Best Views in Paris — Scenic Viewpoints You Cannot Miss

Tour Montparnasse (15th)

The view from Tour Montparnasse's 56th-floor terrace is often called "the most beautiful view of Paris" — because from here, you see everything, including the Tour Montparnasse itself, which is the one building in Paris everyone wishes had not been built. The irony is not lost on anyone. Tickets from €20. Combined with dinner at Le Contemporain in the same building (one Michelin star, €65 lunch).

Parc des Buttes-Chaumont (19th)

A 61-acre English-style landscape garden with a 30-meter lake, a Roman temple on a cliff, and one of the most improbable landscapes in Paris. The view from the Temple de la Sibylle at the top of the cliff is as dramatic as any view in the city. The park is free, open every day, and almost entirely ignored by tourists. Go on a Sunday morning.

Arc de Triomphe rooftop

The top of the Arc de Triomphe gives you the 360-degree view that the ground-level view cannot provide: twelve radiating avenues, the Champs-Élysées disappearing west, the Louvre to the east, the Sacré-Cœur on the hill to the north. Book online to avoid the climb-up queue. Combined with a walk down the Champs-Élysées to the Louvre.

Le Musée de l'Orangerie (Tuileries Garden)

Monet's eight Nymphéas panels — each over six feet tall — in the purpose-built oval rooms designed by Monet himself. The natural light through the clerestory windows changes through the day. Standing in front of these paintings is one of the most affecting experiences in Western art. Combined with the Tuileries Garden, which stretches west from the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde.

The Eiffel Tower at night

The Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes every hour on the hour, from dusk until 1am. The best free view is from the Parc de la Ball at Trocadéro, across the Seine — wide lawn, no trees, the tower directly in front of you. Bring a blanket. In summer this is where every local ends up on a Friday night.