Paris

The Eiffel Tower (English: /ˈf/ ; French: tour Eiffel French: [tuʁ ɛfɛl])is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "La dame de fer" (French for "Iron Lady"), it was constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the centerpiece of the 1889 World's Fair. Although initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, it has since become a …

The Louvre (English: /ˈlv(rə)/ ), or the Louvre Museum ( French: [myze dy luvʁ]) is a national art museum in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement (district or ward) and home to some of the most canonical works of Western art, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the Medieval Louv…

Notre-Dame de Paris (French: [nɔtʁ(ə) dam də paʁi]; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Several attributes set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style, particularly its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its eno…

The Musée d'Orsay (English: /ˌmz_dˈs/ , English: /mˈz_-/ , French: [myze dɔʁsɛ]) (English: Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It houses the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters …

The Jardin du Luxembourg (French: [ʒaʁdɛ̃ dy lyksɑ̃buʁ]), known in English as the Luxembourg Garden, colloquially referred to as the Jardin du Sénat (Senate Garden), is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. Creation of the garden began in 1612 when Marie de' Medici, the widow of King Henry IV, constructed the Luxembourg Palace as her new residence. The garden today is owned by the French Senate, which meets in the Palace. It covers 23 hectares (56.8 acres) and is known for its lawn…

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (English: /ˌʃz_ˈlzɛ-/, English: /ʃz_ˌlˈz/; French: [av(ə)ny de ʃɑ̃z‿elize]) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. It is known for its theatres, cafés and luxury shops, as the finish of the Tour de France cycling race, as well as for its annual Bastille Day military parade. The name is French for t…

The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées (English: Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Construction of the Grand Palais began in 1897 following the demolition of the Palais de l'Industrie (Palace of Industry) to prepare for the Universal Exposition of 1900. That exposition also produced the adjacent Petit Palais a…

The Sainte-Chapelle (French: [sɛ̃t ʃapɛl]; English: Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248. The Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX…

The Panthéon (French: [pɑ̃.te.ɔ̃], from the Classical Greek word , , 'temple to all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 and 1790, from designs by , at the behest of King Louis XV of France; the king intended it as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, Paris's patron saint, whose relics were to be housed in the church. Neither Soufflot no…

The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine. It links the Institut de France and the central square (cour carrée) of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Arts" under the First French Empire). History Between 1802 and 1804, under the government of Napoleon Bonaparte, a nine-arch metallic bridge for pedestrians was constructed at the location of the present day Pont des Arts: this was the first metal bridge in Paris…

The Hôtel des Invalides (English: "house of invalids"), commonly called Les Invalides (French: [lezɛ̃valid]), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Cont…

The Pont Alexandre III is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower. The bridge is widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in the city. It has been classified as a French monument historique since 1975. History The Beaux-Arts style bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander …

The Centre Pompidou (French: [sɑ̃tʁ pɔ̃pidu]), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou (English: National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil, and the Marais. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of Richard Rogers, Su Rogers, Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco…

The Musée Rodin (English: Rodin Museum) in Paris, France, is an art museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as well as just outside Paris at Rodin's old home, the Villa des Brillants at Meudon, Hauts-de-Seine. The collection includes 6,600 sculptures, 8,000 drawings, 8,000 old photographs and 7,000 objets d'art. The museum receives 700,000 visitors annually.…

Père Lachaise (French: [pɛʁ laʃɛːz]) is a station of the Paris Métro, serving Line 2 and Line 3 on the border of the 11th and 20th arrondissements. Location The station is located at the intersection of Boulevard de Ménilmontant, Avenue de la République and Avenue Gambetta, west of Place Auguste-Métivier, the platforms being positioned: • on line 2, south of the intersection, under Boulevard de Ménilmontant (between Ménilmontant and Philippe Auguste stations); • on line 3, west of the intersecti…

The Church of St. Eustache, Paris (French: église Saint-Eustache), is a church in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The present building was built between 1532 and 1632. Situated near the site of Paris' medieval marketplace (Les Halles) and rue Montorgueil, Saint-Eustache exemplifies a mixture of multiple architectural styles: its structure is Flamboyant Gothic while its interior decoration and other details are Renaissance and classical. The 2019 Easter Mass at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris was …

The Guimet Museum (full name in French: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its full name is the National Museum of Asian Arts-Guimet, or Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts. The museum has one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia. History Founded by Émile Étienne Guimet, an industrialist, the museum first opened at Lyon in 1879 but was…

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of Blaise Pascal and Jean Racine. Jean-Paul Marat is buried in the church's cemetery. The sculpted tympanum, The Stoning of Saint Stephen, is the work of French sculptor Gabriel-Jules Thomas. Renowned organist, composer, and improviser Maurice Duruflé held the post …

The Palais Garnier (French: [palɛ ɡaʁnje], Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (French: [ɔpeʁa ɡaʁnje], Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seat opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. Initially referred to as le nouvel Opéra de Paris (the new Paris Opera), it soon became known as the Palais Garnier, "in acknowledgment of its extraordinary opulence" and the architect …

Place des Vosges (French: [plas de voʒ]), originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France. It is located in the Marais district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris. It was a fashionable and expensive square to live in during the 17th and 18th centuries, and one of the main reasons for the chic nature of Le Marais among the Parisian nobility. History Originally known as Place Royale, Place des Vosges was built by Henri IV fro…

The Tour Saint-Jacques (French: [tuʁ sɛ̃ ʒak], 'Saint James's Tower') is a monument located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France, at the intersection of Rue de Rivoli with Rue Nicolas Flamel. This Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th-century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchers"), which was demolished in 1797, during the French Revolution, leaving only the tower. What remains of the destroyed church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucheri…

The Canal Saint-Martin is a 4.6 km (2.86 mi) long canal in Paris, connecting the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine. Nearly half its length (), between the Rue du Faubourg du Temple and the Place de la Bastille, was covered in the mid-19th century to create wide boulevards and public spaces on the surface. The canal is drained and cleaned every 10–15 years, and it is always a source of fascination for Parisians to discover curiosities and even some treasures among the hundreds of tons of discar…

Tuileries (French: [tɥilʁi], lit. "tile factories") is a station on Line 1 of the Paris Métro. It is situated in the 1st arrondissement, under the Rue de Rivoli. Location Like most stations on Line 1, Tuileries lies on an east–west axis (Axe historique) from La Défense in the west to Vincennes in the east. Specifically, it is located underneath the Rue de Rivoli just near the Jardin des Tuileries, for which the station is named. History The station opened on 19 July 1900 with the entry into serv…

Sorbonne may refer to: • Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. • The University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) • One of its components or linked institution, such as:• College of Sorbonne (1253–1882), a theological college of the former University of Paris • one of its successors named "Sorbonne":• Sorbonne University, Paris, including the former Paris 4, Paris 6, INSEAD, and other institutions • Paris 1 Pa…