France (French Republic)

Languages: French

Currencies: EUR · Euro (€)

Capitol: Paris

Continents: Europe

Borders: Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, Luxembourg, Spain, Belgium, Andorra

More useful information

Area: 551,695km2

Population: 67,391,582

Traffic/driving side: right

Landlocked country: No

Independent country: Yes

United Nations member: Yes

IDD Prefix: +33

Timezones: UTC-10:00, UTC-09:30, UTC-09:00, UTC-08:00, UTC-04:00, UTC-03:00, UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00, UTC+03:00, UTC+04:00, UTC+05:00, UTC+10:00, UTC+11:00, UTC+12:00

Last updated on April 19, 2024

Paris – a city of romance with an Eiffel Tower at the foot, considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. With extreme number of chateau (a large French house or castle) in it’s neighbourhood and endless scenery for gorgeous photos opportunity, everyone wants to explore the magic fashion city. Let me introduce some Paris City best spots to visit.

I’ve been visiting Paris couple of times for different occasions – it is impossible to get bored with this city! There’s always something more to explore. Before I take you outside Paris we are going to pay few visits to one of the most amazing museums in the world.

Palais de Versailles (Versaille, near Paris).

Palais de Versailles – a symbol of the French monarchy. It’s a great place to spend also a full day to explore impressive gardens around the palace. The history of Versailles is strongly associated with the figure of Louis XIV, who took the role of architect and built a masterpiece of the chateau and the forest surrounding it. Louis XV did not spent major time in Versailles but often resided at Fontainebleau. After his death Versailles entered a long period of neglect. In the late 18th century Louise XVI organized a huge wedding ceremony in Versailles and his wife – Marie Antoinette made it her exclusive domain. Versaille remained mostly untouched during French Revolution, it was closed during II world war to reopen and remain greatest world attraction.

Tips to avoid crowds and queues for Versailles.

Buy tickets online for specific time. The queue is enormous! I couldn’t believe how long it is when I saw it! Having ticket entitles you to go through a separate entrance (which is on your left side facing the Palace). A security man will check you ticket to make sure you are standing in the right queue. You have to be in front of the entrance 15 minutes before your ticket time! If you want to buy a ticket to the gardens you can buy it separately after visiting the palace.

Palais de Versailles

Versailles Palace - book one of the top tours and skip-the-Line.

Louvre - treasure in the heart of Paris.

Located in the centre of Paris, along Seine. Louvre was built as a fortress in 1190. After being reconstructed in 16th century it became a royal palace. In 1980s thanks to a huge renovation became a world’s biggest attraction as how it is now. Visited by million of tourist who find world’s best piece of art and of course the one and only – Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. Despite Louvre and Versaille are heavilty time-consuming attractions, both are Paris best spots to visit. 

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Tickets to Louvre Museum.

For best ticket options check here.  Best advice I can give is to buy tickets online in advance.

paint mona lisa

Also what’s very important – they say you need to have a printed version of the ticket, which I found extremely strange. It’s not easy to find printers nowdays in a digital world. Anyway – MOBILE ticket is sufficient. Nobody checked the printed one. If you have luggage go through the main entrance, as you will need an extra checkup. Locks are free and conveniently located at the premises.

Don’t forget to get a map of the place, it’s easier to detect parts of the museum you want to explore. Remember you won’t be able to visit the whole museum at once. IT IS SERIOUSLY HUGE! Not all the rooms are crowded but while getting closer to Mona Lisa section, you will notice the area is more busy. Be prepared you’ll have to squeeze while moving toward Mona Lisa painting. Just before the room you are being torn by the crowd! The staff lets people out in the front and secure they are not getting to close to the painting. This was incredible experience but I wouldn’t do it again. After being released from the crowd I was mainly happy it’s already behind me.

Check one of the top rated Paris city tours:

Château de Fontainebleau - magnificent castle for a one-day trip.

Chateau de Fontainebleau is one of the most interesting destination near Paris. It’s an overwhelming palace located 65 km southeast of Paris. The restoration made between 1964-1968 made the château welcomes around half million visitors per year. The rooms that date from the 16th century are among the most breathtaking in France. There are 1530 rooms in the château and 4 museums where you can find the Marie Antoinette’s Turkish boudoir, the imperial theater of Napoleon III and Napoleon I’s opulent throne room.

It was an amazing day for me, it wasn’t just visiting the chateau but having a great lunch in this stunning place, being surrounded by most beautiful gardens. I have never seen such huge carps in ponds. Of course, there was a gold fish among those monsters. The view of the gardens and the chateau from a further perspective is breathtaking!

Château de Fontainebleau

Roland Garros.

If you are tennis fan you simply can’t miss one of the most amazing venues in the world – Rolland Garros. The complex contains 20 courts with Suzanne Lenglen and Phillipe Chtreir as main arena. This symbolic place is among Paris best spots to visit. Step into a tennis history and discover the complex which was opened in 1928. 

Siene Walk in Paris City.

Taking a walk along Seine river will give an opportunity to see major attractions in Paris. Take an underground and get off at the Champs-Elysees – Clemenceau station (these are not the famous Champs-Elysees fields). Walk toward the great Grand Palais and Petit Palais and you will be almost near the river sidewalk. Through the Pont Aleksandre III you’ll notice a great view of golden copulas of Musee des Plans-Reliefs and of course an Eiffel Tower. Walking east along the river, you’ll have Place de la Concorde, which honestly is nothing spectacular comparing to other attractions. Number of museums on both sides of the river is unbelievable. Louvre will be around 40 minutes walk from the tube station.
The Pont de l’Archevêché

The love bridge.

The Pont de l’Archevêché is located just behind Notre-Dame Cathedral. It’s famous of hundreds of padlocks, which couples lock symbolizing their relation. The city authorities already had to few times take off all the padlocks because of the weight of it. Some few more Paris best spots to visit below.

The Pont de l’Archevêché

National Music Academy building

National Music Academy building

Opera building:

Opera building in Paris
Sassari Sardinia

Hey - I'm Eva!

Hiker, adventurous traveler and the author of this blog. My biggest joy is mountaineering and writing reportage travel stories here on this blog, to help you create a unique travel experience. Traveling is freedom, allows you seeing the world truly, meet communities, grow. Taste it!
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