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.
Historic sites in Île-de-France, France
About Île-de-France · All historic sites in France
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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 …
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…