La Grande Arche de La Défense

Completed for the bicentenary of the Revolution in 1989, the Grande Arche was designed by Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen. Though it lines up neatly on the Grand Axe - from the Louvre, up the Champs-Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe - the building itself is skewed. A vertigo-inducing glass lift soars up through canvas 'clouds' to the roof, for a fantastic view over Paris.

Also here is the Musée de l'Informatique (08.20.21.03.10, www.museeinformatique.fr), which traces the story of computing with displays of old machines and multimedia displays.