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The main children’s area of the Bois incorporates a small amusement park, a zoo with a farm and a pets’ corner, and a Herb Museum aimed especially at children.

The flair of French artistic vision and Parisian style are both clearly shown by this modern urban development. This new business and government centre was purposely built to the west of the city to allow the centre to remain unmarred by skyscrapers. More than just offices, however, the area is also an attraction in its own right, with stunning modern architecture including the Grande Arche, a cube-like structure with a centre large enough to contain Notre-Dame, and surrounded by artworks, a fountain, cafés and restaurants.

Paris’s world-famous university was founded in 1253 and was originally intended as a theology college for poor students but it soon became the country’s main centre for theological studies. It was named after Robert de Sorbon, confessor to Louis IX. Philosophers Thomas Aquinas (c.1226–74) and Roger Bacon (1214–92) taught here; Italian poet Dante (1265–1321), St Ignatius Loyola (1491–1556), the founder of the Jesuits, and church reformer John Calvin (1509–64) are among its impressive list of alumni. Its tradition for conservatism led to its closure during the Revolution (it was re-opened by Napoleon in 1806) and to the student riots of 1968 (see Top 10 Events in the French Revolution).

Two long, thin lakes adjoin each other. The larger of the two, confusingly called Lac Inférieur (the other is Lac Supérieur) has boats for hire and a motor boat to take you to the islands.

The “Defender of Time”, Paris’s modern public clock, stands appropriately in the Quartier de l’Horloge (Clock Quarter) shopping area. This fantasy mechanical sculpture of brass and steel by Jacques Monastier is 4 m (13 ft) high and weighs one tonne. When the clock strikes the hour, the warrior fends off a savage bird, crab or dragon (representing air, water and earth) with his sword, with accompanying sound effects. At noon, 6pm and 10pm he vanquishes all three, to the crowd’s delight.

In a city of glamour and grandeur, the sewers (egouts ) of Paris are an incongruously popular attraction. They date from the Second Empire (1851–70), when Baron Haussmann was transforming the city (see The Second Empire), and the sewers which helped to sanitize and ventilate Paris are considered one of his finest achievements. Most of the work was done by an engineer named Belgrand. The 2,100-km (1,300-mile) network covers the area from Les Halles to La Villette – if laid end-to-end the sewers would stretch from Paris to Istanbul. An hour-long tour includes a walk through some of the tunnels, where you’ll see water pipes, telephone lines and various cables, while the museum tells the story of the city’s water and sewers, from their beginnings to the present day. There is an audio-visual show and a room devoted to sanitation techniques of the future.

This excellent gallery showcasing contemporary European photography opened in 1996 in an early 18th-century mansion, Hôtel Hénault de Cantorbe. The restoration is a mix of historic features and modern spaces that show off its permanent collection and changing exhibitions, including multimedia works.

This internationally renowned tapestry factory was originally a dyeing workshop, founded by the Gobelin brothers in the mid-15th century. In 1662, Louis XIV’s minister Colbert set up a royal factory here and gathered the greatest craftsmen of the day to make furnishings for the palace at Versailles. Painters such as Charles Le Brun directed 250 Flemish weavers in creating the tapestries. You can see the traditional weaving process on a guided tour.

Set around an old guardhouse and clocktower, the wonderful Aligre market is a melting pot of Parisians from all walks of life. It dates back to 1643 and was once as important as the more famous Les Halles (see Forum des Halles). In the gourmet covered market you’ll see everything from rows of pheasants to a whole wild boar hanging from the stalls. North African traders give the outdoor produce market an ethnic flare. The flea market dates back to the days when nuns distributed second-hand clothing to the poor (see Aligre Market).