15 Top Things to Do in Paris, France

Gustave Eiffel's 330-metre iron tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair and has since become the single most recognisable structure in France. Three observation levels offer progressively more dramatic views of the city. The second floor, at 116 metres, provides the clearest sightlines toward the Trocadero gardens, the Seine, and Montparnasse. The summit, at 276 metres, puts all of Paris beneath you on clear days - you can see as far as 70 kilometres to the horizon.

Tickets to the summit by lift cost EUR 26.80 for adults. Choosing the stairs to the second floor and then the lift to the top reduces the price to EUR 20.40 and skips the longest queue. The tower is open daily from 09:30 to 23:45 in summer and 09:30 to 22:30 in winter, though hours shift seasonally. Book your time slot on the official website at least two weeks ahead during peak season - slots for the summit sell out fast. The light show runs for five minutes on the hour after dark, best viewed from the Trocadero esplanade across the river.

Pro Tip: Take the stairs to the second floor (674 steps) for a shorter wait and a more physical sense of the tower's scale. Once at the second floor, buy a summit lift ticket on the spot if availability remains - this two-step approach often saves 30 to 45 minutes compared to queuing for the full lift from ground level.

The Louvre holds over 380,000 objects and displays roughly 35,000 works across 73,000 square metres of gallery space. It is, by any measure, the largest art museum in the world. The collection spans from ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and Mesopotamian reliefs to Italian Renaissance masterpieces and French Neoclassical painting. The Mona Lisa draws the densest crowds in the Denon Wing, but the museum's real depth lies elsewhere - the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the top of the Daru staircase, the vast Napoleon III apartments, and the Islamic Art galleries beneath a shimmering glass-and-metal roof.

Admission is EUR 22. The museum is open Wednesday through Monday from 09:00 to 18:00, with extended hours until 21:00 on Fridays. It is closed every Tuesday. Free entry applies on the first Friday evening of each month after 18:00 and for all visitors under 26 from the EU. Timed-entry reservations are mandatory and should be booked online at least a few days in advance. Plan a minimum of three hours; serious art lovers could spend an entire day.

Pro Tip: Enter through the Passage Richelieu entrance on Rue de Rivoli or the Carrousel du Louvre underground mall entrance instead of the main Pyramid. Both have shorter security lines. Friday evenings after 18:00 are the quietest time to visit, with a fraction of the daytime crowds.

Housed inside a converted 1900 railway station, the Musee d'Orsay holds the world's finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting. The top-floor galleries contain works that changed the course of art history: Monet's cathedral series, Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette, Degas' ballet dancers, Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone, and Cezanne's still lifes. The building itself competes for attention - the enormous station clock on the fifth floor frames views across the Seine toward Montmartre.

Admission is EUR 16 for adults, free for under-26 EU residents. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 09:30 to 18:00, with late opening until 21:45 on Thursdays. It is closed on Mondays. Timed-entry tickets should be purchased in advance online. Two to three hours is enough to see the highlights, though the ground-floor sculpture collection and the Art Nouveau decorative arts rooms deserve unhurried exploration.

Pro Tip: Visit on Thursday evening after 18:00 when the museum stays open late and most tour groups have left. Start on the top floor with the Impressionists while the light through the glass roof is still strong, then work your way down.

Construction of Notre-Dame began in 1163 and took nearly 200 years to complete, producing one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture anywhere. The 2019 fire destroyed the spire and much of the roof, but a painstaking five-year restoration returned the cathedral to the public in December 2024. The cleaned interior is a revelation - centuries of grime removed from the limestone to reveal warm, pale stone that transforms the nave with natural light. The three rose windows, dating from the 13th century, survived the blaze intact and remain among the most extraordinary stained-glass compositions in Europe.

Entry to the cathedral is free. It is open daily for visits, typically from 08:00 to 19:00, though hours may extend during summer. The exterior's flying buttresses and gargoyles are best appreciated from the garden at the eastern end of the island or from the Left Bank quays. Note that the tower climb, which offers close-up views of the gargoyles and a panorama over Paris, has its own separate timed ticket and limited daily capacity.

Pro Tip: Attend a free organ recital on Sunday afternoons at 16:30 to hear the cathedral's restored 8,000-pipe Grand Organ - one of the largest instruments in France - fill the nave with sound. Arrive 20 minutes early to secure a seat in the nave rather than standing in the side aisles.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart sits at the summit of Montmartre, the highest natural point in Paris at 130 metres above sea level. Built between 1875 and 1914 from Chateau-Landon travertine stone that bleaches whiter with rain, the Romano-Byzantine church dominates the northern skyline. The interior holds one of the world's largest mosaics - a 475-square-metre depiction of Christ in gold and blue that covers the apse ceiling. The front steps and terrace deliver a sweeping view south across the entire city, free and available at any hour.

Entry to the basilica is free. Climbing the 300 steps to the dome costs EUR 7 and rewards you with a 360-degree panorama that on clear days extends 30 kilometres. The basilica is open daily from 06:30 to 22:30. The surrounding Montmartre neighbourhood is worth at least two hours on its own - Place du Tertre fills with portrait artists, and the narrow lanes around Rue Lepic still feel like a 19th-century village.

Pro Tip: Visit at sunrise for near-empty steps and golden light hitting the white facade. Take the funicular railway from the base of the hill (one Metro ticket) to avoid the steep climb, then walk down afterward through the winding streets to explore Montmartre at a relaxed pace.

Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe in 1806 to celebrate his military victories, though the 50-metre arch was not completed until 1836 - fifteen years after his death. It anchors the western end of the Champs-Elysees and sits at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle roundabout, where twelve avenues radiate outward in a star pattern. Beneath the arch, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honours those who died in World War I, and a memorial flame is rekindled every evening at 18:30.

The rooftop terrace, reached by climbing 284 steps (no lift), costs EUR 16 for adults and offers one of the best vantage points in Paris - you can see the Eiffel Tower to the southwest and La Defense's skyscrapers to the northwest along a perfect axis. Open daily from 10:00 to 23:00 (until 22:30 October through March). Access is via an underground tunnel from the north side of the Champs-Elysees; do not attempt to cross the roundabout on foot.

Pro Tip: Time your visit for 30 minutes before sunset. You will catch daylight views, the golden-hour glow, and then watch the Eiffel Tower's lights switch on - all from the same rooftop perch. Queues are shortest on weekday mornings.

Stretching 1.9 kilometres from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs-Elysees has served as Paris's ceremonial axis since the 17th century. The lower stretch near the Grand Palais and Petit Palais is lined with chestnut trees and garden spaces, while the upper half between the Rond-Point and the Arc concentrates the flagship stores, cinemas, and sidewalk cafes. A multi-year renovation completed in recent years widened pedestrian paths, added greenery, and reduced traffic lanes, making the walk noticeably more pleasant than a decade ago.

Walking the full length takes roughly 25 minutes at a steady pace, but allow more time to detour into the Grand Palais (reopened after a major renovation) or sit at one of the terrace cafes. The avenue is free to walk and open around the clock. It transforms during major events - the Bastille Day military parade on 14 July, the Tour de France finish in July, and a massive Christmas market from late November through early January with over 200 chalets.

Pro Tip: Walk from the Arc de Triomphe downhill toward Concorde rather than the reverse. The gentle descent is easier on the legs, and the view toward the Tuileries obelisk and the Louvre pyramid in the distance gives you a clear sense of Paris's monumental east-west axis.

Louis XIV transformed a modest hunting lodge into the largest palace in Europe, a project that consumed 36,000 workers over several decades. The result is a complex of 2,300 rooms, 800 hectares of gardens, and an influence on European court architecture that lasted two centuries. The Hall of Mirrors - 73 metres long, lined with 357 mirrors reflecting 20,000 candles worth of chandelier light - remains the single most photographed room in France. Beyond the palace, the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon, and Marie Antoinette's hamlet offer a quieter counterpoint to the main building's formality.

The palace ticket costs EUR 21.50 and covers the main state apartments and the Hall of Mirrors. The full estate pass at EUR 28.50 adds the Trianon palaces, Marie Antoinette's estate, and access to the Musical Fountains show when running (weekends April through October). The palace is open Tuesday through Sunday, 09:00 to 18:30 (last entry 17:50). Closed Mondays. Pre-booking online is essential - walk-up queues can exceed 90 minutes in summer.

Pro Tip: Arrive on the first RER C train to reach the gates before 09:00. Tour the palace first, then spend the afternoon in the gardens - most visitors do the opposite, creating a bottleneck at the palace entrance around midday. Bring a picnic to eat on the Grand Canal's lawn; restaurant options inside the estate are overpriced and crowded.

King Louis IX built Sainte-Chapelle between 1242 and 1248 to house relics he believed to be the Crown of Thorns and fragments of the True Cross. The lower chapel is modest, but the upper chapel is one of the most extraordinary rooms in Gothic architecture - fifteen floor-to-ceiling stained-glass windows, each 15 metres tall, depict 1,113 scenes from the Old and New Testaments. On a sunny afternoon, the effect is overwhelming: the stone walls nearly vanish behind walls of coloured light in red, blue, and gold.

Admission costs EUR 11.50 for adults. A combined ticket with the Conciergerie next door costs EUR 18.50 and is worth it if you have time. Sainte-Chapelle is open daily from 09:00 to 19:00 (until 17:00 October through March). The chapel also hosts classical concerts in the evening - performances of Vivaldi and Bach surrounded by candlelight and medieval glass sell out quickly.

Pro Tip: Visit between 13:00 and 15:00 on a sunny day when the south-facing windows catch direct light - the colour saturation peaks during these hours. Buy tickets online in advance; the security screening and entrance queue within the Palais de Justice complex can take 20 to 30 minutes without a pre-booked slot.

Catherine de' Medici commissioned the Tuileries Garden in 1564, making it the oldest public park in Paris. Andre Le Notre redesigned it in 1664 in the formal French style that would later define Versailles - symmetrical paths, clipped hedges, geometric lawns, and octagonal reflecting pools. Today the 23-hectare garden stretches from the Louvre's courtyard west to the Place de la Concorde, forming the green spine of Paris's monumental axis. Two small museums sit at the western end: the Musee de l'Orangerie (home to Monet's Water Lilies) and the Jeu de Paume (photography exhibitions).

The garden is free and open daily from 07:00 to 21:00 in summer and 07:30 to 19:30 in winter. Green metal chairs around the central basin are first-come, first-served and perfect for a rest after the Louvre. In summer, a small fairground with a Ferris wheel and carnival rides appears near the Rue de Rivoli side. The gravel paths are flat and accessible throughout.

Pro Tip: Grab a crepe or a sandwich from one of the garden's kiosks and settle into a green chair facing the Grand Bassin Rond. The combination of the Louvre behind you and the Concorde obelisk ahead makes this one of the best free lunch spots in Paris.

Marie de' Medici created the Luxembourg Garden in 1612 to accompany the Italianate Luxembourg Palace, which now houses the French Senate. The 23-hectare park blends formal French parterre design around the central octagonal basin with a more relaxed English-style landscape garden on its southern side. Parisians treat it as an outdoor living room - chess players gather near the Orangerie, children push model sailboats across the pond, and university students from the nearby Sorbonne fill the iron chairs with textbooks.

The garden is free and opens at 07:30, with closing times varying by season (as late as 21:30 in summer, as early as 17:00 in winter). Sculptures are scattered throughout, including a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty and the Medici Fountain, a shaded grotto-style water feature at the northeastern end. The park also has tennis courts, a puppet theatre (Guignol du Luxembourg), and a playground that charges a small fee for children.

Pro Tip: Seek out the Medici Fountain on the garden's east side for one of the most peaceful corners in central Paris. The long, narrow pool flanked by plane trees is largely overlooked by tourists heading for the main basin. It is especially photogenic in autumn when the leaves turn gold.

Originally built as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve between 1758 and 1790, the Pantheon was repurposed during the French Revolution as a secular mausoleum for the nation's most distinguished figures. Its Neoclassical dome, modelled on St. Peter's in Rome, rises 83 metres and dominates the Left Bank skyline. The crypt holds the remains of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas, and Simone Veil, among others. A replica of Foucault's Pendulum hangs from the dome, demonstrating the Earth's rotation in an experiment first conducted here in 1851.

Admission is EUR 11.50. Open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (until 18:30 April through September). The colonnade gallery at the top of the dome opens seasonally and gives 360-degree views over Paris - it is less crowded than the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe rooftop viewpoints. The Pantheon is included in the Paris Museum Pass.

Pro Tip: Combine a visit with a walk down Rue Mouffetard, one of the oldest market streets in Paris, just five minutes east. The morning market (Tuesday through Sunday) sells cheese, charcuterie, and fresh produce - ideal for assembling a picnic lunch before heading to the Luxembourg Garden.

The Catacombs occupy a small section of the 300 kilometres of former limestone quarry tunnels that run beneath Paris. In the late 18th century, the city's overflowing cemeteries were emptied and the remains of approximately six million people were transferred underground and arranged into walls of skulls and femurs that line 1.5 kilometres of tunnels. The experience is eerie and genuinely unlike any other attraction in the city - a 20-metre descent down a spiral staircase leads into cool, dimly lit corridors of carefully stacked bones.

Admission is EUR 29 for the standard visit and EUR 39 for a guided experience. Only 200 visitors are allowed inside at any given time, so online booking well in advance is essential - walk-up queues can stretch over two hours even on weekdays. The visit takes about 45 minutes. The tunnels maintain a constant temperature of 14 degrees Celsius, so bring a light jacket even in summer. The exit emerges on Rue Remy Dumoncel, about 700 metres from the entrance.

Pro Tip: Book the earliest morning slot (09:45) for the smallest crowds underground. The audio guide, available for EUR 5, adds significant historical context about which cemeteries the bones came from and why the transfer was necessary. The narrow spiral staircases (130 steps down, 83 steps up) are not suitable for anyone with claustrophobia or mobility issues.

A cruise along the Seine passes nearly every major landmark on this list from a completely different angle. The standard one-hour loop operated by Bateaux Mouches and Bateaux Parisiens departs from the base of the Eiffel Tower, glides past the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre, loops around both tips of the Ile de la Cite (passing directly beneath Notre-Dame's flying buttresses), and returns along the Left Bank. The stretch of the Seine through central Paris is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site, and viewing it from water level reveals bridge details and building facades that are invisible from the street.

Standard cruises cost EUR 16 to EUR 19 for adults. Dinner cruises run EUR 70 to EUR 150 depending on the menu. Boats depart every 30 minutes from multiple docks; the main ones are at Pont de l'Alma and near the Eiffel Tower. Cruises operate year-round, with departures from 10:00 to 22:30 in peak season. Evening cruises after dark let you see the Eiffel Tower's light show and the floodlit facades of the Grand Palais and Notre-Dame.

Pro Tip: Take an evening cruise departing around 21:00 in summer to catch the sunset from the water and the Eiffel Tower's light show at the top of the hour. Sit on the upper open-air deck for unobstructed photos. The Vedettes du Pont Neuf, departing from the tip of the Ile de la Cite, offers a less crowded alternative to the larger Bateaux Mouches boats.

Montmartre was where Picasso, Modigliani, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh lived and worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn by cheap rents and creative freedom. The neighbourhood retains a village character that stands apart from the rest of Paris - cobblestone lanes climb the hill at odd angles, ivy covers stone walls, and small squares host open-air painters selling portraits and landscapes. The Bateau-Lavoir at 13 Rue Ravignan was Picasso's studio where he painted Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The Moulin Rouge cabaret at 82 Boulevard de Clichy has operated since 1889, its red windmill still turning at the foot of the hill.

Walking Montmartre costs nothing and takes two to three hours at a comfortable pace. Start at the Abbesses Metro station (note the original Art Nouveau entrance canopy, one of only two surviving Guimard designs), climb to Place du Tertre, visit Sacre-Coeur, then wind down through the Rue Lepic past the windmills. The Musee de Montmartre at 12 Rue Cortot (EUR 14) occupies Renoir's former studio and covers the neighbourhood's artistic history with paintings, posters, and photographs.

Pro Tip: Walk down the back side of the hill via Rue Caulaincourt and through the Saint-Vincent cemetery to find the last working vineyard in Paris - the Clos Montmartre. The harvest festival in October draws thousands, but on any ordinary afternoon the vineyard is nearly deserted and makes for an unexpected photo.