Eiffel Tower from Palais d'Iéna

The Eiffel Tower, front and centre from across the Seine: the classic postcard, live. Gustave Eiffel's 330-metre lattice was meant to stand twenty years; nearly 140 years later it remains the most-visited paid monument on Earth.

The schedule to know: from nightfall, the tower erupts into its champagne sparkle for five minutes at the top of every hour, the last show at 11 pm Paris time, before the lights go out at 11:45, twenty thousand flashbulbs firing at once. It never stops being worth the wait.

A live webcam here rewards patience differently by daylight: the beacon sweep at dusk, storm fronts crossing the frame, and the golden hour when the iron goes bronze. July 14th fireworks explode directly behind the tower: the best seat outside Paris itself.