This guide follows the Seine from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame through six places that tell the story of Paris from the Middle Ages to the World's Fairs: the Eiffel Tower, the Pont Alexandre III, Place de la Concorde, the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Conciergerie and Notre-Dame. They lie on one line along the river, so you can see them all in a single long walk, from the iron tower in the west to the island where the city began.
The Eiffel Tower
The tower was built between January 1887 and March 1889 as the centrepiece of the 1889 World's Fair, held for the centenary of the French Revolution. The design came from two engineers in Gustave Eiffel's company, Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, and the architect Stephen Sauvestre added the decorative arches. With its antenna it stands 330 metres tall, and it was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building in New York was finished in 1930.
Not everyone wanted it. In February 1887 a group of writers, painters and architects published a protest against the tower, and it was only meant to stand for twenty years. It was saved by science: its height made it valuable for radio telegraphy, and from 1910 it was part of the international time service. The Eiffel Tower is the first stop on our Paris scavenger hunt.
- The 72 names of French scientists, engineers and mathematicians engraved on all four sides just below the first floor, Eiffel's tribute to science.
- The bust of Gustave Eiffel by Antoine Bourdelle at the foot of the north pillar, and, at the top, the small apartment Eiffel kept for himself, where he received Thomas Edison.
The Pont Alexandre III
This bridge was built from 1896 to 1900 for the Exposition Universelle of 1900. Its first stone was laid in October 1896 by Tsar Nicholas II, and it is named after his father, Alexander III, who had made the Franco-Russian alliance in 1892. The bridge crosses the Seine in a single low steel arch, so as not to block the view from the Champs-Élysées to the dome of the Invalides, and it is decorated with lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses. The Pont Alexandre III is one of the stops on our Paris scavenger hunt.
- The four gilded bronze Fames on tall stone columns at the corners, each holding back a winged horse; the heavy columns also act as counterweights for the arch.
- The hammered copper reliefs in the middle of the arch on each side: the Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of Paris, and the Nymphs of the Neva with the arms of imperial Russia.
Place de la Concorde
The largest square in Paris was laid out by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel between 1757 and 1772 as Place Louis XV, around an equestrian statue of the king. During the Revolution the statue was pulled down and the guillotine set up here: Louis XVI was executed on the square on 21 January 1793 and Marie-Antoinette on 16 October 1793. Of the 2,498 people guillotined in Paris during the Revolution, 1,119 died here. In 1795 it was renamed Place de la Concorde, "harmony", as a sign of reconciliation.
The centre is now held by the Luxor Obelisk, about 3,300 years old, which Muhammad Ali, the ruler of Egypt, offered to France in 1829; it was raised here on 25 October 1836. Around it stand two fountains by Jacques Ignace Hittorff and eight statues representing French cities. Place de la Concorde is one of the stops on our Paris scavenger hunt.
- The gold-leaf cap on top of the obelisk, added in 1998 to replace the missing original, and the drawings on its base that show how it was transported and raised.
- The Hôtel de la Marine on the north side, built as the royal furniture store and for more than two centuries the headquarters of the French navy; it is now a museum.
The church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés
On the Left Bank, the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés is all that remains of a great abbey founded in 558 by the Merovingian king Childebert I, son of Clovis, and it is considered the oldest existing church in Paris. Its bell tower was begun around 990, making it one of the oldest in France. Inside, the nave and choir are covered in 19th-century murals by Hippolyte Flandrin, whose colours were restored in a large campaign from 2017 onwards. The church is one of the stops on our Paris scavenger hunt.
- The tomb of the philosopher René Descartes in one of the side chapels.
- The painted columns and walls of the nave, bright again after the restoration, and the Romanesque base of the bell tower facing the square.
The Conciergerie
On the Île de la Cité, the Conciergerie is the surviving part of the Palais de la Cité, the medieval palace of the kings of France. It takes its name from the concierge, the royal official who ran the palace. Its Hall of the Men-at-Arms, built by Philip IV in the early 14th century, is described as the largest non-religious Gothic hall in Europe.
After the kings moved away, the building became a prison, and during the Terror it held the prisoners of the Revolutionary Tribunal on their way to the guillotine. Marie-Antoinette was brought here in the night of 1 to 2 August 1793 and stayed for 44 days, until her trial and execution on 16 October. The prison closed in 1934 and the building is now a national monument. The Conciergerie is one of the stops on our Paris scavenger hunt.
- The Hall of the Men-at-Arms, with its rows of columns and ribbed vaults, once the dining hall of the palace staff.
- The Tour de l'Horloge on the corner of the Boulevard du Palais, with what is called the first public clock in Paris, installed in the reign of Charles V in the 14th century.
Notre-Dame
Bishop Maurice de Sully began the cathedral in 1163, in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III. On 15 April 2019 a fire destroyed its oak roof and brought down the 19th-century spire, but the firefighters saved the façade, the towers and most of the stained glass. After five years of work, Notre-Dame reopened on 7 December 2024 with a new spire topped by a gilded rooster; the old rooster, found in the rubble, is now displayed inside.
The cathedral is the last stop on our Paris scavenger hunt. Work on parts of the building has continued since the reopening, so you may still see scaffolding on some sides.
- The three great rose windows, which came through the fire mostly intact; the west rose dates from around 1225 and the south rose was a gift from King Louis IX.
- The gargoyles and the chimeras: the gargoyles were added around 1240 as rain spouts, while the fantastic creatures of the Galerie des Chimères were created during Viollet-le-Duc's restoration in the 19th century. On the square in front, look for Point Zéro, the bronze star from which road distances in France are measured.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Eiffel Tower and follow the Seine east past the Pont de l'Alma to the Pont Alexandre III, crossing it for the view to the Invalides. Continue to Place de la Concorde, then cross back to the Left Bank and walk through the streets of Saint-Germain to the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. From there head to the river and the Île de la Cité, where the Conciergerie and then Notre-Dame end the walk. It is a long walk, so take your time, and keep the cathedral for the end of the afternoon, when the façade catches the western light.
See Paris with World City Trail
Our Paris scavenger hunt turns the city centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame, and all six places in this guide are stops, along with the Pont de l'Alma, the Petit Palais, the Louvre and the Pont Neuf. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Paris, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Paris scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Paris →
Play the outdoor escape game in Paris →
Facts checked in October 2026.