The Sun King's military models, saved from the Louvre.

One of the oldest masonic museums in Paris.

A museum which takes visitors to the côté obscure of Paris.

This banal Parisian entranceway is not what it seems.

Saintly bones pressed into a wax effigy of a Catholic superstar.

This museum in a Paris apartment gives a unique look at the iconic French singer's life.

Beggars were miraculously "cured" of their fake ailments when they returned home to this 17th century Paris slum each night.

Despite being considered a thoroughly American sport, basketball's oldest surviving playing field is found in the basement of a Paris YMCA.

Got apples?

Twelve grave-faced marble angels guard the emperor's tomb at Les Invalides.

This off-limits room in the National Library of France is home to a system of pneumatic tubes, once used to bring books to readers.

Two awe-inspiring globes from the reign of the Sun King hang from the ceiling of France's national library.

This Paris art space celebrates the creativity and ingenuity that springs from abject poverty, especially in Africa.

This life-size replica of the Statue of Liberty's flame is also a tribute to Princess Diana by default.

Noirish green neon marks the location of one of the oldest private detective agencies in France.

Dedicated to the art of hunting, with juxtapositions of contemporary art.

The former home of France's controversial pop maestro is almost completely covered in ever-changing tributes and graffiti.

Remains of Roman amphitheater hidden in a sleepy quarter of Paris.

Natural history museum celebrating biodiversity with a parade of taxidermy animals.

Exquisite wall sculptures carved in secret by an early quarryman in an obscure corner of the Paris Catacombs.

The first green space constructed on an elevated viaduct.

This former “ante-chamber to the guillotine” has been refurbished to illustrate the brutal history of French justice.

In the best of all possible worlds, everyone will get a chance to see this statue in which Voltaire's heart is interred.

An overlooked marble is the only surviving in-place 18th century example of the measurement that changed how we define distance.