Paris may at first appear a really cosmopolitan city, but it maintains its quintessentially French character despite the invasion of American fast-food chains. From the boulangeries (bread shops) to the bateaux-mouches (glass-top river boats), the crêpe-makers and the bouquinistes (open-air book-sellers) along the Seine, Paris offers a plethora of sights, sounds and smells.
Altogether, central Paris covers an area of 105 sq km (41 sq miles) and is bounded by the parks of the Bois de Vincennes to the east and the Bois de Boulogne to the west. The city is divided into 20 districts called arrondissements, each with its own distinct character. La ville de Paris, which is the city proper (population 2.2 million), is surrounded by a belt of communities called the banlieues (suburbs) totalling over 12 million people.
Capturing the Eiffel Tower.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Early settlements
The origins of Paris are found on the Ile de la Cité, the larger of the two odd-shaped islands in the middle of the Seine. Here, a Celtic tribe of fishermen called the Parisii founded a village in the 3rd century BC, which they named Lutetia – “a place surrounded by water”. In 52 BC, during his Gallic War, Julius Caesar conquered the settlement. More invasions came from Germanic tribes; the strongest of them, the Franks, made Paris their capital in the 6th century. In the 10th century Hugh Capet ascended the throne as the first of the Capetian monarchs, the first truly French royalty, and his successors made Paris a medieval centre of culture and learning.
The kings of the Renaissance era, especially François I and Henri IV, were responsible for creating much of what today constitutes the classic beauty of Paris: charming squares, the Louvre Palace with the grand Tuileries Garden and the first stone bridge across the Seine, the Pont Neuf. Sun King Louis XIV moved the capital to Versailles in the late 17th century but Paris continued to prosper, with luxury trades adding to the prestige of the city. The overthrow of the ancien régime by the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789 at the start of the French Revolution was followed by the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, who left Paris the Arc de Triomphe and other great Neoclassical monuments.
Café life at La Bonne Franquette.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
The modern era
During the Second Empire, in the mid-19th century, Baron Haussmann oversaw the transformation of Paris from a medieval to a modern city, epitomised by the creation of the grands boulevards: wide avenues lined with harmonious buildings. Paris became a more vibrant and attractive place, paving the way for the Belle Epoque at the end of the century. This period of good living came to an end in 1914 when World War I broke out, and the advancing Germans shelled Paris. However, they never entered the city as they did in World War II, when Paris was occupied for more than four years.
The post-war era again changed the face of Paris, and successive presidents left their marks on the city. The Pompidou Centre was commissioned under President Pompidou and completed in 1977, and President Mitterrand left his mark with the Grande Arche, a giant rectangular office block in La Défense quarter to the west of the city, and the glass pyramid entranceway to the Louvre.
Tip
Paris is a remarkably compact city, and it is easy to stroll from one sight to the next. When you’re weary or in more of a hurry, the Metro is the best way to get around, trains run frequently and stations are in every part of the city. The RER local trains are even faster. Tickets are inexpensive (for more on Paris transport, click here.) Traffic, on the other hand, is often atrocious, so taking a taxi can be slow and costly.
Les Invalides and beyond from the Eiffel Tower.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
A city tour
The Right and Left banks of Paris grew up with distinct social traditions which still prevail today. The Right Bank has remained the mercantile centre. Here are the banks, swanky department stores, fashion houses, government offices and the Bourse, the Neoclassical stock exchange. The Left Bank, on the other hand, has been the domain of the intellectual community.
Tip
If you expect to be doing intensive sightseeing in the city, the Paris Museum Pass gives access to all the major museums and many other attractions (including Versailles) for 2, 4 or 6 days for a set fee, giving major savings if you visit at least 4 sights. Pass holders also avoid waiting in line at popular attractions. For details, see www.parismuseumpass.com.
A tour of Paris may begin from any of its major landmarks. Those eager for an introductory panoramic view usually head for Sacré-Cœur on the heights of Montmartre or the Eiffel Tower by the river, two classic vantage points. Others set out for the Place de l’Opéra to explore the grands boulevards, the ritzy shops along Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré or the beautifully colonnaded Rue de Rivoli. Beginning at the Right Bank, it may be equally tempting to take a stroll along the Champs-Elysées. You can either walk down it from the Arc de Triomphe or walk up from the Louvre, further east.
I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
World-class museums
The Louvre 1 [map] (Wed–Mon) is the largest art museum in the world, although it was originally built as a medieval fortress to dominate the River Seine. I.M. Pei’s dramatic glass pyramid in the forecourt has become the museum’s modern symbol. The collection, ranging from European sculpture and painting to antiquities, decorative arts and objects, has been built up over hundreds of years, although Napoleon I made one of the greatest contributions from the spoils of his various campaigns. Spread over four vast floors, it’s best to decide what you want to see and head straight for it. The Mona Lisa is in room 13 on the first floor of the river side of the museum.
From the Louvre to the Place de la Concorde extends the Jardin des Tuileries 2 [map] , one of the best examples of a typically French formal garden where trees, plants and decorations are immaculately laid out. The small Jeu de Paume (Tue–Sun) has exhibitions of photography, and the Musée de l’Orangerie contains Monet’s “Waterlilies” series, as well as Cézannes and Renoirs (Wed–Mon).
Inside the Louvre.
Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications
The grand glass-and-iron Belle Epoque railway station of Quai d’Orsay, just across the river from the Louvre, has become one of the city’s great art museums, the Musée d’Orsay 3 [map] (Tue–Sun). It has a major collection of 19th-century works, particularly by Delacroix and Ingres, as well as masterworks by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cézanne and Van Gogh.
The Jardin des Tuileries leads to the Place de la Concorde 4 [map] , a vast square that occupies a bloody chapter in French history. In 1793 it became the site of executions, where Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, among others, met their fate on the guillotine. Standing majestically in the middle of the traffic chaos, the central Obelisk of Luxor, dating from 1300 BC, was taken from the Temple of Rameses in Egypt and shipped as a gift to Paris in 1836.
The Arc de Triomphe stands at the top of the Champs-Elysées.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Famous promenade
One of the world’s most famous streets, the Champs-Elysées 5 [map] , starts at Place de la Concorde. From here to the Rond-Point (roundabout) is a broad avenue lined with horse chestnut and plane trees. It makes an attractive promenade and has a little park if you need to rest, north of which lies the Palais de l’Elysée, the French president’s residence. After the Rond-Point the Champs-Elysées takes on a different character. It becomes an elegant and prestigious avenue of designer shops and fashionable bars and restaurants.
Walking up the Champs-Elysées gives a magnificent view of the monumental Arc de Triomphe 6 [map] . Built between 1806 and 1836, this impressive monument stands 50 metres (165ft) high and 45 metres (148ft) wide, and is noted for its frieze of hundreds of figures; France’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies beneath it. The 284 steps to the top (there is a lift) give access to a spectacular view down the Champs-Elysées and up to the business area of La Défense.
The Opéra and the Marais
Directly in front of you as you walk up Rue Royale from Place de la Concorde is the pseudo-Greek temple of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine 7 [map] . Napoleon wanted to dedicate this monument to the glory of his Grande Armée, but it has served as a church since 1842.
A short way southeast from here is Place Vendôme 8 [map] , the smartest of all squares in Paris. Shaped like an octagon, it is lined by 18th-century buildings which house some of the city’s most exclusive stores, such as Cartier and Rolex and under the stone arches is the luxurious Ritz Hôtel. In the centre of the square towers a 44-metre (144ft) column with bas-reliefs of bronze cast from 1,200 cannons captured in 1805 from the Austrians at the Battle of Austerlitz, and modelled on Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Up Rue de la Paix is the gloriously romantic Opéra Garnier 9 [map] , designed in 1875 by Charles Garnier and enclosed by a triangle of Haussmann’s grands boulevards. Inside, the majestic staircase and rich marble decorations evoke visions of swirling gowns, tuxedos and top hats.
Shop
Paris’s biggest shopping hub is on Boulevard Haussmann just north of Opéra Garnier, where you’ll find the giant department stores Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. Further south, Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré – near the Madeleine – and Avenue Montaigne – off the Champs-Elysées, are the site of the grandest fashion houses, with names like Dior, Chanel and St-Laurent.
Follow the Avenue de l’Opéra back towards the river and you come to the Palais Royal ) [map] (beside the Louvre), childhood home of Louis XIV and once an infamous den of libertines. A few streets to the east is the Forum des Halles ! [map] , a complex of cinemas, boutiques, galleries and restaurants which is undergoing massive restoration. The city market was here until 1969, and a few remaining bistros serve traditional market fare. Across the Boulevard de Sébastopol looms the giant cultural machine of the Pompidou Centre @ [map] (the Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou; Wed–Mon). Built between 1971 and 1977 by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, it is still strikingly futuristic. The galleries of the Musée National d’Art Moderne have a massive collection of early modern and contemporary art.
The Pompidou Centre, or Beaubourg.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Walk down to the river from the Pompidou from late July to August and you can sunbathe on a beach, as each year this stretch of the Right Bank is closed to traffic and turned into “Paris-Plages” (Paris Beaches), with specially imported sand, loungers, volleyball, a swimming pool and other attractions (although you can’t actually swim in the river). East of the Pompidou Centre is one of the city’s most charming quarters, home to some of the finest mansions in Paris. The Marais, originally swampland, became a fashionable residential district in the 17th century. The Musée National Picasso £ [map] (Wed–Mon) in the Hôtel Salé has paintings, drawings and sculptures from the artist’s prolific career; it has been closed for large-scale renovation, but is due to reopen in summer 2013. The Musée Carnavalet (Tue–Sun) is another excellent museum, occupying two mansions and giving a history of the city. In the same neighbourhood is the old Jewish quarter centred on the Rue des Rosiers, and the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme, giving a history of Jews in Europe.
The 63 houses of Place des Vosges $ [map] , the city’s oldest square, on the edge of the Marais, have lovely symmetrical arcades. The writer Victor Hugo (1802–85) once lived here, and his house at No. 6 is now a museum (Tue–Sun).
Islands in the river
In the very heart of Paris, the River Seine divides to embrace two islands, the Ile de la Cité and Ile St-Louis % [map] . Traditionally a residential quarter of the Parisian gentry, the Ile St-Louis has remained a patch of tranquillity in this fast-paced city. Neighbouring Ile de la Cité is cluttered with historic landmarks, the most celebrated being the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris ^ [map] (daily). This magnificent example of Gothic architecture is simply stunning viewed from any angle. It was purportedly built on the grounds of a Gallo-Roman temple that was first replaced by a Christian basilica and a Romanesque church. The construction of the cathedral itself began in 1163 and work was only completed in 1345.
Also on the Ile de la Cité is the Conciergerie (daily), the surviving part of Paris’s original royal palace, which became a prison after France’s kings moved across the river to the Louvre in 1358. This massive building is a truly beautiful sight at night, when its arches are illuminated. During the French Revolution, many of those sentenced to death were held here while they awaited the guillotine. Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here, and her private cell, the Chapelle des Girondins, with her crucifix and the guillotine blade, is only one of many gloomy exhibits that fascinate children.
Part of the Conciergerie houses the Palais de Justice, Paris’s main law courts. In the courtyard is Sainte-Chapelle & [map] (daily), the former palace chapel, built by King Louis IX – who was made a saint, as St Louis – in the mid-13th century to house holy relics. It is one of the very finest works of Gothic architecture, with stunning stained glass in kaleidoscopic colours.
Notre-Dame dominates the Ile de la Cité.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
The Left Bank
From the Ile de la Cité, the Pont St-Michel leads to the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and straight into the Latin Quarter. It earned its name in the Middle Ages, when students at the Sorbonne university were required to speak Latin. East of Boulevard St-Michel, its main thoroughfare, the Latin Quarter is threaded with numerous narrow alleys such as Rue de la Huchette, a twisting lane of Greek restaurants, kebab corners, jazz spots and cinemas.
Where boulevards St-Michel and St-Germain meet is the Musée de Cluny * [map] (Wed–Mon), housing the ruins of the Roman baths, and a museum of the Middle Ages, with exhibits that include the exquisite tapestry of La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady and the Unicorn). Walking down Boulevard St-Michel and turning left into Rue Soufflot, you arrive at the Panthéon ( [map] . Built as a church to fulfil Louis XV’s pious vow after he recovered from an illness, the Panthéon has, since 1791, served as a shrine to France’s most outstanding citizens.
On the opposite side of Boulevard St-Michel stretches the spacious Jardin du Luxembourg ‚ [map] . These gardens are popular with students whiling away time between classes, and children are thrilled by the adventures of Guignol puppets (the French equivalent of the Punch and Judy Show), which are featured in the gardens’ Théâtre des Marionettes.
In the evening and late into the night the Left Bank becomes even more animated, as crowds promenade along Boulevard St-Michel and Boulevard St-Germain, which leads west from the Latin Quarter into neighbouring St-Germain. The open-air terraces of its restaurants and cafés are popular spots to sit for a drink and to soak in the ambience. Next to the pre-Gothic church of St-Germain-des-Prés ⁄ [map] are two grand cafés that have been elevated to the rank of institutions: the Café aux Deux Magots and the Café de Flore.
Left Bank rendez-vous
Paris has always been both a magnet and an inspiration for writers, aspiring and established, French and foreign, and addresses with literary associations are concentrated on the Left Bank.
The best place to start a tour with your nose in a book is the city’s oldest café, Le Procope (13 Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie), a favourite watering hole of Voltaire. Three other cafés with literary associations are close to each other in or near the Place St-Germain-des-Prés. Existentialist philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre and his lover Simone de Beauvoir consolidated the highbrow reputation of Les Deux Magots (6 Place St-Germain-des-Prés) in the 1950s, and the Art Deco Café de Flore (172 Boulevard St-Germain), just opposite, was another favourite haunt. The other gathering place for intellectuals past and present is the Brasserie Lipp (151 Boulevard St-Germain).
A few hotels also have literary reputations. There’s nothing left to see now of the “Beat Hotel”, 9 Rue Gît-le-Cœur, where Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs stayed in the 1950s, but in L’Hôtel (13 Rue des Beaux-Arts) you can reserve the room in which Oscar Wilde died in exile in 1900.
Another stop for literary types is the eccentric bookshop of Shakespeare & Co. just across the river from Notre-Dame at 37 Rue de la Bûcherie.
Heading south on Rue de Rennes and then down Boulevard Raspail, you pass into the Quartier de Montparnasse, which replaced Montmartre as the centre of bohemian life early in the 20th century. Artists, writers, poets and revolutionaries, among them Lenin and Trotsky, flocked to live here. After World War I, American expatriate writers of the “Lost Generation”, such as Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Henry Miller, joined the locals in famous literary cafés like Le Dôme, La Rotonde, Le Sélect or the huge dining halls of La Coupole.
Montparnasse changed greatly in the 1960s, when the area was chosen for extensive urban renewal that included the huge modern Gare Montparnasse train station and the Tour Montparnasse ¤ [map] , the only skyscraper in central Paris. However, it so horrified Parisians that no other similarly tall buildings have been authorised ever since. Below it, Boulevard Montparnasse has a lot more traffic than in its heyday, but its celebrated cafés retain an attractive verve.
Across the Cimetière du Montparnasse (where Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir lie together) is the entrance to the Catacombs (Tue–Sun), where thousands of bones are stored in an old quarry. Paris does death well, and the most popular cemetery is that of Père Lachaise, to the east of the city centre, which contains the tombs of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf among hundreds of others.
Les Deux Magots, a well established literary haunt on the Left Bank.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Back to the Seine
The gilded Dôme des Invalides faces the Right Bank from across Pont d’Alexandre III. Immediately beneath the vast cupola rests Emperor Napoleon I, whose body was transferred here from the island of St Helena in 1840. It is encased in seven separate sarcophagi, the exterior one of precious red marble. The church is surrounded by the Hôtel des Invalides, built by Louis XIV as a hospital to shelter 7,000 disabled soldiers. Today the building houses the Musée de l’Armée ‹ [map] (daily), a collection of arms, uniforms and trophies from France’s military past.
Just a few steps away, at No. 77 Rue de Varenne, the former studio of sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917) is now the Musée Rodin (closed first Mon of the month), where some of the artist’s best and most famous works are on display in the house and garden.
To the west of the Invalides is the Ecole Militaire, a military college. Its former parade ground, the Champ de Mars, leads to the Eiffel Tower › [map] (daily). Named after its creator, Gustave Eiffel, the tower was designed as a temporary installation for the 1889 Paris Exhibition. But since it proved its value as a wireless tower it remained intact, and of course it is now synonymous with Paris. The best city-gazing from the top is about an hour before sunset, and the tower is stunningly illuminated after dark.
Tip
Queues for the Eiffel Tower can be up to two hours long in summer, so get there early, or book online through www.tour-eiffel.fr. A lift from the second level is the only means of reaching the top.
Just below and to the east of the Eiffel Tower, beside the river, a spectacular modern building built partly on stilts houses the Musée du Quai Branly fi [map] (Tue–Sun), Paris’s newest major museum. It presents a remarkable collection of ethnographical material and traditional arts from all around the world, with ultra-modern interactive displays, and around it there’s a lovely garden.
Opposite the Eiffel Tower on the Right Bank is the Palais de Chaillot fl [map] , dating from the International Exposition of 1937. It houses several museums. Close by, on Avenue du Président Wilson, the Palais de Tokyo contains the underrated Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris ‡ [map] (Tue–Sun).
Even at night Paris is breathtaking.
Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications
Bohemian quarter
Montmartre, the haunt of writers and artists early in the 20th century, is still one of the liveliest spots after dark. This was one of the birthplaces of modern art, since Monet, Renoir, Picasso and many others spent part of their careers here.
Known locally as La Butte (hill), it was once genuinely bohemian, and songs and comedies flowed from the dim cafés. Later, Montparnasse took over as the artistic and literary centre. At the Place du Tertre, however, some of Montmartre’s former reputation lives on. Street artists offer tourists caricatures or Parisian townscapes. There are also plenty of bars, cafés and restaurants.
Incongruously set in Montmartre is the virginal-white Sacré-Cœur ° [map] . Perched on a hill, its Byzantine cupolas are as much a part of the city skyline as the Eiffel Tower; when the lights are turned on at night, Sacré-Cœur resembles a lit wedding cake. It can be reached by walking up 250 steps or by taking a funicular railway.
At the foot of Sacré-Cœur, along Boulevard de Clichy, is Pigalle, the traditional entertainment quarter of Paris. It is symbolised by the neon-red windmill sails of the Moulin Rouge cabaret, home of cancan dancing since the days of Toulouse-Lautrec. Here, too, were the dimly lit cabarets where the legendary Edith Piaf, the “Sparrow of Paris”, sang. Place Pigalle · [map] is a popular hotspot teeming with sex shops, peep shows and strip clubs. The Folies-Bergère, about 2km (1¼ miles) south on Rue Richer, is the oldest music hall in Paris and offers much the same fare as the Moulin Rouge.
Days out
The most sumptuous of all French palaces is the Château de Versailles (Tue–Sun; RER line C to Versailles Rive Gauche, SNCF train from Gare Montparnasse to Versailles-Chantier or Rive Droite, or bus 171). Not to be missed, it is a mere 21km (13 miles) from the capital. Once a royal hunting estate, Versailles entirely transformed on the orders of Louis XIV, the Sun King, who took 50 years to create a palace and gardens so magnificent they were copied all over Europe.
From 1682 to 1789 Versailles served as the capital of France and the palace itself housed 5,000 people. Inside, the tour takes you through the royal apartments and the stunning 70-metre (233ft) Hall of Mirrors. Outside in the park, designed by André le Nôtre, are the smaller royal residences of the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, as well as Marie Antoinette’s make-believe village or Hameau.
Slightly less touristy is the other great royal palace near Paris, the Château de Fontainebleau (Wed–Mon; SNCF train to Fontainebleau-Avon, then bus, or Parisvision bus from Rue de Rivoli), in a forest 65 km (40 miles) south of the capital. A favourite residence of Napoleon, the palace is a mixture of styles, with formal gardens all around.
Chartres Cathedral (daily; SNCF train from Gare Montparnasse) is one of the greatest works of Gothic architecture. Around 90km (55 miles) southwest of Paris, it is especially famous for its 172 stained-glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries, and the enigmatic labyrinth inset into the floor of the nave.
Of different appeal is Disneyland Paris (daily; RER line A to Marne-la-Vallée), 32km (20 miles) east of Paris. The most popular tourist attraction in Europe, the park includes all the famous Disneyland rides along with hotels and the Walt Disney Studios, where you can see and experience how movies are made, and even make your own cartoons.