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Despite the interminable queues after the opening in 2006, the museum drew criticism for a seemingly incoherent assemblage of artifacts, from antiquity to the modern age. Critics questioned the connection between funeral masks from Melanesia, Siberian shaman drums, Indonesian textiles, and African statuary. A corkscrew ramp leads from the lobby to a cavernous exhibition space, color-coded to designate sections from Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The lighting is dim, sometimes too dim to read the information panels (which makes the €5 audio guide a good idea). A “living wall” of some 150 species of exotic plants grows on the exterior—an impressive sight after dark when scores of cylindrical colored lights are illuminated. If you’re hungry, try pricey Les Ombres, with a commanding 5th-floor view of the Eiffel Tower, or the more down-to-earth Le Café Branly on the ground floor. | 37 quai Branly, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–56–61–70–00 | www.quaibranly.fr | €8.50 | Tues., Wed., and Sun. 11–7, Thurs.–Sat. 11–9 | Station: Iéna.

Palais de Chaillot.

This honey-color Art Deco cultural center on Place du Trocadéro was built in the 1930s to replace a Moorish-style building constructed for the World’s Fair of 1878. The plaza-terrace is a top draw for camera-toting visitors intent on snapping the perfect shot of the Eiffel Tower. In the building to the left is the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine—an excellent architecture museum—and the Theâtre National de Chaillot, which occasionally stages plays in English. The twin building to the right contains the Musée de la Marine, an excellent small museum with a nautical theme; and the Musée de l’Homme, which is closed for renovation and set to reopen, as the Musée de l’Humanité, in 2012 or beyond. Also here is the cozy Café de l’Homme, which has a fantastic view of the tower, but a pricey menu that is not nearly as stellar. The garden leading to the Seine has sculptures and dramatic fountains and is a dramatic staging ground for fireworks on July 14, Bastille Day. | Pl. du Trocadéro, Trocadéro/Tour Eiffel | 75016 | Station: Trocadéro.

THE FAUBOURG ST-HONORÉ AND LES HALLES

The impossibly posh Faubourg St-Honoré has been a fashionista destination for three centuries, as popular now as it was when royal mistresses shopped here. Just about every chic boutique has a branch here, and this is where you can find some of the city’s best hotels. Once the stomping ground of kings and queens, today it’s home to the French president and the American and British ambassadors. Stroll the historic passageways and arcaded streets to experience all that is elegant about Paris. Top-end boutiques, dressmakers, and perfume shops combined to make this faubourg (district) a symbol of luxury throughout the world. The centerpiece of the western end is ritzy Place Vendome, where you’ll find, yes, the Hotel Ritz. Ambitious women play a role in the history here, with Rue de Castiglione named after a former denizen, Countess de Castiglione, sent to (successfully) plead the cause of Italian unity with Napoléon III. Coco Chanel founded her fashion house on Rue Cambon.

As you walk east, don’t miss gems such as Galerie Vivienne, the exquisitely restored 19th-century shopping arcade. Nearby is the Place Colette, named after the writer Colette and home to the stately theater, the Comédie Française, still going strong after 400 years. Hidden just off the place is the Palais-Royal, a romantic garden ringed by arcades with boutiques selling everything from antique war medals to the latest frock by Stella McCartney. To the east, mercantile Les Halles has risen from its roots as the city’s vermin-infested wholesale food market (closed in 1969) to become one of the city’s trendiest neighborhoods, with expensive apartments and trendy shops, cafés, and bars centered on the pedestrian streets Montorgueil and Montmartre. At the hub of it all is Paris’s most famous modern art museum, the Centre Georges Pompidou.

TOP ATTRACTIONS IN THE FAUBOURG ST-HONORÉ AND LES HALLES

Centre Pompidou.

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