Paris Top Attractions for First-Time Visitors

One of the most iconic landmarks in Paris, the Eiffel Tower is a 1000-foot tall wrought-iron tower located on the northwest end of Champ de Mars. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower for the World's Fair of 1889.

The Louvre, or the Louvre Museum, is a historic monument and an architectural wonder in Paris, France. It is the world's largest and most visited art museum with a vast collection of more than 480,000 objects and works of art. It is best known for its iconic glass pyramid designed by I.M. Pei and being the home of Leonardo da Vinci's most famous painting, Mona Lisa. A central landmark of the city...

Notre-Dame de Paris, also called Notre-Dame Cathedral, is the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages and one of the most visited landmarks in Paris. The cathedral is distinguished for its size, antiquity, and architectural style. A huge boost in popular interest in the cathedral took place after the 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). The cathed...

Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806, the Arc de Triomphe was inaugurated in 1836 to honour those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on the Arc's inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault also lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The Arc's architect Jean-François Chalgrin was i...

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacre-Coeur Basilica and often simply Sacre-Coeur is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacre-Coeur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. It is a popular landmark, and the second-most visited monument in Paris. Sacre-Coe...

The Palace of Versailles was the principal royal residence of France from 1682 (under Louis XIV) until the start of the French Revolution in 1789 (under Louis XVI). From the 19th century onwards, the Estate of Versailles has become a museum spreading more than 800 hectares, composed of the Palace, the Gardens, the Park, the Trianon estate and several other historic buildings. Containing over 60,0...

The Palais Garnier or Opera Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l'Opera in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as le nouvel Opera de Paris it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect Charles Garnier'...

The Avenue des Champs-Élysees is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, 1.9 kilometres long and 70 metres wide, running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theatres, cafes, and luxury shops, for the annual Bastille Day military parade, and as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race. (Wikipe...

Jardins du Trocadero is an open space in Paris, located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, bounded to the northwest by the wings of the Palais de Chaillot and to the southeast by the Seine and the Pont d'Iena, with the Eiffel Tower on the opposite bank of the Seine. The main feature, called the Fountain of Warsaw, is a long basin, or water mirror, with twelve fountain creating columns of water ...

Montmartre is a large hill in Paris's 18th arrondissement. It is 130 m high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank in the northern section of the city. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by rue Caulaincourt and rue Custine on the north, rue de Clignancourt on the east, and boulevard de Clichy and boulevard de Rochechouart to t...

The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, ...

Disneyland Paris, formerly Euro Disney Resort, is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, a town located 32 km east of the centre of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, many resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, and a golf course, in addition to several additional recreational and entertainment venues. Disneyland Park is the original theme park ...

The Place de la Concorde is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring 7.6 ha in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. It was the site of many notable public executions, including the executions of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in the course of the French Revolution,...

The Jardin du Luxembourg known in English as the Luxembourg Gardens, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Senat is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was created beginning in 1612 by Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, for a new residence she constructed, the Luxembourg Palace. The garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace. It covers 2...