Gallery Lafayette department store’s top floor has a great terrace, with some amazing view of the city as well as the free Galleries Lafayette Fashion Shows (Each Friday from March-December).

Printemps, another department store, has a terrace with the view, as well as an excellent self-service restaurant, called Déli-Cieux. The visit of the terrace is free for everybody and open from 9.35 a.m. until 8 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Thursdays.

In the restaurant you can taste some of the French dishes or sip a glass of champagne.

Steps of Sacre Coeur Basilica - The panoramic viewpoint at the base of the Sacre Coeur Basilica in hilly Montmartre is a favorite. You can either climb the stairs up to the top, or take the funicular up the hill for the price of a metro ticket.

L'institut du Monde Arabe is a stunning modern building with Arab influences. The roof garden, on the ninth floor, can be accessed by a high-speed glass elevator and metal walkway. The views are stunning and you can admire it for free, or with the cup of coffee in the cafe/restaurant.

1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, Place Mohammed-V, 5eme

Parc de Belleville -T his little-known gem of a park is nestled in a residential neighborhood of northeastern Paris and provides one of the best views of the city. An excellent, romantic, off-the-beaten-track afternoon can be had here. To get to the park, take the Rue des Envièrges up the hill from Rue de Belleville until you reach the panorama and the park entrance on your right.

Metro: Pyrenées.

La Promenade Plantee - This walk crosses the east of Paris from the Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes. It provides a breath of fresh air, but unlike a park, it takes you up on viaducts and above buildings (only one story up) and sometimes in tunnels, for a distance of 4.5 km.

It’s not as high as some other views, but it will give you a totally different perspective of the houses and apartment blocks in a way that is impossible from street level. From the Avenue Daumesnil to the Bois de Vincennes (access by staircases and lifts along the way)

Metro : Bastille.