Tourism of Paris

Paris is popular with tourists because of the city's art, history and cultural attractions. While Paris offers many tourist attractions, the Louvre Museum, the Orsay Museum and the Eiffel Tower are among the city's most popular attractions. Admission to the national museums is typically free on the first Sunday of the month. Visitors seeking guided tours should book in advance as tours fill quickly.

Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum is a popular tourist attraction in Paris featuring paintings, sculptures and decorative art. The museum also features films, concerts and lectures. It has a permanent collection of art, and also hosts exhibits from other museums. The Louvre's Italian painting collection is the museum's oldest and most extensive collection and includes work from artists such as Da Vinci, Titian and Raphael. The Louvre's operating hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with extended hours of 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays; the museum is closed on Tuesdays and for national holidays. The museum offers guided tours in a variety of formats including: tours of the Louvre's most famous works of art, tours featuring art from a specific era and tours detailing the life and work of specific artists.

The Orsay Museum building once served as a railway station, but ceased functioning as a railway station in the 1930s as trains evolved and became no longer compatible with the site's railway platforms. The building was used for other purposes until it was converted into a museum. The Orsay Museum officially opened in 1986, and features a significant collection of painting, sculpture and photography. The museum has acquired a collection of Impressionist artists featuring the work of Monet, Manet, Cezenne and Degas. The Orsay is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and offers extended hours on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Visitors may also attend art lectures, films and other events at the museum. Specific information about current events and exhibits is available on the museum's website (see References).

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 as a symbol for the World's Fair that was held that year in Paris. Gustave Eiffel designed the tower using iron, and the tower would soon become a major tourist attraction. Members of the Paris City Council, along with Gustave Eiffel, dedicated the tower, and following the ceremony placed a French flag atop the tower. The tower's illumination is changed to mark notable holidays and celebrations such as the Chinese New Year or Europe Day. Tourists may choose to walk the tower steps or use the elevators to the first and second floors. Visitors who wish to explore the top of the tower must utilize an elevator from the second floor. The Eiffel Tower is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m., with extended hours during the summer months.

Paris, the City of Love, is a popular vacation spot. Some of the world's most famous attractions are located within Paris' city limits, including the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. Paris is also known for its love of the culinary arts; no one leaves Paris, or France in general, hungry. Here are a few facts to help you plan your trip to Paris, France.

Currency in Paris, and all of France, is the euro. Cash machines are located throughout the city, but you can only withdraw money from your American account if you use a PULSE debit card. Paris is home to 2.1 million people. This includes the main city and rural areas. Keep in mind the off-season months in Paris are from November through March. It is generally cheaper to travel during the off-season, but all of the attractions might not be open or they could have limited hours. Hiring a guide to lead you on a walking tour of Paris is a good way to learn about lesser-known monuments on your way to bigger attractions. You can even hire guides for specific types of tours, including fashion, art and history. During the winter, Paris parks are open from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., but during the summer they are open as late as 9 p.m.

Paris has an ever-changing array of tourist attractions from shopping in boutiques and flea markets to historical structures and discoveries about the city's history. Long known to be a favorite spot for tourists, Paris offers visitors a blend of modern culture and historical settings. The history of the arrondissements of Paris dates back to 1795, when the city was separated into twelve districts, placing the first nine districts to the right of the Seine River and the final three to the left. Later, in 1860, Paris incorporated new land within the city and the districts were renumbered to equal twenty. The Latin Quarter is located just south of the center of Paris, in the 5th arrondissement, and takes up about 628 acres of land. The district sits on the left bank of the Seine River and is accessible by bus, metro and taxi. Paris is known for iconic structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe and the Luxembourg Gardens, all of which are open and accessible to the public. Paris offers a multitude of shopping opportunities for its inhabitants and visitors. High-end shopping boutiques such as Christian Dior, Chanel and Cartier can be found in the 8th arrondissement. For bargain shoppers, great deals can be found at Paris' well-known flea markets known as Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen. A list of markets can be found at parispuces.com. The Pantheon, found in the Latin Quarter, contains the remains of some very notable figures, such as Marie Curie, Emile Zola and Voltaire, and is open to tourists year-round. More information about the Pantheon can be found at Paris.org. Famous people and places connected to Paris include the Sorbonne University, Notre Dame Cathedral, novelist Honore de Balzac, Joan of Arc, Gustave Eiffel, Jacques Chirac, the Bastille, Marie Antoinette and Josephine Baker, an American jazz musician who fought with the French Resistance during World War II.

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The district of Saint Germain in Paris, France, was originally a small market town developed around the abbey of St. Germain, according to Paris Serve. Saint Germain is across the Seine from the Tuileries on the Left Bank and is known for its abundance of coffeehouses, bistros, bookshops, museums, galleries and nightclubs. The St.-Germain-des-Prés was built by the Merovingian King Childebert to house holy relics in 542 and is the oldest church in Paris, according to French at a Touch. An intellectual Benedictine abbey, the St.-Germain-des-Prés was rebuilt in the 11th and 19th centuries and again in the 1990s. The Musée d'Orsay is at the Quai d'Orsay and was originally a belle époque railroad station. In the 1970s, the structure was scheduled for demolition, and Minister of Arts Jack Long was key in its transformation into a museum. The Musée d'Orsay exhibits works from before 1870, Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Naturalism, Symbolism and Art Nouveau. Although Saint Germain was out of style after the French Revolution, it became known as a hub for intellectuals after the Second World War. Near the end of the 17th century many statesman lived in the Saint Germain district, and currently their former mansions accommodate governmental ministries. The Deux Magots and Café de Flore were two popular Saint Germain hangouts frequented by intellectuals such as Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre and Vian. Philosopher and mathematician René Descartes is buried at the St.-Germain-des-Prés. According to French at a Touch, the world's first coffeehouse, Le Procope, was founded in 1686 at 13 rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie. Although now a fine dining restaurant and no longer a coffeehouse, Le Procope was once patronized by Voltaire and Napoleon I.

The official name of the country is the French Republic. The French Republic covers an area of 220,668 square miles. This makes it the largest country in Western Europe, which is about 80 percent the size of Texas for comparison purposes. The capital of France is Paris. Other major cities of note include the port city of Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Nice, Rennes, Lille and Bordeaux in the famous wine region of the same name. If you have ever watched the Tour de France, you know the terrain in France varies from majestic mountain peaks to flat plains to beautiful coast line along the southern and western borders of the country. This gives the country various climatic conditions ranging from very cool in the mountain areas to downright hot in the southern beach locations such as Nice. Citizens of the French Republic are designated with the name French. The total population exceeds 62.4 million with a strong annual growth rate of over 2 percent. Ethnicity is broken down as Celtic and Latin for strong influences of Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Sub-Saharan African, Indochinese and Basque minorities. The strong minority base is due to two facts, a lax immigration policy and the migration of peoples from former colonies of France during its more imperial periods. Despite the massive immigrant influx over time, France is a largely uniform religious society. Over 90 percent of all French claim the Roman Catholic faith as their religion of choice. Strong Muslim population sectors, however, exist and are growing rapidly through immigration. The official language of the country is French and it is also the dominant language used in daily life. The literacy rate for France is over 99 percent, which makes sense given the free, compulsory education system. As this overview of France demonstrates, it has played a major role in European history. This makes it a great travel destination since much of the country has historical value, which you can experience by just walking down the street..