Interestingly enough, if someone says Paris has a new icon, they are not referring to the Eiffel Tower.
The current “star” of the city? Newspaper kiosks. Yes, the same small stands that sell magazines, gum, and lottery tickets are suddenly stepping up to become the unofficial front desk of Paris tourism.
Let’s cut to the end. The city wants to anoint the kiosks to have full tourism ambassador status by 2026.
Not as in a temporary status or as an experiment. Full status. The kiosks took control when the official Tourist Office closed in January of 2025, waving their hands saying, “Don’t worry. We got this.”
Imagine being somewhere around the Louvre, Gare Saint-Lazare, or even at the Grand Rex cinema.
Instead of wandering into a spacious shiny tourism structure, you bump into a friendly kiosk operator passing out maps, scanning tickets and helping confused tourists to find the Eiffel Tower (surprisingly, a lot of tourists still can’t find it).
They continue to sell newspapers and magazines — same, same.
But now they will:
- Provide free maps
- Provide additional transport & restaurant recommendations
- Serve as a link to official tour guides
- Offer a QR Code to download the app “Paris je t’aime”
So yes, they are half newsstand and half tourist superhero
Wait, is there someone training them?
Certainly. Prior to being able to operate a kiosk as a tourism micro-hub, the operator received a full-day training from Paris je t’aime — Office de Tourisme, the city tourism board.
But rest assured, they do not have to feel as if they are operating solo afterward:
- The city does “mystery tourist” checks incognito.
- Operators receive periodic briefings.
- Operators have daily access to updates by some form of contact communication.
It may sound strict, but, the crowd at the Eiffel Tower expects clear instructions or every area of the city will become a maze.
Quick, fast forward:
At this time, there are 37 operated kiosks in operation.
You can spot them via small signs and posters.
Travelers scan a QR code and boom, they have a digital tourist guide on their phone.
Now, let us drop into a personal vignette
One friendly operator I met near Accor Arena shared this story with me.
He is multilingual, can speak French, English, Arabic and Spanish which is kind of like having a human version of Google Translate with a big grin.
He sees tourists daily for assistance with directions to get to or from the Eiffel Tower, where the Louvre is, and what to do about tickets since there are not paper tickets anymore.
When concerts run long, he keeps his kiosk open until 10 PM just to assist people in confusion, wandering around the streets looking like lost penguins.
All that effort?
Because Paris wants tourism to be keep being helpful, human, and accessible — even in the digital age.
Rather than create gigantic offices, the City is planting small urban tourism hubs again where travelers walk: train stations, theatres, museums, city squares.
Now, and finally the “introduction” we did not have:
Once the Tourist Office closed, tourists were in search of some place to ask questions and get information. Instead of simply putting everything online, and leaving tourists helpless, Paris turned kiosks into information centres.
It’s a simple idea with a very big idea.
Paris did not replace the Eiffel Tower — but the little kiosks located throughout the city are now quietly, becoming symbols of hospitality.
Not fancy. Not big. Just helpful, human, multilingual, and sometimes open late at night.
And honestly, There’s a pretty charming meaning of “Parisians.”
