Top 20 sightseeing the best attractions to see on your holiday

Top 20 Paris

Top 20 Sightseeing in Paris

Paris is one among the most stunning and most popular cities in the world. This capital city of France is located on the northern side of the country, just along the River Seine. Paris, the most densely inhabited city in France, is known to be the center of Region Parisienne or better known as Paris Region. The beauty of Paris is very evident from the epic and ever loved Eiffel Tower to the imperial Jardin des Tuileries and even to the diminutive espresso bars flourishing along the city sidewalks.

The unparalleled visual appeal as well as the cultural riches of the city makes it one of the reasons why Paris is noted to be one of the top 3 most visited cities in the world. Let’s take a look at what makes Paris a wonderful city

1

Louvre Museum
 

The Louvre Museum, also known as Musée du Louvre or simply known as Louvre, is one of the largest and most remarkable museums in the world. This historic monument housed in the Louvre Palace is the central landmark of Paris. It bags the crown of being the most visited museum in the world with a total of over 9.7 million visitors last 2012. The Louvre Museum was opened with 537 paintings on exhibition on August 10, 1793. The museum currently houses over 380,000 objects and around 35,000 Western artworks grouped into eight curatorial departments.

2

Musée d’Orsay
 

On the left side of the Seine River you can find another remarkable museum in Paris, the Musée d’Orsay. The Musée d’Orsay is kept in the former grand Beaux-Arts railway station known as the Gare d’Orsay. The Musée d’Orsay is popular for being one of the largest impressionist exhibitions in the world and one of the most well-known museums in Paris specially dedicated to all the French masterpieces dating from 1848 to 1914. Apart from the great number of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, this national museum also houses a vast collection of sculptures, photography and furniture.

3

French National Museum of Natural History
 

The French National Museum of Natural History or Muséum National D’histoire Naturelle, abbreviated as MNHN, is France’s national history museum. The museum is situated on the left side of the Seine River bank. It was already established before1635 but was only founded during the French Revolution in 1793. This national museum is currently consists of 14 sites located in different parts of France, with its main museum situated in Paris. The original site can be found in the Jardin des Plantes, a royal botanical garden in Paris.

4

Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
 

Paris is also popularly known as the home for Europe’s largest science museum, the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie or City of Science and Industry. This hands-on science museum is located in Parc de la Villette, the third-biggest park in Paris. The Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie alone attracts around two to five million visitors every year. It is recognized as one among the three dozen Cultural Centers of Science, Technology and Industry (CCSTI). Included in the list of main attractions in the museum are the Argonaute or submarine, the planetarium and the La Geode IMAX Theater.

5

Parc de la Villette
 

a Parc de la VilletteWith a total land area of 35.5 hectares, the Parc de la Villette is considered as the third biggest park in Paris. It is situated at the north east fringe of the 19th arrondissement. The Parc de la Villette is the home for the largest number of cultural venues in the city including the three main concert venues, some concert halls, theaters, museums and 35 architectural follies. Among the remarkable tourist attractions located inside the vicinity of the park are the historical musical instruments museum called the City of Music or Cité de la musique, Europe’s biggest science museum called the City of Science and Industry or Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie, the IMAX theatre La Géode, the concert arena named Le Zénith and a lot more.

6

Eiffel Tower
 

a Eiffel TowerOne highly notable landmark in Paris that never failed to impress every eye that stares at it is the Eiffel Tower, also called in French as La tour Eiffel. This iron lattice tower was built to serve as the entrance arch to the World’s Fair in 1889. Although controversial at the start because of the initial criticisms made by some of the leading intellectuals and artists in France, the tallest structure in Paris has turned out to be one of the most perceptible structures on Earth. Through the years, the Eiffel Tower has also become France’s global cultural icon. The tower is also one among the most visited and most popular paid historical monument in the universe.

7

Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées
 

The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées, or simply the Great Palace or the Grand Palais, is a gigantic exhibition hall, museum complex and historical site in Champs-Élysées. The Great Palace was constructed in1897 as part of the preparations done by the city for being the host of the 1900 World Exposition. This outstanding structure which houses the science museum known as the Palais de la Découverte is best known for its gargantuan roof made of glass.

8

Notre-Dame de Paris
 

a Notre-Dame de ParisThe Notre-Dame de Paris may not be the largest cathedral in the world but it is absolutely the most popularly known cathedral in the universe. The Notre-Dame de Paris, also called in English as Our Lady of Paris or in French as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is regarded as one of the fairest archetypes of French Gothic architecture. Notre-Dame is also widely recognized internationally as among the most popular and the largest of its kind in the world. This outstanding 12th-century ecclesiastical building is located on Île de la Cité’s eastern half. Being the Archdiocese of Paris cathedral, Notre-Dame serves as the home for the official chair called the cathedral of the archbishop of the city.

9

Sainte-Chapelle
 

Just a short walk from the Palais de la Cité and the Notre-Dame Cathedral rests another must visit ecclesiastical building known as the Sainte-Chapelle or the Holy Chapel. The Sainte-Chapelle is a 13th-century imperial medieval Gothic chapel that is situated in the heart of the city. This flamboyant Gothic ecclesiastical architecture is a masterpiece of Saint Louis. The Sainte-Chapelle is one of the primordial structures on the Île de la Cité’s Capetian royal palace that had stood the test of time.

10

Père Lachaise Cemetery
 

a Père Lachaise CemeteryThe Père Lachaise Cemetery, formerly known as the East Cemetery or the cimetière de l’Est, is the first municipal cemetery and the first garden cemetery in the city. With a total land area of 44 hectares, the Père Lachaise Cemetery is considered as the widest cemetery in the urban side of Paris. It is located in the Boulevard de Ménilmontant.

11

Sacré-Cœur Basilica Paris
 

sacre-coeur-basilica-paris-closeThe Sacré-Cœur Basilica Paris or the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris is minor basilica and a Roman Catholic Church that is devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The basilica, which is considered as a popular landmark in the city, is situated at the pinnacle of the highest point in Paris, the butte Montmartre. Being one of the main tourist draws of the city, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica Paris is visited by millions of tourists each year. This majestic building is known as both a cultural and political monument.

12

Jardin des Tuileries
 

a Jardin des TuileriesBoth tourists and local Parisians will surely love taking a walk, breathing fresher air, experiencing a rather soothing atmosphere and witnessing the magnificent statues of Maillol, Rodin and Giacometti at the cultural walking place in the middle of the city, the Jardin des Tuileries. The Jardin des Tuileries, translated in English as Tuileries Garden, is a public garden in the1st arrondissement of Paris that is situated in the middle of the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre Museum. It was initially built in 1564 to serve as the garden of the Palais des Tuileries or Tuileries Palace until it was opened for public access after the French Revolution in 1667.

13

Disneyland Paris
 

1 gallery Disneyland ParisFormerly Euro Disney Resort, the Disneyland Paris, is the most visited theme park in France as well as in the entire Europe. This entertainment resort is situated in Marne-la-Vallée, at the eastern side of the historic center of Paris. The Disneyland Paris houses a number of resort hotels, two theme parks, a golf course, a dining, entertaining and shopping complex as well as a few additional entertainment and recreational venues. The Disneyland Paris is the second most visited Disney park in the world with a total number of 15.6 million visitors last 2013.

14

Palais Garnier
 

a Palais GarnierAnother architectural masterpiece in the middle of Paris is the 1,979 seat opera house named Palais Garnier, also called the Opéra Garnier. The Palais Garnier is undoubtedly the world’s most famous opera house. It was the setting of the famous 1910 novel entitled “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux. This popular symbol of the city was formerly known as the Salle des Capucines but was later on called Palais Garnier to give honor to its architect Charles Garnier as well as to its opulent design.

15

Maison de l’UNESCO

Paris is also the home for the Maison de l’UNESCO or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Center headquarter. This cultural building which the public has access to was design by three great architects, namely: Marcel Breuer of France, Pier Luigi Nervi of Italy and Bernard Zehrfuss of the United States.

16

Musée des Arts et Métiers
 

The Museum of Arts and Crafts, popularly referred to as the Musée des Arts et Métiers, is an industrial design museum that was established in 1794. It serves as the home for the collection of the National Conservatory of Arts and Industry. Included in the collections displayed in the museum are the 2,500 out of the total 15,000 drawings and more than 80,000 objects including the original model of Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty, the first mechanical calculator known as the Pascaline invented by Blaise Pascal as well as some first plane models just like the planes of Louis Blériot’s Blériot XI and Clément Ader’s Avion III.

17

Les Invalides
 

a Les InvalidesThe National Residence of the Invalids, also known in French as L’Hôtel national des Invalides or simply Les Invalides, is a complex of buildings that houses the retirement home and hospital for the veterans of war. The Les Invalides also contains some monuments and museums that pertain to the history of the France military. It also serves as the burial site for some of the war heroes of France including Napoleon Bonaparte. Among the museums found in Les Invalides are the Army of France’s military museum, the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine, the Musée de l’Armée and the Musée des Plans-Reliefs.

18

Place des Vosges
 

One of the finest in Paris and among the most stunning squares in the world is the Place des Vosges. It is also the most ancient planned square in the city. Formerly known as Place Royale, the Place des Vosges is now a very tranquil place and a lovely central park in the 3rd arrondissement of the city. The Place des Vosges is situated in the historical district of Marais, just a few blocks away from Place de la Bastille.

19

Place Vendôme
 

a Place VendômeThe Place Vendôme is one of the beautiful squares in Paris, popular for being surrounded by the most luxurious and fashionable hotels in Paris including Hôtel de Toulouse, Hôtel Ritz, Hôtel du Petit-Bourbon and The Westin Paris – Vendôme. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of the city, on the eastern side of the Église de la Madeleine and on the northern side of the Tuileries Gardens. Famous fashion icons and dress designers have had their own boutique in the square, of which only the couturier Chéruit and the shirtmaker Charvet remained up till this moment.

20

Palace of Versailles
 

a Château de VersaillesTwenty kilometers southwest of Paris rests a very wealthy suburb of the city, Château de Versailles or Palace of Versailles, where the famous ancient kings of France once lived. The Palace of Versailles or simply Versailles was once a known royal château in Versailles located in France’s Île-de-France region. The royal château, which is considered as among the most remarkable accomplishments of French art in the 18th-century, is recognized by the UNESCO’s World Heritage for 30 years.