The first arrondissement lies in the heart of Paris on the Seine River’s right bank. It includes the western part of Ile de La Cité, one of the two Parisian islands. This district was once the heart of the Roman city of Lutetia. It occupies less than a square mile (less than two square kilometers) with a declining population of under seventeen thousand. But it employs more than sixty thousand people and attracts lots and lots of tourists. Here are some of the reasons why.

Les Halles was the city’s central market, covered in 1183. Read Zola’s 1873 novel Le Ventre de Paris (The Belly of Paris) for a timeless picture of this unique setting demolished in 1971 and replaced by a huge underground modern shopping center, the Forum des Halles. The world’s largest underground transportation station Châtelet-Les-Halles serves a half million train passengers and a quarter million subway passengers daily. Make sure to see the historic Gothic Church of Saint-Eustache where young Louis XIV received communion. This church is home to several Rubens paintings and holds organ concerts in the summer.

The Musée du Louvre (Louvre Museum) greets more than eight million tourists a year, more than any other art museum in the word. It was called the Musée Napoléon in honor of all his war booty; which was eventually returned to the rightful owners. The initial “Castle of the Louvre” was founded in 1190 at the western edge of Paris to defend the city. The oldest standing building was begun in 1535. The Louvre contains almost four hundred thousand objects including twelve thousand paintings. Two of its most famous items are the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Plan to spend a lot of time in this fabulous museum.

The Sixteenth Century Tuileries Palace was built for Catherine de’ Medicis, the widow of Henry II. Louis XIV lived there while waiting for the Palace of Versailles to be built. The Tuileries Palace was later used as a theatre but its gardens remained popular among the local upper crust. Louis XVI and family stayed there under house arrest and the building was stormed during the French Revolution. Subsequently both the revolutionaries and Napoleon used the buildings. Both Joséphine and Marie-Louise had magnificent bedrooms. Unlike Paris City Hall and parts of the Louvre, the Tuileries Palace was not rebuilt after its destruction in 1871. The Tuileries Garden covers about 63 acres (25 hectares) and includes the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, a contemporary art museum. There is a lot of talk about rebuilding the Palace. The original plans and many photographs are archived, and the Palace furniture and paintings were safely stored prior to its destruction. The cost of rebuilding is estimated at about $400 million (300 million euros) supposedly financed by subscription and not by taxes.

In the meantime why not visit the Palais Royal, former home of Cardinal Richelieu in spite of his vow of poverty. Many other bigwigs lived there over the years. During the French Revolution a guy nicknamed Philippe-Egalité (Equality Phil) became popular for opening the Palais-Royal gardens to all Parisians. His oldest son Louis-Philippe was King of France from 1830 to 1848. An Abbé wrote a little poem about the garden “Dans ce jardin on ne rencontre ni champs, ni prés, ni bois, ni fleurs. Et si l’on y dérègle ses moeurs, au moins on y règle sa montre.” (“In this garden one encounters neither fields nor woods nor flowers. And, if one upsets one’s morality, at least one may re-set one’s watch.”) A nearby café was the rallying point for the taking of the Bastille. Today’s Palais Royale is the center of many government offices and some building of the Bibliothèque Nationale (Nationale Library) most of which have been relocated to less interesting parts of town.

The Comédie-Française or Théâtre Français is France’s only state theater and one of the few with a permanent troupe. It is often considered the home of Molière but in fact he died before it was built. During the French Revolution it was closed and the actors were imprisoned. The Comédie-Française is the current resting place of the heart of Francois-Marie Arouet, more commonly known as Voltaire.

For a break from all this history you may want to visit Paris’s second-oldest department store La Samaritaine on the banks of the Seine River. By the way, its name comes from a hydraulic pump with a guilded sculpture of the Good Samaritan located near the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), Paris’s oldest bridge. The store was closed for safety reasons in 2005 and may not yet have reopened. The plans are to make it more upscale upon reopening.

If you feel like splurging consider the Hôtel Ritz, which was originally built as a private home in the early Eighteenth Century. The word ritzy comes from this hotel and similar lodgings in London and Madrid. A part owner was the world-famous chef Auguste Escoffier who revolutionized French cuisine and once trained Ho Chi Minh as a pastry chef. Famous guests include Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marcel Proust, Charlie Chaplin, and Coco Chanel, who lived there for over thirty years. This hotel was the last stop for Dodi Al-Fayed, son of its owner, and Diana, Princess of Wales before their tragic demise in August, 1997.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A White Beaujolais I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Cuisses de Grenouilles (Frogs Legs). For your second course savor Quenelles de Brochet (Poached Fish Dumplings). And as dessert indulge yourself with Galettes de Pérouges (Pérouges Pancakes). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Article credit and information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The 2nd arrondissement is located on the right bank of the Seine River. It is Paris’s smallest arrondissement, less than 0.4 square miles (slightly under a square kilometer). While its population falls short of twenty thousand, this district provides over sixty thousand jobs, the highest job density in the city. It is home to all of Paris’s remaining glazed commercial arcades; pedestrian passages open at both ends with a glass and iron roof. This Parisian invention, actually an adaptation of Oriental bazaars and souks, forms a miniature city free from the noise of horse-drawn carriages, speeding taxis, and inclement weather. Remember when these arcades were built mostly in the 1820s and 1830s sidewalks were a rare commodity. In these arcades window-shopping developed into yet another Parisian art form. They evolved (degenerated) into the suburban shopping center. Make sure to visit at least one arcade to get a taste of Paris in the good old days.

The Passage des Panoramas running off Boulevard Montmartre is of the earliest arcades, dating back to 1799. It was the first public area in Paris to enjoy gas lighting. On the other side of Boulevard Montmartre you’ll find the more upscale Passage Jouffroy, restored about twenty years ago, a lovely mall that includes two very special stores for young children.

The Opéra-Comique (Comic Opera) is a world-famous opera company located in the Place Boieldieu, near the Paris Stock Exchange. It was established in 1714 to promote French opera in competition with the prevailing Italian opera of the day. Despite its name, not all of its productions were comic opera, especially during the Nineteenth Century. The current building was built in 1898, making it the oldest standing opera house in Paris. Two previous buildings burnt in 1838 and 1887. Among its great composers were Berlioz and Bizet. The Opéra-Comique was the site of the first production of Bizet’s Carmen in 1875 initially considered quite a failure. It was also the premiere of Debussy only opera, Pelléas et Mélisande in 1902. The Avenue de l’Opéra (also known as the Passage de l’Opéra, or as Le Rue Peletier or Le Peletier) is a street named after the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique, known more commonly as the Paris Opéra, which burned down in 1873. In 1875 the theatre was replaced by the Palais Garnier, a theatre now known as the Paris Opéra.

Built on the site of the city’s old ramparts, the Grands Boulevards extend in a long arc from the Église de la Madeleine (Church of the Madeleine) in the west to the Bastille in the east. They were once the hangout for Paris’s upper crust and jet setters (more precisely Boulevard strollers) and still form a distinctive, often lively part of the city. The actual street name changes from Boulevard Madeleine, to Boulevard des Capucines, to Boulevard des Italiens, to Boulevard Montmartre, to Boulevard Poissoniere, to Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle, and finally to Boulevard St. Denis from west to east. As you go from west to east the boulevards traditionally get poorer and perhaps more interesting. Of course with all the redevelopment the situation is constantly changing. Do you know of any other city where a given street, avenue, or boulevard has seven names?

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Red Beaujolais I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Andouillette (Pork Tripe Sausage). For your second course savor Poulet de Bresse (Bresse Chicken). And as dessert indulge yourself with Ile Flottante (Floating Island Meringue). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author credits and article copyright information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The 3rd arrondissement located on the right bank of the Seine River is second smallest of Paris’s twenty districts. It contains the northern, relatively quiet part of the medieval district of Le Marais (The Marsh) while the 4th arrondissement contains the livelier southern part. Paris’s oldest surviving private house dating back to 1407 is located at 51 rue de Montmorency. One of its owners claimed to have made a Philosopher’s stone transforming lead into gold as well as having achieved immortality along with his wife (I hope that they get along well) but neither claim has been verified. What has been verified is that this district occupies less than one half a square mile (about 1.2 square kilometers) making it the second smallest arrondissement in the city. Its population is about 35 thousand and the district is home to about 30 thousand jobs.

The Marais was marshland first cleared in the Twelfth Century. In the Sixteenth Century the aristocracy built beautiful residences including the Place Royale, subsequently named la Place des Vosges built for Henri IV in 1605. The Marais took a hit when the court moved to Versailles. On the other hand this area was not highly affected by Baron Haussmann’s urban redevelopment. In 1969, France’s first Minister of Culture André Malraux made the Marais the first protected sector making it harder to redevelop buildings.

The Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts) is a government supported school devoted to scientific and industrial education and research. Founded during the French Revolution, CNAM’s original mission was collecting scientific instruments and inventions. Its mission has changed but the conservatory includes a sizeable inventions museum Musée des Arts et Métiers (Arts and Trades Museum) open to the general public. CNAM’s many night-school offerings include a very respectable night-school engineering program.

The Hôtel de Soubise is a city mansion located at 60 rue des Francs-Bourgeois built for a prince during the early Eighteenth Century on the site of a Fourteenth Century manor house. Napoleon turned this mansion into a state property that now includes the Musée de l’Histoire de France (Museum of French History) and part of the French National Archives.

The Temple, located in the third and forth arrondissements, is a fortress whose construction started in the mid-Thirteenth Century. During the French Revolution the Temple was transformed into a prison hosting the French royal family including King Louis XVI, the child Louis XVII, and Marie Antoinette. Because of royalist pilgrimages, the Temple was destroyed in several stages during the Nineteenth Century. Now only the name remains, in a subway station, a major city street, and the name of the district itself.

The Carnavalet Museum, devoted to the Paris’s history, is composed of two buildings. The main building, the Hôtel Carnavalet, was built as a town house in the mid-Sixteenth Century and was the home of the writer Madame de Sévigné. The second building, the Seventeenth Century Hôtel le Peletier, was added to the museum about twenty years ago. In addition to Madame de Sévigné’s Gallery you may want to see Robespierre’s final letter, and some fancy ballrooms and reception rooms.

Paris’s oldest square, the Place des Vosges, located in the Marais, is shared by the 3rd and 4th arrondissements. Built by Henri IV from 1605 to 1612 as the Place Royale it was the first example of royal city planning. It is a true square about 420 feet (140 meters) on each side. While lots of aristocrats lived in this beautiful area no royalty ever did. Quel dommage (what a shame). Perhaps they stayed away because all houses fronting on this beautiful square had the same design. In 1799 the square was given its present name to honor the Vosges department in northeastern France, the first French department to pay taxes supporting the French Revolutionary army. Its famous residents include Madame de Sévigné who was born there, the writer Victor Hugo, and Cardinal Richelieu who not only graced the square with its presence, but also had the clout to erect an equestrian bronze statue of Louis XIII in the center of the square. Do you think that he had to worry about zoning laws?

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – An Alsace Pinot Gris I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Tarte Flambée (Onion Tart). For your second course savor Chouchroute Garnie (Sauerkraut with various Pork dishes, perhaps cooked in Champagne). And as dessert indulge yourself with Kugelhopf (Almond and Raisin Cake). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course. By the way, it’s simply a coincidence that Alsace is home to the Vosges mountains.

Author credit and article copyright information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The sixth arrondissement of central Paris is located on the Left Bank of the Seine River. Its area slightly exceeds square miles (over 2 square kilometers) with a population of 45,000 and slightly fewer jobs. Like its neighbor the 5th arrondissement, the 6th is often known as the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) although it’s been a long time since many have spoken Latin in either district. Its best-known part is the famous Saint-Germain-des-Prés, which in the years following World War II was the intellectual center of the world; home to philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. Later on we’ll talk about the district’s world-famous cafés that they frequented.

On the subject of intellectuals, this arrondissement is home to l’Académie Française (the French Academy), the watchdog over the French language. For what it’s worth I’m a strong believer in keeping the French language French and avoiding Franglais. The Academy was founded in 1635 by Louis XIII’s chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu. It was suppressed by the French Revolution but brought back by Napoleon. The academy is an advisory body with no power to punish the many people and institutions that disrespect the French language. It holds only forty seats, some of which may be vacant waiting for a candidate acceptable to the sitting members. Normally membership is for life but some malfaiteurs (wrong doers) have been expelled; for example, given their association with the collaborationist Vichy regime during World War II.

Since its inception the Academy has only greeted four female members, starting with the writer Marguerite Yourcenar elected in 1980. Some very famous writers such as Molière, Zola, and Proust never achieved membership. Male members, except for clergy, get to wear a sword with their Academy outfit. In 1778 the Academy initiated a historical dictionary of the French language. It abandoned the project before getting to the Bs. The Academy’s dictionary is partially in the ninth edition. The Academy Française has been fairly successful in persuading people to use French words such as logiciel instead of the corresponding English words, in this case software. It rules on grammar issues and offers prestigious prizes in literature, cinema, translation, and other fields.

The Café de Flore on the Boulevard Saint-Germain is a historic intellectual café and offers an annual literary award. The nearby café Les Deux Magots named for two wooden Chinese statues near the entrance is also a literary and intellectual center with its own annual literary award. It has been decades that these cafés are too expensive for all but the wealthiest intellectuals.

The French Senate is the upper house of the French Parliament. Until recently senators were elected for nine-year terms, but now their terms have been reduced to six years. Senators are not elected by the general public but by one hundred fifty thousand local elected officials such as mayors and city councilors. The Senate tends to be more conservative than France’s lower house, the National Assembly. Besides proposing bills and voting on them the Senate publishes reports and so serves to monitor the government. The senate sits in the beautiful Palais du Luxembourg (Luxemburg Palace) in back of the Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxemburg Gardens) the largest garden in the city. The garden is open to the public and is a favorite of young children and their parents.

If you are looking for a hotel in the sixth district you might consider the Art Deco Hôtel Lutetia, built by the neighboring Bon Marché department store in 1910. Its guest list included Charles de Gaulle and Pablo Picasso. At the outbreak of World War II many artists and musicians took residence there but after France surrendered the hotel housed German military officers. Following the liberation of Paris in August, 1944 this hotel became a repatriation center for prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates. Subsequently it was transformed into a luxury hotel.

The Monnaie de Paris (Paris Mint) produces coins and medals, and has a great collection of ancient coins. This beautiful French Neoclassical building was constructed in the latter Eighteenth Century. It is open to the public but does not furnish samples.

When you get hungry you might consider the historic Crémerie-Restaurant Polidor, which hasn’t changed its name, interior, or cooking style for over one hundred years. Most patrons sit at shared tables so you may get a chance to converse with local students, especially if your French is good. Former diners include Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Jack Kerouac as well as major French writers.

You may remember from your high school French that Pont Neuf means new bridge. The Parisian Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge across the Seine River. It crosses the western end of the Île de la Cité linking Paris’s Left and Right Banks. Construction began in 1578 and was completed a mere 41 years later, in part because of the Wars of Religion. The original wooden pilings supporting the foundations still remain. Unlike previous Parisian bridges this one didn’t support houses, but did have sidewalks protecting pedestrians from mud and horses. For centuries the homeless have slept under its arches, despite its interdiction, in all fairness to both rich and poor. If you are a statue lover be sure to see the bronze statue of Henri IV, destroyed during the French Revolution but rebuilt afterwards using bronze from statues of Napoleon.

Saint-Sulpice is the second largest church in Paris, smaller than its well-known rival Notre Dame de Paris. This church, built from 1646 to 1732 and beyond replaces a Thirteenth Century Romanesque church. Some say that its two towers are mismatched; why not take a look to see for yourself? It is home to a great organ. Saint-Sulpice Church has hosted life cycle events of some famous French people; for example the baptism of Charles Baudelaire and the Marquis de Sade, and the marriage of Victor Hugo and Adèle Foucher. Saint-Sulpice has a huge sundial that helped to determine Easter’s calendar date. This scientific instrument may well have saved the church from destruction during the French Revolution. Saint-Sulpice is a featured location in the novel The Da Vinci Code. But the church scenes of this movie were not filmed on location.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Red Côtes du Rhône I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Fois Gras de Canard (Duck Liver Pâté). For your second course savor Caillette (Pork-Liver Meat Loaf). And as dessert indulge yourself with Sorbet (Sherbert) and fresh fruit. Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author credit and copyright information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The ninth arrondissement is located on the Right Bank of the Seine River. Its land area is slightly more than 0.8 square miles (about 2.2 square kilometers). While its population is about fifty–five thousand the area hosts over one hundred ten thousand jobs and is a business center of Paris.

The Olympia is Paris’s oldest music hall and one of the most famous in the world. It has also hosted circuses and the ballet. When business was slow it did a long stint as a movie theater. And in the 1990s it was almost transformed into a parking lot. Famous Olympia performers include Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, and Jeff Buckley, but the list goes on and on.

A different sort of music hall the Folies Bergère north east of the Olympia was built in the mid Nineteenth Century as an opera house with the name Folies Trévise. But to protect his reputation the Duc de Trévise had its name changed shortly afterwards. Among its famous performers were the singer-dancer Joséphine Baker who wore a skirt made of bananas and the Maurice Chevalier, but nobody remembers what he wore.

The Neo-Baroque Palais Garnier, usually called the Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera) seats 2200 opera fans. Its stage can hold up to 450 artists. Even if you don’t like opera, you should visit this splendid building with its statues and busts of famous composers. Construction started in 1862 but was only completed in 1875. The building sits on a former swamp over an underground lake. It took eight months of pumping just to remove the water. In 1896 a counter-weight of its magnificent six-ton chandelier fell killing someone.

This opera house is the inspiration for the French novel The Phantom of the Opera and the musical of the same name, the longest running and most lucrative Broadway show in history. The new Paris Opera, known as the Opéra Bastille is on the other, less opulent side of town. It was supposed to replace the old one, but did not.

Galeries Lafayette is a 10-storey department store dating from the beginning of the previous century. You might want to look at the building, its beautiful Art Nouveau staircases, and its wares even if you are not in a buying mood. This is the flagship store of an international chain. One branch even opened in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan but went out of business. What do you want to bet that somebody got fired?

The competitor Printemps (Spring) flagship department store is just down the street from Galeries Lafayette. It is also part of an international chain, and its only American branch, in Denver, Colorado instead of Manhattan also went belly up after only sixteen months and the building is now used as a medical testing center. The Paris store was founded in 1865. The building is known for an Art Deco stained-glass cupola that was removed in 1939 for obvious reasons. The cupola was restored in 1973 by its designer’s grandson with the aid of the original plans. The building’s façade and cupola are registered as national monuments.

Pigalle is centered around Place Pigalle, bordering the ninth and the eighteenth arrondissements. To a large extent it is a red-light district with some famous nightclubs including the Moulin Rouge, which sports an imitation red windmill on its roof. I am told that the building décor has that turn-of-the-century (no, not a 1999-2000) look. This club inspired a 1952 and a 2001 movie, which were both nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture. The area attracted world-famous artists including Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, and van Gogh. The area south of Place Pigalle is a center of the popular musical instrument trade.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – An Alsace Pinot Blanc I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Foie Gras (Goose or Duck Liver). For your second course savor Baeckeoffe (Meat and Potato Casserole). And as dessert indulge yourself with Gâteau Chasseur (Almond Cake with Raspberries and Meringue). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author credit and copyright information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The 5th arrondissement is on the Left Bank of the Seine River in central Paris. It is often known as the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) although it’s been a long time since many have spoken Latin there. Its population is slightly under sixty thousand and the district provides almost fifty thousand jobs. It is fairly small; less than a square mile (about two and a half square kilometers). This is one of the oldest districts in all Paris and offers some attractions dating back to the time of the Romans who never called it the Latin Quarter. The Roman town Lutetia was built in the First Century BC.

The Arènes de Lutèce (Lutetia Arena) once held at least fifteen thousand spectators and considerably fewer gladiators. It was built in the First Century AD and included the longest Roman amphitheater. The 135 foot (over 40 meter) long stage hosted plays as well as gladiator fights. There were probably animal cages as well, surely not for the plays. The upper level held the poor, the slaves, and women while the lower level was reserved for the big shots. In case the spectators got bored they had a great view of the Seine River.

The city was sacked in barbarian invasions of the year 280 and some of its stone was removed to build up the defenses. The arena was subsequently transformed into a cemetery, and then filled with the construction of city walls in the early Thirteenth Century. The arena was more or less forgotten; nobody knew where it was but neighborhood kept its name. The arena was rediscovered in the 1860s with the construction of a streetcar depot on the site. The famous Nineteenth Century writer Victor Hugo played a major role in preserving these ruins. The area became a public square in 1896 and is open to the public daily and evenings in the summer.

The Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) was established in 1980 by eighteen Arab countries and France. The Institute provides information about the Arab world and promotes its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute also supports cooperation and cultural exchanges between France and the Arab world, especially in science and technology. In 1989 it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.

The Jardin des Plantes is France’s main botanical garden. It includes an aquarium, and a small zoo founded with animals from the royal menagerie at Versailles (not the two-legged variety). Its gardens include a rose garden, an alpine garden, an Art Deco winter garden, Australian and Mexican hothouses, and a maze.

The Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) was founded during the French Revolution. It was quite a center of scientific research. One of the winners of the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, Henri Becquerel, held its chair for Applied Physics when he accidentally discovered uranium’s radioactivity. Four generations of Becquerels held this chair from 1838 until 1948, which must be some sort of record.

The Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge (National Museum of the Middle Ages) is perhaps the most outstanding medieval building in Paris. It was the town house of the Abbots of Cluny, dating back to 1334 but was rebuilt in both Gothic and Renaissance style starting near the end of the Fifteenth Century. The Musée de Cluny has a fine collection of important medieval artifacts, in particular tapestries, Gothic sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts. Herman Melville mentioned this museum in his famous novel Moby Dick.

The Thermes de Cluny are what remains of Third Century Gallo-Roman baths. Its best-preserved section is the frigidarium, the cold-water pool in which bathers dipped to close their pores after enjoyed the hot-water sections. Some of the original decorative wall painting and mosaics remain intact. These baths were not well defended and probably destroyed by barbarians, those dirty barbarians, towards the end of the Third Century.

The Panthéon (from a Greek word meaning all the Gods) was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. It sits on top of Montagne Sainte-Geneviève and overlooks all Paris. While it is a great-looking building its architect died before completion, and not all his plans were followed. It had been meant as a church to honor the recovery of King Louis XV, but the French Revolution intervened and the Panthéon was transformed into a mausoleum. In alphabetical order, some of the great buried here include Braille, Dumas, Hugo, Marat (French Revolution leader disinterred after little more than a year), Moulin (French Resistance leader), Skłodowska-Curie, Soufflot (Pantheon’s architect), Voltaire, and Zola.

The Latin Quarter is home to many universities and other centers of higher education, and naturally scads of bars, bistros, restaurants, and nightclubs. Some schools have relocated to more spacious quarters in other parts of the city or region, surely to the regret of their student population.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Maconnais (Burgundy) Chardonnay I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Pâté en Croûte de Grenouilles au Bleu de Bresse (Frog and Bresse Blue-Cheese Pie). For your second course savor Poulet de Bresse à la Crème-Trompettes de la Mort (Free-Range Bresse Chicken in Creamy Sauce with Horns of Plenty Mushrooms). And as dessert indulge yourself with Ile Flottante (Floating Island, a Meringue Island in a Custard Sea.) Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author credits and copyright information

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The 4th arrondissement located on the Right Bank of the Seine River is one of the smallest in Paris at slightly over 0.6 square miles (1.6 square kilometers). Its population is about thirty thousand but the district provides more than forty thousand jobs. The Ile de la Cité (Cité Island) was already inhabited in the First Century B.C. by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii who gave their name to the city. Our first stop is world–renown, tasty, not very high in calories, and won’t cost you a lot of money. It’s on the magnificent Ile St-Louis one of the two Parisian islands in the Seine.

Berthillon makes great ice cream and has since 1954. It believes in natural ingredients and flavorings and uses no preservatives or any of that junk. It is usually closed during the last two weeks of August.

Centre Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou Centre), often called Beaubourg was built in 1971–1977 near Les Halles (the Halles Market) and the Marais. It contains a library, the Musée National d’Art Moderne (National Modern Art Museum), a center for music and acoustic research, and an industrial design center. You either love the building or you hate it because of its very distinct (ugly) architecture with pipes on the outside. Even if you can’t stand this building you may enjoy the art museum with it collection of painters including Kandinsky, Matisse, Miró, and Picasso.

One can only imagine how hard it is to run the city of Paris. Maybe that’s why its Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) has been in the same Fourth Arrondissement location since the mid-Fourteenth Century. The present French Renaissance structure was rebuilt in the 1870s and is said to be inspired by castles in the Loire Valley. Its site was a well-known gathering place, in particular for public executions. The local specialty was burning heretics at the stake.

In the early Sixteenth Century King Francis I decided rebuild Paris’s city hall. At that time Paris was the largest city in Europe and the entire Christian world. Building the Renaissance city hall worthy of Paris took about a century. During the French Revolution the city hall lived up to its site’s history; a representative of the ancient regime (pre-Revolutionary government) was killed there the day that the Bastille was stormed. Several years later on this same site the revolutionary leader Maximilien François Marie Odenthalius Isidore de Robespierre usually called Robespierre was shot in the jaw and his followers were arrested.

Paris’s City Hall played a role in the revolution of 1870 and the Paris Commune of the following year; first it became the revolutionary government headquarters and subsequently was burnt to the ground when surrounded by enemy troops. The rebuilt building has a split personality: its exterior is a copy of the Sixteenth Century Renaissance building but the interior reflects the luxury of the day, the 1880s. Charles de Gaulle spoke from City Hall on that great day of August 25, 1944 when Paris was liberated.

Étienne Marcel, the most important pre-mayor of the city was lynched in 1358 by a crowd which felt that he wanted too much power. And the current mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, the first elected left-wing major of Paris since 1871 was stabbed during a party open to the public. After recovering he converted his private apartments to a nursery for the children of municipal workers. Tell me, do you know of any other City Hall with such a history?

The short Rue des Rosiers in the Marais is somewhat a center of Paris’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe. Jews have been living here for six hundred years when they were expelled from Paris; at that time the Marais was outside the city limits. As often when a street becomes very popular it changes its character and Jewish butcher shops and delicatessens are giving way to upscale fashion houses. Be sure to visit the rue des Francs-Bourgeois and its many fashion stores, one of the rare Paris streets that is open on Sunday.

In the middle of the Twelfth Century, so the story goes, Maurice de Sully, the Archbishop of Paris, unhappy with the present cathedral had it demolished and sketched in the dirt its replacement, Notre Dame de Paris, one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Construction took almost two centuries, and frankly was worth it. This French Gothic church is located on the Île de la Cité and is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. During the French Revolution, many of its treasures were either destroyed or plundered. The church interior was used as a warehouse for the storage of forage and food. The statues of biblical kings of Judea (thought to be kings of France) were beheaded. Many of these heads were found during a 1977 excavation and are now display in the Musée de Cluny located in the fifth arrondissement. Notre Dame’s organ was been computerized, requiring three local-area networks. If you like touring churches, this district is home to several other historic ones, but if you ask me none of them are in the same league as Notre Dame de Paris.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – An Alsace Pinot Noir I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Flammekueche (Tart stuffed with Bacon, Onions, Cream Cheese, and heavy Cream). For your second course savor Coq-au-Riesling (Cock cooked in Riesling wine). And as dessert indulge yourself with Quetschelkueche (Plum Tart). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author information and copyright details

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The seventh arrondissement is located on the Left Bank of the Seine River. It is home to several major government institutions and some very important tourist attractions. This district occupies about 1.6 square miles (slightly over 4 square kilometers) and has a population of almost 57 thousand people while hosting over 76 thousand jobs.

Some of the best jobs in this arrondissement are in the Assemblée Nationale (National Assembly), the lower house of the French Parliament which consists of 577 elected members known as députés (deputies), each elected to represent a single-member constituency. The official seat of the National Assembly is the Palais Bourbon (Bourbon Palace) on the banks of the Seine River as well as some neighboring buildings.

The Eiffel Tower is perhaps Paris’s best-known landmark, recognized all over the world. This thousand foot (three hundred twenty meter) building, as tall as an eighty-story building, annually attracts over six million paying visitors. Once the tallest structure in the world it is now only the fifth tallest building in France. And yet year in year out more visitors pay to see it than any other monument in the world.

The Eiffel Tower was erected between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch to the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) honoring the centennial of the French Revolution. It was not immediately popular. The French writer Guy de Maupassant supposedly ate lunch there every day. When asked why, since everyone knew that he hated the tower, he simply replied – that was the only Paris location where he couldn’t see the tower. The original plans were to demolish the tower after twenty years but happily plans changed. The tower is used for radio transmission and served for German television broadcasts during the occupation of Paris in World War II and again since 1957.

There’s a fancy restaurant with a private elevator on the second floor and another restaurant on the first floor. The Eiffel Tower was struck by lightning in 1902 and in 1910 served in the discovery of cosmic rays. And con men have succeeded in selling it for scrap metal. The tower shifts up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) because of the sun and sways about a third as much in the wind. You can climb the first two levels but going higher requires an elevator. Once every seven years it’s painted in three different colors to keep up appearances.

During the German occupation Nazi soldiers climbed to the top and hoisted the swastika but after a few hours the wind blew that rag away. Later during the war the tower proudly flew the French flag. During the winter the first floor hosts a free ice skating rink. Its night-time image has been copyrighted. Many, many buildings are taller, but none are as recognizable or perhaps as well loved.

The Hôtel Matignon, completed in 1725 is one of Paris’s most elegant mansions. At that time, the owners authorized any “well-dressed” person to visit the mansion in their absence. Too bad that I was unaware of this little slice of history the last time I was in the neighborhood. The building had seen a lot including the signing of the famous Matignon Accords in 1936 that established the forty-hour work week and paid vacations for French workers. During World War II it was used by the collaborationist government. According to legend the French Resistance leaders who seized the premises got confused between Hôtel Matignon and the Matignon Avenue across the Seine River. In all fairness, they did have a lot on their mind. General de Gaulle convened the government there in 1944 and once again in 1958. Its park is the largest private garden in Paris.

The Champ de Mars (Field of Mars) is named for the Roman war god and was once used for military training. It’s not far from the military school described below. It was the site of both a festival and a massacre during the French Revolution.

The Musée d’Orsay (Orsay Museum) was once a railway station, the world’s first electrified urban one. Charles de Gaulle spoke there in 1958 before taking power. It is now a museum specializing in French art from 1848 to 1914. Its collection includes impressionist works by Monet, Renoir, and many others.

The École Militaire (Military School) was founded in 1750 by Louis XV. Madame de Pompadour was part of this project whose objective was to enable poor boys to become cadet officers. Napoleon Bonaparte was such a good student that he graduated from a two-year program in a single year but he had already frequented (from age nine) another French military school. Be sure to visit the nearby Les Invalides (The Invalides) complex, built in 1670 as a retirement home for war veterans that has expanded to include a soldiers’ hospital, war monuments, and war museums. Many of France’s war heroes are buried there including France’s greatest war hero of them all, Napoleon Bonaparte and his family.

The Musée Rodin (Rodin Museum) was opened in 1919 in the Hôtel Biron where he lived from 1908. It contains most of his greatest works including The Thinker and The Kiss. You’ll see many of his sculptures in the gardens. Other great artists and sculptors including Van Gogh, Rodin, and Claudel are represented in the museum.

The Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Paris Institute of Political Studies), often called Sciences Po is one of France’s greatest educational institutions. Among its subjects of choice are political science, economics, business, communications, finance, journalism, law, management, and urban studies. It was established in 1872 by French businessmen, intellectuals, and politicians in the wake of France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 and the Paris Commune of the following year. In the last few years Sciences Po has taken on a few students from the poor suburban areas outside Paris; a French version of the inner city. This is in contrast to their usually elitist student body. The undergraduate program is usually three years with the third year spent abroad or in an internship. Of course there are Master’s and Doctoral programs. Students are expected to be proficient in at least two foreign languages and fluent in French. Many French leaders such as Chirac and Mitterand, thirteen former prime ministers and a whole slew of world leaders are former students, teachers or both.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Bordeaux Merlot I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Gravette Huitres (Oysters from the Arcachon Bay). For your second course savor Lamproie au Pomerol (Eels cooked in Red Wine and Chocolate).And as dessert indulge yourself with Cannelles de Bordeaux (Portable Crême Brulée). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Author information and copyright details

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss

The eighth arrondissement on Right Bank of the Seine River is part of the business and tourist center of Paris. Its land area is a tad under 1.5 square miles (about 3.9 square kilometers) and has a population of about forty thousand but hosts over one hundred seventy thousand jobs, the most of any Parisian district.

L’église de la Madeleine, often called la Madeleine is a church built to honor Napoleon’s army. Towards the end of the Twelfth Century the site contained a Jewish synagogue that was seized and consecrated as a Church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. In 1757 construction started on a new church, one demolished prior to completion. Then a new church was started but work ceased during the French Revolution. Napoleon and others got involved and finally the church was consecrated in 1842, almost one hundred years after rebuilding commenced. The building is Neo-Classical but inspired by a Roman temple at Nimes in the south of France. You can’t miss its fifty-two Corinthian columns, each twenty meters (over sixty feet) high.

The Madeleine’s organ is top of the line; the famous composers Camille Saint-Saëns and Gabriel Fauré were church organists. I am told that this is THE place to have your wedding and the list of Madeleine funerals is quite impressive including the likes of Chopin, Saint-Saëns, and Josephine Baker.

The Palais de l’Élysée (Élysée Palace) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic and hosts meetings of the Council of Ministers. The gardens are the site of a presidential party on July 14th. If you manage to wangle an invitation take my advice and don’t talk about storming anything.

The Palais was bought by Louis XV as a residence for his mistress Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, better known by the name Madame de Pompadour. Louis’s political opponents hung signs on the mansion’s gates “Home of the King’s …”. Even worse she was blamed for the Seven Year’s War. Later the building went through some hard times serving as a furniture warehouse, a print factory, a dance hall, and finally as home away from home for those Russian Cossacks who occupied Paris in 1814. Let’s just hope that they didn’t put their feet all over everything. Once they cleared out things started looking brighter for the Élysée. Napoléon III used to meet his mistresses there while living at the Tuileries Palace only an underground passage away. A French President died there in the arms of his mistress right before the end of the Nineteenth Century. In a weird incident during World War I a gorilla escaped from a nearby zoo and tried to kidnap the wife of the President of the Republic. Believe it or not a President of the French Republic and member of the Académie Française, Paul Deschanel, was said to jump into trees during state receptions, possibly imitating this unnamed gorilla.

The Élysée remained empty during World War II. Charles de Gaulle lived there from 1959 to 1969 but preferred receiving official state guests at a nearby building. To quote him “I do not like the idea of meeting kings walking around my corridors in their pyjamas.” Socialist President François Mitterrand usually returned at night to his Left Bank lodgings or to a friend’s appartment elsewhere. Don’t pity the poor forsaken Élysée; its estimated annual budget for drinks alone is one million euros, well over one million dollars.

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument honoring French soldiers, in particular those who served in the Napoleonic Wars. It is located in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, previously known as the Place de l’Étoile, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. This monument, built in 1806, is 165 feet (over 50 meters) high and almost as wide as it is high. It is the second largest such arch; the largest one is in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its design was inspired by the Classic Roman Arch of Titus. The interior walls list over 500 French generals and the names of major battles of the Napoleonic wars, somehow omitting Waterloo. When Baron Haussmann redesigned Paris he redid the neighboring Place de l’Étoile, heightening the Arc’s visual impact without solving those nasty traffic jams that just happen when a traffic circle serves twelve busy avenues.

Both France and Germany have held victory marches past the Arc de Triomphe. Beneath the Arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War I with an eternal flame, the first in Western Europe since the end of the Fourth Century. Would you believe that a drunk was able to extinguish this flame? Can you guess how? You might climb 284 steps to the top, or you can take the elevator and walk 46 steps. And yes, there is a replica at the Paris Las Vegas resort.

The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is an Art Nouveau theatre several blocks away from the avenue of the same name. In 1913 it hosted the initial performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring that degenerated from catcalls and fistfights into a full-scale riot. The Théâtre is home to several orchestras and other cultural events and hasn’t seen a riot in a long, long time (probably since 1913). Performances tend to be quite pricey, not surprising given the neighborhood.

The Grand Palais (Grand Palace) is a large glass Art Deco exhibition hall built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. It recently reopened after being closed for twelve years after a glass panel fell. The Petit Palais (Little Palace) across the street is home to an art museum, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.

The Hôtel de Crillon is an exclusive luxury hotel located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées at the north end of the Place de la Concorde. The hotel dates back to the mid-Eighteenth Century. Marie Antoinette was a frequent guest and took piano lessons there. This joint is so chic that its gourmet restaurant is decorated with seven different types of marble. Its top-floor Leonard Bernstein suite actually contains one of Lenny’s pianos. I’d be surprised if you have to demonstrate your piano skills to rent the suite. After World War I President Wilson and the American peace delegation stayed there, as did several other American presidents and the German high command during World War II. Space unfortunately precludes me from listing other fabulous, or at least famous, guests. And let’s not forget the annual Debutante Ball attracting the likes of the great, great, great granddaughter of the writer, Leo Tolstoy, the niece of George Bush, and the granddaughter of an executive vice-premier of China.

If you need to relax after thinking about this Ball and why your fifteen to nineteen year-olds weren’t invited, stop by the beautiful Parc Monceau at the northern end of the district. Unlike most French parks, it is laid out as an informal English garden. It is the site of the first silk parachute jump.

We’ll finish our Parisian tour at a train station; not just any train station but the famous Gare Saint-Lazare that opened in the 1830s. For some reason it has attracted Impressionist artists such as Édouard Manet and Claude Monet who even chose to live in the neighborhood.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Midi Viognier I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Huitres de Bouzigues (Oysters from Bouzigues). For your second course savor Bourride (Fish with Aïoli, a local mayonnaise). And as dessert indulge yourself with Crème Colane (Dessert Cream with Lemon, Vanilla, and Dill Seed). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

Article source and copyright

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian, French, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. His central website is www.wineinyourdiet.com devoted to the health and nutritional aspects of wine and its place in your weight-loss program. His global wine website is www.theworldwidewine.com. Visit his other websites devoted to Italian wine, Italian travel, and Italian food.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Levi_Reiss