Located at the center of Paris, by the Seine and near the Louvre, this former parish of the kings of France is generally regarded as the Church of the Louvre. Founded in the 7th century, it was rebuilt many times over several centuries, revealing several mixtures of style, Roman, Gothic, Renaissance. The most striking exterior feature is the porch, by Jean Gaussel (1435-39), with a rose window, and a balustrade above which encircles the whole church. Among the treasures preserved inside are a wooden 15th century statue of Saint Germain, a Saint-Vincent of stone carved at the same time, a Flemish altarpiece carved out of wood, the famous churchwarden's pew where important people sat, made in 1683 by François Le Mercier from drawings by Charles Le Brun. Splendid stained glass still remains, in spite of plunderings during the French Revolution. The north tower was added in 1860 and stands opposite the Mairie of the 1st Arrondissement (1859).

The Musée du Louvre is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre) which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible. The Musée du Louvre contains more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments with more than 60,600 square metres (652,000 sq ft) dedicated to the permanent collection. As of 2008, the collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings. The Louvre exhibits sculptures, objets d'art, paintings, drawings, and archaeological finds. It is the world's most visited museum, averaging 15,000 visitors per day, 65 percent of whom are tourists.

In 1855 Universal Exhibition held in Paris. In order to accommodate the people visiting the exhibition, Napoleon III ordered the completion of a hotel in Paris. “Hôtel du Louvre” with 700 rooms and huge number of stores, was, thus, built on the Palais Royal square.

“Grands Magasins du Louvre” was like an immense trading post with continuous activity going on throughout the year within its fifty-two departments and many counters. Special theme exhibitions were held there regularly. Once there were two million toys on show in the hall of the Palais Royal. Soon the store became such a huge success that the building was devoted to the store, with the hotel being moved to the other side of the square. Traces of the Grands Magasins du Louvre can still be seen in the form of the stone lions on either side of the main entrance.

In 1975, about a hundred years after its construction, the Grands Magasins du Louvre was in bad state. A British investor decided to renovate the building. On 26 October 1978, after three years of intense work, the new Louvre des Antiquaires site opened its doors.

Le Louvre des Antiquaires, with nearly 250 stalls spread on three floors, offer a distinguished selection of art works, objects, furniture, coins and ancient fabrics. There are some objects that date back to ancient times and other more recent museum. Things here are for sale with the origin and the nature of each piece being authenticated.

Every year around five hundred thousand international tourists visit the Louvre des Antiquaires. The luxury and diversity were sufficient to satisfy the most demanding of customers making Louvre des Antiquaires stands out as a unique place in Europe.

Dating back to the year of 1823, Galerie Véro-Dodat is considered the world's oldest mall. The mall features a neoclassic architectural style and glass-covered arcades. It is a place that houses dozens of artsy boutiques where you can find antique furniture pieces and different accessories.

The Palais-Royal, originally called the Palais-Cardinal, is a palace and an associated garden located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. Facing the Place du Palais-Royal, it stands opposite the north wing of the Louvre, and its famous forecourt, screened with columns and, since 1986, containing Daniel Buren's site-specific artpiece, Les Deux Plateaux, known as Les Colonnes de Buren. Originally, the Palais Cardinal was the residence of Cardinal Richelieu, who had hired the architect Jacques Lemercier to design it. Construction was completed in 1629. Today it houses the Conseil d'État, the Constitutional Council, and the Ministry of Culture. At the rear of the garden are the older buildings of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the national library of deposit, with a collection of more than 6,000,000 books, documents, maps, and prints; most of the collections have been moved to more modern settings elsewhere.

Le Grand Véfour, the first grand restaurant in Paris, France, was opened in the arcades of the Palais-Royal in 1784 by Antoine Aubertot, as the Café de Chartres, and was purchased in 1820 by Jean Véfour, who was able to retire within three years, selling the restaurant to Jean Boissier. A list of regular customers over the last two centuries includes most of the immortal heavyweights of French culture and politics, along with the tout-Paris. Sauce Mornay was one of the preparations introduced at the Grand Véfour. Closed from 1905 to 1947, a revived Grand Véfour opened with the celebrated chef Raymond Oliver in charge in the autumn of 1948. Jean Cocteau designed his menu. The restaurant, with its early nineteenth-century neoclassical décor of large mirrors in gilded frames and painted supraportes, continues its tradition of gastronomy at the same location, "a history-infused citadel of classic French cuisine."

Colbert Gallery shelters the National Institute of Art History and incorporates a part of the Colbert Hotel - a mansion built in 1637, the first creation of Louis Le Vau. There is also an nice brasserie here where you can take a rest and sip some coffee or tea after touring the city.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The National Library of France traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. It expanded under Louis XIV and opened to the public in 1692. The library's collections swelled to over 300,000 volumes during the radical phase of the French Revolution when the private libraries of aristocrats and clergy were seized. Following a series of regime changes in France, it became the Imperial National Library and in 1868 was moved to newly constructed buildings on the Rue de Richelieu designed by Henri Labrouste. On 14 July 1988, President François Mitterrand announced the construction and the expansion of one of the largest and most modern libraries in the world, intended to cover all fields of knowledge, and designed to be accessible to all, using the most modern data transfer technologies.