Seine River, Paris

Musee d'Orsay

Housed in a former Beaux-Arts railway station (completed in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle, later saved from demolition and converted to its present use), the rambling, open-plan museum is home to the works of the great artists of the 19th century (1848-1914) - Impressionists, post-Impressionists, and the rest - that were formerly displayed in the Louvre

Jardin des Tuileries

Originally adjoining the now-disappeared royal palace of the Tuileries, these gardens lying immediately west of the Louvre offer a central open space for Parisians and visitors with semi-formal gardens (an outdoor gallery for modern sculpture), various cafés, ice-cream and crépe stalls and a summer fun fair

Musee de l'Orangerie

Recently reopened after extensive renovations, this small museum near the Louvre houses the Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume Collection, sold to the French Republic on very generous terms and displaying 143 paintings from the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century (15 Cézannes, 24 Renoirs, 10 Matisses, 12 Picassos, 28 Derains, 22 Soutines)

Jeu de Paume

Built during the First Empire, in imitation of the Orangerie this small building is used by the Galerie Nationale to mount shows dedicated to lesser known, but nonetheless interesting artists, or (sometimes) the lesser known works of the Great Masters

Colonne Vendôme

The centrepiece of a magnificent 8-sided square first laid out in 1699 to show off an equestrian statue of the Sun King, Louis XIV

L'Assemblee Nationale

Formerely the Palais Bourbon, this building has housed the National Assembly, the French parliament's lower house, since 1827

Musee des Arts Decoratifs

Around the corner from the Musée du Louvre at Rue de Rivoli 107 - this monument to the French art de vivre, housed in a 19th-century wing of the Louvre that has been restored to Beaux-Arts splendor, its galleries and period rooms showcasing eight centuries of Gallic taste in interior decoration

Louvre Museum

Housing one of the world's great museums since 1793, the Louvre Palace offers some dazzling architecture, wide public spaces and the glass pyramid of I M Pei

Place Vendome

Place de la Concorde

The Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris, with an area of 8