On Monday, April 15, 2019, the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris was ravaged by a fire.

Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris: "Our Lady, our dear cathedral, witness of so many major events in our country, was destroyed by a frightful fire after so long resisted the vicissitudes of its history. France cries and with her all her friends from all over the world. She is touched to the heart because her stones are the testimony of an invincible hope which, by the talent, the courage, the genius and the faith of the builders, raised this luminous lace of stones, wood and glass. This faith remains ours. It is she who moves the mountains and we will rebuild this masterpiece. "

Many Parisians and tourists alike consider this place to be one of Paris top 10 attractions alongside the Holy Chapel, the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre Museum and others.

The Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris), the most visited site in Paris (10 million tourists each year), lies in the true heart of Paris and by some even of entire France. With so many people visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris unforgettable setting on the Seine, it has always been one of Paris top attractions. The Notre Dame Cathedral Paris is not only a Gothic architecture masterpiece but a site which was also the focus of Catholic Paris for 700 years. Although the cathedral is not France's oldest or largest cathedral, it has very little completion in beauty and architectural harmony.
The work on the cathedral started on 1163 by Maurice de Sully, who was the bishop of Paris at the time. It took 182 years to complete this building in the summer of 1345. As Paris has changed , Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris) also changed and grown over the years trying to fit into the rapid changes Paris went through. At some point, the cathedral was already scheduled for deconstruction. It was mostly due to the incredible popularity of the book Hunchback of Notre-Dame(by Victor Hugo's) which restored the interest in the Gothic period, the cathedral was stayed untouched while eventually restoring its original glory. In the middle of the nineteenth century, after it was severely damaged during the French Revolution, the world famous Architect Viollet-le-Duc was placed in charge of the renovations.
The Notra Dame cathedral is practically huge, The interior alone is 425 foot long, 150 foot wide and 115 foot high. It can practically host 5000 worshippers at a given pray. Some if its exceptional structures include the spectacular rose windows. Pay special notice to the 30 foot wide one rising above the huge pipe organ. Also notice the beautiful window to the north, which has remained untouched for the last 700 years!
Although its stunning interior, you may feel that for the Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris makes it more interesting from the outside. To fully appreciate the architecture you should spend some time walking all around it. Probably the best view of the Notre Dame de Paris is from square Jean XXIII. If you have time, visit again the Notre-Dame at sunset.

The entrance to the twin towers immortalized by Victor Hugo, rising to a height of 220 foot is from the North Tower. There are 420 spiraling stairs that will eventually bring you all the way up where you will find the cathedral most frightening statues in a very close range. The South Tower will reveal a spectacular view of Paris.

There are free 90 minutes guided tours of the cathedral in English at noon on Wednesday, at 2pm on Thursday and at 2.30pm on Saturday.

The Holy Chapel (Paris) in French - La Sainte Chapelle, was built by King Louis IX to host the remains of the True Cross, including the original Crown of Thorns which was purchased from the emperor of Constantinople. Today the Holy Chapel Paris is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture and is the only surviving building of the Capetian Royal Palace on the Île de la Cité .
This truly amazing architectural treasure owns the oldest stained-glass windows in France. To truly experience the effect of the Holy Chapel try to visit it when the sun is shining - 65 hundreds square feet of stained glass that stands above painted stonework of 1130 biblical figures appears to let the colorful light flow through the windows.
Although heavily damaged during the French revolution and later restored during the 19th century, the Holy Chapel retains one of the most extensive collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world.
Plan to visit on a sunny weekday morning when near the Holy Chapel, Paris is still quiet and you can avoid the long lines and fully admire the effect of the light.

At the top of Paris top 10 attractions, The Louvre Museum (Paris) is in fact the largest art museum in the world and the home for one of the finest art collections anywhere to be seen including two of the most famous painted woman - the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo just to name two out of the 30,000 exhibits displayed in the Louvre Museum.
The Louvre Paris was originally built as a fortress around year 1200 and was reconstructed again around 1650 for the personal use of the king. It was in 1793 that the French revolutionists have decided that this should become French's first national museum.
Carefully planning of the tour in the Louvre Museum is important and will help you make the most out of it rather than making your way through the crowds, coming out tired and most probably disappointed. Remember that this gigantic museum stretches for almost half a mile (750 meters). Our best advice for the first time visitor would be - decide upfront what are the works that you must see, go for those and then settle in one of the sections for a pleasant stroll through the works of art and historical artifacts.
It was François the first and Louis the 14th who purchased most of these paintings and sculptures while the rest were contributed or purchased (and in many cases simply taken) by Napoleon later to be returned to the original owner's family.
The most famous smile in the world, better known as the Mona Lisa, was ordered by François I from Leonardo the Vinci. It gained most of glory after it was stolen in 1911 by a Louvre employee, who simply left the building with the painting under his coat.
The entrance to the Louvre Museum Paris is a glass pyramid, one of the city's most distinct symbols and what has become a tourist attraction by itself as no photo album of Paris seems to be complete without it. Notice the contrast between the modern glass structure and the classic interiors and how well the natural light flows in through the huge geometrically designed glass.
There are seven sub-galleries in the Louvre Museum distinctly defined by their content. The first hold some of the most important antiques from the ancient Egyptian world. The second is dedicated to Antiquities from the far-east. The third part of the Louvre Museum (Paris) is devoted to the Greek and Roman period while the forth is focused on all kind of Sculpture. Fifth and the most visited hold many famous paintings while the sixth is dedicated to the Decorative Arts. The seventh and last is all about Graphic Arts.
Some of the famous antiques are the Seated Scribe which can be found in the Sully wing, room 22, 1st floor, Venus de Milo which is located in room 7, in the ground floor, of the Denon Wing, the Code of Hammurabi in room 3, ground floor, Richelieu Wing and the famous Winged Victory of Samothrace which is located just opposite of room 1 in 1st floor at the Denon Wing.

The Denon wing of the Louvre Museum hosts many of the famous art treasures such as The Dying Slave by Michelangelo located in the ground floor at Michelangelo Gallery and some of the works of Raphael such as Botticelli and Titian. Other works in this wing includes the French masterpieces such as The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault's in room 77, 1st floor.

The Louvre Museum Paris is famous not only for its art but unfortunately also for the long line you have to stand in before you get a chance to see anything. Skipping this line can be done with the planning as you can order tickets by mail though http://louvre.fnacspectacles.com or. 08-92-68-46-94. You can also pick up the tickets at any FNAC branch. 

The spectacular Tuileries Gardens (Paris), Jardin des Tuileries can be found just between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde. It was designed in 1564 by Catherine de Medicis as a garden for the Tuileries Palace (for Louis XIV). The Tuileries Gardens are probably the most French garden you could find all across Paris, with fine rows of trees and well-formed paths. The garden has opened its gates for everyone to stroll in, back in 1667 but it only became a public park after the French Revolution. It was once the place to see and be seen in Paris and as of today, it is the place where locals meet to enjoy a nice afternoon walk or just relax.
The Tuileries Gardens Paris takes its name from the fact that this area was once populated with rood tiles factories, made in a special oven called tuileries. The Tuileries Gardens were well documented by many impressionists' painters such as Monet and Renoir which seems to love the lively colors reflected by the many flowers, grass and water.
There are also huge 18 bronzes statues in the Tuileries Gardens created by Maillol.
If you happen to be here in the summer (July and August), make sure you are taking a Ferris wheel ride to see the lovely views of the traditional funfair (www.feteforaine-jardindestuileries.com) which takes places just besides Rue de Rivoli.

The Place de la Concorde (Paris) is located at the very beginning of the Champs-Élysées avenue and is an important site in Paris landmarks and attractions list. It was once named after Louis the 15th and is now one of the major touristic squares in Paris. As it happens, Place de la Concorde Paris is also the largest square in the French capital. It was Muhammad Ali, viceroy and pasha of Egypt, who took the impressive 3300-year-old obelisk from the temple of Ramses at Thebes and gave it as a present to France in 1831.
But even before the obelisk was placed in the Place de la Concorde, Paris most visited square was quite famous when it became the Place de la Révolution (The Square of the revolution), where Louis the 15th, Marie-Antoinette, and some 2,500 others lost their heads to the guillotine in the late 18th century.
Notice the nice 18th-century buildings facing the Place de la Concorde, one of them is the Hôtel Crillon which was originally built by Gabriel, architect of Versailles's Petit Trianon as a private home. Take your time to stroll around the square and watch the nice female statues placed in the corners of the square. These statuses represent the eight largest cities in France.

The Grand Palais (The Great Palace) des Champs-Elysées, having its beautiful glass roof (the biggest glass roof in Europe ) and amazing restored Belle Époque ornamentation, is a large historic site and a museum with a giant exhibition hall that spans a total area of 72,000. The construction of the building started in 1897 on the ruins of the Palais de l'Industrie for the Universal Exposition fair in 1900 and was planned originally as a temporary building.
Along with the Petit Palais across Avenue Winston-Churchill , the Grand Palais Paris forms an elegant duo as both building are made of stone with matching mosaics and sculpted figures around it.
The building was structured in the style of Beaux-Arts as taught by the École des Beaux-Arts of Paris.
Following several years of constructions, the palace reopened its gates in 2007 and today it hosts performances which are often the hottest places in town. If you want to skip the long lines, you may want to make the reservation on the web.

Alexander Bridge is located right between all of the best attractions in Paris and is considered as the most decorated bridge in Paris, this bridge is well worth a visit. The Alexander Bridge Paris, with its Art Nouveau lamps, winged horses statuses and nymphs connects the two banks of the Seine from the Champs-Élysées quarter to the Eiffel Tower quarter.
The constructions, an impressive achievement for the time, started by the end of the 19th century to honor Tsar Alexander III and lasted several years until thje Universal Exposition of 1900.
Alexander Bridge, Paris is a nice visit if you are coming from the Concorde square or Champs Elyse to the Eiffel tower or the Hotel des Invalides. Notice the similarities between the bridge and the Grand Palace behind it on the right bank.

The Eiffel Tower, one of the must sees in Paris, can't be missed from any spot while walking around in the city. It was built by the French engineer Gustave Eiffel which was already famous at the time for building bridges. He spent several years building the Eiffel Tower as a monument for the World Exhibition in 1889. Although today, it is without doubt one of the most recognizable monuments in Europe, one that can be compared to the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Big Ben is London and the Taj Mahal in India, it was not supposed to be permanent when it was first introduced. After the Eiffel Tower was built, it faced a lot of criticism from Paris artistic and literary elite. The fact is, that the tower was almost torn down sometime in 1909 while the only reason it was eventually kept was due to its ability to provide a perfect platform for transmitting antennas.
Slowly, the Eiffel Tower became a permanent part of Paris view, settling in the hearts of Parisians as the symbol of Paris providing it with the most beautiful and famous skyline during the evening.
It is possible to climb up the stairs as far as the third floor. Going up to the top though is possible only using the elevator. From the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris at 1,050 ft (320 meters) is very romantic, especially in the evening.
You can reserve your ticket or book a guided tour online which will skip the lines as well.

Cruise up the majestic Seine and see how Paris famous sites are revealed from a new perspective. This cruise comes for free with the Paris Pass. From the water it is possible to see the bridges and monuments of Paris as you could never hope to from land.

This hour long river cruise delivers spectacular and hidden views of this magnificent city. An informative historical and cultural commentary is available in English and on-board guides occasionally take the microphone to inform Paris visitors about current events, exhibits, and festivals.

The main Bateaux Parisiens pier is located close to the Eiffel Tower. Do not miss this wonderful opportunity for any Paris visitor to better understand the geography of the city, to learn more of the history, and to see this city from a new perspective.