Paris Tourist Attractions
The river Seine is well known for its tree-lined quais (walks along the river banks), open-air bookstalls and historic bridges that connect the Right and Left banks. Paris is also famous for its tree-lined boulevards such as the Champs-Élysées, and for its many architectural gems.
Monuments and Buildings
• The Eiffel Tower
• Arc de Triomphe - monument at the center of the Place de l'Étoile, commemorating the victories of France and honoring those who died in battle.
• Les Invalides - museum and burial place of many great French soldiers, including Napoleon.
• The Conciergerie - medieval building; former prison where some prominent members of the ancien régime stayed before their death during the French Revolution
• Palais Garnier - home of the Paris Opera, considered by Hitler to be the most beautiful building in the world.
• Cathedral of Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité
• The Samaritaine Building - department store built at the start of the 20th century
• The Sorbonne - the University of Paris, founded in medieval times
• Statue of Liberty - a smaller version of the New York City harbor statue which France gave to the United States in 1886, located on the Île des Cygnes on the Seine. An another version is in the Luxembourg's garden.
• The Panthéon - beautiful church and tomb of a number of selected great men and women
• Sainte-Chapelle - 13th century Gothic palace chapel.
• Église de la Madeleine
• Place des Vosges - square in the Marais district laid out by Henry IV
• Roue De Paris - temporary ferris wheel, installed 1999 to 2003
• Flame of Liberty public co-opted temporary memorial for Diana, Princess of Wales
Museums
• Louvre - a huge museum housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue.
• Musée d'Orsay - an art museum housed in a converted 19th century railway station, which contains mainly Impressionist works.
• Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg - houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne and a cultural center with a large public library. Famous for its external skeleton of service pipes.
• Musée Rodin - a large collection of works by France's most famous sculptor
• Musée du Montparnasse in the former residence of artist Marie Vassilieff at 21 Avenue du Maine, details the history of the great artistic community of Montparnasse.
• Musée Cluny, also known as the Musée National du Moyen-Age, houses a large collection of art and artifacts from the Middle Ages, including the tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn.
• Musée Picasso, exhibits nearly 3000 pieces of art by Pablo Picasso as well as art from his own personal collection including works by Cézanne and Matisse.
Streets and other areas within Paris
• Montmartre - historic area on the Butte, home to the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur and also famous for the studios and cafés of many great artists.
• Champs-Élysées - a famous street, a broad boulevard often clogged with tourists.
• Rue de Rivoli - boutiques for tourists
• Place de la Concorde - at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, formerly Place de la Revolution, site of the infamous guillotine and the obelisk.
• Place de la Bastille - where the Bastille prison stood until the Revolution.
• Montparnasse - historic area on the Left Bank, famous for the studios, music-halls, and cafés of artists.
• Quartier Latin - an historic center of academic learning, situated around the Sorbonne in the 5th arrondissement of the Left Bank.
• Catacombs of Paris
• Les Halles - shopping precinct, includes an important metro connection station.
• Canal Saint-Martin
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