Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Built between 1863 and 1868 on the site of a former church, Notre-Dame de la Procession, this distinctive church with twin towers rising 68m was designed…
Must-see attractions in Paris
Paris
Located in the western wing of Palais de Chaillot, the Maritime Museum examines France’s naval adventures from the 17th century until the present day, and…
Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain
Paris
Designed by Jean Nouvel, this stunning glass-and-steel building is a work of art in itself. It hosts temporary exhibits on contemporary art (from the…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Paris’ beautiful town hall was gutted during the Paris Commune of 1871 and rebuilt in luxurious neo-Renaissance style between 1874 and 1882. The ornate…
Paris
Paris’ Fashion Museum warehouses some 100,000 outfits and accessories – from canes and umbrellas to fans and gloves – from the 18th century to the present…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
In 1993 iconic Niçois artist Ben set to work on one wall of a red-brick building overlooking rue de Belleville. Look up to spot two men appearing to be…
Paris
This large (and expensive) waxworks inside the passage Jouffroy has some 300 wax figures. They largely look more like caricatures than characters but,…
George Orwell's Boarding House
Latin Quarter
In 1928 George Orwell (1903–50) stayed in a cheap boarding house above 6 rue du Pot de Fer while working as a dishwasher. It's closed to the public, but…
Paris
Showcasing 1000 stunning pieces of crystal, many of them custom-made for princes and dictators of former colonies, this flashy museum is at home in its…
Paris
The often overlooked Hôtel Heidelbach holds some of the Musée Guimet's Asian art collection and is comprised primarily of Chinese furniture and teaware,…
Les Grandes Serres et Galerie de Botanique
Latin Quarter
These four beautiful glass-and-metal greenhouses in the Jardin des Plantes have been in use since 1714. Several of Henri Rousseau's jungle paintings,…
Paris
Located at the southeastern end of the Bois de Boulogne is the Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil, a garden with impressive conservatories (opened in 1898) that…
Latin Quarter
The Sorbonne university’s distinctive domed church was built between 1635 and 1642. The remains of Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) lie in a tomb with an…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
At the northern end of the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Palais du Luxembourg was built in the 1620s for Marie de Médici, Henri IV’s consort, to assuage her…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
The ancient arts of magic, optical illusion and sleight of hand are explored in this museum, in the 16th-century caves (cellars) of the Marquis de Sade’s…
Paris
French baroque Église St-Louis en l’Île was built between 1664 and 1726 and renovated in 2022. It hosts…
Paris
This bronze sculpture, a replica of the one topping the Statue of Liberty, was placed here in 1987 as a symbol of friendship between France and the USA…
Paris
Testament to the 13e’s ongoing creative renaissance, this gallery showcases graffiti and street art, and can advise on self-guided and guided street-art…
Latin Quarter
The 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre Lutetia Arena once seated 10,000 people for gladiatorial combats and other events. Found by accident in 1869 when rue…
Statue of Général Charles de Gaulle
Paris
Created by Jean Cardot, this 3.7m-high bronze statue (2000), set atop a 3.85m-high pedestal, depicts a striding Général Charles de Gaulle, who led the the…
Latin Quarter
Dating back to 1248, this former Cistercian college originally served as living quarters and place of study for novice monks. It's now an art gallery and…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Wall murals by a succession of different street artists plaster one wall of a building, a two-minute walk from the Musée National Picasso, on the corner…
Paris
The name of this multi-tiered Renaissance fountain (1550) comes off as a bit ironic – nothing in central Paris feels even remotely innocent – but is in…
Paris
The Jardin de l’Atlantique, whose 3.5 hectares of park carpets the roof of the Gare Montparnasse, offers greenery and tranquillity in the heart of the…
Paris
In the centre of place Vendôme, this column consists of a stone core wrapped in a 160m-long bronze spiral made from hundreds of Austrian and Russian…
Paris
Some 400m north of av des Champs-Élysées is rue du Faubourg St-Honoré (8e), the western extension of rue St-Honoré. It has renowned couture houses,…
Paris
This is the former Palais Royal, built in 1624 by Cardinal Richelieu. It's now the Council of State – the French national government body that acts as…
Building Where Jim Morrison Died
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Devout fans of rock star Jim Morrison can admire the elegant Hausmannian building at 17 rue Beautreillis, where the singer lived in an apartment on the…
Paris
This pretty, three-storey spa house is where realist novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) lived and worked from 1840 to 1847, editing the entire Comédie…
Paris
This wing of Fragonard's Perfume Museum holds a collection of copper distillery vats and antique flacons. It's located in a beautiful old hôtel…
Paris
Northwest of the main building of the Centre Pompidou, this reconstruction of the studio of Romanian-born sculptor Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957),…
Latin Quarter
Peer down the passageway at 71 rue du Cardinal Lemoine: Irish writer James Joyce (1882–1941) lived in the courtyard flat at the back marked ‘E’ when he…
Paris
Almost as dazzling as the masterpieces inside the Louvre is the 21m-high glass pyramid designed by Chinese-born American architect IM Pei, which crowns…
Le Marais, Ménilmontant & Belleville
Clad with benches and shaded by trees, this pretty pedestrian square is framed on three sides by atmospheric cafe pavement terraces that are perfect for…
Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie Comparée
Latin Quarter
Dinosaur skeletons and fossils fill the Galerie de Paléontologie et d’Anatomie Comparée, part of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, within the…
Paris
This monumental glass hall (Ricardo Bofill, 1996) of offices and shops replaces an unsightly parking garage (now underground) and evokes the wonderful…
Paris
The Pré Catelan garden area within Parc de Bagatelle squirrels away a wonderful Jardin Shakespeare where plants, flowers and trees mentioned in…
5bis Rue Verneuil (Serge Gainsbourg's Former Home)
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Parisian crooner Serge Gainsbourg lived here from 1969 until his death in 1991. It's still owned by his daughter, actor/singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, and…
