Paris, Banks of the Seine

I love Paris. It is one of the first places that comes to my mind in the context of "there is no other place I'd rather be". We've been to this wonderful city dozens of times, but for various reasons, only passingly in the last decade and a half. In April of 2025, we made a concerted effort to reacquaint ourselves with Paris. 

The city is still wonderful - there are not enough superlatives to express that. However, in the last few years, it has become significantly more time-consuming to visit the most popular attractions. I remember twenty years ago walking up to the Louvre Pyramid in the afternoon or to Sainte-Chapelle whenever I felt like it, and getting inside in a matter of minutes. These days, with hundreds of online tickets sold for timed entry and then the entrance intervals strictly enforced with time-marked lines, coupled with airport-level security checks that create non-trivial bottlenecks, getting inside a top sight may easily require upward of an hour.

A Saturday in mid-April is definitely a busier time than a Wednesday in January, so unlike Aitia, we weren't able to get into Notre-Dame at all. We actually wanted to buy tickets in advance, but they become available only a few days ahead and get sold out in minutes. On the day, Place Jean-Paul II was almost entirely overtaken by the entry-lane barriers. If that was a "walk-in" line, its visible standstill suggested at least a 90-minute wait; if people in …

Hasn't everything already been said about this WHS? In fact, 2 events took place in 2024 that are worth looking at Paris again (and nothing to do with the Olympics!).

First of all, the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris in December 2024. On the headlines of the media around the world, many of us have seen these images of Notre-Dame fully restored. Wishing to form my own opinion on the quality of this restoration, I waited mid-January, until the media blast had subsided, and I was able to enter the cathedral without booking online and without queuing (okay, it was a Wednesday!). Despite the crowd inside, I was speechless looking at the colors and the stunning lighting. While the restoration of Chartres cathedral is clearly exaggerated, this one is, in my opinion, successful. The stone has been cleaned, cleaned a lot certainly, but we can see that it's an old building. Enclosure of the choir, stained glass windows, wall paintings by Viollet le Duc, I rediscovered the cathedral that I have known for almost 25 years. I particularly appreciated the "Mays", these large paintings offered by the parisian goldsmiths' corporation in the 17th century: their colors are resplendent. 
What a shame, however, that the archaeological excavations could not last a few more months... When one see the remains of the jube which have been found, one wonder what treasures are hidden under the choir! I hope the project of Notre-Dame museum located in Hôtel-Dieu will come true and will allow …

Paris is great, it justifiably is one of the metropoles around which Europe seems to revolve and the Banks of the Seine show the finest parts of it. But I just want to focus on one specific part of the inscribed area.

“Oh Dad, THERE IS AN OBELISK! Can we go and visit it?”

Now I am a seriously proud Dad of a 5 year old that can not only recognise an obelisk, but gets properly excited by them, however at this precise moment I really didn’t want to indulge the request, partially because we were on a boat enjoying a cruise, but also I knew that this lump of Luxor that so enthused my daughter was in a place I hate above most other places I have visited on this World Heritage Site quest.

Yep, the obelisk was the famous one at the centre of Place de la Concorde.

But being somewhat weak willed and always wanting to reinforce any form heritage geekery from my family, we obviously disembarked at the next the Batobus quai. From here it was a short walk back up to Quai des Tuileries.

From here the grim visiting experience starts.

Before getting into details, I can understand that Place de la Concorde is an important place, I had so looked forward to visiting the first time I arrived two decades previously. In fact I think it is this discombobulation between what I expected and the reality is why …

Firstly and to be honnest, I was born in Paris, I live in Paris and I work in Paris... I am probably partial but when you live in one of the most beautiful city in the world and the most visited, it's hard to appear fair.

But finally, it's not the point, and if you come in Paris, don't hesitate to contact me, I know the best beer craft pubs ;)

Like other members, I think the core of this WHS is too small ; the whole city clearly deserves this status. I really don't care, but Montmartre, the Opera Garnier, Les Champs-Elysées, the Quartier Latin (Sorbonne) are so many valuable places which can be the subject of an extension of this WHS.

Back now to the inscribed property:

One of the most beautiful human construction I have ever seen is clearly the Sainte-Chapelle. In front of all these stained glasses, you are forced to wonder how it can remain standing (cf. picture), it's really impressive.

In addition, you have one of the most famous museum in the world that everybody knows: Le Louvre. A wonderful castle like the Ermitage in St Petersburg, and a collection of works of art like the British museum or Pergamon museum have. The musée d'Orsay is another famous museum on the other side of the Seine: an old station turned into a museum of impressionist art.

From the river, you can appreciate in particular the Institut de France. …

In 2019, just a few weeks before Notre Dame went up in flames, I passed through the city, walking along the Seine from Bercy to Centre Georges Pompidou and then Gare du Nord. Comme l'Habitude, I got my ice cream at Berthillon (Cassis!) on Ile de la Cité. But I didn't really have any sites to hit or visit, it was just me strolling around town.

Having been repeatedly as a kid and adolescent, I have ticked off most of the must sees (Louvre, Tour Eiffel, Les Invalides, Notre Dame) and plenty of other sites. But Paris being Paris and the options endless, I still have places in Paris on my bucket list. For instance, I never went to the Musée d'Orsay. The Le Corbusier sites near town would be nice. And when researching this post I saw some Art Deco buildings I definitely want to see. But I like coming back to Paris, so I have never make a dedicated effort to finish up the town.

The inscribed area is not all of Paris, but a stretch of the city running along the banks of the Seine from Ile St Louis (Eastern most) to Champ de Mars (Western end point). Some components extend away from the banks of the Seine, specifically (East to West):

• Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries, Petit & Grand Palais
• Hôtel des Invalides
• Champ de Mars, Tour Eiffel, Palais de Chaillot

Smaller sites of note on the banks extending …

Paris is a lovely city. I don't go for “city of love” or anything like that, from a pure sightseeing point of view there is so much to do the 3 days I spent here were not enough, and that's didn't even include Versailles and the other things past the A86 ring road such as Saint Denis cathedral, the Nestle chocolate or Hangar Y. The arc, the tower, the basilica, Notre Dame (no access due to the fire which is very sad), the Louvre and that's just a few highlights. The only downsides I have are crowds (tourist groups) and general Parisian rudeness.

I also did the unthinkable: drive to some of these places! May 1st had zero traffic in town and parking is free. We decided that 5 people buying another metro pass would be too expensive and in the end walking and transportation exchanges would have taken triple the time. Why not just park 50m away from the Eiffel tower or just off the roundabout of the Arc the Triomphe? The only problem was that the Arc was off limits with a massive police presence all around town (ensuring no protests take place?)

There is no perfect way do determine the exact boundaries of a city WHS. And while there are cities like Quito that seem to have no boundaries at all or like Samarkand that include huge and also some less interesting parts of a city. On the other hand there is at least one city on the list with absurdly narrow boundaries: Paris.

I think even most WH travellers are unaware how little of the centre of Paris is included into the core zone while a buffer zone doesn’t even seem to exist. It includes naturally the most iconic sites like the Ile de la Cité, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre and seems beyond that mainly interested in the buildings from the world exhibitions: the Trocadero and the Palais de Tokyo. Both of them are not very attractive if you view them closely and in a surprisingly bad state. On the other hand it excludes several iconic sights that border directly the current core zone. Among them the Champs-Elysées, the Palais Royal, the Chatelet and the magnificent St. Julien le Pauvre. It also excludes many of the unique sites just a block or two further away from the Seine: The Palais Garnier, possible the most fairy tale theatre in the world, the Arc de Triomphe, St. Eustache, the Place des Vosges, the Jardin de Luxembourg, the Pantheon, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the oldest church of Paris. It doesn’t either include the old quarters that escaped the Hausmannian changes of the city like the …

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Paris, Banks of the Seine World Heritage Site, one of the most famous and visited sites in the world, is that 16 French World Heritage Sites were inscribed in previous years before it was finally added to the list in 1991. Paris is easily one of the most picturesque cities I have ever seen, with amazing views from the heights of Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and Montmartre (of which the last is not part of the inscribed site), as well as at street level, with grand boulevards and squares. Even the underground sewer system (so thoroughly described by Hugo in Les Misérables) and catacombs are tourist attractions, though I believe the official site boundary stops at surface level. Of the inscribed properties in this site, I particularly appreciated Sainte-Chapelle, with its beautiful stained glass which glows in morning light, and the Musée d'Orsay, with its impressionist and post-impressionist art displayed throughout a former train station. As alluded to in previous reviews, the Seine is the heart of Paris, and a walk or a boat ride along it, at any time of day, is highly recommended, and one of the best ways to appreciate the feel of this world-class city.

Logistics: Walk along the banks. Take a tour boat, or, if you prefer a cheaper, non-narrated option, buy a pass for the Batobus river boat shuttle. Explore, but take time to relax and enjoy this beautiful city.

The most visited site by our community.

I was back in Paris for some personal business in mid-Januaruy 2017.

I just wanted to add a photo here, as I don't see too many photos of the banks of the Seine here. It is my re-creation of a shot from a Robert Bresson movie. :)

When I looked at the map of the core zone of this WHS again, I noticed that some areas of the core zone are off the Seine. Such areas include the Madeleine and the park where Eifel Tower is situated. I was also happy to see the Tomb of Napoleon, my man, in the core zone. There are many tombs around the world that are World Heritage Sites, and Napoleon's should be one of them, even though it may be a relatively recent one.

Paris, the No. 1 on the list of most visited WHS on this website and truly a wonderful city. And it is one of those WHS that I have visited most frequently. At the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, I had an annual scientific meeting in Paris in late March, a perfect opportunity to extend a business meeting to a long weekend trip. Moreover, I visited Paris twice on private trips, most recently in September 2015 at the end of our tour to northern France. So I had plenty of opportunities to visit all the major tourist sights over the years.

All the monuments and museums along the banks of the Seine are well known, well described and - crowded. So, just a few comments.

Notre Dame - A perfect starting point to explore the city and to get a feel for the crowds of tourists. Ile de la Cité is the oldest part of the city and somehow still its centre.

The Towers of Notre Dame - Long queues. Climbing church towers is very often not worth the effort, mostly the views are less exciting than expected. So it is with Notre Dame. But it is so popular because you can have a close look at the quirky statues that watch over Paris (photo).
By the way: You have the best view over Paris from the top of Arc de Triomphe: unobstructed views in all directions. Or for free from the roofs of the …

I visited Paris in 2007, and at that time I only had a vague notion of UNESCO. Therefore, when I wandered Paris it certainly was not UNESCO themed, but instead focused on some of the icons of France.

I spent considerable time at Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre. Luckily, I also unintentionally visited a few other sections of the inscribed area. I only have positive memories of my time in Paris, indeed many of the stereotypes I'd heard about France and Paris were far from my mind as I enjoyed this beautiful city.

There are so many historical and cultural sights in Paris that it surely must have made more sense to include them all in one WHS. From the Notre Dame Cathedral to Montmartre, from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower, from Place de la Concorde to the Opera Garnier. Paris and the Banks of the Seine offer a new discovery and a new experience every time I visit. Old and new intertwine in a perfect symbiosis and offer one of the richest experiences you can get when visiting a WHS.

From the time I was 8, I had read so much about Paris that it became the number 1 place I wanted to visit. I got my wish at 14 and the first time I saw the Eiffel Tower, it took my breath away. My parents, my sister, and I all purchased Sorbonne sweatshirts and we all wore them for a family photo in front of the Eiffel Tower (so cheesy, I know, but it was a proud moment for me then)! I remember taking the boat tour on the River Seine and just taking in the sites. I'd love to visit again as an adult but then again, there are 800 other WHS to see!

I have now visited Paris twice and almost by accident I have indulged in two clichés, the first time I visited I stumbled in on Bastille Day and was treated to an amazing firework display whilst standing on the banks of the Seine. The second time I took my girlfriend there for Valentines Day and had the most fantastic time strolling along the river from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. There is so much to do that I would have no problems having another trip here.

There are many points of interest along the river banks, and it is two of Paris most famous sights that captivated me most, it can some times be disappointing to see ‘world class’ attractions however the Eiffel Tower and Musée du Louvre were just enchanting. Having now visited many of the great grand museums of the Western World (Pergamon, British, Smithsonian etc.) I feel that the Louvre has the distinction of, in my humble opinion, being the best of the bunch. The exhibits are world class and the way they are displayed is sensational, it manages to combine both a classical Palace setting with fine contemporary architecture and in a way that is hard to beat, and I only see about a 5th of the collection.

However the highlight of the city for me has to be the Eiffel Tower, I wanted to not like it, I wanted to be unimpressed but I just couldn’t, it is massive and an exceptional feat of …

Paris, the Banks of the Seine? When I made a three days trip to Paris with friends we did lots of sight-seeing there, including many of the famous buildings, such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sacre Coeur, Arc de Triomphe and many more, but the best thing we did there was to take a boat trip on the Seine in the evening. It's such a wonderful moment to see the Eiffe Tower by night, shining because of all the small lamps on it.

Paris in general is always worth a visit, but besides all the lovely touristy places you soon will see that those great places always are very close to poverty/poor people who suffer while tourists spend 3 Euro for a glass of coke.

It is very appropriate that Paris´ World Heritage area is called "Banks of the Seine", because few cities are so defined by the river flowing through it as Paris is (none, I would say). Almost all the major sights are located on or close to the river, and there is no better way (who cares if it´s touristy and kitschy?) to enjoy Paris than by taking a river cruise in a bateau-mouche. Attractions like the Eiffel Tower (who would believe it was so unpopular to Parisians in the beginning?) and the Louvre are world-class sights in their own right anyway, but there´s so much else to see to keep you occupied for ages - Notre-Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées (in my humble opinion the most beautiful street in the world), the Sacré-Coeur and Montmartre, to name just a few. I could be mistaken, but I believe Paris is the most visited city in the world, and it´s easy to understand why.

I visited Paris briefly during my honeymoon, because I couldn't call myself a world traveler and skip this Must-See location. Yes, it is all that you think, and yes, it has earned its spot on the list.

I visited Paris mid Oct 2002 on an official visit from USA and with the little time I had, I decided to explore the banks of the Seine from Eiffel Tower to Notredame. I took the metro train from my hotel to Eiffel Tower and started my stroll along Seine. Weather was perfect and the landmarks both old and new were impressive. No entry fee for the stroll but I took the ascensors up Eiffel Tower for around 7 euros. The shops along the riverbank near the Notredame cathedral adds a quaint character to the walk.

I love Paris. It's a city that I always find myself coming back to whenever I find myself on the continent for any appreciable amount of time. Whether it be a trip with friends, a romantic getaway with a girlfriend, or simply a solo fling, Paris has never failed to amuse and delight. At the heart of this marvelous city flows the Seine, along whose banks many of the premier tourist attractions and generally amazing sights lie. One can gaze at the wonders of French impressionism at the Musee d'Orsay or cross the river to stroll around the cultural heritage of thousands of years of human history and of hundreds of different cultures at the Louvre. Notre Dame and Sainte-Chappelle stand as testament to the skill and faith of the residents of medieval Paris, while the Eiffel Tower looms large over the city as a symbol of man's ingenuity and technological drive. Still other sights and experiences await along the banks of this remarkable stretch of river for those who have the stamina or the time to explore. If Paris is the embodiment of French achievements of the last two millenia, then the Banks of the Seine are surely its masterpieces.

I started my first visit to Paris at the Notre Dame Cathedral. A real surprise when you pop your head up from underground, having used the subway to get to de Ile de la Cité. So this is Paris. I think I'm going to like it here!

To enter nearby Saint-Chapelle I had to queue for about 20 minutes. It's a lovely small chapel, but whether it's worth the EUR 5,49 entrance fee and all the waiting?

In the afternoon I took a boat trip on the Seine. In the time span of an hour you get to see several of the city's highlights from the water, for example, the Pont Neuf, Gare d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower. It was a cold experience (sitting on the deck while it's nearly freezing), but not to be missed.

Ten years later, I was back in Paris for a second visit. I had some more time to spend: on Saturday I enjoyed two museums (d'Orsay and Guimet), and on Monday I walked the whole WHS-designated stretch along the Banks of the Seine.

It took me 3.5 hours, without getting inside any of the landmark sights I came across. I enjoyed it tremendously: around every corner, there's something pretty or remarkable to see. I saw so many equestrian statues that I think a whole book could be written about them. I had a glimpse into the Grand Palais through an open side door, what an amazing iron/steel/glass construction. I have …