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Paris is synonymous with chic. It is has always been the number one destination for a romantic weekend.
Paris is the biggest tourist destination in Europe. It is estimated that its two million inhabitants play host, each year, to more than twelve million tourists. This stylish city attracts more Americans than any other nation, for that matter. Most visitors, however, only spend a couple of days in this lively city, often as part of a tour through Europe. It is vital, therefore, to make the most of your limited time, by concentrating on those attractions that will give you a true flavour of what Paris is all about.
Absorb the atmosphere:
Indulge in the café society, preferably seated at a pavement. Yes, you can still see well-heeled ladies with their lap dogs, business people hiding behind their broadsheets and academics engrossed in heavy tomes! Paris makes marvellous people watching. Try the “Quartier Latin” or, for a taste of Paris at its best, consider one of the “quartiers” in the centre. The Marais, on the Right Bank and St. Germain. Browse at the “bouquinistes” (book shops) along the river bank of the Seine. Pause for a bite to eat at one the old traditional style eateries such as “Drouot or Chartier, or if the budget permits, soak up the atmosphere at somewhere more elegant – maybe at Lapérouse or La Tour d’Argent.
Take a boat trip down the Seine on a Bâteau-Mouche:
The river Seine is the spine of the city of Paris and provides a perfect vantage point for taking in the sights. A trip on a Bâteau-Mouche, this typically Parisian riverboat, presents you with a unique view of the city and you can even combine it with lunch or a “dinner cruise”. Drift lazily under the many beautiful bridges that cross the Seine, the oldest of which is the “Pont Neuf”, near Notre Dame Cathedral, constructed in 1607. Many of Paris’s most famous monuments are dotted along the banks of the Seine. Look out for the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower:
No trip to Paris, however brief, is complete without a visit to the Eiffel Tower. Constructed for the 1889 Paris Fair, “Le Tour Eiffel” was built to celebrate the Revolution’s centenary and the revitalization of France after the defeat by Prussia in 1870. This 1000 ft high edifice is made of intricate iron filigree, supported by four insubstantial-looking “claws”. It was erected in two years, welded together with 2,500,000 rivets and built, amazingly, without a single fatal accident. Until the construction of the Chrysler Building in New York, in 1930, the Eiffel Tower held the title for tallest building in the world.
It is best approached from the Right Bank, either from the Pont de l’Alma or from the Pont d’Iéna, at the bottom of the gardens and steps of the Palais de Chaillot, opposite the Eiffel Tower and the Champ de Mars.
The Louvre Museum:
The Louvre is one of the world’s largest museums and receives more than four million visitors annually. The collection, however, is not as big as it used to be, as all post 1848 art has been moved to the Musée D’Orsay. In 1527, François I ordered the construction of what is known today, as the “Vieux Louvre”, the easternmost section of the museum complex and started amassing a collection of art. Later republican governments consolidated the collection and in 1793, made it into a public museum. In 1800, Napoleon moved in and started construction of the north wing. During his occupancy, over the following fifteen years, his troops looted the captive nations of Europe for their finest statues and paintings, bringing their booty back to be displayed in the Louvre.
A vast glass pyramid, (ordered by President Mitterand in 1981 and designed by the architect I.M. Pei) marks the entrance to the museum. This vast geometric construction looks somewhat incongruous and has been the subject of much heated debate known as the “Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns”.
Highlights of the Louvre collection include Egyptian Art, Middle Eastern Art, Classical Antiquity, Sculpture, French Painting, Flemish, Dutch and German Painting, Italian Painting, The “Salle des Etats” (which houses the Mona Lisa), late Italian and Spanish Painting and “Objets d’Art”.
Musée d’Orsay:
Housed in the “Gare d’Orsay”, formerly a railway station, designed by the architect Victor Laloux and hastily built for the World Fair in 1900, this major Impressionist collection opened as a museum in 1986. The main exhibits came from the former Jeu-de-Paume Museum and the nineteenth century rooms of the Louvre.
Here, under one large roof, are gathered samples of all the various schools of painting and sculpture, from 1848 to 1910. Highlights include, the greatest works of Gustave Courbet, Manet, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Odilon Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin and many more. There is also a magnificent array of furniture, architectural exhibits, decorative arts and photography
Paris is the city where Impressionism was born and this amazing collection at the Musée d’Orsay will give you a true flavour of Parisian culture and style. Don’t miss it! Paris is the city to revitalise the soul!
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