Paris is probably the most beautiful city in the world. It has absolutely everything is a city that preserving historical buildings and streets is at the forefront of modernity, is a city not only to work but for fun in all its forms, from the famous Lido cabaret Moulin Rouge and its terraces always oriented toward pedestrians, clubs, bars, etc., about the culture there is no doubt that his collection of museums, headed by the Louvre, covers all areas of art, completed by the artistic movement that gathers in cafes, is a bustling city and yet so quiet stroll, is reputed to face yet its supply is so wide that it is accessible to all budgets, from the finest restaurants to the more modest brasseries. The only but you can put the French chauvinism, but after visiting is not surprising that the French created the world's navel.
For places to highlight the list is so huge that only enumerate those that may be useful in a first visit to the city (given the size of Paris Metro station points or light rail / RER close) which must be at least 7 days to have an adequate view of the city.
The entrance is through the Pyramid, which illuminates the lower room (Napoleon). The museum is divided into 7 areas for the various themes: Oriental Antiquities and Islamic, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities, painting, sculpture, decorative arts and graphic arts. Of all his works, from antiquity to 1,900, greatly stand the famous Gioconda of Leonardo da Vinci the Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory . The most spectacular are found in the 1 st floor of the Denon Wing named by the Grand Gallery, which houses the paintings of the Italian Renaissance, some English and flamenco and a collection of eighteenth century French painting. More spectacular still are the Greek antiquities (Venus de Milo), Egyptian (Write sitting), Roman (Sarcophagus of the spouses) and Mesopotamia (Code of Hammurabi, Winged Bulls Palace of Sargon II) found on the ground floor of the three wings. Given the wide expanse of the museum (the largest in the world) and the great artistic treasure gathering, you must book at least one day of stay for your visit. (METRO: Line 1 Palais Royal, Louvre. Open from 9 to 18 and Mondays and Wednesdays until 22.00. Tuesday closed).
The second most important museum is the Musée d'Orsay . Located in the old Railway Station Orleans (1,900) covers the period from mid-nineteenth century and the First World War, including all types of arts, painting, sculpture, architecture, etc.. Pompidou devised his transformation into a museum and finally opened by Mitterrand. Approximately 150 meters long and 30 meters high and is divided into three floors, of which the most important is the upper floor contained a large collection of Impressionist paintings Monet represented by , Renoir, Degas , Van Gogh , Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec , Delacroix ... Extraordinary. (METRO Line 12 Solferino - National Assembly RER C Musée d'Orsay. Open from 1 September 1918 except Mondays.)
Other museums of note are the Rodin Museum (METRO Line 13 Varenne. Invalides RER C Open 10 to 18 except Tuesday) located on the rococo Hotel Byron, place of residence the artist in the last years of his life, whose most important works of sculpture, The Thinker , Balzac and Les Bourgeois de Calais are displayed in the garden. Inside you will find paintings by Renoir , Monet and Van Gogh ; and Grand Palais and Petit Palais (metro lines 1 and 13 Champs-Elysées Clemenceau. Open from 10 to 20 except Thursday), built for the Universal Exhibition of 1,900 and collected exhibitions, scientific discoveries and a planetarium.
The nerve center of the city is Avenue of Champs Elysees . It is a 2 km long avenue, whose top are a lot of restaurants, cinemas, banks and various shops, reaching the Place de l'Etoile or Charles de Gaulle and the Arc triumph, and in its lower area there are several palaces, including the presidential palace on the left, and small parks on both sides to end in the Place de la Concorde. During the day there is a huge movement of people and cars, yet after dinner is a lovely place to walk in an atmosphere of tranquility and calmness.
The Arc de Triomphe is the center of the Place de L'Etoile, so named because it is the confluence of twelve avenues, which gives a star shape (also known as place Charles de Gaulle). By the same reached by a subterranean born on the Champs Elysees. The arc of 50 meters was built in classical style by order of Napoleon for the exaltation of his army. Is decorated on both sides, with reliefs of scenes from the revolutionary era. Right out of the volunteers at the front (known as the Marseillaise) and left the triumph of Napoleon in 1810. Inside the arch are the sites of battle, and across the strength and peace 1815. In front of the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , whose flame is turned every day at 6.30. From this high place we have a perfect view of the Champs Elysées and Grande Arche Defense, Paris financial district, on the opposite side. (METRO lines 1.2, and 6 Charles de Gaulle - Etoile RER Charles de Gaulle). The finish on the Champs Elysees Place de la Concorde (metro lines 1, 8 and 12 Concorde). This was the place where they were guillotined during the French Revolution, Louis XVI, his wife Marie Antoinette and other figures such as Robespierre, Danton and Charlotte Corday. The revolutionaries eliminated all symbols actual place founded by Louis XV in place by placing the guillotine central. In the late eighteenth century, to forget these macabre events, the Board renamed it Place de la Concorde. The center of the square is dominated by the Obelisco of Ramses II Luxor brought as a gift from the Viceroy of Egypt. At the base of the obelisk in hieroglyphics is told how he traveled across the Nile and about 3 years rose Square (23 meters and 22 tons). Looking
Arc de Triomphe a few steps to the left are Grand Palais and the Petit Palais , and right the presidential Elysee Palace . On the back is the Garden of the Tuileries , part of the Royal Palace of the Louvre (now a public park) with 8 statues of the largest cities in France and, to the right, the majestic Hotel Crillon which hosted many meetings of the nobility and today is home to the Automobile Club of French.
From Concordia, across the Seine is the National Assembly (Congress), built by the Duchess of Bourbon, daughter of Louis XIV, and confiscated by the Republic to host the Council of 500. In its interior the Library and romantic paintings of Delacroix (METRO National Assembly Line 12 RER C Musée d'Orsay). Almost beside him is the Orsay Museum.
Returning to the Place de la Concorde and continuing through the elegant Rue de Rivoli with its beautiful porticos, and taking one of the first street on the left, we find the Church of the Madeleine . Its exterior is that of a Greek temple with Corinthian columns 20 meters tall. It was designed by Napoleon as a tribute to his victories and after restoration it was converted into a church. From inside are the frescoes depicting heroes of Christianity (Napoleon among them). Outside develops a flower market and the plaza is a popular delicatessen and store caviar, truffles etc. (METRO Madeleine Lines 8 and 12).
Nearby is the Place Vendome , with the center column and its beautiful facades, one of the most elegant squares of the city where he found the jewelry stores and most exclusive perfumes the city. A few steps away is the building of the Opera Garnier (METRO lines 3, 7 and 8 Opera) named after the architect who built the mid-nineteenth century Second Empire style, which is the largest theater opera in the world. It is richly decorated, highlighting his front stoop with seven arches that welcome as many sculptures. It is in this building, covered by a underground river, which inspired the novel The Phantom of the Opera.
We now move to the northeast of the city. In the open square of the Esplanade des Invalides monument stands the Hotel des Invalides (METRO Line 8-Mauburg Latourg REC C Invalides, open 10 to 18), with a huge facade with statues of Mars and Minerva both sides of the front door and the statue of Louis XIV (the builder) in the middle of the pavement. Its name derives from the utility for which it was built, serving as a hospital for invalid soldiers. Today it is a military museum which shows the various instruments, costumes and military weapons, remaining between they tent of Napoleon and a profusion of elements of the Napoleonic era. Inside the building, the central courtyard rises a great dome (100 feet) covered with gold which hosts the Church of the Dome and the Tomb of Napoleon in low circular, with bas-reliefs and inscriptions of his victories fragments of his life. The complex is completed with another church, San Luis also called the Soldiers', held in classical architecture that highlights her beautiful body.
headed up the River, near the park known as Campo de Marte, stands the majestic Eiffel Tower (METRO Bir Hakeim Line 6, RER C Champs de Mars). With its 300 meters high, was inaugurated at the Universal Exhibition of 1889 and was the tallest building in the world until the construction of the Chrysler Tower in New York. You reach it from one of its pillars and through different elevators ascend each of their viewpoints to 57 meters, 115 meters and 275 meters. From this point of view of the city is extraordinary on a clear day (worth spending a little more to climb to the top, since the view is different than any of the other two viewpoints, which also has access; for intrepid there are stairs to climb to the second level), explaining each of which panels buildings are seen in each of the 4 faces. Across the river up from the tower Trocadero complex, sources at his feet and three museums around the square.
Let us go back to the Louvre. At the end of it is the most famous of the bridges over the Seine. It is the Pont Neuf or new bridge! (1600) from which you can enjoy a wonderful view of the surroundings, observing in all its majesty the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the National Assembly, the Grand and Petit Palais etc. This bridge provides access to Saint Germain des Pres (on the shore opposite the Louvre) of which we will talk. Near the bridge also stands the Hotel de Ville or City Hall.
is time to move in a southwesterly direction following the course of the Seine. The Seine river splits into two branches forming inside the Ile de la Cité , which was the place where Paris was founded. There is the Notre Dame . In Gothic style, was built at the request of Bishop de Sully in the middle of the twelfth century and completed 200 years later. It was the place where Emperor Napoleon autocoronó 1802. Greatly emphasize its two towers, the pillars that support the choir in the back and give a print feature, and stands inside the dark the ship and the light that illuminates the choir, and the two rosettes and Romanesque pillars. In the plaza outside the entrance is marked kilometer zero of France and underground access to the archaeological crypt shown the foundations of the old church on which was built and the remains of houses and streets Roman times. (METRO Line 4-St Michel RER Cité St.Michel BC).
Opposite the cathedral stands the Conciergerie (metro lines 1 and 4 Cité Chatelet, open from 9.30 to 18.30) or Palacio de la Cité, the 14 th century was the Royal Palace, official residence Crown, and then prison (For Marie Antoinette, Robespierre and the Girondins among others) until 1914 when it became the Palace of Justice and National Monument. Inside is the Saint Chapelle, a Gothic chapel built by Louis IX to house relics acquired the emperor of Constantinople (as the Crown Thorns). Stand out from inside the windows of the thirteenth century, narrating scenes from the Bible.
Across town in the district of Montmartre funicular clicking through your base or the long staircase rises Sacred Heart Basilica of Sacre Coeur or erected by subscription popular in commemoration of the fall Paris in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Built in Byzantine style, is a monumental building on the hill of Montmartre with an egg-shaped dome 80 meters and with a triple arcade facade with bronze statues of St. Joan of Arc and St. Louis. In the center, the Statue of Christ. It highlights the whiteness of the building and is illuminated day and night. And very near the Place du Tertre find, meeting of portrait painters, cartoonists and, ultimately, the best known bohemian atmosphere of the city.
The neighborhood of St. Germain des Pres was born in the Bridge of the Arts in front of the Louvre, bounded by the Boulevard of the same name. The square is a meeting place for artists, philosophers and politicians in one of its cafes. The Church of Saint Germain des Pres is the only Romanesque church of Paris (VI century) highlighting its Gothic choir and their capitals and ninth-century frescoes. The area is full of bookstores, art galleries, cafes and restaurants and was the residence of Moliere, Delacroix, Oscar Wilde etc. (Metro lines 1 and 10 St. Germain des Pres).
Nearby is the Senate , located in the Luxembourg Palace in the early seventeenth century, built by Queen Maria de Medici in the image of the Pitti Palace in Florence. Stresses inside the library with paintings by Delacroix and outdoor gardens, a place of entertainment of the Parisians.
Other sites to be visited by us are Pantheon, the mausoleum of famous men such as Voltaire , Rousseau, Victor Hugo , Zola etc, the Place des Vosges , one of the most beautiful of the city built as a royal residence of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, where he also lived Richelieu, Victor Hugo (the museum is at number 6) etc, and now houses some antique shops and several cafes, the Place de la Bastille , where he was located noble prison was stormed by revolutionaries on 14/07/1789, which is located the column Freedom and the Bastille Opera , a modern building opened to bring the opera to the people, the Pompidou Center includes temporary exhibitions and is the most controversial of Paris for his avant-garde architecture in the shape of pipes of different thicknesses, the list is endless, but it is also a must do one of the many routes across the Seine to discover the city from another perspective and the many bridges that cross it.
The trip to the surroundings is more fulfilling visit to the Palace of Versailles . The distance from Paris is very small, and can be reached from the RER station Invalides in less than an hour. The Palace is a real gem, though it may disappoint some for not being so different from some other Palaces in Europe. It is certainly impressive Grand Gallery of Battles and the famous Hall of Mirrors . Given the vastness of the park there is a small train service that will transfer to other Palaces (the Trianon). But probably the biggest attraction of the park are sources, that weekends, twice daily at 11:00 and 15:30 hours, providing a beautiful aesthetic and sound show (at the end of the show begins in the great Fountain of Neptune by the Palace). Given the large influx of visitors is very advisable to arrive early to the palace to avoid the long lines (including the Office of Information).
For children, accessible by commuter rail, a 30/40 minutes from downtown, is
Disneyland Paris, a resort with accommodation and two theme parks, great public agglomeration weekend. In contrast Asterix Park, accessible by bus from Charles de Gaulle Airport, is less known and more suitable for its attractions for children over 8 years.
Finally, the wonders found in Paris are endless and the only recommendation that can be done is to visit.
Links to be considered for a trip to Paris:
French Tourism Office
Paris Tourist Office
Louvre Museum Musee D'Orsay
Eiffel Tower Disneyland Paris
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