14 Best Tourist Attractions in Paris

Attracting more than 45 million visitors annually, Paris is the world’s most popular tourist destination. Dubbed various nicknames like the City of Lights, City of Love and Capital of Fashion, Paris is the capital city of France, known for its romantic ambiance and command in industries like business, entertainment, gastronomy, fashion and art and culture.

While Paris is comprised of 20 districts, called arrondissements, featuring their own distinct character and attractions, the city is well known for its iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles Palace, Sacre-Coeur and Notre Dame Cathedral. Paris is also home to some of the world’s finest museums that include the Louvre Museum and Musee d’Orsay. What’s more, Paris boasts magnificent gardens such as the Luxembourg Gardens.

Called the Capital of Fashion, Paris is home to some of the world’s finest designer names including Yves Saint-Laurent, Lancôme, L’Oréal and Christian Dior. The city’s shopping scene ranges from shopping centers to open-air markets, boutiques and flea markets.

The best and cheapest way to get around Paris is on foot, and secondly, using the excellent underground train system, known as the Métro.

1.Eiffel Tower

A towering spire that has come to symbolize the City of Lights, the Eiffel Tower is a must-see attraction for any visitor to Paris. Nearly 200,000,000 people have toured the tower since it was completed in 1889. Surprisingly, the Eiffel Tower was never intended to be a permanent fixture. Architect Gustav Eiffel designed the tower as an exhibit for the 1889 World’s Fair. The Art Nouveau structure was a hit from the beginning, however, and its use as a radio transmitter during the early 1900s helped ensure its longevity.

With a height of 300 meters (984 feet) it was the tallest tower in the world until 1930, when the Chrysler Building in New York was completed. It remains the tallest structure in Paris today. The wrought-iron tower is painted a lighter color at the bottom and a darker shade on top to dramatize the tower’s height and give it the appearance of a uniform color. Tourists can ride the elevator to see incredible views of the city or dine in one of the two fine restaurants that are situated within the tower. Booking tickets in advance allows visitors to avoid long lines.

2.Louvre

The Louvre in Paris is one of the world’s largest and most visited art museums in the world. The museum opened in 1793 and is housed in the Louvre Palace, a former royal palace. The famous glass pyramid which in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace was added in 1989 and serves as the main entrance to the museum. Its exhibits come from such diverse origins as ancient Egypt, classical Greece and Rome, medieval Europe and Napoleonic France. Its most famous exhibit, of course, is Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa, generally to be found surrounded by hordes of camera-flashing tourists.

3.Arc de Triomphe

This iconic Arc de Triomphe forms the focus of the main east-west road axis of Paris, running between the Louvre and the Grande Arche de la Défense in the west. The monument was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. It was finally completed in 1836, long after his death. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1918, the Germans in 1940 and the French and Americans in 1944.

4.Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris is a beautiful Catholic cathedral in the fourth arrondissement of Paris. Begun in 1163 it was essentially complete by around 1345. One of the most famous French Gothic cathedrals, the Notre Dame a great example of French Gothic architecture, sculpture and stained glass. During the French Revolution in the 1790s, much of its sculptures and treasures were damaged or destroyed. Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned Emperor here on December 2, 1804.

5.Sacre-Coeur

One of the most noticeable landmarks in Paris is the striking white-domed basilica of the Sacre-Coeur. Situated at the city’s highest point on Montmartre hill, this stunning basilica draws many tourists every year to see its marble architecture and gorgeous interior. A tour awards visitors with views of gold mosaics, stained-glass windows and one of the world’s largest clocks.

6.Jardin du Luxembourg

Known in English as the Luxembourg Gardens, this public park is the second largest in Paris. Visitors here can picnic or stroll leisurely among beautiful lawns, formal gardens and fruit orchards that feature many artistic statues and fountains. For fun and sport, there are jogging paths, tennis courts and fitness equipment. Children can play in the huge playground, ride ponies, watch a puppet show and sail model boats in a pond.

7.Musee d'Orsay

A must-do for art lovers, the Musee d’Orsay is known for housing the world’s premier collection of impressionist paintings. Located in a former railway station, this grand museum showcases thousands of art works and objects that cover a period between the mid-1800s and the early 1900s. Visitors can walk through several rooms to view amazing art works by many famous artists such as Monet, Van Gogh, Cezane, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir and Jean-Francois Millet.

8.Centre Pompidou

Designed in the style of high-tech architecture, Centre Pompidou is a cultural institution in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement. It houses a vast public library, the Musée National d’Art Moderne which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe, a bookshop, a movie theater and a panoramic terrace. The library occupies the first three floors of the building, while the museum’s permanent collection is located on floors 4 and 5. The first and top floor are used for large expositions. The Centre is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974 who commissioned the building.

9.Sainte-Chapelle

Begun sometime after 1239, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of Gothic architecture. Its construction was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns, one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom. Although damaged during the French revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive in-situ collections of 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world.

10.Place de la Concorde

At the east end of the Champs-Elysées is Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris with fantastic vistas in every direction. It was in this square that the French King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and many others were guillotined during the French revolution. The large 3200 years old Egyptian obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde was brought from the Temple of Luxor in the 19th century.

11.Chateau de Vincennes

Located in the Paris suburb of Vincennes, the Château de Vincennes began life as a hunting lodge for Louis VII. The site was improved during the 14th century with a heavily fortified keep, and a rectangular-shaped outer wall was added in the 15th century. A wide moat and two drawbridges helped secure the keep, which served as a royal residence until the mid 1600s. In 1860, Napoleon III gave the château and the nearby Bois de Vincennes to Paris for use as a public park. Today, the keep and the 16th-century royal chapel are open to visitors.

12.Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier on the Avenue de l’Opéra in Paris is likely among the best known opera house in the world, partly because the theater was used as the setting for the novel and subsequent musical, “The Phantom of the Opera.” Designed by architect Charles Garnier and completed in 1875, the Beaux-Arts style opera house features a massive seven-ton crystal chandelier in the center of the theatre, highly ornate marble friezes and statues depicting figures from Greek mythology. In 1962, Marc Chagall added frescoes to the ceiling. While prized for its beauty, the theater is notorious for its poor sight lines, and the Paris Opera now uses the newer Place de la Bastille for most of their performances.

13.Catacombs of Paris

In France during the mid 1700’s, France was a really important place and was one of the economic and political centers in the entire world. The city of Paris was growing so fast that they simply ran out of places to bury their dead. The Catacombs is a top destination for travelers wanting to take in a little history that lies on the more macabre side. The Catacombs of Paris, also known as the empire of the dead, is home to a vast network of passageways and tunnels that were dug underneath the city. The network was dug out for no other reason than to house the remains of the millions of dead. The bodies were buried along the walls and lined all of the tunnels throughout the Catacombs and lie there to this day. It’s a bit creepy, but tours run every day for people wanting to see the resting place of millions of people.

France is known for far more than its rich history in the spooky and scary, but if you’re wanting something a little different, check out these spots. These are just a few and many more spots are well known for their background in ghosts and ghouls. Whether you’re going for the ghosts or the beauty of the country, check out Frances many destinations to get the most out of your vacation.

14. Champs-Elysées

With its cinemas, cafés, luxury shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most recognizable and most famous streets in Paris and France. This elegant and broad avenue runs from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. It is also one of the most prestigious shopping boulevards of Paris. The upper stories are mostly occupied by offices as few people can afford to live on the Champs-Élysées. Since 1975, the last stage of the Tour de France traditionally finishes on the Champs-Élysées, with riders typically making six to eight circuits back and forth on the avenue.