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Pictures of Paris and Île-de-FrancePictures of Paris, France. Paris The "city of light" is probably the most photogenic city in the world. For more details see Architecture, Eiffel Tower, Bookstore Directory
Notre-Dame/La CitéThere is no better place to start your visit. La Cité is the center of France--from which all distances are measured. The site was settled by the Parisii tribe in the third century BC, who were superceded by the Romans in 52 BC (archeological remains can be toured). The crown jewel, Notre-Dame (1163-1345), replaced an earlier pagan temple. Île de la Cité is also the center of the civil and judicial system--the Law Courts; The Sainte-Chapelle ( built by Saint Louis in 1248), whose stained glass windows make it the most inspiring spot in Paris; and The Conciergerie ( built by Philip the Fair 14C), the holding place during the Revolution for thousands who were guillotined including Marie Antoinette.
Eiffel TowerSee Eiffel Tower for full history and description.
Champs-ÉlyséesThe Champs-Élysées is 3 miles of Parisian shops, sidewalk cafés and showroom windows from the Place de la Concorde (as place de la Revolution, site of guillotine which ended the lives of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and thousands of others) with the 2300 year old obelisk of Luxor to the Arc de Triomphe, planned by Napoleon, now honoring all French armies. Come back at night to see the lights.
Additional Sites
Île-de-FranceÎle-de-France is the historic center of France with Paris at its heart surrounded by beautiful forests (Fontainebleau, Rambouillet, Chantilly) and the valleys of the Seine, Marne and Oise. History has left the landscape graced with many outstanding churches and chateaux, the most famous of which is the Gardens and Palace of Versailles.
Vaux-le-Vicomte
Nicolas Fouquet, who had risen rapidly in government, used his new wealth to employ Le Notre, Le Vau and Le Brun to build one of the masterpieces of the 17C. In 1661 he invited Louis XIV and his court to a lavish celebration with a banquet served on solid gold, and entertainment against a backdrop of 1200 fountains. Louis XIV who did not live in this grandeur, suspected him of embezzlement, had him arrested, tried and imprisoned. The artists then entered the service of the king and created Versailles. St-Germain-En-Laye and FontainebleauSt-Germain was originally the site of a defensive castle built by Louis VI, the fat, in the 12C. St. Louis added a chapel in 1230. In 1514 the future Francis I, was married here and, influenced by his travels in Italy, had the original replaced by the existing chateau. The vast forest (62,000 acres) of Fontainebleau with its game lured royalty to hunt, and as early as the 12th century the Capetians had built a hunting lodge here. Building of the current palace was begun by Gilles Le Breton at the direction of Francis I in 1528. Francis I had acquired a taste for art during his Italian campaigns and invited the greatest artists of the time including Leonardo da Vinci and Il Rosso, as well as decorative artists and intellectuals to work in France. He acquired the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci and paintings by Raphael. The French craftsmen and Italian designers developed the style known as French Renaissance. The distinctive movement in art featuring scenes of court life and classical mythology became known as the First School of Fontainebleau. The building was lived in, altered, added to and decorated by all the sovereigns who followed. Napoleon Bonaparte preferred it to Versailles and many rooms are decorated in the Empire style.
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Copyright © 2006 Last Modified: October 06, 2007
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