On your first trip to Paris, what should you see? What places are essential to see? What things can’t you miss?
Here are the top 5 places that you must see “yes or yes”.
Number 1: THE EIFFEL TOWER
Of course, you do, which is number one. Who has not dreamed of arriving in Paris and running towards the Eiffel Tower no matter how far the hotel is from there? Who doesn’t want a photo next to the Iron Lady? Who wouldn’t like to see its thousands of lights shine? Well, the first place to visit in Paris is the Eiffel Tower.
Built in 1889 for the Universal Exposition by Gustave Eiffel, it was going to be destroyed later, but Eiffel gave it a scientific vocation that made the tower remain in place and that we can still enjoy it today. It is used as a gigantic support antenna for wireless transmissions. Its height is 330 meters, initial 312 meters, and 18 meters of antenna.
From the beginning, it was the object of discord and fascination. You love her or you hate her. It became a symbol of modernity and avant-garde and its image will be associated with Paris forever.
Number 2: THE ARC DE TRIUMPH
After seeing the tower, another must-see is the Arc de Triomphe. Installed in the Place de l’Etoile-Charles de Gaulle, or Plaza de la Estrella since from the sky the twelve avenues that converge on this monument form a star.
Napoleon ordered its construction in 1806 to celebrate the victories of the French army under his command. It was finished building thirty years later. It is fifty meters high, forty-five meters wide, and twenty-two meters deep.
The arch witnessed many historical moments such as the military parades of the two world wars.
Number 3: THE CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
From Victor Hugo’s famous book «Notre Dame de Paris» to the terrible fire on April 15, 2019, Notre Dame was always in everyone’s thoughts.
Built between 1163 and 1245 on the Ile de la Cité (a beautiful island in the middle of the Seine), this cathedral is a Gothic jewel with its rosettes and sixty-nine-meter-high towers.
The protagonist of many important events such as the beatification of Joan of Arc, the patron saint of France, and the coronation of Napoléon Bonaparte, and now, again it is the great protagonist from its opening after long years of reconstruction; reconstruction that restored its splendor.
Number 4: THE LOUVRE MUSEUM
And near Notre Dame, on the right bank of the Seine River, we find the Louvre Museum and its striking glass pyramid from 1989.
This palace, a former royal residence, turned into a museum, opened its doors in 1793, and in its one hundred and sixty thousand square meters it houses the most famous works of art of all time such as the Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Mona Lisa of Leonardo da Vinci. These and all the other magnificent works make the Louvre one of the most important museums in the world.
Number 5: THE BASILICA OF THE SACRE COEUR IN MONTMARTRE
And to finish this top 5 of what you must see the first time you visit Paris, we go to the bohemian neighborhood of Montmartre and on the Mount of Martyrs where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris, was beheaded almost two hundred meters from the height we come across the majestic Basilica of the Sacred Heart. With its white stones and neo-Byzantine architecture, the construction of this church began in 1875 and continued for forty years. The basilica is eighty-five meters long and thirty-five meters wide. Its bell tower contains the Savoyarde, the largest bell in France, and to crown such beautiful architecture we can delight in Paris at our feet.
So far the top 5 essentials for a first glimpse of the city of light.
We’ll see more…
À bientôt!
Paris es mío 