Place de Gaulle Paris

The Eiffel Tower, which has become the symbol of Paris, was erected for the World Fair in 1889. A masterpiece designed by the engineer Gustave Eiffel, it is altogether 1050 feet high, an extremely light, interlaced structure made of 15000 pieces of metal welded together. Its weight of 7000 tons rests on four huge piers…

The cathedral of Notre Dame stands on the site of a Christian basilica which had in turn been built on the site of a temple from the Roman era. Its construction was begun in 1163, under Bishop Maurice de Sully: first, the chancel was built, followed over the years by the nave and aisles and the…

This gate too, like the Porte St-Martin, has the form of a triumphal arch, with a single vault, measuring 79 feet both in height and in width. Designed by Blondel and erected in 1672, it has a sculpture by the Anguier brothers and was intended to celebrate the victories of Louis XIV in Germany, when…

This is a huge complex of buildings, including the Palais de Justice itself, the Sainte-Chapelle, and the Conciergerie. On this same site, the Roman rulers had their administrative and military headquarters; the kings of the Merovingian dynasty followed their example, and later the Capetians erected a chapel and a keep here. In the 13th century,…

The origin of the Louvre goes back to the end of the 12th century, when Philippe Auguste, before leaving for the Third Crusade, had a fortress built near the river to defend Paris from the incursions of the Saxons ( in fact the name Louvre seems to derive from the Saxon word “leovar”, meaning “fortified…

You begin at once to behave like a Parisian and take the Metro. For your ticket, buy a carnet” ( 10 tickets = 10 trips ) because it is cheaper. You will use them all because wherever you go the Metro is the fastest and least expensive way to travel. Large maps, both outside and…