Paris facts for tours
the Right Bank
La Rive Droite
tactical masterpiece;
The Battle of Austerlitz
a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera; became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier; historically known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra, as it was the primary home of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when the Opéra Bastille opened at the Place de la Bastille; now mainly used for ballet
l'Opéra Garnier
colorful, multi-ethnic neighborhood and also home to one of the city's two Chinatowns; during the 1980s Parisian artists and musicians, attracted by the cheaper rents, the numerous vacant large spaces, as well as the old Paris charm of its smaller streets, started moving there; many artists now live and work here and studios are scattered throughout the quartier; some abandoned factories have been transformed into ateliers; iconic French singer Édith Piaf grew up here
Belleville
a popular hub of famous writers and philosophers: Georges Bataille, Robert Desnos, Léon-Paul Fargue, Raymond Queneau were all regulars, and so was Pablo Picasso; Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai was known to be a frequent patron during his years in France in the 1920s; the classic Art Deco interior of all red seating, mahogany and mirrors has changed little since World War II; once hosted Sartre and de Beauvoir's passionate discussions, among others; 172 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 6th arrondissement
Café de Flore
declared a historic site by the French government in 1975; famous café located on the northwest corner of the intersection of the Boulevard des Capucines with the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement; attracted many famous clients, including Jules Massenet, Émile Zola, and Guy de Maupassant
Café de la Paix
a 4.5 km long canal in Paris; connects the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine and runs underground between the Bastille and République metro stations; drained and cleaned every 10-15 years, uncovering tonnage of garbage and treasure alike
Canal Saint-Martin
The Congregation of the Holy Ghost; congregation members known as "Spiritains" or "Holy Ghost Fathers" - Roman Catholic; main mission is to preach the "Good news of Jesus" but also dedicated themselves to helping freed slaves in Mauritius, Haiti and Réunion Islands in 1840s; 1860s buying men and woman out of slavery in Zanzibar;
Congrégation du Saint-Esprit
an arts center for modern and postmodern photography and media; located in the north corner (west side) of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
constructed by English clock-maker Henry Sully 1727, to mark Easter - first Sunday after full moon after 21 March, Spring Equinox (the length of day and night are nearly equal); small opening with lens, sunlight shines onto the brass line; noon on winter solstice (21 December), touches brass line on the obelisk; noon on equinoxes (21 March and 21 September), the ray touches an oval plate of copper near altar; used to standardize time of organ clock; usefulness might have stopped church being destroyed in Revolution
Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice
large historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement; construction began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l'Industrie as part of the preparation works for the Universal Exposition of 1900, which also included the creation of the adjacent Petit Palais and Pont Alexandre III
Grand Palais
Construit sur ordre de Napoléon I en hommage à la Grande Armée
L'Arc du Carrousel
Among the most important remains from the Gallo-Roman era in Paris (known in antiquity as Lutetia, or Lutèce in French); Constructed by Romans in the 1st century AD; 15-7,000 spectators; stage allowed alternate between theatre and combat; animals cages; naval battles; as high as buildings; naval battles possible with Artesian wells and then drained to Seine; linen awning sheltered from sun; Lutèce sacked 280 AD, became cemetary; filled in with contruction of Philippe Auguste's wall; discovered between 1860-1869 when a tramway was being built over it; Victor Hugo spearheaded protection of it
L'Arènes de Lutèce
a major business district located at the westernmost extremity of the ten-kilometre-long Historical Axis of Paris, which starts at the Louvre, and continues along the Champs-Élysées, well beyond the Arc de Triomphe along the Avenue de la Grande Armée
La Défense (photo: La Grande Arche de la Défense)
the Left Bank
La Rive Gauche
30, rue Lhomond 75005, funded by Marie-Antoinette and now carries her initials in the ornamentation; Baroque-Rococco church designed by Jean Chalgrin (also part Saint Sulpice facade); dors-debout chairs for short, fat priests;
La chapelle de la maison-mère
One of the world's largest museums; a central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank in the 1st arrondissement; nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 652,300 square feet; originally was a medieval fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II; the Axe historique, dungeons of old fortress, equestrian statue of Louis XIV, Arc du Carrousel, Champs Elysées, Arc du Triomphe, La Défense
Le Louvre
means 'marsh', and that is exactly what this area was until the 12th century, when it was converted to farmland; epicenter of cool with hip boutiques, designer hotels, and art galleries galore; the hub of Paris's gay community; and, though fading, the nucleus of Jewish life; thanks to restoration efforts over the past half century, the district is enjoying its latest era of greatness, and the apartments here—among the city's oldest—are also the most in demand
Le Marais
famous cabaret in Paris; best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance; originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe; is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world; club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France
Le Moulin Rouge
a palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris; the screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre; was the personal residence of Cardinal Richelieu; the architect Jacques Lemercier began his design in 1629; construction commenced in 1633 and was completed in 1639; upon Richelieu's death in 1642 the palace became the property of the King and acquired its new name
Le Palais Royal
a royal château; when the château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital. The court of Versailles was the centre of political power in France from 1682, when Louis XIV moved from Paris, until the royal family was forced to return to the capital in October 1789 after the beginning of the French Revolution. Versailles is therefore famous not only as a building, but as a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime.
Le Palais de Versailles
located in the 6th arrondissement, was created beginning in 1612 by Marie de Medici, the widow of King Henry IV of France, for a new residence she constructed, the Luxembourg Palace; the garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace; covers 23 hectares and is known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, flowerbeds, the model sailboats on its circular basin, and for the picturesque Medici Fountain, built in 1620.
Le Palais et Jardin du Luxembourg
an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements; situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne; known for its student life, lively atmosphere and bistros; home to a number of higher education establishments; the area gets its name from the Latin language, which was once widely spoken in and around the University since Latin was the language of learning in the Middle Ages in Europe
Le Quartier Latin
a boulevard in the 8th arrondissement, 1.2 mi long and 230 ft wide, which runs between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles de Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located; known for its theaters, 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 French proudly nickname this world-famous avenue "la plus belle avenue du monde" ("the world's most beautiful avenue").
Les Champs-Élysées
a famous café in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area; once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual élite of the city; now a popular tourist destination; its historical reputation is derived from the patronage of Surrealist artists, intellectuals such as Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, and young writers, such as Ernest Hemingway; other patrons included Albert Camus, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce and Bertolt Brecht; 6 place St Germain des Pres, 6th arrondissement
Les Deux Magots
name given to Paris's central fresh food market; located in the heart of the city, it was demolished in 1971 and replaced with the Forum des Halles, a modern shopping mall built largely underground; since 2010, a major reconstruction of the mall is under progress; new version is planned to be inaugurated by 2016; for several years, the site of the markets was an enormous open pit, nicknamed "le trou des Halles"; regarded as an eyesore
Les Halles
a large hill in Paris's 18th arrondissement; gives its name to the surrounding district; part of the Right Bank in the northern section of the city; primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district
Montmartre
an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Gardens next to the Place de la Concorde; though most famous for being the permanent home for eight Water Lilies murals by Claude Monet, the museum also contains works by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Rousseau, Alfred Sisley, Chaim Soutine, and Maurice Utrillo, among others
Musée de l'Orangerie
moderately affluent family with father as attorney and representative to court of Louis XVI, never learned to spell french properly and spoke with Corsican accent; military academy in Brienne-le-Chateau (very good at mathematics, history and geography), then elite Ecole Militaire in Paris to be artillery officer; father died which meant less income and forced to complete 2 year diploma in one year; first Corsican to graduate from the school; seizing opportunities that arose during the French Rev he rose from artillery officer to become a general at age 24
Napolean
Founded by Louis IX 1163; complete by 1345, 70-meter-high cathedral was, for centuries, the tallest building in Paris; "Our Lady of Paris"; a historic Catholic cathedral, eastern half of Île de la Cité 4e arrondissement; widely considered as one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, among the largest and most well-known church buildings in world; among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress to support height and stress fractures that occurred as walls pushed outwards; treasury contains a reliquary, which houses some of Catholicism's most important relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns (removed from Basilica of Zion Jerusalem 1,600 years ago), a fragment of the True Cross, and one of Holy Nails; west facade above doorways is the Gallery of Kings, which includes 28 figures of French Kings, from Childebert I (511-588) to Philippe Auguste (1180-1223). The heads were struck off during the Revolution, rediscovered during a 1977 escavation and are now on display in the Musée de Cluny.
Notre Dame de Paris
a square in the 1st arrondissement, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine; original column at the centre of the square was erected by Napoleon I to commemorate the battle of Austerlitz; it was torn down on 16 May 1871, by decree of the Paris Commune, but subsequently re-erected and remains a prominent feature on the square today; renowned for its fashionable and deluxe hotels such as the Ritz
Place Vendôme
a square in Paris, where the Bastille prison stood until the 'Storming of the Bastille' and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution; no vestige of the prison remains; July Column in center built between 1835 and 1840 and celebrates the Trois Glorieuses — the "three glorious" days of 27-29 July 1830 that saw the fall of King Charles X and the commencement of the "July Monarchy" of Louis-Philippe
Place de la Bastille
one of the major public squares in Paris; the largest square in the French capital; located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées; during the French Revolution the statue of Louis XV of France was torn down and the area renamed Place de la Révolution; the new revolutionary government erected the guillotine in the square, and it was here that King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793; center of the square is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk-one of two the Egyptian government gave to the French in the 19th century
Place de la Concorde
oldest planned square in Paris and one of the finest in the city; located in the Marais district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements; built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612; a true square (140 m × 140 m), it embodied the first European program of royal city planning
Place des Vosges
a square in the 18th arrondissement; only a few streets away from Montmartre's Basilica of the Sacré Cœur; heart of the Montmartre quarter; artists set up their easels each day for the tourists; reminder of the time when Montmartre was the mecca of modern art; at the beginning of the twentieth century, during the Belle Époque, many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Salvador Dalí, Amedeo Modigliani, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Piet Mondrian, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro and Vincent van Gogh
Place du Tertre
bridge that spans the Seine; connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower; widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city; classified as a French Monument historique; built between 1896 and 1900; Beaux-Arts style
Pont Alexandre III
oldest standing bridge across the river Seine; its name, which was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses, has remained after all of those were replaced (neuf now ironic); stands by the western point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC, the birthplace of Paris, then known as Lutetia, and during the medieval period, the heart of the city
Pont Neuf
one of the most famous streets in Paris, because it consists essentially of flights of stairs giving access to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica; Montmartre funicular runs alongside it
Rue Foyatier (les escaliers de Montmartre)
a narrow, dark street that gives us a glimpse of the middle-ages
Rue de Nevers
one of the most luxurious and fashionable streets in the world thanks to the presence of virtually every major global fashion house
Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (photo: roof of Hermès boutique, 24 rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré)
a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city; dedicated in 1919
Sacré Cœur
church dedicated to use by royals when living in the Louvre
Saint-Germain-L'Auxerrois
A roman catholic church built on the sight of another church; founded 1646, with additions as late as 1780;
Saint-Sulpice
a royal medieval Gothic chapel, located near the Palais de la Cité, on the Île de la Cité; begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248; considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture; was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns—one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom; has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world
Sainte-Chappelle
University of Paris; founded circa 1150; recognized 1200 by King Philip II and 1215 by Pope Innocent III, as one of the first universities
Sorbonne
689 ft skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area; construction 1969-1973; the tower's simple architecture, large proportions and monolithic appearance have been often criticized for being out of place in Paris's urban landscape; as a result, two years after its completion the construction of buildings over seven stories high in the city center was banned
Tour Montparnasse
Stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées; honors 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; designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806
l'Arc de Triomphe
built 1670s by Louis XIV (le Roi-soleil) to house 4000 invalides (disabled war veterans) after spending so much on wars and impoverishing a generation; built in middle of countryside, on 14 July 1789, a mob broke into the building and seized 32,000 rifles before heading on to the prison at Bastille and the start of the French Revolution; Napoleon is buried here in porphyre tomb; bicentennial of revolution 1989, 550,000 (12.65kg) leaves of gold have dome original glory
l'Hôtel des Invalides
a wrought iron tower on the Champ de Mars; named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Constructed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair; initially criticized by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world; most-visited paid monument in the world; Victor Lustig Eiffel Tower scam
la Tour Eiffel
a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement; created by Catherine de Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564; eventually opened to the public in 1667; became a public park after the French Revolution; in the 19th and 20th century, it was the place where Parisians celebrated, met, promenaded, and relaxed.
le Jardin des Tuileries
open excursion boats that provide visitors with a view of the city from along the river Seine; literally "Fly Boats"; the name arose because they were originally manufactured in boatyards situated in the Mouche area of Lyon
les Bateaux-Mouches
booksellers of used and antiquarian books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire
les Bouquinistes
banks of the Seine; stretch from Saint-Chapelle and Notre Dame in the east to the Eiffel Tower in the west
les quais de la Seine
a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement; designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army; construction started in 1764 and finished in 1842; to its south lies the Place de la Concorde, to the east is the Place Vendôme
Église de La Madeleine
one of two natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris (the other being the Île de la Cité); a peaceful oasis of calm in the busy Paris center, this island has only narrow one-way streets, no métro stations, and two bus stops; most of the island is residential, but there are several restaurants, hotels, shops, cafés and ice cream parlors at street level, as well as one large church
Île Saint-Louis
one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine within the city of Paris (the other being the Île Saint-Louis); it is the center of Paris and the location where the medieval city was refounded.
Île de la Cité
official residence of the President of the French Republic since 1848; located near the Champs-Élysées in the eighth arrondissement
Palais de l'Élysée
a building in the Latin Quarter; was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary châsse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens; an early example of neoclassicism, with a façade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome
Panthéon
One of the largest and "most beautiful" organs in the world with an unparalelled ranged of sounds of "dazzling complexity"; dimanche 11.30-12.05 organ recitals; many of the great European organists have played here; clock on it to standardize time with help of sundial;
The Great Organ
