The Eiffel Tower and Champs-Élysées

No landmark is as recognized as the Eiffel Tower. Even if you choose not to go to the top (there are other great viewpoints in the city that don’t have the line or the cost), you can still stop by on your way to shopping at the Avenue de Champs-Élysées.

Nearby is the Arc de Triomphe, which you can also go to the top. Also near the Eiffel Tower, there are boat tours to view the city from the river Seine.

Notre Dame and Sainte Chappelle

Notre Dame Cathedral is located on an island, Île de la Cité, located in the center of Paris. It sadly caught fire in 2019 and is closed, but is scheduled to reopen in 2024. It is still beautiful from the outside and well worth visiting. Additionally, once it reopens, you can visit the underground crypts.

Across the street to the west is Sainte Chappelle, a gothic cathedral with beautiful long stained glass windows.

Musée du Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and other museums

There are so many museum in Paris, you could see one every day for a month and probably not visit them all. Below I will highlight some of the more popular options.

No visit to Paris is compete without a stop at the Louvre Museum. It can be an all day visit as the museum occupies multiple blocks and has numerous levels. You can see famous art such as the Mona Lisa, the Stairway to Vicotry, the Venus de Milo and many more.

Another popular museum is the Orsay Museum, which has one of the best collections of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by masters like Monet and Renoir. Be aware that because it is smaller than the Louvre, it can feel very busy at times.

While we were in Paris, we also visited the Paris Museum of Modern Art. Additionally, some other popular art museums that we didn’t visit, include the Musée de l’Orangerie, the Picasso Museum and the Monet Museum.

Montmartre and Sacré Coeur

Montmartre is a neighborhood and hill located directly to the north of central Paris. High atop Montmartre is the Sacré Coeur Cathedral. It is both beautiful to take a peak inside and to get amazing views of Paris.

The easy way to view Montmartre is to take the funicular to the top and then walk the street to the bottom. The streets are lined with beautiful architecture, cafes and art vendors.

Palace of Versailles

At the Palace of Versailles, we did an audio tour of the palace, viewed the famous Hall of Mirrors, and toured the grounds.

A majority of visitors only visit the main palace. However, there is a lot more to see on the grounds and we really enjoyed the other sites that were far less crowded. Beyond the gardens is the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet. The hamlet is the sanctuary of Marie Antoinette, who found comfort in ordinary life far from the French Revolution that was developing in Paris.

ALSO CONSIDER VISITING THESE NEARBY AREAS

Be sure to check out our Paris and Italy 2 week itinerary to see the route we took! From Paris you have access either by car, train, boat or train to most of the rest of Western Europe. It makes for a great jumping off point to Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland or other sights in France. Also, consider some of these international destinations.