Parc des Buttes-Chaumont

Opening times: 7am–8.15pm daily (1 Jun–15 Aug to 10.15pm;
May and 16 Aug–30 Sept to 9.15pm)

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

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Metro: Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand or Quai de la Gare

France’s National Library can be traced back to King Charles V’s 14th-century royal library in the Louvre, which was opened to the public by Louis XIV in 1692. The library increased vastly during the Revolution, when the private libraries of aristocrats and clergy were added. The former King’s Library was made a national amenity exactly one century after Louis XIV opened it to the public. Until recently it was housed in the beautiful but rather small rue de Richelieu building (see page 188), but President Mitterrand commissioned Dominique Perrault to design this impressive new complex in 1989. It opened in 1996 and acts as the repository for all the books published in France. It currently contains more than 10 million volumes.

This vast building is one of the cornerstones of the revitalisation of this formerly rundown part of the city. Its four glass towers sit atop a vast podium, containing the reference and research facilities where exhibitions are sometimes held of the collection’s treasures. The four towers are supposed to represent open books, and this idea of openness is further reinforced by the use of glass throughout, although this has been somewhat less than ideal for the long-term storage of books.

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Opening times: 9am–7pm daily (from 2pm Mon, from 1pm Sun)
Website: www.bnf.fr
Tel: 01. 53 79 59 59

La Manufacture des Gobelins

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Metro: Les Gobelins

Located at No. 42 Avenue des Gobelins, this famous factory was originally established as a dye works by two brothers from Antwerp, Marc and Jerome de Comans, along with a fellow weaver called François de la Planche, who came from Oudenaarde in the Netherlands. These three men had worked for King Henri IV and established their tapestry factory here in an abandoned town house, the Hôtel Gobelin. Louis XIV’s Finance Minister Colbert took it over in 1661 and moved most of the city weavers here to consolidate their work. Under the directorship of Charles Le Brun there were four workshops with as many as 250 weavers. Most were employed in providing furnishings for the king’s new palace of Versailles.

The Revolution was a low point for des Gobelins, but it was re-established as a state enterprise under Napoleon III.  Since 1861 it has concentrated  on

Further Afield

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