25 Most Visited Attractions in Paris
From Mickey Mouse’s surprising conquest of French hearts to the quiet romance hidden in Montmartre’s cobblestone corners, these are the 25 most visited attractions in Paris in 2024.
Let’s explore why millions of people each year choose to spend their precious time at these particular spots, and what you can expect when you join them.
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25. Musée de la Vie Romantique
Tucked away in Montmartre’s winding streets, this intimate museum celebrates 19th-century artistic romance. George Sand’s jewelry sparkles in glass cases while paintings capture the era’s passionate spirit. The cobblestone courtyard café feels like a secret garden.
62,000 visitors yearly discover that romance isn’t dead – it just moved to a quieter neighborhood.
24. Musée des Arts et Métiers
Steam engines and early computers coexist in this temple to human ingenuity. I’ve marveled at Foucault’s original pendulum and touched machines that sparked the Industrial Revolution. Scientists and engineers built our modern world with these elegant contraptions.
183,000 visitors yearly celebrate the marriage of form and function.
23. Musée Jacquemart-André
This elegant mansion preserves Belle Époque luxury in exquisite detail. The tearoom serves excellent pastries beneath Renaissance masterpieces.
243,000 visitors yearly experience how the wealthy lived when Paris was the world’s cultural capital.
22. Conciergerie
Marie Antoinette’s final prison cell still gives me goosebumps. This medieval fortress witnessed the French Revolution’s darkest hours, when justice and vengeance blurred beyond recognition. The Gothic halls echo with ghostly footsteps of condemned nobles.
415,000 visitors yearly confront the thin line between civilization and chaos.
21. Musée Picasso
Housed in a gorgeous 17th-century mansion, this collection traces Picasso’s artistic evolution through intimate spaces. The building’s elegance contrasts beautifully with Picasso’s revolutionary vision.
441,000 visitors annually witness how tradition and innovation can coexist perfectly.
20. Musée Carnavalet
Paris tells its own story through this sprawling museum dedicated to its history. Through artifacts, paintings, and reconstructed rooms, I’ve traced the evolution from Roman settlement to modern metropolis. Marcel Proust’s bedroom sits alongside Revolutionary memorabilia.
485,000 visitors yearly fall deeper in love with their adopted or native city.
19. Panthéon
This neoclassical mausoleum houses France’s greatest minds, from Voltaire to Marie Curie. The Foucault pendulum demonstrates Earth’s rotation with hypnotic precision.
507,000 visitors yearly pay respects to genius while contemplating mortality and legacy.
18. Musée de l’Orangerie
Monet’s massive Water Lilies panels wrap around you like a peaceful embrace. The oval rooms were designed specifically for these masterpieces – architecture serving art rather than competing with it.
598,000 visitors annually find tranquility in downtown Paris.
17. Sainte-Chapelle
Those stained glass windows will stop you mid-sentence and mid-step. Sunlight transforms this Gothic gem into a kaleidoscope of biblical stories. The narrow space intensifies the experience – you’re surrounded by rainbow light.
683,000 visitors yearly understand why they call it the jewel box of Paris.
16. Musée Rodin
That garden sculpture park transforms every season into living art. The mansion displays intimate works while outdoors, bronze figures contemplate eternity.
700,000 visitors yearly discover that sculpture breathes differently in natural light.
15. Musée Grévin
Posing with wax celebrities never gets old, especially when they look more lifelike than expected. The craftsmanship amazes even skeptics who think wax museums are silly tourist traps.
762,000 visitors prove that a little fun never hurt anyone.
14. Arc de Triomphe
Standing atop this monument feels like conquering Paris itself. The twelve radiating avenues spread out like spokes on a giant wheel, with the Champs-Élysées stretching toward the Louvre. Traffic circles around you in organized chaos while you catch your breath from the climb.
1.2 million visitors annually earn those panoramic views.
13. Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
Jean Nouvel’s striking building houses treasures from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The garden wall creates an urban jungle that feels like stepping into another continent.
1.27 million people yearly expand their worldview here.
12. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
That whale skeleton suspended in the Gallery of Evolution still gives me chills. Children press their noses against display cases while adults rediscover their sense of wonder. The mineral collection sparkles like a dragon’s hoard, and the dinosaur exhibits transport you back millions of years.
1.3 million visitors annually prove that curiosity never ages.
11. Musée de l’Armée (Les Invalides)
Napoleon’s tomb commands respect. The golden dome catches sunlight like a beacon, and the military history spans centuries of French glory and defeat.
1.31 million people yearly pay homage to France’s complicated military past.
10. Petit Palais
Paris’s best-kept secret hides behind an ornate façade near the Champs-Élysées. Being one of the best free things to do in Paris, means you can pop in for twenty minutes or stay for hours exploring the eclectic collection.
1.46 million smart visitors annually know good value when they see it.
9. Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie
This hands-on science wonderland makes physics feel like play and chemistry like magic. Kids press every button while parents secretly learn more than they expected.
1.74 million visitors prove that education becomes entertainment when done right.
8. Musée d’Orsay
Housed in a gorgeous Belle Époque train station, this museum makes Impressionism feel alive. I’ve spent entire afternoons lost among Monet’s water lilies and Van Gogh’s swirling skies. The building itself tells stories – you can almost hear steam engines through the galleries.
3.1 million visitors yearly.
7. Centre Pompidou
That inside-out building still divides Parisians after five decades. I love how the colorful pipes and escalators make art feel approachable rather than intimidating. The modern art collection rivals New York’s MoMA, and the rooftop view surprises first-time visitors.
3.2 million people annually discover that contemporary art doesn’t bite.
6. Eiffel Tower
She’s Paris personified – elegant, impossible to ignore, and surprisingly intimate once you get close.
Seven million visitors climb her steps each year because some experiences simply cannot be replicated anywhere else on earth.
5. Palace of Versailles
Marie Antoinette’s playground still makes me gasp every single time. The Hall of Mirrors stops conversations mid-sentence, and the gardens stretch beyond your imagination. Pack comfortable shoes and your patience.
7.7 million people annually means you’ll share those golden corridors with half the world. Worth every crowded moment.
4. Louvre Museum
Don’t try to see everything in one visit – I learned that lesson the hard way. The Mona Lisa draws crowds like honey attracts bees, but my favorite moments happen in quieter galleries where you can actually breathe. Eight hours here barely scratches the surface.
Those 8.7 million visitors each year prove that art truly is the universal language.
3. Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Climbing those 270 steps to Sacré-Cœur never gets easier, but the view makes every wheeze worthwhile. The basilica itself feels like a wedding cake perched on Montmartre’s summit.
Free admission explains why 10.5 million people huff their way up annually.
2. Notre-Dame Cathedral
Standing before Notre-Dame always takes my breath away, even after countless visits. Yes, the 2019 fire broke our hearts, but watching this Gothic masterpiece rise from the ashes has been profoundly moving.
13.6 million annual guests.
1. Disneyland Paris
After two decades of watching Parisians roll their eyes at Mickey Mouse’s suburban invasion, I’ve learned the truth: even the most sophisticated locals secretly love this place. Your kids will drag you here, and you’ll pretend to suffer while secretly enjoying Pirates of the Caribbean in French.
The numbers don’t lie, this is the most visited attraction in Paris – 14.8 million visitors also make it Europe’s most popular theme park for good reason.
