Musée Curie – Institut du Radium (1, rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris)(Metro Place Monge, RER Luxembourg) — the Curie Museum, a national authority on Marie Curie (1867-1934), pays homage to this great French physicist who discovered radioactivity and her entire family, two generations of which won the Nobel Prize. The laboratory that houses the […]
Musée Carnavalet – Musée de l’histoire de Paris (23 rue de Sévigné, Paris)(Metro: Saint-Paul) — Opened in 1880, this museum is devoted to the history of Paris from its origins to recent times. It occupies two adjoining mansions- the hôtels Carnavalet and le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau- and displays exceptional collections: rich archaeological artefacts of the […]
Maison de Balzac (47 rue Raynouard, Paris)(Metro: Passy or La Muette) – this is a house museum located within the former residence of French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850), who wrote “La Comédie Humaine”. Admission: free for permanent collections. Special exhibition admission €4 adults, €3 seniors and students, €2 ages 14-26, free for children 13 […]
Maison de Victor Hugo (6 pl. des Vosges, Marais, Paris)(Metro: St. Paul) – this was a one-time residence of famed French writer Victor Hugo (author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) between 1832 and 1848. Nowadays, this is a museum dedicated to Hugo and his literary works. Admission: Free; temporary exhibits €7. […]
Louvre Museum (Palais du Louvre, Louvre/Tuileries, Paris)(Metro: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre) – this is the world’s greatest art museum, with three wings (the Richelieu, the Sully, and the Denon) exhibiting works from all over the world. The Louvre’s best-known holdings include the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory. The Louvre […]
La Défense (Parvis de La Défense, La Défense, Paris) (Metro: Esplanade de la Défense, RER: La Défense) – during the 1960s, the French government, under Charles de Gaulle, established a business district toward the western outskirts of Paris, in a successful effort to prevent the character of the central historic areas of Paris from being […]
Eiffel Tower (Champ de Mars, Paris)(Metro: Bir-Hakeim) – this iron lattice tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World’s Fair. At 324 meters, it is Paris’ tallest building, and one of the most visited sites in the world. There are three levels for visitors. The first two levels can be accessed by stairs […]
Centre Pompidou (Pl. Georges-Pompidou, Beaubourg/Les Halles, Paris)(Metro: Rambuteau) – named after French president Georges Pompidou, this futuristic-looking complex was built during the 1970s by architects Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini. The largest museum of modern art in Europe (Musée National d’Art Moderne) is located here (with one level devoted to works by Matisse, […]
Catacombs of Paris (1, avenue of Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, Paris)(Metro: Denfert-Rochereau) — The Catacombs, which form a veritable labyrinth beneath the very heart of Paris, were created in the galleries of the former quarries whose stone was used to build the capital. Situated twenty metres below ground, the Catacombs contains the remains of approximately six […]
Bois de Vincennes (eastern part of Paris) (Metro: Metro: Porte-Dorée ot Château de Vincennes) – like Bois de Boulogne, this park was also a former hunting ground for French royalty. Within its grounds is the Château de Vincennes – which was once the largest of its kind in Europe. Built by the 14th century, various […]