Paris, la Ville Lumière

Paris, la Ville Lumière

• Capital of France• Capital of fashion, art,

technology and cuisine• Nickname= city of

light= knowledge• Approx. 12 miles

across

Notre Dame de Paris

• Name means “Our Lady”= Mary• Located on Ile de la Cité• Gothic cathedral

pointy arches, gargoyles, stained glass, tall=600 feet

• Took 200 years to build during the middle ages

• Built to house the crown of thorns and cross

• Parvis= small plaque in front on sidewalk that measures all distances to and from Paris

• 2 front towers were left unfinished

La Sainte-Chapelle

• Small gothic cathedral• Only took 20 years to

build• Home of the crown of

thorns and portion of the cross

• Next door to Notre Dame• Famous for stained glass

windows• Connected to Palais de

Justice / Supreme Court

Sacré Cœur

• Name means “Sacred heart” built to honor Catholics who were martyred on the hillside

• White basilica= domed church

• In Montmartre, district to north known for artists

• Located on Place du Tertre

La Madeleine

• White Greek-style temple

• On Rive Droite / Right Bank

• No windows• Built by Louis XV• Sculptures of the 10

commandments

Le Pont Neuf

• Name means “New Bridge”• Oldest bridge in Paris - begun 1578 &

finished 1607• Connects Ile de la Cité to the Rive Droite &

the Rive Gauche

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L’Arc de Triomphe

• Built by Napoleon• Roman in style• On Place de l’Etoile

which was later renamed Place Charles de Gaulle, after the French President

• 12 avenues that radiate out form a Rond Point (traffic circle)

• Located at end of the Champs Elysées

L’Arc du Carrousel

• Built by Napoleon in 1800

• Roman in style

• Resembles Arc de Triomphe, but smaller and has 3 arches

• 3 arches = liberty, equality and brotherhood

• Outside Louvre, marks entrance to Tuileries Gardens

La Grande Arche

• Built in 1989 for France’s bi-centennial

• Modern interpretation of the Arc de Triomphe

• Modern office building, “cubes”

• Located in La Défense district

• Has a strange bat-like tarp that hangs in the middle

• So large that Notre Dame would fit inside the arch!

La Tour Eiffel

• Built in 1889 for the Universal Expo + France’s centennial

• 3 étages (levels)• Controversial - hate turned to

love• Has restaurants, movie

theaters and shops• Military post, satellite and

weather station• Located on the Champs de

Mars which is on the Rive Gauche / left bank

Le Louvre

• Former royal palace

• Largest art museum in the world, through 1890

• New entrance, glass pyramid

• Famous works include La Joconde = Mona Lisa; Winged Victory = Nike;

Venus de Milo

La Joconde

• By Leonardo Da Vinci• Italian painter brought

to France by François I during the Renaissance

• Unknown woman with a strange glance

La Victoire de Samothrace

• Known as Nike, the Greek goddess of victory

• Nike adopted the swoosh and Just-do-it logo, after the Winged Goddess of Victory

La Vénus de Milo

• Famous Greek statue of the goddess Aphrodite

• Carved of marble about 100 BC

• Found in 1820 on the island of Milos

Le Palais de Chaillot

• 4 museums: science + mankind, Naval, and Cinematography

• Home of Einstein’s brain

• Shaped like two embracing arms

• Center area has a platform, excellent for viewing the Eiffel Tower

Le Musée Rodin

• Former hotel, turned art museum

• Ground and hotel used to display statues by Rodin

• Le Penseur (The Thinker) is a famous statue which greets you at the garden’s entrance

Musée d’Orsay

• Former train station• Art museum which

houses art from 1850-1920

• Known for its Impressionist paintings

Claude Monet

Auguste Renoir

Vincent Van Gogh

Le Centre Pompidou

• Modern art museum• Also known as

Beaubourg, this district where it is located

• Renamed for the French President who was in charge of its development, Georges Pompidou

L’Hôtel des Invalides

• Former church

• First used by Louis XV to house wounded soldiers

• Napoleon also used it for his soldiers

• Contains military history museum and veteran’s center

• Napoleon is buried here

Champs Elysées

• Most famous street in Paris

• Begins at Place de la Concorde

• Ends at L’Arc de Triomphe

• Up-hill, tree-lined

• All parades and political events happen here

Place de la Concorde

• Square outside the Louvre

• Former site of the guillotine

• Today the Obelisk de Luxor, a gift from Eygpt, stands there

Le Jardin des Tuileries

• Garden outside the Louvre

• The Tuileries wing of the Louvre burned; all that remains are the gardens

• Kings of France used to stroll here

• Fountains used for toy boat races

La Cimetière Père LaChaise

• Famous cemetery• Eternal resting place

for many famous singers and actors

• Jim Morrison, Edie Piaf, Charles Balzac, Chopin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Marcel Proust

Le Jardin du Luxembourg

• Gardens and home of the French Senate

• On the Rive Gauche, left bank

• Cinquième arrondissement, 5th

• In the Latin Quarter• Near the Sorbonne

University

La Conciergerie

• Former Prison for the elite, aristocracy

• Marie Antoinette was held here

• Dungeons and torture chambers, Oubliettes, and Leper Colony

• Today - museum and concert hall

La Bastille

• Former prison that was stormed and destroyed at the outset of the French Revolution July 14, 1789

• Prison and armory

L’Hôtel de Ville

• Municipal building that houses city administrative offices

• Almost destroyed by fire in 1871, most of the building had to be rebuilt

L’Opèra

• Home of the French ballet

• Inspired the story Phantom of the Opera, famous staircase, chandelier, and river beneath the building

• On Place de la Bastille

La Sorbonne

• Oldest university in France

• On Rive Gauche, cinquième arrondissement

• In Latin Quarter, as all classes were taught in Latin

L’Odéon

• Theater built especially for Marie Antoinette

• Still used today for concerts and other productions

Le Moulin Rouge

• Name means “Red Mill”

• Trademark is the red windmill located on the roof

• Famous nightclub, shows

• Can-Can Dance

• Located in Montmartre, on Place Pigalle

Le Château Versailles

• Little hunting cabin in the woods, became the largest, most lavish home in the world

• “built” by Louis XIV to lure nobles out of Paris so that the King could rule without interference

• About 12 miles south of Paris

• It was rebuilt several times since the 17th century

Le Château Fontainebleau

• Famous castle near Paris

• Famous for its horse-shoe shaped staircase

• Many movies have been filmed here

Giverney

• Monet’s home and gardens

• Water lilies and Japanese gardens served as a source of artistic inspiration

• About 30 minutes north of Paris

Malmaison

• Famous castle near Paris

• Home to Napoleon, as Versailles was in ruins and France was not able to afford to restore it.