Scandinavian design lovers in Paris: the mothership is calling. The Swedish Institute (l’institut suédois) the largest such cultural center outside of Sweden, occupies the 16th-century Hôtel de Marle. You can admire its beauty while taking in its permanent exhibitions of painting and sculpture, largely from the 18th century, and its temporary design shows. Then, enjoy a delicious Swedish pastry from the café in the garden.

If you’re desperate to see behind one of Paris’s Haussmann-era building facades, here are two courtyards to check out. First stop: La Cour de Venise. Hidden next to the Place des Vosges, this massive paved courtyard, which measures a total 4,000 square meters (a little over 43,000 square feet) is also known as the Ilot Saint Gilles and is surrounded by buildings from different periods. Next up: Cour Renaudot (at 55/57 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois). In this secret haven, discover a medieval tower built in the 12th century, under the reign of Philippe Auguste.

Want to see some great art for free? Galerie Perrotin is always worth a visit. Located since 2005 in a gorgeous 18th-century mansion, the gallery’s collection includes work by some of the world’s foremost contemporary artists, among them JR, Takashi Murakami, and Sophie Calle. If your trip to Galerie Perrotin Paris turns you into a fan, you can also find them in New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Seoul.

A post office isn’t the most natural tourist thirst trap—and that is precisely why we recommended design fans make a stop at this branch of La Poste. Tucked away on an unassuming stretch of the Marais, its facade—striped glazed-masonry and retro-chic glass brick—is a thing of beauty. Its delightful Art Deco signage is a welcome bonus.

Situated along Paris’s Canal Saint-Martin (a popular gathering spot created by Napoleon I in the early 19th century), Le Comptoir Général is a must-visit bar, music venue, and community space. In this former barn, let your eyes take in the details: here some souvenirs from Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast; there a bit of second-hand furniture; beyond, a cabinet of curiosities. Enjoy a “Secousse” (the house cocktail) in the bar’s lush greenhouse. In Paris for work? Le Comptoir Général has added coworking space to its list of functions.

While walking from Belleville to the Canal St. Martin, take a moment to explore this 400-year-old hospital. Built in 1611 by architect Claude Vellefaux, the historic sections of the hospital are completely enchanting. In the hospital’s center, you can rest in a flower-filled garden far from the tumult of the city.

Also located atop the hill of Belleville, this park is a real wonder. Its 61 rustic, hilly acres opened in 1867, under the regime of Napoleon III, and offer plenty of green lawn for lounging, a lake on which to row, a 300-foot-long waterfall fountain, and a suspension bridge atop which you can pretend you are Indiana Jones as you make your way to the park’s Temple de la Sybille.

The temple is a tiny replica of the ancient Roman Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy, and from this vantage point you can take in another grand view of Paris. If you’re looking for a home base in the park—and a quick bite—go straight to Le Pavillon Puebla (run by the folks who opened Le Perchoir, #12 here). And don’t forget to pop in to the onsite Fotoautomat, one of six refurbished vintage photo booths throughout Paris.

The very colorful Rue Sainte-Marthe leads to the just as charming Place Sainte-Marthe. The courtyard is a bit hidden in busy Belleville, but a walk in this small area is a good opportunity to stop in a cafe or restaurant for French, Ethiopian, or Brazilian cuisine.

The Quartier de la Mouzaïa is a tiny neighborhood hidden between the Rue Mouzaïa, Rue du Général Brunet, and Rue Miguel-Hidalgo. In 1901, these streets were opened to build passages along which colorful villas and gardens were installed. Today, it’s an enchanting car-free enclave. Careful: You can easily get lost in this green labyrinth. Take a map!

Rising like a hill in the Parc de la Villette is French architect Jean Nouvel’s most recent contribution to Paris’s architecture scene, the Philarmonie. Opened in 2015, it comprises several concert halls, but the star of the show is the Grande Salle Pierre Boulez. The hall’s plan was inspired by the Berlin Philharmonic and is designed to create optimal acoustics and to intensify the feeling of intimacy between the performers and their audience.

On top of the building, the public is welcome on the “Belvédere,” from which they’re treated to a 360-degree view of Paris and its suburbs—Pantin, the Lilas—and the Buttes-Chaumont, the Montparnasse tower, the Invalides Dome, the Eiffel tower, the Sacré-Cœur, the stade de France and more.

If you are walking the streets of the ninth arrondissement, a haven for artists in 19th-century Paris, you must go to the Musée de la Vie Romantique. Visit the charming, green-shutter-festooned former home of the painter Ary Scheffer (a master of the Romantic period). Then enjoy tea and a pastry in the garden.

The Hôtel Amour, a former Pigalle brothel,  was transformed by nightclub baron André Saraiva and hotelier Thierry Costes into one of Paris’s first boutique hotels about 10 years ago—in a departure from the huge Palace hotels on the avenues closer to the Seine. Our advice? Go there for an “apéro” (short for aperitif) and sit on its luxuriant patio.

Get sporty on this basketball court tucked between 2 buildings along the Rue Duperré, in the city’s Pigalle neighborhood. To design this beauty, Nike collaborated with French graphic design agency Ill-Studio and the trendy fashion brand Pigalle. Once slated to be closed, this enigmatic basketball court now welcomes visitors for games on its vivid surface.

Go straight to design heaven on the seventh floor of this Art Deco building. After 127 stairs—or a shorter elevator ride—you’ll find yourself on a flower-filled terrace with a view of Paris’s rooftops and out to the Eiffel Tower. Have a cocktail, sit on a swing chair, and count your blessings.

Here’s yet another hotel that you might not spend the night in, but that you must visit. Hidden between Avenue Junot and Rue Lepic, this 19th-century former private residence once belonged to the Hermès family (of fashion renown) and features a garden designed by French landscape architect Louis Benech and a hip cocktail bar, Le Très Particulier, by interior designer Pierre Lacroix. At the bar, you’ll find a delightful lounge and a lovely greenhouse with a black-and-white checkered floor and red-velvet armchairs. We’d have loved to keep this glamorous place to ourselves, so—shh—you’ll have to keep it a secret.

Designed by Jean Nouvel and opened in 1987, the Institut du Monde Arabe is a marvel of architecture right on the River Seine. The museum includes exhibitions that explore the Arab world from before Islam through the 20th century. The building’s southwest facade is composed of geometric motifs taken from Islamic architecture and made up of 240 photosensitive motor-controlled apertures. Though in Nouvel’s original plan these apertures expanded and contracted depending on the amount of sunlight on the building, today they open or close on the hour every hour.

For an atypical visit (although a classic for Parisians), check out Paris’s Great Mosque, with its patio and Andalusian garden. You can also sit in the mosque’s beautiful salon de thé and savor a fresh mint tea and a corne de gazelle. Inside, the vibe is cozy and Moroccan-inspired; outside is lush terrace for unwinding and listening to the birds sing. Hot tip: There is also a hammam.

Built in 1929, this swimming pool is the new place to be in Paris. Known for its Art Deco design, and for being the place where the bikini was introduced by Louis Réard in 1946, the pool was closed in 1989. Partially demolished in 2012, it was rebuilt and reopened in 2014. Today, it’s a luxury complex that includes two pools, a Clarins spa, and a four-star hotel.

Architecture lovers, this is your spot. The Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, built in 1882, is one of the world’s oldest and largest museums dedicated to architecture. Behind its walls lie roughly 230,000 square feet of permanent and temporary exhibitions. Don’t miss the reconstruction of one of the Le Corbusier-designed apartments at La Cité Radieuse in Marseille. And, as from many places in Paris, a peek out the windows will again reveal the Eiffel Tower, standing behind a sea of trees.

We encourage any architecture buff who finds herself in Paris to take a walking tour of Le Corbusier’s works in the city, among them the hotel Molitor (#23 on our list here) and Villa Jeanneret, a home designed by Corbu for his brother, Albert. The former private residence, in the city’s 16th arrondissement, is today the headquarters of the Corbusier Foundation.

Though Bibliotheque Nationale de France occupies several sites, we’d like to call your attention to the location on the Rue de Richelieu. Built in the late 19th century and designed by architect Henri Labrouste, the showstopping, recently renovated Beaux-Arts pile holds millions of books, manuscripts, and other volumes—and occupies a vaunted place in the pantheon of great buildings revered by students of architecture.

Fan of the artist Constantin Brancusi? You’re in luck: In 1997, Italian-born, Paris-raised architect Renzo Piano recreated Brancusi’s studio just opposite Piano’s well-trafficked Centre Pompidou. At the reconstituted atelier, which faithfully recreates Brancusi’s space in the city’s 15th arrondissement, visitors will find 137 sculptures and dozens upon dozens of drawings, paintings, prints, and photographic plates.

Le Centquatre Paris is a lively community hub north of Gare du Nord that puts on exhibitions and music performances, and is also activated by breakdancing kids. Bonus: It’s inside an 1870s cast-iron industrial building with a glass roof—formerly a municipal undertaker’s.