Paris, considered perhaps the most glamorous city in Europe, is divided into 20 arrondissements in the form of a clockwise spiral, with the first in the middle of the city on the right bank (north bank) of the River Seine. The French capital is filled with culture, from the narrow streets of the Quartier Latin or Montmartre to the grand-scale vistas of the Louvre. For an authentic taste of Paris, why not take a cruise on the Seine in a fly-boat and savour the cafés, bars and restaurants that line every street and boulevard. All around you are the iconic monuments that define Paris, from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre.
The Eiffel Tower, the symbol The Musée du Louvre was of Paris, was designed originally built to defend Paris by Gustave Eiffel for the from the Vikings in 1793. It 1889 World Fair and it was houses Egyptian, Oriental, then the tallest building in Roman and Greek works of the world at 300m. It was art and, most famous of all, originally designed to be Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Mona only a temporary structure, Lisa’. This vast, wonderful but is now the most visited museum, with its fascinating monument in the world and collections of sculpture, a lift takes you all the way to paintings and antiquities, is the top for some absolutely free for under 18s. magnificent views of the city. M Palais-Royal – Musée du Eiffel Tower M Bir-Hakeim / Passy / Trocadéro Louvre Museum Louvre / Louvre – Rivoli / Pont Neuf
Cathédrale de Notre-Dame L’Arc de Triomphe looms de Paris (‘Our Lady of Paris’, gloriously above the meaning the church in Paris Champs-Élysées. The world’s dedicated to Mary, mother largest triumphal arch and of Jesus) is often known an international symbol simply as Notre-Dame. This of France, this behemoth is a gothic cathedral on the was commissioned in 1806 eastern half of the Île de la by Napoleon in honour of Cité, with its main entrance his Grande Armée. The to the west. While a major monument was completed in tourist destination, it is still 1836, around 21 years after used as a Roman Catholic the army’s defeat. You can cathedral. climb to the top for fantastic views. Notre-Dame M Cité / Saint-Michel L’Arc de Triomphe M Charles de Gaulle – Étoile
The Champs-Élysées is a The Sacré-Coeur crowns broad avenue in the French the very top of the Butte capital which runs from the Montmartre with its pseudo Arc de Triomphe to Place Romanesque-Byzantine onion de la Concorde. With its domes and arches. Climb the cinemas, cafés and luxury 112m bell tower to what is specialty shops, the Champs- almost the highest point in Élysées is one of the most Paris (nearly as high as the famous streets in the world. Eiffel Tower) and you’ll find a The name refers to the view that stretches as far as Elysian Fields, the kingdom of 50km on clear days. the dead in Greek mythology. M Lamarck – Caulaincourt M George V / Franklin D. Champs-Élysées Roosevelt / Champs-Élysées – Basilique du Clemenceau Sacré-Coeur
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Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal was built in 1629 for Cardinal de Richelieu. Louis Phillippe d’Orleans turned the place into an 18th-century mega-mall, and today its galleries contain small shops and cafés, all with great views of the palace fountain and flower beds. M Palais-Royal – Musée du Louvre
Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde was built between 1757 and 1777 to provide a home for a monument to Louis XV. The vast area soon became the Place de la Revolution, site of the guillotine that severed 1,343 necks. Louis XVI’s, Marie Antoinette’s and many others’ celebrated heads rolled into baskets and were held up to cheering crowds right here. After the Reign of Terror, the square was optimistically renamed Concorde, meaning peace. M Concorde
Musée d’Orsay Opéra Garnier While works by Monet, Degas, Pissarro and others have With its grand staircase, enormous golden foyer, vestibule and established the Musée d’Orsay as the Impressionist museum, five-tiered auditorium, the Opéra was designed by Charles this former railway station on the riverfront is dedicated to Garnier for audience members to watch each other as much presenting all of the major artistic movements spanning the as the action on-stage. The interior is adorned by Gobellin period from 1848 until the First World War, bridging the gap tapestries, gilded mosaics, a 1964 Chagall ceiling and a huge between the Louvre and Centre Pompidou. chandelier which fell on the audience in 1896. M Solférino M Opéra
Le Panthéon Montparnasse Ice Rink The Panthéon, built between 1754 and 1790, was commissioned Montparnasse Ice Rink is open at weekends and public holidays by King Louis XV in honour of Saint-Genevieve. The building is from December to March at Place Raoul-Dautry. the resting place of many famous writers, including Emile Zola, M Montparnasse – Bienvenüe Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, and is an early example of Neoclassicism, with a façade modelled on Hôtel-de-Ville Ice Rink the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a small dome similar to Hôtel-de-Ville Ice Rink is open at weekends and public holidays Bramante’s ‘Tempietto’. from December to March at Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville. M Cardinal Lemoine M Hôtel-de-Ville
Napoleon’s Tomb Quartier Latin This fantastic memorial at the impressive Église du Dôme was The Latin Quarter of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, centred built between 1843 and 1853 and now serves as Napoleon around the Sorbonne University, houses a number of higher Bonaparte’s final resting place. Also in the area is the French War education establishments and therefore has a student-friendly, Museum (Musée de l’Armee). It is worth a special look because it lively atmosphere. It has many good restaurants and bistros. is made of five gigantic blocks. M Cluny – La Sorbonne / Odéon / Maubert – Mutualité M Varenne Musée Rodin Palais de Justice The Musée Rodin in the Hôtel Biron and its surrounding grounds Taking up the western half of the Île de la Cité, the palais is a museum which displays works by the famous sculptor harbours the infamous Conciergerie, prison of the Revolution, Auguste Rodin, who donated his entire collection, including The and Ste-Chapelle, St Louis’ private chapel. Since the 13th century, Thinker and The Kiss, to the French State after his death. the structures here have contained the district courts for Paris. M Varenne M Cité / Saint-Michel Place du Tertre Jardin des Tuileries The Place du Tertre, near to Sacré-Coeur, is the heart of the city’s At the western foot of the Louvre, the elevated terrace and elevated Montmartre quarter. With its numerous artists setting central path give fantastic views of the Seine, the Musée up their easels each day for the tourists, the square is a reminder d’Orsay, the Place de la Concorde, the Champs-Élysées and the of the time when the district was the centre of modern art. Arc de Triomphe. Catherine de Medicis, yearning for the public M Abbesses / Lamarck – Caulaincourt promenades of her native Italy, had the garden built in 1564; since then, it has been one of Paris’s most popular public spaces. Shopping M Tuileries / Concorde Browsing the city’s shops and markets is one of the delights of Paris. A wonderful variety of small speciality shops is maintained Jardin du Luxembourg alongside large underground and multistorey complexes. The This is the place to spot Parisians sunbathing, contemplating, area around St-Germain-des-Prés is hard to beat, packed with writing, romancing and strolling, or just gazing at the luscious books, antiques, clothes and art, but in every quartier you’ll find rose gardens. Inside the park is the Palais du Luxembourg, an something worth buying! And after a busy day, take a visit to Les Italianate palace commissioned in 1615 by Marie de Medicis to Deux Magots, where Ernest Hemingway was once a regular and remind her of her native Tuscany. where today’s Parisian writers still meet up. M Rennes / Saint-Placide / Notre-Dame-des-Champs
Moulin Rouge M = Nearest Metro stations The Moulin Rouge, internationally famous thanks to its French Can-Can, hosts the world’s best-known cabaret show. M Blanche
Travelsights Ltd, 10 Market Street, Swavesey, Cambs CB24 4QG Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/travelsights 01954 232998 | [email protected] | www.travelsights.co.uk for more info and competitions!