More towns in the region are coming soon.
Top 20 must-see sights in the region
A selection drawn from all the towns already covered in this guide.
Château de Fontainebleau
Residence of twenty-five French sovereigns, UNESCO-listed, with its famous horseshoe staircase and Napoleonic apartments.
See on the map →Saint-Étienne Cathedral of Meaux
Gothic cathedral where Bossuet preached, with a richly carved façade spanning the 13th to the 16th century.
See on the map →Eiffel Tower
Built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World's Fair, it rises to 324 metres and offers a 360° view over Paris.
See on the map →Tour César of Provins
Twelfth-century keep offering a panorama over the upper town and the surrounding Brie countryside.
See on the map →Château de Versailles
Former residence of the kings of France, a symbol of absolutism and the Sun King's art of living.
See on the map →Fontainebleau Forest
A vast state forest with iconic climbing boulders, popular with hikers and climbers since the 19th century.
See on the map →Jardin Bossuet
Formal French gardens designed by Le Nôtre, adjoining the former bishop's palace where Bossuet lived.
See on the map →Louvre Museum
Former palace of the kings of France turned into the world's largest museum, home to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.
See on the map →Ramparts of Provins
Near-intact medieval fortifications encircling the upper town, a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
See on the map →Hall of Mirrors
A gallery of 357 mirrors, 73 metres long, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919.
See on the map →Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris
Fourteenth-century Gothic masterpiece on the Île de la Cité, restored after the 2019 fire.
See on the map →French Formal Gardens and the Neptune Basin
800 hectares laid out by André Le Nôtre, dotted with ponds, statues and geometric flowerbeds.
See on the map →Arc de Triomphe
Napoleonic monument at the top of the Champs-Élysées, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and views along 12 avenues.
See on the map →Grand Canal
A body of water nearly 1.5 km long where visitors can row a boat at the heart of the gardens.
See on the map →Sacré-Cœur Basilica
A white basilica crowning Montmartre, offering one of the finest panoramas over Paris.
See on the map →Grand Trianon
A pink-marble palace where Louis XIV retreated from the pomp of the court.
See on the map →Musée d'Orsay
A former railway station turned museum, home to the world's largest Impressionist collection.
See on the map →Petit Trianon and the Queen's Hamlet
Marie-Antoinette's private estate, with its reconstructed rustic hamlet.
See on the map →Avenue des Champs-Élysées
The world's most famous avenue, running between the Arc de Triomphe and Place de la Concorde.
See on the map →Montmartre and Place du Tertre
A former artists' village of cobbled lanes, with painters still at work on Place du Tertre.
See on the map →