The Eiffel Tower is located on the Left Bank of the river Seine, at the extreme of the Parc du Champ de Mars. The four pillars supporting the tower are aligned to the points of the compass. The area of the tower is in the seventh district of Paris, also the home of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister’s palace, and the Hotel des Invalides.
It was built in Paris by Gustave Eiffel, a French engineer specialized in revolutionary steel constructions, for the 1889 world exhibition. The tower originally had no practical use. The intent was just to demonstrate the capabilities of modern engineering. A daring engineer's dream, the Eiffel Tower weighs 7000 tons, but the pressure it applies on the ground is only equivalent to that of a chair with a man seated on it! Each one of the about 12,000 iron pieces were designed separately to give them exactly the shape needed. All pieces were prefabricated and fit together using approx. 7 million nails.
It caused a violent polemic, meeting nearly unanimous hostility from the Parisian artistic world. Once the Tower was finished the criticism burnt itself out in the presence of the completed masterpiece, and in the light of the enormous popular success with which it was greeted. It received two million visitors during the World's Fair of 1889.
At 300 meters, it remained the world highest building until the construction of the Chrysler building in New York City in 1929. Now 320 m. high with its television antennas, it still incredibly towers above Paris, a city almost free from skyscrapers. Open air elevators bring visitors up to the first (57m. high), the second (115m. high) and the third level (276m. high). Each one provides different and interesting views of Paris and the surrounding Ile de France region.
On the Ground: The machinery of the 1899 elevator. Every visitor with a ticket to visit the monument can watch the machinery of the corresponding elevator in operation in the East and West pillars. This voyage underground, in an atmosphere which evokes Jules Verne, lets the visitors discover the imposing hydraulic machines designed by Gustave Eiffel. This machinery is still used after being restored and computerized.
Consistently modern, the Tower makes a special effort to surprise visitors. Do not miss the latest futurist, interactive attraction — the Eiffel Tower Visitors Galaxy — where you take part in the construction of a virtual Tower. In conjunction with the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques et des Sites, the Tower offers groups a series of conference tours, highlighting the history of the monument in its time, its contribution to modern metal architecture, and all the scientific and technical applications experimented on the Tower.
TThe Hotel des Invalides was founded by Louis XIV to shelter 7,000 aged or crippled former soldiers.
This church is part of a large establishment built to house disabled veterans. Although it is generally classical in style, particularly in the rectilinearity of the lower facade, the church does have some Baroque elements. There is a dynamic movement toward the center, which culminates in the central pediment.
In addition, the dome has some surprises. Unlike St. Peter's dome, its loose model, it arranges the windows in an unusual way--with pairs and single windows alternating instead of a continuous row of windows separated by buttresses or piers. Normally a window would mark the main axis; here the main axis has a pair of columns that separates the paired windows. The lantern is a square in plan but it is rotated so that its corner marks the main axis.
In the chapels of Saint-Louis are the tombs of Napoleons brothers Joseph and Jérôme, of his son and of the marshals of France. Immediately beneath the cupola is a red porphyry sarcophagus that covers the six coffins enclosing the body of Napoleon I, which was returned from Saint-Helena in 1840 through the efforts of King Louis-Philippe. Napoleons uniforms, personal arms, and death bed are displayed in the rich Musée de l'Armée (Army Museum) at the front of the Invalides. Fewer than 100 pensioners now live at the hospital, which is used as a paraplegic centre.
The grassy, tree-lined Esplanade des Invalides (810 feet wide) slopes gently for 1,410 feet to the Quai d'Orsay and the Pont Alexandre III. The first stone for the bridge was laid in 1897 by Alexanders son, Tsar Nicholas II. A steel span with upper works of stone, it embodies the Gay Nineties, la Belle Epoque, solid, sumptuous, and luxuriant, with its pomposity mocked by its own gaiety. Finished in time for the International Exposition of 1900, it leads to two faded souvenirs of that years fair, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. Both are still used for seasonal painting salons and major visiting art exhibits, and the Grand Palais also shelters overflow classes from the Sorbonne and a science museum.
This magnificent museum, located in the old Orsay railway station built in 1900, is dedicated to all forms of artistic expression: painting, sculpture and photography of the 1848-1914 period. The era of the impressionist painters is particularly well represented with the masterpieces of Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas... Admire the delicate brush strokes of Renoir, the serious self-portrait of Van Gogh, the radiance of a Monet's landscape amongst other artistic marvels.
Built by the architect Victor Laloux in 1900, the "Gare d'Orsay" was one of the Paris stations where trains departed to the south-west of France (Orléans and Bordeaux). Located across the Louvre on the Seine's left bank, it has been spectacularly renovated from 1977 to 1986 to house the Orsay museum. The museum architecture has been praised as a major success in industrial building renovation.
The Orsay museum (Musée d'Orsay in french) is the 19th century French arts museum. It is known worldwide for its famous impressionist collections and is a must to arts lovers.
In the 1870, "Impressionism" was a French "Avant-garde" painters group rejected by the official academy. The impressionists (among them Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Edgar Manet, Théo Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne) painted ordinary life and people on the spot and in the open air.
They rejected historical and mythological subjects. They used light colors. Above all, they are famous for having departed from the tradition of painting "reality". Instead, they used color spots and strokes to suggest their "impression" of the reality that only reveals itself from the distance
The museum of president
Jacques Chirac, the Museum of the Quai Branly dedicated to Arts First,
opened its doors in 2006. Arranged by the French architect Jean Nouvel,
it will preserve more than 300 000 pieces of art coming from Oceania, Asia, America and Africa.
The old collections of the Museum of
Arts of Africa and Oceania like
that of the Museum de l'Homme, are here restored and developed with new
orientations. Thus, the Asian objects speak more about the daily life to
us than piled up artistic antiquities inside Cernuschi. Same comparison
for the African objects and the Dapper
Museum. A geographical course is imagined in order to connect each continent
by its musics, its rites, the whole accompanied by a teaching
multi-media support.
The African collection is the museum largest component. More than 1000
works will be displayed at any given time, including sculpture,
furniture, fabrics, ceramics, jewelry and religious objects.
The Oceania collection, also
enriched during the French colonial era includes Polynasia,
Melanesia,
Australia and the islands of Southeast Asia.
The Asian department covers a vast territory including China, India,
Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Largely concentrated on the
indigenous tribes of the regions, the Asian collection is particularly
rich in textiles.
Around the 20's writers and artists of the avant-garde abandoned Montmartre and moved to Montparnasse, shifting the core of Paris's artistic and cultural life to the area around bd du Montparnasse. Chagall, Modigliani, Miro, Kandinsky, Picasso, Stravinsky, Hemingway, Henry Miller and Cocteau as well as political exiles such as Lenin and Trotsky all hung out here at various times. Montpamasse remained an artistic center until the mid-1930s. Since the construction of the massive new Gare Montparnasse as well as the addition of many fashionable cafes, bars, restaurant sand cinemas.
However, the area remains picturesque because of its lively atmosphere at night and of the monumental Montparnasse Tower, built in the 60s. It started as a redevelopment scheme of the Montparnasse and Maine railway stations in 1958 and had strong support from the new government. The tower itself was built between 1969 and 1973. During construction, the tower was very popular as it became a symbol of the new modern Paris. This changed however when the 210 meters tall Tour Montparnasse was completed. The 58 floors of the tower are mainly occupied by offices, while two floors are open to the public for viewing the city; the 56th floor with a restaurant, and the terrace on the top floor.
Its simple architecture, gigantic proportions and monolithic appearance have been often criticised for being out of place in Paris urban landscape and, as a result, two years after its completion the construction of skyscrapers in the city centre was banned.
The most famous street in Paris was built in the 17th century, but did not attract fashionable society until after the French Revolution. The avenue extends from the Arc de Triomphe at one end to the Place de la Concorde at the other.
Champs-Elysées during the day with their heavy car traffic and continuous pedestrian animation. People from all over the world are going to the theater, shopping, going to a restaurant or just walking and looking around : Lido cabaretor trying to get past the bouncers at Queen, invest it with a certain glitzy charm. For a glimpse of a more elegant world, take a look at the mansions at the Rond-Point and wander down Avenue Montaigne with its Haute Couture houses including, Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, Guy Laroche, Mugler and Ungaro.
The lower half of the avenue toward the place de la Concorde has a different character, with gardens and smart restaurants running off either side. Between the Champs Elysees and elegant rue du Faubourg Saint Honore lie the vast gardens of the Elysees Palace, home of the French President. On the other side of the Avenue are the Petit Palais and glass-domed Grand Palais, used for major art exhibitions, and the adjoining science museum, the Palais de la Decouverte.
The new year's eve gathering, the 14th of July military parade as well as the arrival of the Tour de France cycling race in July are some of the events that regularly animate the avenue.
The Champs Elysees have been recently renovated with large granite sidewalks and plane trees.
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon as a tribute to his own military achievements, but it was not completed until 1836. The Arc was later modified to honor the armies of the Revolution.
It was constructed to honor Napoleon's campaigns in Europe. In 1940 the german troops used it to celebrate their victory over France. A few years later, in 1944, French, British and American troops marched through it as a symbol of the liberation of Paris.
The Arc de Triomphe is built on the model of ancient Triumphal Arches, but it stands alone because of its monumental size: 50 meters tall and 45 meters wide (164 by 148 feet). The four magnificent high reliefs are crowned by Rude's masterpiece, "The Departure of the Volunteers in 1792"
The structure was designed by Jean François Thérèse Chalgrin (1739-1811) and completed in 1836 during the reign of Louis Philippe. Its deceptively simple design and immense size, 49.5 m (162 ft) in height, mark it unmistakably as a product of late 18th-century romantic neoclassicism.
The monument surmounts the hill of Chaillot at the center of a star-shaped configuration of 12 radiating avenues. It is the climax of a vista seen the length of the Champs Elysées from the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the Tuileries gardens, and from the Obélisque de Luxor in the place de la Concorde.
Since 1920, the tomb of France's Unknown Soldier has been sheltered underneath the arch. Its eternal flame commemorates the dead of the two world wars. Here, on every Armistice Day (November 11), the President of the Republic lays a ceremonial wreath. On July 14, the French National Day (also known as Bastille Day), a military parade starts at the arch and proceeds down the Champs Elysées.
At the bases of the Arc's pillars are four huge relief sculptures, commemorating The Triumph of 1810 (by Cortot); Resistance, and Peace (both by Etex); and The Departure of the Volunteers, more commonly known as La Marseillaise (by François Rude). On the day the Battle of Verdun started (1916), the sword carried by the figure representing the Republic broke off from La Marseillaise. The relief was immediately hidden to conceal the accident, so that it would not be interpreted as a bad omen.
Engraved around the top of the Arch are the names of major victories won during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. The names of less important victories, as well as those of 558 generals, can be found on the inside walls. (Generals whose names are underlined died in action.)
Inside the Arch, a small museum documents its history and construction. The price of admission includes access to the top of the Arch. From the roof, one is treated to spectacular views of Paris. Looking eastwards, down the Champs Elysées, toward the Louvre, there is the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Gardens, and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. In the opposite direction - westwards - in the distance is its larger and newer cousin, La Grande Arche de la Défense.
Before taking the elevator to the top of the Arc to experience the amazing city view, stand by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, added at the Arch’s base in 1920. An eternal flame burns here to commemorate fallen soldiers
As visitors stand silent in thought, cars zip madly around the road circling the Arc de Triomphe.
It was designed by Gabriel, begun in 1748 and completed
in 1763. It was first called Place Louis XV, and planned as a worthy
setting for the royal statue. It may be the Place de la Concorde, but
this square in
Paris has a bloody history with more
than 1300 people beheaded within its boundaries.They included Louis XVI,
Marie Antoinette, Charlotte Corday, Danton and, eventually, the
architect of The Terror Robespierre himself.
Originally Place Louis XV, it was changed by revolutionaries to Place de
la Revolution. Later governments thought it wise to rename the area in
the hope of lessening its darker history.
Two commanding edifices, whose colonnades are copies of the Perrault
wings of the Louvre, rise up over the north side of the plaza. And,
currently situated in the right-hand building is the Naval Ministry.
Just on the Place de la Concorde sits the famous "palace" the Hotel
Crillon, which is amongst the citadels of Parisian snobbery. Formerly,
its elegant salons served as the winter quarters for the famous
Chateaubriand family. Today it houses the French automobile club. These
are just two examples of Louis XV style, by Gabriel.
Just at the entrance to the Place de la Concorde, on either side of the
Champs-Élysées, are the Chevaux de Marly. There are eight statues
representing the eight major cities of France;
Brest and Rouen (in the
northwest), Lille and Strasbourg (to the northeast) Lyon and Marseille (on the Quai des Tuileries) and
Bordeaux and Nantes (in
the southwest). The statue representing Strasbourg was modelled by the
actress Juliette Drouet, who was a muse of Victor Hugo. You can find
these statues on the four corners of the square.
The obelisk
It is reported that Josephine's parting words to Napoleon before he began his failed conquest of Egypt in 1798 were: "Good-by! If you go to Thebes, do send me a little obelisk." Whether or not the story is true, Napoleon's expedition first left France desiring an obelisk of its own, though it wasn't until May 1830 that the then Egyptian viceroy, Mohammed Ali, decided to give it to Charles X of France. In Oct. 25, 1833 .The obelisk is re-erected at the center of the Place where the statue of Louis XV had once stood.
In May 1998, a gold-leafed pyramid cap was placed on top of this obelisk. Historians believe its original cap was stolen in the 6th century B.C. by Assyrian or Persian invaders. When this obelisk was re-erected in 1833, experts urged the French authorities to restore the masterpiece to its original splendor by putting a pyramid cap back on the pinnacle. But it was not until French President Jacques Chiraque agreed in 1997 to back the 1.5 million franc (US$252,000) project as part of celebrations to mark Franco-Egyptian relations.
The Grand Axis of Paris began in the Tuileries Gardens in the seventeenth century and was projected beyond the River Seine in the twentieth century, becoming the pedestrian core of a major business district. It runs through the Arc de Triomphe and culminates in the Grand Arche, a hollow office building topped with an art gallery and viewing platform. Dan Kiley, the American landscape architect and garden designer, was responsible for a 0.5 mile stretch, the Dalle Centrale, between the River Seine and the Grand Arche. It is an exercise in classical modernism, embellished with water features and other works of art. Kiley wrote : "It is filled with large pools of water animated by jets and waterfalls, shaded seating areas, earthen bocce courts and open-air cafes.. Above ground we planted long, linear bosques of pollarded London plane trees on either side of the corridor". He insisted on having all four rows of London plane. West of the Arche, a decked bridge extends the axis towards St-Germain-en-Laye.
"La Grande Arche"
Six kilometres out from the Arc de Triomphe at the far end of the Voie Triomphale, has put La Défense high on the list of places to which Paris visitors must pay homage. Created by a Danish architect, Johan-Otto von Spreckelson who won a competition called by the President Mitterrand, this hollowed-out cube, weighing 300,000 tons, 110m (352 ft) high and 70 meters (225 ft) wide (The whole of Notre-Dame cathedral would fit in its frame), was entitled "La Grande Arche". This monument, dedicated to Fraternity, is built of concrete with a facing of Carrara marble and grey granite. On the esplanade are works by Takis, fountains, luminous signals and statues by Mirò. Various ministries have their offices in the massive supporting pillars, the human rights commission (Fondation des Droits de l'Homme) and major corporations have their office there. The Arche also includes a large exhibition hall.
Seated up above on the terrace one can admire the impeccable success of its perspective, whose lines can be followed to the Arc de Triomphe, along the Champs-Élysées to the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde, over the Tuileries gardens to the Louvre's Cour Carrée, assuming that the weather is clear and the air free of polluting fumes.
SAINT GERMAIN DES PRES PARIS / LATIN QUARTER
Since the Middle Age Paris has been dominated by the Sorbonne, and acquired its name from the early latin-speaking students. It dates back to the Roman town across the Ile de la Cité. In 1215 the Pope approved the establishment of a university in Paris. Students and teachers alike settled in the area and since Latin was the official language of education at that time, the area came to be called the Latin Quarter.
The area is generally associated with artists and intellectual; this is mainly due to the thousands of students living around.
But the left bank also has a history of political unrest : In 1871, the place Saint Michel became the center of the Paris Commune, and in may 1968, it was a site of student uprising.
The left bank contains many of the Paris monuments, museums and gardens, ranging from the brand-new Institut du Monde Arabe to the Middle Age Musee de Cluny, or the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in the Jardin des Plantes.
Pantheon
The Pantheon was built as a church at the end of the XVIIIth century. The Pantheon stands in the heart of the Quartier Latin, the lively and intellectual traditional Paris' student district.
After the french revolution, the Pantheon was turned into a memorial to illustrous frenchmen. It now houses among others the remains of Pierre and Marie Curie, the physicists who discovered the radioactivity, of Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Victor Hugo....
Walking the the Latin Quarter
Begin at Place Saint-Michel with your back to the Seine. Look at the street du Chat-qui-Peche, which is said to be the narrowest and shortest street in the world.
Walk back towards Saint-Michel and turn in the street de la Harpe that takes to rue St-Severin. Walk to your left to view Saint-Severin, a Gothic church built in 1210 and reconstructed in 1458.
Take rue Saint-Severin to rue Galande until you reach St-Julien-le-Pauvre on the south side of square Rene-Viviani. Turn rue St-Severin, turn to the street Saint-Jacques, and turn right to boulevard St-Germain. Turn onto rue de Cluny and aapears the entrance to the Musee de Cluny. This museum houses the remains of the Roman baths and The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry.
Exit to bd Saint-Michel, and turn towards place de la Sorbonne. It is here that you will find the Sorbonne, one of the most famous academic institutions in the world. Discover here the Eglise de la Sorbonne, a church built in 1635 by Le Mercier.
Walk south on street Victor-Cousin upon leaving the church and turn onto rue Soufflot. The Pantheon is located at the end of the street and is the final resting place of Curie, Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire, and Zola
The Notre-Dame Cathedral dates back to the 13th century and is one of the masterpieces of Gothic art in Western Europe. Its stainglasses and the huge interior are really stunning artistic experiences of mystical dimension. Located on the Cité island and surrounded by the Seine river, Notre-Dame is a flagship in the Parisian landscape and provides a magnificent view of the city from the top of its towers.
The site of Notre-Dame is the cradle of Paris and had been the religious center of the city. The Celts had their sacred ground here, the Romans built a temple to worship Jupiter. A Christian basilica was built in the 6th century and the last religious structure before the Notre-Dame construction started was a Romanesque church.
Bishop Maurice de Sully started the construction in 1163. The Cathedral was to be built in the new gothic style and had to reflect Paris's status as the capital of the Kingdom France. It was the first cathedral built on a monumental scale and became the prototype for future cathedrals in France, like the cathedrals of Amiens, Chartres or Rheims, just to name the most famous.
It took until 1345 before the cathedral was completed, partly because the design was enlarged during construction. The result is an overwhelming building, 130m long with two 69 meters tall towers. The spire, which reaches 90m, was added in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc. The Notre-Dame has several large rose windows, the northern 13th century window is the most impressive. It is 21 meters high.
The spectacular eastern buttresses are 15m wide. The west side features 3 wide portals, the gallery of Kings and the famous gargoyles.
Excavations under the parvis have revealed traces of Notre-Dame's history from Gallo-Roman times to the 19th century. Vestiges of Roman ramparts, rooms heated by hypocaust (an ancient system with underground furnaces and tile flues), medieval cellars, and the foundations of a foundling hospital are displayed, as are several fascinating photographs of the surrounding neighborhood before Baron Haussmann's renovations.
Starting in 1991, a 10 year program of general maintenance and restoration was initiated. While work continues, sections of the structure are likely to be shrouded by scaffolds.
The Louvre Museum in Paris is the probably the most famous and largest art museum in the world!
The museum has approximately 6000 European paintings and and was originally designed as a palace. It has been influenced by major events in French history and has experienced changes and additions to the original structure by many architects and decorators. When the Orsay museum was created in 1986, most of the post 1848 works left the Louvre and were transferred to the new museum which is close by.
The museum presents the main part of its treasures to visitors, in the new Richelieu wing, islamic art collections, oriental antiques, French sculptures, objets d'art,French paintings & paintings from the Northern school (including Rubens).
Let's not forget, the ever so famous masterpieces:the Venus of Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa of Leonard da Vinci, and so many others.
The Louvre was built on the site of a medieval fortress on the banks of the Seine river. It was used as the official residence of the French Kings during the 16th and 17th centuries before the Court moved to Versailles in 1682. Its collection, which ranges from Egyptian art of 5000 BC to nineteenth-century work, is divided into seven departments: Oriental and Islamic Antiquities; Egyptian Antiquities; Greek, Roman and Etruscan Antiquities; Painting; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; and Graphic Arts.
Throughout the 17th century, as Paris assumed a dominant role in Europe, the Louvre's holdings increased dramatically. Particularly important acquisitions during this period were major works by the great Dutch and Flemish masters. In the 18th century the annual salon exhibitions were established. The first state museum was opened in the Louvre in 1793. The central position held by the Louvre in the artistic life was magnified by Napoleon I, who began its Egyptian collection. The overall museum complex was completed under Napoleon III (1852-70). Subsequently, the Louvre expanded its collections greatly through gifts and bequests. Its departments now include Oriental (ancient Mesopotamian), Greek and Roman, and Egyptian antiquities; sculptures from the Middle Age to modern times; furniture and objets d'art; and European paintings and drawings.
The relaxing Tuileries garden near by the Louvre museum is one of the most beautiful parks in Paris. Altogether a first class combination well worth a full day of your time.
SAINT SULPICE (DA VINCI CODE) PARIS
One of the places to include on any visit to Paris, would be the Church of Saint Sulpice, the famous location of the Da Vinci Code. This famous church is located in the same district as the Church of Saint Germain-des-Pres and this church. As this arrondissenaent extends from the Seine all the way to the Boulevard de Montparnasse, it also includes the Luxembourg Gardens.
The Church of Saint Sulpice was started in 1646 by an architect by the name of Le Vau and that it was not finally completed until some one hundred thirty-four years later, after six different architects had worked on it. By the year 1733, all that remained to be built of Saint Sulpice's was the facade, and then it was decided, as so often happens in churches that are a long time in the building -and the wonder is that it did not happen more often-to change its style. The interior had been built in the Jesuit style, but when the Italian architect Servandoni was commissioned to build the facade, he built it in the classical style, and that is the facade you see there now-with certain exceptions.
The interior of Saint Sulpice, which is three hundred ninety-four feet long, one hundred eighty-seven feet wide and ninety-eight feet high. Many of the frescoes in this church were painted by Delacroix. Also of interest are the two benitiers or holy water vessels, which consist of giant seashells and were a gift from the Republic of Venice to Francis I. But to the lover of music, the chief attraction of Saint Sulpice will always be its famous organ and choir. Its organ is the largest in Europe, and both the music and the choir have been praised by French writers for generations.
A few anecdotes about the church. The ancestor of the telegraph, the Chappe system (moving panel system set on heights) had a fixed place on the roof until 1850. Baudelaire and the marquis de Sade were baptized in this church. Victor Hugo got married here.
The Rose Line, a narrow brass strip, marks the original zero-longitude line, which passed through Paris before begin moved to Greenwich, England. Silas the monk uses the line as a reference point in his quest for the Holy Grail. You can retrace his path from the stone statue north across the nave and transept to an obelisk next to the statue of St Peter. The Astronomical Gnomen in église Saint-Sulpice was commissioned in order to determine the exact date of easter, and the winter and summer equinoxes
BEAUBOURG CENTRE POMPIDOU PARIS
The Pompidou Center, better known as Beaubourg, is still one of Paris most touristic places and one of the world most visited museums.
It was built between 1977 and 1981 by Piano and Rogers. Its architecture is the aim of rationalism: the structure is entirely visible and the decoration is directly made on this structure. For instance, one can see every pipe and know what it contains from its color. The iron structure is outside so as the escalators. This gives a large 5 stories place with no walls inside. This is very convenient to organize the museum around the pieces or for the temporary exhibitions. This is the French National Modern Art Museum. Collections of the XXth century, with master pieces from Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Dalì, Chagall, Miro...
After the recent modernizaton for the new millenium, realized by architects Renzo Piano, Jean François Bodin, Dominique Jakob and Brendan Mc Farlane, the MNAM (Musée National d'Art Moderne) in Paris has become even larger than New York Modern Art Museum (MoMA), its eternal rival.
But The George Pompidou Center isn't just an art gallery: it also holds a library, a graphic laboratory, a video library, an architectural and design collections, a industrial creation center, an institute specialized in experimenting sounds and music and the reconstruction of the great sculptor Constantin Brancusi's atelier.
The most amazing side of the Pompidou Center, its true secret, is its huge room where everybody can wander about without getting bored, as if it were a colourful amusement park.
What is most important, it gives the opportunity to enjoy modern art to visitors who may not know anything about it, allowing them to have fun and feel full of wonder like a child ion a merry-go-round.
The record crowds at the Public Information Library (BPI), with 14,000 people a day, sometimes annoy other visitors. While easily explained (encyclopaedic collections, free access without membership cards or registration, 1,800 reading desks), the shortcomings and inadequacy of university libraries in Paris are also partly to blame. With its 450,000 books, 2,600 magazines and journals, and 2,400 videos (not to mention the use of new technologies), the BPI maintains its remarkable standard through a constant process of "weeding out" to remove as many volumes as are added to keep up with new publications.
PLACE DE LA BASTILLE SURROUNDINGS PARIS
A fortress and prison in
Paris, the
Bastille was a symbol of royal absolutism before the French Revolution.
Begun c.1369, it was originally intended to augment the city's defenses,
though by the 17th century it was being used as a prison. Voltaire and
the Marquis de Sade were among its most famous inmates. Rumor and
pamphleteers had for years disseminated a picture of its dungeons packed
with wretched state prisoners. On July 13, 1789, exhorted "to arms" by a
young lawyer, Camille Desmoulins, a mob gathered outside the Bastille,
that frowning fortress whose guns were menacingly directed on the poor
quarter of the Faubourg St-Antoine which surrounded it. The frenzied
crowd demanded the munitions that were stored within, while the
Governor, the Marquis de Launay, promised not to fire unless attacked.
On the following day, July 14, which marks the beginning of the French
Revolution, the agitated crowd returned and filled the Bastille's outer
courts, which had been left unguarded.
The bastille Opera
In 1983, Carlos Ott's design was choosen amongst 750 other contestants for the design of a new opera house, which would be situated in the district of La Bastille. His design was characterised by its respect for the characteristics of the district, an inviting sight for the public by it's glass façade and the use of identicalmaterials inside and outside. The Opera Bastille was designed to make new concepts in scenery and stage decor fit together (the three-dimensional sets that complete or replace the tromple-l'oeil of the baroque and romantic period) and for a new public.
The Bastille opera house was opened by President François Mitterrand on July 13, 1989.
You'll find art galleries clustered around rues Keller, Tamandiers and the adjoining stretch of rue de Charonne. And, on rue de Lappe, a very Parisian tradition : the "bals musettes", or dance halls of the1930s "gai Paris", frequented between the wars by Piaf, Jean Gabin and Rita Hayworth.
Day and Night Life
The most famous bals musette,"The Balajo", rue de Lappe was founded by Jo de France, who introduced glitter and spectacle into what were then seedy gangster dives, and brought Parisians from the other side of the city to savour the rue de Lappe lowlife.
The rue de Lappe can still be as dodgy a place to be at night as it was in prewar days. The bouncers at clubs like the Chapelle des Lombards, and at Balajo itself, the heavy drug scene and the uneasy mix of local residents have taken the soul away from a street that ten years ago deserved the special affection that Parisians of all sorts gave it.
This tree-lined romantic square is one of the oldest and most handsome square in Paris. Surrounded by the arcades of splendid palaces, it was a meeting place in the 17th century for its elegant and wealthy population. Originally called ‘La Place Royale’ in 1612, it received its current name after the Revolution.
The Place des Vosges (Vosges' square) lies in the heart of the fashionable Marais district, not far from the new Bastille opera. King Henri IV decided its construction at the beginning of the 17th century. The Place des Vosges has a brick and stone architecture unique in Paris. It also features an homogeneous square design and lovely arcades.
The Place des Vosges today
Many Parisians consider The Place des Vosges as one of the most beautiful plazas in the city.
In the center of the Place, there is a statue of Louis XIII which dates back to 1825.
This replaces the original that was a reminder of the anti-aristocratic fury of the revolution.
At the Place des Vosges, you will find many shops, cafés and restaurants. And for the window shoppers, don't forget to take a look at the fine antique store, and the book and record shops.
Ever since it was thoroughly renovated, with many types of restaurants offering lunch and dinner or simply drinks.
Window shoppers will find the antique stores, the book and record shops, or the boutiques nested in the arcade to be most inviting. Weather permitting, one can take a nap in the public gardens.
The Place des Vosges also features a peaceful and refreshing garden. It is a good starting point for a visit to the Marais district or shopping in the rue des Françs-Bourgeois nearby. The Place des Vosges is close to the metro station Saint-Paul on line 1. It can also be reached on foot from the Pompidou center (15 minutes), the Bastille opera (10 minutes) or the Notre-Dame cathedral (20 minutes), all of them very pleasant walks.
At the end of the Rue Royale can be found the Place de la Madeleine with its unmistakable Greek temple form. The area dates back to the 19th century and owes its classical architecture and wide avenues to the genius of the Baron Haussmann. Still a site for societies wedding and funerals, a flower market that is held around the church from Tuesday to Fridays.
Started in 1764 during the reign of Louis XV, and designed by Constant d'Ivry using plans based on the St-Louis-des-Invalide Church, it was razed by a second architect to who favoured a design modeled after the Panthéon. However this second design was not well accepted either, and all work ceased between 1790 and 1806.
Napoléon then decided that a Temple of Glory to his Grande Armée should be built, and Pierre-Alexandre Vignon was commissioned to draw up the plans. After razing the remaining efforts from 1790, building started on what was to be a Greek temple. The commemorative role of the edifice was lost when the Arc de Triomphe was completed in 1808, and again the focus of the structure became ambiguous.
In 1814, Louis XVIII confirmed that the Madeleine should be a church, but in 1837 it was nearly selected to be the first railway station of Paris. Finally in 1842 it was consecrated as a church.
And, just outside the Madeleine, along the east side , you can find every day, except on Monday, a beautiful flower market. Also, a luxurious Art Nouveau loo by the metro at the junction of place and boulevard de la Madeleine. But the greatest appeal of the Place de la Madeleine is the famous "Fauchon"delicatessen shop, in the northeast corner. Besides, down the west side for rich gourmets and window-gazers you'll find the smaller Hédiard's, as well as caviar, truffle and spirit specialists.
Built between 1862 and 1875 by Charles Garnier, the Paris opera is a baroque example of neoclassicism: It has an ornamented facade, monumental stairs and Italian type hall with Chagall paintings on the ceiling. Maria Callas and Rudolf Noureev are among the many artists who wrote its history as one of the world foremost scenic stages for opera and ballet alike. Since the opening of the Opéra Bastille in 1989, the Opéra Garnier is devoted to ballets..
Construction started in 1861 and lasted for 14 years. The massive works were slowed down by the discovery of a water table that had to be drained before building an enormous concrete well designed to carry the gigantic stage and fly tower. The well was filled with water in order to counter the water pressure (hence the legend of the underground lake popularized by Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera). The 1870 Franco-Prussian war and the Commune interrupted the construction works, but the fire at the old opera in the Rue Le Peletier in 1873 hastened the completion of the monument. It was officially inaugurated during the Third Republic by Field Marshall de Mac-Mahon on 5 January 1875.
The building, which is a perfect example of 19th century stage architecture, hides its iron frame under flamboyant decoration. The overall impression is harmonious in spite of the diversity of its inspiration and the temes taken up by Charles Garnier. He personally supervised the integration in the architecture of decorative works entrusted to sculptors, painters and mosaic artists representative, as himself was, of state-sponsored artists.
From 1881 down to the present day, several restoration and modernization programmes have made the theatre increasingly functional without lessening its appeal as a monument: technical progress and the evolution of sets under the influence of "verism". The next step was the building of a modern and popular opera house: Opera Bastille.
Montmartre
The Romans called it Mons Mercurii, after erecting a hilltop shrine to their god of commerce. Medieval folks referred to it as Montmartre, or "Hill of Martyrs," after legend stated that their patron saint tucked his decapitated head under his arm and walked from this hill to a more comfortable resting spot north of Paris.
But the area is probably best known for the many 19th-20th Century painters who made it home. As rents were affordable, its working-class streets were full of struggling artists like Picasso, Modigliani, Renoir, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Utrillo and Van Gogh.
Along with this era came the famous taverns and dance halls - the Moulin de la Galette immortalized by Renoir's painting, the Moulin-Rouge, and Le Mirliton where Aristide Bruant hurled insults at the bourgeousie who came to rub shoulders with the poor. The police also knew the Montmartre as the resort of gangs of Parisian toughs distinguished by their wide berets and corduroy trousers. When Eric Satie played piano in a Montmartre cabaret, he went armed with a hammer!
Montmartre's colorful past has left an indelible mark on its tiny streets. The last surviving vineyard in Paris can still be seen here as well as two of the thirty windmills which ground the wheat grown on its butte in the 1600's. Many of the cabarets, once alive with songs and young women dancing the cancan, can still be visited.
Explore this little village with us and see why its sloping streets are still the obsession of painters and photographers.
The Sacre Coeur
The Sacre-Coeur was built at the end of the 19th century at the top of Montmartre hill in Paris. Its famous white architecture dominates the city, and offers a wonderful view. The nearby streets of Montmarte are full of artists and restaurants.
Overlooking Paris on the hill to the north is the Roman-Byzantine basilica of the Sacred Heart. dominates Paris. The church is on the site where Saint Denis was beheaded because of his faith in late IIIrd century. The basilica's construction was financed by every parish in France.
The building's extraordinary whiteness is a result of the material used in its construction: Chateau-Landon stone bleaches with age.
The front has two bronze equestrian statues of St. Joan of Arc and St. Louis by H. Lefebvre, and the climax of the overall design is the statue of Christ, his hand raised in blessing.
Follow the signs to the west of the Church to the Place du Tertre. This is the artist's square. It is fun to walk around except for the artists who are constantly trying to get you to let them draw your portrait .
When you walk from the subway station to Sacre Coeur, you will walk through the Montmarte flea markets. This is a lot of fun if you like that kind of stuff.
Spiritual activity
Since 1885, the prayer of perpetual worship has been the most important part of the life and activities of this worldwide famous sanctuary.
The Basilica of the "Sacré Coeur" is a place of pilgrimage where the chaplains and the Benedictine nuns of the Sacred Heart welcome pilgrims, faithful worshippers and all those who seek God. Adjacent to the basilic, the Ephrem Hostel is opened to the pilgrims who have previously booked their room
The basilica publishes a spiritual magazine for everyone containing the various organized activities, previous months events, spiritual teaching, a book of prayers and christian testimonies
DISNEYLAND AND DISNEYLAND STUDIO PARIS
At Disneyland Paris, even the amateurs of strong emotions will be light years away of what is already known!
Belt up...and propel towards the moon with Space Mountain. Pilot a spaceship on Orbitron, participate in the largest intergalactic battle of Star Wars.
Then choose to come back to earth and follow the foot steps of Indiana Jones.
At Disneyland Paris: Main Street, U.S.A. Frontierland . Adventureland . Fantasyland . Discoveryland
The party is just beginning as soon as you have put your first foot on Main Street, USA. Then, go directly to the Wild Wild West of Frontierland, Howdy! Keep going and enter Adventureland and be submersed by the charms of the tropics. Go, take your enthusiasm and jump into Fantasyland! The most beautiful castle where our dreams await us. At Discoveryland, go into Space by Space Mountain....!
Disneyland Paris: Restaurants & Bars Américains . Boutiques . Cinémas . Dîners Spectacles . Concerts "live"
Leaving the Park, dive into the effervescence of the Disney Village and let the fun continue.
Do not miss the extraordinary Diner show of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, with Annie Oakly, the queen of the trigger; the big chief Sitting Bull and his fighters, and even live buffalos. And, all of this while savouring the delicious texan barbecue! There are several restaurants that propose everything from a hamburger to a gourmet dinner ! Not to go home until you have had a chance to assist one of several "live" concerts. After dinner, take a stroll in the several themed stores, listen to the orchestras, dive into the fever of Hurricanes Nightclub, take a nightcap at the Sports Bar or go and see the latest films in the newest cinema. Whatever the choice, you are guaranteed to pass the time of your life...
The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France from 1682 until 1790. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624 by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge, a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it. Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king's principal architect, drew the plans to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand and One Nights. The terrace that overlooked the gardens was removed to make way to the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, the Galerie des Glaces. It is from where the king radiated his power and where the destiny of Europe was decided over a century. The French classical architecture was completed by extensive gardens.
As you approach the château, you pass through the Cour des Ministres, paved with cobblestones. Here stands a statue of Louis XVI as he looks at a town which basically only existed to create houses for 20,000 noblemen, their servants and other members of the court who could find no room at the chateau containing 3,000 beds!
The Chateau proposes two itineraries; either a guided tour or not. Apart from the state apartments of the king and queen and the Galerie des Glaces (the Hall of Mirrors, where the Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of World War 1), that you can visit on your own, most of the palace can only be viewed in guided groups, and whose times are much more restricted. Long queues are common.
There are over 600 fountains in the gardens, many designed by Le Brun and Mignard. The Seine river, several miles away, had to be diverted to keep water flowing in order to make the fountains work. The water rushed in and filled huge above-ground basins. The gravity pull is what kept the fountains running.
From 1661 and 1700, 250 acres of land were turned into intricate gardens and parks by Le Nôtre. The grounds are a perfect example of classic French formal gardens, (derived from the Italian design theory) adorned with marble, bronze and lead statues and fountains. The geometric flower beds, combined with fountains mix magically with the architecture of the palace. Beyond the formal gardens is the Petit Parc, and the Grand Parc providing an area for strolling or walking.
