Place des Victoires

Enter Bastille station through any entrance or on any train and then make your way to the Bobigny/Pablo Picasso-bound platform. All that's left of the fortress whose front steps used to lead up from place de la Bastille are some foundation stones which you can see while waiting for a north bound train on this metro platform. There are maps and explanations showing where the fortress used to be relative the place and surroundings (basically the location of the old front steps are now occupied by Café des Phares).

20th- and 21st-century art in a building designed by Frank Gehry

Contained within two historic houses (hotels), the museum explores the history of Paris through objects in over 140 separate rooms.

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.

Guimard's own home, built in 1909-12. It is less decorated than Castel Béranger, but still beautifully shaped. Privately owned and not open to the public.

One of the most eye-popping sights of Paris, the catacombs represent a network of labyrinthine tunnels, first excavated in the Roman period, that now house the remains of over 6 million burials removed here from the various overcrowded cemeteries and charnel houses all over Paris in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Well worth a visit: the atmosphere is suitably morbid and gloomy (without being too scary), the dark tunnels containing neatly stacked piles of skulls and long bones. There is a limit to the number of visitors allowed within the Catacombs at one time (200 persons). So, if you arrive just after opening, you must wait until someone exits, approximately 45–60 minutes, before anyone is admitted. Steep stairwell on the exit of the catacombs. Can be challenging for the elderly or the unfit. Tickets can be purchased online at a small premium (€29, includes audioguide), allows you pick a date&time and to skip the long line

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.

Suspended above the train tracks this garden is surprisingly calm and chilled-out.

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 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.

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.

A must for anyone interested in the history of the American Revolution. This small cemetery includes three mass graves from the French Revolution, plus a section that includes many of France's most noble families that lost members during the French Revolution and consequently have a continuing right to be buried there. In the farthest right hand corner is the tomb of General Lafayette, the friend and fellow soldier of George Washington. Beside him is his beloved wife plus other members of her family, the de Noailles, who were almost completely wiped out during the French Revolution because of their closeness to the Court. Since 1834 the American flag has apparently flown continuously over his grave, even during the German occupation of Paris during World War II. Well worthy of a visit.

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.

Probably the most visited graveyard in any Western city, the vast Père-Lachaise features literally thousands of often elaborately decorated graves separated by narrow lanes and avenues. The roll call of famous burials includes: Chopin, Champollion, Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Delacroix, Bizet, Proust, Balzac, Colette, Molière, and Jim Morrison of The Doors.

Two-level bridge.

This charming scientific museum preserves the offices and laboratories of Pierre and Marie Curie, pioneers in the discovery of radioactivity. Their instruments, equipment, and furniture is arranged as it was during their critically important research. Guided tours in English available.

A former fortress and royal residence at the edge of the city, alongside the Bois de Vincennes. Most of the building is open to public.

Reopened after extensive renovations, this small museum near the Louvre houses the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume Collection, sold to the French Republic on very generous terms and numbering 143 paintings from the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century (15 Cézannes, 24 Renoirs, 10 Matisses, 12 Picassos, 28 Derains, 22 Soutines). The collection joined the eight immense Water Lilies that Monet gave France in 1922 and which have been displayed since 1927 in two huge oval rooms purpose-built on the artist's instructions.

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.