19 Stunning Architecture Landmarks in Paris
19 landmarks with verified facts and stories
Arc de Triomphe
Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris
Napoleon commissioned this arch in 1806, right after his victory at Austerlitz, but he never got to walk through it as Emperor.
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris
When this building opened in 1977, Parisians were genuinely horrified.
Eiffel Tower
Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007 Paris
When Gustave Eiffel built this thing for the 1889 World's Fair, over 300 prominent Parisians — including Guy de Maupassant and Alexandre Dumas fils — signed a petition calling it a "metallic horror" that would disfigure Paris.
Les Invalides & Napoleon's Tomb
129 Rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris
Louis XIV built this complex in 1670 as a hospital and retirement home for wounded soldiers, and it still serves that purpose today — making it one of the oldest veterans' institutions in the world.
Musée d'Orsay
1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 7th Arr., Paris, 75007, France
This is what happens when you save a train station from the wrecking ball: you get the most beautiful museum in Paris.
Musée de l'Orangerie
113 Rue de Rivoli, 1st Arr., Paris, 75001, France
Claude Monet spent the last decade of his life painting eight massive water lily murals, and then he designed the rooms to hold them.
Notre-Dame Cathedral
6 Parvis Notre-dame-place Jean-paul II, 4th Arr., Paris, 75004, France
She burned on live television on April 15, 2019, and roughly a billion people watched, many of them weeping for a building they'd never set foot in.
Opéra Garnier
Place de l'Opéra, 9th Arr., Paris, 75009, France
Charles Garnier was a virtually unknown 35-year-old architect when he won the design competition for the new Paris opera house in 1861.
Palace of Versailles
Allée des Dames, 16th Arr., Paris, France
Louis XIV built this palace for one very clear reason: control.
Palais Royal
8 Rue de Montpensier, 1st Arr., Paris, 75001, France
This is Paris's best-kept secret hiding in plain sight, a five-minute walk from the Louvre that most tourists walk right past.
Place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde, 8th Arr., Paris, 75008, France
This is the largest square in Paris, and it has one of the bloodiest histories of any public space in Europe.
Place des Vosges
Place des Vosges, 4th Arr., Paris, 75004, France
This is the oldest planned square in Paris, and it's still the most beautiful.
Pont Alexandre III
Quai d'Orsay, 8th Arr., Paris, 75008, France
This is the most extravagant bridge in Paris, and possibly the world.
Pont Neuf
Pont Neuf, 1st Arr., Paris, 75001, France
The "New Bridge" is the oldest standing bridge in Paris, which is exactly the kind of contradiction the French enjoy.
Sacré-Cœur Basilica
35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 18th Arr., Paris, 75018, France
Sacré-Cœur is gorgeous, controversial, and impossible to ignore — it sits on the highest point in Paris like a giant meringue, visible from practically everywhere in the city.
Sainte-Chapelle
10 Boulevard du Palais, 1st Arr., Paris, 75001, France
If you only see one church interior in all of Paris, make it this one.
The Conciergerie
2 Boulevard du Palais, 1st Arr., Paris, 75001, France
This is where the French Revolution ate its own.
The Louvre
1st Arr., Paris, France
The numbers are staggering: 380,000 objects, 35,000 on display, 72,735 square meters of gallery space.
The Panthéon
Place du Panthéon, 5th Arr., Paris, 75005, France
Originally built as a church dedicated to Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, this building has had more identity crises than any structure in Europe.
Explore architecture in Paris
GPS-guided narration at every landmark. Tap a spot on the map, hear the story. Every fact verified.