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sive selection of the
Paris's museums
rated with pictures.

Monuments | Museums | Leisure parks

The Louvre
 1/4 Page(s)

Center Pompidou

Paris
La Villette Park

Paris
Museum of Mankind

Paris
Cité de la Musique

Paris
temporain Dapper Foundation

Paris
Chateau de Versailles
The Sun-king palace in Versailles is half an hour
by train from Paris

The largest in Europe, the palace of Versailles housed 20 000 nobles. It was the
center of the French monarchy until the 1789 revolution which overthrew King Louis
the 16th.

Its facade on the park, 70 meters long hall of mirrors, the king and queen luxurious
apartments and the Le Notre French style park owe the palace of Versailles a
universal reputation as the perfect incarnation of French classicism.

The palace of Versailles was copied many times by monarchs throughout Europe
during the 18th century.

Versailles can be reached in half an hour by train from Paris. We recommend you
the "Grandes Eaux Musicales", a fountain and music show in the marvellous setting
of the park.

The Castle
The Chateau proposes two itineraries: either a guided tour or not. Apart from the
state apartments of the king and queen and the Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of
Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed to end World War 1), which you
can visit on your own, most of the palace can only be viewed in guided groups, and
whose times are much more restricted. Long queues are common.

Unfortunately, only a small part of the palace can be visited : the State Apartments
of the King and Queen, and the Hall of Mirrors. The worst time to visit the Chateau
is on Sunday when the entrance fee is reduced and the queues are interminable. A
guided tour, for an extra charge, takes you in the King's Private Bedroom, the Royal
Opera, and the rooms occupied by Madame du Barry. And, for a little more, you
may visit the pavilions of the Grand and Petit Trianons.

Don't set out to see all the palace in one day for it's not possible. Quite apart from
the size, tours of both Mme du Barry's apartments and of the Dauphin and
Dauphine's apartments take place at the same time : 2 pm.
 History
One of the most visited monuments in France, amongst the three most visited, is
the Palace of Versailles. Wanting to escape the busy life in Paris, and to keep the
nobility under his control, Louis XIV built this chateau in which he set up home and
installed the government. Louis Le Vau was commissioned to renovate and extend
an old hunting lodge, Le Notre created the gardens from swamp land, and Mansart
masterminded the hydraulic display of the fountains.

Beginning in 1664, the construction of the château lasted virtually until Louis XIV's
death in 1715. the Palace of Versailles was never meant to be a home, kings were
not homely people. Second only to God, and the head of an immensely powerful
state, Louis XIV was an institution rather than a private individual. His instability,
comings and goings, were minutely regulated and rigidly encased in ceremony,
attendance at which was an honour much sought after by courtiers. Versailles was
the headquarters of every arm of the state. After the death of Louis XIV, the
château was abandoned for a few years. Then Louis XV moved in in 1722. It
remained the residence of the royal family until the Revolution of 1789, and at this
time the furniture was sold and the pictures dispatched to the Louvre. Thereafter it
fell into ruin and was nearly demolished by Louis-Philippe. And in 1871, during the
Paris Commune, it became the seat of the nationalist government, and the French
parliament continued to meet in Louis XV's opera building until 1879. The
restoration only began between the two world wars.

The many buildings attached to the castle form a small town. The whole complex is
a magnificent monument. The garden facade is 575 metres long with various
annexes dotted here and there in a park which is several kilometres in both length
and width. The park shows the skill of Le Notre in making good use of the natural
resources on the site.

The Park
If you just feel like taking a stroll, the park is free (except on Sunday) and the
scenery is better the further you go from the palace. There are even informal groups
of trees near the lesser outcrops of royal mania : the Italianate Grand Trianon,
designed by Hardouin-Mansart in 1687 as a "country retreat" for Louis XIV, and the
more modest Greek Petit Trianon, built by Gabriel in the 1760s. More charming and
rustic than either of these is Le hameau de Marie-Antoinette, a play-village and farm
built in 1783 for Louis XVI's queen to indulge the fashionable Rousseau-inspired
fantasy of returning to the natural life.
The park is extremely large. If you find that you cannot manage them by foot, a
small train shuttles between the terrace in front of the castle and the Trianons.
There are also bicycles for rent by the Grand Canal, itself a good fifteen minutes'
walk across the formal gardens, and boats for rent on the canal.

Not to be missed
After you have had a chance to take a look at the Chateau and the gardens, do not
leave without taking a walk in the town, where everything leaves the visitor
overwhelmed by the excellent taste, as well as the power and wealth, of the man for
whom it was all built.

Practical Information
How to get there ?
RER C : Versailles Chantiers, Versailles Rive Gauche.
Bus : 171

Opening
November to March: 9am to 5pm.
April to October: 9am to 6pm.
Closed on Monday
Notre-Dame
The major french religious building, masterpiece of gothic architecture.

Proceeded by a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, a Christian basilica, and a Romanesque

church, construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis
VII. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone. Construction was completed roughly
200 years later in about 1345.

In 1991, a 10 year program of general maintenance and restoration has begun, and
sections of the structure are likely to be shrouded in scaffolds for the foreseeable
future.

During its history, Notre Dame has been the site of numerous official and other
ceremonial occasions. In 1430, Henri VI of England is crowned here. The 2nd
December 1804, after the anointing by Pius VII, Napoleon seizes the crown from the
pontiff and crowns first himself, then Josephine. The 31st May 1980, after the
Magnificat of this day, Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass on the parvis in front of the
Cathedral.

Not to be missed !
Before leaving, do not forget to walk round to the public garden at the east end for a
view of the flying buttresses supporting the choir, and then along the riverside under
the south transept, where you can sit in springtime under the cherry blossom.

And in front of the cathedral, in the square separating Notre Dame from Haussmann's
police Headquarters, is what appears to be and smells like the entrance to an
underground toilet. In fact, it is a very well-displayed and interesting museum, the
crypte archeologique, in which are revealed the remains of the church which predated
the cathedral, as well as streets and houses of the Cite dating as far back as the
Roman era.

On the pavement by the west door of Notre-Dame is a spot known as kilometre zero.
This is where all of the main road distances in France are calculated. For the Ile de la
Cite is the symbolic heart of the country, or at least of the France that in the school
books fights wars, undergoes revolutions and launches space rockets.

Practical information
How to get there
Metro line 4 : Cité, St-Michel
RER B or C : St-Michel

Opening hours
8 am to 6.45 pm

Fees
Cathedral : free
Visit of the towers
maximum persons by visit: 20
Full: 7,00 euros
Reduced: 4,50 eurs
Group: 5,50 euros
School: 30,00 euros
Champs-Elysees
The triumphal way which leads to the Arc de Triomphe.

The glamour of the Champs-Élysées, particularly its upper end, may not be quite what
it was, dominated as it is by airline offices, car showrooms, and bright lighted shopping
arcades. But there's still the Lido cabaret, Fouquet's high-class bar and restaurant, and
plenty of cinemas and outrageously priced cafés to bring the punters in. At Christmas
time, this is where the fairy lights go, and on December 31st everyone happily jams in,
in their cars, to hoot in the New Year.

The new landscaping project has removed the avenue's side lanes where cars used to
prowl in search of parking spaces, and now pedestrians have an equal share of the
avenue's width, with shade from more trees. Cultural centers, deluxe hotels and other
activities that participate in the tradition and prestige of the Champs-Elysées are
encouraged to return by the municipality.

The stretch between the Rond-Point roundabout - whose Lalique glass fountains
disappeared during the German occupation - and Concorde is bordered by chestnut
trees and municipal flower beds, pleasant enough to stroll among, but not sufficiently
dense to muffle the squeal of accelerating tyres. The two massive buildings rising
above the greenery to the south are the Grand and Petit Palais, with their overloaded
Neoclassical exteriors, rail station roofs and exuberant flying statuary. They house a
number of museums and the Grand Palais is the address for major cultural exhibitions,
curtailed at the moment due to major restoration works.

On the north side, combat police guard the high walls round the presidential Elysee
palace and the line of ministries and embassies ending with the US in prime position
on the corner of place de la Concorde. On Thursdays and at weekends you can see a
stranger manifestation of the self-images of states in the postage stamp market at the
corner of avenues Gabriel and Marigny.

Practical Information
How to get there
Metro line 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12 or 13: Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile, George V, Champs-
Elysées-Clémenceau, Concorde
RER A : Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile
Eiffel Tower
Paris just wouldn't be Paris without the Eiffel Tower. Designed by Gustave
Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair, at 300m it was then the world's tallest
building. Not everyone was happy when it was first built but today it is one
of the world's most visited monuments. The Eiffel Tower remained the
highest monument in the world until the construction of New York's Chrysler
Building in 1930.

History
In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at
300m. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a tempory structure to commemorate the
centenary of the Revolution. And since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring
symbol of the city of Paris.
The Tour was originally built for the 1889 Exposition. This steel construction defied all
traditional rules in architecture. It is now the television transmitter for the greater
Paris region.

The Tour selected by a competition which was won by Gustave Eiffel, an engineer who
had experience of constructing high level railway viaducts. In the public eye, the tower
had many mixed opinions, celebrated and loathed in equal measure. Throughout its
construction, the residents became convinced that it would collapse, and Eiffel had to
reassure them personally. The author Guy de Maupassant left Paris permanently to
avoid looking at its 'metallic carcass' but others who espoused more self-consciously
modern views championed the tower: Seurat and Douanier Rousseau were among the
first to paint it, in 1889 and 1890 respectively. On a clear day, it is possible to see
Chartres Cathedral from the high level viewing platform.

There are three floors. The first is at 57 m., the second at 115m., and the third at 276
m. The top of the aerial is 320 m. above the ground. And on a nice day, you an see
from the top of the platform, the whole of Paris and even the distant suburbs.
The 12,000 steel girders are held together by 2,500,000 rivets to produce a smooth,
curving profile. Its functional elegance heralded the dawn of Industrial Art, and has
met with much sarcastic comment from more conservative observers ever since it was
finished in 1889.
And in 1986 the external night-time floodlighting was replaced by a system of
illumination from within the tower's superstructure, so that it now looks at its magical
best after dark.

Practical Information
How to get there
METRO : Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro, Ecole Militaire
RER : Ligne C - Station Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel
BUS : 42,69,72,82,87
TAXI : Station Quai Branly, Pilier Ouest

Opening
From January 1 to June 18: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
From June 19 to August 29: 9:00 am - midnight
From August 30 to December 31: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
Last admitance 1 hour before closing.

Fees:
Stairs - all visitors: 3,80 euros
under 25 years old : 3,00 euros
Adults
Lift to 1st platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 7,50 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 10,70 euros
Children
Lift to 1st platform 2,30 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 5,90 euros
Thoiry Castle and African Reserve
Thoiry African Reserve surrounding an elegant Renaissance castle is the
first african game reserve... out of Africa

The African Reserve of Thoiry (created in 1968) and its 1,000 exotic free-roaming
animals welcome visitors to a year long firework of unique attractions and events.
Thoiry's involvment in the protection of endangered species is reinforced by "the first
time in France presentation" of several rare reptile species and a European river
biotope of otters, frogs, salamanders and fish. Kids "interactivate" along the new
educational play circuit through the Zoological Gardens. With 'The Talking Trees'
english audio guide and train tours in the botanical and zoological gardens, and Giant
Spiderweb Playground, Thoiry offers hours of pleasure to all ages.

The 300 acre gardens are graced by formal parterres by Le Nôtre and Desgot, a
bluebell wood by Varé with gigantic rhododendrons, magnolias, prunus, an Autumn
Garden, Flowering Meadow, roses, peony border, a labyrinth, and hortensias. Over
10000 flowering trees and shrubs enchant the Botanical Gardens with many new
garden creations every year.

The castle
The Chateau de Thoiry is a unique listed monument of esoteric Renaissance
architecture built in 1559 by the great architect, Philibert de L'Orme. Conceived to be a
transparent bridge of light, the sun rises or sets in the Castle's central arch at the
summer and winter solstices.
Family property of the Counts of La Panouse for 440 years, Thoiry has fine furniture,
tapestries, portraits, and 950 years of family, national, and international archives. The
Castle's portraits, magically sonorized, reveal ancestors' secret joys and sorrows.

Practical Information

How to get there ?

By Road: 40 km west of Paris: Pont St Cloud, A13-A12, N12 to Pontchartrain, then
D11 to Thoiry.
By Rail: SNCF Trains from Paris-Montparnasse station to Montfort l'Amaury (8 km to
Thoiry)

Opening
from 10 am to 6.30 pm
Castle : individual from Easter to November 11 & groups year round by reservation.
La Villette Park
For the architecture alone, you should not miss visiting this ultra-modern
museum. All glass and stainless steel, bridges and suspended walkways,
transparent escalators and elevators, this museum has been designed so
that you feel like you are in a "city of the future".

The "Parc de la Villette" is located between the Porte de la Villette and the Porte de
Pantin. It is the largest Park Intra Muros of Paris. The place accomodates a complete
urban project:
* the city of sciences and industry,
* the city of the Music,
* the Large Market,
* the room of spectacle of the Zenith.
Located on old the abbatoirs of Paris, the Park of the Villette is an active space, a new
district of meeting, culture and leisures. Place of exhibitions, documentation,
communication and search, the City presents the largest
scientific, technological projections of our time. Using the most recent techniques of
audio-visual and data-processing communications, it proposes multiple and
complementary activities and offers a new way of learning, of listening and of being
moved so that each one remains an actor of the future world.

The Design
For the architecture alone, you should not miss visiting this ultra-modern museum. All
glass and stainless steel, bridges and suspended walkways, transparent escalators and
elevators, this museum has been designed so that you feel like you are in a "city of the
future".

What to see
The permanent exhibition is called "Explora". This exhibit is divided into 3 main themes
:
- Water as a major link between the universe and life that's why the Cité des Sciences
is surrounded by water.
- Vegetation coming in three bio-climatic
- Light, source of energy of the livingworld,illuminates the exhibition space of
permanent exhibitions thanks to two rotating cupolas.

The Cite des sciences allows the visitors to touch and play with various subjects of
experiences such as sounds, robots, computer science, expression and behaviour,
oceans, energy, light, the environment, mathematics, space. With its interactive
computers, multimedia displays, videos, holograms, animated models and games, this
museum permits the visitor to "explore" and discover.
An example of the chaos theory is displayed by a wheel of glasses rotating below a
stream of water and the control of motion is entirely unpredictable.
Do not miss the hydroponic plants as well as the flight simulator.

Other activities at the Museum

You can also discover the planetarium, the Cinema Louis Lumiere which plays a short
stereo-scopic film at 11:30am, 2pm, 3:30pm, 4pm, 4:30pm., and other exciting
exhibits are the Geode, Argonaute, Cinaxe and the park itself.
There are also several cafés.

The Argonaute
Discover a real 1957 french military submarine in which you can clamber about and
discover masses of facts about underwater transportation.

The Geode and the Cinaxe

The Geode shows films shot on the 180o Omnimax system, while the Cinaxe combines
70mm film shot at 30 frames a second with seats that move.

The Park
Besides the permanent exhibits, throughout the park, you can discover the temporary
exhibits which talk about history and philosophy as well as science.
Walkman guide in English is available at the counter in the main hall, and includes
details of the architecture, explanations for Explora and the soundtrack for the
Planetarium shows.

The city of the Villette it is also:

1 The Park Designed by Bernard Tschumi the park is organized in three systems: the
buildings or Madnesses mark the site and its reference marks, circulations give him
which combine two perpendicular galleries, surfaces: 7 ha of meadows and sports
grounds.
2. The Grande Halle
Old Market of cows of the cattle market of the
Villette, it is reconverted since 83 in general-purpose room and can accomodate more
than 15 000 people
3. The Zenith Inaugurated in 1984 it is particularly devoted to the
variety and the rock'n'roll.
4. The theatre of the Villette Ancien house of the Stock Exchange it
accomodates primarily contemporary authors.
5. the City of the Music. Built by Christian de Portzamparc like a
contemporary village. It accomodates in the western part the Academy
Higher Main road of Music and Dance of Paris as well as the Museum of
the M.

Practical Information
How to get there
Metro line 5 or 7: Porte de la Villette, Porte de Pantin
Bus : PC

Opening
Open every day from 10am to 6pm,
on Sunday: from 10am to 7pm
Closed on monday, 1st May and 25th December
Fees:
- Explora
Full price: 7,50 euros
Reduced : 5,50 euros
Free under 7
- Planetarium
Explora +3 euros supplement
- Cité des Enfants :
5 euros for anyone.
- Géode :
full fee: 8,75 euros
reduced fee: 6,75 euros
- Cinaxe
Full price : 5,20 euros
Reduced : 4,50 euros

You can also buy a daily pass.

Disneyland Paris
Disneyland Paris, the first leisure theme park of Europe.

Meet Mickey, fly away with Dumbo and be carried away in the wild tea cups of Alice in Wonderland!
Go on an adventure with Pinocchio, and discover 'its a small World". Find your characters of your favorite Fairy tales.
Go and discover the Swiss Family Robinson's cabin hiding in the giant tree.

And, be careful not to be captured by the Pirates of the Carribean !

At Disneyland Paris, even the amateurs with strong emotions will be light years away of what is already known!
Belt up... and propel towards the moon with Space Mountain. Pilot your own spaceship on Orbitron, participate in the
largest battle intergalactic of Star Wars.

Following, choose to come back to earth and follow the foot steps of Indiana Jones.

Main Street, U.S.A. Frontierland. Adventureland. Fantasyland. Discoveryland

The party is just beginning as soon as you have put your first foot on Main Street, USA. Then, go directly to the Wild
Wild West of FRONTIERLAND, Howdy! Keep going and enter Adventureland and be submersed by the charms of the
tropics.Go, take your enthusiasm and jump into Fantasyland! The most beautiful castle where our dreams await us.
At Discoveryland, you will be thrown into Space by Space Mountain - HOLD ON....!

Restaurants & Bars Américains. Boutiques. Cinémas. Dîners Spectacles. "Live" concerts
Just when you are leaving the Park, dive into the effervescents of the Disney Village and let the fun continue.
Do not miss the extraordinary Diner show of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, with Annie Oakly, the queen of the
trigger the big chief of Sitting Bull and his fighters, and even live buffalos. And, all of this while savoring the delicious
texan barbecue!
There are several restaurants that propose everything from a hamburger to a gourmet dinner - you can find
everything on the menu!! Not to go home until you have had a chance to assist one of serveral "live" concerts. After
dinner, take a stroll in the several themed stores, listen to the orchestras, dive into the fever of Hurricanes
Nightclub, take a nightcap at the Sports Bar or go and see the latest films in the newest cinema. Whatever you
decide, you are guaranteed to pass the time of your life...

Practical Information

How to get there

By car
Take the highway A4 (highway east)
For the Amusement Park and the hotels, take the exit 14 "Val d'Europe, Park Disneyland".
For Camp Davy Crocket Ranch, take the exit 13 "Provins/Serris".
From France you can take the following highways:
- A1 coming from Lille, London, Brussels.
- A4 if you live near Strasbourg, Metz, Nancy and Germany
- A6 and A7 from Lyon, Marseille or Italy
- A10 / A11 if you are coming from Bordeaux, Nantes or Spain
- A13 if you are coming from Rouen or Le Havre.
From the Airports Orly or Roissy Charles De Gaulle, you must follow the direction Marne-la-Vallée and take the
Francilienne A104

By Métro/RER
The Métro will take you quickly to the heart of the Enchanted Kingdom : Take the RER, line A (direction Marne la
Vallée). The journey lasts between 35 - 40 minutes. Get off at the last stop, "Marne la Vallée-Chessy" and think to
take the "Formule 1" Card. This is the ideal answer to get around with unlimited travel on the reseau RATP Ile de
France (métro, RER, bus). For around
100 FF, Paris is at your feet for the day!
Take advantage...

By train
Let the magic of the fast train (TGV) bring you to the Station Chessy/Marne la Vallée, ideally situated between the
Park and with walking distance to the hotels. With more than 34 trains daily, Disneyland Paris is tied directly with
the West, Sud-West, Midi-Mediterranean, South-East, and several liaisons with Northern part of France.

Airport Shuttles
A direct service and consistant every 45 minutes, daily, 7/7 days from 8:30am - 7:45pm, from both airports, Roissy-
Charles de Gaulle and Orly to Disneyland Paris. The shuttles stop at the hotels of Disneyland Paris and the Train
station (with the exception of Camp Davy Crockett Ranch).
Hours: every 45 minutes to and from the Airports Orly & Roissy-CDG between 8:30am and 7:45pm (every day)