Monuments of Paris
Notre-Dame Cathedral
On the initiative of Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, the construction of the cathedral began in 1160 and was not completed until the 14th century. The cathedral was built on the remains of a 4th century basilica, itself built on a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. It initially followed the structure of this ancient edifice, but over the decades it became a model reflecting the evolution from Romanesque to Gothic.
Architectural innovation reigns both in the cutting of the stone and in the structure of the buttresses which end in gargoyles to facilitate the flow of rainwater. It represents the largest Parisian building site of the Middle Ages both in terms of size and the choice of masters who worked there. Notre-Dame then has a completely different face: its portals with statues painted in bright colours on a golden background are open books in which the holy story is told. Behind her, the small town of the Cloister of Notre-Dame with its own surrounding wall, gates and garden, which was closed to the public, squeezed in.
In the 19th century, its dilapidated state required restoration work by Viollet-le-Duc, who unwittingly transformed certain aspects of this complex, which remains remarkable for its size and overall homogeneity despite the number of artists who worked there.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991, the cathedral is a high place of Christian worship and the most visited monument in France in 2018.
In April 2019, a fire broke out, destroying the cathedral's roof and its 13th century framework, Viollet-le-Duc's spire and several vaults forming the ceiling.
The courthouse
Since the Gallo-Roman period the site of the Palace has been occupied by a citadel. The Merovingian sovereigns (VI-VIIIth) occupied it for this purpose, then the clerics gradually invested it: it is there that Clovis died and that Saint Eloi founded the workshop of the currency. The Palais de la Cité became a royal residence during the Norman invasions at the end of the 9th century. From then until the 15th century, the Palace had three functions: fortified housing for the kings and their administrative staff, a judicial and monetary centre, and then, through the Holy Chapel, a religious centre. The kings, from Saint Louis to Charles V, fitted out and embellished what became the political and financial centre of the kingdom. When the power struggles between the City and the Kingdom intensified and it became the symbol of the city's resistance to royal power, the kings moved away but the Palace of Justice remained the seat of the judicial and financial administration, even during the Revolution.
The Palace of Justice suffered numerous fires that required partial and successive reconstructions. The monument as it stands today is therefore essentially the work of 19th century architects. Only the Guards' Room and the Hall of the People-at-Arms remain as vestiges.
It now houses the most important French courts: the Cour de cassation and the Cour d'appel. In 2018, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris was moved to Les Batignolles following the construction of the new Paris court in Les Batignolles.
La Sainte-Chapelle
Located in the heart of the Law Courts, the Sainte-Chapelle is the successor to the Chapel of Saint Nicholas built by Louis IV. Saint Louis before his departure for the Crusades launched its construction (1241-1248). It fulfils three roles: that of a palatine chapel (i.e. a palace: built on two levels, the lower one welcomes the parishioners, the upper one the king and his relatives), that of a reliquary (Saint Louis had acquired it by redeeming a debt from Baudouin of Constantinople) in the upper chapel and finally that of a collegiate church (a group of priests who watch over relics).
The Sainte-Chapelle, a jewel of the flamboyant gothic style, is remarkable in its design, which allows high glass canopies without buttresses, thanks to solid buttresses weighed down with simple pinnacles. Its construction lasted less than three years, but having suffered from the fires of the Palace of Justice and the Revolution, it was renovated during the 19th century by Duban and Lassus.
While the silhouette is in accordance with the original plan, the interior of the building is further modified. One can however admire the oldest stained glass windows in Paris made by the master glassworkers who made those of the Cathedral of Chartres.
The hotel of Cluny and Middle Ages Museum
In the 14th century the abbot of Cluny-en-Bourgogne bought the land to build a hotel for the Burgundian abbots who had come to study in Paris, called the Palais des Thermes. Nothing remains of this building, which was entirely rebuilt at the end of the 15th century: today we can admire the best preserved remains of a private hotel from this period. As soon as you enter the courtyard, you can admire the decorative elements (crenellations, turrets, mullioned windows, arcades or gargoyles) which date back to the Middle Ages. The hotel now houses the Museum of Cluny.
It is the National Museum of the Middle Ages, established in the first half of the 19th century by Alexandre de Sommerard, from whom the State bought the hotel and the collections in 1843. It groups together the most beautiful and most representative elements of the Middle Ages (from the 5th to the 15th century). One can therefore see stained glass windows, wood and stone sculptures, works of goldsmith's art, altarpieces and tapestries, including the famous Lady with Unicorn.
Since 2016, a vast construction site has been undertaken to modernise the museum, thus improving visiting and working conditions. The façades are covered with cast aluminium panels of uneven size and relief, with large areas of metal guipures reminiscent of the stone lace pattern found in the flamboyant Gothic chapel of the medieval hotel.
The arenas of Lutetia
Together with the Cluny thermal baths, it is the only Gallo-Roman building still visible in Paris. Built in the first century A.D., it is used for circus and theatre performances and can accommodate 1500 people.
Its dimensions enable it to rival the arenas of NÎmes or Arles, even if it has one row of arcades less. No nautical combat took place there, contrary to what the information panels indicate.
Buried in the 3rd century due to a barbarian attack, the arenas were only rediscovered in the 19th century and restored in the 20th century.
Mount Sainte Geneviève
This owes its name to its few decametres of altitude, which are no longer sensitive today due to modern urbanisation, and to Geneviève who defended Paris in 451 against Attila, restoring confidence to the besieged and providing them with a miraculous supply.
On her death, she was buried alongside Clovis and his queen, Clotilde, in the Abbey of Sainte Geneviève-du-Mont founded by Clovis in 510 following his victory over the Visigoths. All that remains of this place of religious fervour is the west wing of the cloister's courtyard, the lower hall and its refectory, and the bell tower of the church known as Clovis' tower. The other parts of the building were extensively remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries.
After the Revolution, the establishment was declared a national asset and changed its name several times: Central College of the Pantheon in 1796, became Lycée Nation from 1804 to 1848, College Henri IV in 1815, then College Corneille in 1870 pet since 1873 Lycée Henri IV.
The Sainte Geneviève library
It is located on the Place du Panthéon, on the site of the former college of Montaigu, famous for its location, its rigour and... Its dirtiness.
The library was built between 1844 and 1850 by Labrouste, who made maximum use of the possibilities offered by metal structures, particularly the size of the vaults and the graceful cutting of the metal.
At the beginning, the collection of the Abbey Sainte Geneviève was transported there. As with the Sorbonne Library, the wooden furniture and woodwork are preserved, but access is only permitted to holders of a student card.
The Pantheon
Its construction was decided in 1744 by Louis XV following the vow he made in Metz, where he had fallen seriously ill, to rebuild the Abbey of Sainte Geneviève.
This was an indirect testimony to the close relationship between the kingdom and its capital, Paris, and the King of France, who placed himself under the protection of the patron saint of Paris. The work only began ten years later under the architectural direction of Soufflot, who died before completion. They are completed by Rondelet. The Pantheon nevertheless bears the mark of its architect who wanted to bring together the Greek and Gothic styles in a single building.
Its name means that it houses all the divinities. It is likely that Louis XV undertook the work with the intention of making it the tomb of the Bourbons. During the Revolution, the Constituent Assembly made it the Hall of Fame, which was to house the ashes of the great men of the era of French freedom. It welcomes 78 personalities, such as Mirabeau, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Jaurès, Louis Braille, Jean Moulin, Pierre and Marie Curie, André Malraux and Simone Veil.
The Sorbonne
In 1257, Robert de Sorbon, canon of Paris and confessor of St. Louis, opened this institution intended to house the studies and lives of sixteen poor students who were destined for theology. Thus was born the University of Paris, which remained the seat of theological studies under the Ancien Régime.
In 1469, the Sorbonne housed the first printing house. However, its condition deteriorated over time and Richelieu, the principal of the place, decided to restore the buildings and the church (1624-1642). From the Revolution to the Empire, the Sorbonne was closed and the University suppressed. Napoleon opened it again. From 1885 to 1901 Nénot rebuilt it and enlarged it considerably.
Today the University has nearly 40,000 students and has built a solid reputation for excellence in the fields of Law and Political Science, Economics and Management and Arts and Humanities.
The Collège de France
Founded in 1530 by Francis I as the Royal College with the aim of teaching Latin, Greek and Hebrew, it symbolizes the birth of Humanism and the desire to read the texts in their original version.
It was not until 1610 that construction work began on the present building and the assassination of King Henry IV in the same year suspended it. They were not resumed until 1774 on the site of the Hotels of Tréguier and Cambrai where the courts were free from the influence of the very dogmatic Sorbonne.
During the Revolution, it took its present name. In 1930, significant expansion work was carried out to provide scientific subjects with the laboratories they needed. The courses are public and free of charge and are given to a highly informed audience.
The Saint Michel Fountain
Its construction is late since it dates back to the Haussmannian reworking and has as its primary function at that time to form a term to the perspective.
It shows Saint Michael overcoming the Devil and on either side of the central scene the evangelical animals.
The Garden of Plants
It was during the reign of Louis XIII, in 1626, that Héroardet Guy de La Brosse, the king's physician, transposed the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants from the Île de la Cité to the faubourg Saint Victor.
The garden was opened to the public in 1640 and the three Jussieu brothers and Tournefort were in charge of bringing back specimens from the four corners of the world. They offered free teaching in French in botany, chemistry and anatomy.
Buffon, the author of a Natural History in 36 volumes, enlarged the garden as far as the Seine at the end of the 18th century, while Verniquet built the Belvedere at the top of the Labyrinth, which is the oldest preserved metal construction in Paris. Fifty years later, the first greenhouses were built which are the oldest metal greenhouses preserved in France.
Covering nearly 19 hectares, the Jardin des Plantes houses 8,500 species and varieties, 2,000 greenhouse plants, 11 gardens, including the School of Botany, and 6 places for paid visits (the Great Gallery of Evolution, the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology, the Galleries of Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology, the Botanical Gallery, the Great Greenhouses of the Jardin des Plantes and the Menagerie).
The Great Mosque of Paris
Its construction was decided in 1920 and carried out from 1922 to 1926. This building follows a Hispano-Moorish architecture inspired by the Alhambra Mosque in Granada and strongly enriched with many elements from Muslim art and crafts.
It consists of three distinct parts: places of worship, places of culture and places of commerce built around a central garden that occupies more than half of the building.
One can have a refreshment at the Moorish café which offers a change of scenery in the heart of the Latin Quarter and visit all the buildings (except on Fridays).
The Place des Vosges
Its first name is Place Royale because it was designed and built (1605 to 1612) during the reign of Henri IV. It occupied the site of the Hôtel des Tournelles by Catherine de Médicis in 1563 following the assassination of Henri II. The place was then occupied by a horse market.
Then Henri IV set up a silk and spun silver factory which finally did not satisfy him (it did not prosper). He then plans to build a square courtyard of 36 houses aligned and similar architectural harmony. The Place Royale soon became the heart of an aristocratic district: on the one hand, pavilions were sold to rich families and on the other hand, the surroundings were built of French-style hotels, i.e. built between the courtyard and the garden.
During the Revolution, the square was named Indivisibility, and in 1800 it was given its current name to honour the first French department to have paid its taxes. Lived there: Mme de Sévigné, Bossuet, Richelieu, Marion Delorme, but above all Victor Hugo, whose house became the Victor Hugo Museum.
Saint Eustache Church
Adjacent to the Jardin des Halles, the church of Saint Eustache is one of the most beautiful churches in Paris. Originally a modest chapel was built in 1213; it became a parish church, consecrated to Saint Eustache, and housed relics of this Roman martyr.
For three centuries, the chapel was extended. Francis I laid the foundation stone of a new building in 1532. It is thanks to his patronage that this building was built with a remarkable architectural unity and a decoration representative of Renaissance art.
Only the façade, which remained unfinished, was rebuilt in classical style in the 18th century.
The Georges Pompidou Centre
In 1969, at the instigation of President Georges Pompidou, it was decided to allocate the Beaubourg plateau to the construction of a cultural centre focusing on contemporary art.
While the Halles de Baltard on the Forum was being dismantled, Rogers and Piano created a building deliberately devoid of decorative research. The building not only displays its metal and ventilation structures and its escalators to the public, but also what it aims at: the promotion of contemporary art.
The Beaubourg centre, named after the village located on the site that Philippe-Auguste's compound encompasses, offers temporary exhibitions, a museum of modern art, an institute for research and acoustic coordination, a cinema, a library and, on the top floor, a restaurant and shops.
The church of Saint Germain
The church stands on the site of an old Merovingian religious building. It was founded in 542 by Childebert, son of Clovis, to contain the relics of Saint Vincent that he brought back from Spain. It is only from the 8th century that the name Saint Germain was taken.
It seems that the church originally had a gilded ceiling, a gilded bronze roof and rich mosaics on the floor. Similarly, at the breakthrough in the 19th century of the Boulevard Saint Germain, a former cemetery of the 7th century was discovered, which testifies to the religious past of the place.
It is a royal abbey, which thus benefits from independence and is directly submitted to the pope.
The Musée d’Orsay
It is installed in the premises in the former Gare d'Orsay station which was built on the rubble of the Palais d'Orsay used as the headquarters of the Court of Auditors and the Council of State destroyed by the Commune.
This station of modern design since it accommodates from 1900 the first trains with electric traction is killed by modernity: the platforms were not designed for what allows the development of the electrification of the network, long trains. The station was closed in 1973 and converted into a museum in 1986.
The Musée d'Orsay is the link between the Louvre and the Centre Georges Pompidou. It contains works of art from the period 1848-1914.
The Odéon theatre
It was built on the gardens of the Hôtel de Condé in 1782. It sheltered the French actors until the Revolution, when the troupe split up.
In 1787, a company took over the direction of the theatre, which then took its name of Odéon in reference to the monuments where the Greeks organised their music competitions, first balls and then dramatic shows.
The current buildings are due to Chalgrin who rebuilt it identically after the fire of 1807. It is under the direction of Barrault from 1969 that the theatre marks the artistic life of the capital.
The Palais du Luxembourg
In 1610, the Queen and Regent Marie de Medici, mother of the young Louis XIII, bought a vast estate on the edge of Paris to build an Italian-style palace.
But in 1625 she lost a palace battle against Richelieu and was exiled. For 160 years, the palace served as a residence for members of the royal family. In 1793, the revolutionaries turned it into a prison.
In 1800, the architect Chalgrin extensively renovated the interior of the palace to house the Conservative Senate. Over the years, the building was used for various political purposes. In 1958, the Palace became the seat of the Senate of the Fifth Republic.
Port-Royal Abbey
Made famous in particular by Pascal, the abbey is the main focus of Jansenist thought in France.
Port-Royal thus appears as a place of resistance to royal power, which Louis XIV did not succeed in reducing, throughout his long reign.
The abbey was founded in 1625 as a dependency of Port-Royal des Champs. The church was built in 1646. The cloister has remained from the period as well as the woodwork in the chapter house.
In 1966 the Port-Royal Maternity Hospital was installed in new buildings. The cloister, the chapel and the chapter house of the former abbey are integrated into the Cochin hospital.
The Montparnasse tower
It was built from 1969 to 1973 by a group of architects who resisted the sirens of public opinion that considered this tower of more than 200 metres high to be unsightly.
It has 56 floors and houses many offices. The belvedere offers an extraordinary view of Paris, as does the panoramic restaurant. At night, the illuminated city has something to delight you.
The Town Hall
The guild of boatmen at the origin of the city of Paris placed at its head Etienne Marcel, provost (chief) of the Merchants of Paris. In 1357, he decided to make the Pillar House, located on the edge of the Place de Grève, the meeting place of the corporation. It is on this site that the present Town Hall stands.
In the 16th century, the house was replaced by a Renaissance-style palace by order of François I. The house was built in the Renaissance style.
The building was enlarged at the beginning of the 19th century but was burnt down at the end of the 19th century by the Communards. Rather than rebuild from the ruins, it is preferred to start all over again from the 16th century plans, in a neo-renaissance style.
Symbol of the city as well as of France, it is from the top of the Balcony of Honour that on August 25, 1944 General de Gaulle exclaimed "Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated!". The facades of the building honour the great people of French History with more than a hundred statues.
The Saint Jacques Tower
Situated near the Place du Châtelet, the tower is the only vestige of the church of Saint Jacques de la boucherie, which from the 12th century marked a starting point for the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and the importance of the brotherhood of Parisian butchers.
The church was destroyed in 1802 for the construction of the rue de Rivoli. The tower, 52 meters high, has a weather station and many statues in Gothic style.
The Louvre
It is the largest museum in France and is rightly renowned for it. But first of all it is the symbol of the State. The Louvre is composed of several parts that correspond to the stages of its construction: the Cour Carrée, the Cour Napoléon, the Colonnade, the Pavillon de Flore, the Galerie du Bord de l'Eau, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Pyramid.
Its history dates back to 1190 when Philippe-Auguste had an external fortress built to protect himself. He therefore had a square courtyard built, in the centre of which was a solid keep, the Grosse Tour. For two centuries, the Louvre, whose name would come from the wolf kennel, kept a role of protection of the kingdom but also of the treasures and archives and even of prisoners of distinction.
Under Charles V, the Louvre was enlarged with new enclosures encompassing the fortress and became the royal residence. When Francis I ascended the throne he decided to destroy the old Louvre. Only the Great Tower was knocked down. But on the eve of his death, he entrusted Pierre Lescot with the redesign of the old buildings. It was not until the 18th and 19th centuries that the Louvre was finally completed according to Lescot's plans and the idea of transforming the place into a museum became a reality.
In the 20th century, the museum became more and more important and new spaces had to be found quickly. This project included the construction of the Pyramid giving the museum a monumental entrance with a 17,000-metre central hall serving the different wings of the museum.
The Place de la Concorde
Originally it was intended to build a square to honour Louis XV the "Beloved" with an equestrian statue. The work lasted several years. In 1792, the statue was unblocked and the square was renamed Place de la Révolution.
The name Place de la Concorde was later given to the image of the hopes of the time. In 1833 Hittorff installed the obelisk from Luxor in the centre.
This diplomatic gift from the Viceroy of Egypt is a 220-ton pink granite monolith engraved with hieroglyphics, measuring 23 metres and dating back 23 centuries.
At the eight corners are raised statues in honour of French cities. Two fountains and two horses statues are included.
The Elysée Palace
This 18th century building will know many owners including Madame de Pompadour and Napoleon III.
It was in this palace that Napoleon signed his abdication after Waterloo.
It is currently the Parisian residence of the Presidents of the French Republic since 1873.
The Grand Palais and the Petit Palais
They were both born after the Universal Exhibition of 1878, because it was at that time that the decision was made to build definitive structures for the pavilions of industry and the City of Paris. They bear witness to the architecture of the 19th century: a metal structure with a neoclassical stone façade.
From 1937 onwards, the Grand Palais housed the Palais de la découverte, which until the creation of the La Villette centre was the museum for the popularisation of science. The Grand Palais regularly hosts temporary exhibitions on its 5,000m² and is one of Paris's cultural centres.
The Petit Palais is assigned to the City of Paris and takes the name of Palais des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris in 1902. The collections are devoted to the Romantic period among others, bringing together paintings by Courbet, Delacroix, Ingres and works by Cézanne, Bonnard and Maillol.
The Charles de Gaulle-Etoile square (Arc de Triomphe)
Until the end of the 18th century, the Place de l'Etoile, which takes its name from its five-pointed star shape, was nothing more than a mound of earth.
In 1806 Napoleon, victorious at Austerlitz, decreed the construction of the Arc de Triomphe. Due to the political, financial and military difficulties of the country, the construction was interrupted and then resumed until 1833, and the glory of the imperial armies was joined by that of the revolutionary armies.
Since 1920, it is under the Arc de Triomphe that lies the body of the unknown soldier for whom the flame of remembrance has been burning since 1923.
On the platform of the Arc you can enjoy a magnificent view of Paris, since you are halfway and at the highest point of the perspective stretching from the Louvre to La Défense.
The Grande Arche de la Défense
Built by the Dane Otto von Spreckelsen at the end of the 1980s, it stands at the end of the perspective opened by the Louvre. It is at the heart of the business and residential district which extends over the communes of Puteaux and Courbevoie.
The Grande Arche itself is a vast 110-metre-high cubic concrete structure covered with glass and white marble. It rests on twelve pillars in the basement and between which the national roads pass to prevent the flow of cars from hindering pedestrian traffic.
Les Invalides
In 1670, Louis XIV decided to build the Hôtel des Invalides, designed to shelter and care for old invalid soldiers.
Today, it still houses invalids, but also the Saint-Louis des Invalides Cathedral, several museums and a military necropolis, including the tomb of Napoleon.
Its famous dome required up to 12 kilos of gold when it was last restored in 1989 and is still today one of the landmarks of the Parisian landscape.
The Eiffel Tower
Great star of the Parisian monuments, she is at the culmination of the perspective opened by the Military School. It is at its construction the highest building in the world with 300 meters high and built in 1889 to mark the centenary of the Universal Exhibition.
The structure is remarkable and due to the peculiar cast iron nature of its framework: puddled iron, i.e. reinforced by projections. If the total weight of the Tower is 7,000 tons, the pressure it exerts on the ground per cm² is of the order of that of a chair supporting a seated man. Every 7 years, it requires a large toilet, acrobatic painters and 50 tons of paint.
Its top oscillates with the wind but never by more than 12 cm, in the same way its height can vary by 15 cm under the influence of heat and the dilatation of the metal.
The Tower has three platforms and offers a remarkable view of Paris. It is at sunset that the view is at its best. The night lighting of the Tower makes it a huge jewel in the heart of the capital.
The Royal Palace
Built for Cardinal de Richelieu in 1634, the palace became the royal residence of several families.
The building was completed and remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. Three wings were erected at the end of the 18th century, closing off the sides of the garden where there was a circus, then a riding school, a ballroom and finally a theatre until 1798 when fire destroyed it.
During the Revolution, the Royal Palace became a huge tripot where some fortunes were ruined.
Today it is a favourite place to stroll around Paris: the Comédie-Française, the Palais-Royal theatre and the restaurant Le Grand Véfour, with its listed decor, contribute to its fame. Contemporary art is also strongly present in its main courtyard with Buren's columns and two mobile fountains by Pol Bury (1985).
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The Stock Exchange
To the south of the passage of the Grand Boulevards stands the Palais Brongniart.
This building dates back to 1826, its construction took 16 years and at that time corresponded to a need that was felt from the beginning of the 18th century due to the habit of Law Bank's clients to manipulate shares.
The Garnier Opera
One of the fruits of Baron Haussmann's Parisian restructuring. The opera house is the most remarkable building of the Second Empire period.
Its facades, which imprint the Italian style on certain colonnades, are enriched with sculptures. The white stone of the opera house is very crumbly and therefore particularly difficult to swallow.
The size of the hall can accommodate 1,800 spectators. The interior is particularly exceptional due to the use of marbles of several colours which create polychrome effects rare in French architecture.
In 1964, Chagall took charge of the decoration of the ceiling of the great hall, where references to famous operas and ballets are very important.
The Sacré Cœur
Located on the heights of Montmartre, the National Assembly declared in 1873 the construction of the basilica of public utility.
An association of the national vow is created to collect funds. In fact, the Sacré-Coeur was built only with private funds.
An architectural competition was launched and the Romano-Byzantine style proposed by Abadie was chosen, thus allowing the construction of a dome required by the bishop of Paris. Completed in 1923, the Sacré-Cœur is strongly criticized for what it represents.
The Moulin Rouge
It is the centre of a small district of Montmartre between three squares (Pigalle, Blanche, des Abbesses).
The place maintains the tradition of the French cancan and the small women of Paris.
The atmosphere is however more touristic and less protestant than at the origin.
The National Library François Mitterrand
This project was launched by President Mitterrand as the largest and most modern library in the world to relieve the old Parisian premises.
Located on the banks of the Seine, the BNF's new headquarters were built in 1996. It consists of a central void with four huge square towers. Steel, glass and the omnipresence of wood make it a simple and audacious modern place.
There are 54,000 m² of reading rooms and all the printed matter of the National Library transferred there, i.e. ten million volumes.