In Paris, there are lots of monuments that ha ve witnessed the extraordinary historical past of town, and plenty of constructions testify of this long-gone previous. Some are well-known and others are usually not; in many alternative districts, some are huge and others are humble, however they’re all a part of Paris’s and France’s historical past. We’ve got chosen the very best landmarks to go to within the Metropolis of Lights.
Should-see Locations in Paris
1) Arc de Triomphe
Avenue Charles de Gaulle – eighth District
It is without doubt one of the most well-known monuments in Paris. Constructed on the Place de l’Etoile, at one finish of the Champs-Elysée, the Arc de Triomphe is one the most important arches on this planet.
It was inbuilt 1806 to have fun Napoleon Bonaparte’s victory in Austerlitz and was impressed by the Roman triumphal arch. Nonetheless, it was designed on a a lot larger scale than its mannequin: it’s 50 meters excessive, 45 meters lengthy, and 22 meters vast. It stands as probably the most well-known monuments in Paris.
Beneath the vault is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Beneath a continuing watch, an Everlasting Flame is turned on every night time at 6:30 p.m. If you happen to select to go to this superb monument, you may climb to the summit, from which you’ve got a panoramic view of Paris, be it day or be it night time. Inside, a museum explaining the Arc de Triomphe’s historical past will full your go to.
Fee:
Full charge: 13€
Diminished charge*: 9€
Free for EU residents beneath 26, disabled folks and their attendants and the unemployed
*For tourism professionals, younger folks (18-25 y-o) from non-UE nation and international academics
Entry: Metro traces 1, 2, and 6, RER A in Charles-de-Gaulle-Etoile Station
Ebook a go to of the Arc de Triomphe (skip the road tickets)
Purchase the Paris PASS – Museums, Sights and Transport inside Paris
- Limitless use of the Parisian public transport community (metro zones 1-3, RER, bus, tram)
- Admission to greater than 60 museums and points of interest
- Skip-the-line entry for quite a few actions
2) Eiffel Tower
Champ de Mars, 5, avenue Anatole France – seventh district
After all, the Eiffel Tower is THE monument it’s a must to see if you go to Paris. It has turn out to be the image of Paris. Initially constructed for Paris’ 1889’s World’s Honest, it grew to become the icon of town.
Looming over town from its 312-meter top, the Eiffel Tower is seen from afar. After visiting the Tower itself, you may spend a while to admire the Champ de Mars and its backyard at its ft.
The Eiffel Tower, fairly clearly, attracts many guests every day, and packs of swarming vacationers are in a rush to admire it and need to queue up earlier than getting in.
Fortuitously, you should buy your tickets and minimize the road as an alternative of queuing up for hours.
While you go to the Eiffel Tower, you may climb up in two other ways: the bravest can use the steps, and the others the elevator (which can be the one technique to the third ground).
On the primary ground, one can find retailers; the Jules Verne is a good looking high-class restaurant on the second ground; lastly, the third ground affords among the best views of Paris, and wherever you look you will notice the fantastic thing about the French capital.
Charges:
Raise entrance ticket (legitimate to 2nd ground): full charge 17,10€, 12-24 years 8,60€, decreased charge* 4,30€
Raise entrance ticket to high: full charge 26,80€, 12-24 years 13,40€, decreased charge* 6,70€
Stairs entrance ticket (legitimate to 2nd ground): full charge 10,70€, 12-24 years 5,40€, decreased charge* 2,70€
*For these between 4 and 11, the disabled and their helpers and the job seekers
Free for youths under 4 y-o
Entry: Metro line 9 (Trocadéro station) and line 6 (Bir-Hakeim station)
Ebook a go to to the Eiffel Tower (skip the road ticket with a information)
3) Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur
35, rue du Chevalier de la Barre – 18th district
Atop the hill of Montmartre, the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur is considered one of Paris’ emblematic monuments.
This constructing has probably the most astonishing views of Paris.
Nested upon its 130-meter excessive hill, the basilica, inbuilt a Romano-Byzantine model, is an architectural masterpiece.
It’s composed of 4 minor domes and a central dome culminating at 83 meters.
Essentially the most spectacular a part of this monument is its big bell, one the most important on this planet.
The Sacré-Coeur was inbuilt 1873 after a choice of the French Nationwide Meeting to construct a spot to commemorate the victims of the 1871 struggle opposing France and Prussia.
Other than the view, the constructing holds a lot appeal as properly, and if you enter you’ll be struck by the fantastic thing about the 480m² mosaic on the ground. You can too go to the crypt.
Lastly, if climbing the steps of Montmartre was not sufficient, you may select to go even greater to the dome of the Basilica and admire the very best view of Paris from its summit.
Charges:
The doorway to the Basilica is free
Dome & Crypt ticket: 8€; from 4 to 16 y-o: 5€
Dome: 6€; from 4 to 16 y-o: 4€
Crypt: 3€; from 4 to 16 y-o: 2€
Free for these under 4y-o
Entry: Line 2, Anvers station; line 12, Abbesses station
For additional details about the Basilica of the Sacré-Coeur, click on right here.
4) Military Museum – Les Invalides
129, rue de Grenelle – seventh district
It was first created beneath Louis XIV to shelter the disabled troopers of his military, however Les Invalides as we all know it at this time was born in 1905.
It grew to become the Military Museum and reveals over 500,000 gadgets over 8,000m².
This gigantic assortment makes this museum an important place of navy historical past in France in addition to one of many best on this planet.
Throughout your go to, you may admire the everlasting collections of the museum, uncovered in chronological order from Antiquity to World Struggle II.
Additionally, you will discover the Dome des Invalides (a church) and, inside, the center of the Marquis of Vauban.
However what you got here for have to be the well-known tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte the First, resting right here beside his son Napoleon II, King of Rome.
Charges:
Full charge: 14€
Diminished charge*: 11€
*For veterans, reservists, massive households; for everybody after 5pm
Free for EU residents beneath 26 y-o
Entry: Metro traces 8 and 12, Invalides station; RER C, Invalides station
For additional details about Les Invalides and the Military Museum, click on right here
Ebook your tickets to the Invalides
5) Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral
6, place du Parvis Notre Dame – 4th district
Positioned within the historic heart of Paris, on the top of the Ile de la Cité, the Notre-Dame Cathedral is probably the most visited monument of town.
Certainly, this architectural masterpiece shines over the complete district.
With its excessive towers which impressed Victor Hugo considered one of his novels, Notre Dame bears witness the historical past of Paris.
Its building started in 1163 and it took practically two centuries to complete it.
It’s a must-see in Paris. The sound of the bells will information you to it, with their such appeal that “it’s stated to be the soul of Paris setting ablaze after they ring.” Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
By way of the centuries, Notre-Dame typically was on the coronary heart of main historic occasions.
Together with the marriage of Henry IV of France and Marguerite de Valois in 1572 and the funerals of the best of males or the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804, many vital marks in French historical past occurred at Notre-Dame.
While you go to the Cathedral, you’ll study of those historic nuggets, and can most likely fall in love with the Thirteenth-century stained-glass and rose home windows.
The indoor ornament and the 43-meter-high ceiling are beautiful as properly.
You can too see Notre-Dame’s treasures and climb up the steps to benefit from the fantastic view from one the towers, at at least 69 meters in top.
Replace August 17, 2022: Because of it being rebuilt, the Notre-Dame Cathedral is at the moment closed to the general public. The top of the development is deliberate for 2024. You may nonetheless stroll as much as -and around- it to be able to take pleasure in its lovely structure which nonetheless qualifies it as considered one of Paris’ iconic monuments.
Charges:
The doorway is free
Climbing as much as the towers prices 10€
Visiting the tower is free for residents of the EU beneath 26 y-o, disabled folks and their attendants, job seekers and people receiving minimal social advantages
Entry:
Metro line 4, Cité station or Saint-Michel station
RER B and C, Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame station
For additional details about Notre-Dame de Paris, click on right here
6) Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou – 4th district
The Centre Pompidou is an architectural marvel designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers.
It’s a twentieth century constructing with a futuristic design that’s now a part of the 4th district’s identification.
The museum hosts numerous short-term artwork reveals corresponding to Dali’s items, for instance.
The outside escalators and the large colourful pipes make it an unmistakably distinctive constructing in Paris.
The Centre contains the Nationwide Museum of Trendy Artwork, a worldwide reference for its collections of the twentieth and twenty first century items.
There are completely different tributes to completely different arts, corresponding to music, design, or cinema within the Centre.
Georges Pompidou was President of France from 1969 to 1974 and wished to offer French artwork a brand new place on the worldwide stage and open it to the plenty. Mission completed.
Charges:
Museum and reveals: 14€ (museum, reveals, and look at of Paris)
Diminished charge: 11€
Free for EU residents beneath 26 y-o, disabled folks and their attendants, journalists…
Entry: Metro traces 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14, Chatelêt les Halles station; RER A, B and D, Chatelet les Halles station.
Ebook a go to to the Centre Pompidou (skip the road tickets)
7) Louvre
99, rue de Rivoli, 1st district
The Louvre might be the most well-known museum on this planet.
It was the palace of the kings of France and, by means of its quite a few collections, it permits you at this time to find occidental artwork from Center Ages to 1848, in addition to vintage civilizations.
There are main sculptural masterpieces, such because the Winged Victory of Samothrace or the Venus de Milo, or work like The Raft of the Medusa of Géricault.
We advise you to organize your go to by checking the Museum’s web site: the Louvre is so massive you may simply get misplaced, each figuratively and actually.
And naturally, you may admire the portrait of Lisa Gherardini, higher often known as the Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci.
La Gioconda is consultant of the museum; it’s a portray stuffed with mysteries, similar to the Louvre itself.
Charges:
Free for kids beneath 18 and for EU residents beneath 26
Full charge: 15€
Entry: Metro line 1, Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre station
Ebook a go to to the Louvre Museum
Purchase the Paris PASS – Museums, Sights and Transport inside Paris
- Limitless use of Parisian public transport community (metro zones 1-3, RER, bus, tram)
- Admission to greater than 60 museums and points of interest
- Skip-the-line entry for a lot of actions
8) Musée d’Orsay
1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur – seventh district
On the left financial institution, simply in entrance of the Tuileries, stands the Musée d’Orsay.
The museum occupies an outdated railway station constructed for the 1900 Paris World’s Honest of 1900, which makes it an distinctive place for reveals.
You may take pleasure in occidental artwork starting from 1848 to 1914. Whereas not as well-known because the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay additionally has a really spectacular artwork assortment.
It hosts an important Impressionist and post-Impressionist artwork assortment on this planet with greater than 900 work.
Occasional short-term reveals exhibit a specific artist’s work or inventive development.
The Musée d’Orsay is a must-see, and even whereas hidden within the shadows of the Louvre, it’s a necessary show of artwork in France.
Charges:
Free for kids beneath 18 and for EU residents beneath 26
Diminished charge for folks beneath 26: 13€
Full charge: 16€
Entry:
RER C, Musée d’Orsay station
Metro line 12, Assemblée Nationale station
Ebook a go to to the Orsay Museum
9) Palais Garnier
8, rue Scribe – ninth district
Looming over the Place de l’Opéra, the Palais Garnier, additionally known as Opéra Garnier, is certainly a must-see for anybody visiting Paris.
Its structure and design have been elaborated throughout Napoleon III’s reign, therefore the standard nineteenth Century model of the constructing.
Inside, the statues of two girls holding torches welcome the guests.
You may then admire the Bassin de la Pythie and the Grand Escalier resulting in the well-known vault of the Palais Garnier.
The vault is over 30 meters excessive and is each colourful and vivid as a result of numerous forms of marble it’s fabricated from.
You can too uncover the historical past of this sanctuary of Parisian artwork.
The Palais additionally organizes occasions about opera and style.
Lastly, the Palais Garnier’s auditorium is without doubt one of the most lovely on this planet.
Charges:
Full charge: 12€
Beneath 26 years outdated: 9,50€
Free for job seekers and people beneath 12 years outdated
Entry:
Metro traces 3, 7, and eight, Opera station
RER A, Auber station
Ebook a go to of the Opéra Garnier
10) Place Vendôme
356, rue Saint-Honoré – 1st district
This sq. may be very typical of classical French urbanism, with the well-known Vendôme Column erected in its heart in 1810.
It’s also known as the Austerlitz column, and it stands within the 1st district panorama, with a statue of Napoleon dressed as Caesar on the summit.
It’s thought of to be probably the most luxurious squares in Paris.
Designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, it shines upon the entire world.
As a middle of French jewellery craft, and with the Rue de la Paix and its many couturiers it symbolizes French refinement.
Fee: Free
Entry: Metro traces 7 and 4, Pyramides station
11) Panthéon
28, Place du Panthéon – fifth district
The Panthéon stands proudly within the coronary heart of the Latin Quarter. Atop the hill of Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, it appears down upon the fifth district.
Kind of impressed by the Pantheon of Rome, the Parisian Pantheon was constructed as a memorial.
Certainly, the crypts are dwelling to the graves of the best French celebrities which marked the nation all through historical past.
You can see such folks as Rousseau, Voltaire, or Alexandre Dumas.
A brief textual content sums up the life and work of those that relaxation right here.
While you come inside, it’s also possible to uncover the Foucault pendulum, invented by Léon Foucault in 1851, which has as soon as confirmed that the Earth does, certainly, rotate.
Charges:
Full charge: 9€
Diminished charge: 7€
Free for residents of the EU beneath 26 y-o, disabled folks and their attendants, job seekers and people receiving minimal social advantages
Entry: Metro line 10, Cardinal Lemoine station
For extra details about the Panthéon, click on right here
12) Grand Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill – eighth district
Subsequent to the Champs-Elysées, the Grand Palais has fascinating dimensions: greater than 77000m² are devoted to numerous reveals, which is the same as greater than seven soccer fields.
It was constructed for the 1900 World’s Honest and is now one of many foremost exhibition facilities in France.
The image of the Grand Palais is its gigantic 45-meter-high glass roof, in the identical spirit as the remainder of the constructing.
The structure is typical of the eclectic nature of the “Beaux-arts- model,” and this constructing alone sums up the tastes of the Belle Epoque.
In addition to its reveals, the Grand Palais hides many different nuggets, such because the beehives on the roof positioned there to extend consciousness about how a lot such bugs are important to life on Earth.
Charges: Depend upon the exhibit
Entry: Metro traces 1 and 13, Champs-Elysées Clémenceau station
For additional details about the Grand Palais, click on right here
Much less-known and less-looked-for monuments of Paris
13) Saint-Jacques Tower
Sq. de la Tour Saint-Jacques – 1st district
On the coronary heart of the first district stands a prestigious constructing you may see from afar: Saint Jacques Tower.
Whereas not very well-known in Paris, the tower really is magnificent.
In-built a gothic model, it’s the solely remnant of the Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie church.
From its 62 meters, the tower has been an vital web site of the fitting financial institution because the sixteenth century.
The guided tour lasts about 50 minutes, throughout which you’ll climb the steps of this monument.
The go to of the tower begins with its historical past, its origin, and tough building.
After a number of stops throughout the climb, to study of the secrets and techniques of the tower, partly destroyed throughout the French Revolution, you may benefit from the astonishing view from the highest of the tower.
Charges:
Full charge: 12€
Diminished charge*: 10€
*Free for these beneath 18 y-o, college students and job seekers
Entry: Metro traces 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14, Chatelet station
14) La Conciergerie
2, boulevard du Palais – 1st district
This constructing within the coronary heart of Paris and the first district has definitely witnessed historical past.
It’s a lovely palace inbuilt the best way of Gothic structure, a remnant from previous occasions.
This monument was rebuilt beneath Philip IV the Honest’s reign originally of the 14th century.
From this authentic constructing stays solely the Salle des Gardes (Guards Room), the Salle des gens d’Armes (Corridor of the Soldier), and the kitchens, all of that are a priceless pattern of 14th-century structure.
Alongside the go to, you’ll study the complete historical past of this constructing which is without doubt one of the oldest in Paris. It was first a king’s palace then a jail, most notably throughout the French Revolution when Marie-Antoinette was locked up right here.
A little bit-known place properly value a go to.
Charges:
Full charge: 9€
Free for residents of the EU beneath 26 y-o, disabled folks and their attendants, job seekers and people receiving minimal social advantages
Entry: Metro line 4, Cité station
For additional details about La Conciergerie, click on right here.
Ebook a go to to the Conciergerie
15) The Expiatory Chapel (Chapelle expiatoire)
29, rue Pasquier – eighth district
The Expiatory Chapel is an outdated monument of Paris, however it’s typically uncared for by the vacationers, fortunate you!
It’s positioned within the eighth district, between Saint-Lazare practice station and the Madeleine.
It’s a memorial constructed upon the tombs of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, the place they now relaxation after being guillotined in 1793.
Contained in the Chapel, one can find statues of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
In entrance of the statue of Louis XVI they carved his will, written earlier than his execution; and in entrance of Marie Antoinette’s statue, they carved the final letter she wrote to Madame Elisabeth, the king’s sister
The crypt is the very best a part of the monument: the altar from which Louis XVI was exhumed.
An unknown but spectacular place which Chateaubriand certified as perhaps being “probably the most exceptional edifice in Paris.”
Charges:
Full charge: 6€
Diminished charge: 5€
Free for residents of the EU beneath 26 y-o, disabled folks and their attendants, job seekers and people receiving minimal social advantages
Entry: Metro traces 3 and 13, Saint Augustin station; Metro traces 8, 12, and 14, Madeleine station
For additional details about the Expiatory Chapel, click on right here
16) Alpine Backyard
Jardin des plantes, 57 rue Cuvier – fifth district
As soon as known as the “mountain vegetation backyard,” the Alpine Backyard is a part of the magnificent Jardin des Plantes.
You might have to search for it, but it surely is a chance to wander a bit in a pure and authentic place.
Stretching over 4000m², the backyard is a spot of discoveries and preservation completely distinctive in Paris.
It contains vegetation from all all over the world and stands out in entrance of the Parisian not fairly so inexperienced background.
Charges: Free go to
Entry: Metro traces 5 and 10, Gare d’Austerlitz station; RER C, Gare d’Austerlitz station
17) Japanese backyard of the Buddhist Pantheon
19, avenue d’Iéna – sixteenth district
Hidden from the streets and the crowds in a small yard of the sixteenth district, a Japanese backyard awaits your go to.
Simply behind the Guimet Museum and its vital assortment of Asiatic artwork, you may go to this distinctive place of Paris.
It’s a part of the Buddhist Pantheon (part of the Guimet Museum), and this backyard will amaze you.
It’s free to enter, with a floor of 450m². It was constructed throughout the renovation of the constructing in 1991.
You will notice big bamboos, stone pavements, and a wood bridge over a bit stream.
Every little thing it’s worthwhile to chill out is correct there.
On the heights of the backyard, you may admire the lodge designed by Japanese craftsmen and chances are you’ll even check out a Tea Ceremony.
Charges: Free go to
Entry: Metro line 9, Iéna station
18) Catacombs
1, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy – 14th district
The Catacombs are enormous Parisian ossuaries, stretching underground over 11 000m², impressed from the Catacombs of Rome.
The entry is Place Denfert-Rochereau.
Six million bones from completely different Parisian graveyards relaxation on this maze of 1.7km.
The vault is 1.80m excessive and the temperature about 14°C (57°F).
The tour is unsuitable for folks with coronary heart or respiratory issues, these of nervous disposition, and younger youngsters.
An authentic and interesting tour for certain!
Please be aware that the exit is 36, rue Rémy Dumoncel.
Paris Catacombs are an important necropolis on this planet.
The stays of 6 million Parisians are saved right here.
You’ll uncover the Cemetery of the Innocents, with all their fastidiously organized bones.
Dozens of different rooms observe, paying a tribute to the useless, just like the room devoted to the victims of September 1792 or one other just for these guillotined on the Place de la Concorde, corresponding to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
Charges:
Full charge: 15€
Diminished charge*: 13€
*For big households, academics, younger folks (18 – 26 y-o)…
Free for these beneath 18, artwork college students, disabled folks and their attendants, job seekers and people receiving minimal social advantages
Entry: Metro traces 4 and 6, Denfert-Rochereau station; RER B, Denfert Rochereau station
Ebook a skip-the-line ticket to the Catacombs with audioguide included
19) The Wall of Love
place des Abbesses – 18 district
The Wall of Love (in French, Le Mur des Je t’aime) was designed by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito, on a sq. Place des Abbesses.
This place is a must-see for each couple in Paris.
Identical to the Pont des Arts and its padlocks (which have been taken off on June 1st 2016), the Wall of Love in itself is an emblem of Love.
Certainly, with its 40m² and 612 tiles, 311 “I really like you”s are written in 250 languages.
It’s a actual tribute to like on Montmartre; in response to the artists, the speckled with crimson tiles symbolize the damaged coronary heart of humanity that the wall tries to restore.
An authentic web site, away from the same old agitation of Paris.
Charges: Free
Entry: Metro line 12, Abbesses station
20) Statue of Liberty
L’Île aux Cygnes – fifteenth district
No, you’re not dreaming, that is certainly the Statue of Liberty in Paris … or somewhat, a smaller replica.
A lot smaller than the unique, this Parisian Statue of Liberty stands on the Île aux Cygnes, close to the Pont de Grenelle (others exist in Paris: will you discover them?).
Solely three years after its massive sister, this one was inbuilt 1889.
Its again was dealing with america, which didn’t please Auguste Bartholdi. It was then rotated westward, New Yorits in 1937, for the World’s Honest, 33 years after the artist handed away.
Charges: Free tour
Entry:
Metro line 6, Bir-Hakeim station
RER C, Champ de Mars – Tour Eiffel station
21) Arènes de Lutèce
49, rue Monge – fifth district
This monument is without doubt one of the oldest in Paris; it was constructed throughout the 1st century.
The Arènes are actually free to entry for everybody, day by day from 8:30 a.m. to five p.m. in Winter, and till 9 p.m. in Summer time.
This outdated amphitheater within the Latin Quarter may host as much as 15,000 spectators.
Present guests can nonetheless see the place the stage was.
That is, with the Thermes de Cluny, one of many solely remnants of the Gallo-roman period in Paris.
As we speak, the Arènes are a well-known place to go to and spend time on a sunny day, taking part in boules, soccer, or taking a nap within the grass.
You can too admire a birdhouse, which permits youngsters to find unknown birds.
Charges: Free
Entry: Metro line 10, Cardinal Lemoine, or metro line 7, Place Monge
22) Open Air Sculpture Museum
Quai Saint-Bernard – Sq. Tino Rossi – fifth District
Positioned on the Quai Saint-Bernard, close to the Jardin des Plantes, the open-air sculpture museum is a chance to walk alongside the Seine.
This open-air museum is each superb and intriguing.
It’s solely devoted to sculpture, however the works haven’t any fences, so you may method them, examine them from each angle and even contact them …
Necessary sculptors determined to create a piece for the museum, like César-Bru, Brancusi, and Nicola Schöffer. In addition to, the museum affords a very nice view over Notre Dame Cathedral and its island.
It’s open day and night time.
Charges: Free
Entry: Metro line 10, Cardinal Lemoine station
I intention to share my ideas and suggestions for the gorgeous nation of France. My aim is that can assist you plan your subsequent journey, whether or not it’s a weekend getaway or a once-in-a-lifetime journey. From discovering the very best motels and eating places, to discovering distinctive actions and sights, I’ve obtained you coated!