Paris
Published by shan under on 6:32 AM
Paris, the city of light, has many of the world's most visited attractions,. Among them, the Eiffel tower, the Louvre palace, the Notre-Dame cathedral and the near-by Versailles palace are truly unique. The business district of La Défense with the Grande Arche from Danish architect Otto von Spreckelsen testifies to the economic and artistic vitality of Paris.
Can't decide how to spend your time in Paris City? Start with this list of Paris City's most popular attractions to get started planning your trip to France.
History
In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at 300m. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a tempory structure to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution. And since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring symbol of the city of Paris.
The Tour was originally built for the 1889 Exposition. This steel construction defied all traditional rules in architecture. It is now the television transmitter for the greater Paris region.
The Tour selected by a competition which was won by Gustave Eiffel, an engineer who had experience of constructing high level railway viaducts. In the public eye, the tower had many mixed opinions, celebrated and loathed in equal measure. Throughout its construction, the residents became convinced that it would collapse, and Eiffel had to reassure them personally. The author Guy de Maupassant left Paris permanently to avoid looking at its 'metallic carcass' but others who espoused more self-consciously modern views championed the tower: Seurat and Douanier Rousseau were among the first to paint it, in 1889 and 1890 respectively. On a clear day, it is possible to see Chartres Cathedral from the high level viewing platform.
There are three floors. The first is at 57 m., the second at 115m., and the third at 276 m. The top of the aerial is 320 m. above the ground. And on a nice day, you an see from the top of the platform, the whole of Paris and even the distant suburbs.
The 12,000 steel girders are held together by 2,500,000 rivets to produce a smooth, curving profile. Its functional elegance heralded the dawn of Industrial Art, and has met with much sarcastic comment from more conservative observers ever since it was finished in 1889.
And in 1986 the external night-time floodlighting was replaced by a system of illumination from within the tower's superstructure, so that it now looks at its magical best after dark.
Practical Information
How to get there
METRO : Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro, Ecole Militaire
RER : Ligne C - Station Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel
BUS : 42,69,72,82,87
TAXI : Station Quai Branly, Pilier Ouest
Opening
From January 1 to June 18: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
From June 19 to August 29: 9:00 am - midnight
From August 30 to December 31: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
Last admitance 1 hour before closing.
Fees:
Stairs - all visitors: 3,80 euros
under 25 years old : 3,00 euros
Adults
Lift to 1st platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 7,50 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 10,70 euros
Children
Lift to 1st platform 2,30 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 5,90 euros
History
Built in the year 1900 by Victor Laloux, this train station was meant to service the Orleans line. Unfortunately, the line ceased because the platforms were not long enough. After being used for a variety of purposes, the whole building was entirely refitted inside and transformed into an art museum covering the period from 1850 to 1914, with an area of 50 000 m2.
The conversion of this abandoned train station, the Gare d'Orsay, into the Musee d'Orsay marked a major advance in the reorganization of the different collections. The museum is devoted to all art forms from the second half of the 19th century (painting, sculpture, architecture, music and items trom everyday life). Significant Impressionist and neo-lmpressionist works are on display, as well as the creations of the more conservative academic school that was also known as Pompier in France. Art-Nouveau objects and blue-prints complement the collections.
Design
The giant, 32-m-high (102-ft) and 140 m-long (450-ft) main hall of the station, artfully surrounded by a delicate iron construction enabling the abundant use of glass, was deserted by all, except for the rats. By the 1960s, the dilapidation had progressed to the point that Orson Welles chose it as a backdrop for his filming of Kafka's The Trial. And in 1971 it was finally decided to tear the building down.
Fortunately, this did not occur and during Georges Pompidou's term of office as president, the idea of transforming the train station into a museum first emerged. His successor, Giscard d'Estaing, eventually gave the go-ahead for the time-consuming and expensive renovations. The work began in 1980. Some 270 million US dollars flowed out of the taxpayers' pockets before President Miterrand could proceed to ceremoniously dedicate it.
The Collections
The collection is made up mostly from the late works of the Louvre and the Impressionist paintings from the nearby museum Jeu de Paume. You can also find works from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, chronologically bridging the Louvre and the Pompidou Center.
Displayed on the ground floor, are earlier works devoted to sculpture with Dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms which are filled with works by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, Corot and peasant paintings.
In the last room, you can find such works by Courbet. And if you like Monet, there is a room dedicated to him. Other artists are present such as Bazille, Delacroix, Puvis de Chavanne, Degas and Gustave Moreau.
And if you are a fan of Oriental Art, you will enjoy the ingeniously designed gallery.
On the second floor you can see such popular art of the nineteenth century and rooms with furniture and decoration by well-respected "fin-de-siecle painters" (Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas, Sisley and Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec). The building is extremely large and much works have been taken out of reserve stock to fill out the displays. It is advised to start on the ground level with the Impressionist painters and then take the escalators to the upper floor to see the Impressionists and their successors.
Practical information
Where can you find the Musée d'Orsay
Next to the Palace of the Legion of Honour, on the quai Anatole France and across the rue de Bellechasse, is the old Orsay station.
How to get there
Metro line 12: Solférino, Assemblée Nationale
Bus : 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94.
RER C : Musée d'Orsay
Opening
Tuesday to Sunday open 10am - 6pm
Tursday open until 9.45pm
Sunday : 9am-6pm.
Closed on Mondays, January 1st , May 1st, December 25th.
Fees
Full fare : 7 euros
special price: 5 euros
Sundays : 5 euros
Free the first sunday of each month
Free below 18 years old
Can't decide how to spend your time in Paris City? Start with this list of Paris City's most popular attractions to get started planning your trip to France.
| Eiffel Tower Paris just wouldn't be Paris without the Eiffel Tower. Designed by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 World Fair, at 300m it was then the world's tallest building. Not everyone was happy when it was first built but today it is one of the world's most visited monuments. The Eiffel Tower remained the highest monument in the world until the construction of New York's Chrysler Building in 1930. |  |  |
History
In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at 300m. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a tempory structure to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution. And since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring symbol of the city of Paris.
The Tour was originally built for the 1889 Exposition. This steel construction defied all traditional rules in architecture. It is now the television transmitter for the greater Paris region.
The Tour selected by a competition which was won by Gustave Eiffel, an engineer who had experience of constructing high level railway viaducts. In the public eye, the tower had many mixed opinions, celebrated and loathed in equal measure. Throughout its construction, the residents became convinced that it would collapse, and Eiffel had to reassure them personally. The author Guy de Maupassant left Paris permanently to avoid looking at its 'metallic carcass' but others who espoused more self-consciously modern views championed the tower: Seurat and Douanier Rousseau were among the first to paint it, in 1889 and 1890 respectively. On a clear day, it is possible to see Chartres Cathedral from the high level viewing platform.
There are three floors. The first is at 57 m., the second at 115m., and the third at 276 m. The top of the aerial is 320 m. above the ground. And on a nice day, you an see from the top of the platform, the whole of Paris and even the distant suburbs.
The 12,000 steel girders are held together by 2,500,000 rivets to produce a smooth, curving profile. Its functional elegance heralded the dawn of Industrial Art, and has met with much sarcastic comment from more conservative observers ever since it was finished in 1889.
And in 1986 the external night-time floodlighting was replaced by a system of illumination from within the tower's superstructure, so that it now looks at its magical best after dark.
Practical Information
How to get there
METRO : Bir-Hakeim, Trocadéro, Ecole Militaire
RER : Ligne C - Station Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel
BUS : 42,69,72,82,87
TAXI : Station Quai Branly, Pilier Ouest
Opening
From January 1 to June 18: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
From June 19 to August 29: 9:00 am - midnight
From August 30 to December 31: 9:30 am - 18:30 pm (11:00pm via lift)
Last admitance 1 hour before closing.
Fees:
Stairs - all visitors: 3,80 euros
under 25 years old : 3,00 euros
Adults
Lift to 1st platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 7,50 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 10,70 euros
Children
Lift to 1st platform 2,30 euros
Lift to 2nd platform 4,10 euros
Lift to 3rd platform 5,90 euros
| The Orsay Museum The Orsay museum may not be the massive size of Louvre, but its Impressionist collection is among the best in the world. The museum is housed in a former rail station, and has the atmosphere and personality to match. The Musee d'Orsay attracts more than 2 million visitors annually. | |  |
History
Built in the year 1900 by Victor Laloux, this train station was meant to service the Orleans line. Unfortunately, the line ceased because the platforms were not long enough. After being used for a variety of purposes, the whole building was entirely refitted inside and transformed into an art museum covering the period from 1850 to 1914, with an area of 50 000 m2.
The conversion of this abandoned train station, the Gare d'Orsay, into the Musee d'Orsay marked a major advance in the reorganization of the different collections. The museum is devoted to all art forms from the second half of the 19th century (painting, sculpture, architecture, music and items trom everyday life). Significant Impressionist and neo-lmpressionist works are on display, as well as the creations of the more conservative academic school that was also known as Pompier in France. Art-Nouveau objects and blue-prints complement the collections.
Design
The giant, 32-m-high (102-ft) and 140 m-long (450-ft) main hall of the station, artfully surrounded by a delicate iron construction enabling the abundant use of glass, was deserted by all, except for the rats. By the 1960s, the dilapidation had progressed to the point that Orson Welles chose it as a backdrop for his filming of Kafka's The Trial. And in 1971 it was finally decided to tear the building down.
Fortunately, this did not occur and during Georges Pompidou's term of office as president, the idea of transforming the train station into a museum first emerged. His successor, Giscard d'Estaing, eventually gave the go-ahead for the time-consuming and expensive renovations. The work began in 1980. Some 270 million US dollars flowed out of the taxpayers' pockets before President Miterrand could proceed to ceremoniously dedicate it.
The Collections
The collection is made up mostly from the late works of the Louvre and the Impressionist paintings from the nearby museum Jeu de Paume. You can also find works from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, chronologically bridging the Louvre and the Pompidou Center.
Displayed on the ground floor, are earlier works devoted to sculpture with Dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms which are filled with works by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, Corot and peasant paintings.
In the last room, you can find such works by Courbet. And if you like Monet, there is a room dedicated to him. Other artists are present such as Bazille, Delacroix, Puvis de Chavanne, Degas and Gustave Moreau.
And if you are a fan of Oriental Art, you will enjoy the ingeniously designed gallery.
On the second floor you can see such popular art of the nineteenth century and rooms with furniture and decoration by well-respected "fin-de-siecle painters" (Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas, Sisley and Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec). The building is extremely large and much works have been taken out of reserve stock to fill out the displays. It is advised to start on the ground level with the Impressionist painters and then take the escalators to the upper floor to see the Impressionists and their successors.
Practical information
Where can you find the Musée d'Orsay
Next to the Palace of the Legion of Honour, on the quai Anatole France and across the rue de Bellechasse, is the old Orsay station.
How to get there
Metro line 12: Solférino, Assemblée Nationale
Bus : 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94.
RER C : Musée d'Orsay
Opening
Tuesday to Sunday open 10am - 6pm
Tursday open until 9.45pm
Sunday : 9am-6pm.
Closed on Mondays, January 1st , May 1st, December 25th.
Fees
Full fare : 7 euros
special price: 5 euros
Sundays : 5 euros
Free the first sunday of each month
Free below 18 years old
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