Best & Fun Things To Do + Places To Visit In Paris, Texas

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It’s a local pride for Paris, Texas, to be called the second largest Paris in the world.

Named after Paris, France, this city in Texas houses many of the best historical locations and hosts several interesting events every year.

It’s more than just a shipping point of cotton, grain, and livestock but a destination spot for all travelers.

Below is a tour of the best and most fun things to do and places to visit in Paris, Texas.

Bywaters Park

Have a stroll in one of Paris, Texas’ beautiful 1931 Corinthian peristyle parks inspired by the unique Grecian temple.

Bywaters park, located in the Historic District of Paris, was once a site of the Bywaters home that was destroyed in the Great Paris fire of 1916. Architect J.L. Wees restored the park and peristyle to its glory in 1932.

Over the years, Bywaters has been a local setting for concerts, live performances, spring and summer weddings, and other special events. The peristyle creates an appealing background to host graduation and wedding parties.

You are likely to see any one of these during your trip.

Catch live performances of its longest-performing band, Paris Community Band, every Friday evening each summer, or watch the free ‘Movies in the Park’ hosted here annually.

You can simply spend a regular afternoon on one of their park benches and picnic tables whenever you feel like hanging around.

If you’re around during the holiday season, you’re lucky to witness the Winter Wonderland and the colorful lights and decorations surrounding the place. Young and old enjoy this event at this time of the year and find it an absolute treat.

The Bywaters Park memorializes the deadly 1982 tornado in Paris, Texas.

Address: 300 S Main St, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Chisum High School

While it’s not a travel destination, Chisum is one of the prominent public high schools in Paris, Texas, ranking 962nd within the state and the only high school in the Chisum Independent School District.

The campus lives by the statement, “A Team- Achieving, Together Excellence, Attitude and Mastery.”

While academics is the key component of student learning in Chisum, they make sure they are also promoting local, well-rounded programs to improve the school setting.

The campus hosts many events and activities to spark enthusiasm among students and visitors, such as football games, pep rallies, senior nights, volleyball playoffs, FAFSA nights, and more.

Every year, Chisum High School celebrates a week of homecoming festivities and nominates King’s and Queen’s Courts.

They even have a Farmer’s Team bring Chick-fil-A to the Chisum ISD Staff on random occasions.

The artsy also gets to participate in art programs and competitions, like the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA), a leading advocate for the visual arts in the state.

If you plan to move to the city temporarily for a couple of years, you can consider the programs offered in this above-average school in Paris, Texas.

Address: 3250 S Church St, Paris, TX 75462, United States

Eiffel Tower Paris Texas

It’s a rule of thumb that Paris has its famous landmark – the Eiffel Tower.

Of all the states in the United States that named their cities’ Paris’ and built Eiffel Towers, it’s only in Paris, Texas, that you’ll see the tower with a red hat.

Paris, Texas, did not fail when it built the scale model of the Eiffel Tower in town in 1993. Although less than one-tenth of the height of the original tower, people make a quick stop at Texas’ very own replica whenever they’re around town to watch and take pictures.

You’ll notice that the tower is wearing a three-and-a-half-foot-tall red Stetson cowboy hat. The design is very Texan!

The 27 thirty-watt LED lights of seasonal colors change to red and green during Christmas. Expectant parents also utilize the lights for gender reveals.

While open to the public any day of the year, the best time to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Texas, is from 1 pm to 3 pm or any time after 8 pm to get a less crowdy experience.

Native and tourists alike take selfies and photos with the tower. Going here is the least hassle you’ll encounter on your road trip next to the Love Civic Center and Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum. There are lots of parking nearby, and the attraction is pet-friendly, too.

Note that unlike the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, you can’t climb the Texas version. Nevertheless, it’s a Texas experience unique from a trip to France.

Discover more of the best things to do and places to visit in Texas, USA!

Address: 2025 S Collegiate Dr, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Evergreen Cemetery

A burial ground for many notable citizens of Paris and Lamar County, Paris Evergreen Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Lamar.

The Lamar County burial ground gives off an old and historic ambiance, reflected in its interesting monuments and headstones.

You may not know what to say about the statue of Jesus in cowboy boots, but these pair never fail to get attention compared to other historical figures in the area.

Tales claim that the statue was Mr. Babcock’s young wife grieving for the loss of her husband.

The oldest known burial in Evergreen is difficult to determine because many graves were moved from the Old City Cemetery when Evergreen was established in 1866. The county assumes that Lucy Pope Bell Maxey was the first burial after she died on 7 Jul 1866.

While it’s technically not a travel destination, Evergreen is not a waste of time. As you wander around this large, essential part of Paris’ history, you’ll appreciate peace, quiet, and the circle of life.

You’ll notice that older graves are lusher than new ones, distinguishing generation gaps

The overall landscape of Evergreen suggests a great Halloween location where corpses pop out of the ground. That’s how old it looks!

However, the Evergreen Cemetery would lose its personality without these iconic features.

There’s much to see at the Evergreen Cemetery, including life-sized buffalo and angel markers. You can tell it is properly maintained and has stood the test of time.

Address: Evergreen Cemetery, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Family Fun Center

Who says playing is just for children?

The Family Fun Center is a paradise for kids and kids at heart, situated in the former Skate Zone in Paris, Texas.

Skip the road for now and play video games in the arcade, skate in the rink, ride go-karts, or play miniature golf in one of Lamar County’s safe, family-friendly spaces. You’ll loosen up when you enter the place for quality entertainment!

The Family Fun Center (FFC) is a place to spend time and make memories with your family or friends on a Saturday afternoon or a venue for unforgettable birthday parties and other special events.

FFC has one of the best roller skating rinks in Paris, Texas.

They offer indoor rollerblading and roller skating, miniature golf, batting cages, arcade games, putt-putt, and concessions.

In addition, FFC hosts Summer Camp & After-School programs, and other church or group events. 

Rest assured that they provide a safe, fun, and entertaining facility to Lamar County residents and guests, with security in place to keep everyone safe.

You can also talk through their staff about whatever you need to keep the fun going!

Records show that FFC was established in 1998 and incorporated in Texas. Their doors are open year-round to people of all ages every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. Prices vary from skates, blades, miniature golf, batting cages, tokens, and more.

Go and make memories!

Address: 2625 Spur 139, Paris, TX 75462, United States

Lake Crook

Time to paddle your way into one of the best boating, fishing, and camping lakes in central Lamar County.

Lake Crook is an artificial lake on Pine Creek three miles north of Paris, Texas. Constructed in 1923, the lake/park has been a local destination for families, friends, and tourists.

The 800-acre ground houses fishing piers, pavilions, and playgrounds fit for picnic and date ideas.

You can walk or bike on the Lake Crook Trail following the lake’s southeastern shore. The trail gives access to great views of the lake.

Expect to spot the abundant birds and wildlife around the area, too.

If you’re here to fish, you can catch many species of harvestable size ranging from Largemouth Bass to Catfish and crappies.

Prepare live baits such as shad or worms to catch a Catfish effectively. Largemouth bass catch rates can be particularly low, but you’ll have a higher chance to catch small, abundant crappies.

Lake Crook is a famous destination spot during summer. You already know what to expect when visiting within this time.

Speaking of summer, do you know the Paris Powerboat Grand Prix? The Southern Drag Boat Association hosts this annual racing of drag boats.

There are many ways to enjoy the atmosphere in Lake Crooks, depending on the season. Include this fantastic recreation on your list of things to do and places to visit in Paris, Texas, and it’ll be a forever core memory.

Address: Lake Crook, Paris, TX, 75460, United States

Lamar County Historical Museum

Learn more about the history of Paris, Texas, through the corners of the Lamar County Historical Museum.

The local history museum documents the history of Lamar County, Texas, and its county seat, Paris, and is operated by the Lamar County Historical Society.

In just a couple of hours, you’ll glance through the county’s African American heritage, military history, and life in Paris before a major fire caught it in 1916.

What’s unique about this local museum is that all artifacts and exhibits are donated, including over 200 postcards, a shoe collection, and an entire room dedicated to the 1916 fire and two other significant disasters in the city’s history.

You can tell a lot about the town’s history in the 20th-century furniture, antique objects, and tools showcased in Lamar County Historical Museum.

Spare an hour to read what the exhibits are about as you walk through the old red brick building. The space is bigger than it looks!

Viewing in the Lamar County Historical Museum is free, and donations are voluntary. The staff will be all smiles to accompany and assist you with your tour.

Don’t leave without seeing the log Biard Cabin, which is pretty impressive, considering there’s a whole story behind it.

Before you know it, you’re packed with historical facts about Paris, Texas, as you leave.

Address: 1009 W Kaufman St, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Paris Community Theatre

Are you a fan of live theater performances? Write this down right now – Paris Community Theatre.

Paris Community Theatre (PCT) is the ultimate performing arts theater on every guest’s itinerary.

For over 45 years, PCT has produced over 200 productions in their Gallery of Past Shows.

Performers of the theatre started at around six to eight people in the spring of 1976 and flourished over time. As early as five years, they could purchase the Plaza Theatre on the square for $65,000.

PCT has produced phenomenal plays, musicals, and assorted entertainments for four decades in Paris, Texas. You would want to go back after seeing one of their humorous musicals, “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” the great production of “The Wizard of Oz,” or the impressive “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

You wouldn’t expect that a small-town theatre is producing all these shows with timeless stories and exceptional casts and characters.

As you walk out of the theatre, you’ll be approached by city lights across the street, adding highlights to your magical evening.

PCT has remained an important historical asset in Paris, Texas, for decades, and quality never fades.

From gifted actors to remarkable musicians and directors to lighting and scenery, the whole production is a true work of art and professionals.

Address: 36 N Plaza, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Paris Towne Center

Taste a piece of history in all parts of Paris, Texas, when you visit the largest retail shopping center in the region.

Paris Towne Center is a mix of diverse tenants, including many national retailers anchored by Belk, Hobby Lobby, Aldi, Hibbett Sports, and other retail/ restaurant tenants.

Approximately two hours northeast of Dallas, the Paris Towne Center is one of the most pleasant places you can visit on your drive to Paris, Texas – a place to have a nice little stroll day or night.

If you like visiting small Texas towns, Paris has the most historical locations you’ll ever see.

The square is surrounded by historic buildings and structures, such as the Culbertson Fountain, one of the most beautiful fountains in the four-state area. The local treasure made of Italian marble was a memorial to a local businessman. Feel free to toss a coin in!

It would make a lovely background for selfies and pictures, along with several antique shops and stores.

Shops largely based on toys, comic books, and memorabilia are towns’ favorites, including many other gift shops, boutiques, and a theatre.

Grab a treat in nearby bakeries and cafes when you get hungry from shopping in downtown Paris!

Store owners are incredibly hospitable and accommodating, too.

If you love the town square in the morning, you’ll love it much more at night. The surrounding lights open a new perspective into the historic downtown.

Every visit to this quaint destination will be nothing like the other.

Visit more local retail stores in the state and check the best things to do and places to visit in Marfa, Texas! 

Address: 3556 Lamar Ave, Paris, TX 75462, United States

Paris Vineyards Winery

The “nice little quaint place” in the most northeastern winery in Texas is to drive for.

Paris Vineyards is a small family-owned business that started as a hobby and a trip to Missouri. The experimental stage perhaps turned out great, so after several tastings and visitations in vineyards and their owners, they decided to become a full-service winery.

Paris Vineyards aims to make the best wine from Texas grapes and share this experience with family and friends.

See for yourself and drive across Paris Coffee Company to taste their premium wines. Paris Vineyards may be your regular stop!

You must get their tasty Cabernet Sauvignon if you’re a red wine drinker. Otherwise, you can choose from Blanc Du Bois or Chardonnay, their popular white wines.

Paris Vineyards Winery makes a great impression of being charming, both in look and customer service. You will find their people the friendliest.

To spice up your wine-tasting adventure, you can have free wine and “wine-a-Rita tastings,” such as the “Strawberry Mango wine-a-Rita” at several Farmer’s Markets.

Address: 202 N Collegiate Dr, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Plaza Art Gallery

While in Paris, Texas, get to know the local professional artists and their works in the Plaza Art Gallery, located in Paris town square.

The art gallery is specifically dedicated to the work of artists from Lamar County and nearby areas. Its building was rebuilt in the square a year after it caught a disastrous fire in 1916.

It stood on the former Greiner and Mohr Drug Store site in late 1916, where two doctors occupied the second floor.

It later became the Hunt Dry Goods store and then the Austin Shoe Store for a long time. Subsequently, it was occupied by the Vogue Fashion Store.

Finally, Paris Plaza was restored in 1997 by Dr. and Mrs. William Hayden as a branch of the William and Elizabeth Hayden Museum of American Art.

You’ll be happy to see that the building retained its basic components before restoration – the classic plaster and brick walls, the pine floors, and the tin ceilings on two levels. It has long been known as one of the finest addition to Paris’ historic downtown square.

You can get more information about the town from the Chamber of Commerce. It shares the same building as Plaza Art Gallery and is also a must-see when you’re around the area.

Bring a friend when you visit the historical place of Plaza Gallery to see local paintings, photography, ceramics, and custom furniture.

Address: 8 W Plaza, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum

Honor all veterans of the United States in a place for reflection, remembrance, and gratitude.

The Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum in Paris, Texas, was created as a memorial to all veterans who sacrificed faithfully for the country, served in war and peace but were fortunate enough to come home, and those currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Make it a point to visit the memorial and take a brief moment to remember all men and women who secured the freedom we all enjoy.

Appreciate the view while sitting on one of their 48 family benches. The Eiffel Tower is right next to you, too!

To this writing, there are over 2500 granite pavers, 18 ornamental tree pavers, two monuments in the Red River Valley, and soon static displays of military equipment.

A photo won’t do justice to the beauty of the overall layout of the memorial. You have to see it with your eyes. You’ll see displays of the Choctaw code talkers, Gold Star Families for Peace, and service dogs and their handlers.

You can search for a veteran in the visitor kiosk, watch service flags raised throughout the year, or look at the Major Donor bronze plaques that recognize all donors over $1,000.

Near the entrance is the Blue Star Memorial Plaques honoring all Veterans.

The Red River Valley Veterans Memorial Museum is always in progress, but you’ll be glad you could pay a visit during your Texas trip.

Address: 2035 S Collegiate Dr, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site

Make your lovely tour in the rural area of Paris, Texas, more significant as you stop by the 1886 Sam Bell Maxey House.

The two-story historic house in Paris, Lamar County, Texas, is owned by prominent local attorney and later two-term U.S. senator Sam Bell Maxey. It’s a combination of fashionable, Italian, and Victorian touches. You can’t drive by without having a second glance!

As fashionable as it is, this house on Church Street resembles an Italian villa with elongated, hooded windows, an entrance, front columns, and open porches. Its details have progressively added to the city’s architecture and tourism since it was opened to the public in 1980.

Maxey’s great-nephew and his wife Lala inherited the home in 1908 and made modifications and several additions that are now part of your visit.

Your tour around the house includes the breakfast room, a first-floor laundry room, a library, bedrooms, and a sewing room upstairs. Two sitting rooms were combined to create a larger, more formal parlor for guests and tourists.

The outside view of the house has a very soothing color of white and a green roof, surrounded by a brick walkway and boxwood hedge fence.

Your designated friendly guide will tell you more about the house’s history, including the lives of Samuel Bell Maxey and three generations of the family that witnessed its legacy. 

Address: 812 S Church St, Paris, TX 75460, United States

Texas Tumbling And Trampoline Institute (3Ti), Inc.

The Texas Tumbling And Trampoline Institute proudly serves residents of Lamar and surrounding counties, be it young adults and kids.

3TI offers classes and activities such as after-school child care, trampoline and tumbling classes, preschool gymnastics, competitive gymnastics, private lessons, camps, clinics, and parties!

If you want your kids to develop positive and healthy self-esteem, 3TI is open arms to teach your young kindness, integrity, devotion, and success.

There’s nothing like 3TI in town that helps children master sports and skills of recreational or competitive gymnastics and cheerleading with the best coaching staff. They take pride in their Kid Excel After-School Program as the most active after-school program in Paris, Texas, that also teaches archery, golf, and ninja.

The program hosts mindblowing summer day and holiday camps where children can play outdoors and indoors on trampoline and gymnastics equipment or enjoy other activities like crafts and painting classes.

Celebrate your child’s dream birthday party in one of their air-conditioned or heated facility with group games, trampoline fun, a huge foam pit, a 35′ inflatable obstacle course, and more.

No worries because owners Bill and Lisa Gandy are directly involved in providing your young a positive instruction in a happy and energetic environment.

You can ensure your kids are in good hands!

Address: 4820 Lamar Ave, Paris, TX 75462, United States

Valley of the Caddo Museum & Cultural Center

You haven’t covered all of Paris’ Texas’ historical sites yet. This includes understanding the history and heritage of the local region.

Experience the rich history and culture of Lamar, Fannin, Red River, and Delta counties in the Valley of the Caddo Museum & Cultural Center. The small museum houses various exhibits and artifacts highlighting Native American culture, astronomy, archaeology, art, and natural history.

Situated in the historic Santa Fe-Frisco Depot built in 1912, the Valley of the Caddo is a town attraction with a great building and interesting artifacts like old guns, knives, and arrowheads.

Judging from the size, the museum used the small space well, as they could pack the old train depot with lots to see.

The red brick exterior of the building and the 77-foot-tall watchtower resembling an Italian bell tower add to the city’s landmarks. The place is recognized for its tiled, hipped roof with overhanging eaves and brackets.

They also offer a variety of educational programming for visitors of all ages, as well as school groups and tours.

The next time you visit Valley of the Caddo, their exhibits will have been changed as they cover a wide range of collections to display every four months.

Nevertheless, your friends, family, or yourself will enjoy the sights of this cultural center in Paris, Texas.

Address: 1115 Bonham St, Paris, TX 75460, United States

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