Things to Do in Paris

Paris rewards both first-timers and returning visitors. The Eiffel Tower anchors the skyline, best seen at dusk when it sparkles on the hour, while the Louvre, the world's largest art museum, holds the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and tens of thousands of works across former royal palaces. A short walk along the Seine leads to the Musée d'Orsay and its unrivalled Impressionist collection, housed in a former railway station.

The city is a patchwork of distinctive quartiers: bohemian Montmartre climbing to the white domes of Sacré-Cœur, the café-lined Latin Quarter, the boutiques of Le Marais and the grand sweep from the Arc de Triomphe down the Champs-Élysées. A Seine river cruise threads past Notre-Dame, the Conciergerie and the Pont Alexandre III.

Many travellers pair central Paris with a half-day trip to the Palace of Versailles or a full day at Disneyland Paris, both reachable by RER train. Skip-the-line tickets are strongly advised for the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, where queues can otherwise stretch for hours in summer.