For romantics, Paris is the city of love and night-time strolls along the Seine. The more rational associate the city with chaotic driving conditions and what the locals describe as ‘‘métro, boulot, dodo'’ (‘‘underground, work, sleep’’). But everyone knows that Parisien savoir-vivre is the French way of enjoying life.

No other city in the world can boast an avenue as magnificent as the mile-long Champs-Élysées – at least that's what the French claim. The boulevard, laid out according to plans by Le Nôtre, the landscape architect famous for his designs for Versailles, runs in a straight line from the Tuileries Gardens, through the former marshlands and up the slope to the Arc de Triomphe at Place Charles-de-Gaulle/Étoile. The platform on top of the arch affords a magnificent view along the extension of the ‘‘voie royale’’ to La Défense to the west and towards the Louvre in the other direction.

The 984-foot steel tower (1,052 feet including the TV masts) was designed by the engineer Gustave Eiffel and built for the 1889 World's Fair in the space of just 16 months. The construction was accompanied by repeated angry protests against what some called the ‘‘column of bolted iron’’. The structure marked the entrance to the Exposition and was supposed to be demolished when the fair ended. But by the time it was completed, the initial rejection had turned into enthusiasm.

The Galeries Lafayette is certainly the city's most magnificent Art Nouveau department store. The most striking architectural element of the store is the wonderful stained glass dome towering 230 feet over the center of the building and accentuated by the multi-story galleries below, with their sumptuous, wrought-iron flower motifs.

The world's most famous museum is housed in what used to be a royal palace. The French court resided in the Palais du Louvre from the 14th to the late 17th centuries, after which the buildings were used to accommodate the royal art collection and a number of art academies. In 1793, after the French Revolution, the Louvre was proclaimed a public museum. Today, it has approximately 650,000 square feet of exhibition space, making it the largest museum in the world. The entrance hall is situated under the glass pyramid in the Cour Napoléon. Visitors are advised to pick up a brochure showing the location of the different sections, which can be found at the information desk. Museum shops and self-service restaurants can also be found in the entrance area.

The shimmering white basilica of Sacré-Cœur stands atop the butte of Montmartre, where it can be seen from far away. Until the late 19th century, the city's highest hill was occupied by a couple of derelict monasteries, a few vineyards and some windmills. Then the district's cheap housing was discovered by Impressionist painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet, followed by Vincent van Gogh and even later by a still penniless Pablo Picasso.

Like the Eiffel Tower, this building is also a Belle Époque remnant of the World Exhibition of 1900. After the former railway station had lain empty for years, it took the combined efforts of three French presidents to reawaken its from its slumber and, despite the huge costs involved, convert it into a museum for artwork produced between 1848 and 1914. The museum was opened to the public in 1986. Statues symbolizing the major cities of southwestern France on the balustrades of the roof terrace and two huge clocks serve as reminders of the building's original purpose. The museum has two restaurants: the Café des Hauteurs and the luxury Palais d'Orsay.

France’s most famous Gothic cathedral was built between the 12th and 14th centuries. The foundation stone was laid in 1163 on the spot previously occupied by an ancient Roman and early Christian temple. Notre Dame has witnessed many important events in the political life of France. The trial of Joan of Arc was opened there, royal marriages were held there, and Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of all France in the cathedral.

The ‘‘Latin Quarter’’ on the left bank of the Seine is the oldest part of Paris apart from the Ile de la Cité. The foundation stone for the first university was laid there back in the 12th century. Until the French Revolution of 1789, Latin was not only the language in which all lectures were delivered. It was also the language of choice for conversations between professors and students. To this day, the country's intellectual crème-de-la-crème is schooled at the renowned French institutions between the Boulevard St.-Michel and the Jardin des Plantes. The area contrasts starkly with the Right Bank on the opposite side of the river, with its banks and luxury shops. Here, in the kingdom of the mind, you will find the Sorbonne, elite colleges and five academies, all huddled together in close proximity under the dome of the Institut de France. The district also houses many of the most famous publishing houses. The area around the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés still profits from the myths woven around the intellectual greats. It is a place to meet, not only in one of the many cafés, but also in the numerous bookshops and galleries.

The Center National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, to give it its full name, is the most popular tourist attraction in Paris, even ahead ofthe Eiffel Tower. The most striking aspects of the high-tech building designed by architects Richard Rodgers and Renzo Piano are the blue, green, red and white service pipes on the outer façade and the glass tubes housing the escalators running up and down the structure's walls.

Like the American prototype, Disneyland Paris is divided into theme parks. Mickey Mouse greets visitors in ‘‘Main Street USA’’, a replica of a typical small-town American street, while Sleeping Beauty welcomes you to ‘‘Fantasyland’’. ‘‘Adventureland’’ offers a chance to follow Indiana Jones on his jungle adventures, and ‘‘Frontierland’’ gives you a taste of the romantic side of the Wild West. Star Wars addicts get a unique opportunity to take the helm of a starship in ‘‘Discoveryland’’.

The youngest fashionable area of Paris has the unmistakeable charm of a former working-class district. As hip as some of the clubs may present themselves, with colossal light shows, spectacular performances and star DJs, many of the establishments have consciously integrated the former industrial designs into their interiors. Tourists have come to appreciate this too, and eagerly mingle with the Parisian clubbers. On Rue Oberkampf and neighboring streets, life is more easy-going, and the night regularly turns to day. Indeed many discos and smoke-filled cafés are still completely packed at 3 am.