Paris France Tourism

Tourism in France! If your visiting Paris France make sure to check out these major sight

You had been dreaming and hoping and praying for this for years and now it is here before you—Paris. The smells, the sounds, the sights are all overwhelming and you do not know where to begin. Stop! Take a deep breath and exhale very slowly. Let us take in the major sights bit by bit.

The Eiffel Tower: This is the symbol of Paris and the best-known monument in the world. Viewing the entire city from its heights after dusk will show you why Paris has been name the City of Lights. The Eiffel Tower was 984 feet tall when it was first built in 1889 for the World Expo but with the addition of the TV transmitter it is currently 1051 feet high. Until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1930, this was the tallest manmade structure in the world.

Arc de Triomphe: There are arches of triumph all over Europe and  even several in Paris. None, however, compare with this one for it is the largest, the most beautiful and most strategically located with twelve avenues rating from its square, including the Champs- Elysées. It was completed n 1836 to commemorate the military victories of Napoleon I and it stands 164 feet high, 148 feet wide and 72 feet deep. In 1920 the body of an unknown soldier killed in WWI was buried beneath it and an eternal flame is revived every evening at 6:30.

The Opéra Garnier: This is the largest and most extravagantly beautiful opera house in the world and was erected toward the end of the nineteenth century. This is where the famous Phantom of the Opera took place and the underground lake really does exist. Nowadays, it is used only for ballets.

The Sainte-Chapelle: It was built in 1246 by the crusader king Saint Louis as a temple to house holy relics, especially the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross. The relics are no longer there but the astounding Rose Window and the fifteen tall windows, with their original 13th-century stained glass, are more than enough treasure.
Montmartre: This is a hill on which a Byzantine-style basilica, the Sacré-Coeur, stands and dominates the highest point of Paris. The main square of Montmartre is also the center of artistic activity in Paris.

La Cathédrale Notre-Dame: Build between 1163 and 1250, this is located on the Ile de la Cité, a lovely island on the River Seine where Paris was born. It gained world fame by Victor Hugo’s creation of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
L’Hôtel des Invalides: This was a military hospital and its adjoining church of St.Louis des Invalides together form one of Paris’ most impressive architectural set pieces. The Hôtel des Invalides now contains the largest military museum in the world. The church houses the tombs of some of France’s most acclaimed military heroes, including the most prominent military figure of them all, the Little Corporal, Emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Musée du Grand Louvre: This world renowned museum’s first structure was a fortress but by the time of Louis XVI, much of the royal art collection was brought in and the building was opened to the public as the very first museum in the world. Art treasures in the Louvre number in the hundreds of thousands and there are more in storage than on display.
Paris, the City of Lights!

Posted in France Vacation Guide