St-Germain & Les Invalides
The French Institute, created in 1795, brought together five of France’s academies of arts and sciences. The most famous of these is the Académie Française, founded in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu. Its 40 members, known as the Immortels (Immortals), have the Herculean (some say impossible) task of safeguarding the purity of the French language.
The domed building housing the institute, across the Seine from the Louvre’s eastern end, is a masterpiece of French neoclassical architecture.
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There are different ways to experience the Eiffel Tower, from a daytime trip or an evening ascent amid twinkling lights, to a meal in one of its…
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Home to Europe's largest collection of modern and contemporary art, Centre Pompidou has amazed and delighted visitors ever since it opened in 1977, not…
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Visit Sainte-Chapelle on a sunny day when Paris’ oldest, finest stained glass (1242–48) is at its dazzling best. The chapel is famous for its stained…
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It isn’t until you’re standing in the vast courtyard of the Louvre, with its glass pyramid and ornate façade, that you can truly say you’ve been to Paris.
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It’s gruesome, ghoulish and downright spooky, but it never fails to captivate visitors. In 1785, the subterranean tunnels of an abandoned quarry were…
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Even if you're not an art lover, it is worth visiting this high-profile art museum to lose yourself in its romantic gardens.
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This famous inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians' hearts.
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Elegant and regal in equal measure, the massive neoclassical dome of the Left Bank's iconic Panthéon is an icon of the Parisian skyline. Louis XV…
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Within the Institut de France, the Mazarine Library is France’s oldest public library, founded in 1643. You can visit the bust-lined, late-17th-century…
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The French language and all its nuance are guarded with care by 40 Immortels (Immortals) of the French Academy, founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635. The…
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The 18th-century royal mint, Monnaie de Paris, houses the Musée du 11 Conti, an interactive museum exploring the history of French coinage from antiquity…
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Chestnut, yew, black walnut and weeping willow trees grace this picturesque park at the westernmost tip of the Île de la Cité, along with migratory birds…
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Paris’ oldest bridge, misguidingly named 'New Bridge', has linked the western end of Île de la Cité with both riverbanks since 1607, when the king, Henri…
6. Musée National Eugène Delacroix
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In a courtyard off a tree-shaded square, this museum is housed in the romantic artist’s home and studio at the time of his death in 1863. It contains a…
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It isn’t until you’re standing in the vast courtyard of the Louvre, with its glass pyramid and ornate façade, that you can truly say you’ve been to Paris.
8. Église St-Germain l’Auxerrois
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Built between the 13th and 16th centuries in a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance styles and with similar dimensions and ground plans to those of Notre…