Paris, France

The historic center of Paris is a small island on the river Seine called Île de la Cité. This is where the earliest Celtic peoples founded a trading town. During the Roman empire, Paris expanded onto each bank of the Seine.

When Rome fell, the Franks re-founded the city on Île de la Cité, and up though the Middle Ages it was an important military and political center. Many municipal buildings such as courts sit alongside the Île’s historic cathedrals.

The island is considered the center of Paris, and therefore the center of France. Mileage on all French roads is measured from a point just in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was erected on the island beginning in the 10th century.

One of the most famous cathedrals in the world, Notre-Dame is considered the height of Gothic architecture. Its ornate sculptures, gargoyles, and sheer size contribute to its fame, as does a novel about a hunchback living in its towers. 

Part of what makes Paris appealing are its many gardens, which serve as parks for recreation, relaxation, or just walking around. The Tuileries along the Seine is one of the largest and most central, serving as access to some of Paris’s most famous monuments and museums.

It provides a shady resting point in the very heart of one of the world’s busiest cities.

The gardens are relatively formal, with symmetrical plantings of trees, lawns, and flowers. The Tuileries is capped at each end by a public square: Place du Carousel near the Louvre, and Place de la Concorde at its west end.

The most famous icon of Paris was actually controversial when built. The 324-meter (1,063-foot) cast-iron structure was completed for the 1889 World’s Fair, and was the tallest man-made structure until 1930.

Critics objected to its massive size and “raw” construction style, but it quickly became an icon of the city. Today, it puts on a sparkling “champagne” light show every night and hosts Paris’s New Year’s Eve and Bastille Day fireworks. 

Elevators bring visitors to several levels within the tower. They include observation decks, restaurants, and even a post office to send home cards with a unique postmark. Close to 7 million people ascend the tower every year.

The Right Bank, or north side of the Seine, has a general reputation as being wealthier and more formal than the left. It is home to banking and shopping districts. However, both sides are home to museums and monuments.

The broad, 1.9 kilometers (1.2 mi) long Champs-Élysées runs from one end of Paris to another, joining with other major streets that run along the same line, called the Axe Historique.

The avenue was laid out in 1667 by André Le Nôtre, who also designed the park at the famed Palace of Versailles. Today, the Champs-Élysées is lined with high-fashion boutiques offering goods from the world’s top designers. 

The Grand Palais, erected in 1900, has a domed roof made of glass—its interior is filled with light. The palace was built as an exhibition hall, and today hosts art galleries and occasionally fashion shows.

Two round theaters are visible in this view. Théâtre Marigny, shown here, and the Théâtre du Rond-Point still host shows. The Théâtre du Rond-Point focuses on the work of living playwrights.

This massive, 50-meter (164-foot) tall marble monument honors those who died in the French Revolution and the following Napoleonic Wars. The Arc de Triomphe is a major landmark along the Axe Historique, and forms one end of the Champs-Élysées.

During times of war, military parades pass under its sculpted columns. In times of peace, tourists and everyday Parisians gaze at it from the enormous traffic circle at its feet.

Napoleon’s successor appointed Georges-Eugene Haussmann to remodel much of Paris in 1853. Haussmann replaced dark, crowded streets with broad, light-filled avenues in a characteristic hub-and-spoke pattern. Later leaders restricted building heights within the city, keeping its classical character.

Many buildings in Paris use the same material, a cream-colored rock called Lutetian limestone. This, plus the uniform height and style of many buildings, gives Paris a remarkably unified, cohesive style of bright, distinctive city blocks.

This enormous white stone church is not nearly as famous as Notre-Dame or some of Paris’s other cathedrals, but it has an advantage that draws tourists. It is located on Montmartre, the highest hill in Paris, and has a grand view of the city even from the front steps.

Construction of the basilica began in 1875, and was completed in 1914. The Basilica is still an active church, and has become a landmark of the city.

The Basilica’s design includes domes and arches that are characteristic of Byzantine architecture, a style not often seen in Western Europe. It contrasts with the more ornate Gothic cathedrals and highly decorated palaces, though it is still very complex.

Montmartre is both a hill and a neighborhood. The Basilica stands out not just because of its position at the top, but also because it is surrounded by nightclubs, rock-music venues, and bars.

Sitting almost unnoticed next to the gleaming white Basilica is the church of Saint-Pierre. It does not get many visitors, but this is one of the oldest churches in Paris. It claims to be where the Jesuit order began.

This complex of buildings is known as the Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids). Construction of Les Invalides was ordered by Louis XIV in 1670. The complex includes museums and monuments in honor of French military history.

It also contains a church and mortuary, or graveyard, holding the remains of some of France’s most honored military heroes.

Les Invalides, or “the invalids,” was built to honor and serve members of the French military. It held a hospital, housing, a church specifically for aged and unwell soldiers. It still offers services for veterans, including medical care and a retirement home.

The Musée de l'Armée houses a collection of cannons, weapons, and armor dating back to the Middle Ages. It also houses the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, an unusual collection of scale models of French fortresses once used for military planning.

La Défense, Paris’s business district is visible on the horizon, just outside the main city. Unlike other parts of Paris, La Défense is a towering collection of modern skyscrapers. Its glass towers were kept outside of the main city, to preserve the historic beauty of Paris. 

This specialized section of the city is home to finance and banking firms and other companies and corporations you would expect to find in the largest city in Europe. 

The Center for New Industries and Technologies is a convention center. It houses trade shows, global meetings, and other business gatherings. It also holds shops and a hotel.

La Défense is not entirely separate from the rest of Paris. The Axe Historique continues along the Avenue de la Grande Armée, directly linking the Grande Arche de la Défense to the Arc de Triomphe.