Holiday travel tips and experiences: Tourist Attraction in Paris France

So which tourist attraction in Paris France should you visit when you are there for your vacation?

Here are some tourist attractions in Paris France that we had the good fortune to be able to visit during our Europe vacation package at the end of last year. Paris is the most visited city in the world as vouched by the 30 million foreign visitors annually and its sights include buildings, monuments and architecture amongst others.

Below is a picture of the Charles de Gaulle bridge, a one-way road traffic steel-reinforced concrete bridge, over the River Seine in the eastern part of Paris.

Charles de Gaulle Bridge straddling the River Seine

Next we stopped at one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture - Notre Dame de Paris (French for Our Lady of Paris). Also known as the Notre Dame Cathedral, this is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris.

Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris

Holiday Travel Tips:-

You can get a Notre Dame souvenir medal for just 2 Euro from the vending machine at the back of the cathedral.

Zero point or kilometre zero of French national highways is located on the square facing the main entrance of Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris. This marker is set into the pavement near and is considered the official centre of the city of Paris.

Zero point of Paris

Holiday Travel Tips:-
Legend has it that if you step on the zero point, you will be back in Paris. :)

Facing the Cathedral of Notre Dame Paris is also the Notre Dame Hotel where you get accommodation for comfort and relaxation and furnished with antique furniture and fabrics.

Notre Dame Hotel

Charles the Great (Charlemagne)

To the right of the cathedral front is the statue of Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne, and his noble servants. Charlemagne was crowned Holy roman Emperor at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome in 800.

Statue of Charles the Great

Oldest bridge of Paris ironically named as the “New Bridge” – the very first bridge made of stone.

New Bridge, Paris

Paris Louvre Musuem or simply known as 'the louvre' is not only one of the world's largest museums but the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. One of the main tourist attractions in Paris France, the museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century.

The Louvre Palace and the Pyramid entrance

The Louvre museum glass pyramid, designed by I.M. Pei and constructed in 1989, forms an entrance doorway to the main galleries of the Louvre.

We then passed by the Joan of Arc statue, also known as Saint Joan of Arc or The Maid of Orleans, who is considered a national heroine of France and a Catholic saint.

Joan of Arc statue

Holiday Travel Tips:-

As per our local tour guide, the shop ‘Angelina’ is famous for its hot chocolate and pastries, though we did not have the time to stop there.

The Ritz Hotel Paris is renowned for its elegance and perfection. Here, royalty, business tycoons, celebrities and well known names gather to step into a world of grandeur. From what we understand, this was also the place where the late Princess Diana was before she met with her untimely death.

The Ritz Hotel Paris

The National Residence of the Invalids (L'Hotel national des Invalides) or simply Les invalides is a complex of buildings in paris containing museums and monuments as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans. Most notably well known as the burial site for Napoleon Bonaparte and other war heroes of France, the Dome des Invalides is the most recognizable and well-known icon of the Invalides Complex.

Dome des Invalides (Chapel of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, Paris, built 1679)

Hotel des Invalides (aviewoncities.com)

Marshal Ferdinand Foch (near the Invalides Complex)

The landmark Eiffel Tower France Paris started off as a temporary monument for world exhibition in 1889. At more than 1,000 feet high and approximately 10,000 tons, the Eiffel tower is now the icon of Paris.

Eiffel Tower, France, Paris

The Wall for Peace where visitors can put their messages of peace was inaugurated on March 30, 2000 and can be seen at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, France, Paris.

Wall for Peace

Joseph Joffre was a French general during the First World War and most renown for regrouping the retreating allied armies to defeat the Germans in 1914. Here is the statue of Joseph Joffre in Place Joffre, Paris, before the École Militaire or Military School.

Ecole Militaire

March field

Statue of Joseph Joffre

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is located at Place du Général de Gaulle. Another tourist attraction in Paris France that is a must visit!

The Arch de Triomphe at 50 m high

Shopping at Galeries Lafayette

Running for 2 km, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France and the second most expensive strip of real estate in Europe after London's Bond Street. You can find cinemas, cafes and luxury specialty shops on this avenue of Champs de Elysees, and even a Christmas market during that time of the year.

Christmas market along Champs de Elysees

Seen along the way

Another tourist attraction in Paris France is the Fragonard perfume museum. With the free guided tour, we ended up learning how perfume is made.

Fragonard Perfume Museum

Tons of rose petals needed to make the rose perfume

Founded in 1669, the Paris Opera, formerly the Academie Nationale de Musique, is the primary opera company of Paris, France.

Paris Opera

In front of the Paris Opera

Guarding the Paris Opera

And of course, shopping in Paris is never quite complete without a visit to Galeries Lafayette's flagship store, a 10-storey French department store.

Shopping in Galeries Lafayette

Holiday Travel Tips:-

If you are looking at purchasing some cheap Paris souvenir, especially the Eiffel Tower keychains, you can do so from a China man who is stationed outside Galleries Lafayette in the evenings from 1800 hrs. 50 Eiffel Tower keychains would cost you only 5 Euros! If you purchase a few items from him, he might even throw in a few extra keychains.