Great unrestricted views from the top! and other Paris, France Things to Do Tips

Very interesting views from the top as you can see a the key places of Paris from here. Sacré Coeur, Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, and the Louvre and the shopping avenue Champs-Elysées below. You could really see in a straight path down the avenue all the way up to the Louvre with the park in the middle of it.. Take a walk round the viewing deck as you can see the converging roads leading to the chaotic circus below. Also the viewing deck is open air so your views are almost grille free if not for the vertical poles on the edges.. The setback comes when it is raining though..

Be prepared to have a good workout on the way up as it's quite a climb for some! A seemingly endless staircase climb from the base will get you an exhibitional space near to the top. But the spiral staircase is narrow so do watch your step! Another climb will get you to the open air roof.

There is a safe underpass access to get there. Nobody in the right mind will cross the circus with all that traffic...Entry charges apply but this monument is covered under the Carte des Musées et Monuments should you want to get one.

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Address: Place Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile
Directions: Metro Line 1, 2, RER A : Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile

Conciergerie seems to be the least visited museum in the area. I think it was overwhelmed by "super" monuments Notre Dame cathedral and the Louvre museum in the vicinity. The hall is eerie and one can only imagine what it was like when it was a prison back then. The star attraction though is Marie Antoinette's cell.. And the recreated exhibition shows the scene before her execution. There was not much to see but if you are holding the Carte des Musées et Monuments then just make the trip when in the area. If you don't have one you can get one here too as there is virtually no queue.

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Address: 1, quai de l'Horloge , 75001 Paris
Directions: Exit by Cité Metro

Already very famously known for a shopping promenade.. A good excuse to shop when visiting the nearby monument Arc de Triomphe.. A very popular stunt by fellow tourists would be getting to the centre divider of the road to take a picture with the Arc de Triomphe as the background.. The shops are a little up-market, which is why I prefer going to Boulevard Hausmann where they have malls..

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Directions: A long stretch of shopping promenade accessible from multiple points!...
Website: http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/

Buy a ticket to the top if you're not afraid of heights. The top floor has an indoor area and the actual viewing deck is open air but fenced up. If you're going the cold months be prepared to be blown by cold (and maybe strong too!) winds. I went in Early March and it was already freezing for me. The situation was - Even though you are freezing cold you can move around to a warmer place cos you're stuck in a queue for the lift up.. But the indoor level of the top floor offers refuge though.. I think the daylight hours are the best times to enjoy views up from up there. Not that the dark hours are less interesting but photos will never turn out well when you want to take a photo with the scenery at night. If you haven't gone there yet, you need to take 2 lifts up to the top - and that means 2 queues! You may want to whip out your cam/video recorder on the second lift up if you're near the window. The views are amazing as the lift travels up!

Tip: In the early months of the year it nice to approach the tower coming up from Ecole militaire and passing by the park to get to the tower. If the weather is good the skies are blue: perfect for nice photos. The distance is quite far enough for most cameras to capture the entire tower from base to top! In March if you had approached from Trocadero, the sun was glaring in the background of the tower, so pictures did not turn out well..

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Address: Trocadero
Directions: You can't miss it!!! Metro: Trocadero or Ecole Militaire or Bir-Hakeim. Then walk from there..

The Notre Dame cathedral is here, Conciergerie prison museum, Sainte Chapelle museum and the Archeological Crypt is here on this small island in the Seine. All these attractions come under the Carte des Musées et Monuments...

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Address: Metro - Cite - line 4

It's top also offer great views over Paris. It just seems a whole lot bigger that in photos....
- A word of warning - the climb up can be literally an uphill task. There is a souvenir shop halfway or so should you need some rest. Luckily the staircase is wide enough for people to bypass you when you're busy panting.. Hahaha! But the view is great from the top although it's all fenced up. Go and and see the bell in the tower and take note that certain walking passages up there are really narrow (even I had a hard time passing through, and only 1 person at a time..). But you'll have to walk through them in order to make the exit. You'll know what i mean about this when you've made the trip up there...

Oh, and don't forget to go to the back of the cathedral (walk by the outside). There is a small park where you can see the butress architecture of the cathedral.

-Covered under the Carte des Musées et Monuments (Paris Museum Card).
If you're planning to buy it, this is the only place that do not offer priority access - you'll have to queue like anyone else.

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Address: Ile de la Cité

Already established for 2 centuries, it really has a gargantuan collection. It cannot be covered fully in a day - even if you attempt it you'll not appreciate the exhibits and be really worn-out from all that non-stop walking. Most people usually decide what they want to see before setting off. Be warned - you can get lost if you don't get a copy of the museum's map. The star exhibits in my opinion was the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Napoleon III apartments, Horses of Marly, and the Dutch paintings, and the Pharoanic Egypt collections. You'll see the entire collection of Italian paintings on your way to see Mona Lisa, in an alley passageway that will seem endless on foot. Then, you'll have to do a little crowd jostling to get to have a look of her, let alone take a photograph. Another room that you'll just have to go to is La Galerie D'Apollon (Apollo Gallery, room number 66 on the 1st floor), where you'll find the exhibit of the Coronation Crown of Louis XV. It's very intricate up to every detail right up to the ceiling. Take advantage of their extended hours on Wednesdays and Fridays,(I thought there was less people around) and do take note that they close Tuesdays.

Covered under the Carte des Musées et Monuments but you're probably better off buying the Louvre entry ticket if you want to cover extensively it on it's own..

I wrote some other tips on the Louvre, a short description of the different sections of the museum.

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Directions: Métro
Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre station.

You must stop by it's second level to look at its row of intricate colourful glass panels. I went at during a gloomy day with not much daylight, but even that the sight was truly fascinating. I'd bet they'd look really gleaming when the sun shines through them. This is one of those things where you'll just have to see it in person, and the pictures taken can never reflect to that experience. However, there's an entrance fee to it; it's a museum. Close by to Notre Dame.

Covered under the Carte des Musées et Monuments.

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Address: Boulevard du Palais
Directions: Sainte-Chapelle is inside the Palais of Justice on Ile de le Cité-- a few minute walk from Notre Dame. Métro : Cité, Staint-Michel, or Châtelet. RER: Chatelet -Les-Halles, Saint-Michel

A museum unlike the rest in Paris, it features medieval arts and crafts. The tapestries and the Gallery of the Kings (stone heads) are the attractions you'll see here. There are Gallo-Roman Ruins in the museum area too, but i lacked the time to visit them as it was closing.. As with other museums, this one has day in the week that it is not opened.

Also under the Carte des Musées et Momunents

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Address: Boulevard St-Michel
Directions: Where Boulevard Saint-Michel meets Boulevard Saint-Germain... couldn't be easier. Metro Cluny-Sorbonne (closer) or Saint-Michel (not far at all).

Another major museum, but with a collection that is more manageable for visitors as compared to the Louvre. It was formerly a train station before being converted to a museum. Star exhibits would be the impressionism paintings and the sculptures. I thought that it was not as interesting as the Louvre museum so I'd say if you have the time to visit both, do this one first then the Louvre, so you won't feel a fallback on initial expectations.

Covered under the Carte des Musées et Monuments.

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Directions: Métro: line 12, Solférino station; RER: line C, Musée d'Orsay station
Website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/