Home of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, the Louvre Museum (as seen from atop the Eiffel Tower on the left). The Louvre was originally constructed as a fortress in the early 13th century before becoming one of the largest (and now one of the most famous) museums in the world in 1793.

The Louvre contains thousands of paintings, tapestries, artefacts, and so on. To see everything there is to see here and actually appreciate it would easily take an entire day or two. Mo and I (being the art lovers that we are not) whipped through in just a few hours.

Check out the artwork on the ceilings! The photos don't really show the level of detail of the work, but it's bloody impressive!

Glass pyramids in the Louvre's courtyard. Very pretty at night :)

The gardens behind the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden), contain a few sculptures in very provocative positions. They got me all excited ;)

Place de la Concorde at dusk, one of the major public squares in Paris at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées (below).

Good chocolate crepes behind the Louvre too, though you can buy them all over the city.

Looking along the Champs-Élysées, one of the most famous streets in the world with its cinemas, cafes, and bloody expensive specialty shops. In the distance is the Arc de Triomphe (below).

The Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) as seen from atop the Eiffel Tower, smack in the middle of a massive 12-road roundabout.

And this is that roundabout - Place Charles de Gaulle. No lanes, and apparently no rules either - it's mayhem but bloody good to watch! If you enjoy watching traffic mayhem then come here. I did see one cyclist going round - bugger that!

Update: Some years later I lived in Paris for eight months and cycled round this every day to and from work, without incident :) Despite how it looks, there are actually rules. Well, guidlines. Those on the road give way to those entering. Sounds counterintuitive, but it works.

The Arc de Triomphe has a viewing platform on the top. We didn't go up but this is a great panorama of the area (the Champs-Élysées is in the middle). Central Paris is bloody beautiful!

Champs-Élysées at dusk....

...and at night. It's absolutely chocker with both foot and vehicular traffic (that doesn't seem to get anywhere in a hurry despite it being a 6-lane road).

The 51-metre high, 45-metre wide Arc de Triomphe, surrounded by the free-for-all roundabout. To put that size into perspective, an early daredevil apparently flew his plane right through it successfully!