2 Best Sights in Around the Eiffel Tower, Paris

Located in the west wing of the Palais de Chaillot and one of five national museums dedicated to all things nautical (other locations are in Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort, and Toulon), the Paris branch is the country’s foremost treasure trove of art and artifacts documenting maritime development pertinent to France over the centuries. The sparkling new design includes impressive special effects, interactive features, and games for adults and kids. Exhibits highlight a notable collection of models of vessels, from 17th-century flagships to modern warships. Kids can climb a step to get a closer look at a model aircraft carrier or a nuclear submarine cut in half to expose their decks. The main gallery displays several figureheads recovered from sunken ships, including a giant Henry IV, miraculously saved from a shipwreck in 1854 during the Crimean War. An enormous representation of Napoléon, in his favored guise as a Roman emperor, was taken from the prow of the frigate Iéna in 1846. There is also a sinister-looking metal diving suit from 1882 and the menu from a 1935 voyage of the SS Normandie cruise ship. The café-restaurant offers snacks and warm meals along with views of the Eiffel Tower, and the shop stocks original sea-themed artworks, chic clothing, and toys. Free English audioguides are available.

The greatest gems of French architecture are represented at the City of Architecture and Heritage, which occupies the east wing of the Palais de Chaillot. The former French Monuments Museum covers French architecture from the Middle Ages to the present and contains some 350 plaster-cast reproductions spread out over 86,000 square feet. Although this is a collection comprised entirely of copies, these are no ordinary ones: they include partial facades from some of the most important Gothic churches, a gallery of frescoes and windows (among them a stained-glass stunner from the famous Chartres cathedral), plus an assembly of gargoyles practically leaping off the back wall of the soaring first-floor gallery. Video monitors allow a 360-degree view of some of the grandest cathedrals. The upper-floor gallery has been devoted to architecture since 1851, with a life-size replica of a postwar apartment in Marseille designed by the urban-planning pioneer Le Corbusier. The newest exhibit takes you on an immersive 3D tour of the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral, accompanied by a lecturer-guide. It's well worth picking up the free English audiovisual guide. When you're ready for a break, the museum's small café offers a great view of the Eiffel Tower.