Mosques in Paris

Paris has dozens of mosques and prayer rooms, spread across the city and its inner suburbs. Some are monuments visited by tourists from all over the world; others are neighbourhood places where only local worshippers come regularly. This page brings together the Parisian mosques covered by the directory and offers landmarks to find your way, whether you are looking for a place to pray during a stay or a mosque near home.

A long Muslim presence

Muslim presence in Paris goes back at least to the early twentieth century, first through students from the Arab world and through the tirailleurs mobilised during the First World War. The inauguration of the Grand Mosque of Paris, in July 1926, marked the public recognition of that presence. The city then became an anchor point for successive waves of migration from the Maghreb, West Africa, Turkey and, more recently, the whole Muslim world.

The religious geography of Paris reflects this history. The 5th arrondissement keeps the Grand Mosque as its institutional symbol. North-eastern Paris, notably the 10th, 11th, 18th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, along with neighbouring towns such as Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers and Montreuil, hosts the majority of the local prayer places. The south and west of the capital are less densely equipped but also contain several mosques.

The main Muslim districts

Belleville and Ménilmontant, straddling the 11th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, offer the most visible density of Muslim life inside Paris proper. The Belleville boulevard lines up Maghrebi cafés, Turkish grocers, halal butchers and religious bookshops. The 18th arrondissement, around Barbès and Château-Rouge, plays a comparable role with, in addition, a strong sub-Saharan African presence. La Goutte d'Or, between Barbès and Gare du Nord, is one of the historic hearts of working-class Muslim Paris.

The 5th arrondissement, around the Grand Mosque, has a different atmosphere: more institutional and more touristic too, with the courtyard, the tea room and the guided tours that welcome tens of thousands of non-Muslim visitors every year.

Praying in Paris as a visitor

Parisian mosques welcome travellers passing through. The Grand Mosque is the easiest to slot into a tourist itinerary, with regular opening hours, straightforward métro access and the option to combine prayer with a visit of the monument itself. The neighbourhood mosques are open around the five daily prayers, with no particular procedure to enter.

A few useful markers for a first visit: clothes covering shoulders and legs are expected, shoes come off before the prayer hall, women cover their hair, and quiet is the norm. Friday between noon and 2 pm is the busiest slot and is best avoided if you are after a quiet place.

Getting around by public transport

The Paris métro serves almost every mosque in the city. The Grand Mosque is reached through Place Monge (line 7) and Censier-Daubenton (line 7). Belleville, Couronnes, Barbès-Rochechouart, Château-Rouge, Stalingrad and Jaurès serve the north-east. Tramway T3b runs across the northern and eastern inner belt. For suburban mosques, RER B, D and E lines are often the fastest option.

Ramadan in Paris

During Ramadan, Muslim life in Paris intensifies. Mosques host iftar meals open to all, halal shops stay open late into the night, and many districts turn into busy markets after dusk. The Grand Mosque runs evenings of Quranic recitation. Neighbourhood mosques hold Tarawih night prayers after Isha, sometimes until midnight.

Mosques across the city

The entries below detail each mosque listed in Paris: precise location, contacts, facilities, history and practical advice. The list grows as data gets verified. If a mosque you know is not here yet, it will be added as soon as its information has been confirmed.