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Cimetière de Montmartre
Established in 1798, this is perhaps the most celebrated necropolis in Paris after Père Lachaise. It is home to the graves of writers Zola, Dumas the younger, Stendhal and Heinrich Heine, composers Jacques Offenbach and Hector Berlioz, artist Degas, dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and film director François Truffaut - among many others.
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Cimetière du Montparnasse
Celebs laid to rest here include writers Charles Baudelaire, Guy de Maupassant, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir; playwright Samuel Beckett; and photographer Man Ray. Montparnasse's tomb traditions include fans leaving metro tickets on the grave of singer Serge Gainsbourg in reference to his song, 'Le Poinçonneur des Lilas'. Free maps are available from the conservation office.
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Cimetière du Père Lachaise
Founded in 1804, Père Lachaise's 70000 ornate tombs form a verdant, open-air sculpture garden. Among its resting residents are famous composers, writers, artists, actors, singers, dancers and even the immortal 12th-century lovers Abélard and Héloïse.
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Conciergerie
The Conciergerie was built as a luxurious royal palace in the 14th century for the concierge of the Palais de la Cité, but later lost favour with the kings of France and was turned into a prison and torture chamber. The huge Gothic Salle des Gens d'Armes (Cavalrymen's Hall) is a fine example of the Rayonnant style, and the largest surviving such hall in Europe.
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Gare Montparnasse
This sprawling train station has several unusual attractions on - of all places - its rooftop. The unique Jardin de l'Atlantique, whose 3.5 hectares of landscaped terraces veil the top of the station, offers a bit of greenery and tranquillity in the heart of a very busy district. Don't miss the futuristic Observatoire Météorologique 'sculpture', in the centre of the garden, which measures precipitation, temperature and wind speed.
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Grand Palais
The 'Great Palace', erected for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, houses the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais beneath its huge Art Nouveau glass roof. Special exhibitions, among the biggest the city stages, last three or four months. You'll understand just how popular most of the exhibitions here are - and the importance of booking in advance - when you see the queues (especially at the weekend) looping halfway round the building.
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Jardin des Tuileries
Bisected by the Axe Historique, these 28-hectare formal gardens are where Parisians once paraded their finery. The gardens were laid out in the mid-17th century by André Le Nôtre, the green thumb behind the Palace of Versailles. Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, the paths, ponds and old-fashioned merry-go-round here are as enchanting as ever for a stroll.
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Maison de Balzac
Balzac's House, about 800m southwest of the Jardins du Trocadéro, is the Passy spa house where the realist novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) lived and worked from 1840 to 1847, editing the entire Comédie Humaine and writing various books. There's lots of memorabilia, letters, prints and portraits, but this place is decidedly for dyed-in-the-wool Balzac fans only.
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Manufacture des Gobelins
The Gobelins Factory has been weaving haute lisse (high relief) tapestries on specialised looms since the 18th century along with Beauvais-style basse lisse (low relief) ones and Savonnerie rugs. The visit, by guided tour, takes you through the workshops and exhibits of the carpets and 5000 tapestries woven here.
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Place des Vosges
The heart of Marais, Paris' most enchanting neighbourhood, is place des Vosges. Inaugurated in 1612 as place Royale, it is an ensemble of 36 symmetrical houses with ground-floor arcades, steep slate roofs and large dormer windows arranged around a large square. Duels were once fought in the elegant park in the centre.
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