Top Paris Attractions: Are They Worth It?

The Parisian lifestyle may be reason enough to head to this city of Paris, but the city is also full of attractions for both locals and tourists to enjoy. With so much diversity, history, art and culture for you to see it’s hard to know where to spend your time and energy. On our 1-week France itinerary we tried to visit as many Paris attractions as possible. But, I still left the city feeling as though my trip wasn’t long enough.

I’ve summarized the top Paris attractions, shared tips for your visit, and suggested how long you might want to spend at each. I’ve also ranked each Paris attraction on a scale from 1 – 10 (lowest to highest) based on my personal experience to judge whether they were worth the time and money.

Paris Pass

Before I get right into it, there is something I need to address! You can purchase a Paris Pass – the official pass to experience the city of Paris. This pass can be purchased for 1, 2, 3, or 5 days and offers you skip-the-line access to many (if not all!) of the popular Paris attractions and monuments. The cost ranges from 45€ – 165€ (or ~ $65-240 CAD) per adult ticket depending on the number of days you want the pass for. Access to the Eiffel Tower will run you an extra 20€ per person. It just wasn’t worth it for us given our schedule and other tours we wanted to do outside of the city.

Arc de Triomphe

Overview: The Arc de Triomphe is definitely one of the most famous attractions in the city. This monument is dedicated in honour of those who died fighting for France in the French Revolution and Napoleon wars. The design of the arc is modeled off of the Arch of Titus found in Rome and it is located at the west-end of the Champs-Élysées. To get to the top you must climb 284 steps in a circular staircase. Once at the mid-level there are restrooms and a small museum/displays. You then have to climb an additional 64 steps to the rooftop for views of the city below. The views are worth the climb!

Cost: 12€ per adult.

Time to Budget: To visit the Arc de Triomphe you should budget at least 2 hours. That’s if there isn’t a huge line! We waited in line to purchase our tickets, then we waited in line to climb the stairs to the top. The lines and climbing took the most time at approximately 1-hour total. Once we were at the top we spent approximately 1-hour taking photos, briefly wandering around the museum area and using the restrooms.

Travel Tip: There is an elevator (not well-marked or promoted) for those who have limited mobility, but you can only get to the mid-level. You must climb the last 64 steps to get to the top – this is not an accessible attraction.

Overall Ranking: 6/10. For the cost, it was reasonable. The views were great. For someone with a mobility issue (husband’s knee injury & difficulty climbing stairs) it was not a good experience.

Avenue des Champs-Élysées

Overview: This famous area of Paris is known for shopping and up-scale dining! Here you will find high-end boutiques and designers, restaurants for fine dining and flagship stores like Sephora. If you want to purchase designer items, this is probably where you’ll want to shop.

Cost: Free! Or, as much time as you want to spend. Window shopping and walking the avenue is a great free activity. Any shopping you do here will obviously change that.

Time to Budget: As much or as little time as you want. To walk the full avenue would take approximately 25 minutes without stops.

Travel Tip: If shopping and designer goods are your thing, this may be a great place for you. If not – skip it!

Overall Ranking: 3/10. Skip it! As a free activity, it was ok to see. As someone who doesn’t want to spend thousands of dollars on designer items, or browse in shops where you can’t touch anything… wasn’t exactly for me.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Overview: Often referred to as “Notre-Dame,” this medieval Catholic cathedral was built from 1160 – 1260. This is one of the most famous attractions in Paris with more than 12 million visitors per year. Notre-Dame has numerous historical artifacts and relics on display including the Crown of Thorns and pieces from the true cross. Another attraction of Notre-Dame is the ability to climb the towers for a view of the city below. There have been numerous restorations and additions over the years to make Notre-Dame what we know today.

Cost: Free! Entrance to the cathedral is free, however to access the crypts or to climb the towers will cost you 6€ (crypts) 8.50€ (towers) per person.

Time to Budget: Depending on what you plan to see at Notre-Dame, I’d suggest a minimum of 1-hour to explore the cathedral itself. If you’re planning on climbing the towers, add an additional hour (or more, depending on the length of the line), and for the crypts another 30 minutes to 1-hour. The full experience could run you 2.5-3+ hours.

Travel Tip: Unfortunately, the latest renovation in 2019 led to a massive fire and devastation of much of the cathedral. Restoration has begun to bring Notre-Dame back to its pre-fire state, but please check with the official site to learn more about visiting.

Overall Ranking: 8/10. As a free attraction, this was a great bargain. The line for the tower climb was over an hour long when we visited, so we didn’t get to climb to the top. Since the fires I really regret not waiting in that line! So moral of this story, make sure you seize every opportunity when you’re exploring in a different city.

Chateau de Versailles

Overview: The Palace of Versailles is truly a beautiful attraction to see. It’s located outside of Paris, but still considered one of the main attractions of the city. Versailles is a World Heritage Site and was originally a hunting lodge for Louis XIII. The chateau continued to be remodeled and embellished over the years to become what you can visit today. It’s truly a remarkable piece of history with fantastic stories.

Cost: 18€ per person to enter the Palace, gardens and exhibits. You can arrange private tours to transport you from Paris and tour you around the grounds and Palace.

Time to Budget: A full day. Depending on the season, you could easily spend the day exploring the gardens, rowing a boat in the lake and taking a break at the outdoor cafe. When you add the palace itself, you really do need a full day to get the whole experience.

Travel Tip: I’d highly recommend a guide to take you around and share the history with you.

Overall Ranking: 9/10. It was pricey for our tour and we didn’t get to stay very long, but I absolutely loved seeing the palace in person.

Eiffel Tower

Overview: The Eiffel Tower has to be one of the most iconic attractions in Paris. This tower is recognized across the world. The tower itself is made up of a few different observation areas including The Esplanade, First Floor, Second Floor and The Top. No matter where you are you will have great views of the city and tower (from the gardens or Esplanade). You can see waiting times on the website and there are other helpful tips to help you plan your visit.

Cost: ~21€ – 33 € Per Adult. It’s more expensive to take the lifts, but completely worth it in my opinion. I’d say skip the top and head to the second floor only. This happens to be more expensive than the top, but better views from the research I’ve done.

Time to Budget: 2 hours. We were able to get on an elevator as soon as we arrived and went right to the Second Floor. We took our time to get photos, take in the views and simply enjoy our time.

Travel Tip: The Eiffel Tower has a free light show every evening that you can see for free! The tower lights up with thousands of twinkle lights and it looks stunning against the evening sky.

Overall Ranking: 7/10. Gets really crowded and people aren’t always the friendliest!

Musée du Louvre

Overview: The Louvre Museum is another iconic attraction in Paris. From the pyramid shaped-glass, to the palatial building surrounding it, the Louvre is a magnificent sight to see even before you get inside. The building was originally a palace, so there is a regal feel to the rooms within. According to the Louvre’s official website, this museum is the most visited museum in the entire world! With more than 400,000 artifacts on display, this is certainly an impressive attraction.

Cost: 17€ General Admission. At times there may be a special exhibit on that will be an additional cost to the general admission fee.

Time to Budget: All day. Many days. As much time as you can spare! There is so much to see in the Louvre that you need at least an entire day to take it all in. Even with a full day you’re not able to see everything.

Travel Tip: If you’re planning to see the Mona Lisa, get there early. The room gets extremely crowded and it is very difficult to get up close. Also, the Mona Lisa was not what I was expecting, it’s actually quite small!

Overall Ranking: 10/10. This was a fantastic experience – I have no complaints about my visit at all!

Sacré-Coeur

Overview: The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic church in Paris located in the Montmartre area. This monument took almost 40 years to build and was completed in 1914. The Basilica is located a top a high hill in Paris giving beautiful views of the city below.

Cost: Free!

Time to Budget: 1-2 hours, including waiting in line. For us we waited in line for approximately 15 minutes, though we did hear that the lines can get quite long. We took our time walking through the church and spent another 30 minutes inside. We then took approximately 30 minutes outside enjoying the views and taking some photos.

Travel Tip: There are stairs leading up to the Sacré-Coeur and visitors sit here to enjoy picnics, snacks or to simply watch the sunset over the city. It’s a great spot to people watch!

Overall Ranking: 6/10. I liked that this was a free experience. I actually enjoyed the Sacré-Coeur from the outside more than from the inside. It was quite crowded inside, and outside had fantastic city views to enjoy.

Seine River

Overview: The Seine is over 770 kilometers long running through the centre of Paris and connecting the city to the sea. The river often floods, wreaking havoc on the city. For locals and tourists alike, this river is a beautiful attraction and there are many walking paths and bridges to give you great access and river sights. Plan to take a scenic walk along the Seine or pack a picnic and enjoy the boats going by.

Cost: Free!

Time to Budget: As much or as little time as you want.

Travel Tip: I’d suggest taking a walk along the Siene to explore the city and take in the views for at least a few hours. If you time your walk right, you may even catch the Eiffel Tower light show.

Overall Ranking: 7/10.

Paris Attractions Summary

Make sure you budget enough time to visit each of these top Paris attractions on your next (or first!) visit. Check out some of my other France posts for more information on visiting the country.