Notre-Dame de Paris
by sunnywong
The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris has witnessed the rich pageant of French history. It was the scene of many royal marriages, Joan of Arc's trial for heresy (1455), and Napoleon's papal coronation (1803), among other events. The beautiful cathedral fell into disrepair after the French Revolution, coming first under the wrath of the anti-Christian Jacobins, then facing the neglect of the weary wartime nation during the reign of Napoleon. Only after the publication of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame in 1831 did the French take steps to restore the church.
Overview to the south
by sachara
La Samaritaine, the largest department store in Paris is easy to find on the Louvre side near the Pont Neuf. It's located in three buildings. From the rooftop the 360 degree view at the city is wonderful. To the south you can see the Notre Dame and the Panthéon.
Metro stops would be Pont-Neuf or Louvre-Rivoli After more than 25 years I have still the lovely scarf I bought here. In this time I brought this scarf many times to the desert and to many continents. Now finally it starts to falling apart.
Place de la Concorde
by Klod5
Avec 8 hectares, la Place de la Concorde octogonale est la plus grande place de Paris. Elle est situé entre le Tuileries et les Champs-Élysées. En 1763, une grande statue de roi Louis XV a été élevée à cet endroit pour célébrer la guérison du roi après une grave maladie. L'environnement la statue a été aménagé plus tard, en 1772, par l'architecte Jacques-Ange Gabriel. Elle était connue alors commela place Louis XV.
En 1792, pendant la révolution française, la statue a été remplacée par un un autre, grande statue, a appelé ' Liberté' et le square a été appelé Place de la Révolution. Une guillotine a été installée au centre de la place et en seulement deux années, 1119 personnes y ont été décapités. Parmi elles beaucoup de personens célèbres comme le Roi Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, et le révolutionnaire Robespierre , pour en nommer seulement quelques-uns. Après la révolution la place a été renommée plusieurs fois jusqu'à 1830, quand le nom actuel lui a été attribué' Place de la Concorde'. At 8 hectares, the octagonal Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris. It is situated between the Tuileries and the Champs-Elysées. In 1763, a large statue of king Louis XV was erected at the site to celebrate the recovery of the king after a serious illness. The square surrounding the statue was created later, in 1772, by the architect Jacques-Ange Gabriel. It was known as the place Louis XV.
In 1792, during the French revolution, the statue was replaced by a another, large statue, called 'Liberté' (freedom) and the square was called place de la Révolution. A guillotine was installed at the center of the square and in a time span of only a couple of years, 1119 people were beheaded here. Amongst them many famous people like King Louis XVI, Marie-Antionette, and revolutionary Robespierre, just to name a few. After the revolution the square was renamed several times until 1830, when it was given the current name 'Place de la Concorde'.
EAT DINNER-SAVE DESERT & EXPRESSO FOR THE TEA ROOM
by thinking
INSIDE TIP:
After you finish your meal at the restaurant, do not order desert or expresso there.
Leave to have your desert and expresso in one of the wonderful tea rooms located nearbye.
The Tea Rooms have more selection of various kinds of deserts along with better expresso, hot chocolate or tea-
and all at lower prices than the restaurant you just left.
It make you smile for being so smart and gives you a chance to visit yet another great Tea Room!
This insider tip is by Tom, who can't get through a day without eating a desert!
Parc des Princes.
by bdwoot
I got tickets with my wife to see Paris St.-Germain play Bordeaux, the top two teams on the table that season. This is something I would never have missed nor will I repeat it. It is on the west side of town near Bois de Boulongne. It is a very lovely stadium of 45000.
I was surprised by a few things. The food at Parc des Princes was (drumroll, please), hot dogs and coke. The fanatics (known as "ultras") tend to be in the end zones. Singing, chanting, flares, nobody there sits the entire game. There are iron fences between seat sections and a moat around the playing field. It didn't take long to figure out why.
At the half, I saw police out of the corner of my eye. They were swinging clubs. Apparently, a band of ultras from Paris and the ones from Bordeaux were taunting each other and then the fights started. From the far end of the stadium, ultras who were at the wrong end would jump into the 10-foot deep moat then help each other out onto the pitch, then do it again in front of the visitors section.
Needless to say, we left early so as to miss the ultras on the metro. If you are your American wide-end, you won't like the seats. They could handle about two-thirds of my butt. My wife contributed some room, but I buddied up with the guy next to me who switched back and forth from cigarettes to cigars.
Comments