Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.[3] It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. History The Arc de Triomphe from the Place Charles de Gaulle The Arc is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues.
The sword carried by the Republic in the Marseillaise relief broke off on the day, it is said, that the Battle of Verdun began in 1916. The design Details Access See also. Musée du Louvre. The Louvre or Louvre Museum (French: Musée du Louvre, pronounced: [myze dy luvʁ]) is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, France, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (district). Nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square metres (652,300 square feet). With more than 9.7 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum.[6] The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II.
Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. History[edit] 12th-20th centuries[edit] Medieval, Renaissance, and Bourbon palace[edit] The only portion of the medieval Louvre still visible[9] French Revolution[edit] Opening[edit] Champs-Élysées. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (French pronunciation: [av(ə).ny de ʃɑ̃.ze.li.ze]) is a boulevard in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 1.9 kilometres long and 70 metres wide, which runs between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is famous for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops, and for the military parade that takes place each year on the avenue on 14 July to celebrate Bastille Day.
The name is French for Elysian Fields, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology. Description[edit] The avenue runs for 1.91 km (1.18 mi) through the 8th arrondissement in northwestern Paris, from the Place de la Concorde in the east, with the Obelisk of Luxor,[1] to the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly the Place de l'Étoile) in the west, location of the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs-Élysées forms part of the Axe historique. The Champs-Elysées seen from the Arc de Triomphe. History[edit] Panoramic view of the Champs-Élysées in 1900.
Events[edit] Montmartre. Montmartre Location of Montmartre in Paris Name origin[edit] The toponym Mons Martis ("Mount of Mars" in Latin) survived into Merovingian times, Christianised as Montmartre,[1] signifying 'mountain of the martyr'; it owes this name to the martyrdom of Saint Denis,[2] who was decapitated on the hill around 250 AD. Saint Denis was the Bishop of Paris and is a patron saint of France. History[edit] Prehistory[edit] The hill's religious symbolism is thought to have originated in prehistory, as it has been suggested as a likely druidic holy place because it is the highest point in the area. 16th century[edit] 18th century[edit] In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were a number of gypsum mines in Montmartre. 19th century[edit] There is a memorial sign on one of the restaurants on Montmartre that says "On 30 March 1814 - here the Cossacks first launched their famous "Bistro" and thus on this summit occurred the worthy Ancestor of our Bistros".[6] Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, Montmartre, Paris.
Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, Paris. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica and often simply Sacré-Cœur (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the excesses of the Second Empire and socialist Paris Commune of 1871[1] crowning its most rebellious neighborhood, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ.[2] The Sacré-Cœur Basilica was designed by Paul Abadie.
Construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. Basilique of the Sacré Cœur[edit] View of the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur at night Interior view of the Sacré-Cœur Construction[edit] Notre Dame de Paris. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration in the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.
Architecture[edit] The western facade illuminated at night The spire and east side of the cathedral Contemporary critical reception[edit] John of Jandun recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings [prominent structures] in his 1323 "Treatise on the Praises of Paris": Construction history[edit] In 1160, because the church in Paris had become the "Parish church of the kings of Europe", Bishop Maurice de Sully deemed the previous Paris cathedral, Saint-Étienne (St Stephen's), which had been founded in the 4th century, unworthy of its lofty role, and had it demolished shortly after he assumed the title of Bishop of Paris.
Timeline of construction[edit] Crypt[edit] Bells[edit] Eiffel Tower. The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second. The third level observatory's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground,[2] the highest accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift (elevator) to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the walk from the first to the second level.
Although there are stairs to the third and highest level, these are usually closed to the public and it is generally only accessible by lift. History Origin "not only the art of the modern engineer, but also the century of Industry and Science in which we are living, and for which the way was prepared by the great scientific movement of the eighteenth century and by the Revolution of 1789, to which this monument will be built as an expression of France's gratitude. " The "Artists Protest" Caricature of Gustave Eiffel comparing the Eiffel tower to the Pyramids. Paris. Paris (UK: /ˈpærɪs/; US: i/ˈpɛərɪs/; French: [paʁi]) is the capital and most populous city of France.
Situated on the Seine River, in the north of the country, it is in the centre of the Île-de-France region, also known as the région parisienne, "Paris region". The City of Paris has an area of 105.4 km2, and as of January 2013, a population of 2,273,305 people.[2] With an estimated 10,843,285 inhabitants as of 2015, Paris's urban area is the most populous in the European Union, and third most populous in Europe, behind Moscow and Istanbul.[6] The Paris Region has a GDP of €612 billion (US$760 billion) in 2012, ranking it as one of the wealthiest five regions in Europe; it is the banking and financial centre of France, and contains the headquarters of 30 companies in the Fortune Global 500.
In 2013 the City of Paris received 29.3 million visitors, making it one of the world's top tourist destinations. §History[edit] §Etymology[edit] §Origins[edit] §Middle Ages to Louis XIV[edit] Palace of Fontainebleau. The Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometres from the centre of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The palace as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on an early 16th-century structure of Francis I. The building is arranged around a series of courtyards. The commune of Fontainebleau has grown up around the remainder of the Forest of Fontainebleau, a former royal hunting park.This forest is now home to many endangered species of Europe. History[edit] Royal palace[edit] King Louis XIV hunting near the Palace of Fontainebleau Napoleon saying goodbye to his troops outside the Palace of Fontainebleau (1814) Napoleon III receiving the Siamese embassy at Fontainebleau (1864) The famous library at Fontainebleau The Abdication room where Emperor Napoleon I resigned from power before his exile to Elba in 1814 The throne room, formerly the King’s bedroom from Henry IV to Louis XVI, it was converted into the throne room by Napoleon Revolution and Empire[edit]
Fontainebleau. Fontainebleau, together with the neighbouring commune of Avon and three other smaller communes, form an urban area of 39,713 inhabitants (according to the 2001 census). This urban area is a satellite of Paris. Fontainebleau is renowned for the large and scenic forest of Fontainebleau, a favourite weekend getaway for Parisians, as well as for the historical château de Fontainebleau, which once belonged to the kings of France.
It is also the home of INSEAD, one of the world's most elite business schools; of the École supérieure d'ingénieurs en informatique et génie des télécommunications (ESIGETEL), one of France's grandes écoles; and of a branch of the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris, the Paris School of Mines, also one of the elite grandes écoles. Inhabitants of Fontainebleau are called Bellifontains. History[edit] This hamlet was endowed with a royal hunting lodge and a chapel by Louis VII in the middle of the twelfth century. Tourism[edit] Fontainebleau forest[edit]