Much of the Paris you picture was built in a few decades: Baron Haussmann's wide boulevards and cream-stone apartment blocks date from the 1850s and 1860s, and the Eiffel Tower and the metro from the world's fairs that followed. Here are the facts and stories behind the city's most famous sights.
10 fun facts about Paris
- A tower meant to be temporary: the Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair with a permit for just 20 years. It survived partly because it proved useful as a giant radio antenna.
- Still growing: a new antenna added in 2022 took the tower to 330 metres. It was the tallest structure in the world for four decades, until New York's Chrysler Building passed it in 1930.
- A bridge with a Russian name: the Pont Alexandre III honours Tsar Alexander III. His son, Nicholas II, laid the first stone in 1896, and the bridge opened for the 1900 World's Fair, crossing the Seine in a single steel arch.
- Notre-Dame reborn: after the fire of April 2019 destroyed its roof and spire, the cathedral reopened in December 2024, with a new spire rebuilt to the 19th-century design.
- Where Paris is measured from: a bronze star set into the square in front of Notre-Dame, the Point Zéro, marks the spot from which road distances from Paris are measured.
- A city shaped like a snail: the 20 arrondissements are numbered in a clockwise spiral from the centre. Since 2020 the first four have been grouped together as Paris Centre.
- Six million in the tunnels: from 1786, the remains of about six million people were moved from overcrowded cemeteries into old limestone quarries under the city, today's Catacombs.
- A metro born in 1900: Line 1 opened on 19 July 1900, during the World's Fair, and some stations still have Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau entrances.
- Liberty's little sister: a smaller copy of the Statue of Liberty stands on the Île aux Cygnes in the Seine, a gift from Americans living in Paris in 1889.
- Swimming in the Seine again: bathing in the river was banned in 1923. After a clean-up linked to the 2024 Olympics, public swimming spots opened in the summer of 2025.
The day the Mona Lisa vanished
On the morning of 21 August 1911, a Monday when the Louvre was closed, an Italian handyman named Vincenzo Peruggia, who had worked at the museum, walked out with the Mona Lisa hidden under his smock. Nobody noticed it was missing until the next day. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire was arrested for a few days and Pablo Picasso was questioned, but the painting stayed hidden in Peruggia's room in Paris for more than two years. In December 1913 he took it to Florence and tried to sell it to an art dealer, who called the police. The painting returned to the Louvre in January 1914, far more famous than when it left.
The Pont Alexandre III and the 1900 World's Fair
The bridge was part of a grand plan for the 1900 World's Fair, linking the Invalides on the left bank with two new exhibition halls on the right: the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. It was kept deliberately low so as not to block the view of the Invalides dome. The four gilded statues on its tall pillars represent Fame. The Grand Palais was renovated for the 2024 Olympics, when it hosted fencing.
What to eat in Paris
- Baguette: the craft and culture of the French baguette was added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2022. The winner of the city's annual best baguette contest supplies the Élysée Palace for a year.
- Croissant: buy it in the morning from a bakery that bakes on site, and try a pain au chocolat while you are there.
- French onion soup: topped with bread and melted cheese, it was the late-night meal of workers at the old Les Halles market.
- Croque-monsieur: a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, often with béchamel, served in almost every café.
- Paris-Brest: a ring of choux pastry filled with praline cream, named after the Paris–Brest–Paris cycle race and shaped like a wheel.
Good to know before you go
- Book Eiffel Tower tickets online well ahead, especially for the summit. Walking up the stairs to the second floor is an alternative to the lifts.
- The Louvre needs a timed ticket booked in advance, and it is closed on Tuesdays. A large redesign of the museum is planned, so check which rooms are open.
- The Centre Pompidou closed in September 2025 for a renovation expected to last until 2030.
- Versailles is an easy half-day trip by RER C train. Go early on a weekday to avoid the worst queues.
Explore Paris with World City Trail
Our Paris scavenger hunt turns these sights into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around three hours, with about 77 minutes of walking, including the Eiffel Tower and the Pont Alexandre III.
At each stop you solve a puzzle and hear a short story, at your own pace. You can start whenever you like.
Play the Paris scavenger hunt →
Facts checked in October 2026.