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Paris, a dream heritage
Paris would not be Paris without it. The capital’s famous places and monuments are recognizable throughout the world and give the city its unique character. They are the hallmarks of a myth that have contributed to the fame of the City of Light.
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Monuments
Paris’s most famous monuments date from several different periods and send us travelling through time and space in the city. In the centre, on the Ile de la Cité, stands Notre-Dame cathedral built in the 13th century, to the north is the basilica of Sacré-Coeur built in the 19th century on the Butte Montmartre, and to the west towers the Eiffel Tower erected in 1889 on the banks of the Seine. Three landmarks forming a golden triangle for seeing the city from different viewpoints.
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 Eiffel Tower
This towering monument, inaugurated by Gustave Eiffel during the World Fair is a landmark site 324-metres-high. Its graceful metallic structure has dominated the Seine riverbanks and Champ-de-Mars for more than 120 years. At nightfall, it sparkles with lights to mark the change from one hour to the next – an unforgettable sight for those who love Paris. This feat of engineering has been the inspiration for numerous artists, poets, painters, writers and film makers. It is the most visited monument in the world. As well as taking the lift up the three floors, there are also temporary exhibitions to see and the private apartment that the engineer Eiffel had installed there.
Eiffel Tower
Champ-de-Mars, Paris 7e – M° Trocadéro, RER Champ-de-Mars -Tour-Eiffel.
www.tour-eiffel.fr
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 Notre-Dame de Paris
A world heritage site, the cathedral is one of the most remarkable works of art of Gothic architecture. It has numerous stained-glass windows and rose windows, of which two each measuring 13 metres in diameter are among the largest in Europe. Its construction in the Middle Ages spanned almost two centuries, from the 13th to the 14th century; in the 19th century, after the French Revolution, restoration work was supervised by the architect Viollet-Le-Duc. Its gargoyles, steeple, towers and bells inspired one of the most famous novels by Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame de Paris. Situated in the historic centre of Paris at the end of the Ile de la Cité, it is the symbolic heart of Paris and all road distances in France are measured from a point on the cathedral forecourt. Renowned throughout the world for more than five centuries, it welcomes as many as 50,000 visitors on certain days. There is a programme of sacred music throughout the year.
Open daily, entry is free. There is a charge for visits to the towers.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II, Paris 4e – M° Cité ou St Michel, RER Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame
www.notredamedeparis.fr
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 Sacré-Coeur
The white domed basilica of Sacré-Coeur dominates the city. Crowning the top of the butte (hill) of Montmartre, one of the highest hills in Paris, it offers one of the finest views of Paris. This church in the shape of a Greek cross, and its crypt, is in the Romano-Byzantine style. It was built between 1875 and 1923 by the architect Paul Abadie, after the Commune de Paris. With is cupola it stands 80-metres-high. The ceiling is decorated with the largest mosaic in France measuring almost 480 m². And, it also has the largest bell in France weighing 19 tons, towed from Annecy (Haute-Savoie) to the Sacré-Coeur.
On the hill, just below the basilica is the Place du Tertre and its painters, the Abbesses district with its winding steep streets, and at the bottom of the hill, the famous Moulin Rouge.
Access to the basilica is free every day from 6am to 11pm.
Sacré-Cœur
35 rue du Chevalier de La Barre, Paris 18e – Funiculaire de Montmartre - M° Anvers ou Abbesses
www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com
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Museums
The city offers many museums to visit of all sizes and with the most varied of themes. Their collections cover all periods and come from all over the world. They are either national museums like the Louvre or the Centre Pompidou, city of Paris museums like the Musée d’Art Moderne or the Musée Carnavalet, or even private museums like the Fondation Cartier for Contemporary Art or the Musée Jacquemart-André. Municipal and state-run museums alone account for 130.
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 Louvre
Today, the Louvre is one of the most important and most visited museums in the world. It is also the biggest museum in Paris, extending over 210,000 m². This former royal palace, residence of the Kings of France has a long history from the Capetian kings of the 12th century to the present day. During the French Revolution, in 1793, it was transformed into a national museum. In 1988, President François Mitterrand decided to make the Louvre the greatest museum in the world and commissioned the architect Ieoh Ming Pei. The latter built the 20-metre-high glass pyramid which forms the entrance to the museum.
The museum presents 35,000 works, in eight different departments: Oriental Antiquities, Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Islamic arts, Sculpture, Art Objects, Paintings, and Graphic Arts. Among the most famous works on show are The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, La Liberté Guidant le Peuple by Eugène Delacroix, The Venus de Milo, or the Code d’Hammurabi.
Louvre
99 rue de Rivoli, Paris 1er - M° Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre
www.louvre.fr
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 Centre Pompidou
The third most visited site in France. Initiated by President Georges Pompidou, it was inaugurated in 1977 and is situated in the Beaubourg district. It owes its contemporary post-modern and inventive architecture to the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. It conserves one of the two most important collections of modern and contemporary art in the world with more than 60,000 works, paintings, sculpture, graphic art, photography, new media, cinema, design and architect. The centre is also devoted to artistic creation, where the visual arts rub shoulders with books, design, cinema and music notably at L’IRCAM. In addition to the permanent collections, there are also major temporary exhibitions, cinema and show rooms, the first public library in Europe, the BPI, as well as an area for young visitors.
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou, Paris 4e - M° Rambuteau – Hôtel de Ville – RER Châtelet - Les Halles
www.centrepompidou.fr
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 Musée d’Orsay
A national museum, situated on the left bank of the Seine in the former Orsay railway station, built in 1898 by Victor Laloux for the World Fair. It was converted into a museum and inaugurated in 1986. The collections present Western painting and sculpture from 1848 to 1942, as well as decorative arts, photography and architecture. The Musée d’Orsay conserves and shows the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in the world as well as outstanding Symbolist, Realist and Academic paintings. More than 5,000 paintings and drawings make up this collection including masterpieces like Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia by Édouard Manet, the Danseuse âgée de quatorze ans by Degas, L'Origine du monde, Un enterrement à Ornans, L'Atelier du peintre by Gustave Courbet or five paintings from the Série des Cathédrales de Rouen by Claude Monet or Le bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir. Temporary exhibitions present the work of an artist, an artistic current, a picture merchant, or a history of art related subject. The auditorium hosts a range of events including concerts, cinema, talks and colloquiums and shows for children.
Musée d’Orsay
1 rue de la Légion d’Honneur, Paris 7e – M° Solférino - RER Musée d’Orsay
www.musee-orsay.fr
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 Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle
A national museum, situated on the left bank of the Seine in the former Orsay railway station, built in 1898 by Victor Laloux for the World Fair. It was converted into a museum and inaugurated in 1986. The collections present Western painting and sculpture from 1848 to 1942, as well as decorative arts, photography and architecture. The Musée d’Orsay conserves and shows the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings in the world as well as outstanding Symbolist, Realist and Academic paintings. More than 5,000 paintings and drawings make up this collection including masterpieces like Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe and Olympia by Édouard Manet, the Danseuse âgée de quatorze ans by Degas, L'Origine du monde, Un enterrement à Ornans, L'Atelier du peintre by Gustave Courbet or five paintings from the Série des Cathédrales de Rouen by Claude Monet or Le bal du moulin de la Galette by Renoir. Temporary exhibitions present the work of an artist, an artistic current, a picture merchant, or a history of art related subject. The auditorium hosts a range of events including concerts, cinema, talks and colloquiums and shows for children.
Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle
Jardin des Plantes 36 rue Geoffroy de Saint Hilaire, Paris 5e – M° Jussieu - Austerlitz – RER Austerlitz
Musée de l’Homme
17 place du Trocadéro Paris 16e – M° Trocadéro - Fermé pour travaux jusqu’en 2012
www.mnhn.fr
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 Grand Palais
This imposing stone building crowned with metal and glass is situated alongside the Champs-Elysées. Built for the World Fair, it has had many lives. It has been a mirror of the 20th century hosting artistic and technical trade shows. Today, at the start of the 21st century and after extensive renovation work, it continues in this vein and widens its scope. With 77,000 m² and a monumental glass roof it plays host to contemporary expressions of artistic, cultural, scientific and technical creativity during prestigious exhibitions like La Monumenta, fashion parades such as those for Chanel, trade shows such as the FIAC, sporting events like the Saut d’Hermès or the world fencing championships, and even electronic music concerts.
Grand Palais
avenue Winston-Churchill Paris 8e - M° Franklin-D.-Roosevelt - Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau
www.grandpalais.fr
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 Musée du quai Branly
Devoted to the art and civilizations of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the non-Western Americas, it is situated on quai Branly opposite the Seine and close to the Eiffel Tower. Designed by the architect Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in 2006 by President Jacques Chirac, it comprises five buildings over a surface area of 40,600 m2. The main building which houses the exhibitions is in the innovative shape of a metallic bridge and is a reminder that the Eiffel Tower is close by. The main facade of one of the buildings, facing the Seine on quai Branly, features an 800 m² plant wall, designed by landscape architect Patrick Blanc. The museum stands in an 18,000 m² garden designed by landscape architect Gilles Clément. It is formed of paths, small mounds and ponds conducive to meditation and daydreaming. The museum exhibits some 3,500 objects, in a collection that comprises of around 300,000 articles. The regular renewal of objects on display makes it possible to show the latest acquisitions, recent donations, and the richness of the collections. This renewal also allows fragile works to be preserved carefully away from the light.
Musée du quai Branly
37 quai Branly Paris 7e - M° Alma-Marceau – RER Pont de l’Alma – Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel
www.quaibranly.fr
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 Musée d’Art Moderne
The city’s museum of modern art, also known as MaM, reopened in 2006 after renovation and is situated in the east wing of the Palais de Tokyo. Inaugurated in 1947, it is a monumental building in a sobre style, composed of two perfectly symmetrical wings separated by a fountain and stone staircases. The glass ceilings provide natural daylight for the majority of rooms. The permanent collections of the museum comprise more than 8,000 works illustrating the many different artistic currents of the 20th century, with works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, and Yves Klein, just to mention a few. The museum also shows major temporary exhibitions.
Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris
11, av du Président Wilson Paris 16e – M° Alma-Marceau – Iéna
mam.paris.fr
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Opera houses
Paris boasts 3 opera houses. The Opéra Garnier and the Opéra Bastille both come under the banner of the Opéra National de Paris. The third is the Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique.
What’s more, Paris is also home to the Cité de la Musique, inaugurated in 1995. The Salle Pleyel, reopened in 2006 after important renovation work, comes under its administration as will the future Philarmonie de Paris, due to open in 2013.
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 Palais Garnier opera house
Situated in Place de l’Opéra, built between 1861 and 1875 by the architect Charles Garnier, the Palais Garnier opera house has a richly decorated facade, a monumental staircase, and a 1,900-seat Italian auditorium with a ceiling painted by Marc Chagall, lit by a huge crystal chandelier. This building is a perfect example of 19th-century architecture hiding its metallic structure under lots of decorative features. From 1881 to the present day it has undergone several periods of restoration and modernization work that has made it more functional. Maria Callas and Rudolf Nureyev are some of the many artists who have contributed to the history of opera and ballet here. Until the opening of the Bastille opera house, the Palais Garnier opera house presented only ballet. Since then, it has returned to its original vocation of being an academy for music, dance and opera. As well as going to a show, visitors can also visit an exhibition or the main hall open from 11am to 4.30pm to appreciate the richly gilded and red velvet decor. There are special activities for children.
Opéra Garnier
place de l’Opéra, Paris 9e – M° Opéra – RER Auber
www.operadeparis.fr
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 Opéra Bastille
This ultra modern opera house, the work of architect Carlos Ott, was inaugurated in 1989.
The architecture is characterized by the transparency of its facades and by the use of the same materials for the interior as for the exterior. With a huge 2,703-seat auditorium with homogenous acoustics, unique staging equipment, workshops integrated with decors, costumes and accessories, work and rehearsal rooms, the Bastille opera house is a great contemporary theatre. Guided visits are organized.
Opéra Bastille
place de la Bastille, Paris 4e – M° Bastille
www.operadeparis.fr
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 Opéra Comique
The opera house’s belle époque decoration was the work of the leading artists of the time of its construction. The Orientalist painter Benjamin Constant, for example, painted the ceiling of the auditorium. This 1,100-seat theatre is often considered as the equivalent of the Palais Garnier opera house, but smaller in size offering closer proximity between the artists and the public. Its history is both turbulent and prestigious. Since 2005, it has been designated one of the country’s national theatres. The Opéra Comique, created in 1714 under the reign of Louis XIV, is one of the oldest theatrical and musical institutions in France. Comic does not mean that laughter is obligatory but that sung pieces must be integrated into spoken theatre. Operettas are performed here as well as theatre without music. Its repertoire extends from baroque music to contemporary music.
Opéra Comique
1 place Boieldieu, Paris 2e – M° Richelieu - Drouot – Quatre Septembre – RER Auber
www.opera-comique.com
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Parks and gardens
Visiting Paris is also the opportunity to discover leafy backwaters and relax in little public gardens full of flowers and grand French-style gardens or under the shade of a tree in the Bois de Boulogne, to the west of the capital, or the Bois de Vincennes, to the east.
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 Jardin des Tuileries
Along with the Jardin du Carrousel, it provides an unbroken series of formal gardens extending from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde. It is the largest and oldest French-style garden in the capital. It was formerly the royal and imperial residence of the Palais des Tuileries. It owes its name to the manufacture of tiles which previously took place here. The Jardin des Tuileries has been listed as an historic monument since 1914, and been given Unesco world heritage status together with the Seine quaysides.
Classical sculpture is a predominant feature of the garden and since 1998 modern sculpture too with notably works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean Dubuffet and Giuseppe Penone. At the western corners of the garden are two identical buildings built during the reign of Napoléon III housing respectively a museum of contemporary art – the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, and the museum of modern art – the Orangerie. An ideal place to stroll at any time of year or sit and relax in a chair around one of the ornamental ponds, it also offers activities for children and adults. Every Saturday, Sunday and public holiday, free and unusual guided tours are organized in the garden.
Jardin des Tuileries
113 rue de Rivoli, Paris 1er – M° Tuileries
www.louvre.fr
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 Jardin des Plantes
A French-style 23-hectare botanic garden created in 1635 under the reign of Louis XIII, situated between the Mosquée de Paris, the Université de Jussieu and the Seine. It is the garden of the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle. It is home to historic trees, a rose garden, thousands of plants and flowers, four tropical greenhouses, a zoo, and specialist gardens including that of the Botanical school. It offers guided tours, exhibitions, training and special activities for adults and children.
Jardin des Plantes
2 rue Buffon, Paris 5e – M° Gare d’Austerlitz – Censier Daubenton – Jussieu - RER Gare d’Austerlitz
www.jardindesplantes.net
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 Jardin du Luxembourg
A private garden open to the public and encircling the Palais du Luxembourg (the French Senate house), owner of the garden. Created in 1612 at the request of Marie de Medici, it extends over 23 hectares. The flower beds were re-laid out by André Le Nôtre. The garden has a French-style area and an English-style area. Between the two is a geometric wooded area in staggered rows. There is also an orchard, with varieties of apples from the past, a bee hive to learn about bee keeping, and hothouses with a collection of orchids. Statues number 106 including a smaller bronze version of the Statue of Liberty and a monument Le Cri, installed in 2007 commemorating the abolition of slavery. The garden is also embellished by six fountains including the main central fountain. It hosts sporting activities and events like the French jeu de paume (real tennis) championship. Chess, bridge and pétanque are also played here and model boats sailed on the pond. Concerts take place in the bandstand and photo exhibitions are held on the outside railings of the park.
Jardin du Luxembourg
place Edmond Rostang, Paris 6e – M° Odéon - RER Luxembourg
www.senat.fr
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 Parc Monceau
A lovely garden just over 8 hectares in size. Next to it is the Musée Cernuschi. Formerly the property of the Duc de Chartres, it is made up of illusions, — a Swiss farm, pagoda, pyramid, feudal ruins, Roman temple, undulating pathways, etc. The garden also features statues of famous writers and painters. It is surrounded by luxurious mansion houses. Claude Monet painted the park in 1876. As well as being an idyllic place to stroll, it is also popular with joggers and has a nice play area for children.
Parc Monceau
35 bd Courcelles, Paris 8e – M° Monceau - Villiers
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 Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Inaugurated in 1867 by Napoléon III, the park is one of the largest green spaces in Paris and was built on former quarried land, which explains its steepness. Features include a lake, an island, little streams, a waterfall and several bridges including a bridge 65-metres-high spanning the lake. Several historic trees and rare species including two ginkgo biloba grow here. The park also attracts many species of birds and waterfowl. The view from the top of the belvedere is one of the most romantic in Paris.
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
1 rue Botzaris, Paris 19e – M° Buttes-Chaumont – Pyrénées - Botzaris
35 bd Courcelles, Paris 8e – M° Monceau - Villiers
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Bridges
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 Paris, the Seine and its bridges
Paris bénéficie d’un patrimoine naturel avec sa géographie marquée par la courbe de la Seine qui la traverse d’est en ouest sur 13 km. Le fleuve délimite la ville entre sa rive droite et sa rive gauche. Pour relier ces deux rives, de nombreux ponts ont été construits depuis la création de la ville à nos jours. Les plus anciens sont Le Petit Pont et le Grand Pont édifiés en 52 av. JC par la tribu des Parisii implantée sur l’Ile de la Cité, et à qui la ville doit son nom. Le dernier en date est la passerelle piétonnière Simone de Beauvoir inaugurée en 2006. Ces ponts et passerelles sont au nombre de 37 sur la Seine et de 15 sur ses canaux. De jour, comme de nuit grâce à leurs illuminations, ils offrent des points de vue inoubliables sur la ville et permettent d’admirer les accords changeants entre la lumière du ciel et celle de l’eau se reflétant sur les bâtiments. Ainsi, les quais de Seine du Pont de Sully au Pont de Bir-Hakeim, en passant par le Pont Alexandre III, constituent l’un des plus beaux paysages fluviaux urbains et sont classés au patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO.
Pont-Neuf
Paris 6e – M° Pont-Neuf, RER Châtelet Les Halles
Pont des Arts
Paris 6e – M° Pont-Neuf, RER Châtelet Les Halles
Passerelle Léopold Sédar Senghor
Paris 7e – M° Assemblée Nationale
Pont Alexandre III
Paris 8e – M° Invalides, RER Invalides
Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir
Paris 13e – M° Quai de la Gare, RER Gare de Lyon
Pont de l’Alma, Paris 16e – M° Alma-Marceau
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