Pictures of Paris Courtesy of Paris Photos 

  Where To Visit

Tourism is an enormous industry in France. Paris alone draws a whopping 23.5 million visitors every year.

If you go to...PARIS

Known as, "The City of Light", Paris is home to hundreds of infamous attractions.

The Eiffel Tower or La Tour Eiffel

The Eiffel Tower is one of the world's most recognizable monuments and the most commonly recognized monument in all of Europe. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel, an exceptionally gifted engineer for the World's fair

in 1889.

Pictures of the Eiffel Tower courtesy of The Eiffel Tower Photo Gallery

The Eiffel Tower from beneath. Notice the profound height. The Eiffel tower is a total of 324 meters high. If the tower were to fall you would be crushed by 1,100 tons of building materials.	This is the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Notice the Seine River as it moves directly through the center of Paris. Also notice the lack of sky scrapers that disturb the sky line of many American Cities.	The Eiffel Tower at night is a beacon of beauty. Its profound glow is lit every night by 20,000 multicolored light bulbs.	The Eiffel Tower during the day.

FUN FACT- The Eiffel Tower was originally designed to last 20 years, but its beauty and the tourism it created Convinced City officials to leave the monument standing long past its expected  termination date.

 This decision was subjected to much controversy. Officials viewed the reactions of the native Paris inhabitants as a strong display of pride. They published their beliefs in a local newspaper, Le Temps,

February 14th, 1887, and expressed a common desire to not have an enormous monument in the heart of their city. This public address was famous for its beginning,

“We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects, passionate lovers

of the beauty, until now intact, of Paris, hereby protest with all

our might, with all our indignation, in the name of French taste

gone unrecognized, in the name of French art and history under

threat, against the construction, in the very heart of our capital,

of the useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower, that public spite,"

The Louvre Palace (Palais du Louvre)

The Louvre Museum in its many successful architectural innovations has dominated Paris since the late 12th century.

Pictures of the Louvre Palace Courtesy of The Louvre Photo Gallery 

Notice the pyramid in the cente rof the picture. Known as the Louvre Pyramid, this pyramid is an entirely metal structure framed by 673 bright glass panes.  The pyramid was completed in 1989, and is surrounded by three smaller pyramids in the main courtyard known as Cour Napolean. The pyramid is now used as the main entrance to the museum.	Notice the formal structure of the Louvre Museum. Known as the Louvre Palace, this structure was in fact an ancient palace. The origins of this palace date back to the medevial time period and its structure has evolved in stages since the 16th century.	The wide corridors of the Louve hace been renivated into much more modern styles since their medevial styles. They ar enow designed to reseble the arched ceiling of French meeting halls but let in more light and give enough room for the ancient art that adorn the halls.

FUN FACT - The Louvre gets its name from a Frankish word, leovar or leower, signifying a fortified place according to the French. According to French Historians this palace was the actual seat of power in France until Louis XIV moved to Versailles in 1682.

The Centre Pompidou (Centre Georges Pompidou)

A Complex in the fourth district of Paris. This was designed as a postmodern architectural building that houses a vast public library, the largest collection of modern art in Europe, numerous stores and gift shops, and the Musée National d'Art Moderne a museum. This complex is the designed to be an enormous culture center in Paris.

150 Million Visitors Since its Opening

in 1977!

Pictures of Pompidou Centre Courtesy of the Beaubourg Photo Gallery

The Centre Pompidou was designed and constructed between the years 1971 and  1977. The goal of the design was to combine the new architecture of then and create something that would exemplify modern architecture for as long as the center was is use. Notice the easily seen support on the ceiling. The building was designed to hold many floors so the structure was made of steel and reinforced many times over with concrete floors and steel rafters.

The tube on the outside of  The Centre Pompidou shows the characteristics of the quirky design of the center. Inside this tube an escalator moves quickly and shuttles the visitors to the different centers and levels of the center. Notice the height of the center. While at the top breathtaking views of Paris can be found and George's Restaurant allows you to eat and relax amongst it all.

FUN FACT: The Georges Pompidou Centre is commonly reffered to as Beaubourg. The center is formally named after Georges Pompidou who was the president of Frane from 1971-1977. He  dictated the creation of such a place to promote the expression of modern art, french culture, and postmodern architecture.

L'Arc De Triomphe

Located in the Center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, this manument was resurrected to honor those who lost their lives in the Napoleonic Wars. This Arch is also home of the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI.

Pictures of L'Arc courtesy of  Photos of Paris   

L'Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806. As one fo the most influential monuments in Paris it set the guideline and style of Paris Architecture. The arch was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus.	This is a view of L'Arc de Triomphe from the Eiffel Tower. Notice the throngs fo tourists inside the arc. Also notice the enormous size of L'Arc, the arc stands at 160 feet high and is 48 high. Today it is the second largest triumphal arc in existence.	View of the arc from underneath.

FUN FACT- L'Arc de Triomphe is so colassal that three weeks after the Parisian victory party in 1919 to celebrate the end of hostilities of World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through the arch.

Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris)

Also known as the Notre Dame Cathedral, this gorgeous roman catholic cathedral is located in the fourth district of Paris and is home to the official chair of the Archbishop of Paris. 

Pictures of the Notre Dame de Paris courtesy of Sacred Destinations Photo Gallery

The Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of these most prominent exapmles of French Gothic Architecture. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic Cathedrals and its construction spanned throughout the Gothic Period. Its gorgeous statues and windows demonstrate a predominate favoratism towards naturalism.	The fornt view of the famous church. Notice the distinc shape of the two towers and compare them with the side view. Although the two towers seem to make up the church the elaborate design of the side offers a completely different perspective that remakably works.

Side view of the Notre Dame from the River Seine. Notice the large circle designe and the side view of the two enormous towers depicted above.	The interior of the richly decorated Notre Dame.

FUN FACT-  The Hunchback of Notre-Dame a novel by Victor Hugo was inspired by the Notre Dame. The famous church was the setting and home of the protagonist a man named Quasimodo who was the infamous hunchbacked bell ringer of the Notre Dame. Ironically enough the bells of the Notre Dame Church are famous see in picture below.

^ Lauren Sharples

April 14th 2010

French I, Block