| The
main Paris Tourist attractions |
The Paris Museum Pass:
this
allows unlimited visits to 60 museums and sites in and around Paris:
however, to make it worthwhile you would really need to take in at
least three museums a day over 2, 4 or 6 consecutive days. Given that
it is easy to spend a full day (9 a.m - 6 p.m.) in the Louvre alone -
cost 9 Euros a day - the cheapest Paris Museum Pass, at 30
€uros for 2 days - is hard to justify unless you are planning just an
hour and a half on average per museum.
The pass is on sale at most participating museums - which means most
main Paris museums.
TIP:
if visiting Paris in a busy tourist period, start by visiting a less
busy museum, such as the Musée Rodin, the Army Museum, or the Musée des
Arts Décoratifs. Buy your pass here, then avoid the (often long) ticket
queues for the other busier museums. |
| PARIS
GUIDED TOURS |
 Paris trip offers a
range of guided tours in and round Paris, including:
– Paris Night Tours
– A range of Paris sightseeing tours
– Dinner &
Show at the Moulin Rouge.
– Dinner &
Show at the Crazy Horse 
– Guided tour of Versailles
– Da Vinci Code
Tour 
and a range of day trip excursions from Paris |
Cafés on the boulevard St. Michel - the essence of Paris and of France
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Paris offers the
largest concentration of tourist attractions in France, and
possibly in Europe. Besides some of the world's most famous musuems,
its offers a vibrant historic city centre, a beautiful riverscape, an
extensive range of historic monuments, including cathedrals, chapels
and palaces, plus one of the most famous nightlife scenes int he world.
Paris is also famous for its cafés and
restaurants, its theatres and cinemas, and just its general ambiance.
While there are a thousand other things to do in Paris apart from those
mentioned on this page, for the traveller spending no more than a week
in Paris, this list offers more than enough choice to fill the time. Note
that national museums (i.e. the main museums) are generally closed on Tuesdays - though
a few, including the Musée d'Orsay, are closed on Mondays.
Museums:
 The Louvre - one of the world's
great art galleries, with masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, and works
by almost every great master there has ever been. The Louvre is also a
major museum, with an exceptionally rich collection of antiquities and
artefacts, including Egyptian mummies, Classical bronzes, and artefacts
from round the world. Note: the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.
The
Musée d'Orsay (Paris 7- Metro Solférino) , the museum of
the nineteenth century, containg the works of the Impressionists -
Monet, Manet, Sisley, Van Gogh, Renoir and others. Note: closed on Mondays.
The
Musée d'Art Moderne, at the Trocadero. The City of Paris's
collection of modern art. And it's free.
The
Musée Marmottan, in the 16th Arondissement, with a fine
collection of Monets and other French art.
Centre
Georges Pompidou, (Beaubourg, 4° arrondissement), Large
collection of avant garde art, housed in a very avant garde building.
Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed on Tuesdays.
Musée
Rodin 7° arrondissement - museum devoted to the
works of the great sculptor Auguste Rodin. Closed Mondays.
Musée
National Picasso, 3° arrond. Metro St.Paul - !!! The
Picasso Museum is closed for renovation until 2012.
Musée
des Arts Décoratifs, Paris 1°. Metro Louvre. Museum of
decorative arts, close to the Louvre.
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Other
places to visit:
The
Eiffel tower - take the lift to the top, for a
spectacular panorama of Paris. The tower is 317 metres high, over 1,000
ft.
Notre
Dame cathedral - one of the finest gothic cathedrals in
Europe. Climb the 400 steps to the top of the towers (included in Paris
Museum pass).
La
Sainte Chapelle, not far from Notre Dame. thirteenth
century royal chapel, with remarkable stained glass windows. (included
in Paris Museum pass)
The Arc
de Triomphe - the largest triumphal arch in the world,
commissioned by Napoleon. Another place with spectacular views over
Paris. (included in Paris Museum pass)
Montmartre,
and the Sacré Coeur. Narrow streets, filled with
artists, round the 19th century basilica on top of a hill on the north
edge of Paris.
The
banks of the Seine - just wander along the footpaths
through the centre of the city. Free !
The
Latin quarter; narrow streets, with lots of cafés and
restaurants, antique shops and boutiques, near the Sorbonne university.
Free!
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Les Champs Elysées; one of the most famous streets in the
world, a broad tree-lined boulevard. Enjoy a drink on a pavement café,
but watch the prices !
Seine
river boats (les bateaux mouche). Take a trip on one of
the famous Seine river boats, and see Paris from the river. Departures
from the Pont Neuf. Or use the Batobus.. daily and
weekly passes from 12 to 17 Euros.
Les
Invalides A fine military museum, containing the tomb of
Napoleon, and a remarkable collection of historic models of French
cities (included in Paris Museum pass). |
Some other
things to see and do.....
Paris
panorama: see Paris from the top of the Tour
Montparnasse, the tallest office block in the city. Panoramic
viewing area, and it's the only place from which the Paris skyline
isn't spoiled by the tour Montparnasse...
The
Gardens of the Luxembourg; the classic Paris city park.
Off Boulevard St. Michel.
Paris
by night: Many tour-bus operators run Paris by night
tours; but there's no need to take a tour. The lights and sights can be
seen in may ways. The most carefree option is to just stroll down the
Champs Elysées and along the banks of the Seine, looking at the lights
and the illuminated monuments that can often be seen from afar. Then
there plenty of restaurants with chairs and tables outside, where you
can have dinner and watch the world go by. Then of course there is
Pigalle, Paris's raunchy nightlife district, with its arrray of bars,
cabarets, clubs and shows.
More
information on things to do in Paris:
Visit ParisAdvice.com
- the insider's guide
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The Paris sewer museum. (Musée des égouts) Quai d'Orsay -
(Metro Alma-Marceau) There is a whole underground city beneath the
Paris streets, and the Metro is just one part of it. The
ancient sewerage system is a historic monument, and it has its own
museum and tour visit.
The
Moulin Rouge: the most famous cabaret in Paris, situated
in Pigalle at the foot of Montmartre. Running since 1889.
|
About-France.com
- Paris for free
(See also " Paris on a budget")
There
are plenty of things to see and do in Paris, without spending a single
centime. They include;
Free
museums and collections:
- City of Paris Museum
of Modern Art, at the Trocadéro
- Maison de Balzac,
devoted to France's great 19th century novelist.
- Musée Carnavalet
- the museum of the history of Paris
- Petit Palais,
City of Paris museum of fine arts; a large collection of great master
paintings and artefacts. Located just off the Champs Elysées
- Jardin des Plantes botanical
gardens (opposite Gare d'Austerlitz). One of the world's oldest and
largest botanical gardens, open to the public since 1640! There is paid
entry for the "menagerie" section, specialised in the preservation of
endangered species. However the small pandas can be clearly observed
for free from the botanical gardens.
Père-Lachaise
cemetry, located in the 20th Arondissement. One of the
most famous cemetries in the world. Visit the tombs of the great and
famous, including Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Balzac, Jim Morrison (of the
Doors), Isadora Duncan, Yves Montand, Alfred de Musset, and
hundreds more...
Free
only on the first Sunday of each month:
The Louvre, Musée Rodin, Musée Picasso, Musée d'Orsay and
others. |
Free
monuments;
Notre Dame cathedral, other Paris churches.
Free to
wander :
Wander along the banks of the Seine, through the parks, through the
narrow streets of the Latin quarter, up to the heights of Montmartre.
And of course there's window shopping; look at exclusive or exotic
products in the fine shops in and near the Rue de Rivoli, or the
hundreds of specialist shops to be found all over Paris.
Free
travel:
Walk! But if you have a travel pass, then all your public
transport is free.
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Links to main Paris tourist
attractions:
The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame cathedral, La Sainte Chapelle, the Champs Elysées, The Arc de Triomphe, The Louvre, The Orsay Museum, The Latin Quarter, Montmartre, The Moulin Rouge, Seine river boats, The Pompidou Center, Book Paris
hotels |
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