musée en herbe

Soaring stained glass windows beaming ample light onto the rich primary colours of the tile mosaics on the floor, this photogenic church was built by the French kings to house the relics of the Crown of Thorns. Make sure you go on a sunny day, as the highlight of this small chapel in Rayonnante Gothic style are the large stained-glass windows which soar up to near the vaulted ceiling. Also of interest is the extremely ornate lower level. If it happens to be rainy or cloudy, give Sainte-Chapelle a miss, as the play of coloured lights on the floor is well worth the wait for a sunnier day. As the chapelle is inside the Courts of Justice, there will thus be a security check.

Founded in 1671 by Louis XIV as a hospital for 6,000 wounded soldiers—this function explaining the name of the building—the golden-domed Hôtel des Invalides still functions as an infirmary and now also houses the Musée de l'Armée. The church attached, l'Eglise du Dôme, houses the tomb of Napoleon.

A symbol of Paris and one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1887-1889, the tower was almost torn down in 1909 and only saved due to its use as a telegraphy antenna. The queues can be very long. The tower allows online reservations at its website. You can select a date and time frame. If you miss the time on your ticket, you have lost your money. The north, west, and east pillars have elevators that go to the first and second floors; the south pillar has stairs that can be climbed to the second floor. To reach the top floor, an additional elevator ride is required, and the wait for this can be very long as well. Disabled visitors are not allowed beyond the second floor due to safety concerns. Taking the Métro as far as Ecole Militiare and then strolling up the Champ de Mars is a lovely way to arrive at the tower. Another phenomenal approach is to exit the Metro at Trocadero and see the Eiffel Tower from the other side of the Ecole Militaire.

For an interesting take on Paris, check out the underground sewers of Paris. See swords found in the sewers over the years and get an appreciation for what it takes to keep Paris running.

One of the largest collections outside Asia of Southeast Asian, Indian, Afghan, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art.

Private collection of French, Italian, Dutch masterpieces in a typical XIXth century mansion.

The first concrete church

The east wing of the Palais de Tokyo holds the modern art collection of the city of Paris, dating roughly from World War I to date (the older part of the collection is at the Petit Palais in the 8th), including around 10,000 works.

The magnificent setting of The Phantom of the Opera, the inside is as opulent as the outside. However, since the opening of the Opera Bastille (12th) in 1989, the Palais Garnier has been reserved mostly for dance performances, particularly ballet.

Visitable only by reservation and then only one Saturday every month. A richly decorated palace built for Marie de Medici in the early 17th century, which is now the French Senate. For those interested in seeing a Parisian monument normally unavailable to the public, or for those interested in the inner workings of the French Government. The large Luxembourg Garden is open to the public year-round. The garden is home to the Medici fountain, a children's playground, and vintage toy boats for hire that children push around in the Grand Bassin duck pond (a 90-year tradition).

Great perspective on the Eiffel Tower and Left Bank from Place du Trocadéro in between the two buildings of the palais. Former location of the Palais du Trocadéro. It accommodates three museums, an aquarium, and the Theatre Nationale du Chaillot.

The Pasteur Museum is housed in the apartment where the great scientist spent the last 7 years of his life. Hardly touched since that time, the museum is full of personal memorabilia and scientific instruments. Pasteur is buried on the grounds in a flamboyant mosaic-decorated mausoleum. The museum was closed to individual visitors for security reasons after the 13th November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

Part gallery - part restaurant - part nightclub, La Cite (Les Docks) is a modern building that is instantly recognisable due to being draped on one side with a large neon green shell covering the stairwells and roof the building. Roughly translated in English as The City of Fashion and Design, this is a trendy spot at the weekends and is used for event like Paris Design Week. The restaurant in the building is open all year round.

17th century church.

An industrial design museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (National Conservatory of Arts and Industry), which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the preservation of scientific instruments and inventions.

Those who are unfamiliar with conceptual art sometimes don't know quite what to expect, or how to approach it. Such travellers should rest assured that the curators at the Pompidou Centre have assembled a marvellous introduction consisting of mostly approachable works which delight, amuse, and entertain. The art is far from the only reason for a visit, as the building also contains a vast public library and a fine restaurant (run by the Costes brothers) on the roof. In fact the place is literally surrounded by some of the nicest pavement cafés in the city, in its superb location between the car-free above ground part of Forum Les Halles and the Marais art district.

An indoor sports arena that seats around 17,000 for sports and slightly over 20,000 for major concerts; formerly known as Palais des Omnisports de Paris-Bercy and Bercy Arena. Home to numerous concerts and major sporting events, most notably the Paris Masters tournament on the ATP World Tour in men's tennis.

The house in which the famous French novelist Victor Hugo once lived.