Paris Top 10 : Riverfront Sights

Eiffel Tower

Although
the top of the Eiffel Tower can be seen above rooftops across the city,
one of the best views of this Paris landmark is from the Seine. The
Pont d’Iéna lies at the foot of the tower, bridging the river to link it
to the Trocadéro Gardens. The tower, illuminated at night, is a highlight of a dinner cruise on the Seine.

Palais de Chaillot

The
curved arms of the Palais de Chaillot encircling the Trocadéro Gardens
can be seen from the Seine. In the centre of the gardens the magnificent
fountains spout from the top of a long pool lined with statues, while
two huge water cannons spray their charges back towards the river and
the Eiffel Tower on the opposite bank .

Liberty Flame

A replica of the Statue of Liberty’s torch in New York was erected in 1987 by the International Herald Tribune
to mark their centenary and honour the freedom fighters of the French
Resistance during World War II. It is located on the right bank of the
Pont de l’Alma, the bridge over the tunnel where Diana, Princess of
Wales, was killed in an automobile crash in 1997. The Liberty Flame has
now become her unofficial memorial and is often draped with notes and
flowers laid in her honour.

Grand Palais and Petit Palais

Gracing
either side of the Pont Alexandre III are these two splendid exhibition
halls, built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The iron Art Nouveau
skeleton of the Grand Palais is topped by an enormous glass roof, which is most impressive when illuminated at night. The Petit Palais is smaller but similar in style, with a dome and many Classical features.

Pont Alexandre III

The
most beautiful bridge in Paris is the Pont Alexandre III, a riot of Art
Nouveau decoration including cherubs, wreaths, lamps and other
elaborate statuary. Built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900, it leads
to the Grand Palais and Petit Palais. There are wonderful views of the
Invalides complex and the Champs-Elysées from the bridge .

Dôme Church

An
impressive view of the Eglise de Dôme in the Hôtel des Invalides
complex can be had from the Pont Alexandre III. The golden dome beckons
visitors down the long parkway lined with streetlamps and statues .

Musée du Louvre

This
grand museum stretches along the river from the Pont Royal to the Pont
des Arts. The Denon Wing, seen from the Seine, was largely built during
the reigns of Henri IV and Louis XIII in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries .

Musée d’Orsay

The
view of this modern art gallery from the Right Bank of the Seine is one
of its finest angles, showing off the arched terminals and grand façade
of this former railway station. Architect Victor Laloux designed it
specifically to harmonize with the Louvre and Tuileries Quarter across
the river.

Conciergerie

This
huge and imposing building, which served as a notorious prison during
the Revolution, commands the western end of the Ile de la Cité. The
building retains some of the few medieval features on the island,
including the torture chamber, clock and twin towers which rise above
the quai de l’Horloge.

Notre-Dame

The
great cathedral is never more majestic than when viewed from the Left
Bank of the Seine. It rises at the eastern end of the Ile de la Cité
above the remains of the ancient tribes who first settled Paris in the
3rd century BC .