Tour · 8 stops · ~3 hours walking
Iconic Paris
The seven postcards, in order.
A long but inevitable walk from Île de la Cité to the Champ de Mars, hitting every landmark you'd expect on a first visit. About 6 km, so plan a coffee or two along the Seine.
1Notre-Dame de Paris
Gothic cathedral begun in 1163. Severely damaged in the April 2019 fire; the spire and roof were reopened to the public in December 2024.
The free entry queue is on the south side; the timed-ticket queue (book online) is on the north. For the front-facade view used in every photo, stand at the small fountain at the centre of the parvis.
From Wikipedia›
Notre-Dame de Paris, often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris.
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2Sainte-Chapelle
13th-century royal chapel inside the Palais de la Cité. The upper level is one of the densest stained-glass interiors in Europe — 1,113 individual scenes.
Skip the lower chapel — the upper is the entire reason. Best on a sunny morning when the southern windows light up. Security entry is via the main courtyard of the Palais de Justice; bring a passport.
From Wikipedia›
The Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
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3Louvre Pyramid
I. M. Pei's 1989 glass pyramid in the Cour Napoléon — the main entrance to the museum and a permanent argument with traditionalists.
If you're not going inside the museum, walk through the small archway under the north wing of the Cour Carrée — fewer tourists and the symmetry of the courtyard is the secret photograph. The southern arch frames the pyramid perfectly.
From Wikipedia›
The Louvre Pyramid is a large glass-and-metal entrance way and skylight designed by the Chinese-American architect I. M. Pei. The pyramid is in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris, surrounded by three smaller pyramids of the same style which also serve as lightwells. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance way to the Louvre Museum, allowing light to the below ground visitors hall, while also allowing sight lines of the palace to visitors in the hall, and through access galleries to the different wings of the palace. Completed in 1989 as part of the broader Grand Louvre project, it has become a landmark of Paris and a symbol of the museum.
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4Place de la Concorde
Largest square in Paris. The Obélisque de Louxor at its centre is genuinely 3,300 years old; it was a gift from Egypt in 1830.
Cross the square on the diagonal toward the Arc de Triomphe — the alignment from obelisk to Arc to Grande Arche de la Défense is precisely engineered and only visible from this angle. Mind the traffic.
From Wikipedia›
The Place de la Concorde, originally the Place Louis XV, and later the Place Louis XVI, is a public square in Paris. Measuring 7.6 ha in area, it is the largest square in the city. It is located in the 8th arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
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5Champs-Élysées
Walk westward along the avenue. The plane trees you pass were replanted in the 1990s; the original 17th-century elms didn't survive Haussmann.
Stay on the south side — fewer luxury-store tourists, more open sky. The first quiet block (between Concorde and Rond-Point) is the original landscape; everything from Rond-Point west is mostly chain shops.
From Wikipedia›
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, usually shortened to the Champs-Élysées, is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. The avenue is 1.9 kilometres (1.2 mi) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theatres, cafés, and luxury shops; as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race; and for its annual Bastille Day military parade.
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6Arc de Triomphe
Commissioned by Napoleon in 1806; not finished until 1836, well after he'd been exiled. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the arch dates to 1920.
Do not cross the roundabout above ground — there are pedestrian tunnels on both Champs-Élysées and Avenue de la Grande Armée. Climbing to the top (paid, 284 steps) is the best central-Paris view if you skip the Eiffel queues.
From Wikipedia›
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, often simply called the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France. It is located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle—formerly known as the Place de l'Étoile—named for the star-shaped configuration formed by the convergence of twelve radiating avenues. The monument is situated at the intersection of three arrondissements: the 16th, the 17th, and the 8th. Commissioned to honor those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Arc bears the names of French victories and generals engraved on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I, marked by an eternal flame commemorating unidentified fallen soldiers.
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- 7
Trocadéro
Esplanade in front of the Palais de Chaillot. The classic Eiffel-Tower-photo angle. Cross the Pont d'Iéna for the next stop.
Stand at the very edge of the upper terrace, between the two gilded statues, for the symmetric Eiffel-Tower frame. It's busiest at sunset; for a clear photo, come at 8 am or just after a rain shower.
48.86170, 2.28910
8Eiffel Tower
Built for the 1889 World's Fair as a temporary installation; the city forgot to dismantle it. 18,038 wrought-iron parts, 2.5 million rivets.
Buy summit tickets weeks ahead — same-day usually means second-floor only. For an underrated free view, walk under the tower (no ticket required) and look straight up: the perspective is geometrically dizzying. The hourly evening sparkle lasts five minutes.
From Wikipedia›
The Eiffel Tower is a lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889.
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About Paris
Paris maps every physical object in the city on one infinitely zoomable map. Tours are curated walks across the data — pick one and the map will draw the path, number the stops, and step you through them one by one.