Paris audio guide: the stories of its sights

The Eiffel Tower was never meant to stay.

Gustave Eiffel was allowed to run it only for a limited time, and after that, it could be torn down. This iron tower stands in Paris on the Champ-de-Mars, beside the Seine. It was built for the 1889 World's Fair, marking 100 years since the French Revolution. Today it is the symbol of Paris, and has welcomed over 300 million visitors. But once the fair ended, curiosity faded fast, and the visitors with it.

Eiffel had a card to play. At his own expense, he backed radio experiments by Captain Gustave Ferrié, using an aerial at the top of the tower. The scientific value was clear, and the concession was extended by 70 years. That decision paid off. In the First World War, radio operators picked up several decisive messages through the tower, among them the "radio message of victory".

Today, stairs lead up to the second level, and 1,665 steps in all reach the summit. On the second level, glass panels in the floor give you a dizzying view straight down to the ground below.

The Louvre Museum opened on a date chosen with care: 10 August 1793, exactly one year after the fall of the French monarchy.

The Louvre is a national museum in Paris, set inside the Louvre Palace in the 1st arrondissement. It began as a gesture of the Revolution. The first rooms showed the collections of the king himself. Alongside them hung works seized from émigrés, and from churches. At first, the museum was meant mainly for artists. The public was let in free of charge on Sundays only.

The pictures were not hung by school or by date. Instead, they were arranged to give the whole display a harmonious effect. Today it is the largest art museum in the world, with 72,735 square metres of rooms and galleries. It is also the most visited, with 8.7 million visitors in 2024. Pei's glass pyramid, inaugurated in 1989, marks the modern entrance.

Inside are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Montmartre is where the Paris Commune began.

It started with a row over cannons. In 1871, the government under Adolphe Thiers wanted to take back the guns of the National Guard, which were standing in this very district. Two generals were arrested and executed. Several districts rose up, Montmartre among them. And so, on 18 March 1871, the Commune began. It lasted until the Bloody Week at the end of May.

Montmartre is a district in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, crowned by the basilica of Sacré-Cœur. Until 1860, it was a municipality in its own right. Then Paris annexed it. Since the 19th century, it has drawn many artists, among them Picasso and Modigliani. Today, the vineyard in the Rue Saint-Vincent is the best known in Paris. Its wine is sold at a fairly high price, and the money supports social institutions.

Every year, on the second weekend of October, the grape harvest festival gathers more than 500,000 people.

Four days before the fire, the statues around the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris were lifted down and carried away for restoration.

Nobody could have known what was coming, yet that is exactly what saved them. Notre-Dame is the Catholic cathedral of Paris, on the island in the Seine called the Île de la Cité. Building began in 1163, under Bishop Maurice de Sully, and dragged on for almost two centuries. Then came the evening of 15 April 2019. Around 6 o'clock, a serious fire broke out.

It destroyed the roof, the medieval timber framework beneath it, and the spire designed by Viollet-le-Duc. About 650 firefighters brought the blaze under control the next morning. The response was extraordinary. 340,000 donors gave 846 million euros, a world record for charitable giving. On 8 December 2024, the cathedral opened to the public again.

Today, the towers are open to visitors and give wide views over Paris. The south tower has a staircase of 387 steps, leading you up to the city.