191 Best Sights in Paris, France

A must for military-history buffs, the National Museum of the Legion of Honor is dedicated to French and foreign military leaders. Housed in an elegant mansion just across from the Musée d'Orsay, it features a broad collection of military decorations dating from as early as the First Crusade in the 11th century, themed paintings, and video tributes to various luminaries—including U.S. general Dwight Eisenhower, a Légion member who led the Allied liberation of France in 1944. The palatial complex was completed in 1788 and acquired by the Legion of Honor in 1804.

Visiting the quirky town house and studio of painter Gustave Moreau (1826–98) is well worth your time. With an eye on his legacy, Moreau—a high priest of the Symbolist movement—created an enchanting gallery to showcase his dark paintings, drawings, and sculpture. The first-floor rooms trace Moreau’s “sentimental journey”; their walls are festooned with family portraits and works offered by close friends and allies like Chassériau, Fromentin, and Degas. The two light-flooded top floors house Moreau’s vast workshops, where hundreds of paintings, watercolors, and more than 4,000 drawings give a broad overview of his techniques and subjects. Some of the pieces appear unfinished, such as Unicorns (No. 213), inspired by the medieval tapestries in the Musée de Cluny: Moreau refused to work on it further, spurning the wishes of a wealthy would-be patron. His interpretations of Biblical scenes and Greek mythology combine flights of fantasy with a keen use of color, shadow, and tracings influenced by Persian and Indian miniatures. There are wax sculptures and cupboards with sliding vertical doors containing small-format paintings. The Symbolists loved objects, and Moreau was no different. His cramped private apartment on the second floor is jam-packed with bric-a-brac, and artworks cover every inch of the walls.

French artist Jean-Jacques Henner (1829–1905) was a star in his day, and although his luminous nudes and clear-eyed portraits are largely forgotten now, the handsomely renovated 19th-century mansion-cum-museum stocked with his works is an interesting stop for art enthusiasts. Henner painted more than 400 portraits, including a substantial number sold in America, with a Realist's eye, yet there is much beauty here as well: witness Lady with Umbrella, a portrait of a fur-clad aristocrat with glistening blue eyes. Many of his soft-featured nudes betray other influences. Don't miss them in the light-filled atelier on the museum's third floor, where they share space with a series of religious paintings, notably the haunting Saint Sebastian and a stark portrayal of a lifeless Christ, whose luminescent white skin is offset by a shock of flaming red hair. There is some information in English.

As elegant and stylish as the master couturier's groundbreaking designs, this museum is housed in the very mansion where Yves Saint Laurent did his work and entertained celebrity clients. More than 50 prototypes—including such landmarks as the Mondrian dress, the original pantsuit, and the woman's tuxedo—are on display at any one time, as are dozens of design drawings and a glittering array of jewelry. Thanks to its huge windows, the light-bathed upstairs atelier, stuffed with books and fabrics, offers an intimate glimpse into YSL's world. Be sure not to miss the touching short film detailing the relationship between Saint Laurent and his longtime partner Pierre Bergé. All of the exhibits have detailed English labeling, and a free English guide is available at reception.

Built in 1407 and reputed to be the oldest stone house in Paris (though other buildings also claim that title), this abode has a mystical history. Harry Potter fans should take note: this was the real-life residence of Nicolas Flamel, the alchemist whose sorcerer's stone is the source of immortality in the popular book series. It's not all fanciful: a wealthy scribe, merchant, and dabbler in the mystical arts, Flamel willed his home to the city as a dormitory for the poor—on the condition that boarders pray daily for his soul. Today, the only way to gain entry to the building is to dine in the Michelin-starred restaurant residing on its beamed first floor.

This 19th-century, neoclassical courthouse complex occupies the site of the former royal palace of St-Louis that later housed Parliament until the French Revolution. It is recognizable from afar with the tower of Sainte-Chapelle, tucked inside the courtyard, peeking out. Although the new Renzo Piano–designed Palais de Justice in the 17e arrondissement handles the bulk of the caseload, this venerable edifice is now the court of appeals. Black-frocked judges can often be spotted taking a cigarette break on the majestic rear staircase facing Rue du Harlay.

If you're bound for the Bois de Vincennes, pay a visit to the Palais de la Porte Dorée, which was built for the 1931 Colonial Exhibition and is one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in Paris. The ornate facade features bas-relief sculptures representing France's erstwhile empire. Inside, the elaborate marble, ornate metalwork, frescoes, and original lighting are all beautifully maintained. Entry to the ground floor is free. On either end are furnished salons, one representing Asia, the other Africa; peek into the central room, called the Forum, where restored Africa-inspired mosaics line the walls. The upper floors are occupied by the Musée Nationale de l'Historie de l'Immigration, a fascinating modern museum tracing the history of immigration in France through photographs, artworks, and first-person accounts. The basement contains L'Aquarium Tropical, a favorite among generations of Parisians, who all visited as kids, with a pair of rare albino alligators, plus 300 species of exotic marine life. Be sure to check out the Palais's excellent temporary exhibitions.

The go-to address for some of the city's liveliest exhibitions, the Palais de Tokyo is a stripped-down venue that spotlights provocative, ambitious contemporary art. There is no permanent collection: instead, cutting-edge temporary shows are staged in a cavernous space reminiscent of a light-filled industrial loft. The programming extends to performance art, concerts, readings, and fashion shows. Night owls will appreciate the 10 pm (midnight on Thursday) closing. The museum's chic Bambini trattoria and cocktail bar—serving delicious authentic Italian cuisine and Neapolitan-style pizzas—is a regular haunt for locals, especially for cocktails, dinner, and late-night cravings, thanks to its wraparound terrace and Eiffel Tower views. But there's also a small café area at the restaurant entrance for a quick bite and glass of wine or cup of coffee. Visit the offbeat bookshop for colorful souvenirs that are as edgy and subversive as the exhibits.

Lofty Parc de Belleville is Paris’s highest-altitude park and one of its prettiest. Traversed by shaded, winding lanes interspersed with woods, gardens, and sloping, grassy fields, it’s a lovely spot to have a picnic while taking in spectacular panoramic views of Paris. The park is also home to one of the city’s last cultivated vineyards, with vines of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier that produce a slightly sparkling wine called Piquette. You are welcome to join in the grape harvest during the last week of September.

This former abattoir (slaughterhouse) is now an ultramodern, 130-acre park with lawns and play areas, an excellent science museum, a music complex, and a cinema: all in all, it's the perfect place to entertain kids. You could easily spend a whole day here. The park itself was designed in the 1980s by postmodern architecture star Bernard Tschumi, who melded industrial elements, children's games (don't miss the dragon slide), ample green spaces, and funky sculptures along the canal into one vast yet unified playground. Loved by picnickers, the lawns also attract rehearsing samba bands and pickup soccer players. In summer there are outdoor festivals and a free open-air cinema, where people gather at dusk to watch movies on a huge inflatable screen.

In cold weather you can visit an authentic submarine and the Espace Chapiteaux (a circus tent featuring contemporary acrobatic theater performances) before hitting the museums. The hands-on one at the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is a favorite stop for families and a must for science fans; its 3D Omnimax cinema (La Géode) is housed in a giant mirrored ball. Arts-oriented visitors of all ages will marvel at the excellent, instrument-filled Musée de la Musique. The park has even more in store for music lovers in the form of the Philharmonie de Paris, a striking 2,400-seat concert hall designed by Jean Nouvel. All that's left of the slaughterhouse that once stood here is La Grande Halle, a magnificent iron-and-glass building currently used for exhibitions, performances, and trade shows.

If you're tired of perfectly manicured Parisian parks with lawns that are off-limits to your weary feet, this lovely 61-acre hilltop expanse is for you. Built in 1863 on abandoned gypsum quarries and a former gallows, it was northern Paris's first park, part of Napoléon III's planned greening of the city (the emperor had spent years in exile in London, where he fell in love with the public parks). Today this park in the untouristy 19e arrondissement has grassy fields, shady walkways, waterfalls, and a picturesque lake dotted with swans. Rising from the lake is a rocky cliff you can climb to find a mini Greek-style temple and a commanding view of Sacré-Coeur Basilica. A favorite of families, the park also has pony rides and an open-air puppet theater—Guignol de Paris (€7; shows at 3:15 pm and 4:30 pm Wednesday and Saturday, and at 11:15 am and 4:30 pm on Sunday, year-round)—not far from the entrance at the Buttes-Chaumont métro stop. When you've worked up an appetite, grab a snack at the Rosa Bonheur café ( www.rosabonheur.fr), or reserve a table for weekend lunch at Le Pavillon du Lac restaurant.

This exquisitely landscaped, 20-acre park began in 1778 as the Duc de Chartres's private garden. Though some of the land was sold off under the Second Empire (creating the exclusive real estate that now borders the park), the refined atmosphere and some of the fanciful faux ruins have survived. Immaculately dressed children play under the watchful eye of their nannies, while lovers cuddle on the benches. In 1797, André Garnerin, the world's first-recorded parachutist, staged a landing in the park. The rotunda—known as the Chartres Pavilion—is surely the city's grandest public restroom: it started life as a tollhouse.

The 35-acre zoo in the Bois de Vincennes is France's largest, with 1,000 or so animals housed in cleverly designed environments (aka "biozones") that mix species as Mother Nature intended. These include a free-range aviary you can walk through and a greenhouse that re-creates a slice of the rain forest.

This stately, glass-roofed arcade was built in 1825 and expertly renovated in 1988. Today, it's home to about 20 shops, many of them small designers selling original jewelry, accessories, and housewares.

If your knowledge of Paris history is nul (nil), stop here for an entertaining free tutorial. Built in 1879 as a private museum, the Pavillon today is a restored structure of glass and iron that showcases the city's urban development through the ages. A giant model of Paris traces its evolution (with information in English). There are photos, maps, and videos, plus a giant digital interactive model detailing what Paris is predicted to look like in the future. Reconstruction plans—called Grand Paris—are vast and take into account the 2024 Olympics and beyond. The Pavillon also has a café-bookstore and hosts frequent architecture-theme temporary exhibits.

The "little" palace has a superb, sometimes overlooked, collection of excellent paintings, sculpture, and objets d'art, with works by Monet, Gauguin, and Courbet, among others, and entrance is free. The Palais also hosts a revolving series of excellent temporary exhibitions (€15). The building, like the Grand Palais across the street, is an architectural marvel of marble, glass, mosaics, and gilt built for the 1900 World's Fair, with impressive entry doors and gilded gates and huge windows overlooking the river. Search directly above the main galleries for the 16 plaster busts set into the wall, representing famous artists. Outside, note two eye-catching sculptures: French World War I hero Georges Clemenceau faces the Champs-Élysées while a resolute Winston Churchill faces the Seine. In warmer weather, head to the charming garden café with terrace seating. The museum is open until 8 pm on Friday and Saturday.

This modern aquatic center, which floats on the Seine and is named after the much-beloved American-born entertainer, features a pool with a retractable glass roof, two solariums, a steam room, Jacuzzis, and a gym. Check the opening hours and schedule of classes online.

The Surrealists called Place Dauphine "le sexe de Paris" because of its suggestive V shape; however, its origins were much more proper. The pretty square on the western side of Pont Neuf was built by Henry IV, who named it in homage to his son the crown prince (or dauphin) who became Louis XIII when Henry was assassinated. In warm weather, treat yourself to a romantic meal on a restaurant terrace here—the square is one of the best places in Paris to dine en plein air.

Almost nothing remains of the infamous Bastille prison, destroyed in 1789, though tourists still ask bemused Parisians where to find it. Until the late 1980s, there was little more to see here than a busy traffic circle ringing the Colonne de Juillet (July Column), a memorial to the victims of later uprisings in 1830 and 1848. The opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989 rejuvenated the area, however, drawing art galleries, bars, and restaurants to the narrow streets, notably along Rue de Lappe—once a haunt of Edith Piaf—and Rue de la Roquette.

Before it became a prison, the Bastille St-Antoine was a defensive fortress with eight immense towers and a wide moat. It was built by Charles V in the late 14th century and transformed into a prison during the reign of Louis XIII (1610–43). Famous occupants included Voltaire, the Marquis de Sade, and the Man in the Iron Mask. On July 14, 1789, it was stormed by an angry mob that dramatically freed all of the remaining prisoners (there were only seven), thereby launching the French Revolution. The roots of the revolt ran deep. Resentment toward Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette had been building amid a severe financial crisis. There was a crippling bread shortage, and the free-spending monarch was blamed. When the king dismissed the popular finance minister, Jacques Necker, enraged Parisians took to the streets. They marched to Les Invalides, helping themselves to stocks of arms, then continued on to the Bastille. A few months later, what was left of the prison was razed—and 83 of its stones were carved into miniature Bastilles and sent to the provinces as a memento (you can see one of them in the Musée Carnavalet). The key to the prison was given to George Washington by Lafayette and has remained at Mount Vernon ever since. Today, nearly every major street demonstration in Paris—and there are many—passes through this square.

This square at the foot of the Champs-Élysées was originally named after Louis XV. It later became Place de la Révolution, where crowds cheered as Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and some 2,500 others lost their heads to the guillotine. Renamed in 1836, it also got a new centerpiece: the 75-foot granite Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt quarried in the 8th century BC. Among the handsome 18th-century buildings facing the square is the Hôtel Crillon, which was originally built as a private home by Gabriel, the architect of Versailles's Petit Trianon.

This triangular square is typical of the countrified style that has made Montmartre famous. Now a hub for shopping and people-watching, the place is surrounded by hip boutiques, sidewalk cafés, and shabby-chic restaurants—a prime habitat for the young, neo-bohemian crowd and a sprinkling of expats. Trendy streets like Rue Houdon and Rue des Martyrs have attracted small designer shops, trendy secondhand clothing stores, and even a pâtisserie specializing in meringues. Many retailers remain open on Sunday afternoon.

At the busy intersection of Rue de Rennes and Boulevard du Montparnasse, this small square commemorates an impassioned radio broadcast Charles de Gaulle made from London on June 18, 1940. In it he urged the French to resist Nazi occupiers (who had invaded the month prior), thereby launching the French Resistance Movement. It was also here that German military governor Dietrich von Choltitz surrendered to the Allies in August 1944, ignoring Hitler's orders to destroy the city as he withdrew. The square (in fact, a triangle) has been restored and now has a bench and one of the city's sculpted, cast-iron Wallace drinking fountains, which run with clean clear water and where you can fill up your water bottle. There are about 100 of these fountains around the city, most of them painted green (though there is at least one red one in Chinatown) and named after Sir Richard Wallace, an English art collector who funded the project in the 19th century.

Artists have peddled their wares in this square for centuries. Busloads of tourists have changed the atmosphere, but if you come off-season—when the air is chilly and the streets are bare—you can almost feel what it was like when up-and-coming Picassos lived in the houses that today are given over to souvenir shops and cafés.

This square was named for Gabriel Davioud's grandiose 1860 fountain sculpture of St. Michael vanquishing Satan—a loaded political gesture from Napoléon III's go-to guy, Baron Haussmann, who hoped St-Michel would quell the Revolutionary fervor of the neighborhood. The fountain is often used as a meeting point for both local students and young tourists.

Jules-Hardouin Mansart, an architect of Versailles, designed this perfectly proportioned octagonal plaza near the Tuileries in 1702. To maintain a uniform appearance, he gave the surrounding hôtels particuliers (private mansions) identical facades. It was originally called Place des Conquêtes to extoll the military conquests of Louis XIV, whose statue on horseback graced the center until Revolutionaries destroyed it in 1792. Later, Napoléon ordered his likeness erected atop a 144-foot column modestly modeled after Trajan's Column in Rome. But that, too, was toppled in 1871 by painter Gustave Courbet and his band of radicals. The Third Republic raised a new column and sent Courbet the bill, though he died in exile before paying it. Chopin lived and died at No. 12, which is also where Napoléon III enjoyed trysts with his mistress; since 1902 it has been home to the high-end jeweler Chaumet.

Visitors come here to snap pictures of the queen of subway entrances—one of the city's two remaining Art Nouveau canopied originals designed by Hector Guimard (the other is at the Abbesses stop on Line 12). A flamboyant scalloped "crown" of patina-painted panels and runaway metal struts adorns this whimsical 1900 creation. Porte Dauphine is the terminus of Line 2. The entrance is on the Bois de Boulogne side of Avenue Foch, so take the Boulevard de l'Amiral Bruix exit.

This narrow shopping street escaped Haussmann's urban renovations and still retains the country feel of old Auteuil, a sedate bourgeois enclave. Molière once lived on the site of No. 2, and Racine was on nearby Rue du Buis. The pair met up to clink glasses and exchange drama notes at the Mouton Blanc Inn, now a traditional brasserie, at No. 40. Numbers 19–25 and 29 are an interesting combination of 17th- and 18th-century buildings. At the foot of the street, the scaly dome of the Église Notre-Dame d'Auteuil (built in the 1880s) is an unmistakable small-time cousin of Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. Rue d'Auteuil is at its liveliest on Wednesday and Saturday morning, when a much-loved street market crams onto Place Jean-Lorraine.

This eye-catching church with a compact Art Nouveau interior was the first modern house of worship built in Paris (1897–1904) and the first to be constructed of reinforced cement. Architect Anatole de Baudot's revolutionary technique defied the accepted rules at the time with its use of unsupported masonry; critics, who failed to stop construction, feared the building would crumble under its own weight. Today the church attracts a steady flow of visitors curious about its unusual Moorish-inspired facade of redbrick and curved arches. Note the tiny clock at the top left of the bell tower and the handsome stained-glass windows. Free concerts and art exhibitions are staged in the church from time to time.

Built as the market neighborhood's answer to Notre-Dame, this massive church is decidedly squeezed into its surroundings. Constructed between 1532 and 1640 with foundations dating from 1200, the church mixes a Gothic exterior (complete with impressive flying buttresses) and a Renaissance interior. On the east end (Rue Montmartre), Dutch master Rubens's Pilgrims of Emmaus (1611) hangs in a small chapel. Two chapels to the left is Keith Haring's The Life of Christ, a triptych in bronze and white-gold patina. It was given to the church after the artist's death in 1990, in recognition of the parish's efforts to help people with AIDS. On the Rue Montmartre side of the church, look for the small door to Saint Agnes's crypt, topped with a stone plaque noting the date, 1213, below a curled fish, an indication the patron made his fortune in fish. There's free entry to the weekly organ concerts.

Tucked in the shadow of mighty Sacré-Coeur is one of the oldest churches in Paris. Built in 1147 on the site of a 5th-century temple to the god Mars, this small sanctuary with its impressive sculpted metal doors was once part of a substantial Benedictine abbey. Besides the church, all that remains is a small cemetery, now closed (you can see it through the ornate metal door on the left as you enter the courtyard). Renovated multiple times through the ages, Saint-Pierre combines various styles. Interior elements, such as the columns in the nave, are medieval; the facade dates to the 18th century, with renovations in the 19th century; and the stained-glass windows are 20th century. Maurice Utrillo's 1914 painting of the titular saint hangs in the Musée de l'Orangerie. Admission is free; English audioguides are €3.