Things to do near the Palais des Congrès (Porte Maillot): 1 hour, 2 hours or half a day

Looking for things to do near the Palais des Congrès at Porte Maillot between sessions? The area works in three directions on foot: Ternes to the east, the Arc de Triomphe at the top of avenue de la Grande Armée, and the Bois de Boulogne to the west.

Between sessions, what matters is minutes: how long to get there, and how long to get back in time.

This guide gives three timed walks from the Palais exit (one hour, two hours, half a day), a gift stop at the atelier-shop on Rue Labie, and what to do in the evening, in the rain and on a Sunday.

Key points

• Rue Labie is a seven-minute walk from the Palais: a leather atelier-shop, and the gift stop on the short loop.
• The Arc de Triomphe is about fifteen minutes away, straight up avenue de la Grande Armée.
• The Bois de Boulogne starts just west of Porte Maillot, with the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Jardin d'Acclimatation.
• On Wednesdays and Sundays the atelier-shop is closed: head for the Bois or the Arc instead.
• A 2.5-hour break is enough to make your own leather passport holder in a workshop.

One hour: Ternes and Rue Labie

With an hour, you can loop east of the Palais des Congrès: Rue Labie seven minutes away on foot, a stop at a leather atelier-shop, then place des Ternes and its shops, and back along avenue des Ternes.

How long does each stop take?

The loop takes about fifty minutes including the walking.

• Palais exit → Rue Labie: 7 minutes on foot, about 550 m.
• Atelier-shop stop: 15 to 20 minutes to choose a piece.
• Rue Labie → place des Ternes: about ten minutes.
• Back to the Palais via avenue des Ternes: about fifteen minutes.

What is around place des Ternes?

On the edge of the 8th and 17th arrondissements, place des Ternes is where avenue des Ternes, avenue de Wagram, boulevard de Courcelles and rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré meet. The Ternes flower market stands in the middle, and a few steps away rue Poncelet lines up its food shops around its market: fishmongers, charcuteries, greengrocers, pastry shops.

Two hours: the Arc de Triomphe

With two hours, walk up avenue de la Grande Armée to the Arc de Triomphe, about fifteen minutes from the Palais des Congrès. The avenue runs in a straight line from Porte Maillot to place Charles-de-Gaulle. Come back on foot, or take Metro line 1 for two stops.

How do you reach the Arc safely?

The Arc de Triomphe stands in the middle of place Charles-de-Gaulle, a roundabout where twelve avenues meet. Access is through the Passage du Souvenir, an underground passage with entrances at the top of the Champs-Élysées and at the top of avenue de la Grande Armée.

What can you see in an hour?

An hour is enough for the monument and the top of the Champs-Élysées.

• A walk around the Arc: the names of battles and generals carved into the monument.
• The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the vault, where the flame is rekindled every evening at 6.30pm.
• The rooftop terrace, included in the ticket and reached by the stairs, with a view over the twelve avenues and, straight ahead, La Défense.
• The top of the Champs-Élysées, right as you come out of the passage.

On the way back, Rue Labie is about ten minutes' walk from the Arc: the gift stop of the one-hour loop.

Half a day: the Bois de Boulogne and lunch

Half a day lets you cross west of Porte Maillot into the Bois de Boulogne. Two places sit side by side there: the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a museum of modern and contemporary art in a building by architect Frank Gehry, and the Jardin d'Acclimatation, a park opened in 1860. Both are under half an hour on foot from the Palais.

Fondation Louis Vuitton or Jardin d'Acclimatation?

Opening hours and prices change with exhibitions and seasons, so check each venue's website before you set off.

Where to have lunch between visits?

Eat at the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which has several restaurants and food kiosks along its paths, or head back towards Ternes. For a four-hour half-day, allow two hours of visiting, an hour for lunch and about 45 minutes of walking there and back.

Would you rather make something?

The other half-day option is a workshop on Rue Labie: two and a half hours to make your own passport holder with Amandine, designer and leather artisan. You pick your leathers and motifs, cut, glue and dye, and leave with the piece stamped with your name.

• Group: 2 to 4 people, a good fit for colleagues at the same congress.
• Price: €120 per person, paid on the day.
• Booking: suggest a date, and the slot is confirmed by email.

Everything else is on the leather DIY workshop page.

A gift to take home, seven minutes from the Palais

The Suki atelier-shop at 6 Rue Labie is a seven-minute walk from the Palais des Congrès. Amandine designs pieces there in vegetable-tanned full-grain cowhide, and the shop is also her workshop. Designed in Paris 17th, it is a gift that actually comes from the neighbourhood.

What can you choose in twenty minutes?

• A coin purse: the leather coin purses close with a zip, like the Achille.
• A card holder, for the business cards you collected at the congress.
• A key ring cut as a heart or a cloud, or with an inlaid motif, the lightest thing to slip into a suitcase.
• A passport holder, for delegates who came a long way.

Can the piece be engraved on the spot?

Yes: engraving is possible (gold, silver or natural) on many pieces. A name, initials or a date are hot-stamped in the workshop, for €30 on top of the price of the piece. The guide to personalised engraved wallets covers the options.

When is the atelier-shop open?

Opening hours as checked on 17 September 2026:

If your congress day ends after closing time, a visit can be arranged by appointment, by email or phone. Address, directions and contact details are on the shop's practical page.

Evenings, rainy days and Sundays

• Evening: the flame of the Unknown Soldier is rekindled every evening at 6.30pm under the Arc; have dinner around Ternes afterwards.
• Rain: the Fondation Louis Vuitton is indoors, so is the Rue Labie atelier-shop, and line 1 saves you the walk.
• Sunday: the atelier-shop is closed; the Bois, the Arc and the Champs-Élysées are all yours.

Getting there and back

The Palais des Congrès is served by Metro line 1 (Porte Maillot station), RER C (Neuilly – Porte Maillot) and RER E. Line 1 takes you one stop to Les Sablons, on the Bois de Boulogne side, and two stops to Charles de Gaulle – Étoile, by the Arc de Triomphe. Rue Labie is walkable from the Palais, or reachable from Ternes (line 2) and Charles de Gaulle – Étoile stations.

In short: one hour for Rue Labie and Ternes, two hours for the Arc, half a day for the Bois or the workshop. To know what you are looking at in the workshop, the guide to how a leather piece is made walks through each step, and the story of the coin purse as an everyday object makes good reading on the Metro back.