Architectural Wonders: The Ultimate Guide to Must-See Buildings in Paris

No other city’s skyline tells the story of its history better than that of Paris. From its early beginnings as a Roman colony on the Île de la Cité, to its medieval fortresses, magnificent Gothic cathedrals, classic Renaissance châteaux, homogeneous Haussmann buildings, and myriad progressive contemporary designs, each historical era reflects past cultures reminding us of who we were, who we are, and who we might be again. A visit to some of the most emblematic architecture in Paris will allow us to discover why the city is without equal. 

Gallo-Roman Period (1-486 AD)  

Amphitheater that held up to 15,000 spectators for gladiatorial contests. 

Thermes de Cluny 

1st and 2nd century AD 

A Gallo-Roman, thermal public bath complex part of the Musée de Cluny, now the Musée-National du Moyen Âge. 

 

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Romanesque Period (990-1160) 

Basilique Saint Denis 

5th century 

1 Rue de la Legion d’Honneur, 93200 Saint-Denis

 Original Architect: Unknown. 

Architectural Supervisor: Abbé Suger, 1135-1144. 

First Restoration Architect: Pierre de Montreuil, 13th century.

The St Denis Basilica is considered the birthplace of French Gothic style. It was the burial site for over 70 royal tombs from the 10-18th century. After the French Revolution all of the tombs were plundered and the remains tossed into a mass grave. During the Restoration (1814-1830) all of the identifiable remains were placed in an ossuary. In 1813, Napoleon I commissioned the architect François Debret to restore the building, followed by the 1846 restoration by the architect, Eugène-Viollet-le-Duc. 

 

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Medieval Period (1100-1526) 

Louvre Medieval  

1190 – 1202  

Original address: What is now the southwest quadrant of the Cour Carrée, 1st arrondissement. 

Chateau Fort: Medieval military fortress to protect Paris against invasions with a 98-foot tall keep, and a moat.  

1364 -1380 

Renovation architect: Raymond du Temple.  

The fort was slowly rebuilt to become a palace by the architect, Raymond du Temple

Sainte Chapelle 

1242 -1248 

1 Boulevard du Palais, 4th arrondissement  

One of the best examples late Gothic architecture with the most extensive collection of 13th century stained glass in the world. St. Chapelle is part of the original complex, the Palais de la Cité, built by Charlemagne between 793-813, which includes La Conciergerie, the former courthouse and prison (its most famous prisoner was Marie Antoinette) during the French Revolution.  

Hotel de Ville 

1357 

Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 4th arrondissement 

Original Architect: Unknown 

Known as the House of Pillars, Maison aux Piliers. 

First Restoration Architects: Dominique du Cortone and Pierre Chambiges. 1535 

Second Restoration Architects: Étienne-Hippolyte Godde and Jean-Baptists Lesueur. 1835 

Tried restoration Architects: Théodore Ballu and Édouard Desperthes. 1873-1892 

Built in many different eras representing many different architectural styles. The building is the official office of the mayor of Paris and the local government. 

Gothic – (12th – 16th Century) 

Notre Dame 

1163-1345

6 Parvis Notre Dame, Île de la Cité, 4th arrondissement

Medieval Construction Architects: Jean de Chelles, Pierre de Montreuil, and Pierre de Chelles. 

19th Century Renovation Architects:  Jean-Baptiste Lassus, and Eugène-Viollet-le-Duc. 

21st Century Reconstruction Architects: Philippe Villeneuve and Rémi Fromont  

Perhaps the most famous Gothic cathedral in the world instantly recognizable for its ribbed vaults, gargoyles, flying buttresses, and beautiful stained glass windows. 

Tour Saint-Jacques   

1509-1523 

Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, 4th arrondissement 

Formerly part of the Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie church, it is the only section left standing after the rest was demolished during the French Revolution, a metaphorical exclamation point in the Marais district. 

Renaissance – (1515-1643) 

1546 

Louvre Palace (originally the Louvre Fortress) 

First Renovation Architects: Pierre Lescot and Louis Métezeau  

1654-1853 

Second Renovation Architects: Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and Claude Perrault, Francois Mansart, Percier and  Fontaine, Louis Visconti, and Hector Lefeu.  

The Louvre Palace is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in the world incorporating classical elements such as domes, rectangular windows, arches, columns, and entablatures. 

Palais Royal 

1633-1639 

8 Rue de Montpensier, 1st arrondissement 

Original Architect: Jacques Lemerceier 

Renovation Architects: From 1698-1830 – Jacques Lemercier, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Gilles-Marie Oppenord, Pierre Contant d’Ivry, Pierre-Louis Moreau, Victor Louis, Pierre Fontaine, Charles Percier. 

The palace has had more architects then it has had kings and queens residing there, their reigns ending in the late 18th century. Today it serves as the seat of the Ministry of Culture, but is closed to the public. The southern end of the complex is polka-dotted with sculptor Daniel Buren’s 260 black-and-white striped columns, the palace’s outstanding exterior feature since 1986.

Neoclassical – (1760-1830)   

Panthéon 

Pl. du Panthéon, 5th arrondissement

1764-1790 

Architects: Jacques-Germain Soufflot   

Modeled after the original Pantheon in Rome, Soufflot embellished a classical structure with Gothic detailing. Though it originally served as a church, the building is now a burial place for notable French citizens. Foucault’s Pendulum is housed there, considered to be the “navel of the world” by the Knights Templar. 

Napoleon III and Haussmann Style – ( 1853-1870)  

Louvre 

1852-1870 

8 Rue Sainte-Anne, 1st arrondissement 

Renovation Architects: Louis Visconti, and Hector Lefeu. 

Napoleon III and Georges-Eugène Haussmann, a French civil servant, modernized Paris by creating wide boulevards, parks, squares, and public buildings. Their renovation transformed Paris into the city we know today. The Louvre became entirely a museum with a new, fortified enclosure, gas lighting system, drinking water supply network, and sewers.  

Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art 

1868 

Rue de Richelieu-Louvois, 2nd arrondissement 

Architect: Henri Labrouste 

One of the most elegant examples of an iron vaulted cathedral of books. 

Opéra Garnier (Palais Garnier) 

1861-1875 

Place de l’Opéra, 9th arrondissement 

Architect: Charles Garnier 

Famously served as the setting of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. The “Italian-style” auditorium’s ceiling was painted in 1964 by Marc Chagall.  

The Eiffel Tower 

1887-1889 

Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole France, 7th arrondissement 

Designed and engineered by Gustave Eiffel with Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, it was the entrance arch to the 1889 World’s Fair, rising to an impressive height of 1,063 ft. Originally deemed an eyesore, it has become emblematic of Paris.  

Sacré Coeur 

1875-1914 

35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre, 18th arrondissement

Architect: Paul Abadie  

Crowns the highest point in Paris (Montmartre), rising 656 feet above the Seine. This imposing, white-domed basilica was begun in 1875 and continued for 40 years under five different architects: Honoré Daumet, Jean-Charles Laisné, Henri-Pierre-Marie Rauline, Lucien Magne, and Jean-Louis Hulot. Its bell tower is 84 meters high and contains the largest bell in France called the “Savoyarde”, 9.8 feet in diameter, and weighing 8.8 tons.

Bourse de Commerce 

1574-1584 

2 Rue de Viarmes, 1st arrondissement 

Original Architect: Jean Bullant 

The first building in Paris with a metal frame, blending Catherine de Medici’s Hôtel de la Reine, grain market and stock exchange. 

Renovation Architect: Tadao Ando 2021 

Hosting painting, photography and sculpture exhibitions under a magnificent glass rotunda. 

Art Nouveau – (1890-1910) 

Castel Béranger  

1912 

122 Avenue Mozart, 16th arrondissement  

Architect: Hector Guimard 

This little building is pure Art Nouveau. Guimard also became known for designing the famous subway entrances of Paris Métro stations, such as the one at Porte Dauphine. 

Jules Lavirotte Building 

1898-1901 

29 Ave. Rapp, 7th arrondissement 

One of the most elaborate and beautifully executed Art Nouveau facades in Paris. 

Musée d’Orsay 

1880-1900 

Esplanade Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, 7th arrondissement 

Architect: Victor Laloux. 

Original Gare d’Orsay (Train Station). 

Renovation Architect: Gas Aulenti 1981 

This unexpectedly resplendent museum houses works of art from 1848 through 1914. 

Le Train Bleu Café 

1902 

Gare de Lyon, 12th arrondissement 

Architect:  Marius Toudoire 

One of the most magnificently opulent, Art Nouveau cafés in a Paris train station. 

Art Déco – (1910-1939)  

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées  

5 Avenue Montaigne, 8th arrondissement 

1911-1913 

Architects: Auguste and Gustave Perret 

First Art Deco building in Paris distinguished by geometric shapes, and symmetrical lines.  

La Samartaine  

9 Rue de la Monnaie, 1st arrondissement 

1870 Art Nouveau and Art Deco 

Original Architects: Frantz Jourdain, Henri Sauvage 

Renovation Architects: SANAA + LAGNEAU Architectes  2021 

Modern – (1920-1960) 

Maison La Roche  

1923-1925 

8-10 Square du Docteur Blanche, 16th arrondissement 

Architects: Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret 

Le Corbusier implemented his theory of “ five points of a new architecture ” using pillars, a roof garden, an open floor plan, long windows and open facades.  

 

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Villa Savoye 

1931 

Architect: Le Corbusier 

82 Rue de Villiers, 78300 Poissy 

One of the most important Modernist constructions of the 20th century. Originally built as a family estate, it now belongs to the French State and is open to the public. 

 

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Contemporary – (1960-to present) 

Centre Pompidou

19 Rue Beaubourg, 4th arrondissement 

1977 – Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, Gianfranco Franchini 

This skeletal, high-tech construction looks like it’s wearing its underwear on the outside of its clothes. It houses over 100,000 works of art from artists such as Matisse, Duchamps, Kahlo, Picasso, Warhol, and Kandinsky, et al.  

 

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Louvre Pyramid 

1983-1989 

Cours Napoléon, 1st arrondissement 

Architect: I.M. Pei  

An architectural marvel inspired by the Cheops Pyramid in Egypt, the polyhedron covers an area of ​​10,764 square feet at its base and rises 72 feet above the ground. It’s a 95-ton steel structure, supported by a 105-ton aluminum frame inset with 673 diamond-shaped glass panels which were formed in a specially built oven with sands from the Fontainebleau forest.

Fondation Louis Vuitton 

2014 

8 Ave. du Mahatma Gandhi, 16th arrondissement 

Architect: Frank Gehry  

Set between woods and gardens, a futuristic glass ship evocative of 19th century conservatories, with overlapping glass sails representing a transparent vessel to embrace Paris’s dynamic arts and cultural mise-en-scène. 

Philharmonie de Paris 

2015 

221 Avenue Jean Jaurès, 19th arrondissement  

Architect: Jean Nouvel 

Constructed from cast aluminum and reflective steel, a shimmering façade made up of 340,000 tiles that depict abstracted birds. Also by Jean Nouvel, 37 Quai Branley (2006) and the Institut du Monde Arabe (1988) with Gilbert Lézénès and Architecture-Studio (1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard), a nod to the greatest structures in the Arab World.   

Les Choux de Créteil 

1966-1974 

2 Boulevard Pablo Picasso, 94000 Créteil 

Architect: Gérard Grandval 

Ten cylindrical buildings each 15 stories in height commonly known as Les Choux (the cabbages). The buildings are a nod to the area which had been used for over 100 years to grow most of the vegetables for Parisian tables.

Les Orgues de Flandres 

1974-1980 

24 Rue Archereau, 19th arrondissement 

Architect: Martin van Trek 

One of the best examples of Brutalist architecture with its massive design.  

La Seine Musicale 

Île Seguin, Boulogne-Billancourt 

2017 

Architects: Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines 

The music venues include an elevated egg-shaped auditorium, a modular concert hall, rehearsal rooms and an extensive roof garden. Most of the site’s daytime energy needs are supplied by 10,764 square feet of solar panels that cover a smaller auditorium.  

 

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