Apart from the lack of cars and the sight of people strolling down the Champs Elysées, one of the most noticeable differences to a normal day was the relative quiet throughout the capital.
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The sound of nearly silence was a welcome change from the revving of engines and the constant beeping of impatient drivers.
From 11:00 to 18:00, cars were banned in many Parisian neighbourhoods.
Mayor, who was there to inaugurate Sunday’s event, has said she would like to see a diesel-free city by 2020.
Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, who late this year will host the United Nations World Climate Conference, told the daily Le Parisien that the goal was to show that “Paris can operate without cars”.
The French capital’s central arrondissements and areas around landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees will be free from vehicle noise and exhaust fumes, allowing people to stroll, cycle or skate between 0900 GMT and 1600 GMT.
The Paris event is not a first in Europe. Those who hit the road anyway must observe a 20 kilometer-per-hour (12.5 mph) speed limit.
Older diesel vehicles with high emissions are being phased out in the city, while lorries and buses weighing more than three tons and more than 14 years old have been prohibited from driving through Paris during the day since the beginning of this month.
The initiative involves a ban on motor vehicles in the centre of the city.
Paris has struggled with an increasingly toxic air pollution problem caused by vehicles, heating and heavy industry, which generate tiny floating particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and the blood system, causing health problems. Taking cars off the road for a day or two can have a big – but brief – impact on the short-lived chemicals that produce urban smog.
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In other parts of the city, traffic movement will be restricted to 20km/hr.
