Paris attractions

Home to one of the largest collections of Asian art outside Asia, the Guimet Museum (Musée Guimet) houses over 60,000 objects drawn from around the continent, from China to Afghanistan, including sculptures, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, and scrolls. The Paris museum hosts several temporary exhibitions each year.

France’s largest museum of its kind, the Museum of Jewish Art and History (Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme) traces the history, art, and cultures of Jewish communities in France, Europe, and North Africa. The Parisian museum explores more than 2,000 years of the Jewish presence in France.

Located in the village of Auvers-sur-Oise northwest of Paris, the Maison de van Gogh was where Vincent van Gogh spent the final 70 days of his life—renting a humble room in its attic and producing nearly 70 works. Today, the landmark has been restored to its 19th century appearance—you can see van Gogh’s room, plus the room of another contemporaneous artist, Anton Hirschig.

The Parc des Princes stadium, which opened in 1972 in southwestern Paris, France is the home turf of one of Europe’s top football (soccer) teams: Paris Saint-Germain. When it’s not hosting matches, the 49,000-capacity arena is one of the city’s premier venues for outdoor sporting events and major concerts by international music acts.

Smack-bang in the center of Paris, the 1st arrondissement stretches along the Right Bank and the western part of the Île de la Cité. It’s home to some of the city’s oldest monuments and most famous attractions, from the iconic Louvre Museum and the flower-filled Tuileries Garden (Jardin des Tuileries) to the medieval Sainte-Chapelle with its magnificent stained-glass windows.

Walking the quaint cobbled streets of Butte-aux-Cailles, it’s easy to forget that you’re in Paris. With its rows of petite painted townhouses, family-run brasseries, and tiny boutiques, this atmospheric neighborhood feels like a rural village, despite being not too far south of the city center along the Seine River. In recent years, it has built a reputation for street art.

Famed for its romantic ambiance and tranquility, Buttes-Chaumont Park (Parc des Buttes-Chaumont) may not be one of Paris' most-visited green spaces, but it is all the better for it. Commissioned by Napoleon III and constructed in a disused quarry, the park features a lake, waterfalls, and ornamental gardens, as well as architectural follies such as the Temple de la Sybille.

From its neoclassical facade to its rich interior, the Odéon-Théatre de l'Europe radiates Parisian grandeur in the heart of the Left Bank (Rive Gauche). Inaugurated by Marie-Antoinette, this is where Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro premiered in 1784. Destroyed and reconstructed twice, it remains a premier destination for a wide range of theatrical performances, whether classic or avant-garde.

Choco-Story Paris (Musée du Chocolat) is a delectable museum dedicated to the history and production of chocolate. An ideal stop for sweet treat lovers of all ages, the museum includes exhibits dedicated to chocolate history and lore as far back as the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, vintage packaging, chocolate memorabilia, virtual demonstrations by chocolatiers, towering chocolate sculptures, hands-on workshops, plus plenty of samples to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Housing the world’s largest collection of works by Claude Monet, the Marmottan Monet Museum (Musée Marmottan Monet) is a premier destination for art lovers. While the Monet paintings—among them Impression, Sunrise and a collection of Water Lilies—take center stage, the museum boasts a long list of Impressionist artists, including Rodin, Delacroix, Manet, Boudin, Morisot, Gauguin, Pissarro, Chagall, and many more.

Located across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, the Paris Aquarium—also known as the Cinéaqua—is the most prominent aquarium in the city. Host to a shark tunnel, more than 10,000 marine species, a movie theater, and other attractions, it was founded in the 19th century, making it one of the world’s first aquariums. Visit this family-friendly destination to admire diverse critters that hail from French waters and overseas French territories.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of France’s largest châteaux, the magnificent Château de Fontainebleau boasts a rich resume of royal inhabitants, including Henry IV, Louis XV, and Napoleon. Built in the 12th century, the palace displays a remarkable variety of architectural styles, and the interiors are covered in frescoes, paintings, and tapestries, along with gilded touches. The grounds span 321 acres (130 hectares), including courtyards, gardens, and parks.

Originally known as the Jardin du Roi, the Jardin des Plantes was founded in 1626 as King Louis XIII’s personal herb garden. Today, the expansive botanical garden is the largest and most important in France, and it includes thousands of plant species, museums, a zoo, and more. It’s also one of the world’s oldest and grandest gardens; it has been delighting the public for almost 400 years.

The Fragonard Perfume Museum (Musée du Parfum), situated just steps from the iconic Opéra Garnier in Paris’s 9th arrondissement, offers an immersive and multisensory journey into the world of fragrance. Housed in a beautifully restored 19th-century townhouse, the museum is sponsored by Maison Fragonard, a legendary French perfume house established in Grasse—the historic capital of perfume—in 1926. Inside, visitors are treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the art and science of perfume-making.

Home to the prestigious French Open, Stade Roland Garros is more than just a tennis venue—it’s a cornerstone of French sports history. Visitors can take a behind-the-scenes tour to explore areas like the locker rooms, press center, and Court Philippe-Chatrier, where you’ll get an up-close look at the famous red clay. Tournament season runs annually in May and June.

Paris’ business district is home to office buildings and other high-rise structures, developed in this area just outside the city limits to preserve the historical landscape of central Paris. Not many visitors make it out to La Défense, but those who do are rewarded with modern art and architecture that provide a new perspective on the city. Here, you’ll also find an open-air museum with 50 works of contemporary art.

The Musée du Luxembourg holds an important place in Parisian cultural heritage: It was the first public painting gallery in the capital and, later, its first museum of contemporary art. The museum is housed within the Orangery, a standalone building in the Luxembourg Gardens (Jardin du Luxembourg), and hosts temporary exhibitions twice a year, making it a must-visit for traveling art lovers.

Montparnasse Cemetery (Cimetière du Montparnasse), Paris’ second-largest cemetery, sprawls across 47 acres (19 hectares) of gravesites that range from simple to elaborate, and cluster around elegant boulevards lined with linden, maple, and ash trees. Visitors come to pay their respects to greats, including Charles Baudelaire, Serge Gainsbourg, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir; some leave gifts and mementos on plots that have become unofficial public memorials.

Housed in a Frank Gehry-designed building, La Cinémathèque has one of the largest collections of films and movie memorabilia in the world. Trace the history of film, from its infancy to the modern age, via impressive exhibitions of costumes, props, posters, and cult objects—then catch a screening of a classic flick in the roomy theater.

Over 3,000 years old, the Luxor Obelisk (Obélisque de Louxor)—which stands 75 feet (23 meters) high and is decorated with hieroglyphic carvings—was gifted to France by Egypt in 1829. Situated in Place de la Concorde, where guillotine executions were carried out during the French Revolution, the obelisk has since become a symbol of peace for the country.

Located on the same site as the ruins of the Port-Royal des Champs Abbey in Magny-les-Hameaux, the eponymous national museum houses a collection of artworks from the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to the abbey ruins and museum, the grounds feature an orchard, gardens, and an old farmhouse.

Mickey Mouse might be the star of the show at Disneyland Paris, but arguably the most famous cartoon in France is Astérix, based on the adventures of the small but mighty Gaulish warrior and his sidekick, Obelix. Parc Astérix, France’s second most popular theme park, has roller coasters, family-friendly rides, live shows, and a set inspired by ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian history.

The Stade de France is the country’s largest sports and entertainment venue, and has been France’s national stadium since 1998. With a capacity exceeding 80,000, it has hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and the 1998 FIFA World Cup, as well as concerts by artists including Madonna, Beyoncé, and The Rolling Stones.

The Musée des Arts et Métiers is one of Paris’ most unusual and fascinating cultural institutions. Housed in the former priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, the museum holds more than 80,000 scientific instruments and inventions that range from an original version of Foucault’s Pendulum to some of the world’s first planes.

Located within the Cité de la Musique with its white walls and Colosseum-like curves, the Musée de la Musique has a collection of thousands of rare instruments and artistic objects, and hosts daily concerts in its galleries. From long halls housing rows of intricately crafted concert harps to a lively percussion room with painted drums hanging from the ceiling, the exhibits at the Musée de la Musique explore traditions of music from around the world.

With a highly distinctive focus, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs in Paris is home to a collection of 3-dimensional military scale models (known as plans-reliefs), some of which date back to the mid-17th century. Set inside the Hôtel des Invalides, the museum lets you experience how fortified towns in France and beyond once looked.

Admire a wide array of contemporary and modern art at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, which epitomizes the luxury brand’s commitment to art and culture. Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry (of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao fame), the innovative, glass-paneled structure is a work of art in itself. One of the top examples of contemporary buildings in Paris, it’s a must-see for architecture buffs.

From the island monastery of Mont Saint Michel to the Palace of Versailles, the France Miniature theme park on the outskirts of Paris is home to all of France’s most beloved tourist attractions and historical monuments—in miniature! More than a hundred 1:30 scale models are displayed in the park, laid out in a map of France, along with plenty of fun, interactive games and rides for children.

Known as the “Village of Painters,” Barbizon is a jewel-like town perched on the edge of the Fontainebleau Forest just outside Paris. Home in the 19th century to the Barbizon School of French painters—including Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet—today the town is a popular day trip from Paris for its postcard-perfect charm.

What Brooklyn is to New York City, some say the 10th arrondissement is to Paris. It’s young, hip, diverse, and filled with inviting restaurants, bars, boutiques, music venues, and theaters. The district is also home to a vast collection of architectural gems, most notably the Gare du Nord and the Gare de l’Est, Paris’ main train stations.