Historic sites
Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Élysées
Paris
Napoleon's triumphal arch stands at the top of the Champs-Élysées, in the middle of a huge roundabout of 12 avenues.
Travel tips in Île-de-France, France
About Île-de-France · All tips in France
France › Île-de-France
Country facts
Historic sites
Basilica of Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
The birthplace of Gothic architecture, rebuilt by Abbot Suger in the 12th century, and the burial place of almost all the kings and queens of France …
Buildings
Eiffel Tower, Paris
Paris
Built for the 1889 World's Fair, the 330 m tower has three levels open to visitors.
Attractions
Louvre Museum, Paris
Paris
The world's most visited museum, in the former royal palace on the Seine, entered through I.
Attractions
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
Paris
A former railway station on the Left Bank of the Seine, now home to the world's greatest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art: Mone…
Buildings
Notre-Dame de Paris
Paris
The great Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, begun in 1163 and reopened in December 2024 after the restoration that followed the fire of 2019.
Historic sites
Palace of Versailles
Versailles, Yvelines
The vast palace of Louis XIV, the 'Sun King', and the seat of the French court until the Revolution.
Historic sites
Panthéon, Paris
Paris
A vast neoclassical temple on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the Latin Quarter, built as a church and turned into a resting place for France's grea…
Buildings
Sacré-Cœur Basilica, Montmartre
Paris
The white-domed basilica on the hill of Montmartre, the highest point in Paris, finished in 1914.
Buildings
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
Paris
A royal chapel built in the 1240s by King Louis IX to house relics of the Crown of Thorns, hidden inside the Palais de Justice on the Île de la Cité.
Historic sites
Château de Rambouillet
Rambouillet, Yvelines
A royal and then presidential château southwest of Paris, used by French presidents to host summits until 2009.
Historic sites
Château de Vincennes
Vincennes, Val-de-Marne
A medieval royal fortress on the eastern edge of Paris, with the tallest keep in Europe, over 50 metres high, built in the 14th century.
Historic sites
Conciergerie, Paris
Paris
The oldest surviving part of the medieval royal palace on the Île de la Cité, with a huge Gothic hall of the soldiers, among the largest in Europe.
Historic sites
Hôtel de la Marine, Paris
Paris
An 18th-century palace on the Place de la Concorde, built to store the royal furniture and later the headquarters of the French Navy for over 200 yea…
Shopping
Marché Bastille, Paris
Paris
One of the biggest and best open-air food markets in Paris, stretching along the central strip of Boulevard Richard-Lenoir from the Place de la Basti…
Attractions
Musée Gustave Moreau, Paris
Paris
The house and studio of the Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, which he designed as his own museum before he died in 1898.
Historic sites
Palais-Royal gardens
Paris
The palace built for Cardinal Richelieu, with a peaceful garden of lime trees and fountains framed by arcades of old shops and cafés, just north of t…
Historic sites
Place du Tertre and Montmartre village
Paris
The little square at the top of Montmartre where artists set up their easels and sketch portraits, as they have since Picasso and Renoir's day.
Buildings
Villa Savoye, Poissy
Poissy, Yvelines
Le Corbusier's famous white villa, built in 1931 as a weekend house and one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century.
Historic sites
Château de Champs-sur-Marne
Champs-sur-Marne, Seine-et-Marne
An early 18th-century château east of Paris, once rented by Madame de Pompadour, with fine Rococo interiors including a Chinese salon painted with mo…
Historic sites
Château de Maisons
Maisons-Laffitte, Yvelines
A masterpiece of French classical architecture by François Mansart, built in the 1640s for a finance minister, which inspired the later palace at Ver…
Natural features
Domaine national de Saint-Cloud
Ville-d’Avray, Hauts-de-Seine
A large park on a hillside above the Seine, laid out by André Le Nôtre around a royal château that burned down in 1870.
Historic sites
Hôtel de Sully, Paris
Paris
An elegant 17th-century mansion in the Marais, with a decorated courtyard and a formal garden that leads through a passage straight into the Place de…