Paris Sightseeing

Tourist information:
Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau
25 rue des Pyramides, 1st, Paris
Tel: 0892 683 000.
Website: www.parisinfo.com
Opening times: Daily 0900-1900 (Jun-Oct); Mon-Sat 1000-1900, Sun 1100-1900 (Nov-May).
Further tourist offices can be found throughout Paris, including at Gare de Lyon, 20 boulevard Diderot, 12th, Gare du Nord, 18 rue de Dunkerque, 10th, and Opera, 11 rue Scribe, 9th.

Passes:
The Museum Pass (www.museums-of-paris.com) allows free unlimited access to more than 70 museums and monuments in the Paris region, including the Arc de Triomphe, Musée National du Louvre, Musée d'Orsay and Musée Rodin. The two-, four- or six-day pass is available from tourist offices, participating museums and monuments, the main métro stations and FNAC stores. It allows visitors to bypass queues but does not provide free admission to special or temporary exhibitions.
Arc de Triomphe
Commissioned by Napoleon to commemorate the victorious French Army, the Arc de Triomphe has been a defining symbol of Paris ever since its completion in 1836. Engraved on the arch are numerous names of important and not-so-important victories and beneath it lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Visitors can reach the 50m-tall (164ft) top of the arch for stunning views of Paris, including the Louvre and the Champs-Elysées, or tour the museum inside which charts the history and construction of the arch.
Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Sacred-Heart Basilica)
A long, wide series of steps lead to the snowy-white domed Basilique du Sacré-Coeur that dominates the arty district of Montmartre. A mishmash of styles, the Catholic church was built between 1870 and 1919, to fulfil a vow made during the Franco-Prussian war. The interior is splendid with neo-Byzantine mosaics and the domed tower offers a spectacular view over Paris. The crypt contains an interesting collection of religious relics and a slide show on the construction of the Basilica. Below the church, a park tumbles down the hillside in a flurry of benches that make an ideal spot for surveying the Paris skyline.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
Begun in 1163 by the architect Maurice de Sully and completed in about 1345, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ranks as one of France's finest examples of Gothic architecture. It has also been the site of many historical events, including the crowning of Henry VI of England in 1430, and the marriage of the Catholic Marguerite de Valois to the Protestant Henri de Navarre in 1572, which sparked the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre during the French Wars of Religion. Today, the cathedral still awes visitors with its massive rose windows, 7,800-pipe organ, towering spire and splayed flying buttresses. Visitors should be prepared to climb the 387 spiral steps to the top of the 75m (246ft) north tower. The views over the River Seine and the city centre are well worth the effort.
Centre Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou Centre)
Considered outrageous in 1977, the Pompidou Centre, designed by Piano and Rogers, has become part of the Parisian landscape, primary coloured tubes and all. The building was revamped and extended a few years ago, to cope with the huge numbers of people visiting its expanding collection of contemporary art and multimedia library.
Cimetière du Père Lachaise (Père Lachaise Cemetery)
The Cimetière du Père Lachaise, which occupies 44 hectares (109 acres) on the eastern edge of Paris, is one of the city's less obvious attractions, yet features on many a visitor's itinerary. The cemetery is named after the Jesuit priest Père François de la Chaise, who was confessor to Louis XIV, and quickly became the most prestigious burial ground in the whole of the city, due to its location and royal connections. Some 70,000 graves adorn the site, with famous names including writers, such as Molière, La Fontaine, Balzac and Oscar Wilde, singers Edith Piaf and Maria Callas, composer Frédéric Chopin and impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Jim Morrison's grave invariably attracts the most attention.
Grande Mosquée de Paris (Paris Grand Mosque)
Built between 1922 and 1926, close to the Jardin des Plantes, this Hispano-Moorish mosque caters for France's Muslim community. There is free access and guided tours to the sunken garden and patios. The prayer room, however, remains closed to the non-Muslim public. There is also an authentic hammam (Turkish bath) with masseurs at hand, as well as a wonderful mosaic courtyard complete with fig trees and a fountain - the perfect setting for enjoying a sweet mint tea served in tiny gilded glasses with some honeyed baklava.
Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Garden)
This garden, part formal, part jardin à l'anglaise, was created for Marie de Médicis (Henri IV's widow), along with the Palais du Luxembourg, which now houses the French Senate. It is a favoured spot for a Sunday stroll, game of tennis, chess or boules, pony ride or yacht trip on the lake.
Musée d'Orsay (Orsay Museum)
This magnificently restored railway station houses the French national collection of art from 1848 to 1914. Since opening in 1986, the museum has attracted pilgrims from far and wide who come to take in the stunning collection of Impressionist and Post Impressionist art. Paintings include Manet's Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), five Monet canvases of Rouen Cathedral, ballet scenes by Dégas, and works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec. The museum's restaurant is a finely decorated dining room, preserved in its original state, and popular with its many visitors.
Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum)
Constructed as a fortress in the Middle Ages and rebuilt in the mid-16th century as a royal palace, it wasn't until 1793 that the Louvre became a museum. Today, it is the home of some of the world's most famous works of art, including the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. The rest of the permanent collection includes Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Egyptian and oriental antiquities, as well as sculptures, objets d'art and prints and drawings. Entrance to the museum is through the largest of the three glass pyramids that dominate the courtyard. The huge global success of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, which opens with the murder of the museum's curator in the Louvre Museum, has swelled visitor numbers.
Musée Picasso (Picasso Museum)
Paris-based Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) owned most of this collection, one of the largest worldwide, housed in a stunning 17th-century mansion in the Marais. All phases of his art are represented, with preparatory sketches and paintings covering the Blue Period, Rose Period, cubism, classicism and surrealism, and sculptures ranging from a huge plaster head to a small cat. Memorable works include the Blue Period self-portrait Paolo as Harlequin, the surreal Nude in an Armchair and poignant paintings of Marie-Thérèse, his lover and muse. There is also a glimpse of the artist's personal taste in paintings, with his Matisse and Cézanne paintings displayed alongside his own.
Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum)
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) lived and worked in this 18th-century hôtel particulier, now the Rodin Museum, and his sculptures populate the interior and gardens. Indoors, The Kiss portrays eternal passion frozen in white marble, while The Hand of God gives life to creamy white, half-formed figures. Works of Rodin's mistress and pupil, Camille Claudel, and paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Rodin himself are also on display. The gardens are graced by the monumental bronze The Thinker, whose godly physique contrasts sharply with the decrepitude of the writhing figures of The Gates of Hell and the controversial final portrait of Balzac, once described as 'a block that disgraces its author and French Art'.
Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower)
The Eiffel Tower literally towers over the Champ de Mars in Paris's smart 7th arrondissement. The top (third) floor offers a sweeping panorama of Paris. From directly underneath, there is a fascinating view of the delicate ironwork constructed by Gustave Eiffel, who was commissioned to build the tower for the Exposition Universelle in 1889 - the centenary of the French Revolution. The Tour Eiffel is also home to a number of restaurants, which offer views of the city and sky-high prices to match. There’s an excellent restaurant at the top.