Paris: the Tower, the Louvre, the Seine and the art of sitting at a café terrace

Built for the 1889 World's Fair and heavily criticised at the time, the Eiffel Tower became the symbol of Paris and of France itself. You go up by lift or, as far as the second floor, by the stairs. The view from the top is incredible, but many people think the best view of the Tower is from outside.

The best places to see it are the Trocadéro across the Seine, the lawns of the Champ de Mars and the bridges around. At night, for a few minutes at the start of each hour, the Tower sparkles with thousands of lights, and someone always applauds.

From there, the Champs-Élysées climb to the Arc de Triomphe, whose terrace shows the star of avenues laid out in the nineteenth century. The avenue is more about shops than charm, but the walk is part of a first visit.

The Louvre is the world's largest museum by area and holds the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, among thousands of other works. Seeing everything is impossible. Pick two or three wings, book a timed ticket and don't be frustrated by the crowd in front of the Mona Lisa: she's smaller than she looks in photos.

The Musée d'Orsay, housed in a former railway station, has the world's largest collection of Impressionist painting: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh. The giant clock on the façade, seen from inside, is one of the most beautiful photos in the city.

The Orangerie, with Monet's water lilies in oval rooms, the Rodin Museum with its sculpture garden, and the Centre Pompidou for modern art round off the list. If you're visiting many museums, the museum pass can pay off.

Paris's historic heart is the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine where Notre-Dame stands. The Gothic cathedral, badly damaged by fire in 2019, reopened at the end of 2024 after an impressive restoration and is once again one of the city's most visited sites.

Very close by, the Sainte-Chapelle has walls made almost entirely of thirteenth-century stained glass. On a sunny day, stepping inside is like entering a jewel. Next door, the Île Saint-Louis is quiet and elegant, famous for its ice cream.

A boat trip on the Seine is the easiest way to see all of Paris at once, especially in the evening. On foot, the riverbanks with the bouquinistes and their green boxes are the most Parisian walk of all.

In the north of the city, Montmartre is a hill of steep streets and stairways crowned by the white Sacré-Cœur basilica. From the steps in front, the view over the rooftops of Paris is one of the best, and at sunset they fill with people and guitars.

Behind the basilica is the Place du Tertre, with painters working outdoors, and streets that still keep the village feel that drew Picasso, Renoir and so many others. There's a small vineyard, old cafés and cabarets.

At the foot of the hill is the Moulin Rouge, with its red windmill and cancan shows. Montmartre is very touristy around the basilica, but two streets away you'll find a calmer Paris.

The Marais is one of the most beautiful and lively neighbourhoods, with old mansions, the Place des Vosges, shops, galleries and bars. It's also the old Jewish quarter, home to some of the city's best falafel. The Latin Quarter, by the Sorbonne, has narrow streets, bookshops and the Luxembourg Gardens.

Food is part of the visit. Bakery croissants and baguettes, a croque-monsieur in a bistro, steak frites with red wine, cheeses, macarons and a neighbourhood bistro meal with the menu of the day chalked on the board. In Paris you eat well at every price, as long as you avoid the traps next to the monuments.

At night, Saint-Germain, Canal Saint-Martin and Pigalle each have their own life. And there's always the most Parisian option: a glass of wine on a terrace, watching people go by.