Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Places to visit in Paris are plenty. You rarely find this endless combination of things to see: landscape, romantic river banks, beautiful monuments. Select a district with places to visit. Enjoy sightseeing pleasure. Sightseeing in Paris.
 Le Marais |
 Montmartre |
 Champs-Elysées |
 Ile de la Cité |
 Left Bank Paris |
 River in Paris |
The top districts with places to visit are the Tour Eiffel district with its museums, Le Marais with Picasso Museum and Centre Pompidou, Montmartre with Sacré-Coeur, the Champs-Elysées with Arc de Triomphe, the Ile de la Cité with Notre-Dame and Sainte Chapelle, the left bank district with Luxembourg Gardens and Musée d'Orsay.
Each of these districts deserves at least a full day visit.
The Paris markets are typical places to visit. Walk through these lively districts. See and live the city as a true Parisian. Don't miss the flea market and its many shops.
Most districts are best visited walking. Paris is basically free from skyscapers and freeways. Five storey buildings and 20m wide boulevards are the norm. Many pedestrian areas and cycle lanes have been added in the recent years. A city made by and for men and women.
Visiting the Eiffel Tower is a must do of every visitor to the City of Lights. The Eiffel Tower district is also very rich with top sights at walking distance. In 4 hours, visit the Eiffel Tower, have lunch there and visit one first class museum nearby.
Start from Trocadero metro station on metro line 6 and 9. Enjoy the spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower from Palais de Chaillot. Walk down to the Eiffel Tower (15 minutes) across lovely Palais de Chaillot Gardens and Iena bridge. Visit the Eiffel Tower and lunch at Madame Brasserie on the first floor.
Walk to Quai Branly Museum, devoted to primitive arts (15 minutes). Walk across scenic Passerelle Debilly to Musée d'art moderne (15 minutes). Finish at Iena metro station and Musée Guimet (10 minutes walk).
Le Marais, the trendiest district of Paris, has it all: Old and narrow streets. Place des Vosges. 17th century mansions. Beautiful churches. Centre Pompidou. Picasso museum. Fashion shops open on Sunday. Gay and Jewish communities. Bars and nightlife. Le Marais is the heart of trendy French fashion with a myriad of stores from innovative brands. Many fashion and decoration stores in Le Marais are independent. The lively Les Halles district with the largest shopping center in town is near-by.
Detailed information on Le Marais
Topped by the famous Sacré-Coeur Basilica, Montmartre is the highest Paris hill at 128 meters. Rural until 1900, Montmartre became famous in the late 1800ies with the arrival of artists such as Auguste Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso. In spite of the affluence of tourists, most Montmartre streets, almost free of car traffic, keep their village-like atmosphere, which set them apart in busy Paris.
Detailed information on Montmartre
70 meters wide, the Champs-Elysées run for 1910 meters in a straight line up hill from Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris, to Arc de Triomphe, Napoleon's monument. This famous avenue is the heart of the top Paris shopping district. Famous french and international brands have established there a large showroom or flagship store. Louis Vuitton and Guerlain stores are among the most beautiful.
Extending from the Seine river down to Montparnasse, the left bank district is one of the the most pleasant districts in town. The large and romantic Luxembourg Gardens, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, its church and cafes, the Musée d'Orsay, Hermès store and Le Bon Marché are its highlights. The heart of the district is Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church, the remain of the prestigious Saint-Germain-des Près Abbey.
The left bank is famous as the intellectual district. Visitors have a drink at Café de Flore or Deux Magots, the two most famous literary cafés in the city. Rue de Sèvres has many French fashion stores, including the beautiful Hermès store (17, rue de Sèvres), one of the top fashion stores in town.
An island on the Seine river, Ile de la Cité has been inhabited since the Romans. It features three top sights: Notre-Dame Cathedral, La Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle. The river banks, the many bridges and the flower market are additional attractions. Ile de la Cité provides spectacular views on the Seine River, Seine river banks and Ile Saint-Louis, the other famous island on the Seine river.
Detailed information on Ile de la Cité
Many famous places to visit are on the river banks, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Conciergerie, Palais de Chaillot and the Musée d'Orsay.
With so much to see leisurely from the river, go on a Seine river cruise during your visit. You will forever remember a Seine dinner cruise, as you then combine a great French dinner with the spectacular illuminations of the city at night.
2.3 kilometers of Seine River left bank quays in between Musée d'Orsay and Pont Alexandre III have been turned into one of the most pleasant pedestrian districts of the city. Splendid views, open air restaurants and playgrounds are relaxing, entertaining and so beautiful. Rosa Bonheur, Flow, two open-air restaurants on these quays are affordable places to relax, eat or have a drink. Faust, right under Pont Alexandre III has a terrace, a restaurant and a club. These quays are now the place to go to day and night.
Information on Seine river in Paris. Seine river cruise.
Choose a Paris bus tour to see many places to visit in a relaxed way. We recommend the full day tour and the one day tour including Versailles. It is possible to visit the Eiffel Tower up to the second floor with skip the line ticket, discover things to see on a Seine river cruise and board bus city tour in one 4 hour combination tour. Information.
Ride on your own through the City of Lights open top double deckers on the Tootbus Tour.
It is possible to discover in 4 hours the top things to see walking from and to metro stations with connection to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Check 4 hour in Paris walk..
You can do the 2 hour triumphal way walk from the Louvre Museum to Champs-Elysées, up to Arc de Triomphe.
There are other options for quick sightseeing: a 1h 45 minute sightseeing tour (departure: 2, rue des Pyramides. Paris map), climb to a high point with a top Paris view.
The city can best be discovered walking. We have designed easy self guided walks in Paris that cover most sightseeing districts: walk in Le Marais, left bank walking tour, the Eiffel Tower walking tour and Montmartre walk.
Walk and shop in the shopping arcades when it rains.
If you speak French, we highly recommend the interesting and various thematic sightseeing guided tours by licenced lecturers proposed in Officiel des spectacles.
Explore Paris advertizes unusual and inexpensive guided walking tours with local guides to explore the alternative attractions and secret spots of the capital city: cruises on the canals and rivers, exotic food tours, bike rides. The tours are perfect to explore the cosmopolitan culture of Paris by yourself, with friends or family.
Sightseeing in the City of Lights is endless. Discover districts and places to visit outside the core touristic areas. We recommend six out of the beaten track places to visit. Each of these places will take half a day to visit.
=> the romantic 17th century Ile Saint-Louis
=> the Canal Saint-Martin, a canal from Place de La Republique to La Villette. Paris map
=> the Paris Catacombs in Denfert-Rochereau
=> La Défense business district and its skyscrapers
=> the Père Lachaise Cemetery with its graves of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. Detailed map.
=> the Bercy district with its arena and park.
There are many places to visit two hours or less from Paris. The top places are:
=> Versailles Palace and gardens
=> Fontainebleau Castle and forest
=> Chartres Cathedral
=> Giverny Gardens in Normandy with Monet house
=> the Champagne wine country
=> D-Day Beaches in Normandy
=> the Loire Castles in the Loire valley
