Paris is a truly magical city to visit with its romanticism featured throughout its many art museums, beautiful gardens, architecture, and historical buildings. Enjoy strolling down the Champs Elysees, experiencing stunning views of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, cruising along the Seine while admiring Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, and other historic buildings along the river, or take the RER C line train to explore Louis XIV’s extravagant palace and gardens accented with fountains, marble statues, orange groves, and intricate floral creations by Andre Le Notre. In this history-rich city, you will likely run out of time to check out the majority of its famous landmarks which means you will have to schedule a return visit in the future. To enhance your visit to the City of Light, please refer to the following listing of historical places in Paris, France, prior to touching down at Orly or Charles de Gaulle airports.
1. Les Invalides
Cross the Seine via the Ponte Alexandre to check out Napoleon’s tomb set on a pedestal above the stunning marble floor with fleur-de-lis designs during a visit to Invalides. Enjoy walking casually through the hallways admiring knights in shining silver suits of armour, renaissance frescoes on the ceiling and walls, and classic marble columns. As you depart the grounds, behold the stunning golden dome and surrounding gardens accented by conical trees while perhaps even encountering its adorable cottontail rabbit resident.
2. The Louvre
Be certain to buy your tickets online or take the metro to the underground mall and purchase them at a small shop to avoid the admission cues at the entrance of the famed museum. If you don’t have much time to explore the entire museum, check out one of the three wings such as the Denon Wing which contains the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Richelieu Wing with its wonderful sculpture terraces and the apartments of Napoléon, or the Sully Wing with its statue of Venus de Milo, antiquities, and medieval exhibits. If you’re interested in admiring the creative works of impressionists Monet and Degas enter through the Denon Wing entrance. If you have the time, make certain to spend an enjoyable evening cycling through Paris on one of Flat Tire Bike’s tours to behold the famed glass pyramid illuminated along with other landmarks throughout the city.
3. La Sainte-Chapelle
Catch the metro or walk over to La Sainte-Chappelle to admire this royal chapel designed in a Gothic style. The historic cathedral is located on the Ile de la Cité on the Seine River. Explore the former residence of France’s kings with its numerous stone arches, high ceilings, and beautiful stain glass windows stretching high towards the heavens. Attend Sunday service or a concert with dinner throughout the year during your sojourn to the City of Light.
Book Tours : Paris: Sainte Chapelle Entry Ticket
4. The Pantheon
While enjoying your trip to Paris make certain to check out the Pantheon-inspired structure with its Corinthian columns and neoclassical facade in the city’s Latin Quarter. Wander through the halls lined with marble statues paying tribute to French Revolution heroes such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and the Curies. After spending time admiring the wall murals, head downstairs to check out the tombs of Alexandre Dumas, famous for his Three Musketeers creations and Louis Braille, who pioneered the braille language for the visually impaired.
Book Tours : Paris: Panthéon Admission Ticket
Paris Tour Guide
Angenic Paris Par Rues Méconnues
Hello everyone, I’m Angénic a tour guide. Well I am not just a tour guide; I am a passionate explorer of Paris’s hidden gems. My dedication is to uncover the city’s lesser-known streets — where ordinary meets extraordinary - for the best travel experiences, because I believe that the best stories are told through the nooks and crannies of the city. Additionally, I meticulously craft my tours to... Read more
Paris Tour Guide
Patricia Aveline
My name is Patricia Bollinger and my family is French. I have always had a passion for art and history and I chose to study them when I went to university. I have been a licensed tour guide for the last 30 years and I work in French, English and Italian. My passion and also as part of my work I travel a lot. For this reason, I have a good idea of visitors expectations. Naturally I want to share... Read more
Tours by Patricia
5. Arc de Triomphe
Don’t worry about crossing the massive traffic circle to reach the Arc de Triomphe as there is an entrance on the street level to access it by means of an underground tunnel. If you don’t feel like walking over 200 stairs on a narrow spiral staircase, there is an elevator. Be certain to dress in layers on cooler days as the wind can be quite chilly as you spend time overlooking Paris and the world-renowned tree-lined Champs Elysee from the terrace.
6. Notre-Dame Cathedral
While in the city of blinding lights, cross the Seine by boat or walk over to Notre Dame to check out its Gothic architecture accented with hanging buttresses and gargoyles. Check out the stunning stained glass windows, listen to hymns accompanied by the pipe organ, and behold the intricate designs on its centuries-old tapestries. Admission is free to check out this historical gem, however, to enter the bell tower visitors will need to purchase tickets. You can admire the stunning views of the Seine and the Paris skyline while listening to the bells toll.
7. La Conciergerie
Enjoy strolling through the numerous archways in the historic former residence of France’s kings, before they moved operations to the Louvre. Take time to experience views of the Seine River and Paris from the towers which were used as a prison during the French Revolution. Visit Marie Antoinette’s cell and overlook the square down below where she and others met their untimely death by means of the guillotine. This historical building located on the west of the Île de la Cité has been transformed to be used presently for law courts.
Book Tours : Paris Conciergerie Skip-the-Line Admission Ticket
8. Palais Royal Gardens
Pick up a baguette sandwich and lemon tart at Paul to enjoy a leisurely picnic lunch on a bench soaking up the sun in front of the main fountain in the Palais Royal gardens. During the spring, venture over to check out the cherry blossoms in bloom, tulips, rose garden, and variety of other flora. Take the time to spend the afternoon admiring the marble statues and numerous fountains found throughout the gardens while visiting the City of Love. Depart the grounds by walking along the avenue of deciduous trees where you can enjoy being shaded from the summer sun.
9. Eiffel Tower
Make certain to arrive early in the morning as the queues can be very long and snake around the park grounds located at the base of the Eiffel Tower. If you don’t want to wait in line for one of the two elevators, you can pay 11 USD at the gift shop and ascend the 328 stairs to the first floor to catch the elevator to the observation deck. This is a great workout to help take off the extra pounds put on by enjoying the delicious pastries you have indulged in during your visit to Paris. After enjoying a view of Paris’ skyline from the observation deck and taking numerous selfies, splurge on a refined lunch or dinner at the tower’s fine dining restaurant, Jules Verne.
Book Tours : Paris: Eiffel Tower 2nd Floor Access Entry Ticket
10. Palace of Versailles
Enjoy spending an entire day casually strolling through the magnificent gardens designed by Andre Le Notre with numerous fountains which are choreographed to dance along to classical music throughout the day, the Grand Canal, and its vibrant floral features. Make certain to buy the passport which allows you entry to the gardens and the chateau with its hall of mirrors which reflect the sun through its windows to create an illuminated, warm ambience along with its parquet floor, golden candelabras, and glittering chandeliers dangling from the high ceilings. Start off the day by venturing through the chateau exploring its Renaissance-inspired ceiling frescoes, lunch at Angeline, and make your way over to the pink marble apartments where Marie Antoinette resided. To traverse the expansive estate, you can choose to rent a golf cart or a bike instead of walking the grounds saving precious time and resting your feet for the next day of exploring Paris.
Paris je t'aime (Paris, I love you)
Make certain to start your day out right with a pastry from the Monoprix or any local pastry shop before setting out to explore the numerous historical sites scattered throughout Paris. After checking out Napoleon’s apartments at the Louvre, head over to Invalides to see his tomb and the adjacent defence museum complete with knights in shining armour. After checking out the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Musee D'Orsay or Musee Marmottan Monet to admire the creative masterpieces of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas, enjoy a boat ride along the Seine or sit back and people-watch at one of the many cafes as you enjoy France’s culinary delights. After a day exploring the city or taking a day trip out to Monet’s Giverny in nearby Normandy, finish off the day satisfying your sweet tooth with a small box of macarons from Laduree or a pastry from Gerard Mulot and a bottle of champagne. Profiter bien de Paris!
History
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