Paris attractions

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.

Located on the outskirts of Paris, in the suburb of Saint-Denis, this magnificent basilica is renowned for housing the tombs of France’s monarchs: 43 kings and 32 queens, as well as 60 princes and princesses. With both Romanesque and Gothic design features, the Basilique de Saint-Denis also has stained glass windows dating back to the 12th century and intricate vaulted ceilings. While a bit far from the city center, it is well worth the detour.

The largest artificial “lake” in Paris, the Bassin de la Villette (La Villette Basin) was built in the 19th century as a link between the Canal Saint-Martin and the Canal de l’Ourcq. Measuring 2,624 feet (800 meters) in length and 230 feet (70 meters) in width, the lake is especially popular in the summer, when locals come to swim and enjoy festivals and other outdoor events.

Completed in 1929, Villa Savoye is a sleek, minimalist country house in the suburbs of Paris, which represents one of the most groundbreaking designs in 20th-century architecture. Designed by legendary Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, who was inspired by steamships and other modern technologies, the building illustrates his famous saying: “The house is a machine for living.” Villa Savoye is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with other Le Corbusier-designed locations in India, Japan, and Argentina.

Fittingly located within the Paris-Le Bourget business airport, the Air and Space Museum is one of the world’s largest and oldest museums dedicated to aeronautics. Inside the cavernous hangar, there’s a planetarium with flight simulators, plus more than 150 aircraft, including a 747, Concorde, DC3, Mirage, and an Ariane rocket. There’s also an array of rare aviation memorabilia, dating back as far as the 16th century.

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal attracts pilgrims from all over the world who come to pray and ask for the Virgin Mary’s protection. It’s believed that a young nun named Saint Catherine Labouré saw several apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1830. Following these visions, she designed the Miraculous Medal, based on Mary’s instructions, which visitors often purchase when visiting this magnificent building.

Paris’ 9th arrondissement, also known as the Opéra district, is a fascinating mix of 19th-century architecture and hip 21st-century cultural trends. Notable for being home to the Palais Garnier, or Paris Opera House, this district also hosts plenty of upscale shops, fashionable bars and restaurants, and a handful of museums and galleries. Stay here, and you’ll get a good look at Paris, old and new.

Few Paris districts are as iconic as the 7th arrondissement, which stretches along the Left Bank of the River Seine from the Champ de Mars to Quai Voltaire. This is where you’ll find the Eiffel Tower, renowned art galleries including the Musée d’Orsay and the Rodin Museum (Musée Rodin), and the landmark Les Invalides, home to Napoleon’s Tomb.

Immortalized by impressionist painter Claude Monet, Monceau Park (Parc Monceau), located in western Paris' 8th arrondissement, is one of the most elegant public gardens in the city. The 18th-century, English-style landscape garden is famed for its architectural follies, including a picturesque, neoclassical colonnade and a bridge inspired by Venice's Rialto Bridge. Its proximity to many popular Paris attractions makes it a great place to take a break from sightseeing.

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.

The 12th Arrondissement on the right bank of the River Seine is best known for the Bois de Vincennes, the largest park in Paris. Stroll through its English landscape garden and enjoy its lakes, botanical garden, and arboretum. Foodies can also explore the nearby Bercy Village, a restored wine market with cobblestone streets, and Marché d’Aligre food market. Other highlights include the Bastille Opera House (Opéra Bastille) and Musée de la Cinémathèque, a museum and movie theater.

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 is composed of 20 arrondissements, or districts, arranged in a clockwise spiral with ascending numbers, starting from the 1st arrondissement in the center. Visit the 13th arrondissement to experience the city’s Asian Quarter (Quartier Asiatique), a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood with shops and restaurants specializing in food from across East Asia, and to see the more than two dozen murals that add color to its streets.

At the turn of the 20th century, Bercy was home to the world’s biggest wine markets; today, the old storage warehouses and wine cellars have been transformed into one of Paris’s premium shopping and entertainment destinations. More than 30 shops and boutiques flank the cobbled lanes and old railway tracks, offering an open-air shopping experience that feels far removed from the bustle of central Paris.

The Bastille viaduct opened in 1857, at the start of the French administrator Haussmann’s modernization of Paris. The Paris to Bastille-Varenne railway line was replaced a century later by the Regional Express Network (RER) line A. The elevated railway tracks were transformed into a green walkway called the Promenade Plantée. Meanwhile, the vaulted arches below the elevated line were given over to craftspeople as the Viaduc des Arts. Today, these 41 artisan studios still form one of Paris’s coolest and most in-the-know art districts.

The French National Museum of Natural History (Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle) is a constellation of museum sites across France, established during the 17th century and still inspiring locals and visitors alike. The oldest, Paris’ Jardin des Plantes, remains the flagship, where galleries, greenhouses, gardens, and a zoo invite guests to appreciate the natural world. Permanent and temporary exhibits at the Jardin des Plantes are wide-ranging, from showcasing nearby nature to explorations of far-flung destinations.

Once home to slaughterhouses and considered an industrial wasteland, La Villette Park (Parc de la Villette)—situated on the northeastern edge of Paris—is now one of the city’s largest parks. It has become a cultural heavyweight since its inauguration in the 1980s, and is home to museums, concert venues, exhibition spaces, and contemporary architecture, along with numerous themed gardens. Stretching across 87 acres (35 hectares), this dynamic park is a popular destination for education, leisure, culture, and family-friendly activities.

Located next to the Sèvres porcelain factory on the edge of Paris, the Sévres National Ceramics Museum (Musée National de Ceramique de Sèvres) houses a collection of around 55,000 items, representing ceramic arts from around the world and many different styles dating from the Middle Ages to the contemporary era. A visit to this museum offers fascinating insights into the craft of clay.

Paris’ most famous ice cream shop has had visitors queuing up for a scoop since it opened in 1954. Using a secret recipe passed down and perfected through the ages—made with all-natural ingredients, no sweeteners, and no preservatives—the family-run tea room and shop on Île Saint-Louis has more than 70 different ice cream and sorbet flavors. Grab a cone to go or sit down to indulge in a cream and pistachio-topped sundae.

This leafy park is home to everything that kids find fun. Playgrounds, funfair rides, fountains, boats, mini roller coasters, and a petting zoo beckon from Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne. Giving a sense of immersion in nature within the city, the park appeals to adults, too, with its retro, belle epoque rides and a less hectic vibe than other larger theme parks.

This wooded hill overlooking the Marne Valley was the site of the fierce 1918 Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I, when U.S. Marines recaptured the woods on the Metz-Paris road around Chateau-Thierry from German forces. Today, Belleau Wood is home to a vast cemetery and memorial to honor the soldiers who fought and died there.

Opened in 2017, the Musée Yves Saint Laurent is located inside the designer’s haute couture house in Paris, where he spent almost three decades working. Rotating displays and themed exhibitions showcase the fashion icon’s body of work and design process, offering a rare glimpse into his inner sanctum.

The Museum of Fairground Art (Musée des Arts Forains) takes you behind the scenes of a traditional 19th-century funfair, and you can even hop aboard its attractions and take a ride. Housed in the old Pavillons de Bercy wine warehouses at the south end of the Parc de Bercy, the private collection includes wooden carousels, vintage merry-go-rounds, and Belle Époque funfair games, most of them in full working order.

An architectural gem on the grounds of one of France’s most dazzling châteaus, the Great Stables (Grandes Écuries de Chantilly) are like no other stables you’ve seen before. According to legend, the Bourbon prince who built them believed he would be reincarnated as a horse, and commissioned architect Jean Aubert to create stables to suit his rank—a design that became this equine palace.

Constructed over two centuries, the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of Paris’s most beloved landmarks. Having reopened in stages across 2024 and 2025—following the devastating fires in 2019—many people come here just to admire the building’s exterior Gothic architecture. But climb the 422 steps to the top of the twin towers and you’ll be rewarded with exquisite views of the city, shared with the church’s fantastical gargoyles.

The Paris Orly Airport (ORY), or Aéroport de Paris-Orly, was built in 1932 and is the city’s secondary airport, after Charles de Gaulle. However, with almost 30 million passengers per year, it could hardly be considered a small transportation hub, despite primarily serving budget and regional airlines.

Located in the Château d’Écouen some 12 miles (20 kilometers north of Paris, the National Museum of the Renaissance is a prestigious exhibition of decorative arts from the 16th and 17th centuries. Ranging from paintings, tapestries, glassware, furniture, ceramics, weaponry, silverware, and stained glass, the collection is complemented by the château’s Renaissance origins.

The Théâtre des Nouveautés got its start way back in 1827. Once home to vaudeville performances and comic operas, the venue saw many reinventions and renovations over the decades, with leading actors of the early 20th century eventually gracing its stage. In recent years it became known for more avant-garde programming, as well as a popular one-man show by humorist Olivier Giraud.

Renowned for its history and grandeur, as well as its association with the Impressionists, the Château d’Auvers-sur-Oise makes a convenient day trip from Paris. Just 30 minutes north of the city, the 17th-century landmark offers architectural splendor, ornamental gardens, and a multimedia art exhibition.

The 8th arrondissement, located on the Right Bank of the River Seine, is one of central Paris' primary business districts, as well as a popular tourist destination. Home to world-famous attractions including the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, and the Champs-Élysées, the neighborhood is also filled with high-end hotels, lavish restaurants, destination-worthy museums, and luxury boutiques. Come prepared to see and be seen.