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Place St. Michel
Place St-Michel is the busiest spot in the Latin Quarter with
its pink marble fountain, built in 1860, surrounded by cafes facing
the Seine and Notre Dame. The Paris Commune of 1871 began here,
as did the student uprising of 1968.
La Sainte Chapelle
See the exquisite stained glass windows of this small 12th century
church built by Louis IX to house what he believed to be a part of
the Cross and for which he paid more than the church itself. Try to
visit on a sunny day when it looks like a ‘jewel box’.
Musee de Cluny
Was once a medieval monastery, built on the ruins of a vast third-century
Roman bathhouse. Today, it is a museum
of medieval antiquities. The remains of the bathhouse
can be seen just behind the museum.
Notre-Dame de Paris
The Cathedral
of Notre Dame de Paris dates back to 1163 but was not
completed until 1345. It is one of the masterpieces of Gothic art
in Western Europe. Its facade, the soaring Gothic ribbed vaulting,
its huge light-filled interior and awe-inspiring stained glass windows
are magnificent artistic achievements. The square in front of the
Cathedral is called the Place du Parvis. In the center is a plaque
from which all road distances in France are measured. Of course,
this is the setting for Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of
Notre Dame’.
Pont Neuf
Paris's most famous and beautiful bridge, was completed in 1607.
A statue of Henri IV stands near its center. The Bridge joins the
Right Bank of the Seine to Ile de la Cite and continues to the left
bank. Along the Quays are the Bouquinistes selling antique books and
prints.
St-Germain
St-Germain was a center of bohemianism and existentialism in the
glittering café society of the post-war years. Names associated
with this period are Sartre and Camus and the singer Juliette Greco.
Young French teenagers spent nights in its jazz clubs and cabarets.
Many famous French singers sang in the clubs or lived in the area,
such as Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel, Charles Trénet, Guy
Béart, Charles Aznavour. The home where Serge Gainsbourgh
lived on rue de Verneuil has become a graffitied shrine. Jazz greats
who played here include Sidney Bechet, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington.
The Pantheon
Constructed by Louis XV in 1744 in gratitude for recovering from gout,
this massive temple to the great men of France houses the bodies of
Voltaire, Rousseau, Mirabeau, Marat, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and
Jean Moulin (hero of the French Resistance during WWII).
Continued...
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