Not to miss

Musée du Louvre

The Louvre may be the world's greatest art museum - but it's also the one most avoided by visitors to Paris. Daunted by its size and overwhelming richness, many people head to smaller galleries. But if you have even the merest interest in the fruits of human civilisation from antiquity to the 19th century, then visit you must.

The former fortress began its career as a public museum in 1793 with 2500 paintings; now some 30000 are on display. The most famous works from antiquity include the Seated Scribe, the Jewels of Rameses II and the armless duo - the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. From the Renaissance, don't miss Michelangelo's Slaves, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and works by Raphael, Botticelli and Titian. French masterpieces of the 19th century include Ingres' La Grande Odalisque, Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa and the work of David and Delacroix.

The Grand Louvre project has rejuvenated the museum with many new and renovated galleries now open to the public. To avoid queues at the pyramid, buy your ticket in advance and/or enter through the underground shopping mall.

Centre Pompidou

The Pompidou Centre, also known simply as Beaubourg, is all about modern and contemporary 20th-century art. Thanks in part to its vigorous schedule of temporary exhibitions, it's the most visited cultural site in Paris. Two floors are dedicated to some of the 40000-plus works of the Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, the country's collection of 20th-century art.

The design of the Pompidou has drawn critical comment since construction began in 1972. To keep the exhibition halls uncluttered, the architects put the building's 'insides' on the outside, with each duct, pipe and vent painted in its own telltale colour: elevators and escalators are red, electrical circuitry yellow, plumbing green and air-conditioning blue.

After a massive renovation during 1998-99 the centre has a stunning reworked facade on the west side, an expanded exhibition space, and a new cinema, restaurant and cybercafe - plus new facilities for dance, theatre, CD and video.

The top floors have a magnificent view of Paris, while place George Pompidou below attracts street performers, musicians and artists.

Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris

If Paris has a heart, then this is it. Notre Dame de Paris is not only a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, but has also been Catholic Paris' ceremonial focus for seven centuries. The cathedral's immense interior, a marvel of medieval engineering, holds over 6000 people and has spectacular rose windows.

Although Notre Dame is regarded as a sublime architectural achievement, there are all sorts of minor anomalies, the result of centuries of aesthetic intervention. These include a trio of main entrances that are each shaped differently, and are accompanied by statues that were once coloured to make them more effective as Bible lessons for the hoi polloi. The interior is dominated by a 7800-pipe organ that was restored but has not worked properly since.

It's well worth the effort of climbing the 387 steps of the north tower. This will bring you to the top of the west facade and face to face with many of the cathedral's most frightening gargoyles, which enjoy a spectacular view of Paris.