In the Latin Quarter of Paris stands the Arènes de Lutèce, an ancient Roman theater and one of the rare remnants of the city’s Gallo-Roman past. Known in ancient times as Lutetia (French: Lutèce), Paris has few traces of its early Roman heritage, making these ruins particularly significant. Aside from the nearby Thermes de Cluny, the Arènes de Lutèce are the only surviving above-ground structures from that era.
This impressive theater was constructed in the 2nd century CE. It could once accommodate around 15,000 people, with a footprint measuring approximately 132 meters by 100 meters. The design includes areas where the actors’ dressing rooms were located, the original platform of the stage, and several stone remnants that bear witness to its grand past. Visitors can easily spot these features while walking around the site.
The Arènes de Lutèce remained hidden for centuries. It was not until 1869, during the construction of new city streets, that the ruins were rediscovered. This accidental find led to a formal archaeological excavation in 1883. Since then, the site has been carefully preserved as a quiet archaeological park. Today, the arena provides a peaceful retreat, standing apart from the lively streets of modern Paris.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ar%C3%A8nes_de_Lut%C3%A8ce
The Museum of Mankind, accommodated in the Palais du Chaillot, is an anthropological museum covering the history of mankind and human societies.
Castel Béranger is an apartment building that was the first entirely art nouveau building in Paris, insulted at the time as "Castel Derangé". Its richly decorated facade won a city competition in 1898. It contains 36 apartments, all of which are still privately owned and not open to the public.
The house of the symbolist painter has now become a museum to his life and work.
The oldest planned square in Paris, and what many tourists as well as locals consider the heart of the Marais area.
The early Gothic Cathédrale de Notre Dame (Our Lady) has a 12th century design but wasn't completed until the 14th. Still it is a good example of the development of the style, though the west or main portal is a bit unusual in its rigidity. A April 2019 fire caused severe damage, but after extensive renovation the cathedral was reopened to the public in December 2024.
Built adjoining the now-lost royal palace of the Tuileries, these gardens lying immediately west of the Louvre offer a central open space for Parisians and visitors with semi-formal gardens (an outdoor gallery for modern sculpture), various cafés, ice cream and crépe stalls, and a summer fun fair. The gardens are frequently home to a giant Ferris wheel and enclose the Musée de la Orangerie and the Jeu de Paume.
The building has a freely accessible rooftop which allows for a beautiful bird's-eye view of the northern half of Paris.
The sleaze of boulevard de Clichy between place Pigalle and place Blanche can provide a moment of distraction. Be warned if you are male it is better to do this in the company of a female fellow traveller, as the clubs often send the girls outside to attempt to physically drag passing men off of the street. These strip clubs are big ripoffs. They tempt you with a free drink for €10 entry; once in the girl who starts dancing orders a couple of drinks (Red Bull) and then before you realise you are presented with a bill ranging from €500-700. They have these big bouncers who threaten/manhandle you till you arrive at some settlement with them. The whole of Pigalle is a rip off, best avoided. The police know about these places but nothing is done.
Housed in a 15th-century abbey, alongside 1st century Gallo-Roman baths, the museum has an extensive collection of medieval art and artifacts. Highlights include the medieval "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries, a papal golden rose, and the original heads from the facade of Notre Dame.
If you were a city planner in one of the great cities of our Earth and you discovered that a railroad right-of-way had been abandoned and would never be used again what might you do? Perhaps if you knew your stuff you'd convert it into a 4 mile long park, about half of which is elevated above street level on the old rail viaduct. This long narrow park pretty much allows the visitor to walk in carfree bliss from Place de Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes.
The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. It is classified as a French Monument historique.
For a taste of the French countryside, a visit to Bercy Village brings to life the spirit of market shopping inside Paris.
This wedding cake-white church rises visibly above the north part of Paris. The striking building, with its towers and white onion dome (83 m high), was built between 1875-1914 on the birthplace of La Commune, officially as an act of penitence for the sins committed during the civil war in which thousands of Communards were executed, as well as for the previous bloodshed of the 1870 Franco-Prussian war. A number of prominent businessmen put up the money, and a dizzying combination of architects worked to put together the mock Romano-Byzantine extravaganza. Consecration followed in 1919. The view over Paris from the dome and from the square before it (200 m above sea level) is unsurpassed, apart from that enjoyed at the Eiffel Tower (50 km on a clear day). For the athletic traveller there are stairs from several directions to the top of the hill; otherwise there is also a funicular which runs every few minutes during the daytime from Place St. Pierre. Follow the signs that say "Funiculaire De Montmartre". Beware that the guards don't like it if they catch you taking pictures inside and will even yell "No photo!" and chase you down if they see you with a camera. Be warned: along the lower steps leading up to church, groups of mostly young African men gather and reach toward you with a small string, offering to loop it round your finger. In case it happens, pull back your hand, brush them off and move on. They might claim that "This is for the church." In case your feel that things go sideways, raise your voice to get people's attention and ask them call the police.
The two pavilions were built in 1784 to 1787 by the French architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, who erected many similar toll houses at the entrances to the city.
Numerous artists paint portraits of tourists and also sell their paintings.
One of the last remnants of medieval Paris outside of the 4th, this tower was once part of a castle called l'hôtel de Bourgogne.
A controversial church serving as de facto headquarters of the arch-traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, who occupied the church in 1977 and have ignored subsequent eviction orders.