Museums & monuments — Paris
- Eiffel Towerfrom €14.60 (stairs) · €29.40 summitDaily 9:30am–11:45pm
Book online: security queues top an hour in high season.
- Louvre Museum€22 online · free under 189am–6pm · closed Tuesday
Use Porte des Lions or Carrousel: far shorter lines than the Pyramid.
- Notre-DameFree entryDaily 7:45am–7pm
Reopened after restoration: free time slot bookable on the official app.
- Sacré-CœurBasilica free · dome €8Daily 6:30am–10:30pm
Go at sunrise: empty steps and the best view over Paris.
- Arc de Triomphe€16 rooftop terraceDaily 10am–10:30pm
Reach it via the underpass — never cross the roundabout on foot.
- Musée d'Orsay€16 · free 1st Sunday of the month9:30am–6pm · Thu to 9:45pm · closed Monday
Thursday evening is nearly empty: the Impressionists to yourself.
- Sainte-Chapelle€13 · €20 with ConciergerieDaily 9am–5pm
Go on a sunny day: the 1,113 stained-glass panels need direct light.
- Palace of Versailles€21 Palace · €32 Passport9am–6:30pm · closed Monday
RER C to Versailles Château: 45 minutes from the centre.
- Panthéon€13 · dome +€3.50Daily 10am–6pm
Voltaire, Curie and Dumas rest in the crypt — almost never a queue.
- Centre Pompidou€15 · free under 1811am–9pm · closed Tuesday
Go to the top floor: the rooftop panorama over Paris is little known.
- Musée Rodin€14 · garden only €410am–6:30pm · closed Monday
The garden with The Thinker can be visited alone with the reduced ticket.
- Musée de l'Orangerie€12.50 · free 1st Sunday of the month (Oct–Mar)9am–6pm · closed Tuesday
Monet's Water Lilies fill two oval rooms: arrive at opening to enjoy them in silence.
- Musée Picasso€16 · free under 26 (EU)10:30am–6pm · closed Monday
The Hôtel Salé housing it is itself an architectural gem of the Marais.
- Musée du quai Branly€14 · free under 26 (EU)10:30am–7pm · Thu to 10pm · closed Monday
Jean Nouvel's exterior living wall is free to photograph from rue de l'Université.
- Musée de Cluny€12 · free 1st Sunday of the month9:30am–6:15pm · closed Monday
The Gallo-Roman baths beneath the museum are included in the ticket — few tourists see them.
- Musée Marmottan Monet€1410am–6pm · Thu to 9pm · closed Monday
Holds the world's largest Monet collection, including 'Impression, Sunrise'.
- Petit PalaisFree entry10am–6pm · closed Monday
The inner courtyard café is a free, quiet oasis near the Champs-Élysées.
- Grand PalaisVaries by exhibition, typically €16–20Hours vary depending on current exhibition
The great glass nave, reopened in 2024, is one of Europe's finest exhibition spaces.
- Musée CarnavaletFree entry10am–6pm · closed Monday
This museum of the history of Paris is free and traces the city from prehistory to today.
- Musée Jacquemart-André€17Daily 10am–6pm · Monday to 8:30pm in high season
The tea room in the former dining hall is one of the most elegant in Paris.
- Fondation Louis Vuitton€1611am–8pm · closed Tuesday
Frank Gehry's building in the Bois de Boulogne is worth visiting for the architecture alone.
- Musée de l'Armée · Les Invalides€16 (includes Napoleon's tomb)10am–6pm · closed 1st Monday of the month (Oct–Mar)
Napoleon's sarcophagus beneath the golden dome is the most visited spot — go early morning.
- Conciergerie€13 · €20 with Sainte-ChapelleDaily 9am–5pm
Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here — her reconstructed cell is the highlight.
- Palais Garnier€16 self-guided visit10am–5pm (varies with performances)
The Chagall-painted Grand Foyer ceiling is only visible on a daytime self-guided visit.
- La MadeleineFree entryDaily 9:30am–7pm
This Greek-temple-shaped neoclassical church hosts organ concerts nearly every week.
- Saint-Sulpice ChurchFree entryDaily 7:30am–7:30pm
Look for the astronomical gnomon on the floor, made famous by 'The Da Vinci Code'.
- Saint-Germain-des-PrésFree entryDaily 8am–7:45pm
It's the oldest church in Paris (6th century): stop at Les Deux Magots right next door.
- Saint-Eustache ChurchFree entryDaily 9:30am–7pm
It has one of France's largest organs: Sunday 5:30pm concerts are free.
- Catacombs of Paris€29 online with audioguide9:45am–8:30pm · closed Monday
Book well in advance online: without a ticket the on-site queue can exceed 2 hours.
- Tour Montparnassefrom €22 onlineDaily 9:30am–11pm (summer) / 9:30am–10:30pm (winter)
The only Paris panorama that includes the Eiffel Tower in the frame.
- Grande Arche de la Défense€16 rooftop terrace10am–7pm
The entire Notre-Dame Cathedral could fit inside the arch's hollow — aligned on the Louvre's historic axis.
- Opéra BastilleGuided tour from €17Guided tours by reservation, variable hours
Built for the Revolution's bicentennial: last-minute opera tickets are often discounted.
- Musée Grévinfrom €26.50 online10am–6:30pm (weekends to 7pm)
Paris's oldest wax museum: the Belle Époque Hall of Mirrors can be admired free near the entrance.
- Musée des Arts et Métiers€12 · free 1st Sunday of the month10am–6pm · Thu to 9pm · closed Monday
Foucault's original pendulum and early airplanes are housed in a former deconsecrated church.
- Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie€13 · Géode extra €69:30am–6pm · Sunday to 7pm · closed Monday
Great with kids: the Cité des Enfants runs timed sessions bookable at the desk.
- Palais de Tokyo€12Noon–10pm · closed Tuesday
Open late in the evening, it's the longest-open contemporary art museum in Paris.
- Musée Guimet€9.50 · free 1st Sunday of the month10am–6pm · closed Tuesday
Europe's largest museum of Asian art: the Japanese garden at the back is a quiet corner.
- Musée Nissim de Camondo€1210am–5:30pm · closed Monday and Tuesday
An intact early-20th-century mansion, with the poignant story of the Camondo family.
- Château de Vincennes€9.5010am–6pm (winter to 5pm)
Europe's tallest medieval keep: far less crowded than Versailles but just as authentic.
- Val-de-Grâce€6 (church and museum)Noon–6pm · closed Monday and Tuesday
The baroque dome commissioned by Anne of Austria is among Paris's finest and almost never crowded.
- Musée BourdelleFree entry10am–6pm · closed Monday
Sculptor Bourdelle's former studio is free and almost always empty, with a sculpture garden included.
- Musée ZadkineFree entry10am–6pm · closed Monday
A small free museum tucked near the Luxembourg Gardens, with a lovely sculpture garden.
- Arènes de LutèceFree entryDaily 8am–10pm (varies with season)
A free 1st-century Roman amphitheatre where Parisians still play pétanque among the tiers.
- Panthéon BouddhiqueFree entry10am–5:45pm · closed Tuesday
A free annex of the Musée Guimet, with a little-known Japanese garden and tea pavilion.