Monuments of Paris: there are more than 3,000 protected historic buildings.
No one visits them all, and that’s not the goal. The real question when planning a trip is simpler: which ones are worth the trip, in what order, and how much time to spend on them.
This page answers that. It starts with the ten monuments you’ll regret not seeing. It then offers two itineraries based on the time you have. Finally, it lists all the Parisian monuments we cover, organized by category—arches, palaces, private mansions, bridges, towers, and memorial sites.
The Ten Must-See Monuments of Paris
The Eiffel Tower remains the obligatory starting point.
It towers over Paris at 324 meters. Built for the 1889 World’s Fair, it was meant to be dismantled after twenty years. But its radio telegraphy antennas saved it.
Allow two to three hours for the ascent, much less if you simply admire it from the Trocadéro. Which, by the way, is the best viewpoint of the Eiffel Tower.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024, five years after the fire. The cleaned stone has regained a clarity unseen for centuries. Entry remains free. Crowds, however, are considerable, and we recommend reserving your free visit time and date in advance.
Book Notre-Dame de Paris tickets (Free entry but reservation recommended to avoid queues)
Sainte-Chapelle
A hundred meters or so from Notre-Dame. In person, it has an impact that photographs simply can’t capture.
More than a thousand 13th-century stained-glass panels span the two levels of the chapel within a compact space. On a clear day, the upper level is one of Europe’s most stunning interiors. Thirty minutes is enough, but pick a sunny day—it’s the pinnacle.
The Arc de Triomphe
Commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 and completed thirty years later under King Louis-Philippe I.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has rested here since 1921, and its flame is rekindled every evening. The terrace offers the only view where you truly grasp the star of the twelve avenues converging at Place Charles-de-Gaulle.
The Panthéon
Originally designed as a church, transformed into a republican necropolis during the Revolution, it has never quite made up its mind.
You descend to see Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Zola, Marie Curie, and Joséphine Baker. You ascend to admire the Foucault pendulum and, seasonally, the colonnade.
Les Invalides
This is four things in one place. First, a hospital commissioned by Louis XIV for his soldiers. Then a complex of churches. Next comes Napoleon’s tomb beneath the golden dome. Finally, the Army Museum, which encapsulates everything the Hôtel des Invalides represents. Note that it could easily occupy half a day on its own.
Palais Garnier
It’s best visited during the day, without a performance, as this is the ideal way to experience it. The grand staircase and the foyer were designed to be seen, not just passed through.
The auditorium ceiling is by Chagall, added in 1964—a deliberate anachronism that still sparks debate.
And finally, it’s the setting where the Phantom of the Opera lurks in Gaston Leroux’s novel.
La Conciergerie
Originally a royal palace before becoming a prison, this immense Gothic vessel from the 14th century was where the kings of France wielded their power. Visitors can see the cell of Marie Antoinette (where she spent her final night) and the Hall of the Men-at-Arms.
A combined ticket with the neighboring Sainte-Chapelle helps avoid the queue.
Place de la Concorde
It’s not a monument, but it holds one: the Luxor Obelisk. A gift from Egypt, it was erected in 1836 on the square where the guillotine once stood for forty years. It’s free, permanent, and tells two centuries of history in a single landmark.
Three museums are worth visiting on Place de la Concorde:
Musée de l'Hôtel de la Marine (3 exhibitions)
The Eiffel Tower for the altitude — Book Eiffel Tower tickets
The Arc de Triomphe to understand the city’s layout – Book Arc de Triomphe tickets
Sacré-Cœur Basilica for the most sweeping views, free from the forecourt.
Tour Saint-Jacques, the sole survivor of a vanished church, climbed only in summer and by reservation.
Bateaux Parisiens depart from the foot of the Eiffel Tower – Book your Seine cruise with Bateaux Parisiens – Departure from Musée des Arts Premiers-Jacques Chirac – Eiffel Tower – Port de la Bourdonnais 75007
The Bateaux-Mouches just a stone’s throw away – Book a Seine cruise – Departing from Pont de l’Alma 75008 – Port de la Conférence – Bateaux-Mouches
or alternatively Vedettes de Paris – Book an evening cruise – Vedettes de Paris – Departing from Tour Eiffel – 2 Port de Suffren 75007
or a little further away on the Île aux Cygnes, the Capitaine Fracasse cruises – Book a Capitaine Fracasse cruise – Departing from Île aux Cygnes – Pont de Bir-Hakeim
Others can be found at the exit of the Musée d'Orsay:
Vedettes de Paris – Book Paris: Seine dinner cruise with panoramic views and Champagne (Port Solférino – near Musée d'Orsay)
Paris-Canal Cruises - Seine and Canal Saint-Martin Cruise – Port Solferino – Musée d’Orsay – Parc de la Villette
Other companies depart from the Pont Neuf – Book a Vedettes du Pont-Neuf Cruise – Departure from Square Vert-Galant
A practical option: the Batobus Taxi Shuttles - Batobus River Taxi Booking (9 stops) (Hop-on Hop-off - 1 or 2-day pass - Easy to travel from one museum to another)
And finally, a fun curiosity: the Amphibious Bus, which travels on roads and the Seine River - Departing from the Champ-de-Mars near the Eiffel Tower - Amphibious Bus Booking – Departure from the Eiffel Tower - Learn more: Amphibious Bus Marcel the Duck, for a mixed land and Seine cruise
Book online for anything that requires payment: the queue without a ticket is sometimes longer than the visit itself.
Entry to all monuments, museums, and other paid sites in Paris can be booked online directly from our website: Click here on Reservations
Group by district rather than by preference — the Île de la Cité alone boasts three major landmarks.
Our Stay Generator automatically optimizes the “geographical” planning of everything you want to see or visit. Click here on Stay Generator or see below “Bonus: 5 key tips to help you plan and enjoy your stay in Paris.”
Check the day of closure, which varies from site to site and is almost never the same. Nearly all sites to visit are documented in our database. From our fact sheets, you’ll find contact links to get more information.
Arc de Triomphe — Austerlitz, World War I and the Unknown Soldier
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel — topped with the Horses of Saint Mark from Venice
Colonne Vendôme — a bronze shaft cast from Prussian cannons
Colonne de la Bastille and the July Revolution of 1830 — A memorial and a tomb
The Luxor Obelisk — a gift from Egypt, now standing in Place de la Concorde
Place Charles-de-Gaulle and its star-shaped layout of 12 converging avenues
The Catacombs
This curiosity brings our list to a close deep underground at twenty meters below the surface. It contains the bones of nearly six million Parisians transferred from unsanitary cemeteries in the late 18th century. Booking is essential, and the visit isn’t suitable for everyone (steep stairs). Don’t forget to dress warmly: the temperature of 14°C (57°F) remains constant year-round.
If you only have a weekend
Two days are enough to see the essentials, provided you don’t crisscross Paris in every direction. Geography dictates the itinerary.
Day one — Île de la Cité and the Left Bank
Start with Notre-Dame early in the morning — the forecourt features the statue of Charlemagne and the kilometre zero of France’s road network, which almost no one notices. Continue with Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie, which are right next to each other.
Cross the Pont Neuf — the oldest bridge in Paris still in service, completed in 1607 — then head up to the Panthéon. In the afternoon, visit Les Invalides and, if the weather permits, the Eiffel Tower at sunset.Day Two — The Historical Axis
From the Louvre courtyard and its pyramid, follow the Tuileries Gardens to Place de la Concorde, then the Champs-Élysées all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. It’s a nearly four-kilometer straight walk, mapped out over three centuries—plan on about an hour without stopping.
Finish at the Opéra Garnier, or, if you prefer the heights, at the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur and on Montmartre Hill.Paris Monuments That Cost Nothing
A large part of Paris’s most iconic monuments can be seen without a ticket.
Notre-Dame and Basilica of Sacré-Cœur are free to enter.
You can admire Place de la Concorde, Place de l’Étoile, Pont Alexandre-III, and Vendôme Column from the street.
The courtyards of several private mansions in the Marais — Hôtel de Sully, Hôtel de Sens — are open to the public and almost always deserted.
Paris Monuments to Climb
Four vantage points, four heights, four atmospheres.
See Paris’s Monuments from the Seine
The river remains the best guide. In just one hour, it lines up the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Conciergerie, Notre-Dame, and the Eiffel Tower without you having to walk. From the water, you also get a better sense of just how monumental the bridges themselves are. For example, the elegant Pont Alexandre-III with its ornate lampposts, and Pont Bir-Hakeim with its double-tiered structure.
Getting organized without wasting time
Three principles are worth more than a long list of tips.
One last point, often overlooked: several national monuments are free for those under 26 residing in the European Union. The same applies on the first Sunday of the month for everyone at some sites. It’s worth checking before purchasing.
All the Monuments of Paris, by Category
Arches, Columns and Squares
Palaces and grand buildings
Hôtel des Invalides in Paris — hospital, cathedral, military pantheon, and museums
Palais du Luxembourg — gardens, museum, and the Senate in one place
Palais de l'Élysée — seat of power and symbol of the French Republic
Palace of Chaillot and Trocadéro Gardens — Seat of the UN for two days
Grand Palais — A century of multidisciplinary exhibitions on the Avenue de la Grande Armée
Palais de Justice de la Cité — History of France and Paris
Conciergerie — Gothic monument, royal palace, court of justice, and prison
Tuileries Palace — A ghost in French history
8 centuries of construction: 13 kings built the Louvre Palace
Louvre Pyramid — a subject of controversy, aesthetic and technical breakthroughs
Hôtel de Ville de Paris — a history of uprisings, born from the 1871 fire
Palais Garnier — a Second Empire marvel, its construction and history
Sorbonne University — a historic university with a turbulent recent past
Paris Military Academy — a place of remembrance, an impressive monument
Economic, Social and Environmental Council — advisory chamber, debated utility
Historic Townhouses and Old Houses
Hôtel de Sully — the private mansion of Henri IV’s right-hand man
Sully Hotel — a beautiful private mansion, now the "Centre des monuments nationaux"
Hôtel de Sens — private mansion of the archbishops of Sens, built at the end of the 15th century
Hôtel de Beauvais — 5 historical facts
Hôtel de Mayenne — built in 1613 for Henri de Mayenne
Hôtel de Coislin, where Franco-American friendship was sealed forever
Hôtel d’Aumont — 150 years of private use, then 200 years serving the State
Hôtel Potocki — a perfectly preserved example of French classical architecture
Hôtel de Carnavalet – Musée de la vie parisienne — A glimpse into Parisian life in a unique setting
National Archives Museum — Stunning private mansions of Soubise and Rohan in the Marais
Medieval half-timbered houses of the Marais from the 15th century
Tzara House — Dada poet, minimalist aesthetic by Adolf Loos
The Bridges of the Seine
Pont Neuf — Paris’s oldest bridge still in use
Pont Alexandre-III — built in honor of the Tsar, elegant and refined
Pont Bir-Hakeim — exceptional views and a symbol of World War II
Pont de la Concorde — a bridge steeped in history
Pont Royal — destroyed several times but still standing
Pont au Change — a link between the Pompidou Museum and the Latin Quarter
Pont Debilly in Paris — a bridge between places of memory, with unique views
Pont Mirabeau — the name of an ambiguous revolutionary
Towers, bell towers and ruins
Eiffel Tower — a technical and commercial feat, symbol of France
Saint-Jacques Tower on the Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostela
Saint-Jacques Tower in Paris — a story, the start of a pilgrimage
Clock Tower of the Palais de la Cité — Paris’s oldest clock
Places of memory and tombs
Panthéon of Paris — the nation’s temple to France’s great figures
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
Memorial to the Templar Jacques de Molay at Square du Vert-Galant
Paris Catacombs — a meeting place for 6 million Parisians
Sainte-Chapelle — a masterpiece touched by grace, once threatened with disappearance
On the outskirts of Paris
Palace of Versailles — gardens, park, Trianon and Queen’s Hamlet
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte — Fouquet’s masterpiece and Louis XIV’s wrath
Chantilly — château, horses and an unmissable gem near Paris
Bonus: 5 Essential Tips to Help You Plan and Enjoy Your Stay in Paris
Have you noticed that our website provides you with tools to help you easily organize your trip to Paris so that your stay is a stress-free success?
1. Phrasebook Translator for Those Who Don’t Speak French Fluently
Do you struggle to find the right word or phrase in French? Click here on PHRASEBOOK – or at the top right of your screen. It’s a lexicon of 100 useful words and/or phrases for a tourist visiting Paris. At restaurants, hotels, shopping, the metro, greetings, asking for directions, etc. Eight languages are available. And guess what? Each word and phrase can also be heard in French.
2. VPBY’s Stay Generator
There are many interesting and educational things to see in Paris. We strongly recommend organizing your stay well. To help you, we offer you FREE access to our Trip Planner.
In just 5 minutes and 5 clicks, you’ll get your half-day itinerary, with all the reservations for the sites you want to visit. No obligation. You can also book your transportation (plane, train, or car) and your accommodation. We’ll even suggest valuable gift ideas for you, your friends, and your family.
How does it work?
Click on “Paris Trip Organizer,” completely free, to avoid racking your brain trying to see as much as possible in the shortest time. Then, you’ll need to make your choices:
1/ Choose your "general preferences" by clicking on the list (Museums, Churches, Monuments, Parks, etc.);
2/ The VPBY Trip Planner will then provide you with a selection of relevant profiles;
3/ You select by clicking on the names of the museums, monuments, parks, or activities you wish to include;
4/ The organizer will return your itinerary for each day of your stay;
5/ with geographically optimized daily visits—if you wish—to avoid tedious and tiring travel.
It takes just 5 clicks and 3 minutes. And it’s completely free. To use it, click on "Paris Trip Planner."
Note: Want to know what users of the VPBY Trip Planner think of their experience? Click on "They planned their trip with VPBY."
3. List of Reservations to Make
To avoid wasting time waiting in line, we recommend making your reservations online a few days in advance. All official reservations are available and can be found on our website:
Reservations to enter museums, monuments, shows, and Seine River cruises
Reservations for your arrival in France: flights, trains, and cars
Reservations for your accommodation: hotels, apartments, and guesthouses – in Paris or nearby
You’ll find links to all these reservations directly in the articles about the attractions that interest you or in the self-guided itineraries of our walks. By clicking on "Reservations" in the header bar, you’ll have access to all the reservations you’ll need during your stay. For example:
Notre-Dame de Paris entry reservation (Free entry but reservation recommended to avoid queues)
Book Château de Versailles: Entry Ticket + Gardens Access + Trianon Estate
4. Collecting High-Quality Paris Keepsake Photos
These are high-definition collectible photos available in digital format or as long-lasting prints (75 to 100 years). Sizes range from postcard to large format (1m or more). A lifelong keepsake to decorate your home. Quality souvenirs (unlike cheap plastic Eiffel Towers or snow globes). At very affordable prices. Click on:
5. Take home a personalized photo report of your stay in Paris
Photography by professional photographers in Paris at locations of your choice or suggested by us. A "family" report, wedding, or other events. From 1 hour to a full day. The best quality-to-price ratio. Click on: