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Getting Oriented | Top Attractions | Worth Noting
Updated by Linda Hervieux
One of Paris’s most upscale neighborhoods, the posh 7e arrondissement (where nearly every elegant block affords a view of La Tour) is home to the French bourgeoisie and well-heeled expats. Lording over the southwestern end of Paris, the Eiffel Tower was considered a monstrosity when it opened in 1889. Today it is a beloved icon, especially at night when thousands of twinkling lights sparkle at the top of every hour.
There are other larger-than-life sights here, too, notably Hôtel des Invalides, a sprawling Baroque complex with a towering golden dome under which lies the enormous tomb of the pint-size dictator, Napoléon. Along the river, the Palais Bourbon, seat of the French Parliament, is an 18th-century homage to ancient Greek architecture. Nearby is the modern, rectangular Musée du Quai Branly built by star architect Jean Nouvel. Don’t miss the Musée Rodin, where the master’s outsize sculptures, oozing sensuality, dot the garden and the interior of the Hôtel Biron.
From the Eiffel Tower east, the walkway along the Seine will take you past one of Paris’s most unusual museums, Les Égouts (the Sewers—which are indeed working sewers), and the American Church. Cross the Pont Alexandre III, the city’s most ornate bridge spanning the Seine from Invalides to the Grand Palais. Built between 1896 and 1900, it is bedecked with gilded sculptures, cherubs, and Art Nouveau lamps. It was named for the Russian czar to celebrate Franco-Russian friendship.
Getting Oriented
Getting Here
This neighborhood covers the 7e arrondissement. The most romantic way to get to the Eiffel Tower is by boat. Otherwise, you can head for RER C, station Champs de Mars/Tour Eiffel. For the best view, get off at the Trocadéro station (métro Line 9 or 6) and make the short walk over the Pont (bridge) d’Iéna to the tower. For the Musée Rodin, get off at Varenne (Line 13). Use this stop, or La Tour Maubourg (Line 8), for Napoléon’s Tomb and Hôtel des Invalides.
Top Reasons to Go
Eiffel Tower. No question: The ultimate symbol of France is worth a visit at least once in your life.
Musée Rodin. This regal 18th-century hôtel particulier (private mansion), once Rodin’s workshop, is a must for fans of the master sculptor. The garden makes a perfect setting for his works.
Napoléon’s Tomb. The golden-domed Hôtel des Invalides is a strikingly fitting place for Napoléon’s remains. Military history buffs will appreciate a visit to the adjoining Musée de l’Armée.
A boat ride. Whether you choose a guided tour on the Bateaux Mouches or the unguided Batobus (a water taxi), a ride along the Seine is a relaxing way to see the city’s highlights without traffic or crowds. Go after dark to admire the lights.
Making the Most of Your Time
This neighborhood is home to one of the world’s great sites, the Eiffel Tower. Depending on the time of year, you can wait a long time to ascend La Tour (buy your ticket online or come at night, when the lines are shorter), but even if you stay firmly on the ground, it’s worth a trip to see this landmark up close. Afterward, explore Rue St-Dominique’s shops, bakeries, and restaurants. If you’re up for a picnic, grab fixings on Rue Cler (between Rue de Grenelle and Avenue de La Motte Piquet); then double back to the grassy park at the foot of the tower.
If you have a day to spare, visit the Musée Rodin. If you’re pressed for time, do a quick tour of the garden (€1 entry), where many of the best-known sculptures can be seen. From here it’s a short walk to Napoléon’s over-the-top tomb at the Hôtel des Invalides, which also houses the Musée de l’Armée, devoted to military history. Alternatively, if you’re keen on art from Asia, Africa, or the Americas, devote an hour to the Musée du Quai Branly.
Best Cafés
Café Central.
If it’s apéritif time, this is the place to be. With soft lighting, loungy music, and generous munchies, Café Central makes an ideal spot for an end-of-the-afternoon drink. | 40 rue Cler, Tour Eiffel/Invalides | 75005 | Station: École Militaire.
Café du Marché.
On the quaint Rue Cler, this busy café, popular with locals, serves French classics for cheap. Service can be slow, but it’s all part of the scene. | 38 rue Cler, Tour Eiffel/Invalides | 75007 | 01–47–05–51–27 | Station: La Tour-Maubourg, École Militaire.
La Terrasse.
Of the three well-positioned cafés at bustling Place de l’École Militaire, this one is the best choice thanks to good salads, sandwiches, and French classics like steak tartare. The staff is friendly, too. | 2 pl. de l’École Militaire, Tour Eiffel/Invalides | 75007 | 01–45–55–00–02 | Station: École Militaire.
Top Attractions
Fodor’s Choice | Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel).
The Eiffel Tower is to Paris what the Statue of Liberty is to New York and what Big Ben is London: the ultimate civic emblem. French engineer Gustave Eiffel—already famous for building viaducts and bridges—spent two years working to erect this monument for the World Exhibition of 1889.
Because its colossal bulk exudes a feeling of mighty permanence, you may have trouble believing that it nearly became 7,000 tons of scrap metal (the 1,063-foot tour contains 12,000 pieces of metal and 2,500,000 rivets) when its concession expired in 1909. At first many Parisians hated the structure, agreeing with designer William Morris, who, explaining why he had been spending so much time at the tower, said “Why on earth have I come here? Because it’s the only place I can’t see it from.” Only its potential use as a radio antenna saved the day (it still bristles with a forest of radio and television transmitters). Gradually, though, the Tour Eiffel became part of the Parisian landscape, entering the hearts and souls of Parisians and visitors alike. Today it is most breathtaking at night, when every girder is highlighted in a sparkling display originally conceived to celebrate the turn of the millennium. The glittering light show was so popular that the 20,000 lights were reinstalled for permanent use in 2003. The tower does its electric shimmy for five minutes every hour on the hour until 1 am.
You can stride up the stairs as far as the third floor, but if you want to go to the top you’ll have to take the elevator. (Be sure to take a close look at the fantastic ironwork.) Although the view of the flat sweep of Paris at 1,000 feet may not beat the one from the Tour Montparnasse skyscraper, the setting makes it considerably more romantic—especially if you come in the late evening, after the crowds have dispersed. TIP Beat the crushing lines by reserving your ticket online. You can also book a guided tour. | Quai Branly, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–44–11–23–23 | www.tour-eiffel.fr | By elevator: 1st and 2nd levels €8.50; top €14. By stairs: 1st and 2nd levels only, €5. | June–late Aug., daily 9 am–12:45 am (11 pm for summit); late Aug.–June, daily 9:30 am–11 pm. Stairs close at 6 pm in winter | Station: Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro, École Militaire; RER: Champ de Mars.
Bicycling in Paris
You’ve seen those 1930s photographs of Paris—men in berets bicycling the streets, a baguette tucked under one arm; elegant women in billowing skirts gliding past the Eiffel Tower on two wheels. Until recently, though, it was difficult for visitors to cycle in Paris without signing up for a bike tour. That changed in summer 2007, when the City of Paris introduced a bike-rental program called Vélib’.
Vélib’ (www.velib.paris.fr), an amalgam of vélo (bike) and liberté (liberty), has been a resounding success. You can’t miss the silver-and-purple cycles at more than 1,800 docking stations—and growing—all over the city. The environment-friendly intent of the scheme is to complement the public transport system, encouraging people to use the bikes for short trips around town. With more than 60 million trips, they are showing some wear and tear, so check yours over thoroughly.
There are several stands near the Eiffel Tower—one on Quai Branly at Avenue de la Bourdonnaise, another on Bourdonnaise at the corner of Avenue Rapp, and a third at Rue de Grenelle. This neighborhood is ideal for cycling: the roads are wide, there are several bicycle lanes, and most important, the terrain is gloriously flat. Try a relaxing ride across the Champs de Mars, along Rue St-Dominique, and around the Invalides, for starters.
You’ll pay €1.70 a day, or €8 for a seven-day pass, to use Vélib’. If you ride for less than 30 minutes at a time, there’s no additional fee (you get a code to use throughout the day, which allows you to take out a bike whenever you want one). If you keep it for more than 30 minutes, you pay an additional €1, then €2 for the next 30 minutes, and €4 for each half hour on top of that. If you’re spending a lot of time in Paris, opt for the €29 annual pass, which has no daily fee. (There is also a combination métro/bike pass available.) The system accepts debit or credit cards that contain an electronic chip that can be read by the French system; not all cards work, but American Express does. If your card is rejected, don’t despair: Fat Tire Bike Tours (01–56–58–10–54 | www.fattirebiketours.com/paris) offers inexpensive rentals.
Regardless of how you get around, here are some rules to remember: Stop at red lights (or risk a fine), and watch for vehicles turning right, which may not see you. Cyclists are allowed in most, but not all, bus lanes (watch for no-cycling signs).
The French cycle in high-heeled boots and miniskirts, business suits and loafers—so don’t worry if you didn’t pack the right biking clothes. Helmets are almost never worn (except by kids) and Vélib’ rentals don’t include them.
Fodor’s Choice | Hôtel des Invalides.
The Baroque complex known as Les Invalides (pronounced lehz-ahn-vah-leed) is the eternal home of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821) or, more precisely, the little dictator’s remains, which lie entombed under the towering golden dome.
Louis XIV ordered the facility built in 1670 to house disabled soldiers (hence the name), and at one time 4,000 military men lived here. Today, a portion of it still serves as a veterans’ residence and hospital. The Musée de l’Armée, containing an exhaustive collection of military artifacts from antique armor to weapons, is also here as is the World Wars Department, which chronicles the great wars that ravaged Europe.
If you see only a single sight, make it the Église du Dome (one of Les Invalides’ two churches) at the back of the complex. Napoléon’s tomb was moved here in 1840 from the island of Saint Helena, where he died in forced exile. The emperor’s body is protected by a series of no fewer than six coffins—one set inside the next, sort of like a Russian nesting doll—which is then encased in a sarcophagus of red quartzite. The bombastic tribute is ringed by statues symbolizing Napoléon’s campaigns of conquest. To see more Napoléoniana, check out the collection in the Musée de l’Armée featuring his trademark gray frock coat and huge bicorne hat. Look for the figurines reenacting the famous coronation scene when Napoléon crowns his empress, Josephine. (Notice the heavily rouged cheeks; Napoléon hated pale skin.) You can see a grander version of this scene hanging in the Louvre by the painter David.
The Esplanade des Invalides, the great lawns in front of the building, are favorite spots for pickup soccer, Frisbee games, sunbathing, and dog walking—despite signs asking you to stay off the grass. TIP The best entrance to use is at the southern end, on Place Vauban (Avenue de Tourville). The ticket office is here, as is Napoléon’s Tomb. There are automatic ticket machines at the main entrance on the Place des Invalides. | Pl. des Invalides, Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–44–42–38–77 | www.invalides.org | €9.50 | Église du Dôme and museums Apr.–Oct., daily 10–6; Nov.–Mar., daily 10–5. Closed 1st Mon. of every month Oct–June | Station: La Tour-Maubourg, Invalides.
Musée du Quai Branly.
The newest museum in Paris was built by star architect Jean Nouvel to house the state-owned collection of “non-Western” art, culled from several other venues. The exhibits mix artifacts from antiquity to the modern age, such as funeral masks from Melanesia, Siberian shaman drums, Indonesian textiles, and African statuary. A corkscrew ramp leads from the lobby to a cavernous exhibition space, which is color coded to designate sections from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The lighting is dim, sometimes too dim to read the information panels (which makes the €5 audio guide a good idea).
Renowned for his bold modern designs, Nouvel has said he wanted the museum to follow no rules—though many critics gave his vision a thumbs down when the museum opened in 2006. The exterior resembles a massive rust-color rectangle suspended on stilts. There are boxy shapes stuck to the facade facing the Seine, and louvered panels on the opposite side. The colors (dark reds, oranges, and yellows) are meant to evoke the tribal art within. A “living wall” comprised of some 150 species of exotic plants grows on the exterior, which is surrounded by a wild jungle garden with swampy patches—an impressive sight after dark when scores of cylindrical colored lights are illuminated. The name, strangely taken from the street address, is thought by many to be temporary until the museum is eventually rechristened in honor of its chief backer, former President Jacques Chirac. TIP Feel like splurging? Les Ombres restaurant on the museum’s fifth floor (separate entrance) has premier views of the Tour Eiffel—and prices to match. The budget-conscious can enjoy the garden at Le Café Branly on the ground floor. | 37 quai Branly, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–56–61–70–00 | www.quaibranly.fr | €8.50; €10 with temporary exhibits | Tues., Wed., and Sun. 11–7, Thurs.–Sat. 11–9, closed Mon. | Station: Alma-Marceau.
Off the Beaten Path: Paris’s most ornate front door can be found at 29 av. Rapp, a few minutes’ walk from the Pont de l’Alma. The six-story hôtel particulier to which it’s attached is an Art Nouveau gem, built in 1901 by Jules Lavirotte, who used brick, stone, and ceramics—the first time ceramics were used to this extent in Paris—to create whimsical motifs inspired by nature. The historical plaque in front of the building notes that the architect’s rebellious style added a “breath of youth and fantasy.” Notice the expressions of the pair of nude sculptures: she with a smirk and a jaunty hand on hip; he with a hand cupped to his mouth, calling out to someone. The house was owned by ceramics expert Alexandre Bigot, who frequently teamed up with Lavirotte. The door is the most intriguing feature: carved wood with large oval windows resembling an owl’s eyes. The metal handle takes the shape of a curled lizard, its head arching back. Twisting leaves and vines curl around the stone door frame; a woman’s head (possibly the architect’s wife) is centered at the top, a furry critter crawling down her neck, its pointed nose suspended just above the door. Walk around the corner to 3 square Rapp to see the house Lavirotte later built for himself.
Worth Noting
American Church.
Not to be confused with the American Cathedral, across the river at 23 avenue George V, this pretty neo-Gothic church built in 1927-31 includes a pair of Tiffany stained-glass windows—a rare find in Europe. Besides ecumenical Protestant services, it hosts free classical and acoustic concerts, along with popular exercise classes including yoga. Check the website for details. | 65 quai d’Orsay, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–40–62–05–00 | www.acparis.org | Mon.–Sat. 9–noon and 1–10:30, Sun. 3–7:30 | Station: Alma-Marceau; RER: Pont de l’Alma.
Fodor’s Choice | Musée Rodin.
Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) briefly made his home and studio in the Hôtel Biron, a grand 18th-century mansion that now houses a museum dedicated to his work. He died rich and famous, but many of the sculptures that earned him a place in art history were originally greeted with contempt by the general public, which was unprepared for his powerful brand of sexuality and raw physicality. During a much-needed, multiyear renovation that has closed parts of the Hôtel Biron (it’s set to finish in late 2014), the museum is showcasing a pared-down, “greatest hits” selection of Rodin’s works.
Musée Rodin Highlights
Most of his best-known sculptures are in the gardens. The front garden is dominated by The Gates of Hell (circa 1880). Inspired by the monumental bronze doors of Italian Renaissance churches, Rodin set out to illustrate stories from Dante’s Divine Comedy. He worked on the sculpture for more than 30 years, and it served as a “sketch pad” for many of his later works. Look carefully and you can see miniature versions of The Kiss (bottom right), The Thinker (top center), and The Three Shades (top center).
Inside the museum, look for The Bronze Age, which was inspired by the sculptures of Michelangelo: this piece was so realistic that critics accused Rodin of having cast a real body in plaster. There’s also a room (condensed during renovation) of works by Camille Claudel (1864–1943), Rodin’s student and longtime mistress, who was a remarkable sculptor in her own right. Her torturous relationship with Rodin eventually drove her out of his studio—and out of her mind. In 1913 she was packed off to an asylum, where she remained until her death.
Musée Rodin Tips
- For €1 you can enjoy the 7 acres of gardens.
- If you want to linger, the Café du Musée Rodin serves meals and snacks in the shade of the garden’s linden trees.
- As you enter, a space on the right houses temporary exhibitions.
- An English audio guide (€6) is available for the permanent collection and for temporary exhibitions.
- Skip the line by buying a ticket online (€1.80 fee).
79 rue de Varenne, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–44–18–61–10 | www.musee-rodin.fr | €9; €1 gardens only; free 1st Sun. of month | Tues.–Sun. 10–5:45 except Wed. until 8:45, closed Mon. | Station: Varenne.
Champ de Mars.
This long span of grass, flanked by tree-lined paths, lies between the Eiffel Tower and École Militaire. It was previously used as a parade ground and was the site of the world exhibitions in 1867, 1889 (when the tower was built), and 1900. Today the park, landscaped at the start of the 20th century, is a great spot for picnics, pickup soccer, outdoor concerts, or just hanging out. You can sprawl out on the center span of grass—unusual for Paris. There’s also a playground where kids can let off steam. | Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | Station: École Militaire; RER: Champ de Mars.
FAMILY | Les Égouts (The Sewers).
Leave it to the French to make even sewers seem romantic. Part exhibit but mostly, well, sewer, this 1,650-foot stretch of tunnels provides a fascinating—and not too smelly—look at the underbelly of Paris. Visitors can stroll the so-called galleries of this city beneath the city, which comes complete with street signs mirroring those above ground. Walkways flank tunnels of whooshing waste water wide enough to allow narrow barges to dredge sand and sediment. Lighted panels, photos, and explanations in English detail the workings of the system. Immortalized as the escape routes of the Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean inLes Misérables, the 19th-century sewers have a florid real-life history. Since Napoléon ordered the underground network built to clean up the squalid streets, they have played a role in every war, secreting revolutionaries and spies and their stockpiles of weapons. Grenades from World War II were recovered not far from where the gift shop now sits. The display cases of stuffed toy rats and “Eau de Paris” glass carafes fold into the walls when the water rises after heavy rains. Buy your ticket at the kiosk on the Left Bank side of the Pont de l’Alma. Guided one-hour tours by friendly égoutiers (sewer workers) are available in French only; call or email ahead for details. | Opposite 93 quai d’Orsay, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–53–68–27–81 | Visite-des-egouts@paris.fr | www.paris.fr | €5 | May–Sept., Sat.–Wed. 11–5; Oct.–Apr., Sat.–Wed. 11–4; closed Thurs. and Fri. | Station: Alma-Marceau; RER: Pont de l’Alma.
Palais Bourbon.
The most prominent feature of the Palais Bourbon—home of the Assemblée Nationale (or French Parliament) since 1798—is its colonnaded facade, commissioned by Napoléon to match that of the Madeleine, across the Seine. Jean-Pierre Cortot’s sculpted pediment portrays France holding the tablets of Law, flanked by Force and Justice. Inside is an exquisite library with a soaring ceiling of cupolas painted by Delacroix. Visits are by guided tour only (free, in French with an English audio guide), and hours vary depending on whether Parliament is in session. Reservations, which are essential, can be made by phone or online. | 33 quai d’Orsay, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–40–63–56–00 | www.assemblee-nationale.fr | Check website for tour hrs and reservations | Station: Assemblée Nationale.
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