Attractions of Paris – Paris, France







Attractions of Paris
Paris, France

Local Attractions
Paris has too many museums, ruins, famous buildings, quaint streets and verdant parks to list here. Some of the most popular attractions are:

Le Musée du Louvre
Home of Winged Victory, the Mona Lisa (La joconde in French) and I.M. Pei’s transparent pyramids. Take the metro to Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre. All information on hours and ticket prices can be found in English here.

Le Tour Eiffel
No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to its most famous symbol. Take the metro to Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro or Ecole Militaire. For information on going up the tower, visit the English language web site.

Musée D’Orsay
This museum, housed in an old train station, contains an incomparable collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art. Take the metro to Solférino. Check the official web site for opening times and ticket prices.

Below are some off-the-beaten-path highlights.

Espace Dalí-Montmartre
Everyone goes to the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, but the small Salvador Dalí museum at 11, rue Poulbot (metro stop Abbesses) is a nice counterpoint. Tucked away on a small street in picturesque Montmartre, a visit to this collection of surrealist masterpieces is easily combined with a walk and lunch in the hilltop neighborhood.

Marché Maubert
Paris is home to dozens of open-air markets. Most neighborhoods have one within walking distance. One of my favorites is the market at the Maubert-Mutualité metro stop. It is located near Notre Dame Cathedral, yet its position on a hill seems to keep the hordes of tourists away. If you arrive early in the morning, you will see the vendors unloading their products: impossibly beautiful berries, delicate green beans, rustic cheeses and pâtés… This is a great place to shop for a picnic lunch. The market is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Saturday from 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Quai de Jemmapes
The Quai (quay) de Jemmapes is situated on the Canal St. Martin. The canal was created by Napoleon III to alleviate congestion of the Seine. Today, the Quai de Jemmapes area is a little waterside park with functioning locks. Old men play petanque in sandy areas on the shore and you can take a shady walk towards the center of Paris (the canal reaches almost to the Place de la République) or stroll in the other direction out of the city. To get there, take the metro to Jaurès and then take the Boulevard de la Vilette to the Quai de Jemmapes. A good map of the Canal St. Martin area is available here.

Excursions

Chateau de Versailles
A day-trip to Versailles is obligatory for those visiting Paris. Versailles was the chateau of Louis XIV, the “sun king” known for the highly codified court life he imposed on nobles and for his own lavish habits. Tour the manicured grounds, visit the Hall of Mirrors where the treaty of Versailles was signed, and don’t miss Mary Antoinette’s Petit Trianon, a mock hamlet she constructed to play at being a peasant. To get to Versailles, take the RER C5 to Versailles – Rive Gauche. Visit the English language version of the Versailles web site.

Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte
This extraordinary chateau was built by Nicolas Fouquet, the finance minister to Louis XIV. When the building was complete, Fouquet held a huge festival to celebrate. But the chateau and the festival were so ostentatious, that Louis XIV had Fouquet arrested. Some believe that Fouquet was the “man in the iron mask.” Today, you can visit the gardens, statuaries, lakes and of course the interior of the chateau. A word of warning: from the back steps of the chateau you can see a statue that appears to be within walking distance. This is a trompe l’oeil effect: the ground is landscaped to create the illusion that the statue is near when in fact it is quite far away. The chateau is located in Maincy, 55 kilometers away by car. By public transportation, take the RER D to Melun, then take a taxi from Melun to the chateau. For information on opening times, visit the English version of their web site.

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