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The world’s largest museum unsurprisingly also contains one of the world’s most important collections of art and antiquities. To complete the superlatives, the building was once France’s largest royal palace.

Some six million visitors a year ascend to the top of this most famous Paris landmark for the spectacular views. It was erected for the Universal Exhibition of 1889.

This great Gothic cathedral, founded on the site of a Roman temple, was completed in 1334 and is a repository of French art and history. It also represents the geographical heart of France.

The great and the good of France are buried in the Panthéon, including Voltaire and Victor Hugo.

This shop doesn’t just sell chocolate, you can watch it being made. More than 40 flavours and novelty chocolates in all shapes.

The final resting place of Napoleon Bonaparte is the beautiful Dôme Church in the Hôtel des Invalides complex – an elaborate monument to French Classical style. Built as the chapel for the resident soldiers of the Invalides, its ornate high altar is in stark contrast to the solemn marble chapels surrounding the crypt, which hold the tombs of French military leaders. Its golden dome can be seen for miles around (see Hôtel des Invalides).

Away from the tourist bustle, this Bastille market, dubbed the “Notre-Dame of markets”, retains an authentic Parisian atmosphere. Every morning North African traders hawk inexpensive produce in the open-air market, and there’s an adjacent flea market and a covered market selling top-quality fare.

This tea shop offers some 200 varieties from all over the world, as well as wacky teapots.

Cheese fans should not miss this shop, selling cheese from all over France, with a chance to taste before you buy.

This shop dates from 1800 when chocolate was sold for medicinal purposes. The window displays would tempt anyone.

Specialists in fun chocolates, in the shape of the Eiffel Tower and other Parisian landmarks.

This splendid wine shop is based in a late 19th-century dairy, worth seeing in its own right. The owners will happily advise you on good bargains and vintage wines.

Paris’s first department store was founded on the Left Bank in 1852, its structure partially designed by Gustave Eiffel (see Eiffel Tower). Today it’s even more hip than its competitors, with an in-store boutique featuring avant-garde fashions and music. It also has designer clothes, its own line of menswear and the enormous La Grande Epicerie food hall.

Foodies should head for this haven, where cookbooks in several languages are available, along with posters and other food-related items.

Every Saturday to Monday the largest antiques market in the world comes alive. There are actually 13 markets here: the oldest, Marché Vernaison, is the most charming; Marché Malik sells vintage clothing. Others offer furniture, jewellery and paintings.

The artist Picasso reputedly did his shopping at this daily morning market in the heart of St-Germain. The huge fruit and vegetable stalls are of high quality but of greater interest are the food shops opening on to the street, which sell specialist and regional fare. You can also buy prepared Italian dishes and delicious pastries.

A specialist wine shop, selling French wines, spirits and liqueurs and champagne.

Bibliophiles spend hours in the rambling rooms of Paris’s renowned English-language bookshop. There are books in other languages too and poetry readings most Mondays at 8pm.

The name says it all, for the ubiquitous binder that palmtop organizers have not ousted completely. Also stationery, pens and associated items.

An English-language bookshop where you can pick up that translated French classic you may have been inspired to read.

Bistro with an inventive and inexpensive menu.

This remarkable conversion has turned a former railway station into one of the world’s leading art galleries and is, for many, reason alone to visit Paris.

Superbly situated in the Richelieu wing of the Louvre (see Musée du Louvre), the café offers simple but expertly prepared brasserie fare (steaks, salads, salmon tartare, sandwiches) as well as delicious cakes and pastries. The dining room has plush decor and velvet armchairs, but the best spot is under the arcade overlooking the glass pyramid and the cour Napoléon.

Alain Ducasse’s affordable offshoot. Choose your main dish and a sauce to go with it.

A well-established favourite, in the heart of St-Germain (see St-Germain, Latin and Luxembourg Quarters), attracting a good mix of regular locals and curious tourists. Eat in the pleasant brasserie upstairs, then head to the basement for a music programme that relies heavily on old-fashioned Dixie-style jazz.

A tea room loved by locals and visitors alike. Regulars swoon over the hot chocolate and the delicious patisseries.

One bistro looks much like another, but inside this one in the Chaillot Quarter is a different story. The food is superb, the service friendly, the atmosphere fun, the prices reasonable. For all of these reasons, it’s wise to book ahead. Try the red mullet Provençal, if available.

One bistro looks much like another, but inside this one in the Chaillot Quarter is a different story. The food is superb, the service friendly, the atmosphere fun, the prices reasonable. For all of these reasons, it’s wise to book ahead. Try the red mullet Provençal, if available.

The food is simple and filling (pepper steak, tarragon chicken and fish are traditional examples) but the real reason to come here is for the authentic period atmosphere. This early 20th-century workers’ canteen has retained its original, tightly packed tables set amid wood panelling and gilded mirrors. It’s always busy so come early to get a table. No reservations are taken, but the inevitable queues usually move quickly.

This tiny wine bar near the Aligre Market is like taking a step back in time. Dozens of wines are available by the glass, or you can fill up your own bottle from the barrels bulging in the doorway. On fine days empty barrels are up-turned to make instant outdoor pavement tables, attracting an interesting local crowd. Cold snacks, such as pâté and cold meats, are also served all day.

Unpretentious but stylish Bastille café with three large rooms, decorated with everything from spears, to old film star publicity stills. The simple food, such as onion soup, is good value. Popular local hang-out.

This classy Bastille bar and restaurant has chic Chinese decor, as reflected in its name. The long ground-floor bar has romantically intimate tables and live jazz music is played at weekends. The upstairs bar is like an intimate drawing room. The cocktails are excellent, as is the Chinese food in the restaurant. Popular with Paris’s young and trendy.

More than 40 wines by the glass and good food.

If you don’t mind what you eat, go for the no-choice menu as it can halve the price of your meal. If you choose à la carte instead, try fricassé of lobster with dried cherry sauce.

The fixed-price lunch menu is a bargain, offering the cuisine of superchefs Alain Ducasse and Joel Robuchon.