Seine River Direct Access Guided Cruise by Vedettes de Paris

The Eiffel Tower was built by French engineer Gustave Eiffel, for the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris. This magnificent technical feat was achieved in a mere two years, two months and five days. It stands 324 metres tall, and the metal structure weighs 7,300 tonnes. Parisians were scandalised by its metallic look and height. It was built to last 20 years. A radio antenna was added to the top in 1903, saving the tower from demolition. It has now become the monument symbolic of Paris.

The American Church in Paris with its green clock-tower was the first American Church built outside the US, in 1931. The stained-glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany have been listed as a historic monument.

With its golden dome over the royal chapel, the Hotel des Invalides was built to the orders of Louis XIV as a military hospital for injured soldiers and officers. Today, the royal chapel houses the tomb of France’s first Emperor, Napoleon I.

Alexandre III bridge was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and to seal the Franco-Russian Alliance. Its central feature is the Paris coat of arms covered in gold leaf and two nymphs symbolising the river Seine. On the other side of the bridge, you’ll see the arms of Saint Petersburg, and two nymphs symbolising the river Neva.

Pont de la Concorde was built using stones from the former Bastille prison after it was famously stormed during the French Revolution in 1789. It leads to the Palais Bourbon on your right, seat of the National Assembly, and to your left to the Place de la Concorde.

The former Orsay railway station, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, which had a railway line leading to the south-west of France, was turned into a museum in the 1980s to house 19th-century art, including works by the greatest Impressionists and Post-Impressionists such as Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh.

The Institut de France, former Collège des Quatre Nations, was built using funds bequeathed by cardinal Mazarin in 1661. It houses five academies, the most famous being the Académie Française. Its members’ job is to contribute to the French language, updating and modifying the official French dictionary.

The Pont Neuf, or New Bridge, which is actually the oldest bridge in Paris was the first Parisian bridge to be built in stone with pavements rather than houses lining it. It features 381 grimacing stone masks, all individually decorated and unique.

Pont Saint-Michel, built at the request of Napoleon III, hence the two imperial Ns on its pillars. To the right, it leads to the Latin Quarter, so called because students at the University of Paris there spoke Latin until the 19th century.

Ile de la Cité is the presumed birthplace of Paris. The Parisii tribe first settled here 300 years before the Common Era, calling the island Lutetia.

Paris’s Gothic masterpiece, Notre-Dame Cathedral. Its construction started in 1163 and was completed nearly two centuries later, in 1345. The cathedral features a host of gargoyles and sculptures. The south rose window, called the Rose du Midi, is dedicated to the New Testament and was a gift from the French king, Saint Louis.

The Tournelle Bridge, and on its right, a statue of Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, with her back to us. It was sculpted by Paul Landowski, who later sculpted the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

The Arab World Institute was inaugurated in 1987 by president François Mitterrand. The cultural centre focuses on history, art, society, religions and science in the Arab world.

Featuring former town houses dating from the 17th century, like the Hotel Lambert and the Hotel Lauzun, Ile Saint Louis is one of the most prestigious areas of Paris. Many celebrities have lived there, including Charles Baudelaire and Georges Moustaki.

Since 1357, the Hotel de Ville de Paris has been the seat of the Paris City Council. The construction draws much inspiration from Neo-Renaissance style. It is open to visitors, you can visit the banquet hall, designed to the template of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.

The Louvre museum used to be a royal palace. It was turned into a museum in 1793. It is the largest monument in Paris with over four kilometres of façades and nearly 14 kilometres of galleries. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world, exhibiting 38,000 works, including the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Venus de Milo and of course the Mona Lisa.

The place de la Concorde was where King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie-Antoinette were executed during the French Revolution. The central feature is an obelisk from Luxor in Egypt. It is 34 centuries old and was brought to France in 1836.

Built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris, the Grand Palais is a great feat of architecture. Its glass roof is considered to be the largest in Europe. It has now become a venue for cultural events and exhibitions, a funfair and the largest skating rink in Europe.

The Palais de Chaillot is located on the place du Trocadero. Built in 1937 for the Universal Exhibition, it comprises two Neoclassical pavilions, flanking an esplanade that overlooks the Trocadero gardens. It houses the City of Architecture and Heritage, the National Navy Museum, the Museum of Humankind, and the National Theatre of Chaillot.