Palais Garnier

There are a number of famous occupants, but the real reason to visit this cemetery is to see the ornate tombstones, sculptures, and other sometimes macabre, sometimes touching memorials Parisians have left here for their dead.

The building has a freely accessible rooftop which allows for a beautiful bird's-eye view of the northern half of Paris.

Built in 1717, the windmill is now part of a restaurant of the same name, and is easily visible from the street.

A sculpture by Auguste Rodin in memory of the French novelist Honoré Balzac. The artwork is sometimes considered the first truly modern sculpture.

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.

The burial place of existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, feminist Simone de Beauvoir (both of whom lived nearby); musician Serge Gainsbourg; artist Man Ray; the poets Charles Baudelaire, Guy de Maupassant, Charles Sainte-Beuve, and Marguerite Duras; the founders of the Theatre of the Absurd Samuel Becket and Eugene Ionesco; the sculptors Constantin Brancusi and Ossip Zadkine; the composers Camille de Saint-Saens and César Franck; the actors Maria Montez and Jean Seberg; the French officer Alfred Dreyfus; the founder of the Larousse encyclopedia, Pierre Larousse; the industrialist André Citroen, and many others.

Tourists cross this park with the large fountain on the way to the Place du Trocadéro viewpoint to the Eiffel Tower.

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).

Ordered by Cardinal de Richelieu (1585-1642), King Louis XIII's prime Minister in 1629 (completed in 1636); originally called Palais Cardinal; it became Le Palais Royal when Anne d'Autriche, Louis XIII's wife, came to live here to get away from the Louvre palace. It eventually housed Louis XIV until the move to Versailles. It includes also a beautiful garden Les jardins du Palais Royal, enclosed by the buildings. It's been the theatre of one of the seminal events of the French Revolution (Camille Desmoulins made a famous declaration here in 1789). The Théatre Français nearby was built in 1716. There are numerous restaurants inside the garden , including famous Le Grand Véfour. There's also the controversial Colonnes de Buren, striped columns installed within the inside yard amid the 17th century architecture.

Numerous artists paint portraits of tourists and also sell their paintings.

Recently reconstructed, the Paris branch of the National Maritime Museum, one of the three museums in the Palais du Chaillot, cannot accommodate any full-size ships, but has a wide range of smaller artifacts, artworks and models, covering both the Navy and commercial shipping.

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.

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.

This charming museum is owned by the French Académie des Beaux-Arts. Its main collection areas, the result of several large donations, include: First Empire art and furnishings; illuminated manuscripts; and Impressionist art, including the largest Monet collection in the world and works by Renoir, Manet, Morisot, Caillebotte and Gauguin.

The house of the symbolist painter has now become a museum to his life and work.

The Paris Botanical Garden, founded as the royal medicinal garden in 1626 by King Louis XIII's doctor, contains over 10,000 species. The grounds also include a small zoo known as La Ménagerie, and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, which includes the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution (where you can see thousands of naturalized animals from all over the world) and the 'Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée' (same thing, but with skeletons).

The foundation opened its doors in May 2003. It preserves Henri Cartier-Bresson and Martine Franck’s archives. Exhibition of photographs, paintings, sculptings, and illustrations.

The largest French museum of Jewish art and history