La ville de Paris

1. La ville de Paris Plus de monuments…

2. le Palais de Chaillot • Located across from Tour Eiffel on right bank • Built in 1937 for Paris exhibition • Museum of mankind, Maritime museum, Cinema museum and Museum of French Monuments • On a small hill, offers great view of T.E.

4. Le Jardin et palais du Luxembourg • 60 acre park on Left bank near Sorbonne • Place for picnics, chess, strolls etc. • Students hang out here • Contains beautiful Medici fountain • Statues of famous people • Central pond with toy boats, tennis courts, marionette theater • Cared for by more than 100 gardners • Palace built by Maria de Medici who did not want to live in the Louvre after the death of her husband Henry IV

6. Versailles • Castle built by Louis XIV just outside Paris • Most lavish castle and gardens in the world • Impetus for French Revolution • Home to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before they were guillotined

8. Sainte Chapelle • Beautiful, small church on Ile de la Cité • Famous for magnificent stained glass • Largest stained glass windows in the world • Windows older than Notre Dame’s • Built by Louis IX in the 1200s • Two levels, with stained glass on upper level • Stained glass tells stories from the Bible

10. Place de la Concorde • Next to Jardin des Tuileries • Where the guillotine once stood • Has obelisk (column) which is more than 3000 years old • Obelisk is a gift from Egyptian government • Monument recalls events of the Revolution • Obelisk lines up perfectly with Arc de Triomphe as you look up the Champs-Elysées

12. L’Opéra Garnier • Located on Rue de la Paix • Built by famous architect Garnier • Home of French ballets and other theater productions • Seats more than 2000 spectators • Famous grand staircase in front • Ceilings painted by Chagall

16. La Conciergerie • Former prison on Ile de la Cité • Marie Antoinette spent her final days in this prison • Famous Revolutionaries Robespierre and Danton held there • Name came from “Compte des Cierges” or Count of the candles • Concierge was prison warden who lit the candles and tortured prisoners • Includes Tour de Bonbec- where prisoners were tortured • Also includes Horloge Tower, where first public clock existed • Visible from Seine

19. Père-Lachaise • Largest cemetery in Paris • Contains graves of many famous people • Includes graves of Balzac, Toulouse-Lautrec, Piaf, Proust, Bizet, Chopin and others

21. Place Vendôme • Large square with column created by Napoleon • Column was made from the melted cannons of the enemy • Consists of spiral graphics that depict his victories • Statue of the general at the top • Expensive, fashionable part of Rive Droite

23. La Madeleine • Big white church on Rive Droite • More than 50 huge columns • Looks like a Greek temple • Built in the late 1700s under Louis XV • Famous for huge musical organ played during monthly concerts • No windows • Bronze sculpture of Ten Commandments on the front door

25. La Défense • Area famous for modern and unusual office buildings • In northwest corner of city beyond Arc de Triomphe • Contains the Grande Arche, building the shape of a hollow cube

27. La Panthéon • Planned and begun by Louis XV in 1700s, finished in mid 1800s • Canned a necropolis or mausoleum • Contains no windows • Famous French are buried in cripts • Graves of Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire, Zola, and Louis Braille • Rive Gauche

29. Place de la Bastille • Location of infamous prison in pre-Revolutionary days • Prison was stormed on July 14, 1789 starting French Rev. • Today new opera is located there • In center of Square is July Column with figure of Liberty on top • July Column honors Parisians who died during the minor revolutions of 1830 and 1848

31. la Villette • Called City of Science and Industry • Locaned near Périphique in far northeast corner of Paris • Huge museum of Science and technology • Round, glittering géode for films • Has a mediathèque, or library of videodiscs and books • Four permanent exhibitions are on the universe, man, matter, and communication

33. La Sorbonne • Famous university dating back to 1200s • Latin once spoken there in Middle Ages • Students from all over the world study here • Many students reside at Cité Universitaire in South of City • Located in le Quartier Latin

35. Le Quartier Latin • Area around Boulevard Saint Michel near Sorbonne on Left Bank • Home to many students • Cheaper restaurants located there • Latin spoken there in Middle Ages

37. Le Palais Bourbon • Located on Left Bank just across from Place de la Concorde • Home of National Assembly • Represents French Lower House of Parliament • Nearly 500 deputies meet here • French president is not allowed in building, symbolically representing separation of powers

39. Le Palais Royal • Originally the private residence of Cardinal Richelieu • Today the seat of the Council of State • Contains courtyard and beautiful gardens, shops • Meeting place for patriots during Revolution