IMHO if you want to visit Paris the city (vs. Paris the symbol), you can ignore the Eiffel Tower and the Arch de Triumph, which are monuments that have not much

IMHO if you want to visit Paris the city (vs. Paris the symbol), you can ignore the Eiffel Tower and the Arch de Triumph, which are monuments that have not much to do with the history of the city itself, and instead wander around in Montmartre / Saint-Germain / le Marais / islands de la Cité and Saint-Louis / along the Seine and the canal Saint-Martin.