Everyone loves Paris! Some people love the Paris cafe life, some love the Paris fashion, whilst others fall in love with the romantic atmosphere. As for me, I love the rich history and the famous sites, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame Cathedral.
It’s no secret that Paris has a massive collection of famous sites and national monuments. Come with us as we catch the subway around inner Paris to find some awesome things to do in Paris.
Check out our VLOG of this tour by clicking the below image.
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How To See the Best Paris National Monuments
Hop-on-hop-off bus tours are a great way to find things to do in Paris in a small amount of time. At first we had a look at catching the Big Bus Tour in Paris. This is a great option, where you can get a full day of unlimited bus touring and a boat tour for 45 Euros. That is great value.
We compared this to an all day ticket on the Paris Subway network, which costs just 10 Euros for a zone 1-3 pass for a full day. We chose the train as a cheap option to see all the sights.
Excellent Paris Subway System
Another thing we considered was the excellent subway system in central Paris. There are so many subway stations that you are literally never more than 8 minutes walk from a subway station. Most of the famous sites are right next to subway stations, so it turned out to be an efficient option to find things to do in Paris.
Eiffel Tower
You can’t go wrong with a tour of the Eiffel Tower as a starting point. Grab a bunch of photos from all around the tower, or pay to take the stairs and elevator to the top. Either way you can’t go wrong.
The other great things about Eiffel Tower is that you can photograph it from virtually all over central Paris. We found the best places to photograph it were from the top of the Arc de Triomph, and from the top of the Sacre Coeur Basilica. But I’m sure there are dozens of equally great spots to snap a great photo.
Seine River
Starting from the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River is actually a World Heritage Site. This is because it is jam-packed with historic sites along the river banks. We chose to cross the Seine River at the Point d’Alma bridge to access the Alma-Marceu subway station. This gives direct access to our next stop, another World Heritage site.
Along the way we passed by a new landmark, the Sainte Trinite Cathedral. This is a Russian Orthodox Church which was finished in 2016, and makes for some interesting photo opportunities with the nearby Eiffel Tower in the background.
Fontaine du Palmier
This was not on our sightseeing to-do list, however we happened to pass it on our way to the next attraction. Such is the way in Paris, there are so many attractions and landmarks that you can easily get side tracked.
This is a beautiful fountain erected in 1806-1808, to celebrate Napoleons victories in the Egyptian campaigns of that period. It is on of 15 fountains built during that time.
Saint Jacques Tower
I was super excited to see this land mark in central Paris, because it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the remains of a 16th Century Church, and is in a flamboyant Gothic Style tower. The church is situated in a lovely park setting, and is World Heritage listed because it was once on the chemins de Compostelle pilgrimage trails into Spain.
Notre Dame Cathedral
We then walked across the Seine River to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. This is a genuine medieval church, constructed in the 12th century. This is one of the best known and largest churches in the world, and well worth a visit.
Every aspect of the church is spectacular, from the outside gothic architecture to the indoor statues and decorations. Best of all there is free entry to go inside and inspect all aspects of this amazing church. This is a must-see for anyone staying in Paris, particularly those interested in medieval gothic architecture.
Sainte Chapelle / Holy Chapel
Sainte Chapelle is just a couple of minutes walk from the Notre Dame Cathedral. This is yet another world-famous gothic church, built in the 13th century. Sainte Chapelle is renowned for its massive stained glass windows.
When we passed by the front of Saint Chapelle there was a long line in front waiting to enter. Unlike Notre Dame Cathedral, Sainte Chapelle does charge an entrance fee of 10 Euros at the time we were there.
What we noticed was that this line was very slow-moving. My estimate was that it would have taken us about 2 hours to get in. Being the impatient type, we decided not to spend our valuable time waiting in line. We took a few snapshots from the front, then moved on to the next attraction.
Sacre Coeure Basilica
This famous Basilica is visible all over Paris. That’s because it is a striking white colour and sits atop a small hill. It is easy to get to by metro train, and is free to enter. The catch is, photography is not permitted inside the main church dome area. You will notice a few tourists getting some sneaky photos and videos in, however generally this is frowned upon by the staff patrolling inside.
You can take the stairs up to the top of the dome for some amazing 360 degree views of Paris. There is a cost of 6 Euros for adults and 4 Euros for children, which is money well spent. The staircase to the top is the longest spiral staircase I’ve ever walked.
Catch the Fenicular
The other novelty at the Basilica is the Fenicular, a short steep cable train to get up the hill. The good thing is that you can use your metro train ticket to access the Fenicular, so in our case with all day metro train tickets the Fenicular was free. I highly recommend taking the Fenicular, particularly if you plan to climb to the top of the Basilica dome.
Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile
Next we caught the subway to the Arc de Triomphe, another famous Parisian landmark. We were fortunate to arrive just before dusk to take full advantage of ‘Photographer’s hour’, and got some great shots of Paris.
Once again visitors are rewarded with 360 degree views of Paris. Note that there is an entry fee to climb the stairs to the top, 8 Euros for adults when we visited. Tickets are a little tricky to find, they are in the underground tunnel which you must take to cross the road to the monument. The view is well worth the entrance fee, and there’s a souvenir shop at the top also.
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
Our next stop was the famous Louvre. We learnt that there’s a smaller version of the Arc de Triomphe across the road from the Lourvre, called Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. It stands a little under half the height of the first arch, and can be clearly seen as you walk to the Louvre.
The Louvre
Our last stop for the day was the biggest Art Museum in the world, the Louvre. This is home to the famous Mona Lisa, and thousands of other priceless works of art. It is also home to the giant glass pyramid at the front, which makes for a great photo opportunity.
The Art Museum was open until 9:30pm on the day of our visit, however our legs were not up to the demands of this huge gallery. Even if you don’t have the time of energy for a full tour, it is still well worth checking out the magnificent facade at the front of this museum.
Things to Do in Paris
We managed to see all the major sights and national monuments on our list. You could possibly find more things to do in Paris by catching the Big Bus Tour, but also a lot more expensive. With a little more effort we managed to make a big saving on tour costs, and also experience the efficient Paris subway network as well.
Overall we felt the subway was great value, and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a train. They were mostly very crowded though and we rarely got a seat on our 10 different train journeys.
Disappointments in Paris
I was disappointed not to see the interior of Sainte Chapelle. If I were to do this tour again I would go there first to try to beat the crowds. Overall the route we took was a good route and quite efficient. We are very happy tourists to be able to see some of the major sights and landmarks that Paris has to offer.
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