Indulge Your Wanderlust by Touring 21 of the Most Beautiful Buildings in Paris

Built to serve as the entrance of the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable and famous buildings in the world. It took a little over two years and about 18,000 metal pieces to complete the elaborate lattice girders of the tower that come together at its top. While the French people's initial reaction was less than favorable, the Eiffel Tower would go on to define Paris's skyline and become a symbol of the city.

It's hard to imagine that one of the most famous cathedrals in the world today didn't become a household name until about 600 years after its completion. The reason? Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame (or Notre-Dame de Paris in French) was partly inspired by the beautiful architecture of the Gothic cathedral. In it, the author argued that the church, which had fallen out of favor with Parisians at the time, was part of the capital's cultural heritage. As a consequence of the book's success, the cathedral was renovated and emerged as an enduring symbol of the City of Lights.

There are dozens of triumphal arches around the world but none so majestic as the one towering above Place de Charles de Gaulle or Place de l’Etoile in Paris. Inspired by the ancient Arch of Constantine in Rome and designed in neoclassical style, the arch was commissioned by Napoleon I at the beginning of the 19th century to celebrate the French army's military successes. Today, it is considered a symbol of French patriotism.

Similar to the Eiffel Tower, the inside-out design of Centre Pompidou was first met with hostility. But the initial shock from the unconventional structure eventually passed, and the largest museum for modern art in Europe is now one of the must-see buildings in Paris. Renzo Piano, one of the architects of Centre Pompidou, once said that it is "like a huge spaceship made of glass, steel and colored tubing that landed unexpectedly in the heart of the Paris, and where it would very quickly set deep roots," and he turned out to be completely right. Art enthusiasts should be warned that between 2023 and 2026, the museum plans to close for a significant renovation and hopes to reopen for its 50th anniversary in 2027.

The controversial story of one of the few skyscrapers in Paris began in 1973 when the 689-foot tower (it's the third tallest structure in the city) was inaugurated. Despite the stunning views it offers over the French capital, the tower became a thorn in the side of Parisians. Shortly after its completion, the City Council set a height limit for new buildings in order to prevent another high-rise structure from sticking out in the city's skyline. But nowadays, Parisians may have a reason to cheer. Montparnasse Tower (or Tour Montparnasse) is currently undergoing a complete makeover, and its new look is expected to be revealed in time for the 2024 Olympics.

Perched on a hill in the artsy neighborhood of Montmartre, the Sacré-Coeur Basilica offers some of the most magnificent views of the City of Lights. And if you climb to the top of its dome, you would be able to even see the countryside. The Romano-Byzantine building, with a beautiful travertine façade, was designed by Paul Abadie, who modeled it after Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia and the San Marco Basilica in Venice.

Before it became the world’s most-visited museum of fine arts, the Louvre was a fortress and a royal residence of several of France's kings. But after the French Revolution, the palace was converted into a public museum. Shortly after that, in 1804, its most famous work of art—Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa—was displayed inside. And in 1983, renowned American-Chinese architect I.M. Pei put his mark on the Renaissance-style building by adding a 71-foot, glass-and-metal pyramid in its courtyard.

It is hard to imagine that the quiet galleries of the Musée D'Orsay were once bustling with hurried passengers on their way to catch a train in what was then Gare D'Orsay. The station was built for the 1900 World Fair and served as such for a few decades until, in 1977, then-President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing decided to convert it into a museum. Nine years later, his vision became a reality, and Musée D'Orsay's beautiful beaux-arts building welcomed its first visitors. Among the many works of art on display there, is a copy of the original Statue of Liberty. It was commissioned by the monument's architect in 1889, 12 years after the original was inaugurated in New York City.

This imposing complex of 17th-century classical French structures was commissioned by King Louis XIV and was meant to serve as treatment facilities and housing for wounded veterans. Several architects worked on the project, including Jules Hardouin-Mansart, who also designed the Palace of Versailles. In the 19th century, part of the complex, namely the Dome Church, was converted into Napoleon I's tomb.

This modern Frank Gehry building, located in the Bois de Boulogne, was inaugurated in 2014 in the presence of the French President and many A-list celebrities. Gehry, who designed the structure at 85, was inspired by Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London. The pavilion-like museum looks like a ship's sails and has a glass façade supported by enormous wooden beams.

The Panthéon was initially built as a church in the mid-1700s but was later secularized during the French Revolution. It is now the resting place of notable French people such as Victor Hugo, Voltaire, and Marie Curie. The building was conceived by Jacques-Germain Soufflot, a pioneer of neoclassicism, who designed it in the shape of a cross with a dome above the crossing. The façade, similar to the Roman Pantheon, has Corinthian columns, while the interior features stunning marble floors and art depicting scenes from French history.

The lavish neo-baroque Palais Garnier, also known as the Paris Opera or Opéra de Paris, is a sight to behold both from inside and out. But building it was a real challenge. Shortly after construction had begun in 1862, it became clear that there was an underground lake at the site, which delayed the work by eight months. More setbacks, including the Franco-Prussian war and a major fire followed, but the building finally opened its doors in 1875. Gaston Leroux wrote The Phantom of the Opera after a chandelier's counterweight killed a man here, and people started believing that the building was haunted.

The post-modern building of the Cinémathèque Française, an organization that is tasked with preserving the most extensive collection of French movies, was designed by Frank Gehry in 1993. Its daring curved architecture won Gehry a Progressive Architecture Award and made the building, which also serves as a cinema and a library, one of Paris's most popular landmarks.

This magnificent beaux-arts complex sitting next to one of Paris's most famous bridges, Pont Alexandre III, dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. It consists of a museum and an exhibition hall dedicated to displaying some of the most sought-after pieces of French art. The building's imposing conservatory-style glass roof and its stone façade that features columns and elaborate friezes are a triumph of classical and art nouveau design.

Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French President, was built in 1722 by Armand-Claude Mollet. Although it was known as Hotel d'Evreux in the 1700s, the classical mansion and its garden were still very much a sight to behold. Inside, tapestries, paintings, gold accents, exquisite decorative objects, and furniture fill its 365 rooms and contribute to its lavish ambiance.

Designed in 1937, the Palais de Tokyo took its name from the former Quai de Tokyo—the area where it was built. The art deco U-shaped structure houses an impressive collection of modern and contemporary art and is one of the largest exhibition centers in Europe.

Architect Jean Nouvel and acoustician Sir Harold Marshall collaborated on the design of the futuristic building that houses several concert halls. The rock-like structure is covered in 340,000 aluminum pieces in the shape of birds in various shades of grey, making it a must-see landmark in person. 

Modeled after the Pitti Palace in Florence at Marie de Medici's request, the Palais de Luxembourg and its gardens were designed by Salomon de Brosse. The architect clearly put a French baroque twist on Italian architecture. The structure has undergone several transformations and enlargements through the years and now houses the French Senate.

Famed cabaret house, Moulin Rouge, opened its doors in October 1889 in Montmartre. It quickly became the go-to entertainment spot for the neighborhood's diverse and artistic population (artists Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Auguste Renoir were regulars). Champagne-filled soirées, women coming out of cakes, and can-can dancers made the cabaret a sensation. The building became a pop culture phenomenon with several movies dedicated to it and now receives more than 600,000 visitors every year.

Paris is home to several train stations that boast exceptional architecture, but the most impressive one is Gare de Lyon. The original structure had to be rebuilt because a fire destroyed almost all of it in 1871. The new building features a 220-foot clock tower modeled after Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. The station also houses one of the most iconic restaurants in the capital—the Michelin-starred Le Train Bleu.

This Gothic palace has had quite a tumultuous past— it was first a royal palace during the middle ages but was converted into a prison during the French Revolution where prisoners were allowed to pay and choose their room. Marie Antoinette and Madame du Barry were just two of its many notable prisoners.