Paris

Paris

Paris is the departure point for most Venice Simplon-Orient-Express journeys, but it is also a destination in its own right. Many passengers arrive a day or two early, or stay on after the train returns. Given what Paris contains, this is a straightforward decision to make.

Paris is built on the Seine, which cuts through the city from east to west with two islands in its centre, the Ile de la Cite and the Ile Saint-Louis, where some of the earliest settlements were established. The city is divided into 20 arrondissements arranged in a clockwise spiral from the centre, each with its own character. The first arrondissement contains the Louvre. The fourth contains Notre-Dame and the Marais. The sixth contains Saint-Germain-des-Pres and the great cafes of the Left Bank. The eighth contains the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.

Paris has been continuously shaping European culture since the medieval period. It was here that Gothic architecture was invented, in the Basilica of Saint-Denis just north of the city, and from here it spread across Europe. It was the centre of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, of Impressionism in the 19th, and of modernism in the 20th. At various points it was the home of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Beckett, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. The city's relationship with art, literature and ideas is so long and dense that it amounts to a cultural identity of its own.

The Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair, remains the most visited paid monument in the world

The City

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Notre-Dame de Paris, begun in 1163 and largely completed by the early 14th century, is one of the great examples of Gothic architecture and one of the most visited buildings in the world. After the devastating fire of April 2019 which destroyed the spire and the roof, the cathedral underwent an extraordinary five-year restoration programme involving hundreds of craftspeople and artisans working with medieval techniques alongside modern technology. It reopened on 7 December 2024, and in its first year welcomed over 11 million visitors. It is now more beautiful than it has been for decades, the stone cleaned and the interior transformed by new lighting designed by the liturgical artist Florent Joubert. Entry to the cathedral is free; timed reservations can be booked in advance online to avoid queuing. The towers are separately accessible and offer outstanding views over the city and the Seine.

The Louvre

The Louvre is the largest and most visited art museum in the world, housed in a former royal palace on the right bank of the Seine. Its permanent collection of over 35,000 works spans 9,000 years of human civilisation, from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome through Byzantine art and Islamic art to the masterpieces of Western painting. The Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace are the three most famous works in the collection. The glass pyramid entrance, designed by I.M. Pei and opened in 1989, was controversial at the time and is now one of the most photographed structures in Paris. The museum is large enough that a single visit can only address a fraction of the collection; it is worth deciding in advance which sections to prioritise.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was built by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World's Fair, held to mark the centenary of the French Revolution. Standing 330 metres tall, it was the world's tallest man-made structure for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed it in 1930. Originally designed as a temporary structure and scheduled for demolition in 1909, it was saved by its value as a radio transmission tower and has been the symbol of Paris ever since. It remains the most visited paid monument in the world, receiving around 7 million visitors a year. The views from the upper level on a clear day extend to 70 kilometres. Tickets should be booked in advance online to avoid long queues.

The Musee d'Orsay

The Musee d'Orsay, housed in a converted railway station on the left bank of the Seine, contains the world's finest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. The building itself was constructed in 1900 as the Gare d'Orsay, the terminal for the Paris-Orleans railway, and was converted into a museum that opened in 1986. Its collection covers the period 1848 to 1914 and includes major works by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Seurat and Gaugin, among many others. Monet's large series paintings and Van Gogh's self-portraits are among the highlights. The museum is significantly less crowded than the Louvre and can be covered thoroughly in half a day.

The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysees

The Arc de Triomphe stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, where twelve avenues converge in a star formation that gives the junction its alternative name, the Etoile. Commissioned by Napoleon after his victory at Austerlitz and completed in 1836, it stands 50 metres tall and is decorated with relief sculptures commemorating Revolutionary and Napoleonic battles. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies beneath it. Climbing to the roof gives one of the finest views of Paris, looking west along the Grand Axis to La Defense and east down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde and the Tuileries. The Champs-Elysees itself has become heavily commercialised but retains its grandeur as one of the widest boulevards in the world.

Montmartre and the Sacre-Coeur

Montmartre is the hill in the north of the city crowned by the white basilica of Sacre-Coeur, consecrated in 1919. The neighbourhood below the basilica retains something of its bohemian past, particularly in the area around the Place du Tertre where artists have worked since the 19th century, and the surviving Belle Epoque dance halls of which the Moulin Rouge is the most famous. The Musee de Montmartre, in a house where Renoir, Utrillo and Suzanne Valadon all worked at various times, gives the best account of the neighbourhood's extraordinary artistic history. The view from the steps of Sacre-Coeur over the rooftops of Paris is one of the finest in the city.

The Marais

The Marais is the best-preserved historic district in Paris, its 17th-century hotels particuliers (private palaces) largely intact because the neighbourhood was not reached by Haussmann's 19th-century redevelopment programme. It contains the Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, built by Henri IV between 1605 and 1612, with arcaded facades of brick and stone on all four sides. Victor Hugo lived in one of the houses on the square and his apartment is now a museum. The Marais is also home to the Centre Georges Pompidou, the radical inside-out cultural centre opened in 1977, the Jewish Quarter with its excellent falafel restaurants and the Musee Picasso, housing the largest Picasso collection in existence.

Versailles

The Palace of Versailles, 25 kilometres south-west of Paris, was the seat of the French royal court from 1682 to 1789. Built by Louis XIV, who moved the court here from Paris partly to control the nobility by keeping them at court away from their estates, it became the most imitated palace in Europe and the template for royal architecture across the continent. The Hall of Mirrors, 73 metres long and lined with 17 arched mirrors reflecting the windows opposite, was the room in which the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919. The formal gardens designed by Andre Le Notre extend for three kilometres behind the palace. A day trip from Paris by RER train takes approximately 40 minutes each way and is straightforward to arrange independently.

Food and Restaurants

Paris has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the world and the range runs from three-Michelin-star temples of haute cuisine to neighbourhood bistros that have been serving the same dishes for a generation. The brasserie tradition, imported from Alsace in the 19th century, produces some of the most satisfying food in the city: steak frites, moules mariniere, sole meuniere and choucroute garnie in rooms of polished brass and etched glass. The covered markets Les Halles de Sartrouville and the outdoor markets at Rue Mouffetard, Marche d'Aligre and Marche Bastille are among the finest in Europe. The patisseries of Pierre Herme, the chocolatier Patrick Roger and the boulangeries of Gontran Cherrier set a standard for bread and pastry that is essentially unmatched anywhere else.

Paris and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Paris is the principal departure point for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Most journeys begin here, with the train departing from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz in the afternoon. Passengers travelling from London to join the VSOE travel to Paris by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, then cross Paris to Gare d'Austerlitz by taxi or Metro. The journey between the two stations takes approximately 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic.

Paris Practicalities

• Paris Gare d'Austerlitz is the VSOE departure station, on the left bank of the Seine, served by Metro lines 5 and 10 and RER C
• Paris Gare du Nord is the Eurostar terminus from London, approximately 30 to 40 minutes from Gare d'Austerlitz by taxi or Metro
• Charles de Gaulle Airport is approximately 30km north-east of the city, linked to central Paris by RER B in approximately 35 minutes
• UK citizens do not currently require a visa for France. From November 2026, a new ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) requirement is expected to apply to British travellers visiting EU countries; always check the current position at gov.uk before travel
• The currency is the euro. Credit cards are universally accepted
• Paris has an excellent Metro and bus network covering all parts of the city. A carnet of 10 single tickets or a daily Navigo pass offers good value for multiple journeys
• Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened in December 2024 after five years of restoration and is now accepting visitors again, free of charge, with timed reservations available online
• Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) offer the best combination of good weather and manageable crowds. August is quieter as many Parisians leave the city, but some smaller restaurants and shops close for the month