Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower)
The Eiffel Tower literally towers over the Champ de Mars in the smart 7th arrondissement. The top (third) floor offers a sweeping panorama of Paris. From directly underneath there is a fascinating view of the delicate ironwork constructed by Gustave Eiffel, who was commissioned to build the tower for the Exposition Universelle in 1889 - the centenary of the French Revolution. The Tour Eiffel is also home to a number of restaurants, which offer views of the city and sky high prices to match.

Champ de Mars, 7th
Tel: (01) 4411 2323.
Website: www.tour-eiffel.fr
Opening hours: Daily 0930-2345 (Jan-mid Jun); daily 0900-0045 (mid Jun-Aug), daily 0930-0045 (Sep-Dec).
Admission charge.

Cathédrale de Notre-Dame (Cathedral of Our Lady)
The stocky Notre-Dame Cathedral, situated on the Ile-de-la-Cité, could not be more different from the filigree Eiffel Tower. Bishop Maurice de Sully began construction on the cathedral in 1163, to outshine the new abbey at St-Denis; work was completed in 1345. The result is a gothic masterpiece, with three stunning rose windows. Visitors should be prepared to climb the 387 spiral steps to the top of the 75m (246ft) north tower. The views over the River Seine and the city centre are well worth the effort. There is also a treasury with various liturgical objects on display.

6 Place du Parvis-Notre-Dame, 4th
Tel: (01) 4234 5610 or 4432 1672 (information on tower).
Website: www.cathedraledeparis.com
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1845, Sat-Sun (0800-1715) (cathedral); Apr, May, Sep daily 1000-1830, Jun-Aug Mon-Fri 1000-1830, Sat-Sun 1000-2300, Oct-Mar daily 1000-1730 (towers).
Free admission (cathedral); charge for towers and treasury.

La Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (The Sacred Heart Basilica)
A long, wide series of steps lead to the snowy-white domed Sacré-Coeur that dominates the arty district of Montmartre. A mishmash of styles, the Catholic church was built between 1870 and 1919, to fulfil a vow made during the Franco-Prussian war. The interior is splendid with neo-Byzantine mosaics and the domed tower offers a spectacular view over Paris. The crypt contains an interesting collection of religious relics and a slide show on the construction of the Basilica. Below the church, a park tumbles down the hillside in a flurry of benches that make an ideal spot for surveying the city skyline.

Parvis du Sacré-Coeur, 18th
Tel: (01) 5341 8900.
Website: www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com
Opening hours: Daily 0600-2300 (Basilica); daily 0930-1830 (crypt and dome).
Free admission (Basilica); charge for dome and crypt.

Musée National du Louvre (Louvre National Museum)
The Louvre first opened to the public in 1793, following the Revolution, as a showcase for the art treasures of the kings of France. The museum is organised into three wings on four floors. The vast permanent collection includes Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Egyptian and East Asian antiquities, French, Spanish, Italian and northern European sculpture and 19th-century objets d'art. The painting collection is the strongest, with French, Italian, Dutch, German, Flemish and Spanish masterpieces from the mid-13th to the mid-19th centuries. Most famed French works include David's Coronation of Napoléon, Ingres' The Turkish Bath, Géricault's depiction of disaster, The Raft of the Medusa and Delacroix's ode to revolution, Liberty Leading the People. The museum's greatest treasure, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, is in a bullet-proof case. There are plans to move it into its own room, but for now it is on display in room 13, on the first floor of the Denon wing. Buying tickets from the official website in advance saves unnecessary time spent queuing.

Cour Napoléon, 1st
Tel: (01) 4020 5050.
Website: www.louvre.fr
Opening hours: daily 0900-1800, Wed and Fri until 2130; closed Tues. Opening hours for temporary exhibitions vary.
Admission charge; free first Sun of each month; advance tickets can be purchased from branches of FNAC and on the Internet; tickets allow same-day re-admission.

Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum)
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) lived and worked in this 18th-century hôtel particulier, now the Rodin Museum, and his sculptures populate the interior and gardens. Indoors, The Kiss portrays eternal passion frozen in white marble, while The Hand of God gives life to creamy white, half-formed figures. Works of Rodin's mistress and pupil, Camille Claudel, and paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Rodin himself are also on display. The gardens are graced by the monumental bronze The Thinker, whose godly physique contrasts sharply with the decrepitude of the writhing figures of The Gates of Hell and the controversial final portrait of Balzac, once described as ‘a block that disgraces its author and French Art'.

77 rue de Varenne, 7th
Tel: (01) 4418 6110.
Website: www.musee-rodin.fr
Opening hours: Museum: Tues-Sun 0930-1745, garden: Tues-Sun 0930-1845 (Apr-Sep); museum: Tues-Sun 0930-1645, garden: Tues-Sun 0930-1700 (Oct-Mar).
Admission charge; free first Sun of each month.

Musée d'Orsay (Museum of Orsay)
The museum's home, an impressively converted railway station by the banks of the Seine, is stunning, but the real strength of this large museum lies in its collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The collection, covering the decisive 1848-1914 period, is arranged chronologically, beginning on the ground floor, jumping to the third, and then descending to the middle level. Among the most famous works are Manet's Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), rejected from the Salon of 1863, five of Monet's paintings of Rouen Cathedral and the realist work L'Origine du Monde (The Origin of the World), by Gustave Courbet, whose graphic depiction of the female sex continues to shock.

Entrances at 1 rue de la Légion d'Honneur and 1 rue de Bellechasse, 7th
Tel: (01) 4049 4814.
Website: www.musee-orsay.fr
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 0930-1800, Thurs 0930-2145.
Admission charge; free first Sun of each month.

Musée du Quai Branly
This grand relatively recently opened museum was a welcome to the Parisian cultural scene when it opened its doors during 2006 after much hype. The collections, which include a broad sweep of Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas, have been lauded by critics and the public alike. Inside there are over 3,500 artefacts. From the main reception a ramp takes visitors off towards the eclectic collections, which include masks in Oceania, costumes from Asia and also African musical instruments and textiles.

17 Quai Branly, 7th
Tel: (01) 5661 7000.
Website: www.quaibranly.fr
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1830, Thurs open to 2130.
Admission charge.

Musée National Picasso (National Picasso Museum)
Paris-based Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) owned most of this collection, one of the largest worldwide, housed in a 17th-century mansion in the Marais. All phases of his art are represented, with preparatory sketches and paintings covering the Blue Period, Rose Period, cubism, classicism, surrealism and sculptures ranging from a huge plaster head to a small cat. Memorable works include the Blue Period self-portrait Paolo as Harlequin, the surreal Nude in an Armchair and poignant paintings of Marie-Thérèse, his lover and muse. Photographs are displayed alongside the works they inspired, and African masks with Picasso's ‘primitive' wood carvings. There is also a glimpse of the artist's personal taste in paintings, with his Matisse and Cézanne paintings displayed alongside his own.

Hôtel Salé, 5 rue de Thorigny, 3rd
Tel: (01) 4271 2521.
Website: www.musee-picasso.fr
Opening hours: Wed, Fri-Mon 0930-1800, Thurs 0930-2000 (summer); Wed, Fri-Mon 0930-1730, Thurs 0930-2000 (winter). 
Admission charge; free first Sun of each month.

Centre Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou Centre)
Considered outrageous in 1977, the Pompidou Centre, designed by Piano and Rogers, has become part of the Parisian landscape, primary coloured tubes and all. The building was revamped and extended a few years ago, to cope with the huge numbers of people visiting its expanding collection of contemporary art and multimedia library.

Place Georges Pompidou, 4th
Tel: (01) 4478 1233.
Website: www.centrepompidou.fr
Opening hours: Wed-Mon 1100-2200; late-night openings until 2300 for some exhibits.
Admission charge; free first Sun of each month.

Paris Plage
Since its inception in 2001, Paris Plage has become a highly successful annual event. The idea of shutting off a busy 3.5km (2-mile) section of riverfront expressway in the city centre and turning it into a giant leisure oasis is both simple and brilliant, though it has provoked the ire of some of the city's taxi drivers. A flurry of deckchairs and hammocks replace the cars and even an open-air swimming pool, mainly geared towards children, features alongside the stalls selling food, drinks and ice cream. Mist sprays, sand and the sight of relaxing locals and tourists manage to raise a smile from all but the most world-weary of Parisians. Such has been the success of Paris Plage that, even when there is no sand, for the rest of the year sections of the river are now closed frequently at weekends to allow Parisians to cycle and walk along the riverside.

Banks of the Seine between Tuileries Tunnel and the Henri IV bridge
Opening times: Jul-Aug daily.
Free admission.