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The tony eighth arrondissement is located on Right Bank of the Seine River. This district is part of the business and tourist center of Paris. Its land area occupies less than 1.5 square miles (about 3.9 square kilometers) and has a population of about forty thousand but is home to over one hundred seventy thousand jobs, more than any other Parisian district.
L’eglise de la Madeleine is a church built to honor Napoleon’s army. Towards the end of the Twelfth Century the site contained a Jewish synagogue that was seized and consecrated as a Church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. In 1757 construction started on a new church, one demolished prior to completion. Then a new church was started but work ceased during the French Revolution. Napoleon and others got involved and finally the church was consecrated in 1842, almost one hundred years after rebuilding commenced. The building is Neo-Classical but inspired by a Roman temple at Nimes in the south of France. You can’t miss its fifty-two Corinthian columns, each twenty meters (over sixty feet) high.
The Madeleine’s organ is top of the line; the famous composers Camille Saint-Saens and Gabriel Faure were church organists. I am told that this is THE place to have your wedding and the list of Madeleine funerals is quite impressive including the likes of Chopin, Saint-Saens, and Josephine Baker.
The Palais de l’Elysee (Elysee Palace) is the official residence of the President of the French Republic. It hosts meetings of the Council of Ministers. The gardens are the site of a presidential party on July 14th. If you manage to wangle an invitation take my advice and don’t talk about storming anything.
The Palais was bought by Louis XV as a residence for his mistress Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, better known by the name Madame de Pompadour. Louis’s political opponents hung signs on the mansion’s gates “Home of the King’s …”. Even worse she was blamed for the Seven Year’s War. Later the building went through some hard times serving as a furniture warehouse, a print factory, a dance hall, and finally as home away from home for those Russian Cossacks who occupied Paris in 1814. Let’s just hope that they didn’t put their feet all over everything. Once they cleared out things started looking brighter for the Elysee. Napoleon III used to meet his mistresses there when he resided at the Tuileries Palace only an underground passage away. A French President died there in the arms of his mistress right before the end of the Nineteenth Century. In a weird incident during World War I a gorilla escaped from a nearby zoo and tried to kidnap the wife of the President of the Republic. Believe it or not a President of the French Republic and member of the Academie Francaise, Paul Deschanel, was said to jump into trees during state receptions, possibly imitating this unnamed gorilla.
The Elysee remained empty during World War II. Charles de Gaulle lived there from 1959 to 1969 but preferred receiving official state guests at a nearby building. To quote him “I do not like the idea of meeting kings walking around my corridors in their pyjamas.” Socialist President Fran?s Mitterrand often returned at night to his Left Bank lodgings or to a friend’s appartment elsewhere. Don’t pity the poor forsaken Elysee; its estimated annual budget for drinks alone is one million euros, well over one million dollars.
The Arc de Triomphe is a monument honoring French soldiers, in particular those who served in the Napoleonic Wars. It is situated in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, once known as the Place de l’Etoile, at the western end of the Champs-Elysees. This monument, built in 1806, is 165 feet (over 50 meters) high and almost as wide as it is high. It is the second largest such arch; the largest one can be found in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its design was inspired by the Classic Roman Arch of Titus. The interior walls list over 500 French generals and the names of major battles of the Napoleonic wars, somehow omitting Waterloo. When Baron Haussmann redesigned Paris he redid the neighboring Place de l’Etoile, heightening the Arc’s visual impact without solving those nasty traffic jams that just happen when a traffic circle serves twelve busy avenues.
Both France and Germany have held victory marches past the Arc de Triomphe. Beneath the Arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of World War I with an eternal flame, the first in Western Europe since the end of the Fourth Century. Would you believe that a drunk was able to extinguish this flame? Can you guess how? You might climb 284 steps to the top, or you can take the elevator and walk 46 steps. And yes, there is a replica at the Paris Las Vegas resort.
The Theatre des Champs-Elysees is an Art Nouveau theatre several blocks away from the avenue of the same name. In 1913 it hosted the initial performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring that degenerated from catcalls and fistfights into a full-scale riot. The Theatre is home to several orchestras and other cultural events and has managed to avoid riots for a long, long time (probably since 1913). Performances tend to be quite pricey, not surprising given the neighborhood.
The Grand Palais (Grand Palace) is a large glass Art Deco exhibition hall built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900. It recently reopened after twelve years when a glass panel fell. The Petit Palais (Little Palace) across the street is home to an art museum, the Musee des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.
The Hotel de Crillon is an exclusive luxury hotel at the foot of the Champs-Elysees in the north end of the Place de la Concorde. The hotel dates back to the mid-Eighteenth Century. Marie Antoinette was a frequent guest and took piano lessons there. This joint is so chic that its gourmet restaurant is decorated with seven different types of marble. Its top-floor Leonard Bernstein suite houses one of Lenny’s pianos. And you won’t have to demonstrate your piano skills to rent the suite. After World War I President Wilson and the American peace delegation stayed there, as did several other American presidents and the German high command during World War II. Space unfortunately precludes me from listing other fabulous, or at least famous, guests. And let’s not forget the annual Debutante Ball attracting the likes of the great, great, great granddaughter of the writer, Leo Tolstoy, the niece of George Bush, and the granddaughter of an executive vice-premier of China.
If you need to relax after thinking about this Ball and why your fifteen to nineteen year-olds weren’t invited, stop by the beautiful Parc Monceau at the northern end of the district. Unlike most French parks, it is laid out as an informal English garden. It is the site of the first silk parachute jump.
We’ll finish our Parisian tour at a train station; not just any train station but the famous Gare Saint-Lazare that opened in the 1830s. For some reason it has attracted Impressionist artists such as Edouard Manet and Claude Monet who even chose to live in the neighborhood.
Of course you won’t want to visit Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food ‘ A Midi Viognier I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Huitres de Bouzigues (Oysters from Bouzigues). For your second course savor Bourride (Fish with Aioli, a local mayonnaise). And as dessert indulge yourself with Cr? Colane (Dessert Cream with Lemon, Vanilla, and Dill Seed). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines for each course.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine German, Italian, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He teaches various and sundry classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his Italian wine website www.theitalianwineconnection.com .
La Samaritaine is a department store in Paris, but it’s not just any department store in Paris. It’s an architectural masterpiece where Art Deco meets Art Nouveau and the two achieve symbiotic splendor in immense expanses of glass and green ornamental iron.
La Samaritaine is just off the famous Pont Neuf. As for the shopping, what is available may not be as chic as what one might find in the “grands magasins” such as Au Bon Marché & Galeries Lafayette, but La Samaritaine may have terrific slashed-price sales anytime on such items as sportswear, household goods and furnishings. There’s always a huge selection.
The best thing to do at La Samaritaine is to go up to the roof. There’s a restaurant up there where you can get a bite and something to drink. But the reason I go up there is for the panoramic view of Paris, from which you can really make things out clearly, as opposed to from atop the Eiffel Tower, from which everything is sort of a beautiful blur. The view from La Samaritaine is above the very heart of Paris, with such nearby visible wonders as the Pont Neuf, Square du Vert Galant (Henry IV; such a romantic setting), the Conciergerie (a massive one-time prison to Marie Antoinette), the Pont des Arts (a pedestrian bridge and favorite picnic spot), & the Ile de la Cité, just to name five. The top of the low barrier ringing the viewing deck has beautiful tile plates depicting what famous sites one can see in the distance beyond them, and these really help you to get your berrings if you are a first-timer to Paris.
Oh, dear. It has just come to my attention that La Samaritaine may be closed until as late as 2011, for restrengthening of the structure. Here’s hoping the job will be done sooner than that. Until then, I would suggest you check online sources for the current status of the reopening.
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I am a lecturer & online entrepreneur. I love reading, writing, travel (particularly in Paris, throughout England, Amsterdam), gardening (which mostly amounts to weeding, I’m afraid), karate, Ebay, Internet, Asian philosophies and religions, marketing, and much more.
The tenth arrondissement is located on the Right Bank in northeastern Paris. Its land area is slightly more than 1.1 square mile (a bit less than 3 square kilometers). Its population is slightly under ninety thousand and offers about seventy-two thousand jobs. Two of its major attractions are railway stations. If you haven’t seen a grandiose railway station such as in Europe or Manhattan’s Grand Central Station, you really should visit some of Paris’s offerings such as described below.
This arrondissement is not particularly well known to tourists. However, if you visit here you may get a feel for the real Paris, the Paris of Parisians. You might start by viewing the Canal Saint-Martin, which links the Seine River with northeastern Paris. This 2.8 mile (4.5 kilometer) long canal was built from 1806 to 1825 under the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte. Believe it or not, in some places it is only about three feet (one meter) deep. It nearly disappeared in the 1960s to become just another highway. While there is some canal traffic, mostly it’s a place to view the boats and the locks. Recently the neighborhood has become trendy. In 1938 the Canal Saint-Martin was featured in the famous movie Hotel du Nord. And in 2001 it was once again featured in the movie Amelie. The nearby streets are car-free for the later part of Saturday and all day Sunday giving the area a unique cachet.
The Gare de l’Est (East Station) is one of the largest and the oldest railway stations in Paris. Approximately 34 million passengers per year pass through the Gare de l’Est per year, making it the fifth-busiest station in Paris. I wonder how many of these passengers have seen the beautiful statue representing the city of Strasbourg at the west end of the station and how many have seen the statue representing the city of Verdun at the east end of the station. It’s a magnificent building with lovely artwork throughout. For example, the arcade includes representations of agricultural products and the coat of arms of over thirty cities in eastern France. The ticketing hall includes a large painting of soldiers leaving in 1914 for the Great War. Both these cities are served by this station, first opened in 1849. Perhaps its most famous train was the Orient Express to Istanbul which first opened in 1883. Times have changed and the Orient Express no longer goes to Paris or Istanbul. But some of the new lines are scheduled to run at almost two hundred miles (three hundred twenty kilometers) an hour and almost ten per cent faster in the future. The station is undergoing extensive renovation; for example, removing ugly plastic that covered beautiful marble for decades.
The Gare du Nord (North Station) handles about 180 million travelers a year. It is the busiest station in Europe, and the third busiest railway station in the world. It was first built in 1846 but already partially demolished in 1860 to permit extensive expansion. The old facade is now in the northern city of Lille. The new, mid-1860s, Neoclassical railway station includes 23 statues representing destinations; the international destinations are more imposing than the national ones. The station was expanded several times and is served by several subway lines. In 2007 the station was the site of a riot involving several hundred people that lasted for eight hours. The Gare du Nord has starred in several French films including Les Poupees russes (The Russian Dolls) and American movies such as The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Ocean’s Twelve.
Some of the other sights to see in this district are the Porte Saint Denis and Porte Saint Martin erected by order to Louis XIV to celebrate military victories, the Musee de l’Eventail (Fan Museum), Musee de Cristal de Baccarat (Baccarat Crystal Museum), and, for a change of pace, the Place du Colonel Fabien, headquarters of the French Communist Party designed by a famous Brazilian (Communist) architect, Oscar Niemeyer, named in honor of a resistance hero of World War II. A more traditional Place (Square) is the Place de la Republique that is often the site of political or other demonstrations.
Of course you don’t want to visit Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Midi Merlot I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Roque Anchois (Anchovies with Tomato, Spices, Vinegar, and Olive Oil). For your second course savor Tagine de Lotte (Monkfish Stew). And as dessert indulge yourself with Cr? Catalan (Cr? brulee with Orange Flower and Aniseed). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but between you and me, he prefers drinking fine German, Italian, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He teaches various classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his new wine, diet, health, and nutrition website www.wineinyourdiet.com and his Italian travel website www.travelitalytravel.com .
The thirteenth arrondissement of southeastern Paris is situated on the Left Bank of the Seine River. Its land area is fairly large by Parisian standards, and measures more than two and three quarter square miles (over seven square kilometers). This district population exceeds one hundred seventy thousand and is home to about ninety thousand jobs. Both population and employment figures are growing, largely due an influx of Asian immigrants.
Les Olympiades is a residential high-rise district built well over thirty years ago on a huge, elevated pedestrian esplanade complete with a shopping mall, the Pagode (Pagoda) at the center. To many people this complex looks like a smaller version of La Defense, Europe’s largest business district, situated just west of Paris. A driverless Metro (subway) feeds the complex, running every four minutes during the extended rush hour. Nearby is the huge Paris Rive Gauche project built on and near old railroad yards. Once again we are talking mostly high-rises. If that’s your bag, be my guest.
The Bibliotheque nationale de France (National Library of France) is another resident of the new thirteenth district. It was founded by Charles V in the mid Fourteenth Century at the Louvre Museum, described in our companion article on the First Arrondissement. Later the library moved to its own quarters in the same district. The new library, said to look like an open book, opened to the public in late 1996. Despite being located in a modest neighborhood, accessing library materials costs money. A famous French historian was refused a library card. While complaints abound the library does contain ten million volumes.
The Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital started out as a gunpowder factory and was converted to a dumping ground for the Parisian poor, serving as a prison for prostitutes, the criminally insane, and others of that ilk. During the French Revolution many prostitutes were freed but other residents-inmates were murdered. On the upside the hospital’s famous professor, Jean-Martin Charcot, nicknamed “the Napoleon of the neuroses” is often considered the founder of modern neurology. Furthermore it was the site of Paris’s first vaccinations, way back in 1800. La Salpetriere has become a teaching hospital. This was where Diana, Princess of Wales, breathed her last. If you are in the neighborhood you should visit the Seventeenth Century Chapelle de la Salpetriere (Hospital Chapel). By the way, the word chapel is misleading as the complex can hold four thousand people.
Unless you are a Princess Diana freak, who can blame you for not wanting to tour a hospital once famous for its rats? You really shouldn’t miss the next sight, unknown to many. The Butte-aux-Cailles (literally quails hill) is located in the west end of the district, not far from the very busy Place d’Italie. The hill is about 200 feet (65 meters) and Cailles was the family name of the family who once farmed the land. In 1783 the first hot-air balloon carrying people landed on this little hill. It was one of the strongholds of the Paris Commune in 1871, memorialized in a city square by that name. There has been so much excavation that the hill can’t support the high-rises that mar so much of this arrondissement and so much of the “new” Paris. So you’ll have to be satisfied with the co-op restaurants, trendy bars, and nightclubs that haven’t erased the village atmosphere. The Butte is home to an art-deco public piscine (swimming pool) fed by a natural hot spring. You can even enjoy vaudeville and Brazilian music. If you fall in love with any of the cute little houses in the neighborhood remember, they were once inexpensive.
The Gare d’Austerlitz (Austerlitz Station) is one of Paris’s major railway stations. It was named for a small Czech town in which the sorely outnumbered French and allied troops under Napoleon defeated the armies of Austria, Russia, and Great Britain in 1805. This railway station was first built in 1840 and extended a generation later. There are plans to rehabilitate and upgrade Austerlitz station doubling its capacity by 2020. The complex is moderately attractive but if you aren’t a railroad buff, don’t go out of your way to see it.
The Manufacture des Gobelins (Gobelins Factory) makes exceptional tapestries and has been doing so for centuries. It supplied the kings of France starting with Louis XIV. The company founder, Jehan Gobelin, discovered a special dye during the Fifteenth Century. Detractors called his company la folie Gobelin (Gobelin’s folly). I guess he showed them. Some of his descendants purchased titles of nobility and left the trade. Other family members branched out to the tapestry business and later into carpets and upholstery. Part of the complex is a museum that offers guided tours.
Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – An Alsace Riesling I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Schniederspaetle (Onion Ravioli). For your second course savor Brochet d’I a la creme (Pike in White Wine and Cream Sauce). And as dessert indulge yourself with Strudel aux Pommes (Apple Strudel). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but between you and me, he prefers fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and good company. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com.
The 19th arrondissement of northeastern Paris sits on the Right Bank of the Seine River. Its land area is approximately 2.6 square miles (slightly more than six and three quarters square kilometers). The population is about one hundred seventy thousand and the district is home to approximately seventy thousand jobs and two canals, the Canal Saint-Denis and the Canal de l’Ourcq. This district is fairly residential and is not visited by loads of tourists. In other words, by spending some time there you may get an idea of the real Paris; one that tends to be less expensive than the touristy arrondissements. The Parc des Buttes Chaumont built over a gypsum quarry and execution ground was designed for the famous Baron Haussmann, the guy who really redid Paris well over a century ago. It is one of the largest parks in Paris and contains many lovely features including English and Chinese gardens, a waterfall, and several cliffs and bridges. A major highlight is the Corinthian style Temple of Sybil that stands almost three hundred feet (about ninety meters) high. This park is one of the few in Paris where you are allowed to picnic on the grass. It has been called the most romantic park in Paris, one of the world’s most romantic cities. What could be less romantic than a slaughterhouse? To say that Villette was a slaughterhouse is like saying the Empire State Building is a skyscraper. The original complex was built shortly after the American Civil War. It was large enough and busy enough to employ over three thousand people. But over time Villette became outdated. The new slaughterhouse, already obsolete when rebuilt in 1967, measured an astounding 900 feet long and 150 feet high (about 300 meters long and 50 meters high). Instead of tearing down the building and adding to the scandal those in power launched an international competition to design the Parc de la Villette. The Parc de la Villette is Paris’s largest park. It englobes some 135 acres (55 hectares). It is the largest Parisian greenspace after the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery in the neighboring twentieth district. Of course we can’t forget the huge forest parks, the Bois de Vincennes in the southeast and the Bois de Boulogne in the west both of which are huge in comparison. The “Prairies” are vast open spaces with an excellent view of the Canal de l’Ourcq that adds to its charm. The Prairie du Triangle near the park’s center hosts regular free open-air movie screenings during the summer. Parc de la Villette has gardens unlike anywhere else. For example, the beautiful Jardin des Miroirs (Mirror Garden) is surrounded by 28 mirrors. The Jardin des Brouillards (Garden of the Fogs) is misty from all the rainbow-colored droplets generated by a multitude of fountains. A favorite, especially among the little ones, is the Jardin du Dragon (Dragon Garden) with a giant you know what that is about 250 feet (80 meters) long. And its tongue is a giant slide. Altogether there are ten thematic gardens linked by a winding blue path designed to look like a film strip. The bigger kids will prefer the six thousand seat Zenith concert hall which is devoted to rock music, political gatherings, and other noisy events. The Grand Hall of Villette has now been transformed into a cultural center and performance hall. Its showpiece is the Cite des Sciences et de l’Industrie (City of Science and Industry), the biggest science museum in Europe. It’s also the most expensive costing an estimated $642 million back in 1986. This masterwork attracts five million visitors a year. This museum was specifically designed to be hands on, educational, and fun. There is a planetarium, an IMAX theater, and a lot more. The Cite des Enfants (Kiddies Corner) has exhibitions specially designed for 3 to 12 year olds. For a change of pace visit the Cite de la Musique that’s more of a concert hall than a museum. It includes the French national collection of musical instruments that you can hear in action. If you really want to get into the swing of things the world-famous Conservatoire national superieur de musique et de danse de Paris (Music and Dance Conservatory) has been relocated and faces Parc Villette. Conservatory tuition fees are quite modest and student meals are subsidized. However, there is the minor matter of a performance-based entrance exam. Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. Here is a sample menu: Start with Rillions (Big chunks of Pork cooked in Pork Fat). For your second course savor Becasse fouree au Foie Gras (Woodcock stuffed with Foie Gras). And as dessert indulge yourself with Tarte Tatin (Upside down Apple Tart). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will gladly suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course. By the way, in part because of its proximity, Parisians tend to drink a lot of wine from the Loire Valley.
Levi Reiss authored ten computer and Internet books, but would rather drink fine French, German, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com featuring a weekly review of $10 wines.
There are many reasons why Paris is one of the most popular film locations in the world and the backdrop for countless films and books. Due to The City of Light’s ongoing love affair with the arts, its popular landmarks are instantly recognised by people across the globe; providing the perfect inspiration to jump on a boat, train or plane and take a trip to feast your eyes on some of the most filmed spots on earth.
Paris actually began its life as a simple Celto-Roman settlement, simply known as Lutetia on the Ile de la Cite. The Ile de la Cite is now occupied by the Cathedral de Notre Dame, famously shown in Wallace Worsley’s 1923 film, ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame‘.
Victor Hugos novel ‘Notre-Dame de Paris’ was also a great success and it was he who led a campaign for restoration of the cathedral which was falling into disrepair by the 19th century. Gothic revivalist Viollet-le-Duc restored Notre-Dame to its former glory and today you can take a trip to marvel at a job well done.
The French Capital’s alias as The City of Light hails back to the aura of enlightenment which Paris gained during the ‘Beautiful Era’ (Belle Epoque) – the Parisian golden age of the late 19th century where fashion prevailed and haute couture was born. Paris lay at the centre of this era and it was during this period that Gustave Eiffel’s famous tower was erected and the first Metro line laid.
A movie that perfectly depicts the feeling of the city during this time is Gigi, a filmic flurry of tea-rooms, courtesans and waltzes. The film won nine Oscars, so it seems safe to say that Edwardian era Paris is accurately and artistically evoked in this musical.
Charade is another French film classic starring Audrey Hepburn and features an impressive array of Parisian landmarks. The protagonists rendezvous at Le Theatre du Vrai Guignolet, where regular performances still continue to run. Furthermore, if you arrive at 3pm on a Wednesday then you can witness a performance of the oldest Punch and Judy show in Paris.
In more modern film, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ has highlighted the world’s most visited art museum, the Louvre. Whilst it is probably most famous for its housing of the Mona Lisa, the Louvre actually holds more than 35,000 works of art; proving a must-see for any art lovers.
The film Amelie is renowned for its sweeping shots of Montmartre and Sacre Cour, both of which you can visit on your trip to Paris. The Canal St Martin was also featured in the film and this green river which snakes through the eastern side of the city makes a welcome break from the busier tourist areas.
If there is a specific film location that you want to visit then you could bear this is mind when considering areas for hotels in Paris. And if you’re lucky, you could be just around the corner from those landmarks you’ve only ever seen at the movies.
Adam Singleton writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
You’ve seen her on TV, in movies and you certainly listened to her music. She is sexy, intriguing and mysterious. Having an already famous name, Paris Hilton is more than renowed. Playboy magazine called her the sex star of the year and Guiness book chose her as the most overestimated celebrity. Nevertheless, she is not only a rich celebrity but a true American symbol, adored by millions of people.
Paris was born in 1981 in the Hilton family and lived a luxurious childhood. She took up modelling and quickly attracted the eye of the media. Today, she is more than a model and has set true fashion trends. Despite her bad reputation, she is well known for being an actress, writer and singer. Paris Hilton is not as superficial as some may think but she still has a lot to prove.
The most important question is: Has Paris obtained the celebrity status she longed so much for? The answer comes quick; she did though not by using traditional methods. She is known worldwide for being one of the partying celebrities, always taking part in scandals and making sure that the tabloids are filled with articles about her. Her manners are often rude and insulting; also she is known to have been implicated in sex scandals and topless exhibiting.
Taking apart her ill fame and taste for unsuitable romances, Paris Hilton is a symbol for the beautiful and determined woman. She has played in a lot of films, mostly bit parts but her most remarkable interpretations are represented by the ‘House of Wax’ and the reality show ‘The simple life’. Along with Nicole Richie, daughter of esteemed singer Lionel Richie, she entertained the whole world, showing that she could face up or at least try deal with the simple country life.
For four seasons, the two girls went through a series of adventures, drawing millions of people in front of the television. ‘The simple life’ only helped to enhancement of Paris Hilton as a widely known celebrity. They had to move in with the Leding Family in Altus, Arkansas for one month and undertake a serious experiment. The experience proved to be more than amusing; the girls didn’t manage to get their hands dirty. However, they succeeded to cause a lot of disturbancies, including using someone elses credit card and losing their jobs.
The second season of ‘The simple life’ was given the name ‘Road Trip’ due to their driving across the country in a pickup truck. This season also attracted a lot of viewers, increasing Fox Channel’s ratings and also the popularity of Paris Hilton. The girls were filmed while catching fish, actively engaging in housemaid activities and even preparing sausage.
As the ratings of ‘The simple life’ continued to rise, Fox released a third season called ‘Interns’. The girls traveled once more, this time taking internships and having in one episode with an unforgettable confrontation with twin infant orangutans. The fourth season features the two girls playing wife, the action taking place in LA. At this moment, there are some discussions about realising the fifth season, called Malibu camp.
Paris Hilton is not only famous for her acting career. Some time ago, she launched under a famous brand, a luxury line of perfumes, called Paris Hilton Just Me. Seductive and mysterious scents were mixed creating youthful, vigorous and fresh fragrances. For her and for him, Paris Hilton Just Me line of perfumes provide a scent of radiancy and magic.
Raspberries, peppercorn, vanilla and freesia are just some of the ingredients of Paris Hilton Just Me perfumes. They are meant to be worn by confident, sexy and powerful women, the notes combining in a very special way just as Paris said. The main theme of the perfumes is given by the combination between lily, iris, white rose and sandalwood.
The Paris Hilton Just me perfumes exude sophistication and style. The line for men provides exquisite, intense scents from citrus, black currant and grass aromas. The perfume has a cool fragrance, being masculine and perfect for daytime wear. The mango, cedarwood and amber make this cologne more than tempting, just as its creator is.
Our website is a comprehensive guide to Paris Hilton. We have juicy details about all the seasons of ‘ The simple life ‘ and also about Paris Hilton Just me perfume lines. Pay us a visit and discover what Paris Hilton is really all about.
The 4th arrondissement is located on the Right Bank of the Seine River. It is one of the smallest in Paris with slightly over 0.6 square miles (1.6 square kilometers). While its population is only about thirty thousand the district provides over than forty thousand jobs. The Ile de la Cite (Cite Island) was already inhabited in the First Century B.C. by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii who gave their name to the city. Our first stop is world-renown, tasty, not very high in calories, and won’t cost you a lot of money. It’s on the magnificent Ile St-Louis one of the two Parisian islands in the Seine.
Berthillon makes great ice cream and has since 1954. It believes in natural ingredients and flavorings and uses no preservatives or any of that junk. It is usually closed during the last two weeks of August.
Centre Georges Pompidou (Georges Pompidou Centre), often called Beaubourg was built in 1971-1977 near Les Halles (the Halles Market) and the Marais. It contains a library, the Musee National d’Art Moderne (National Modern Art Museum), a center for music and acoustic research, and an industrial design center. You either love the building or you hate it because of its very distinct (ugly) architecture with pipes on the outside. Even if you can’t stand this building you may enjoy the art museum with its collection of painters including Kandinsky, Matisse, Miro, and Picasso.
One can only imagine how hard it is to run the city of Paris. Maybe that’s why its Hotel de Ville (City Hall) has been in the same Fourth Arrondissement location since the mid-Fourteenth Century. The present French Renaissance structure was rebuilt in the 1870s, undoubtedly inspired by castles in the Loire Valley. Its site was a well-known gathering place, in particular for public executions. The local specialty was burning heretics at the stake.
In the early Sixteenth Century King Francis I decided rebuild Paris’s city hall. Paris was then the largest city in Europe and the entire Christian world. Building the Renaissance city hall worthy of Paris took about a century. During the French Revolution the city hall lived up to its site’s history; a representative of the ancien regime (pre-Revolutionary government) was killed there the day that the Bastille was stormed. Several years later on this same site the revolutionary leader Maximilien Francois Marie Odenthalius Isidore de Robespierre usually called Robespierre was shot in the jaw and his followers were arrested.
Paris’s City Hall played a role in the revolution of 1870 and the Paris Commune of the following year; first it became the revolutionary government headquarters and subsequently was burnt to the ground when surrounded by enemy troops. The rebuilt building has a split personality: its exterior is a copy of the Sixteenth Century Renaissance building but the interior reflects the luxury of the day, the 1880s. Charles de Gaulle spoke from City Hall on that great day of August 25, 1944 when Paris was liberated.
Etienne Marcel, the most important pre-mayor of the city was lynched in 1358 by a crowd that felt that he wanted too much power. And the current mayor, Bertrand Delanoe, the first elected left-wing major of Paris in well over one hundred years was stabbed during a party open to the public. After recovering he converted his private apartments to a nursery for the children of municipal workers. Tell me, do you know of any other City Hall with such a history?
The short Rue des Rosiers in the Marais is somewhat a center of Paris’s Jewish community, the largest in Europe. Jews have been living here for six hundred years when they were expelled from Paris; at that time the Marais was outside the city limits. As often when a street becomes very popular it changes its character and Jewish butcher shops and delicatessens are giving way to upscale fashion houses. Be sure to visit the rue des Francs-Bourgeois and its many fashion stores, one of the rare Paris streets that is open on Sunday.
In the middle of the Twelfth Century, so the story goes, Maurice de Sully, the Archbishop of Paris, unhappy with the present cathedral had it demolished and sketched in the dirt its replacement, Notre Dame de Paris, one of the most beautiful churches in the world. Construction took almost two centuries, and frankly was worth it. This French Gothic church is located on the Ile de la Cite and is the seat of the Archbishop of Paris. During the French Revolution, many of its treasures were either destroyed or plundered. The church interior was transformed into a warehouse for the storage of forage and food. The statues of biblical kings of Judea (thought to be kings of France) were beheaded. Many of these heads were found during a 1977 excavation and are now display in the Musee de Cluny located in the fifth arrondissement. Notre Dame’s organ was been computerized, requiring three local-area networks. If you like touring churches, this district is home to several other historic ones, but if you ask me none of them are in the same league as Notre Dame de Paris.
Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – An Alsace Pinot Noir I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Flammekueche (Tart stuffed with Bacon, Onions, Cream Cheese, and heavy Cream). For your second course savor Coq-au-Riesling (Cock cooked in Riesling wine). And as dessert indulge yourself with Quetschelkueche (Plum Tart). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but between you and me, he prefers fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and good company. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com.
The 18th arrondissement of northern Paris is located on the Right Bank of the Seine River. Its land area is about 2.3 square miles (a sliver over six square kilometers). The population is one hundred eighty five thousand and the area is home to about seventy thousand jobs.
The distinctive Moulin Rouge (Red Mill or windmill) is the central highlight of this historic district. It is one of the world’s best-known nightclubs or to use the French term, cabaret. The Moulin Rouge was built in 1889 by the owner of the Olympia, Paris’s oldest music hall located in the neighboring ninth district. You can’t miss this building because of the imitation red windmill on the roof. Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra, Mistinguett, Edith Piaf, and many other famous entertainers regularly played the Moulin Rouge. The story has it that Elvis had a crush on a can-can dancer and never went to Paris without stopping at the Moulin Rouge.
This cabaret’s most unusual star was undoubtedly Joseph Pujol, who performed under the name Le Petomane. His act consisted of “singing” from a rather unexpected body opening. His “songs” included the French National Anthem, La Marseillaise, and an imitation of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. I’m told Sigmund Freud used to catch his act. Believe it or not, for many years Pujol was the highest-paid entertainer in France. A present-day British comedian Mr. Methane dressed like a superhero does the same sort of thing, but to my knowledge has not played the Moulin Rouge.
This historic cabaret, arguably the site where striptease was born, has been immortalized in paintings by Toulouse Lautrec and to a lesser extent by two films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, the 1952 version starring Jose Ferrer and Zsa-Zsa Gabor and the 2001 version starring Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman.
Butte Montmartre is a hill about four hundred feet (one hundred thirty meters) high not very much more than a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Moulin Rouge. Its height and natural beauty have attracted religious ceremonies since time immemorial. Montmartre was probably used for druid ceremonies in the distant past. It once hosted a temple to the Roman god of war Mars. Saint Denis, the Bishop of Paris and the patron saint of France, founded a church there before he was martyred in the mid-Third Century. His church, the relatively unknown Saint Pierre de Montmartre, claims to be the founding location of the Jesuit order of priests. You are more likely to visit the hill’s other church, the Basilica du Sacre Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) described below.
The area itself was the site of the first Paris Commune insurrection in 1870-1871 and its former gypsum mines serve as unmarked tombs for many partisans of this French revolution. The whole affair was pretty bloody and the Archbishop of Paris was one of its many martyrs. When Paris was reconstructed in the Eighteenth Century by Napoleon III and his minion Baron Hausmann, the poor people of Paris were driven out of the city center to Montmartre and other parts of the outskirts.
From the late Nineteenth Century until the end of World War One Montmartre was home to the artists and their milieu. Among those who hung their hats in Montmartre were Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh. The list goes on and on. In later years the artistic center of Paris, and in fact the world, switched from Montmartre to Montparnasse located in the south of Paris. In 1965 in his famous song La Boheme the popular French singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour tells the story of a painter reminiscing about his youth in a Montmartre that has ceased to exist: Je ne reconnais plus/Ni les murs, ni les rues/Qui ont vu ma jeunesse/En haut d’un escalier/Je cherche l’atelier/Dont plus rien ne subsiste/Dans son nouveau decor/Montmartre semble triste/Et les lilas sont morts (‘I no longer recognize/Neither the walls nor the streets/That had seen my youth/At the top of a staircase/I look for an atelier/Of which nothing survives/In its new decor/Montmartre seems sad/And the lilacs are dead’).
Montmartre is no longer bohemian. But what is? If you stroll around the Place du Tertre you won’t have any trouble finding artists, some of whom are struggling. Many renowned artists and other cultural figures such as Jacques Offenbach and Francois Truffault are buried in the Cimetiere de Montmartre (Montmartre Cemetery).
In 1873 Paris city council expropriated land at the summit of Montmartre for the construction of the Basilica. The foundation stone was laid in 1875 and the church was opened for services in 1891. The Basilica was only completed in 1914, and formally dedicated after the end of World War I. Go to top of the dome for a spectacular panoramic view of Paris, which lies mostly to the south. The church and its surroundings have often starred in films, most recently the 2001 movie Amelie. You may want to take the funicular (cable-car) to get to the top of the hill.
Among Montmartre’s museums you will find the Musee de Montmartre, the house where the painter Maurice Utrillo lived and worked in a second-floor studio. Several other well-known artists including Pierre-Auguste Renoir lived here. In 1990 his painting Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre featuring local people sold for more than $78 million. You might also want to stop by the Espace Dalí, a museum devoted to the famous Spanish painter Salavdor Dalí. More extensive collections of his work are found in Figueres, Spain and Saint Petersburg, Florida. Another museum is the Musee de l’erotisme in the nearby Pigalle section of the district. Do you need a translation?
When we launched this series we promised you a Paris vineyard. The fifteenth arrondissement in southern Paris also hosts a vineyard. But Montmartre’s vineyard is much more famous. Local intellectuals planted the vineyard in 1934. They chose a northern exposure (is Paris really that hot, temperature wise?) and organized the first grape picking a year after the planting, about three years too early. This ceremony attracted both the President of the French Republic and the Minister of Agriculture. With the exception of the World War II years, every October the grapes are picked and wine is made in the cellar of the Mairie (the local City Hall). Local artists paint labels for the bottles, sold in April at a charity auction. Yet one more reason to visit Paris and Montmartre in the spring.
Of course you don’t want to tour Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. Let me suggest a sample menu: Start with Foie Gras avec Gelee de Viognier (Goose Liver Pate with Viognier Jelly). For your second course savor Chevreau a l’Ail et Herbes Sauvages (Baby Goat with Garlic and Wild Herbs). And as dessert indulge yourself with Granite aux Pommes et Calvados (Apple and Calvados Ice). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but between you and me, he prefers drinking fine German, Italian, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He teaches various classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his new wine, diet, health, and nutrition website www.wineinyourdiet.com and his Italian travel website www.travelitalytravel.com .
If you watched CNN or Fox News like I did a few evenings ago, you might have been impressed at the student demonstrations in France.
Both TV channels had us sold on the idea Paris was being mobbed by the angry multitude. Pictures of Mad Max-like police trucks hosing thousands of protesters. Scenes of massive gatherings around Bastille square. Interviews of malcontent students. Some pyrotechnics to boot!
Golly!
Though I often travel to Paris, I live in Florida. So I had to wait until the following day before I could call relatives and friends in Paris. I got Vince first. Vince is always a reliable source, he’s got the local pulse. When I need to get the lowdown on all-things-Paris, I get it from him first.
“Hi Vince, it’s Phil. Gee, how is it today? Have you lived through the night?
“Hi man, what are you talking about?
“Well, I mean, the demonstrations and all. The mayhem.
“Oh yeah, so what about them?
“Well, I was on CNN yesterday, and they were showing all this mess with the police, and students, and cars burning!
“And?
“Come on, man, you can’t tell me nothing is happening there!
“Well, there was a demonstration, for sure. Students in the streets. But this was yesterday….
“You mean, it’s over?
“Sure, buddy. Guys didn’t like what the government handed over, guys got in the street, guys vented their anger, guys go home and watch TV, end of story.
“Oh. But about the cars torched? I mean, we saw it on TV!
“To hell with TV! You see a couple of cars burning, and you think it’s the war?
OK, that was Vince’s input. Kind of reassuring.
Let’s ring family. I wanted to talk to Lolo, my brother in law. Lolo was an army firefighter for 15 years, he’s cool-calm-collected, and he’s used to assessing disasters with a cold eye.
“Lolo? Hi, it’s Phil.
“Hi bro, whassup?
“Hey, I just wanted to hear it from you, you know, about the demonstrations, and the mess in Paris.
“Yeah, that was sporty.
“You mean, they wreaked havoc in the place?
“No, I mean it was sporty to get to work on my scooter. I mean, some of the streets near the Bastille Square were jam-packed.
“But what about the protests? I mean, they showed us the stuff on TV; it looked like mayhem with the cops and their trucks!
“That was towards the evening, not during the day. I was not far from the demonstrations when they were full on. The students sure were a loud crowd, but the hosing only started in the evening, and only lasted a couple hours.
“What about the cars burned?
“There were a few. Less than in November, during the events in the suburbs.
“Not many then. And how is it now?
“Quiet. Everybody’s home, like nothing happened.
“Do you mean the demonstrations are over?
“Sure. I rode in Paris today, and it was business as usual.
“Is it safe for Americans to come? You know I have this website, Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News.com, and I give travel advice to people. Is it safe for them, or should I just tell my visitors to postpone their travel plans to Paris?
“It’s just as quiet today as it was before the demonstrations. Come see yourself if you don’t believe me.”
Oh I sure believed Lolo, he having served 15 years as a firefighter in the army, and saved several lives. He used to serve in Paris too, so he knows the place like the back of his hand.
But I figured: I’m not gonna risk sending the visitors of my website to Destination Hell. I want proof. Solid proof that it’s all over, and there’s nothing bad happening now in Paris.
So I called Serge and Tony, two friends who are in the video business.
“Guys, could you do me a favor, and shoot a short video for my visitors, with the time and date on it? I wanna see Paris as it is today.
Serge and Tony are very cool guys, and they sure obliged.
This is the video they sent me: <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://media.libsyn.com/media/hotels/ballade-high.wmv”>Paris video</a>
It was shot in Paris, between 1:00 and 2:00 PM on April 3, 2006, in various well-known places: under the Eiffel Tower, on the Alma Bridge, on the Champs Elysees Avenue, on Place de la Concorde, at St Germain des Pres, on St Michel Blvd, near the Cluny museum, at the Notre Dame Cathedral, on the Cite island, near the Louvre and Orsay museums, near the Opera house, and finally, right in the department store neighborhood.
What it shows is exactly how Paris is at this time. Business as usual.
So how come we have seen such a mess on TV, and there seems to be no trace of it today?
For one thing, student protests rarely last. They are put together quickly, and dissolve even quicker. What we saw on CNN and other news channels was a live-fast-die-fast occurrence.
What’s more, TV and the news media rarely report quiet endings. ‘News’ is drama, war, atrocities, and the like. Uneventful endings never make the news.
The student protests of March 28 were filmed until everybody just went back home after sunset. Then they became much less newsworthy. Or so think the big honchos at CNN, Fox News, and the like. Don’t forget folks, these guys think for y’all, the rabble. So shut up and watch.
Thirdly, the French are Mediterranean in character. An argument breaks, tempers flare quickly, bird names are exchanged, and suddenly it’s all drama…. Then things resume their regular course, everybody shares a glass of wine, and the argument is soon forgotten.
The French government tried to pass a law which students and unions consider as a danger to job security. When the latter felt this law was forced into their gullets with no negotiations, their temper flared, and in no time they were down in the street. But it ended just as quickly as it all started. A flash in the pan. Within a day, it was over.
There is only one regrettable fact in this: heavy-handed, scandal-happy, war-loving news reporting gives us all a false impression that France is “a dangerous place to travel to these days.”
Yet, had TV cameras continued rolling and spent just as much time showing Parisians had returned to their peaceful lives, such impression would have been quickly dispelled for what it really is: 100% false.
And so it is the privilege of regular Joes like me and other honest-to-God travelers to report the happy ending: everything is fine and dandy in Paris, folks. Live your lives as you plan them, and if you wish to travel to France, just don’t bother too much with the news.
PS– Paris is a big city. Demonstrations are mostly channeled along certain boulevards: Nation-to-Bastille, Nation-to-Italie, Bastille-to-Republique, and Bastille-to-Chatelet. Look them up on a map. Look at all the space around these spots. Well, that’s your own playground in case new demonstrations occur when you are in Paris. A fact the news media conveniently omit to tell you. It wouldn’t sell.
As Senior Editor of Paris-Eiffel-Tower-News, Phil Chavanne helps travelers leaving to Paris. Phil takes exception here to the way the news media artificially staged the recent events in Paris. With direct information from the field, and a video to prove it, Phil shows it is perfectly safe to travel to Paris. To see the short movie, click here: Paris video
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