Paris

Two excellent reasons to enjoy Paris have nothing to do with its popular tourist attractions. Enjoying a taste of Parisian culinary prowess is a must whether it is just sitting at an outside café watching the world go by with coffee and a croissant, or enjoying a meal at one of the vast numbers of quality restaurants that abound here. Excellent shopping opportunities can also be found not only in big Paris department stores such as the Galerie Lafayette, but in the many boutique shops that can be found everywhere on Paris tours. 

There are many must-see attractions and iconic sights to explore on a France vacation. For culture buffs, the Louvre Museum would be an excellent starting point. It is one of the largest and most important museums in the world and is housed in the expansive Louvre Palace, situated in the 1st Arrondissement, with over 1 million works of art including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The Musee d’Orsay used to be a century-old railway station, the Gare d’Orsay and was converted into an art gallery in 1986. When it opened the museum contained some 2300 paintings, 1500 sculptures and 1000 other objects. Most of these works of art came from other museums but over time, the collection has expanded and covers a period from the mid-nineteenth century. It contains works by many important Impressionist painters such as Degas, Rodin, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, van Gogh and others. 

Two other museums of note are the Rodin Museum dedicated to the sculptor, Augustus Rodin and the Pompidou Centre devoted to contemporary art and design.

Towering over the city is the Eiffel Tower which can be seen from almost anywhere in Paris. The tower rises to a height of 300 metres/984 feet and was completed at the end of the Nineteenth Century. Another major landmark visible from most of Paris is the round domed Sacre Coeur Basilica located on a hill in the atmospheric Montmartre district, also well worth a visit on a France vacation with its many street artists and cafes. Then, of course, there is the Gothic-style Notre Dame Cathedral located on the River Seine and dating back hundreds of years. 

The list of attractions goes on and on but is too numerous to mention on one page. However, time should be allotted to visit at least one of the two major and elegant historical palaces situated just outside the city on travel to Paris, Versailles and Fontainebleau, past homes of French royalty.