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This stadium has been host to many football cup finals and rugby internationals and is home to the National Sports Museum.

This civilized little park is no further from the city centre than Montmartre, yet it goes unnoticed by many visitors. It was created in 1778 by the Duc de Chartres and is still frequented by well-heeled residents. Its flowerbeds are colourful, while the grounds are full of statues and an air of well-being.

The “little palace” echoes its neighbour in style. Set around a semi-circular courtyard, with Ionic columns and a dome, the building now houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. This includes medieval and Renaissance art, 18th-century furniture and a collection of 19th-century paintings.

This historic octagonal square, covering more than 8 ha (20 acres), is bounded by the Tuileries Gardens on one side and marks the starting point of the Champs-Elysées on the other. It was built between 1755–75 to designs by architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel as the grand setting for a statue of Louis XV, but by 1792 it had become the place de la Révolution and its central monument was the guillotine. Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and more than 1,000 others were executed here (see Ile de la Cité and Ile St-Louis). In 1795, in the spirit of reconciliation, it received its present name. The central obelisk, 23 m (75 ft) tall and covered in hieroglyphics, is from a 3,300-year-old Luxor temple, and was a gift from Egypt, erected in 1833. Two fountains and eight statues representing French cities were also added. On the north side of the square are the mansions Hôtel de la Marine and Hôtel Crillon, also by Gabriel.

This bustling square has a village community feel, with busy cafés and restaurants and groups of students from the nearby university hanging out here after dark. In medieval times it lay outside the city walls, a remnant of which still stands. Notice the memorial plaque above the butcher’s at No. 1, which marks the site of the old Pine Cone Club, a café where François Rabelais and other writers gathered in the 16th century.

Surrounded by 52 Corinthian columns, the huge Classical-style La Madeleine church (see La Madeleine) commands this elegant square. On the east side a colourful flower market is held Tuesday to Saturday. The square is surrounded by some of the most up-market épiceries (food stores) and speciality shops in the city (see Fauchon).

Paris’s oldest square also has the honour of being one of the most beautiful in the world. Once the site of jousting tournaments, the square was commissioned by Henri IV. Its 36 houses with red-gold brick and stone façades, slate roofs and dormer windows were laid out with striking symmetry in 1612. Although they were originally built for silk workers, the likes of Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) and the playwright Molière (1622–73) quickly moved in and it remains an upper-class residential address. But everyone can enjoy a stroll around the area and the art galleries under the arcades.

Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the architect of Versailles, designed the façades of this elegant royal square for Louis XIV in 1698. The square was intended to house foreign embassies but bankers soon moved in and built lavish dwellings. It remains home to jewellers and financiers today. The world-famous Ritz hotel was established here at the turn of the 20th century (see Ritz Hotel). The central column, topped by a statue of Napoleon, is a replica of the one destroyed by the Commune in 1871.