Paris - Sights and Culture

France - Paris
~ Sights and culture ~
Our trips 2006 / 2007

Paris - what a marvellous, elegant city! A metropolis, which attracts and enchants with its grandiose cultural treasures each year millions of visitors from around the world. But still Paris is a city, which despite its enormous dimension and hectic pace of modern life preserved itself a breath of romanticism. In the multifaceted townscape all genres of social life, art and culture, tradition, history and modern age have merged into a harmonious whole. As well as all of this, the famous French Cuisine, Haute Couture and perfumeries and, not least, the exciting Parisian nightlife have over the centuries given Paris its unique charm.

The historical centre of Paris with the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral on the Seine island Île de la Cité, the Louvre which was once the residence of the French kings and is now a world famous art gallery and museum, the elegant Champs Élysées, which connects the Place de la Concorde with the Triumphal Arch, the Eiffel Tower, the Pantheon and enchanting parks such as the Jardin de Luxembourg, attract visitors as magically as the artists’ district at Montmartre - one of the most romantic places of Paris with numerous boutiques and intimate cafes around Sacre Coeur on the highest rise of the city. No less attractive is the Quartier Latin - the traditional students' quarter, with its inexpensive, small restaurants and numerous bookshops, where also the time honoured University of Sorbonne is to be found. A very popular tourist attraction is a boat trip on the Seine river. Passing under some of the most beautiful historic bridges of Paris, it conveys fascinating views of numerous sights, as well as vivid impressions of the bustling quais.

When the sun sets behind Notre Dame, a special lighting arrangement casts a spell over the city, and the famous Parisian nightlife begins. People stroll along the Champs Élysées, visit the small Cafés, enjoy a nocturnal sail on the Seine, admire the illuminated Eiffel Tower or visit entertainment centres, such as the famous Moulin Rouge, where one can in 'champagne' mood experience an excellent, delightful variety show and of course experience a genuine Cancan.

In the absolutist France, in particular in the reign of Louis XIV, literature, music, architecture and the fine arts began to flourish in Paris, causing it to become the cultural capital of Europe for approximately two centuries. Paris determined the fashion and even the language; upper class Europeans conversed in French. With the work of Jean Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot and others in the 18th century, Paris took over a leading role in the Age of Enlightenment. With the French Revolution it became the scene of world historic upheavals and afterwards the centre of the new order under Napoleon I. In the course of this development the population grew so rapidly that in the 19th century Napoleon III decided on a complete remodelling of the city, with the aim of creating the most modern and beautiful capital of Europe. Georges Eugene Haussmann was the man who, as prefect of the city, was entrusted with this project, and he designed the townscape of Paris as it is up to the present day.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in France

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