The capital of France is the first city in the world ranking, which is visited by the largest number of tourists every year. The mixture of different cultures, different nationalities, different historical eras, different architectural styles is what makes Paris unique. Here everyone will find something that will make them fall in love with France forever: romantics can climb the Eiffel Tower, fans of French cuisine can visit dozens of Michelin-starred restaurants, history lovers will find a new favorite museum among the Louvre, Picasso Museum, Versailles Palace or other best museums and exhibitions in Paris. Even those tourists who are fond of not medieval but modern architecture will see original postmodern projects here.
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First visit to Paris: what is worth seeing?
Acquaintance with Paris should be planned in detail long before the trip. Of course, you need to experiment with unknown streets, neighborhoods and cafes to feel the real atmosphere of the city, but the best solution is to combine a planned list of attractions with spontaneous walks and places.
Eiffel Tower
You can read about this architectural monument in all the guidebooks that tell about the top 10 or top 50 places in the world that you need to see at least once in your life. The symbol of Paris, the most visited attraction of the world, the place where lovers meet and new families are created – it’s all about the “Iron Lady”. Built in 2 years, it was to be the entrance arch of the 1889 Paris World Exhibition and was to be dismantled in 20 years. The chief architect Gustave Eiffel did not even think that his creation could stand for more than 100 years and become the most popular place in the world.
The construction process was very full of protests: in 1887 300 famous people of France, including Dumas, de Maupassant and Gounod, wrote a protest to the municipality. They called the Eiffel Tower “monstrous” and said that “it looks like a giant factory chimney”. Fortunately, despite the dissatisfaction of many cultural representatives, the construction of the tower continued. Thanks to this, tourists from all over the world can enjoy the aesthetic pleasure of visiting this place.
Louvre
This is another legendary place in Paris. If the Eiffel Tower is the most popular architectural monument in the world, the Louvre is the most popular museum. Here you can see world history from ancient Egypt to modern times. Those tourists who love history or art should definitely visit the Louvre. Exhibits of antiquity, the Islamic world, more than 6000 paintings and sculptures by the most famous authors of the world, such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, are a small part of what tourists can see in 9 collections of 300 thousand exhibits on the territory of the museum.
Sacre Coeur Basilica
This Catholic church is a place for spiritual and aesthetic relaxation. It is located on the highest hill in Paris, so tourists can get a nice bonus from visiting the basilica: enjoy a panoramic view of the entire French capital. The temple has not only religious but also architectural value: design in the Romanesque-Byzantine style, unique color of the stone, the largest bell towers in Paris, monumental mosaics, stained glass windows – this is what will make a trip to this city unforgettable.
Of course, these three attractions in Paris are only part of what makes millions of tourists fall in love with the French capital every year. From these attractions you can start an unforgettable acquaintance with the city of love and croissants.
