, restaurants, museums, shops, and hotels worth building a trip around. Here are a few places to start.
What to do in Paris
Beat the crowds, by getting an early start at the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, where you can get scenic views of the city from Paris’s Montmartre neighborhood.
Photo by Suin Seong/Unsplash
First-time visitors will understandably want to see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Musée d’Orsay, but Paris rewards travelers who leave room in their itinerary for wandering.
Montmartre and Marais
For a perfect day in Paris, Lane Nieset, an Afar contributor who has lived in the city for more than a decade, recommends an early start (to beat the crowds) in the hilltop Montmartre neighborhood, defined by the white Sacré-Cœur Basilica, before making your way to the Marais district.
In the Marais, stop into La Trésorerie for French-made homewares, and graze the food stalls at Marché des Enfants Rouges, the city’s oldest covered market.
If you want to go where the locals go, Sara Lieberman, another Afar contributor who has lived in Paris, suggests heading farther north in the Marais, where smaller independent boutiques and concept stores replace some of the more commercial shops closer to Rue de Rivoli. Around Rue de Bretagne, look for colorful stationery and paper goods at Papier Tigre (there’s also an outpost in Montmartre), embroidered Breton shirts at Maison Labiche, and candles, fragrances, and skin-care products at the century-old L’Officine Universelle Buly.
Canal Saint-Martin and Belleville
It’s also worth venturing beyond the neighborhoods that dominate most first-time itineraries. Lieberman recommends Canal Saint-Martin, where you can browse the photography and design books at Artazart and join the Parisians lining the canal’s banks on warm evenings.
And in Belleville, in Paris’s 20th arrondissement, travelers can seek out street art, take in the Eiffel Tower views from Parc de Belleville, and explore a dining scene influenced by the neighborhood’s immigrant communities.
Where to eat and drink in Paris
Start your Paris day with freshly baked pastries.
Photo by Ahtziri Lagarde/Unsplash
Paris’s dining scene is reason enough to plan a trip, and it increasingly extends far beyond the traditional bistros and Michelin-starred dining rooms for which the city is famous.
Bakeries
A trip to Paris should include at least a few mornings built around the neighborhood boulangerie. For a more destination-worthy pastry run, Lane Nieset recommends Mamiche, which has locations in the 9th and 10th arrondissements, for croissants and pain au chocolat; its chocolate babka is another standout. Near Canal Saint-Martin, Du Pain et des Idées is best known for its crusty Pain des Amis and spiral-shaped escargots, including a chocolate-pistachio version. (Lieberman seconds Du Pain, but says, “For the love of all things buttery: Go in the afternoon to avoid a queue.”) And don’t stop at croissants: Writer Eleanor Aldridge points to other French classics worth seeking out, from the Paris-Brest filled with hazelnut and almond praline to mille-feuille and tarte au citron meringuée.
Bistros and brasseries
In her list of Paris’s best restaurants, Aldridge recommends heading northeast to Soces, a seafood-focused bistro near Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement. The menu changes with the seasons, but past dishes have included tuna tartare with crispy artichokes and raw cuttlefish with red cabbage and kumquat; the restaurant is also known for kicking off meals with an oyster accompanied by a spicy margarita shot.
For something more traditional—but considerably livelier than the old-school brasserie stereotype—Brasserie Dubillot in the 2nd arrondissement serves French comfort food including pâté en croûte, escargots, beef tartare, onion soup, and terrine. And at L’Avant Comptoir de la Terre in the 6th arrondissement, diners stand shoulder to shoulder around the bar for small plates like foie gras skewers and oxtail croquettes.
Wine bars
Wine lovers should look to Vantre in the 11th, an understated bistro with a cellar storing thousands of bottles and a compact menu that changes regularly. Nieset also recommends saving room for an unconventional nightcap at Folderol in the 11th arrondissement. The tiny spot combines a natural wine bar with an ice cream shop, meaning a glass of pét-nat (naturally sparkling wine) can arrive alongside a silver coupe piled with house-made rocky road.
Where to stay in Paris
A deluxe room at Hotel Le Grand Mazarin in Paris
Photo by Vincent Leroux
Hôtel Le Grand Mazarin
Travelers who want to be in the thick of things may want to consider accommodations in Marais, where narrow streets are packed with restaurants, galleries, and boutiques and many of the city’s major sights are within walking distance. Mary Winston Nicklin and Lindsey Tramuta, two Paris-based writers, recommend Hôtel Le Grand Mazarin, a 61-room hotel whose maximalist Martin Brudnizki interiors provide a colorful counterpoint to the historic neighborhood outside. Contributor Devorah Lev-Tov reviewed the hotel for Afar and noted that it “is ideal for design buffs who love color and beautiful baubles, and who want to be in one of the hippest parts of Paris.”
Saint James Paris
For a completely different Paris experience, head west to the residential 16th arrondissement. Saint James Paris occupies a 19th-century château surrounded by gardens, an unusual amount of breathing room in one of Europe’s densest capitals. The property has 50 rooms and suites, interiors by designer Laura Gonzalez, a Guerlain spa, and the Michelin-starred Bellefeuille restaurant.
Grand Hôtel Cayré
Travelers who have their heart set on the Left Bank have plenty of options, too. Afar’s Paris-based experts recommend the Grand Hôtel Cayré, a 1920s Saint-Germain-des-Prés hotel that emerged from a full renovation in 2024 with art deco–inspired interiors.
Relais Christine
Relais Christine, set inside a former 17th-century private mansion and tucked down a small street near the Seine, has 48 rooms and suites, plus a spa beneath the building’s vaulted stone ceilings.
Four Seasons Hotel George V
If seeing the Eiffel Tower from bed is part of the dream trip, Nicklin and Tramuta point to the Four Seasons Hotel George V, where upper-floor suites offer views of the quintessential Parisian monument. Guests also have access to the hotel’s three Michelin-recognized restaurants.
Shangri-La Paris
Another favorite of theirs is the Shangri-La Paris, a former residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte, Napoleon’s grandnephew, where many rooms and suites look directly toward the tower.
