Paris's Most Iconic Landmarks

Built by Gustave Eiffel's company for the 1889 World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower was meant to stand for only twenty years. Many Parisian artists and intellectuals protested its construction, calling it a monstrous iron skeleton that would deface the skyline.

It survived because it proved useful as a radio and telegraph transmitter, and it slowly grew into the beloved emblem it is today.

Standing on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine, the tower rises in three levels connected by stairs and lifts. The first two platforms hold restaurants, shops and viewing galleries, while the summit offers the widest panorama over the city.

On a clear day the view stretches far past the rooftops toward the surrounding hills.

After dark the tower is lit golden, and for a few minutes at the top of each evening hour it sparkles with thousands of flashing lights.

Watching that display from the lawns of the Champ de Mars or from the Trocadero terrace across the river is one of the simplest and most memorable things you can do in Paris.

Notre-Dame de Paris rose over roughly two centuries on the Ile de la Cite, the small island in the Seine where the city was born.

Its flying buttresses, rose windows and twin western towers made it a landmark of French Gothic architecture and a stage for coronations, royal weddings and national mourning.

A devastating fire in 2019 destroyed the spire and much of the roof, shocking people around the world. A vast restoration effort followed, drawing on traditional craft and modern engineering to rebuild the cathedral.

It has since reopened to worshippers and visitors, and the surrounding square once again fills with people gazing up at the facade.

Inside, the cathedral is known for its soaring nave, its great organ and the colored light that pours through the rose windows. Even for visitors with no religious ties, the sense of space and the weight of centuries make it a moving place to stand.

Perched at the highest point in Paris, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart gleams white above the rooftops thanks to a local stone that pales with age.

It was built in the decades after the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune as an act of national devotion, and its Romano-Byzantine style sets it apart from the city's Gothic churches.

The climb up the Montmartre hill, whether on foot or by the funicular, is part of the experience. From the steps in front of the basilica, one of the broadest free views over Paris opens up, especially fine in the soft light of early morning or late afternoon.

Inside, one of the largest mosaics of its kind covers the ceiling above the altar. The surrounding neighborhood, with its steep lanes, artist square and long history of painters and cabarets, invites a slow wander once you have seen the church itself.

Built by King Louis IX to house relics of the Passion, Sainte-Chapelle is one of the supreme achievements of Gothic architecture.

From the outside it is modest, tucked within the walls of a former royal palace that now serves as a courthouse complex, giving little hint of the marvel inside.

The upper chapel is the reason to visit. Its walls seem to dissolve into fifteen towering stained glass windows that together tell hundreds of biblical scenes.

On a bright day the light pours through the glass and fills the space with color, an effect that has stunned visitors for nearly eight centuries.

Because the chapel is small and popular, it can feel crowded, yet the sheer intensity of the glass rewards patience. Look closely and you can read the windows almost like an illustrated book of medieval belief.

Originally built as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, the Pantheon was transformed during the Revolution into a secular mausoleum for the nation's distinguished citizens. Its massive dome and columned portico dominate the crown of the Latin Quarter hill.

Beneath the main floor, the crypt holds the tombs of writers, scientists and statesmen including Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie and others honored for their contribution to France.

Being laid to rest here is one of the highest posthumous distinctions the country can grant.

Under the dome hangs a replica of Foucault's pendulum, first demonstrated in this building to show the rotation of the Earth. The slow swing of the pendulum against the vast interior is a quietly hypnotic sight.

Just outside Paris, the Palace of Versailles grew from a royal hunting lodge into the glittering center of French power under Louis XIV.

Its scale was designed to overwhelm, from the gilded state apartments to the famous Hall of Mirrors, where hundreds of mirrors reflect the light of tall windows overlooking the gardens.

The formal gardens are as celebrated as the palace, with their geometric parterres, long avenues, groves and grand fountains laid out by Andre Le Notre.

Beyond them lie the more intimate Trianon palaces and the rustic hamlet built for Marie Antoinette, offering a quieter counterpoint to the state rooms.

Versailles is enormous, and a full visit easily fills a day. Because it draws heavy crowds, planning ahead and arriving early make a large difference to the experience.