Sights in Paris
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Eiffel Tower
No one could imagine Paris today without its signature spire. But Gustave Eiffel only constructed this graceful tower – the world’s tallest, at 320m, until it was eclipsed by Manhattan’s Chrysler Building some four decades later – as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 Exposition Universelle (World Fair). Luckily, the tower’s popularity assured its survival beyond the fair, and its elegant art nouveau webbed-metal design has become the defining fixture of the city’s skyline.
Lifts/elevators yo-yo up and down the north, west and east pillars to the tower’s three platforms (57m, 115m and 276m); change lifts on the 2nd level for the final ascent to the top, from…
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Musée du Louvre
The vast Palais du Louvre was constructed as a fortress by Philippe-Auguste in the early 12th century and rebuilt in the mid-16th century as a royal residence. The Revolutionary Convention turned it into a national museum in 1793.
The paintings, sculptures and artefacts on display in the Louvre Museum have been amassed by subsequent French governments. Among them are works of art and artisanship from all over Europe and collections of Assyrian, Etruscan, Greek, Coptic and Islamic art and antiquities. The Louvre’s raison d’être is essentially to present Western art from the Middle Ages to about 1848 (at which point the Musée d’Orsay takes over), as well as works from…
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Musée d'Orsay
Fresh from renovations that incorporate richly coloured walls, a re-energised layout and increased exhibition space, the home of France’s national collection from the impressionist, postimpressionist and art nouveau movements spanning the 1840s and 1914 is the glorious former Gare d’Orsay railway station – itself an art nouveau showpiece – where a roll-call of masters and their world-famous works are on display.
Top of every visitor’s must-see list is the museum’s painting collections, centred on the world’s largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art. Just some of its highlights are Manet’s On The Beach and Woman With Fans; Monet’s…
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Basilique du Sacré-Cœur
Crowning the Butte de Montmartre (Montmartre Hill), Sacred Heart Basilica was built from contributions pledged by Parisian Catholics as an act of contrition after the humiliating Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Construction began in 1876, but the basilica was not consecrated until 1919. In a way, atonement here has never stopped; a perpetual prayer ‘cycle’ that began at the consecration of the Basilica continues round the clock to this day.
Some 234 spiralling steps lead you to the basilica’s dome, which affords one of Paris’ most spectacular panoramas – up to 30km on a clear day. Weighing in at 19 tonnes, the bell called La Savoyarde in the tower above is the…
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Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris
This is the heart of Paris – so much so that distances from Paris to every part of metropolitan France are measured from place du Parvis Notre Dame, the square in front of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris. A bronze star across the street from the cathedral’s main entrance marks the exact location of point zéro des routes de France.
Notre Dame, the most visited unticketed site in Paris, with upwards of 14 million people crossing its threshold a year, is not just a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture; it was also the focus of Catholic Paris for seven centuries.
Built on a site occupied by earlier churches and, a millennium before that, a Gallo-Roman temple, it…
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Jardin du Luxembourg
This inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in the hearts of Parisians. Napoleon dedicated the 23 gracefully laid-out hectares of the Luxembourg Gardens to the children of Paris, and many residents spent their childhood prodding 1920s wooden sailboats with long sticks on the octagonal Grand Bassin pond, watching puppets perform Punch & Judy–type shows at the Théâtre des Marionnettes du Jardin du Luxembourg, and riding the carrousel (merry-go-round) or Shetland ponies. All those activities are still here today, as are modern playgrounds and sporting and games venues.
Dozens of apple varieties grow in the orchards in the…
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Centre Pompidou
Former French President Georges Pompidou wanted an ultracontemporary artistic hub, and he got it: competition-winning architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers effectively designed the building inside out, with utilitarian features such as plumbing, pipes, air vents and electrical cables forming part of the external façade, freeing up the interior space for exhibitions and events. Paris’ premier cultural centre has amazed visitors since it was inaugurated in 1977.
On the ground floor, the Forum du Centre Pompidou has temporary exhibitions and information desks, while the 4th and 5th floors house the Musée National d’Art Moderne, France’s national collection of art…
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Sainte Chapelle
The place to visit on a sunny day! Security checks make it long and snail-slow to get into this gemlike Holy Chapel, the most exquisite of Paris’ Gothic monuments, tucked away within the walls of the Palais de Justice (Law Courts). But once in, be dazzled by Paris’ oldest and finest stained glass – the light on sunny days is extraordinary.
Built in just under three years (compared with nearly 200 for Notre Dame), Ste-Chapelle was consecrated in 1248. The chapel was conceived by Louis IX to house his personal collection of holy relics (including the Holy Crown now kept in the treasury at Notre Dame). The chapel’s exterior can be viewed from across the street from…
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La Seine
In the city of romance, the Seine River is its lifeblood. Formerly a major trade route, today the river's islands, bridges and quays evoke the most romantic visions of Paris. This nostalgia is heightened after dark when the Seine shimmers with the watery reflections of floodlit monuments and bridges. C'est magnifique!
A stroll along the Seine is a quintessential Parisian experience.
The attractions along the river's main island, Île de la Cité, read like a who's-who of Paris' finery; from Notre Dame to Sainte Chapelle, the Conciergerie and the flower market. By contrast, Île St-Louis has a village-like, provincial calm. The area's charming 17th-century stone houses,…
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Arc de Triomphe
If anything rivals the Eiffel Tower as the symbol of Paris, it’s this magnificent 1836 monument to Napoleon’s 1805 victory at Austerlitz, which he commissioned the following year. The intricately sculpted triumphal arch stands sentinel in the centre of the Étoile (‘star’) roundabout. From the viewing platform on top of the arch (50m up via 284 steps and well worth the climb) you can see the dozen avenues. Av de la Grande Armée heads northwest to the skyscraper district of La Défense, where the Grande Arche marks the western end of the Axe Historique.
The most famous of the four high-relief panels at the base is to the right, facing the arch from the av des…
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Musée de l'Orangerie
Located in the southwestern corner of the Jardin des Tuileries, this museum, with the Jeu de Paume, is all that remains of the once palatial Palais des Tuileries, which was razed during the Paris Commune in 1871. It exhibits important Impressionist works, including a series of Monet's Decorations des Nymphéas (Water Lilies) in two huge oval rooms purpose-built in 1927 on the artist's instructions, as well as works by Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, Sisley, Soutine and Utrillo. An audioguide costs €5.
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Musée National du Moyen Âge
The National Museum of the Middle Ages occupies both a frigidarium (cooling room), which holds remains of Gallo-Roman thermes (baths) dating from around AD 200, and the 15th-century Hôtel des Abbés de Cluny, Paris’ finest example of medieval civil architecture. Inside, spectacular displays include statuary, illuminated manuscripts, weapons, furnishings and objets d’art made of gold, ivory and enamel. But nothing compares with La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady with the Unicorn), a sublime series of late-15th-century tapestries from the southern Netherlands.
Small gardens northeast of the museum, including the Jardin Céleste (Heavenly Garden) and the Jardin d’Amour…
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Musée Rodin
Sculptor, painter, sketcher, engraver and collector Auguste Rodin donated his entire collection to the French state in 1908 on the proviso that they dedicate his former workshop and showroom, the beautiful 1730 Hôtel Biron, to displaying his works. They’re now installed not only in the mansion itself, but in its rose-clambered garden – one of the most peaceful places in central Paris and a wonderful spot to contemplate his famous work The Thinker. Other sculptural highlights are The Gates of Hell, the 180 figures of which comprise an intricate scene from Dante’s Inferno; Rodin’s marble monument to love, The Kiss; and some 15 works by sculptor Camille Claudel,…
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Grande Arche de la Défense
La Défense’s landmark edifice is the white marble Grande Arche, a striking cubelike structure that was built in the 1980s and is now home to government and business offices. The arch marks the western end of the Axe Historique (Historic Axis), though Danish architect Johan-Otto von Sprekelsen deliberately placed the Grande Arche fractionally out of alignment.
Access to the roof has been suspended indefinitely for security reasons.
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Gare Montparnasse
Brittany and places en route from Paris (eg Chartres, Angers, Nantes); TGV Atlantique Ouest and TGV Atlantique Sud-Ouest trains to Tours, Nantes, Bordeaux and other destinations in southwestern France.
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Place de l’Opéra
The site of Paris’ world-famous (and original) opera house. It abuts the Grands Boulevards, the eight contiguous ‘Great Boulevards’ – Madeleine, Capucines, Italiens, Montmartre, Poissonnière, Bonne Nouvelle, St-Denis and St-Martin – that stretch from elegant place de la Madeleine in the 8e eastwards to the more plebeian place de la République in the 3e, a distance of just under 3km.
The Grands Boulevards were laid out in the 17th century on the site of obsolete city walls and served as a centre of café and theatre life in the 18th and 19th centuries, reaching the height of fashion during the belle époque. North of the western end of the Grands Boulevards is bd…
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Institut du Monde Arabe
The Institute of the Arab World, set up by France and 20 Arab countries to promote cultural contacts between the Arab world and the West, is housed in a highly praised building designed by Jean Nouvel; it opened in 1987. Its new-look museum, showcasing Arab art, artisanship and science, was unveiled in 2012.
Inspired by traditional latticed-wood windows, the stunning building blends modern and traditional Arab and Western elements, with thousands of mushrabiyah (or mouche-arabies) – photoelectrically sensitive apertures built into the glass walls that allow you to see out without being seen. The apertures are opened and closed by electric motors in order to regulate the…
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Tour Montparnasse
The 210m-high Montparnasse Tower, built in 1973 with steel and smoked glass and housing offices for 5000 workers, affords spectacular views over the city. (Bonus: its observation floor and terrace are about the only spots in Paris you can’t see this startlingly ugly, oversized lipstick tube, which in low-rise Paris sticks out like a sore thumb.)
Europe’s fastest lift/elevator whisks visitors up in 38 seconds to the indoor observatory on the 56th floor, with an exhibition centre, video clips, multimedia terminals and Paris’ highest restaurant, Le Ciel de Paris. Finish with a hike up the stairs to the open-air terrace on the 59th floor.
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Cimetière du Montparnasse
Opened in 1824, Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris’ second largest after Père Lachaise, sprawls over 19 hectares shaded by 1200 trees, including maples, ash, lime trees and conifers. Among its illustrious ‘residents’ are poet Charles Baudelaire, writer Guy de Maupassant, playwright Samuel Beckett, sculptor Constantin Brancusi, painter Chaim Soutine, photographer Man Ray, industrialist André Citroën, Captain Alfred Dreyfus of the infamous affair, actress Jean Seberg, and philosopher-writer couple Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as singer Serge Gainsbourg. Free maps are available from the conservation office.
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Musée Picasso
One of Paris’ most beloved art collections opened its doors again after massive renovation works in summer 2013. Housed in the stunning, mid-17th-century Hôtel Salé, the Musée Picasso woos art lovers with more than 3500 drawings, engravings, paintings, ceramic works and sculptures by the grand maître (great master) Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). The extraordinary collection was donated to the French government by the artist’s heirs in lieu of paying inheritance tax.
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Place du Tertre
It would be hard to miss the place du Tertre, one of the most touristy spots in all of Paris. Although today it’s filled with visitors, buskers and portrait artists, it was originally the main square of the village of Montmartre before it was incorporated into the city proper.
One of the more popular claims of Montmartre mythology is staked to La Mère Catherine at No 6: in 1814, so it’s said, Cossack soldiers first introduced the term bistro (Russian for ‘quickly’) into the French lexicon. Another big moment came on Christmas Eve, 1898, when Louis Renault’s first car was driven up the Butte to the place du Tertre, igniting the start of the French auto industry.
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Dalí Espace Montmartre
More than 300 works by Salvador Dalí (1904–89), the flamboyant Catalan surrealist printmaker, painter, sculptor and self-promoter, are on display at this surrealist-style basement museum located just west of place du Tertre. The collection includes Dalí’s strange sculptures (most in reproduction), lithographs, many of his illustrations and furniture, including the famous Mae West lips sofa.
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Arènes de Lutèce
The 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre Lutetia Arena once sat around 10,000 people for gladiatorial combats and other events. Found by accident in 1869 when rue Monge was under construction, it’s now used by locals playing football and, especially, boules and pétanque.
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Mosquée de Paris
Paris’ central mosque with striking 26m-high minaret was built in 1926 in an ornate Moorish style. Visitors must be modestly dressed and remove their shoes at the entrance to the prayer hall. The complex includes a North African–style salon de thé (tearoom) and restaurant and a hammam, a traditional Turkish-style bathhouse.
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Cimetière du Père Lachaise
The world’s most visited cemetery, Père Lachaise (named after a confessor of Louis XIV) opened its one-way doors in 1804. Its 69,000 ornate, even ostentatious, tombs of the rich and/or famous form a verdant, 44-hectare sculpture garden. Among those buried here are composer Chopin; playwright Molière; poet Apollinaire; writers Balzac, Proust, Gertrude Stein and Colette; actors Sarah Bernhardt and Yves Montand; painters Pissarro, Seurat, Modigliani and Delacroix; chanteuse Édith Piaf; and dancer Isadora Duncan.
Particularly visited graves are those of Oscar Wilde, interred in division 89 in 1900, and 1960s rock star Jim Morrison, who died in a flat at 17–19 rue…
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