#38 best destination in the world

 

Centre Pompidou, Paris

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  • Complex building in the style of high-tech architecture
  • Houses the public library, and the Musée National d’Art Moderne, the largest museum for modern art in Europe, as well as a centre for music and acoustic research
  • Opened in in 1977

Notre-Dame de Paris

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  • Medieval Catholic cathedral widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture
  • Contains relics such as the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nail
  • A 2019 fire damaged the cathedral and the landmark is currently closed, but is estimated to be reopened in 2024

Musée d’Orsay, Paris

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  • Museum on the bank of the Seine housed in a railway station built between 1898 and 1914
  • Includes paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography
  • Houses the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world by painters like Monet and Van Gogh

Eiffel Tower, Paris

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  • Iron lattice tower constructed from 1887-1889, as the entrance to the World’s Fair
  • Initially it was criticized by some of France’s leading artists and intellectuals for its design
  • Now it is one of the most recognizable structures in the world
  • 81 stories, it’s the tallest structure in Paris

Arc de Triomphe, Paris

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  • Honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its surfaces
  • Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I

Louvre, Paris

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  • World’s largest art museum with approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century
  • Most visited art museum in the world
  • Originally a museum housed in the Louvre Palace

Palace of Versailles

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  • Royal château in Versailles that is now a museum
  • Village dating back to the 11th century, now a wealthy suburb of Paris
  • Building the château and maintaining the court there was phenomenally expensive, but did a good deal to establish the dominance of French style and taste in the whole of Europe, giving French luxury manufacturing advantages

Disneyland Paris, Chessy

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  • Most visited theme park in Europe
  • 4,800 acres compasses 2 theme parks, resort hotels, shopping, dining, an entertainment complex, and a golf course
  • Opened in 1992

Puy du Fou, Les Epesses

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  • Historical theme park in Les Epesses, and the second most popular theme park in France after Disneyland Paris
  • Started in 1977

Parc Astérix, Plailly

  • Theme park in France based on the comic book series Asterix, opened in 1989
  • Renowned in France for its large variety of roller coasters; it has begun incorporating rides and themes from historic cultures like the Gauls, the Romans, Ancient Greece and recently Ancient Egypt

Mont-Saint-Michel, Normandy

  • Tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy that lies approximately 0.6 miles off the country’s north-western coast
  • The commune’s position on the island made it accessible at low tide to the many pilgrims to its abbey, but defensible as an incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants
  • The island remained unconquered during the Hundred Years’ War; a small garrison fended off a full attack by the English in 1433
  • Louis XI recognized the reverse benefits of its natural defense and turned it into a prison

Massif des Calanques, Calanques National Park

  • French national park located on the Mediterranean coast in Bouches-du-Rhône
  • It was established in 2012 and extends over 201 sq miles, of which 33 sq miles is land, while the remaining is marine area
  • It includes parts of the Massif des Calanques stretching between Marseille, Cassis and La Ciotat

Futuroscope, Chasseneuil-du-Poitou

  • French theme park, opened in 1987, based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques
  • It has several 3D cinemas and a few 4D cinemas along with other attractions and shows, some of which are the only examples in the world

Walt Disney Studios Park, Marne-la-Vallée

  • The second of two theme parks built at Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, opened in 2002
  • It is dedicated to show business, movie themes, production, and behind-the-scenes
  • The park is represented by the Earffel Tower, a water tower similar to one that was installed at the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California