191 Best Sights in Paris, France

Home to four major cultural centers, this honey-colored Art Deco structure on Place du Trocadéro was built in the 1930s to replace a Moorish-style building constructed for the 1878 World's Fair. Its esplanade is also a top draw for camera-toting visitors intent on snapping the perfect shot of the Eiffel Tower. Facing the building from the Place du Trocadéro, to the left are the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine—billed as the world's largest architectural museum—and the Theâtre National de Chaillot, one of the city's major dance and performance venues, which occasionally stages plays in English. The twin building to the right contains the Musée de l’Homme, a thoroughly modern anthropology museum, and the marvelous Musée National de la Marine, reopened in 2023 after a six-year restoration. Sculptures and fountains adorn the garden leading to the Seine.

The city's Museum of Fashion occupies a suitably fashionable mansion—the 19th-century residence of Maria Brignole-Sale, Duchess of Galliera. Inside, exhibition spaces on two floors focus on costume and clothing design. Covering key moments in fashion history and showcasing legendary French designers, the museum's collection includes 200,000 articles of clothing and accessories that run the gamut from basic streetwear to haute couture. Galleries at the garden level focus on fashion history from the 18th century to the present via pieces from the permanent collection. Information about changing exhibitions is on the website. Don't miss the lovely 19th-century garden that encircles the palace, a favorite spot for neighborhood Parisians to take a coffee and a book.

Rome has St. Peter's, London has St. Paul's, and Paris has the Panthéon, whose enormous dome dominates the Left Bank. Built as the church of Ste-Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, it was later converted to an all-star mausoleum for some of France's biggest names, including Voltaire, Zola, Dumas, Rousseau, and Hugo. Pierre and Marie Curie were reinterred here together in 1995, and feminist-politician Simone Veil became only the fifth woman in this illustrious group when she was entombed in 2018. Begun in 1764, the building was almost complete when the French Revolution erupted. By then, architect Jacques-German Soufflot had died—supposedly from worrying that the 220-foot-high dome would collapse. He needn't have fretted: the dome was so perfect that Foucault used it in his famous pendulum test to prove the Earth rotates on its axis. Today the crypt, nave, and dome still sparkle (the latter offering great views), and Foucault's pendulum still holds pride of place on the main floor, slowly swinging in its clockwise direction and reminding of us of Earth's eternal spin.

A lake, a butterfly garden, a bonsai pavillion, and seasonal displays of blooms make the Bois de Vincennes's 70-acre floral park a lovely place to spend a warm afternoon. Kids will also enjoy the extensive playgrounds and the marionette (guignol) theater. A café and a sit-down tea salon make dining easy, but picnicking under the trees is highly recommended, especially when the park hosts jazz and classical concerts (most weekends from June through September). In winter months, some attractions may be closed.

This 38-acre park on the southern edge of the city is one of Paris's best-kept secrets. Home to an enormous variety of flora and fauna, as well as a small rose garden, one can stroll or jog around the hilly footpaths or lounge and picnic on a number of giant lawns. There are free playgrounds for children and a small lake with ducks and other waterfowl. If you're feeling especially energetic and adventurous, cross Boulevard Jourdan and explore the campus of the unique and historic Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris. The campus is home to a variety of architectural wonders, both modern and historic, which house visiting professors and students from around the world.

Visiting graveyards in Paris can become addictive. Less well known than Montparnasse or Père Lachaise, Passy Cemetery, which dates from 1821, is raised high above Place du Trocadéro behind towering walls so that passersby hardly know it's there. Here under the chestnut trees are the tombstones of famous aristocrats and artists, such as composer Claude Debussy, Impressionist painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, and fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, all with superb, and eternal, views of the Eiffel Tower.

Named after Russian Tsar Alexander III who negotiated the Franco-Prussian alliance of 1892, this ornately sculpted and gilded Beaux Arts–style bridge was inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exposition, like its cousins the Grand Palais and Petit Palais. At the time, it was considered a benchmark in engineering, built low to maximize the views between the Champs-Élysées on one side and Invalides on the other. To this day its elegant lines, sculpture-topped columns, and dramatic Art Nouveau lamps are catnip for Instagrammers, fashion shoots, and filmmakers, and it's the ideal spot for taking in views of the surrounding monuments. It’s wonderful to see on a nighttime boat ride on the Seine when it’s fully lit up.

The English-language bookstore Shakespeare and Company is one of Paris's most eccentric and lovable literary institutions. Founded by George Whitman, the maze of new and used books has offered a sense of community (and often a bed) to wandering writers since the 1950s. The store takes its name from Sylvia Beach's original Shakespeare & Co., which opened in 1919 at 12 rue d'Odéon, welcoming the likes of Ernest Hemingway, James Baldwin, and James Joyce. Beach famously bucked the system when she published Joyce's Ulysses in 1922, but her original store closed in 1941. After the war, Whitman picked up the gauntlet, naming his own bookstore after its famous predecessor.

When Whitman passed away in 2011, heavy-hearted locals left candles and flowers in front of his iconic storefront. He is buried in the literati-laden Père-Lachaise cemetery; however, his legacy lives on through his daughter Sylvia, who runs the shop and welcomes a new generation of Paris dreamers. Walk up the almost impossibly narrow stairs to the second floor and you'll still see laptops and sleeping bags tucked between the aging volumes and under dusty daybeds; it's sort of like a hippie commune. A revolving cast of characters helps out in the shop or cooks meals for fellow residents. They're in good company; Henry Miller, Samuel Beckett, and William Burroughs are among the famous writers to benefit from the Whitman family hospitality.

Today, you can still count on a couple of characters lurking in the stacks, a sometimes spacey staff, the latest titles from British presses, and hidden secondhand treasures in the odd corners and crannies. Check the website for readings and workshops throughout the week.

For centuries, this 170-foot bell tower guided pilgrims to a starting point of the Chemin de St-Jacques (Way of Saint James). Built in 1508 in the Flamboyant Gothic style, it's all that remains of the Église St-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie, which was destroyed in the French Revolution. Purchased by the city in 1836, the tower languished until a three-year renovation, completed in 2009, restored 660 tons of stone and statues, including the gargoyles hanging from the upper reaches and the figure of Saint James gracing the top. Blaise Pascal was among the medieval scientists who conducted experiments here (his involved gravity), which is why his statue sits at the base. If you wish to enter the tower, guided tours are occasionally offered in spring, summer, and early fall by reservation only.

Hidden in the shadows of Notre-Dame is an evocative, often-overlooked tangle of medieval streets. Through the years lucky folks, including Ludwig Bemelmans (who created the beloved Madeleine books) and the Aga Khan, have called this area home, but back in the Middle Ages it was the domain of cathedral seminary students. One of them was the celebrated Peter Abélard (1079–1142)—philosopher, questioner of the faith, and renowned declaimer of love poems. Abélard boarded with Notre-Dame's clergyman, Fulbert, whose 17-year-old niece, Héloïse, was seduced by the compelling Abélard, 39 years her senior. She became pregnant, and the vengeful clergyman had Abélard castrated; amazingly, he survived and fled to a monastery, while Héloïse took refuge in a nunnery. The poetic, passionate letters between the two cemented their fame as thwarted lovers, and their story inspired a devoted following during the romantic 19th century. They still draw admirers to the Père-Lachaise Cemetery, where they're interred ensemble. The clergyman's house at 10 rue Chanoinesse was redone in 1849; a plaque at the back of the building at 9–11 quai aux Fleurs commemorates the lovers.

A short walk from the neighborhood's namesake St-Germain church, this lively crossroads (carrefour means "intersection") was once a notorious Rive Gauche landmark. During the French Revolution, the army enrolled its first volunteers here. It was also here that thousands of royalists and priests lost their heads during the 10-month wave of public executions known as the Reign of Terror. There's certainly nothing sinister about the area today, though: popular outdoor cafés brim with tourists and locals alike, and colorful coffee-table books are sold alongside take-out ice cream and other gourmet treats. Devotees of the superb, traditional bakery Carton ( 6 rue de Buci) line up for fresh breads and pastries (try the pain aux raisins, tuiles cookies, and tarte au citron).

It's a shame you can't go inside this house, which is considered the city's first Art Nouveau structure. Dreamed up in 1898 by Hector Guimard, the wild combination of materials and the grimacing grillwork led neighbors to call it Castle Dérangé (Deranged). Yet the project catapulted the 27-year-old Guimard into the public eye, leading to his famous métro commission. After ogling the sea-inspired front entrance, go partway down the alley to admire the inventive treatment of the traditional Parisian courtyard, complete with a melting water fountain. A few blocks up the road at No. 60 is the Hotel Mezzara, designed by Guimard in 1911 for textile designer Paul Mezzara. You can trace Guimard's evolution by walking to the subtler Agar complex at the end of the block. Tucked beside the stone entrance at the corner of Rue Jean de la Fontaine and Rue Gros is a tiny café-bar with an Art Nouveau glass front and furnishings.

Like an 18th-century engraving come to life, this charming street arcade is a remnant of ancien Paris, with its uneven cobblestones, antique roofs, and old-world facades. Famed for its rabble-rousing inhabitants—journalist Jean-Paul Marat ran the Revolutionary newspaper L'Ami du Peuple at No. 8, and the agitator Georges Danton lived at No. 20—it is also home to Le Procope, Paris's oldest restaurant (which may seem like a tourist trap, but the food and service are very good). The passageway contains a turret from the 12th-century wall of Philippe-Auguste.

Art Nouveau genius Hector Guimard built this unique synagogue (also called Synagogue de la Rue Pavée) in 1913 for a Polish-Russian Orthodox association. The facade resembles an open book: Guimard used the motif of the Ten Commandments to inspire the building's shape and its interior, which can only rarely be visited. Knock on the door, and see if the caretaker will let you upstairs to the balcony, where you can admire Guimard's well-preserved decor. Like other Parisian synagogues, its front door was dynamited by Nazis on Yom Kippur, 1941. The Star of David over the door was added after the building was restored.

Not to be confused with the American Cathedral across the river at 23 avenue George V, this pretty, neo-Gothic, Protestant church was built between 1927 and 1931. It features a pair of Tiffany stained glass windows—a rare find in Europe. Besides ecumenical services, the church hosts architectural tours, free classical and acoustic concerts, and lectures and workshops on well-being and topics of current interest. You can check event listings and download a self-guided PDF tour at the church website.

Along with 10,000 fish and a giant tank of small sharks, this attractive space beneath the Trocadéro gardens promises nature documentaries in its cinema space, puppet and magic shows, and workshops for children in animation, art, and dance (these are offered in French, but the staff speaks English). Book tickets online to save money and avoid lines.

Thousands of important historical documents are preserved inside the Hôtel de Soubise and Hôtel de Rohan—a pair of spectacular buildings constructed in 1705 as private homes. Fans of the decorative arts will appreciate a visit to the former, where the well-preserved private apartments of the Prince and Princess de Soubise are among the first examples of the rococo style, which preceded the more somber Baroque opulence of Louis XIV. The Hôtel de Soubise also has a museum that displays documents dating from 625 to the 20th century. Highlights include the Edict of Nantes (1598), the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), the wills of Louis XIV and Napoléon, and the Declaration of Human Rights (1789). Louis XVI's diary is also here, containing his sadly clueless entry for July 14, 1789—the day the Bastille was stormed and the French Revolution was launched. The Hôtel de Rohan, open to the public only during Patrimony Weekend in September, was built for Soubise's son, Cardinal Rohan. Before you leave, notice the medieval turrets in the courtyard: this is the Porte de Clisson, all that remains of a stately 14th-century mansion.

This Roman amphitheater, designed as a theater and circus, was almost completely destroyed by barbarians in AD 280. The site was rediscovered in 1869, and you can still see part of the stage and tiered seating. Along with the remains of the baths at Cluny, the arena constitutes rare evidence of the powerful Roman city of Lutetia that flourished on the Rive Gauche in the 3rd century. Today it's a favorite spot for picnicking, pickup soccer, or boules.

Marcel Proust lovingly described the genteel elegance of the storied Champs-Élysées (pronounced chahnz-el-ee-zay, with an n sound instead of m, and no p) during its Belle Époque heyday, when its cobblestones resounded with the clatter of horses and carriages. Today, despite unrelenting traffic and the intrusion of chain stores and fast-food franchises, the avenue still sparkles. There's always something happening here: stores are open late (and many are open on Sunday, a rarity in Paris); nightclubs remain top destinations; and cafés offer prime people-watching, though you'll pay for the privilege. Ater all, this is Europe's most expensive piece of real estate. Along the 2-km (1¼-mile) stretch, you can find marquee names in French luxury, like Cartier, Guerlain, and Louis Vuitton. Car manufacturers lure international visitors with space-age showrooms. Old stalwarts, meanwhile, are still going strong—including the Lido cabaret and Fouquet's, whose celebrity clientele extends back to James Joyce. The avenue is also the setting for the last leg of the Tour de France bicycle race (the third or fourth Sunday in July), as well as Bastille Day (July 14) and Armistice Day (November 11) ceremonies. The Champs-Élysées, which translates to "Elysian Fields" (the resting place of the blessed in Greek mythology), began life as a cow pasture and in 1666 was transformed into a park by the royal landscape architect André Le Nôtre. Traces of its green origins are visible toward the Concorde, where elegant 19th-century park pavilions house the historic restaurants Ledoyen and Laurent. The celebrated avenue has undergone positive changes in recent years—including a widening of pedestrian walks and the addition of cycling lanes—with more improvements planned for the future.

The birthplace of Cubism isn't open to the public, but a display in the front window details this unimposing spot's rich history. Montmartre poet Max Jacob coined the name because the original structure here reminded him of the laundry boats that used to float in the Seine, and he joked that the warren of paint-splattered artists' studios needed a good hosing down (wishful thinking, because the building had only one water tap). It was in the Bateau-Lavoir that, early in the 20th century, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris made their first bold stabs at Cubism, and Picasso painted the groundbreaking Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1906–07. The experimental works of the artists weren't met with open arms, even in liberal Montmartre. All but the facade was rebuilt after a fire in 1970. Like the original building, though, the current incarnation houses artists and their studios.

This chic and sleek courtyard is home to a Thierry Marx bakery, Pierre Hermé café, and the very popular Certified Coffee where you'll usually find hipsters working on their laptops. There's also a nice collection of restaurants, a wine bar, outdoor seating, and contemporary artwork. Enjoy a gourmet snack or meal and soak in the modern contrast to the 19th-century limestone buildings on the street that hides this quiet haven of gastronomy. Enter from  83 rue du Bac or  14 bd. Raspail, which features a 79-foot-long cardboard and wood forest by artist Eva Jospin.

Tucked away south of the Gare de Lyon in the 12e arrondissement, blocks of stone warehouses that once stored wine are now home to Bercy Village ( 28 rue François Truffaut), a collection of boutiques and eateries that stay open unusually late for Paris. Adjacent to the shops is the tranquil Parc de Bercy, with lawns, ponds, and flower beds crisscrossed by gravel paths, and the Jardin Yitzhak Rabin, a garden named for the late Nobel Peace Prize winner. Nearby, at  51 rue de Bercy, a Cubist building by Frank Gehry houses the Cinémathèque Française, a film buff's paradise, showing classic films, many in English; there are frequent homages to directors and actors, plus a cinema bookshop and museum.

The cobbled streets and picturesque stone pavillons that once housed Paris’s thriving 19th-century wine trade were restored in the 1990s and repurposed as a charming shopping and dining district. Brimming with unique and French chain boutiques and lively cafés, bars, and a multiplex Pathé cinema, this is a great place to spend a few hours strolling, snacking, shopping, and lingering till evening for dinner and a movie, especially since shops and bars stay open late. Check out the website for seasonal activities for kids.

The National Library of France, across the sleek Simone de Beauvoir footbridge from Bercy Park, is a stark complex comprising four 22-story L-shape buildings representing open books. Commissioned by President Mitterrand, the €1-billion library was said to be the world's most modern when it opened in 1998—a reputation quickly sullied when it was discovered that miles of books and rare documents were baking in the glass towers, unprotected from the sun (movable shutters were eventually installed). Some of the most important printed treasures of France are stored here, though the majority of them are available only to researchers. Visitors can see the impressive 17th-century Globes of Coronelli, a pair of 2-ton orbs made for Louis XIV. There's a sunken center garden with tall trees (open to the public the first weekend in June) ringed by low-ceilinged reading rooms, which are nothing special. A first-floor gallery hosts popular temporary exhibitions. Enter through the easternmost tower.

This unassuming square is a perfect place to take in two of Montmartre's most photographed sights: the pink-and-green Au Lapin Agile cabaret and Clos Montmartre, Paris's only working vineyard. The former, famously painted by Camille Pissarro, still welcomes revelers after more than 160 years; the latter can be visited via guided tours (€39, in French and includes a wine tasting), organized by the nearby Musée de Montmartre (admission included), and during the annual Fête de Jardins (Garden Festival) weekend in September. The stone wall on the northwestern edge of the square borders the peaceful Cimetière St-Vincent, one of the neighborhood's three atmospheric cemeteries.

At first glance, the blazing, silvery onion domes of this Russian Orthodox cathedral, an easy walk from the Eiffel Tower and Quai Branly, appear like a mirage of Moscow on the Seine. The ultramodern edifice, designed by French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, is worth a quick peek for its graceful icons, mosaics, and colorful frescoes against pristine marble walls.

Landscaped at the start of the 20th century and restored in the two years leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, the park is a centerpiece of current mayor Anne Hildago's plan to reduce pollution and increase the city's pedestrian and green spaces. The park's grassy lawns and gardens have already been expanded to 4 acres and dozens of new trees have been planted (many more are to come). Parts of the ambitious project—which extends across the Seine to the gardens, fountains, and green spaces leading to the Trocadéro esplanade—are on hold until city officials, environmentalists, and Parisians can agree on a plan.

Commissioned in 1815, this neoclassical temple marks the original burial site of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. After the deposed monarchs took their turns at the guillotine on Place de la Concorde, their bodies were taken to a nearby mass grave. A loyalist marked their place, and their remains were eventually retrieved by the dead king's brother, Louis XVIII, who moved them to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. He then ordered the monument (which translates to Expiatory, or Atonement, Chapel) built on this spot, in what is now the leafy Square Louis XVI off Boulevard Haussmann. Two massive white-marble sculptures by François Joseph Bosio show the king and queen being succored by angels, while stone tablets below are inscribed with the last missives of the doomed royals, including pleas to God to forgive their Revolutionary enemies.

Considering that a daily dose of chocolate is practically obligatory in Paris, it's hard to believe that this spot (opened in 2010) is the city's first museum dedicated to the sweet stuff. Exhibits on three floors tell the story of chocolate from the earliest traces of the "divine nectar" in Mayan and Aztec cultures, through to its introduction in Europe by the Spanish, who added milk and sugar to the spicy, dark brew and launched a Continental craze. There are detailed explanations in English, with many for the kids. While the production of chocolate is a major topic, the museum also has a respectable collection of some 1,000 chocolate-related artifacts, such as terra-cotta Mayan sipping vessels (they blew into straws to create foam) and delicate chocolate pots in fine porcelain that were favored by the French royal court. Frequent chocolate-making demonstrations finish with a free tasting.

Overshadowed by better-known Père-Lachaise, this cemetery is just as picturesque. It's the final resting place of a host of luminaries, including painters Degas and Fragonard; Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone; dancer Vaslav Nijinsky; filmmaker François Truffaut; and composers Hector Berlioz and Jacques Offenbach. The Art Nouveau tomb of novelist Émile Zola (1840–1902) lords over a lawn near the entrance—though Zola's remains were moved to the Panthéon in 1908.