From the Eiffel Tower to a cable car in the Alps near Grenoble: France doesn't tuck its most famous highlights away outside the city, but places them right in the middle of the historic centres. That's exactly where a low-emission zone (ZFE) has applied for a few years now: Paris and Grenoble enforce the strictest rules (Crit'Air 3, 4, 5 and unclassified vehicles are banned), while Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse are somewhat more lenient. With a valid Crit'Air sticker on your windscreen, you can drive right into the city centre, up to the sight itself, without a second thought.
From the icons of Paris to a cable car in the Alps near Grenoble, these are general highlights of each city that happen to also sit in or right next to a French ZFE.
The most visited paid monument in the world, built in 1889 for the World's Fair. From the platforms you get a panoramic view over all of Paris, and every hour after sunset the tower sparkles for five minutes.
Travel tip: parking right next to the tower is expensive (garages from around € 3–5/hour, street parking € 4–6/hour). Park on the edge of the city and take public transport for the last stretch.
The world's largest art museum, home to the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo among many others, housed in a former royal palace with the famous glass pyramid as its entrance.
Travel tip: book your time slot online in advance, and note that the museum is closed on Tuesdays. Without a reservation you'll often face a long queue.
The highest hill in Paris, with the striking white Sacré-Cœur basilica and winding, village-like streets around it. The steps in front of the basilica offer one of the finest free views over the city.
Travel tip: the funicular between Place Saint-Pierre and the basilica accepts a regular metro ticket and saves you a steep climb.
After Venice, the largest contiguous Renaissance district in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998. Its signature feature is the hundreds of traboules, hidden passageways through courtyards that once offered a shorter route to the river.
Travel tip: many traboules are open to visitors between 7:00 and 19:00. Walk quietly, as these are still lived-in buildings.
The "bulles" (bubbles): transparent, spherical cabins that have carried visitors 266 metres up to Fort de la Bastille in 3.5 minutes since 1976, on the site of France's very first urban cable car (1934). At the top you look out over Grenoble and the surrounding Alps.
Travel tip: a return ticket costs € 9.80 per adult; the cabins run daily until midnight, so an evening ride with the city lit up is well worth it too.
Photos · Wikimedia Commons
Eiffel Tower: Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Louvre: Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Sacré-Cœur: Riggwelter · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Vieux Lyon: 4net · CC BY 3.0 · Téléphérique Grenoble: Milky · public domain
