Walking Tour Paris

G.Byrne Bracken

Description

Paris is a city renowned for its history, beauty and romance. Beloved of artists, writers and thinkers, not to mention lovers, "La Ville-Lumiere" (The City of Light) is as famous for its fashion as its food and, of course, its art and architecture.Architect G. Byrne Bracken guides you through 15 walking tours in Paris' most famous and scenic locations, including Le Marais, Tuileries, St Germain des Pres, Latin Quarter, Luxembourg, Montparnesse, Invalides, Champs Elysees, Montmatre and others. Each is accompanied by beautiful sketches, from the magnificence of the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay to tiny museums dedicated to artists and writers dotted throughout the city.A Walking Tour Paris features 200 buildings, streets and places and contains over 80 elegant illustrations with 17 maps. This handy pocket guide is user-friendly, information-rich and the perfect companion for all visitors and explorers of Paris.

Sujets

• France

Informations

• Publié par: MarshallCavendishM
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789814435376
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

A WALKING TOUR
PARIS
Sketches of the city s architectural treasures...
Journey through the urban landscape of Paris
Gregory Byrne Bracken
Marshall Cavendish
Editions
Copyright 2012 G. Byrne Bracken
All text and illustrations by G. Byrne Bracken Editor: Stephanie Yeo Designer: Benson Tan
Published in 2012 by Marshall Cavendish Business An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
PO Box 65829 London EC1P 1NY United Kingdom [e-mail]
and
1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 [e-mail] www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
Other Marshall Cavendish offices: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196 Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591 Marshall Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand Marshall Cavendish (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Times Subang, Lot 46, Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
The right of Gregory Byrne Bracken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Requests for permission should be addressed to the publisher.
The author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and disclaim liability arising directly and indirectly from the use and application of this book.
All reasonable efforts have been made to obtain necessary copyright permissions. Any omissions or errors are unintentional and will, if brought to the attention of the publisher, be corrected in future printings.
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 981 4435 37 6
Printed and bound in Singapore by KWF Printing Pte Ltd
This book is dedicated to Johann and No l Wilbrenninck.
Contents
Acknowledgements 5 Suggested Itineraries 6 Introduction 7 History of Paris 8 A Note on Climate 11 A Note on Icons 11 Maps 12
WALKS The Islands 15 Le Marais 29 Beaubourg 45 Tuileries 57 St-Germain-des-Pr s 75 Latin Quarter 91 Jardin des Plantes 103 Luxembourg 115 Montparnasse 127 Invalides 137 Trocad ro 151 Champs-Elys es 163 Op ra 177 Montmartre 189 Further Afield 201
Architectural Styles 223 Glossary 229 French Words and Phrases 232 General Listings 234 List of Icons 235 Index 236
4
Acknowledgments
I would like first of all to thank Melvin Neo and Martin Liu at Marshall Cavendish for their wonderful support on this project. Also the editor Stephanie Yeo and the designer Benson Tan who do such hard work in making these books as good as they are. Thanks also to Robert Cortlever, Cathinca Cortlever and Jasper Folmer for being such pleasant companions on the first of my research trips to Paris, and my mother, Maura Bracken, for the second. In fact thanks go to both my mother and my father, Brendan Bracken, for allowing me the chance to go to school in Paris all those years ago; the time I spent at College Franklin (St Louis de Gonzague) was magical.
My heartiest thanks must go to Johann and No l Wilbrenninck for all the extra titbits of fascinating information they gave, and the warm welcome every time I get to see them at home in France. Thanks also to Patrick Healy for his excellent tips and suggestions, as on all my various projects, your advice is invaluable. And a big thank you to the Delft School of Design, particularly Arie Graafland and Deborah Hauptmann, and the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden, especially Manon Osseweijer and Philippe Peycam, without whom I could do none of this work. I would also like to thank Jan Beer for telling me the history of the term bistrot , and Casper van der Kruk for the Castel B renger/D ranger anecdote.
5
Suggested Itineraries
Historical The Islands Le Marais Latin Quarter Jardin des Plantes
Cultural Le Marais Beaubourg Tuileries Latin Quarter Op ra Montmartre
Shopping Le Marais Tuileries St-Germain-des-Pr s Champs-Elys es Op ra
Markets The Islands Op ra Further Afield
Nightlife St-Germain-des-Pr s Champs-Elys es Op ra Montmartre
Children s Tuileries Jardin des Plantes Montparnasse Trocad ro Further Afield
6
Introduction
As a city, Paris needs no introduction. Beloved of artists, writers and thinkers, not to mention lovers, it is as famous for its fashion as its food - both of which are world class - and of course its art and architecture. Paris is full of wonderful places to experience: from the magnificence of the Louvre and the Mus e d Orsay to tiny little museums dedicated to artists and writers dotted throughout the city, such as the Mus e Gustave Moreau or the Mus e Zadkine. The city is also home to ancient Roman ruins, with Roman baths at Cluny and the Ar nes de Lut ce, an arena where gladiators fought to the death.
Paris is justifiably famous for its Gothic architecture, including some of the masterpieces of the style, including Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Sainte-Chapelle. Then there are the stunning h tels particuliers , aristocratic town houses, such as the H tel de Lauzun or the H tel de Soubise, many of which are open to the public to catch a glimpse of life as an aristocrat before the French Revolution. Paris is also home to cutting-edge modern architecture, with the Pompidou Centre and La Villette as well as, of course, the world-famous Pyramid of the Louvre.
The city is also surprisingly green, with numerous parks and squares, including the delightful Jardin du Luxembourg and the Tuileries, not to mention the famous tree-lined boulevards laid out by Baron Haussmann in the 19th century. Avenue de l Op ra and the Champs-Elys es are thronged with fl neurs wanting to see and be seen. For a bird s-eye view, climb the Eiffel Tower, where you can take in the entire city spread out beneath your feet. You can also enjoy spectacular views from the soaring Tour Montparnasse or from Sacr -Coeur in Montmartre.
The walks in this book have been arranged according to the different city districts, such as the Latin Quarter or the Op ra. Each one starts where the previous one left off, and there are 14 in all. Starting at the historical islands at the centre of Paris, they work their way around the various neighbourhoods to end in Montmartre. There is also a Further Afield chapter which takes in the buildings and places that fall a little outside the city centre. This is followed by a chapter which explains the various architectural styles mentioned in the book, and a listings section that includes contact details, there is also a glossary of architectural terms. Finally, there is even a short introduction to the French language to help you on your way.
All that remains is to wish you a pleasant time strolling around one of the world s most magical cities.
7
Notes
History of Paris
Some of the world s most important architectural developments were made in Paris, from the lightness of the Gothic style (at the Basilica of St-Denis) to the Modernist villas of Le Corbusier. Both of these styles have a lot in common, in fact, as they are both premised on the principle of spacious uncluttered interiors and the allowance of the maximum amount of light. Gothic s huge windows were divided by only the slimmest of stone tracery which gave it the effect of a wall of glass, something remarkably similar to the curtain wall of Modernism centuries later.
Paris patron saint is Sainte Genevi ve, a wealthy 5th-century Gallo-Roman landowner who gathered her friends together to pray that the city would be spared when Huns invaded in 451 CE. Their prayers were answered and there is a shrine to her in St-Etienne-du-Mont, on the appropriately named Place Ste-Genevi ve, as well as a statue of her by Michel-Louis Victor, from 1845, in the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Paris may be famous for its Gothic architecture, but it also has a strong affinity with Ancient Greece and Rome, and many of the city s place names reflect this. The Champs-Elys es (Elysian Fields - a sort of heaven in ancient Greece), the Champ-de-Mars (Field of Mars - the Roman god of war - a poetic term for battlefield) is the name of the old military drilling ground between the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire, not to mention Montparnasse (Mount Parnassus), Apollo s sacred mountain and home of the muses. Apollo was also the icon of King Louis XIV who sought to emulate the Greek god when he crowned himself Sun King - the palace of Versailles and its gardens revel in Apollonian imagery.
The capital and largest city in France, Paris straddles the River Seine and sits at the heart of the region known as the Ile-de-France. Estimated to have a population of well over two million, the city s wider metropolis is home to almost 12 million. One of the world s most popular tourist destinations, the city receives approximately 45 million visitors a year.
The earliest evidence of permanent settlement dates from around 4200 BCE, and a Celtic tribe known as the Parisii were said to have lived here around 250 BCE. The Romans under Julius Caesar then conquered the region in 53 BCE and established a city on Ile de la Cit that stretched as far as Place Ste-Genevi ve. Originally called Lutetia, this was later changed to the more French-sounding Lut ce. With the collapse of the Roman empire in the 5th century, the city was invaded by Germanic tribes and fell into decline, shrinking to a small fortified garrison on the island. This was when it changed its name back to Paris.
The city remained under the control of the Germanic Franks from the late 5th century onwards, with King Clovis founding the Merovingian dynasty