Paris 🥐🖼️🇫🇷

In November my parents and I spent a few days in Paris.

Paris is the capital of France and is a hub of art, fashion, and culture. It’s called the “City of Light” (La Ville Lumière), both because it was one of the first European cities to use gas street lighting on a grand scale and because of its role during the Age of Enlightenment.

Paris is HUGE. There is so much history and a lot to see and do, and I think we made a good dent seeing a lot of the main attractions:

The Palace of Versailles: a World Heritage Site and one of the greatest achievements in French 17th century art. It is an absolutely massive palace containing 2,300 rooms and built on 30,000 acres of gardens and hunting grounds. Louis XIV (the Sun King) brought the Court and government to Versailles in 1682. Then a succession of kings continued to embellish the Palace up until the French Revolution. Today, it is a massive estate, and the palace and garden can be toured. The amount of wealth and opulence is insane.

The Louvre: the world’s most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (which was tiny and underwhelming in person)!

The Eiffel Tower: I know everyone is familiar with this one, but did you know the tower was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World’s Fair and to commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution?

Champs-Élysées: is a street, called the “world’s most beautiful avenue,” that runs from one historic monument (Arc de Triomphe) to the other (Place de la Concorde/Tuilerie Gardens of the Louvre). It’s full of stores, restaurants, theaters, cinemas, etc. It is also where many events, like the New Year’s celebration and the Tour de France finish line, take place.

Place de la Concorde: a square surrounded by prestigious hotels that contains fountains and statues, it was originally known for having been an execution site during the French Revolution. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette (among others) were guillotined here.

Arc de Triomphe: Wanted by Napoleon in 1806 and inaugurated in 1836 by the King, the arch is dedicated to the armies of the Revolution and the Empire. Every evening, the flame is lit on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the Great War. 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris: a medieval Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a wonderful example of French Gothic architecture. It is being rebuilt from the fire that took place in April 2019.

Jardin des Tuileries: a large public garden near the Louvre. 

Musee D Orsay: the national museum of fine and applied arts that houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world (like Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, etc.). We also had a wonderful French lunch here in the grand dining room.