#2 best destination in the world
Eiffel Tower
- Iron lattice tower constructed from 1887-1889, as the entrance to the World’s Fair
- #14 of the top 25 landmarks in the world
- 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
Notre-Dame de Paris
- Medieval Catholic cathedral widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture
- #12 of the top 25 landmarks in the world
- Contains relics such as the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nail
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Chemin de fer de Petite Ceinture
- Was a circular railway built as a means to supply the city’s fortification walls, and as a connection between Paris’ railway termini
- Built in 1851
- Mostly abandoned in 1934, due to the popularity of the Paris Metro
Catacombs of Paris
- Underground ossuaries in Paris, which hold the remains of more than six million people, in a small part of a tunnel network built to consolidate Paris’ ancient stone quarries
- This ossuary was created as part of the effort to eliminate the city’s overflowing cemeteries, in the late 1700s
59 Rivoli
- Art collective in a former squat, with 30 artists’ studios, an exhibition space, and a concert venue
Père Lachaise Cemetery
- Largest cemetery in Paris and the most visited necropolis in the world
- Was the first garden cemetery, as well as the first municipal cemetery in Paris
- Established in 1804
Musee des Vampires Et du Monde de l’Imaginaire
- Macabre museum dedicated to research on vampirism and folklore
Disneyland Paris
- Most visited theme park in Europe
- #21 of the top 25 amusement parks in the world
- 4,800 acres compasses 2 theme parks, resort hotels, shopping, dining, an entertainment complex, and a golf course
- Opened in 1992
Seine
- Important commercial waterway in Paris that goes through 37 bridges, one of which, Pont Neuf, dates back to 1607
Musée d’Orsay
- Museum on the bank of the Seine housed in a railway station built between 1898 and 1914
- #1 of the top 25 museums in the world
- 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
Louvre
- #7 of the top 25 museums in the world
- 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
- 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
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vieux Nice
- The city’s vibrant old town features narrow cobblestone streets and pastel-hued buildings where shops sell Niçoise soaps and Provençal textiles, plus meats and cheeses
- A daily market on pedestrian street Cours Saleya offers produce and flowers, and busy pubs and outdoor eateries serving specialties like socca crepes are all over the town
- Leafy, hilltop Parc de la Colline du Château has grand city and sea views
Avignon
- Ancient town centre enclosed by medieval ramparts
- Between 1309 and 1377, during the Avignon Papacy, seven successive popes resided in Avignon and in 1348 Pope Clement VI bought the town from Joanna I of Naples
- Papal control persisted until 1791 when, during the French Revolution, it became part of France
- The town is now the capital of the Vaucluse department and one of the few French cities to have preserved its ramparts
Notre-Dame de la Garde
- Catholic basilica built on the foundations of an ancient fort
- Built in 1864
- Consists of a Romanesque style crypt carved from the rock, and an upper church of Neo-Byzantine style decorated mosaics
Futuroscope
- Theme park based upon multimedia, cinematographic futuroscope and audio-visual techniques
- The park 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
- Opened in 1987
Puy du Fou
- #2 of the top theme parks in the world
- Started in 1977
Tumulus of Bougon
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
- Group of five Neolithic barrows located in Bougon
- Their discovery in 1840 raised great scientific interest
- To protect the monuments, the site was acquired by the department of Deux-Sèvres in 1873
- The oldest structures of this prehistoric monument date to 4700 BC
Dolmen de Bagneux
- Megalith and one of the largest dolmen in France and in Europe
- Archaeologists still do not know who erected these dolmens, which makes it difficult to know why they did it
- They are generally all regarded as tombs or burial chambers, despite the absence of clear evidence for this
- Constructed around 3000 BC
Gavrinis
- Small island that contains the Gavrinis tomb, a megalithic monument notable for its abundance of megalithic art in the European Neolithic
- Built in 3500 BC
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Saint-Michel Tumulus
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
- Megalithic grave mound, and the largest grave mound in continental Europe
- Built in 4500 BC
- Explored in 1862, researchers found there a central vault containing a fairly prestigious funerary furniture : axes, pearls, flint tools and sillimanite
Barnenez
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
- Neolithic monument located in Brittany
- It dates to the early Neolithic, about 4850 BC
- It is considered one of the earliest megalithic monuments in Europe, as well as one of the oldest man-made structures in the world, along with the Tumulus of Bougon and Locmariaquer megaliths, also located in Great West France
- It is also remarkable for the presence of megalithic art
Mont Saint-Michel
- Island commune in Normandy, off the country’s coast
- The island is 247 acres and houses only 44 people
- Was a strategic fortification since the 8th century because when the tide came in, it drove off or drowned would-be assailants
- Exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers.
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Costs
Number of Days: 28 days
Best Time To Fly: April-June, Sept-Nov
Airline tickets: $1,479
Seattle -> Paris (round trip) = $1,479
Food: $44/day x 28 days = $1,232
Rental car: $36/day x 8 days = $288
Gas: $442
Entertainment: $568
Airbnb: $116/day x 26 days = $3,016
TOTAL: $7,025