Paris’ relatively modest population of just over 2.2 million suggests that far too few people have the pleasure of enjoying this astonishing city year-round. For a start, the so-called City of Light incorporates a staggering 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with most of them relatively close to each other and comfortably covered on foot or by hopping on and off the Metro system. As the capital of the most visited country on Earth, Paris sets a formidable standard. Its beauty is in wowing the first-time visitor with a slew of world-famous landmarks, then seducing you on subsequent trips with niche locations that feel as if they are yours alone.
Iconic Landmarks
- No movie featuring Paris is complete without a shot of the city’s most recognizable landmark, the Eiffel Tower. Originally built as a temporary construction for the 1889 World Exhibition, this iron lattice structure reaching 1,049 feet has long since cemented its place in the city’s permanent skyline. Almost 7 million visitors a year travel upward to the top viewing level for magnificent views over the city. At the end of the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe is equally representative of all things Parisian. Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his military victories, the 164-foot arch sits on a roundabout at the center of a traffic frenzy where 12 streets converge. Beneath the arch lies the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, a poignant spot amid the surrounding mayhem.
Cultural Centers
- The Louvre Museum represents the crowning glory of a city steeped in high culture. More than 8 million visitors a year pass through its entrance, marked by an elegant 69-foot-high glass pyramid added in 1989 to what was formerly a royal palace. The museum curates around 35,000 works of art, with more than a million more in storage. Art lovers can stare down the "Mona Lisa" or marvel at the statue of "Venus de Milo," among others. Other outstanding museums include the Orsay, converted from a train station into an art gallery in 1986, with a magnificent collection of impressionist art, and the Centre Pompidou, a futuristic temple of modern art. The building wears its colorful pipes, ducts and elevators on the outside, with masterpieces by Picasso and Matisse on the inside.
Sacred Sites
- Tours of the city’s major sacred sites are free, making the cathedral of Notre-Dame the most visited city landmark, with 13.5 million people passing through a year. Construction of the inspiring Gothic cathedral began in 1163 on an island in the Seine River that has served as a place of worship since Roman times. The only fee charged is to climb the 387 steps up the two front towers, literary home of the eponymous hunchback. Up in Montmartre, the alabaster-domed Sacre-Coeur basilica was built in 1871 to mark a fresh start for the city after the brutal Franco-Prussian war. Ten million visitors a year climb to the basilica, looking out over the Parisian rooftops from the highest landmark in the city.
Popular Places
- For most of the year, the Champs-Elysee serves as the city’s most elegant traffic artery, running for just over a mile between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe. Lined with lime trees, fashionable stores and cafes, the 230-foot-wide boulevard comes to life above all during Bastille Day and during national celebrations, when its length and breadth swarm with crowds. It also provides the dramatic finish for the annual Tour de France bicycle race. The Place de la Concorde is arguably one of Europe’s most historic squares, crisscrossed nowadays by traffic but once the location for the infamous revolutionary guillotine where Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and others met their demise. Don’t miss the 3,200-year-old Obelisk of the Temple of Ramses II, a gift from Egypt.
