Must-see attractions in Paris

  • Brasserie BapBap

    Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

    BapBap, whose name means 'Brassée à Paris, Bue à Paris' (Brewed in Paris, Beloved in Paris; the latter a twist on 'drunk in Paris', as in 'consumed in…

  • Nouveau Musée du Parfum

    Paris

    If the art of fragrance entices, stop by Fragonard's perfume museum. One of a trio of Paris locations, it has 30-minute guided tours (English available)…

  • Parc de la Villette

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Spanning 55 hectares, this vast city park is a cultural centre, kids playground and landscaped urban space at the intersection of two canals, the Ourcq…

  • Place de la Concorde

    Paris

    Paris spreads around you, with views of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine and along the Champs-Élysées, when you stand in the city’s largest square. Its 3300…

  • La Cité Fleurie

    Paris

    Venture east from Montparnasse along bd Arago, past the eery La Santé Prison (the most infamous prison in French history after La Bastille, dating to 1867…

  • Bibliothèque Nationale de France

    Paris

    With four glass towers shaped like half-open books, the National Library of France, opened in 1995, was one of President Mitterrand’s most ambitious and…

  • Les Docks

    Paris

    Framed by a lurid-lime wave-like glass façade, a transformed Seine-side warehouse is home to the French fashion institute, the Institut Français de la…

  • Musée des Archives Nationales

    Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

    France's National Archives and small museum are set in a stunning pair of hôtels particuliers (mansions) amid beautiful gardens. Dating from the early…

  • Église de la Madeleine

    Paris

    Place de la Madeleine is named after the 19th-century neoclassical church at its centre, the Église de la Madeleine. Constructed in the style of a massive…

  • Musée Nissim de Camondo

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Housed in a sumptuous mansion modelled on the Petit Trianon at Versailles, this museum displays 18th-century furniture, wood panelling, tapestries,…

  • Parc des Buttes Chaumont

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Buttes Chaumont is one of the city’s largest green spaces, with landscaped slopes hiding grottoes, waterfalls, a lake and even an island topped with a…

  • Bois de Boulogne

    Paris

    On the western edge of Paris just beyond the 16e, the 845-hectare Bois de Boulogne owes its informal layout to Baron Haussmann, who was inspired by Hyde…

  • Musée d’Art et d’Histoire

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    To the southwest of Basilique de St-Denis is the Museum of Art and History, housed in a restored Carmelite convent founded in 1625 and later presided over…

  • Palais de Chaillot

    Paris

    The two curved, colonnaded wings of this building (built for the 1937 International Expo) and central terrace afford an exceptional panorama of the…

  • Église St-Germain l’Auxerrois

    Paris

    Built between the 13th and 16th centuries in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles and with similar dimensions and ground plans to those of Notre…

  • Parc Floral de Paris

    Paris

    This magnificent botanical park is a highlight of the Bois de Vincennes. Natural landscaping, a Japanese bonsai pavilion, an azalea garden and several…

  • Grande Galerie de l’Évolution

    Latin Quarter

    The highlight of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle for kids is the Grande Galerie de l’Évolution, with imaginative exhibits on evolution and…

  • Opéra Bastille

    Paris

    Designed by architect Carlos Ott, this concrete, glass and steel opera house is Paris' largest, with a 2745-seat main auditorium. During his presidency,…

  • Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme

    Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

    Inside the Hôtel de St-Aignan, dating from 1650, this museum traces the evolution of Jewish communities from the Middle Ages to the present, including…

  • Palais de Tokyo

    Paris

    The Tokyo Palace, created for the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (International Exposition of Art and…

  • Parc Zoologique de Paris

    Paris

    Paris' largest, state-of-the-art zoo focuses on the conservation of species and habitats, with camouflaged vantage points (no peering through fences). Its…

  • Musée en Herbe

    Paris

    One of the city’s great backstreet secrets, this children’s museum is a surprise gem for art lovers of every age. Its permanent exhibition changes…

  • Place Vendôme

    Paris

    Octagonal place Vendôme and the arcaded and colonnaded buildings around it were constructed between 1687 and 1721. In March 1796 Napoléon married…

  • Parc Montsouris

    Paris

    This sprawling lakeside park planted with horse-chestnut, yew, cedar, weeping beech and buttonwood trees is delightful picnic spot and has endearing…

  • Place du Tertre

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Today filled with visitors, buskers and portrait artists, place du Tertre was originally the main square of the village of Montmartre before it was…

  • Petite Ceinture du 15e

    Paris

    This former railway corridor of Paris' historic Petite Ceinture steam railway stretches for 1.3km, with biodiverse habitats including forest, grassland…

  • Musée Cognacq-Jay

    Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

    This museum inside the Hôtel de Donon displays oil paintings, pastels, sculpture, objets d’art, jewellery, porcelain and furniture from the 18th century,…

  • Parc de Bercy

    Paris

    Built on the site of a former wine depot, this large, landscaped park is a great place to break for a picnic and let the kids run free. Vestiges of its…

  • Brasserie la Goutte d'Or

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    An earthy reflection of the gutsy, multiethnic quartier of La Goutte d'Or, this craft brewery is the brainchild of brewmaster Thierry Roche, who turns to…

  • Musée de la Musique

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Inside the Cité de la Musique building within the Cité de la Musique – Philharmonie de Paris complex that also includes the Philharmonie de Paris, this…

  • Musée de la Vie Romantique

    Montmartre & Northern Paris

    Framed by green shutters, this mansion where painter Ary Scheffer once lived sits in a cobbled courtyard at the end of a tree-shaded alley. The objects…

  • Parc André Citroën

    Paris

    In 1915 automotive entrepreneur André Citroën built a vast car manufacturing plant here in the 15e. After it closed in the 1970s, the vacated site was…

  • Petit Palais

    Paris

    This architectural stunner was built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle, and is home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (City of Paris…

  • Institut Giacometti

    Paris

    Opened in 2018, this museum housed in the former studio of artist Paul Follot, in a gold-tiled art deco private mansion (a listed historical monument), is…

  • Parc Georges Brassens

    Paris

    Covering 7.74 hectares, Parc Georges Brassens (named for the French singer-songwriter and poet, who lived nearby) has a large central pond bordered by…

  • Musée Maillol

    St-Germain & Les Invalides

    Located in the stunning 18th-century Hôtel Bouchardon, this splendid little museum focuses on the work of sculptor Aristide Maillol (1861–1944), whose…

  • Musée Édith Piaf

    Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville

    This private museum in Ménilmontant, some 1.5km from the birthplace of the iconic singer Édith Piaf and closer to her final resting place in Père Lachaise…

  • Square René Viviani

    Latin Quarter

    Opened in 1928 on the site of the former graveyard of adjoining church Église St-Julien le Pauvre, this picturesque little park is home to the oldest tree…

  • Le Bateau Ivre

    St-Germain & Les Invalides

    Arthur Rimbaud's 1871 poem Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat), depicting a fantastical and frightening sea voyage of a sinking boat from the first-person…

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