Tickets for Attractions in France (Paris, Normandy, the Loire Valley and More)

A first visit to Paris doesn’t really count without going up the Eiffel Tower (at least according to my readers). Elevator tickets to the summit sell out fast, so book them as soon as your travel dates are set.

From the roof of the Arc de Triomphe you see the 12 avenues fanning out from the square like a star, and the Champs-Élysées stretching all the way to the Louvre. You climb up by the stairs, and there is also an elevator for anyone who has trouble walking.

A combined ticket for two neighboring sites on the Île de la Cité: the stained glass of Sainte-Chapelle, and the prison where Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was held before her execution.

The grand staircase, the gilded foyer and the ceiling Marc Chagall (1887-1985) painted in the auditorium are a great reason to go into the Palais Garnier even without seeing a show.

Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marie Curie and many other great names of France are buried in the crypt of the Panthéon, and Foucault’s pendulum swings in the main hall.

Under the 14th arrondissement lie the neatly stacked bones of millions of Parisians moved here from the city’s old cemeteries. It’s not a visit for everyone, but it’s hard to forget.

This ticket includes hosted access to the Mona Lisa, which is exactly what you need in a museum where the line for her room is sometimes longer than the line to get in.

A former train station on the bank of the Seine holds one of the world’s most important collections of Impressionist paintings: Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and more.

Two oval rooms at the edge of the Tuileries Garden hold the huge water lily paintings by Claude Monet (1840-1926), and the lower floor houses the Walter-Guillaume collection.

The mansion where Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) worked and the garden around it are home to The Thinker, The Kiss and dozens of other sculptures. In the garden you can sit among the statues with a view of the Invalides dome.

The building Frank Gehry (born 1929) designed in the Bois de Boulogne looks like a ship with glass sails, and inside are changing exhibitions of modern and contemporary art.

One pass that opens the doors of dozens of museums and monuments in and around Paris, including the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay and the Palace of Versailles.

The classic Seine cruise leaves from the Pont de l’Alma and passes the Louvre, Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower, with recorded commentary along the way.

The boats leave from the tip of the Île de la Cité, next to the Pont Neuf, and the cruise has a live guide. Handy if you’re around Notre-Dame and the Latin Quarter.

A day pass for a boat that stops at several points along the Seine, and you can hop on and off as often as you like.

A three-course dinner with live music while the boat glides under the illuminated bridges of Paris.

A combined ticket for a Seine cruise and a visit up the Eiffel Tower, two things most visitors to Paris do anyway.

A one-day ticket to one of the two Disneyland Paris parks. You get there on the RER A, right to the gate.

The theme park of Astérix and Obélix is just north of Paris, and it has some of the most impressive roller coasters in France.

The Paris wax museum has been open since 1882, and among the figures you’ll find Napoleon, Louis XIV, movie stars and athletes.

The big science museum of Paris, in the Parc de la Villette, with interactive exhibits, a planetarium and a real submarine.

The cabaret everyone knows, under the red windmill in Pigalle, with cancan dancers, feathers and lots of sequins.

An elegant and daring cabaret show on Avenue George V, and this ticket also includes dinner at the Ginger restaurant.

The historic cabaret of the Latin Quarter, in a hall Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) helped build, with a show that mixes dance, acrobatics and humor.

The Disney musical plays at the Théâtre Mogador, with the costumes and sets that made it a hit around the world.

An open-top double-decker that stops near the main sights of Paris, and you can hop on and off all day.

I did this tour myself: tastings of cheese, pastries and wine in the streets of Montmartre, with a guide who knows every shop.

A macaron-making class at Galeries Lafayette, and at the end you walk out with the macarons you made yourself.

A tour of Paris by night in a vintage Citroën 2CV with a local driver, with the roof open when the weather allows.

The Hall of Mirrors, the King’s and Queen’s apartments, the gardens and the Trianon: Versailles is a full-day trip, and it’s best to arrive with a ticket and an entry time booked in advance.

The palace where the kings of France lived for centuries, and where Napoleon said goodbye to the Imperial Guard before leaving for exile on Elba.

A château surrounded by water, one of the most important painting collections in France, and the Great Stables built for the Prince of Condé.

The palace built by Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680), superintendent of finances to Louis XIV, which was so magnificent that the king had him arrested shortly after the housewarming party.

Most of the kings of France are buried here, in the church considered the first ever built in the Gothic style.

One of the tallest medieval keeps in Europe stands at the eastern edge of Paris, next to a Gothic chapel that recalls Sainte-Chapelle.

All of France in miniature: the Eiffel Tower, Mont-Saint-Michel, Versailles and dozens of other monuments as scale models, in a park where kids feel like giants.

A safari where you drive among lions, giraffes and elephants, next to a zoo and a 16th-century château.

The largest château in the Loire Valley, with a double spiral staircase attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and a roof that looks like a small town.

The ladies’ château, built over the Cher River and run for generations by women, from Diane de Poitiers (1500-1566) to Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589).

A combined ticket for the royal château of Amboise, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried, and the house where he lived in his last years.

Four architectural styles around one courtyard, the spiral staircase of Francis I (r. 1515-1547), and the room where the Duke of Guise was murdered.

One pass for several of the main châteaux in the Loire Valley, depending on the package you choose.

The château is nice, but you come here for the gardens: an ornamental vegetable garden, a garden of love and a water garden, laid out like a colorful carpet.

A history theme park with huge shows: Viking battles, Roman chariot races and a giant night show.

An entry ticket to the abbey at the top of the rock, which is the real reason to climb the narrow lanes of Mont-Saint-Michel.

A museum of peace and World War II, and a good starting point before you visit the D-Day beaches.

A half-day tour from Paris to the house and gardens of Claude Monet, with the Japanese bridge and the water lily pond he painted again and again.

A guided tour of the old harbor of Honfleur, its lanes and the wooden church of Sainte-Catherine.

An organized one-day trip with transportation from Paris, for anyone without a car who wants to see Mont-Saint-Michel.

The Museum of Mediterranean Civilizations in the Old Port of Marseille, with a footbridge to Fort Saint-Jean and a great view from the roof.

A replica of a prehistoric cave whose entrance lies below sea level, with paintings of horses, bison and even penguins.

A day trip to Monaco, Antibes, Èze and Saint-Paul-de-Vence, including entry to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its gardens.

A day tour from Aix-en-Provence between a Luberon market and the hilltop villages.

A red villa on the Cimiez hill in Nice holds a collection of works Henri Matisse (1869-1954) created throughout his life, in the city where he spent his last years.

The interactive wine museum of Bordeaux, in a building that looks like wine swirling in a glass, and at the end of the visit, a glass of wine on the top floor.

A pass that covers public transportation, museums and sights in Bordeaux, for one, two or three days.

Tours of the wineries and the town of Saint-Émilion, with its monolithic church carved into the rock.

A card that covers most of the museums in Lyon, public transportation, a river cruise and guided tours.

The science and anthropology museum of Lyon, in a futuristic building where the Rhône meets the Saône.

The monastery in Bourg-en-Bresse that Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) built in memory of her husband, with tombs carved in the late Gothic style.

A pass that opens dozens of sites across Alsace, including castles, museums and river cruises.

All the Strasbourg tickets in one place: boat trips on the Ill, museums and tours of Petite France.

Guided tours of Dijon, wine and mustard tastings, and trips to the vineyards of the Côte de Nuits.

A pass that covers the main museums and sights of Nantes, including the Château of the Dukes of Brittany.

The full replica of the Lascaux cave and its prehistoric wall paintings, in a new center near Montignac.

The Metz branch of the Centre Pompidou, in a building with a white roof that looks like a giant Chinese hat, with changing exhibitions of modern art.