Top 5 must see attractions in Paris

Every time I visit Paris in France, I wonder to myself, do I make the most of my trip here and check out all the top attractions? The answer turned out to be a no.

In my experience, I usually go to a country and try to search up what the locals enjoy doing, rather than the famous attractions for tourists like me. It is usually due to the joy of feeling like you are a part of the country, or one of the locals. Most people do not like looking or acting like tourists.

That is why I made a basic but important list of places that are vital for everyone to visit at least once when they go to France. There is no excuse for why anyone should miss out on seeing the following attractions, especially if it is the Eiffel Tower, which I think everyone should visit every single time they come to Paris!

The Eiffel Tower is the most famous visited attraction in the world. It is wrought-iron lattice tower named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. The tower was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair and was initially criticised by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.

The Louvre Museum is the world’s second largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris. It is best known for being the home of the Mona Lisa and is a central landmark of the city. There are approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century exhibited in the museum. 

Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill, and is open every day except Mondays. Although there is an admission fee for temporary exhibitions, the permanent collections are free to visit. 

The Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval residence of the Kings of France until the 14^th century. Construction began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was sanctified in 1248. The Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. The building is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace. Although damaged during the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13^thcentury stained glass collections than anywhere in the world. The Sainte-Chapelle is no longer a church.

The Catacombs of Paris are underground ossuaries, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris’ ancient stone quarries. This was created as part of the effort to eliminate the city’s overflowing cemeteries. The ossuary remained forgotten until it became a place for concerts and other private events in the early 19th century. After renovations and the construction of accesses around Place Denfert-Rochereau, it was opened to public visitation from 1874.

Now that you have this list, why not go to one of the sites and wander around. This is the most recommended activity by most travellers, as it is the best way to discover new areas that you may end up liking, as well as new restaurants or cafes, which you may end up enjoying so much you will come back!