| There are 180 museums and monuments in Paris. Don’t even try to see them all, unless you’ve a lifetime. Here are a few to start with.
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| A huge, architecturally fascinating structure that houses a public information library, a National Museum of Modern Art and Industrial Design, exhibition galleries, cinemas, concert halls, and a contemporary music research center. Métro: Hotel de Ville. |
| Collections of western art from the middle ages to the mid nineteenth century as well as the world’s ancient civilizations that gave rise to it – Asian, Islamic, Egyptian, Greek, Roman – and even a section on the history of the Louvre itself. Allot a large amount of time for this one. Consider spending 4-5 hours. You'll need it all and there's good sightseeing in the area too. Métro:... |  |
| The Chateau de Versailles, not to be confused with the city of Versailles, is a stunning, sprawling palace within this verdant Parisian suburb. As it's one of the top tourist attractions in the area, however, it's simple to get there from the city center by bus or train. Transformed by Louis XIV from a hunting lodge to a castle circa 1669 and once the home of King Louis XVI and his infamous... |
| Also called the Musée National du Moyen-Age. Founded 1843, the National Museum of the Middle Ages’ first aim was to combine the ruins of the Gallo-Roman baths and the Hôtel of the Abbots of Cluny. Today, the museum also holds gold pieces, silverware, sculpture, and tapestries. |
| Created by the Institut du Monde Arabe in order to create a cultural bridge between France and the Arab world, the museum presents fascinating collections of art from the 22 countries that have joined in the partnership. |
| A 15th century cellar houses a permanent exhibition of tools and objects related to France’s prestigious line of vineyards and wines. Tastings, lunches, and wine lectures. |
| Giant tableaus of impressionist painting, intriguing sculpture, decorative art, and photography, all from the period between 1848 and 1914 (roughly La Belle Epoque). Métro: Solférino. |
| An 18th century mansion presents this vast collection by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin, whose lanky iron-wrought figures fill the garden outside the building (including famous works such as “The Thinker”) as well as the gallery within. |
| Trace the 5,000-year-long history of perfume in this nineteenth century mansion; guided visits are free, and the perfume is sold at factory price. |
| Science and technology extravaganza in the Parc de la Villette complex, featuring exhibitions, lectures, and interactive games. Métro: Porte de la Villette. |
| Formerly a Zoology gallery, this museum shows off a large collection of colossal skeletons, animal sculptures, and facts about the natural world. |
| The Arc de Triomphe rises from the Place Charles de Gaulle at the western end of the Champs-Elysees, right in the heart of Paris. In fact, it really does feel that way when you climb the narrow staircase to the top and peer over the iron grate at the city below: the Arc de Triomphe stands in the center of what's known as L'Etoile, or the star (before it was called Place Charles de Gaulle, it was... |  |
| Métro: Chemin Vert or St. Paul. The oldest square in Paris, designed by Henri IV at the turn of the 17th century, also used to hold a royal palace (Palais des Tournelles). It is encircled by 36 crumbling pink-brick houses that used to be private residences (including that of Victor Hugo, which you can visit) and now hold cafés and art galleries. |
| Métro: Opéra. A stunning square a few blocks from the Jardin des Tuileries. Home of the very, very wealthy; Chopin lived here, and now today’s rich and famous head to the square’s Hôtel Ritz, or France’s most talked-of (and expensive) jewelery stores. |
| From the grinning gargoyles and flying buttresses to the corridors of the crypt, Notre Dame de Paris is one of the finest (and first) exampes of Gothic architecture in Europe. Understandably, then, it stands alongside the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe as quintessentially Paris, and simply cannot be missed. Dreamed up in the early twelfth century and completed in the mid-fourteenth, but still... |  |
| A great symbol of Paris, if not of tourism itself, the Eiffel Tower is the magnum opus of engineer Gustave Eiffel. It was built between 1887 and 1889 as an entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a fair designed to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution. The story goes that when it was first built, many people hated it, calling it a blight on their beautiful city.... |  |
| Nearly 120 acres of elaborate tombstones, marking the remains of some of the globe’s most celebrated inhabitants (this is where Jim Morrison is buried, for example). |
| Métro: Cardinal Lemoine. The Basilique Sainte-Geneviève before the French Revolution, when it was transformed into a heroes’ shrine. Visit the impressive crypt that entombs Napoléon Bonaparte, Voltaire, Zola, and Marie Curie, among others. |
| Métro: Concorde. At the other end of the Champs-Elysées from the Arc de Triomphe, this is one of Paris’ great historical landmarks: here is where Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and several thousand others were beheaded during the French Revolution. The oldest artifact in Paris stands here today: a 230-ton Egyptian obelisk, L’Obélisque de Luxor, a generous gift from Mohamed Ali to Louis Philippe... |
| The tallest skyscraper in all of continental Europe. Rather out of place in its neighborhood, but now a Montparnasse beacon, with a tremendously impressive view from its open-air roof terrace. |
| Métro: Tuileries. This classic, well-manicured garden park with wide sandy pathways lined with iron benches and trees is right near the Louvre, and has been painted by Monet and Renoir (among others). Though a palace stood here in the 16th century, now it is a much-loved place for relaxed, shady promenades. |
| Métro: Cité Universitaire. Located in the 14th arrondissement in a residential district, this park was also one of Haussman’s many projects. This one also has lakes and lush greenery, as well as a meteorological observatory, and is right across the street from the Cité Universitaire (residences for 5,000 university students). |
| Métro: Jussieu. Opened in 1898, the Jardin des Plantes features a botanical garden with tropical greenhouses and four natural history museums, including la Grande Galerie de l’Évolution, the Musée Paléontologique (fossils) and the Musée Minéralogique (rocks and minerals). |
| Métro: Porte Maillot, Porte Dauphine, Porte d’Auteuil. A wilderness before Haussman, the Bois de Boulogne is now a lush, 2,200-acre park on Paris’ wealthy west side filled with lakes, trails, sidewalks, and playgrounds. You can rent rowboats on the lakes (Lac Inférieur and Lac Supérieur) and wander through the woods, but be careful after dark, as this is also a nighttime hangout for prostitutes. |
| Métro: Porte Dorée, Château de Vincennes. Louis XV had this park on the southeast side of Paris created in 1731, but it was significantly re-landscaped by those under Napoléon III and Haussman in the 1860s. It boasts several lakes with several islands each, a large zoo, a flower garden, a castle (the Château de Vincennes), a few cafés, and even an amusement park in the spring called the Foire du... |
| Métro: Porte Dorée, Château de Vincennes. Louis XV had this park on the southeast side of Paris created in 1731, but it was significantly re-landscaped by those under Napoléon III and Haussman in the 1860s. It boasts several lakes with several islands each, a large zoo, a flower garden, a castle (the Château de Vincennes), a few cafés, and even an amusement park in the spring called the Foire du... |
| Métro: Luxembourg. Fountains, paths, Greek sculptures, the Palais du Luxembourg, old men with pipes and newspapers, and young lovers all gather in this seventeenth-century haven of a park in the heart of the Quartier Latin. Try to catch the Théâtre des Marionnettes, or puppet theater, on Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays. |
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