Paris does not do small must-sees. This list runs from a cathedral whose history begins in 1163 to a cabaret that has traded on spectacle since 1889, taking in a palace with UNESCO World Heritage Site status, a tower that forms part of another, and a mausoleum for the most distinguished French people. Most of these places are famous enough that visiting them badly is easy: wrong hour, wrong day, half an hour of queueing for a photograph. The point of this list is timing and judgement as much as selection. Several keep late hours worth planning around, a few close on days you might not expect, and one sits outside the city in Versailles. We've written it for a first or second visit, for travellers who want the landmarks without the dutiful box-ticking. Read the hours before you build the day, and give each place the slot it deserves.
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1 avenue des Champs-Élysées
Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris, 75008The walk itself, along an avenue laid out in 1670
Ask a Parisian about the avenue des Champs-Élysées and you may get a shrug, which undersells it. The line of this avenue dates from 1670, and its address is simply Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008: here the street is the landmark, not a container for one. Don't treat it as a shopping trip; the reason to come is the walk, end to end, at a pace that lets the scale register. Go early, before the pavements fill, and resist sampling a single block and calling it done. Practical details are on the Paris tourist office page. A street this old and this wide rewards the visitor who uses it to get somewhere on foot.
Dates from 1670
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2 Arc de Triomphe
Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris, 75008Late opening, to 22:30 on most dates
At Place Charles de Gaulle in the 75008, the Arc de Triomphe opens at 10:00 and stays open to 22:30 on most dates. Use that late closing: skip the midday crush and come after dark, when this triumphal arch is a reason to be out in the evening rather than a stop squeezed between lunch and a museum. It dates from 1836 and is a classified historical monument. Check the calendar before you commit: it closes on Jan 01, May 01, May 08, Jul 14, Nov 11 and Dec 25. Current details are on the official site.
Dates from 1836 · Classified historical monument
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3 Notre-Dame de Paris
Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame 6Thursday late opening to 22:00
Notre-Dame de Paris at Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame 6 is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 07:50 to 19:00, and on weekends 08:15 to 19:30. Thursdays are the exception: this cathedral stays open until 22:00, the one evening it runs late, and it is noticeably calmer for it. Avoid the mid-afternoon queue; an early start or that Thursday evening is the better call. Construction began in 1163, and the building is a classified historical monument. Stop for a moment outside before you go in and take in the scale of the facade, then give it more time than you planned.
Dates from 1163 · Classified historical monument
Hours: Mo,Tu,We,Fr 07:50-19:00; Th 07:50-22:00; Sa,Su 08:15-19:30
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4 Palace of Versailles
Place d'ArmesThe Museum of the History of France, housed in the palace
The Palace of Versailles sits at Place d'Armes in Versailles itself and houses the Museum of the History of France. Doors open at 09:00 Tuesday to Sunday, closing at 18:30 from April to October and at 17:30 from November to March; it does not open on Mondays, so plan around that. If you arrive at lunchtime, it is not worth the trip. Give it a full day, starting at opening. The palace dates from 1661 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Book through the official site, or call +33 1 30 83 78 00.
Dates from 1661 · UNESCO World Heritage Site
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5 Eiffel Tower
5 Avenue Anatole France, Paris, 75007Summer hours running to 00:45
The Eiffel Tower, dating from 1887, stands on the Champ de Mars at 5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007. Hours run 09:30 to 23:45, stretching to 09:00 to 00:45 between Jun 21 and Sep 02, and it is closed on Jul 14 and Jul 15. Skip the noon slot everyone else books. The late hours are the better visit; in summer you can still be there well past midnight, and seeing it close up at night does more for it than any postcard. It forms part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Treat it as an evening plan, not a morning errand.
Dates from 1887 · Part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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6 Père Lachaise Cemetery
16, rue du Repos 75020 ParisUnhurried walking among the graves of a cemetery dating from 1804
Most visitors treat Père Lachaise Cemetery as a hunt for a single grave, and that undersells it. The cemetery dates from 1804 and is a classified historical monument; you enter at 16, rue du Repos 75020 Paris. Gates open at 08:00 on weekdays, 08:30 on Saturday and 09:00 on Sunday, closing at 17:30 every day, so arriving in late afternoon leaves you less time than the place warrants. We'd skip any checklist of names and wander without one, letting the paths lead wherever they go. The official page is paris.fr/perelachaise, and the office answers on +33-1-55-25-82-10.
Dates from 1804 · Classified historical monument
Hours: Mo-Fr 08:00-17:30; Sa 08:30-17:30; Su 09:00-17:30
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7 Palais Garnier
Place de l'Opéra, 75009 Paris, FranceDaytime visits to an opera house dating from 1861, 10:00 to 17:00
The facade of the Palais Garnier faces Place de l'Opéra, 75009, and the opera house it belongs to dates from 1861. Visiting hours run 10:00 to 17:00. The ten-minute photo stop most passers-by give it sells the building short; go inside for an hour and let it make its case. It is a classified historical monument, and it rewards slow looking more than almost anywhere else on this list. Come back for a performance if you can, with the programme on the official site, because seeing the house by day and then from a seat at night is the best way to understand it.
Dates from 1861 · Classified historical monument
Hours: 10:00-17:00
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8 Panthéon
Place du Panthéon, 75005A mausoleum for the most distinguished French people
The building at Place du Panthéon, 75005 is the Panthéon, a mausoleum for the most distinguished French people. It opens at 10:00 and closes at 18:00, or 18:30 from Apr 1 to Sep 30, and is closed on Jan 1, May 1 and Dec 25. We'd skip the quick lap most visitors do and read the names slowly instead, because the whole idea of the place is the company it keeps. Its history dates from 1758, and it is a classified historical monument. Check the official site before you go. Of all the places on this list, this is the one most worth a quiet weekday morning.
Dates from 1758 · Classified historical monument
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9 Sainte Chapelle
8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001A chapel dating from 1245, open to 19:00 from April to September
Sainte Chapelle stays open until 19:00 on summer evenings, from April to September, then shifts to 09:00 to 17:00 from January to March and again from October to December. Avoid an overcast midday slot if you can: a bright day is the one for a chapel like this. It dates from 1245 and is a classified historical monument, and you'll find it at 8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001. Check the weather before you go, then check the official site.
Dates from 1245 · Classified historical monument
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10 Moulin Rouge
90 Boulevard de Clichy, Paris, 75018A cabaret show at a venue dating from 1889
After dark, the evening crowd makes its way to 90 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018, where the Moulin Rouge has been a cabaret since 1889. Most passers-by stop for a doorstep selfie and move on, which is the wrong call: a cabaret makes sense from a seat, with the show in front of you, and nowhere else. Book through the official site rather than turning up on spec. It is loud, unapologetic and unashamedly theatrical, and it has no reason to apologise for being on every visitor's list. Go for the show, dress up a little, and let the evening run long.
Dates from 1889
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11 Grand Mosque of Paris
2 bis Place du Puits de l'Ermite, Paris, 75005Visits Saturday to Thursday, 09:00 to 18:00
The Grand Mosque of Paris is open 09:00 to 18:00, Saturday to Thursday, with Friday absent from those hours, so plan around it. The mosque stands at 2 bis Place du Puits de l'Ermite, 75005, and is an inscribed historical monument. A hurried look from the street misses the point: give it an unhurried hour, dress modestly, and treat it as a working place of worship rather than a backdrop. It is a quieter stop than most on this list, and that is a good part of the reason to go.
Monument historique inscrit
Hours: Sa-Th 09:00-18:00
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12 Bataclan
Boulevard VoltaireA show in a theatre dating from 1865
The Bataclan on Boulevard Voltaire has been part of Paris theatre life since 1865, and it is still a theatre and an inscribed historical monument. Don't treat it as a sight to photograph from the pavement and walk past. The right way to visit a theatre is to buy a ticket, take your seat, and become part of the audience, and a building that has stood since 1865 has earned that much. Check what is on during your stay, pick something you would want to see at home, and spend the evening here. Of everything on this list, it asks the least ceremony and gives back the most ordinary pleasure: a night out.
Dates from 1865 · Monument historique inscrit
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