Musée d’Orsay
Impressionist & post-impressionist art museum.
Paris Highlights
Palace of Versailles
The estate of King Louis XIV is so large that you need two days so see everything.
Louvre Museum
Home to Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo & Liberty Leading the People.
Marmottan Monet Museum
Paintings by Claude Monet & other impressionists.
Cluny Museum
Home to the famous The Lady & the Unicorn tapestries.
Notre Dame
France’s most famous cathedral, which was beautifully resorted after the 2019 fire.
Galerie des Gobelins
King Louis XIV’s Manufacture des Gobelins still exists today, weaving tapestries of stunning beauty.
Eiffel Tower
Entrance arch to the Universal Exposition of 1889.
Further Recommendations
Air and Space Museum
Aviation museum.
Arc de Triomphe
Arch celebrating Napoleon’s victory in the Battle of Austerlitz (1806).
Army Museum
Basilica of Saint-Denis
Medieval abbey church.
Botanical Gallery
Herbarium with botanical exhibition.
Bourse de Commerce
Contemporary art museum.
Brasserie Julien
Art nouveau restaurant.
Café des Deux Moulins
Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain.
Carnavalet Museum
Museum dedicated to the history of Paris.
Centre Pompidou
Contemporary art museum by architects Richard Rogers & Renzo Piano.
Château de Malmaison
Private residence of Napoleon & Joséphine.
Cinémathèque française
Film archives & museum by architect Frank Gehry.
Cité de la Mode et du Design
Fashion & design museum.
Cité de l’architecture & du patrimoine
Architecture museum.
Cité des sciences et de l’industrie
Science & technology museum.
City of Paris Fine Art Museum
Fine art museum.
City of Paris Museum of Modern Art
Contemporary art museum.
Conciergerie
Prison that held, among others, Marie Antoinette & Robespierre.
Dome Church
Church with Napoleon’s tomb.
Eugène Delacroix Museum
Museum dedicated to painter Eugène Delacroix.
Expatiory Chapel
Mausoleum for guillotined King Louis XVI & Queen Marie Antoinette.
Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
Photography exhibitions.
French Museum of Photography
Fromagerie Quatrehomme
Cracking cheese, Gromit!
Gallery of Evolution
Grand parade of stuffed animals.
Garden of Plants
Botanical garden.
Glacier Berthillon
Ice-cream parlour.
Grande Arche de la Défense
Modern arch that used to celebrate fraternity but no longer does.
Grand Palais
Art gallery.
Grand Trianon
Little palace of pink marble & porphyry, by architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart.
Gustave Moreau Museum
Artist’s house dedicated to symbolist painter Gustave Moreau.
Hôtel de la Marine
The former Naval Ministry by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
Igor Stravinsky Fountain
Fountain by Jean Tinguely & Niki de Saint Phalle.
Jardies’ House
Léon Gambetta lived here.
La Roche House
Villa by architect Le Corbusier.
Louis Vuitton Foundation
Contemporary art gallery by architect Frank Gehry.
Luxembourg Gardens
Public park, inspired by the Boboli Gardens in Florence.
Luxembourg Museum
Art gallery in a Louis XIII-style palace.
Madeleine Church
Church that looks like a Greek temple, dedicated to to the glory of Napoleon’s army & Mary Magdalene.
Maison Deyrolle
A kind of natural history museum shop.
Manufacture du Chocolat
Alain Ducasse’s chocolate manufactory.
Montparnasse Tower
Observation deck overlooking Paris from a height of 200 meters.
Musée de la Sculpture en Plein Air
Sculptures from the second half of the 20th century.
Musée de l’Orangerie
Impressionist & post-impressionist art museum that houses Monet’s Nymphéas.
Musée de Montmartre
The Renoir Gardens are lovely.
Musée des arts et métiers
Science & technology museum.
Musée Guimet
Asian art museum.
Musée Jacquemart-André
Second Empire mansion packed with Renaissance art.
Museum of Decorative Arts
Decorative art museum.
Museum of Hunting and Nature
Museum of Jewish Art and History
Museum of Mankind
Ethnographic museum.
National Library of France
Library that holds the globes of Louis XIV & some books as well.
Nissim de Camondo Museum
Decorative art museum.
Opéra Bastille
The opera house you were really looking for is Palais Garnier.
Palais de la découverte
Science museum.
Palais de Tokyo
Contemporary art museum.
Palais Garnier
Second Empire opera house.
Palais-Royal
Cardinal Richelieu’s palace by architect Jacques Lemercier.
Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy Gallery
A mecca of bones & organs: 650 or so skeletons here.
Panthéon
Former church housing Foucault’s pendulum & a mausoleum.
Paris Catacombs
Underground ossuaries.
Paris Zoo
Park of Saint-Cloud
Jardin remarquable.
Pâtisserie Ladurée
Upscale patisserie specialized in macarons.
Pâtisserie Pierre Hermé
Try his chocolate cake.
Pâtisserie Stohrer
The oldest patisserie of Paris.
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Popular necropolis.
Petit Trianon
Neoclassical country house by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel.
Philharmonie de Paris
Concert hall by architect Jean Nouvel.
Picasso Museum
Museum dedicated to painter & sculptor Pablo Picasso.
Place de la Bastille
Square with a column celebrating the second French revolution.
Place de la Concorde
An excellent place to decapitate your nation’s aristocracy.
Place des Vosges
Lovely Louis XIII-style square.
Place Vendôme
Square with a Trajan’s Column lookalike celebrating Napoleon’s victories.
Pont Neuf
The oldest bridge across the river Seine.
Quai Branly Museum
Art of non-European cultures.
Restaurant Bouillon Chartier
Decent meals at a reasonable price.
Richelieu Library
The Labrouste reading room & Rondel gallery are especially beautiful.
Rodin Museum
Rodin’s sonnets in stone.
Royal Vegetable Garden
King Louis XIV’s kitchen garden.
Sacré Cœur
Gothic Revival church, built 1875–1914.
Sainte-Chapelle
Gothic chapel with 15 huge stained-glass windows.
Sainte-Geneviève Library
Beautiful library open to members of the public by appointment.
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
Louis XV’s chief mistress’ porcelain manufactory (1740).
Shakespeare and Company
Librairie anglophone indépendante.
Suresnes American Cemetery
World War I cemetery.
Trocadéro Garden
Park with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower.
Tuileries Garden
Take a seat at the Grand Bassin Rond and relax.
Van Doesburg House
Studio by artist Theo van Doesburg.
Vincennes Castle
Medieval castle.