Tourist attractions Northern France and the Paris Region

Built between 1887 and 1892, this summer palace was extended in the 1990s by the architects Jean-Marc Ibos et Myrto Vitart to include a narrow 70m x 6.50m building, the glass façade of which reflects the image of the back of the main building. The ga..

Renovated with love, the old town has rediscovered its 17 and 18C facades not long ago covered in disgraceful render. This has led to evidence of the «Lille style» with facades where bricks and sculpted stones are mixed. You'll discover many examples..

An admirable 13th Century chevet prepares the visitor for the vertiginous views of the vaults 48 metres up. This cathedral is one of the masterpieces of Gothic art in northern France. It is lit by wonderful windows that illuminate the 58-metre ..

Laid out first by Louis XIV who had 75 stays there punctuated by sumptuous parties, the old chateau was entirely reconstructed by Louis XV. But it was the Empire that brought it its renown, when Napoléon the first made it the Imperial mansion in 1806..

Standing in the middle of a lake, this fine building bequeathed to the Institut de France by the Duc d’Aumale, consists of the petit château , highlighting the history of the Condé family, with its apartments decorated with fine wood panelling and w..

Bordered by Flemish Baroque style buildings, its architectural balance is created by the urban structures of an alderman who enforced a rule that all buildings had to be made of brick or stone with no overhang or juts. The oldest building, the hôtel ..

This square links up with the Grand Square (Grand'Place) by the the rue de la Taillerie. Like its Grand rival, this square has real Flemish architectural balance. Bordered by shops and dominated by the belfry, it is smaller in size but more lively.

The «Louvre of Oriental Art» is how the Guimet Museum has been described. It has probably the world's collection of Asiatic art. Superbly refurbished by Bruno and Henri Gaudin, it offers a walk through the renewed collection, studded with masterpiece..

The «Mount of the Martyrs» where, as tradition has it, Saint Denis prayed to heaven, is a surprising place which even today has managed to keep its look of a village, even if the flow of tourists tends to spoil it. The place where the Paris Commune s..

From this “square” at the top of the Champs-Élysées, halfway between the Louvre and La Défense, twelve avenues radiate outwards from the Arc de Triomphe (hence the name “étoile” or star), a symbol of the imperial city so prized by Napoleon, forming o..

It was around the Île de la Cité that Paris first developed. The historic cradle of the capital, it remains one the city’s most popular and attractive districts. It is home to three of its major monuments: notre Dame cathedral , Sainte Chapelle , a..

The Place des Vosges , rue des Francs-Bourgeois , and three mansions in particular, the Hôtel de Soubise , Hôtel Salé and Hôtel de Rohan , take visitors back to the 17C and 18C, the time of the absolute monarchy and the Enlightenment. However, ..

You are taken into the impressive world of the fortress that Philippe Auguste built at the start of the 13C: along the route, you will discover the counterscarp wall, the 2. 60 m thick curtain, the foundations of the dwellings that were added by Ch..

Since 1986, the huge main hall of the former Orsay railway station has been the home of art collections covering the period 1848 to 1914, enhancing those of the Louvre and the Musée National d’Art Contemporain . The Orsay houses the world’s finest..

This museum contains one of the largest collections of modern art in the world (60 000 exhibits), ranging from painting and architecture to photography, cinema, new media, sculpture and design. Rooms dedicated to a single artist alternate with theme-..

Designed by the architect Adrien Fainsilber and opened in 1986, this museum is quite unique. Beyond its basic “mission” of bringing science to a wider audience, it also aims to give visitors a more involved role and to use the most modern technology ..

This jewel of Gothic art was built upon the order of Saint Louis to house the relics of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Located in the confines of the Palais de Justice, Sainte-Chapelle is divided into two parts: the lower chapel, intended for the palace..

Situated at the top of the Champs-Élysées, this arch occupies the centre of the Place Charles-de-Gaulle , which opens out onto 12 wide avenues. Built in 1806 by Jean-François Chalgrin upon the order of Napoleon, it was only completed in 1836. Huge..

Military history is dealt with from the time of the Ancien Regime to the latest world conflicts. This is one of the finest museums of military art, techniques and history. With over 500,000 exhibits the museum is remarkable for the abundance and the ..

Designed in the French Classical style by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, this church was built between 1677 et 1706. Two cupolas fit one inside the other, illuminated by “hidden light”. The beauty of the domes contrasts with the robust aspect of the square ..