The Best Places To Visit In Paris
ANTHONY DELANOIX/UNSPLASH
Pompidou Centre
Back in the 70s, this unique ‘inside out’ building made the names of future starchitects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. It wasn’t immediately loved, but its exterior escalators and signature coloured tubing eventually won the day – and showed what modern architecture could be. Today it houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne, and you’ll find masterpieces by Matisse, Picasso and Warhol inside. Get there while you can – it’s due to close in 2025 for five years of repairs.
Visit CentrePompidou.fr
Louvre
You could spend a week getting lost in the Louvre, wandering between rooms full of priceless Eastern antiquities and galleries loaded with Western masterpieces including the Mona Lisa. However long you have to explore this former fortress and royal palace, start at old-world Café Marly – for coffee and a special view of the landmark glass pyramid in the middle of the Louvre’s main courtyard.
Visit Louvre.fr
Palais de Tokyo
A 2012 renovation made the Palais de Tokyo the largest contemporary art hub in Europe. In the wing of an even bigger building built for an International Expo in the 1930s, it lays on eye-catching exhibitions of the current century’s best artists – often in daringly bare concrete surroundings. If you’re on a serious art trip, the other wing of the same building is the Museum of Modern Art, where big names from the 20th century abound – despite it losing a Picasso, a Matisse and more in one of the great art heists in 2010.
Visit PalaisDeTokyo.com
Pexels/Mathias Reding
Petit Palais
Tucked between the Champs-Elysées and the river Seine, the Petit Palais is too good looking to be missed, even amid the upscale shops and museums that define Paris’s smart 8th Arrondissement. Head inside this ornate Beaux Arts building to get up close with masterpieces by Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, then enjoy some downtime in its wonderful courtyard garden. The Grand Palais, its big sister across the road, is closed for now but they will make a fine pair again one day.
Visit PetitPalais.Paris.fr
Louis Vuitton Foundation
On the edge of the Bois de Boulogne – the sprawling green space to the west of the Arc de Triomphe – the home of the Louis Vuitton Foundation was designed by Frank Gehry. The architect of Bilbao’s Guggenheim used thousands of glass panels to create another statement building that makes good on LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s vision for an “extraordinary space for art and culture”. A big Mark Rothko exhibition opens here in October 2023.
Visit FondationLouisVuitton.fr
Jardin du Luxembourg
The Jardin des Tuileries might be more famous, but perhaps that’s just a function of their more prominent location. On the south side of the Seine, getting close to Montparnasse, the Jardin du Luxembourg feels like the quintessential Parisian garden – the clean lines, the well-kept hedges and the precisely placed pots are all present and correct. An afternoon stroll here will never be misspent, and kids will enjoy the central duck pond.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
pexels/baran kilic
Pexels/Matteus Silva
Le Marais
The city’s old Jewish quarter is an easy place to lose a day. Cool bars, vintage shops and independent boutiques line its narrower streets, while the stately arcades around Place des Vosges hide small museums and galleries – which have gained big-name neighbours from the fashion world now the area is trendy once more.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
Sacré Coeur
The Sacré Coeur is the crowning glory of Montmartre – a large hill that long ago gave its name to the surrounding district where so many impressionist and post-impressionist artists used to live. Many of them would have been around for the opening of this Roman Catholic church in 1875. The views it offers today are remarkable and the climb up feels like a rite of passage – though the Montmartre Funicular draws millions of passengers a year for a reason.
Visit Sacre-Couer-Montmartre.com
Jardin des Tuileries
Once a royal retreat, the Jardin des Tuileries became a public park after the French Revolution. For the 200-odd years since, visitors have enjoyed the breathing room it offers between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. Today, its 70 acres of formal gardens are dotted with remarkable modernist sculptures from famous names like Rodin, Giacometti and Moore.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
Earth/Unsplash
Saint Germain des Prés
This historic district is at the heart of Paris’s Rive Gauche – the ‘left bank’ of the Seine that was a hotbed of bohemian thought and activity for centuries, drawing in Stein, Sartre, Scott Fitzgerald and so many more. Around and about the church that gives the area its name, you’ll find storied establishments like Les Deux Magots, Brasserie Lipp and Café de Flore, but also the magnificent Le Bon Marché department store and an array of high-end fashion boutiques.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
Tour Montparnasse
When the Montparnasse Tower opened in the early 70s, it so dominated the city skyline – and was considered so ugly – that no other tall buildings were allowed to be built in Paris for the next 40 years. Roughly 200m above street level, though, its 56th-floor observation deck has an outdoor terrace and unmatched views. On a clear day, you’ll see 25 miles in every direction – and won’t have to look at the tower itself.
Visit TourMontparnasse56.com
Île Saint-Louis
This is one of two natural islands in the middle of the Seine – the other is Île de la Cité, where the Notre-Dame cathedral is currently being restored after 2019’s devastating fire. In the meantime, Île Saint-Louis is a captivating destination in its own right. Connected to the rest of Paris by no fewer than four bridges, it retains a village feel – spend an afternoon wandering its markets, cafés, bakeries and fromageries.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
Pigalle
In the shadow of Montmartre, Pigalle is a neighbourhood known for its brazen past and lively after-hours present. The Moulin Rouge still does its tourist shows and you can still find a sex shop or two, but the real excitement these days is fuelled by the emerging creatives who are rebuilding Pigalle around great bars (don’t be misled by Dirty Dick’s name), nouveau restaurants and hip hotels.
Visit ParisJeTAime.com
BACK TO: Main Page | JUMP TO: The Best Places To Shop In Paris
DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at info@sheerluxe.com.