Think you know everything there is to know about Paris? That you’ve explored all its neighbourhoods, walked all its boulevards, visited all its museums and churches? Take advantage of the current #Stayhome situation to discover our selection of virtual tours of the City of Light - you’ll soon realise that it still holds many secrets.
And it is only fitting that the visit start with the Louvre.
The 4 virtual tours already available online allow for an incredible level of interactivity. Our favourite is the one dedicated to the exhibition ‘The Advent of the Artist’, which begins at the entrance to the museum’s Petite Galerie and takes viewers from room to room on an exciting journey through the centuries. A great way to brush up on the classics!
For a change of scenery, check out the 360° immersion in the two oval Water Lilies rooms at the Musée de l’Orangerie. The splendour of these 8 monumental canvases painted by Claude Monet between 1915 and 1926 in Giverny is magnified by the ‘zoom’ feature, which allows visitors to get within several centimetres (virtually) without being reprimanded by the security guard.
Les Nymphéas au Musée de l’Orangerie
Another venue on the cultural itinerary but in a much more modern style is the Google virtual gallery dedicated to Parisian Street Art. An underground and sometimes fleeting exhibit, the works mainly formed of collages often have a limited lifespan.
Street Art parisien par Google
For something off the beaten track, visit the subterranean lake below the Opéra Garnier. This 25x50 metre cistern remains one of Paris’ best kept secrets. Designed by the architect Charles Garnier to relieve the pressure of the external groundwater under the opera house, it is now used as a training pool for the frogmen in Paris’ fire brigade. Rumour has it that it is also home to a giant eel... The true phantom of the Opera?
Visite du lac artificiel situé sous l’Opéra Garnier
A major tourist attraction, the highest point of the capital and also a sacred place, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre offers one of the best designed virtual tours we’ve seen. Panoramic views, interactive maps and all kinds of information - a true role model! And we’ll let you in on a little secret we learnt while exploring the basilica in 3D that will make you look extra knowledgeable at dinners: the bell in the belfry is named Françoise-Marguerite, and was a gift from the Savoy region in 1891, hence its nickname the ‘Savoyarde’. Weighing in at 19 tonnes, it is the largest bell in the world that can be swung.
Visite virtuelle de la basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre
A major tourist attraction, the highest point of the capital and also a sacred place, the Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Montmartre offers one of the best designed virtual tours we’ve seen. Panoramic views, interactive maps and all kinds of information - a true role model! And we’ll let you in on a little secret we learnt while exploring the basilica in 3D that will make you look extra knowledgeable at dinners: the bell in the belfry is named Françoise-Marguerite, and was a gift from the Savoy region in 1891, hence its nickname the ‘Savoyarde’. Weighing in at 19 tonnes, it is the largest bell in the world that can be swung.
Visite virtuelle de la bSainte-Chapelle
To round off the trip, take a walk around five iconic Parisian rooftops: the Eiffel Tower, the Opéra Garnier, the Grand Palais, the Philharmonie and the Tour Saint-Jacques seen from above!