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French for ‘Our lady’, Notre Dame is a Catholic Cathedral on the Ile de la Cité; a natural island in the centre of the Seine River. The Cathedral is the official seat of the Archbishop of Paris.

The Cathedral is one of the city’s oldest buildings. Construction began in 1163 after Maurice de Sully (Bishop of Paris at the time) decreed that a new place of worship should be created on the site of the Cathedral of Saint Etienne, which itself had a history going back to the fourth century.

The construction of Notre Dame took an incredible 185 years. Over this time, various architects worked on the project, accounting for the different styles of architecture at different heights of the building. However, the finished building remains one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in Europe.

The Cathedral was elevated to global fame by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel ‘The hunchback of Notre Dame’, which told the fictional story of Quasimodo and Esmeralda.

Embedded in the cobbles, in front of Notre Dame’s main entrance, you will find a plaque marking ‘kilometre zero’. This is the official centre of Paris; the point from which all distances in France are measured.

L'Hôtel des Invalides is a large collection of buildings on the south-side of the Seine. The buildings were instigated in 1670 by Louis XIV as a home and hospital for aged and injured soldiers. The main buildings were completed in 1676 and are arranged around 15 courtyards. Louis XIV then commissioned a Royal Chapel to embellish the site. The Église du Dôme was completed in 1709, providing an architectural focal point to the complex.

By today’s standards, the magnificent baroque architecture and sculptured grounds seem at odds with the building's primary purpose, but the grand setting is symbolic of the military’s importance throughout French history. Travelling past L'Hôtel des Invalides; it is easy to perceive the value that was placed upon serving the nation at arms.

The list of tombs located within L'Hôtel des Invalides reads like an honour roll of honour for France’s military leaders and includes the final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Today, L'Hôtel des Invalides holds museums relating to France’s military history, but some of the buildings continue to be used as a residence and hospital for war veterans; the building’s original purpose.

The Palais Garnier is the main opera house in Paris and is home to the Academy of Music and rightly regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. The tour takes you around the building, so you can appreciate its amazing architectural splendour.

The building was commissioned in 1861 by Napoleon III who wanted a second venue for the Paris Opera.  A competition to design a suitable building was launched, and won by Charles Garnier.

Work on the building started in 1860 and initially suffered significant setbacks. Laying the foundations was put on hold when it was discovered that the swampy ground was caused by a subterranean lake, which took 8 months of continuous pumping to drain. Construction was to take many years, but finishing became more pressing when in 1873, Paris’s main opera theatre was destroyed in a fire.

In 1896, a counterweight fell from one of the large chandeliers killing one person. Although tragic, this incident, combined with the mystery of the underground lake and cellars, was to inspire a young author. The Palais Garnier is the setting for Gaston Leroux’s novel, The Phantom of the Opera, the story behind the Broadway and West End musical classic.

This is the largest square in Paris. Created in 1755, it was originally named Place Louis XV in honour of the King at that time.

However, the square's name and significance changed during the French revolution when it was renamed Place de la Revolution. A guillotine was erected and the square became the stage for hundreds of public executions, most famously that of Louis XVI who was executed in 1793.

Throughout the bloody days of the revolution, large crowds would gather in the square to watch the gruesome spectacle as all kinds of people were led to the guillotine and executed. During the ‘reign of terror’ in the summer of 1794, more than 1,300 people were beheaded in the square in a single month.

The place where the infamous guillotine once stood is now occupied by a 3,300 year-old Egyptian obelisk. The obelisk, which marked the entrance to the temple in Luxor, was a gift to France from the Ottoman Viceroy of Egypt in 1929. It took over three years to travel from Egypt to Paris, arriving in 1933.

La Madeleine is a Catholic Church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is located at the end of the Rue Royale with a sight-line to the Place de la Concorde.  It was built throughout a time of great social and political upheaval in France, which influenced its unusual design.

At the time of the revolution in 1789, a church had been commissioned, but only the foundations and portico had been finished. Debate then raged as to the best use for the building, with a library, a ballroom and a market all suggested.

In 1806, Napoleon decided to turn the half finished building into a ‘Temple to the Glory of the Grand Army’. A competition was launched, and a jury selected a design by Claude Etienne de Beaumont. However, Napoleon wasn’t happy and overruled them in favour of a design by Vignon, who proposed a neo-classical design in the style of a Roman Temple.

Following the restoration, the building was finally consecrated as a church. Philippe Lemaire’s beautiful pediment, depicting the last judgement with Mary Magdalene kneeling to intercede for the damned, was one of the final additions that completed the building we see today.

Place Vendôme is a stunning square at the start of the Rue de la Paix, just north of the Tuileries Garden. The square was commissioned by Louis XIV and designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart. However, when state finances ran low, the King sold the project to the financier John Law and the square was completed in 1720.

The column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon in commemoration of the battle of Austerlitz, his famous victory in 1805. The column is reputedly made from the cannon captured from the Russian-Austrian army.