The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel's company for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. At about 330 metres, it was the tallest structure in the world until 1930. Many people disliked it at first, but it became the symbol of Paris and France. Lifts and stairs climb to three levels with views over the city. At night it sparkles with lights for a few minutes every hour.

Les Invalides is a complex of buildings in Paris founded by Louis XIV in 1670 as a hospital and home for old and injured soldiers. Its golden dome rises above the church of the Dôme, which holds the tomb of Napoleon. The Army Museum displays weapons, armour and uniforms. A large lawn, the Esplanade, stretches to the Seine.

The Pont Alexandre III is the most ornate bridge in Paris, built for the 1900 World's Fair. It was named after Tsar Alexander III to celebrate friendship between France and Russia. Its single steel arch is decorated with lamps, cherubs, nymphs and gilded statues of winged horses on tall pillars. It links the Invalides with the Grand Palais.

The Arc de Triomphe stands at the top of the Champs-Élysées in the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, where twelve avenues meet. Napoleon ordered it in 1806 to honour his army, and it was completed in 1836. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies beneath it, with an eternal flame. Visitors can climb to the roof for a view along the avenues.

The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, housed in a former royal palace in the heart of Paris. It opened as a museum in 1793. Its collection ranges from ancient Egypt and Greece to the 19th century, including the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The glass pyramid entrance, designed by I. M. Pei, opened in 1989.

The Tuileries Garden stretches from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde in Paris. It was created in 1564 for Catherine de' Medici's Tuileries Palace, which burned in 1871. The formal French garden was redesigned by André Le Nôtre. Statues, ponds and chairs fill its paths. The Orangerie museum, with Monet's water lilies, stands at its western end.

Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris, laid out in the 1750s. During the French Revolution the guillotine stood here, and Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed. At its centre stands the Luxor Obelisk, over 3,000 years old, given by Egypt in 1831. Two large fountains stand on either side.

The Palais Garnier is the opera house of Paris, designed by Charles Garnier and opened in 1875. Its grand staircase, gilded foyer and red and gold auditorium are among the most lavish of the 19th century. The ceiling was painted by Marc Chagall in 1964. It inspired the story of The Phantom of the Opera. Ballet is performed here today.

Notre-Dame de Paris is a Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, built mainly between 1163 and 1345. It is famous for its flying buttresses, rose windows and gargoyles. In April 2019 a fire destroyed its roof and spire. After five years of restoration, it reopened in December 2024 with a rebuilt spire and cleaned interior.

Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel on the Île de la Cité in Paris, built in the 1240s for King Louis IX to hold relics of Christ's Passion. Its upper chapel has some of the finest stained glass in the world: fifteen windows, each about 15 metres tall, show over a thousand scenes from the Bible. It stands within the Palais de Justice.

The Panthéon in Paris was built as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, completed in 1790. During the French Revolution it became a mausoleum for great French citizens. Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie and Josephine Baker are buried in its crypt. Foucault's pendulum, which showed the Earth's rotation in 1851, hangs under its dome.

The Luxembourg Gardens cover about 23 hectares in the Latin Quarter of Paris. They were created in 1612 for Marie de' Medici around the Luxembourg Palace, which now houses the French Senate. Formal lawns, tree-lined paths, statues and the Medici Fountain fill the gardens. Children sail toy boats on the large octagonal pond.

The Musée d'Orsay is housed in a former railway station on the left bank of the Seine, built for the 1900 World's Fair. It opened as a museum in 1986. It holds the world's largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, with works by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and Cézanne. The great clocks of the station can still be seen.

The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur stands at the top of Montmartre, the highest point in Paris. It was built between 1875 and 1914 in a Romano-Byzantine style with white domes of travertine stone. Inside is one of the largest mosaics in the world. The steps in front give wide views over Paris, and the artists' square, Place du Tertre, is nearby.

Place des Vosges in the Marais is the oldest planned square in Paris, completed in 1612. Thirty-six red brick houses with steep blue slate roofs and arcades surround a garden with fountains and lime trees. Victor Hugo lived at number 6, now a museum. The arcades hold galleries and cafes.

The Centre Pompidou is a cultural centre in the Beaubourg area of Paris, opened in 1977. Designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, it shows its pipes, escalators and structure on the outside in bright colours. It holds the National Museum of Modern Art, one of the largest collections of modern art in Europe. It closed in 2025 for a long renovation.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Paris, opened in 1804. Its tree-lined paths wind over a hillside past thousands of tombs and sculptures. Famous people buried here include Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf and Molière. It is also a park and one of the most visited cemeteries in the world.