Eight departments, one of which is Paris itself — 105 km² that carry the whole region's reputation. But Île-de-France is not only the capital: it is Versailles and Fontainebleau, the two greatest royal palaces in Europe; Chartres and Saint-Denis, where Gothic architecture was invented; Monet's garden at Giverny an hour downstream; and Provins, a walled Champagne fair town that UNESCO lists in its own right. The whole region is inside ninety minutes of central Paris on the RER or a regional train, which makes it the easiest day-trip country in France.
- Paris — the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and the Marais
- The Palace and gardens of Versailles
- Fontainebleau and its forest
- Chartres Cathedral and its blue windows
- The Basilica of Saint-Denis, the royal necropolis
- Medieval Provins
- Best time to go
- April–June and September–October — long days, gardens at their best and no August heat. Paris is quietest and cheapest in late July and August when the city empties.
- Getting there
- Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports; Eurostar from London to Gare du Nord in 2h20; TGV from every corner of France. Inside the region, the RER and Transilien reach Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chartres and Provins directly.
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Headline places
What france.fr leads with in Île-de-France.
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Eiffel Tower 324 m of wrought iron that was meant to come down after twenty years -
The Louvre The largest art museum in the world, in a former royal palace -
Notre-Dame de Paris Reopened in December 2024, five years after the fire -
Sacré-Cœur & Montmartre White travertine on the highest hill in Paris, over the old artists' quarter -
Musée d'Orsay The world's greatest Impressionist collection, inside a Beaux-Arts station -
Arc de Triomphe Twelve avenues radiate from it, and the rooftop is the best view of them -
Sainte-Chapelle Fifteen windows, 1,113 scenes, and almost no wall left between them -
The Panthéon Where the Republic buries the people it wants remembered -
Musée Rodin The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, in a garden off the Invalides -
Les Invalides A gilded dome over Napoleon's tomb, and the army museum around it -
The Catacombs Twenty metres down, the bones of six million Parisians -
La Conciergerie A royal palace turned revolutionary prison — Marie-Antoinette's last address - Centre Pompidou Europe's largest modern art collection, in a building worn inside out
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Palace of Versailles The Hall of Mirrors, and 800 hectares of Le Nôtre's geometry -
Château de Fontainebleau Eight centuries of French monarchy in one building, and no crowds -
Basilica of Saint-Denis Where Gothic architecture was invented, and 43 kings are buried -
Forest of Fontainebleau 25,000 hectares of oak and sandstone — the birthplace of bouldering
Cities & bases
Where to sleep, and what each place is good for.
Our guides
Full destination guides we already publish in this region.
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Île-de-France -
Paris The city that invented the café, the department store, the boulevard and the modern idea of romance — still the benchmark for art, fashion, food and urban beauty. -
Provins A walled medieval fair town near Paris — ramparts, tunnels and a great keep from the age of the Champagne fairs. -
Versailles
Île-de-France by experience
The themes this region delivers on.
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Culture & heritage 53 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the cathedrals that invented Gothic -
Food & wine Seventeen wine regions, 1,600 cheeses, and the gastronomic meal on the UNESCO list -
Nature & outdoors Glaciers, gorges, volcanoes and 180,000 km of waymarked footpath - Cities Paris, and eleven more cities that would headline any other country
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Villages & countryside The 180-odd villages on the official 'most beautiful in France' list - National & regional parks Eleven national parks and 58 regional ones — about a fifth of the country
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Sport & adventure Skiing, surfing, climbing, paddling — and the Tour, Roland-Garros and Le Mans - Remembrance The Somme, Verdun and the Normandy beaches — two wars written into the landscape
- Pilgrimage & spirituality Four Camino routes, Lourdes, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Romanesque abbeys
- Romance The Riviera corniche, a Loire château, a Provençal village, a Paris weekend
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Shopping & savoir-faire Perfume in Grasse, porcelain in Limoges, crystal in Lorraine, couture in Paris -
Nightlife & entertainment Festival season, cabaret, beach clubs and the theme parks