The Tour Saint-Jacques is a Gothic tower located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. Standing 52 meters tall, it is the only remaining remnant of the former Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. The tower's rich ornamentation reflects the wealth of the church’s congregation—wholesale butchers who worked at the nearby central market. The stonemasons responsible for the tower's construction were Jean de Felin, Julien Ménart, and Jean de Revier, and it was built between 1509 and 1523 during the reign of King Francis I. The ancient church was dedicated to Saint James, and its iconic tower welcomed pilgrims setting out on their journey to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. A relic of the saint was preserved inside the church. In 1998, the Tour Saint-Jacques was inscribed as part of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The National Museum of Natural History is located in Paris, France, and was officially established on June 10, 1793, during the French Revolution. It originated from the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants, founded by Louis XIII in 1635 and managed by royal physicians at the time. On March 31, 1718, Louis XV abolished its medical function,...
Canal Saint-Martin is a shipping shortcut built by Napoleon in the early 19th century on the Seine River, stretching 4.5 kilometers in length. As highways and cars gradually replaced ferry transport, the canal's importance declined. By the 1960s, Canal Saint-Martin nearly faced being filled in to become a road, but fortunately, it escaped that fate...
The Seine River has always been the heart of Paris. Before the 20th century, the river was filled with cargo ships transporting coal and other raw materials. Nowadays, the vast majority of vessels you’ll see on the Seine are various types of sightseeing boats. These boats were introduced to Paris in the late 19th century, and to this day, there are different stories about the peculiar origin of their nickname — “flies.”
After seeing the must-visit tourist attractions in Paris, you might want to relax and breathe some fresh air — Monceau Park is the perfect place for that. Located in Paris’s trendy 8th arrondissement, the park features a distinctive ancient circular entrance and spans an area of 8.2 hectares. The Duke of Orléans…
The Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner is located in an historic building in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is an art museum dedicated exclusively to showcasing the works of the renowned French painter Jean-Jacques Henner. Jean-Jacques Henner (…
Hidden in Paris’s 8th arrondissement, the Musée Cernuschi houses an impressive collection of Asian art. Opened in 1898, it is France’s second-largest museum of Asian art after the Musée Guimet. Located near the charming Parc Monceau, the museum is named after its founder — banker, journalist, and collector Henri...
The Carnavalet Museum is a museum dedicated to the history of Paris’s urban development. It is housed in two adjacent mansions: the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau and the Hôtel Carnavalet. The Hôtel Carnavalet was once home to the famous Madame de Sévigné, the Baroness of Sévigné…
Alma Bridge is an arch bridge over the Seine River in Paris, measuring 153 meters in length and 42 meters in width. It is named after the Battle of Alma (September 20, 1854) during the Crimean War, in which the Allied forces of Britain and France defeated the Russian army. The bridge was originally built between 1854 and 1856, and was inaugurated on April 2, 1856...
The Grand Palais is now the Grand Palais Art Gallery in Paris, located on the Champs-Élysées. It was built for the 1900 World's Fair. Designed jointly by architects Henri Deglane and Albert Louvet, it is the largest building in Paris since 1900, with a façade stretching 240 meters and standing 43 meters high. The architectural style of the Grand Palais...
The Champ de Mars is a vast, elongated garden located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. Stretching 780 meters in length and 220 meters in width, it lies between the Eiffel Tower to its northwest and the École Militaire to its southeast. The name of the square is derived from Rome’s Campus Martius, with the French “Mars” referring to the Roman god…
Le Lapin Agile is located in the heart of Paris's Montmartre district, at 22 Rue des Saules on the steep cobblestone street, northwest of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, and is the most famous cabaret in Montmartre. Originally it was called “Le Cabaret des Assassins” (The Assassins’ Cabaret), reportedly named so because assassins broke in and killed the owner’s son. In 1875, the...
Place du Tertre is a square in Paris, France, located in the Montmartre district of the 18th arrondissement, not far from the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and Le Lapin Agile. The square often gathers many artists and is one of the most famous and most visited tourist attractions in the capital. The renowned Place du Tertre is the center of the old village of Montmartre, and in this…
The Planetarium Cinema is located next to the City of Science and Industry in Parc de la Villette in northern Paris and is one of the most famous cinemas in the city. By all accounts, it is truly outstanding — the massive steel globe was built in 1986 and has an internal diameter of 36 meters. It is not only a major feat in architecture but also a genuine technical...
Parc de la Villette is located in the northeast of Paris’s 19th arrondissement and is one of the city’s largest public parks. It was one of the nine major projects built in Paris to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. Before 1974, the site was home to a century-old large market, where livestock and other goods were transported via the Canal de l'Ourcq, which runs through the park...
The Panthéon is located in the Latin Quarter of Paris, France. Originally built as the Church of Sainte-Geneviève by King Louis XV of France, it has undergone several transformations and is now the most renowned burial site for France's most celebrated cultural figures. The Panthéon is an early example of Neoclassical architecture, with a façade modeled after the Roman Pantheon and a dome in the Bramante style. ...
Place de la Bastille is a square in the French capital of Paris. It was formerly the site of the Bastille prison, which was stormed during the French Revolution. Between July 14, 1789, and July 14, 1790, the prison was completely demolished, leaving no trace. The square spans three arrondissements of Paris:…
The Bateau-Lavoir is the nickname of a historic building located at 13 Rue Ravignan in Paris’s Montmartre district. Its name means “laundry boat” because it resembles a boat used by washerwomen. This place became famous at the turn of the 20th century when a group of outstanding artists lived there and rented it as their studios...
The Pigalle District is an area in Paris surrounding Pigalle Square, located in the 9th and 18th arrondissements of Paris. It is named after the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. This is a famous tourist area where Divan…
Saint-Pierre Church is one of the two churches on Montmartre Hill in Paris, France, though it is less well-known than the nearby Sacré-Cœur Basilica. However, it enjoyed higher prestige historically, as according to the earliest biography of Ignatius of Loyola, this was the place where he vowed to found the Society of Jesus. According to its tradition...