The City of Lights, the City of Love, home, Paris or whatever you choose to call the city it is undeniably a world-class travel destination. Paris is the second largest city in Europe. Besides being home to the second largest population in Europe it is also home to many famous sites and I will cover some of the more familiar sites of the old city with you. If you have only a weekend or a day to spend in the city of lights then these are the places that you must see and some of the places on the list will surprise you.
The first site that you can not help but see as it is the largest structure is the Eiffel Tower. The city and the local laws prohibit buildings from going over three stories to keep Paris unified in look and to make sure nothing is built larger then this world famous landmark. The Eiffel Tower looms over the city with a height of over 300 meters. The tower was designed by of all people Louise Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from almost any location in the city. You have to take a tour of the Tower though. Not only a tours offered of the Eiffel Tower which not only take you inside the Eiffel Tower but they cover the history of the Eiffel Tower as well, did you know when it was originally opened for the Paris Worlds Fair it was expected to be taken down and the Parisians hated it. In fact a famous con was involved in a scam offering to sale the Eiffel Tower to scrap metal companies in France and it worked! If you want to make your friends at home jealous you can send a letter from the Eiffel Tower and it will be postmarked the Eiffel Tower Paris France.
The opera building called Opera de Paris Garnier first started construction in 1862. Building lasted over ten years because of the underground lake discovered and this lake is where the idea for the Phantom of the Operas underground lair came from. Opera is rarely seen in the building anymore as a new opera building was made but ballet and other performances can be seen. This spot might not make a traditional list of top Paris spots but it gives you a taste of culture and its Phantom of the Opera connection makes it interesting.
The Louvre is probably the largest museum in the world and seeing it the opportunity of a lifetime. The Louvre houses over 300,000 works, you cannot see it all in one day.
For another less popular but fun and exciting destination is the Centre Pompidou. It houses a museum of modern art, bookstore, and a library among other things. There is so much for children to do here it is a more family friendly museum and one that most ourist miss. This list might be small compared to the many things that you can see in Paris but if you are only going to be able to be in Paris a day or two then these sites are worth visiting and might be all you will have time for, after all the Louvre itself could take an entire weekend on its own.
