Paris Architecture Tours: Walking Guides

Paris architecture walking tours, French building guides, City architectural walks France, Architects travel

Paris Architecture Tours

Parisian Architect Guides, France – exclusive building walks in the French capital city tailor made for groups.

post updated 6 March 2024

Book your city guide by emailing isabelle(at)e-architect.com

Paris Architecture Tour: Exclusive Guided Walks

Our Parisian guided tours are all tailored to suit each booking, we do not allow for bookings to be joined. Our guided tours in North France are all exclusive to each client.

e-architect can assist with a guide / guides for your next office trip, a conference, or university trip in Northern France.

An interesting recent building in the city – New Alesia Cinema Building design by Manuelle Gautrand Architecture:
New Alesia Cinema in Paris Building
photo © Luc Boegly

Paris Walking Tours

Paris Architecture Introduction

Villa Savoie, Poissy, design by architect Le Corbusier – celebrated 20th Century house on the outskirts of the French capital:
Villa Savoie Building France
photograph © Rebecca Breun

Paris is the capital of France and famous for buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre and the Pompidou Centre. Although the scale of the city centre mostly retains its historic density and height there are a number of major contemporary buildings in the city.

The cluster at La Défense – the Parisian business district on the west side of the city – includes many late 20th century towers. These key contemporary buildings can be visited on one of our Paris Architecture Tours.

Pushed Slab building designed by MVRDV, Architects:
Pushed Slab Building Paris Architecture Tours
image from architecture office

Major historic Parisian buildings include Notre-Dame Cathedral, The Pantheon, Garnier’s Opera House and Sacre Coeur. Major contemporary Parisian buildings include The Louvre Museum Pyramid, Institut du Monde Arabe and Parc de la Villette. For visits to some of these, public/private transport is necessary.

Celebrated architects with buildings in Paris include Le Corbusier, Jean Nouvel, Frank Gehry, Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and Tadao Ando.

Clearly the French capital is a large city and therefore public transport will be required for most tours over 2 or 3 hours. Our suggestion for a short walking tour in Paris of 2 to 3 hours would be seeing the key buildings externally – The Louvre and the Pyramid in the courtyard, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arab du Monde Institute, then back to the Pompidou Centre via the Bastille and its opera house. If you have a full day then you can also visit the Arsenale architecture centre on this route and spend more time going in buildings.

AccorHotels Arena in Paris:
The AccorHotels Arena Paris Architecture Tours
AccorHotels Arena building photo : Sergio Grazia

If you have more than one day, then trips out to La Defense and Parc de la Villette are suggested. The key building at La Defense, amongst the skyscrapers, is the Grand Arch by a Danish architect, one of Mitterand’s Grand Projet.

Parc de la Villette is quite a way to the north, past Montmartre and the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. The landscape contains bright red follies designed by the architect Bernard Tschumi sprinkled around a large park on the site of former abattoirs.

If you are heading south to Soufflot’s Pantheon then it is worth considering visiting the Cartier building designed by French architect Jean Nouvel (one of his early works, really thought-provoking).

A recent architectural design in the French capital city:

L’Atelier de l’Arsenal building designed by New York’s SO – IL Architects with Parisian architecture firm laisné roussel:
L’Atelier de l’Arsenal, Place Mazas Paris Architecture Tours | www.e-architect.com
L’Atelier de l’Arsenal building image : Weiss Images

Paris Architecture Walking Tours

Paris Architectural Tours can introduce the most important buildings in the capital or structured around the interests of your group. We are happy to satisfy your architectural interests on our Paris Architecture Tours.

e-architect can provide basic advice to assist your itinerary ahead of you visit to France. Visitors can be met at the start of their Paris architecture walking tour, or from their accommodation.

Lycée Franco-Allemand School, rue Collin Marnet, Buc building design by Behnisch Architekten south west of the city centre:
Lycée Franco-Allemand School Buc France
Buc building photo © David Matthiessen
Lycée Franco-Allemand School Buc

Paris Architecture : key buildings to visit in the city

Paris Walking Tours

Contact us to arrange your architectural tour on: mob. +44 (0)7952 149814 / isabelle(at)e-architect.com

Paris Architecture Photos

Architecture Tours

e-architect also organise architecture walking tours in other West European cities such as Barcelona, London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. We also offer city walks across the rest of Europe, American and Asia.

Architectural Walking Tours – design city walks by e-architect guides.

Location: Paris, northern France, western Europe

European Building Tours

London Architecture Walking Tours

Barcelona Architectural Walking Tours

Copenhagen Walking Tours

Paris Buildings

Contemporary Parisian Architectural Designs

Pompidou Centre Paris
Design: Richard Rogers / Renzo Piano Architects
A world-famous Parisian building design. Renovations announced in 2017 include replacing the “caterpillar”, the famous escalators on the front of the building, however the building’s overall appearance will apparently not be changed.

lnstitut du Monde Arabe
Design: Jean Nouvel Architect
This structure features beautiful arabic-inspired fenestration, where small oculi open & contract to allow varying levels of light in. The Institut du monde arabe was a result of one of the first Grands Projet architecture competitions.

Pyramide du Louvre
Design: I.M. Pei & Partners Architects
The Louvre Pyramid design was one of the most controversial of President Mitterrand’s Grand Projets. Entitled Le Grand Louvre, and completed in 1981, it features a glazed pyramid located in the centre of this courtyard to help improve gallery access and circulation.

Philharmonie de Paris
Design: Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Musée du quai Branly
Design: Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Paris Buildings

Major recent architectural designs in the French capital city on e-architect:

Gaîté Montparnasse building designed by Dutch architects MVRDV:
Gaité Montparnasse Paris France
photo © Ossip van Duivenbode
Gaité Montparnasse Paris Buildings
Gaîté Montparnasse, the MVRDV-designed transformation of a city block just a short walk from Paris’ Tour Montparnasse, is now open. The project has rationalised the existing uses of the mixed-use block – which included a hotel, shopping centre, office space and a library – and densified the area by adding social housing and a kindergarten.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France Building Renewal, 58 rue de Richelieu building designed by Atelier Bruno Gaudin Architectes:
Bibliothèque nationale de France Richelieu: BnF
photo © Takuji Shimmura
Bibliothèque nationale de France Richelieu, Paris

Rive de Seine tower, between the Gare de Lyon and the Gare d’Austerlitz building designed by LAN – Local Architecture Network:
Rive de Seine tower Paris building
image © LAN
Rive de Seine tower

Marriott Paris Airport Hotels, 10, rue du Voyageur, Roissy-en-France building designed by Manuelle Gautrand Architecture:
Marriott Paris Airport Hotels, Roissy-en-France
photo : Luc Boegly
Marriott Paris Airport Hotels, Roissy-en-France

Syctom, Nanterre, south west of Paris building designed by Le Dévéhat Vuarnesson Architectes:
Syctom Sorting Center Nanterre Building, France
photo : Guillaume Guerin
Syctom Sorting Center Nanterre Building

Morland Mixité Capitale building designed by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin:
Morland Mixité Capitale Paris Architecture News
photo © Simon Menges
Morland Mixité Capitale Paris

Grand Central Saint-Lazare building designed by architect Ferrier Marchetti Studio:
Grand Central Saint Lazare Paris Architecture Tours
photo © Luc Boegly
Grand Central Saint-Lazare Paris Building

Paris Architects

Paris Office Buildings

Paris Skyscrapers

Pictures for the Paris Building ToursParisian Architectural Guide by e-architect for pre-booked groups of visitors page welcome.