Visiting Paris: City of Culture

Visitors to the city of romance and culture will find hotels in Paris city centre near some of the greatest attractions the capital has to offer. The Louvre has dominated the city since first built as a fortress in the late 12th century. Over time it was developed into a fine Renaissance palace until it lost favor with French monarchs. After the Revolution the palace was opened to the public as a museum in 1793 and has since grown to house 35,000 works of art ranging from prehistory, the ancient world, to western art from the medieval period to 1848.

The Museum d’Orsay opened in 1986 in the former Orsay railway station built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Displaying work from 1848 to 1914 the museum is best known for its collection of impressionist and post impressionist masterpieces.

The Eiffel Tower is an iconic Parisian landmark that was designed by Gustave Eiffel. Built between 1887-89 it is 324 metres (1,063 ft) high with three levels for visitors. The first two levels feature world class restaurants.

All Paris is accessible via the rapid transit Metro system which is also a work of art with its Art Nouveau inspired station architecture.