Paris is one of the world’s great cities. The French Capital is rich in history and culture, is one of the fashion capitals worldwide and is filled with fine restaurants, famous for French cuisine. The River Seine runs through a city of wide boulevards and numerous landmarks.
When Disneyland opened just outside the City in the early 90s, there were even more reasons for Paris Travel. Take a look at Sequoia Lodge if you want to take the family to Disney.
Paris’ population is just over 2 million, but the greater metropolitan district has over 12 million, almost 20% of the total French population.
Paris’ Popularity
It is a hugely popular city with overseas visitors, especially from the UK, the USA and the Far East. Charles de Gaulle Airport is the major point of arrival for all but those who cross the Channel from England. As if Paris needed it, low-cost budget flights into Beauvais Airport at nearby Tille has made the City even more accessible.
There is plenty of top-quality accommodation, places like the 5-star Hotel Lutetia or Hotel Plaza Athenee.
Here is an idea of the best Paris images to encourage you to visit.
Eiffel Tower
The most popular Paris photos always include the Eiffel Tower. It takes its name from its design engineer, Gustav Eiffel and opened in March 1889. The Eiffel Tower is owned by Paris City and almost 7 million visitors go up it each year. It measures the equivalent of an 80-storey building, 324 metres.
At the time of building, it was the tallest structure in the world but that is no longer the case. There are numerous copies of is design in different parts of the world. Blackpool Tower in England and the Tokyo Tower are two examples.
Notre Dame
The iconic Catholic Cathedral, Notre Dame suffered serious fire damage in April 2019, and it was only at the end of 2020 that the choir was able to perform there. However, full restoration is expected to continue until 2024. Commissioned in 1163, Notre Dame took almost two centuries to complete, finished ultimately in 1345, in French Gothic style. It has undergone a series of restorations over the years.
Sacre Coeur
The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris is another Catholic landmark, this time completed in 1914. Built in attractive travertine, you will find Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, an artistic district within Paris, at the highest point of the City. Its design combines Roman and Byzantine features to react against the numerous Baroque structures in Paris. Statues of two French saints, Louis IX and Joan of Arc are found at the site.
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées, the famous avenue, remembers those who battled and died during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. All the victories and the generals involved are inscribed on its surfaces while the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War is below in the vault. It took 30 years to complete with the work finished in 1836.
River Seine
The River Seine divides the City. If you take a cruise down the River you will get some lovely Paris pictures as you go along. If you choose a cruise at night, you can enjoy dinner and see the City and its landmarks lit up. The Eiffel Tower and the Louvre are notable highlights.
Louvre
If you love art, a Paris visit is essential to see the treasures within the Louvre. It is the largest art museum in the world and a major City landmark as well. It is on the Seine’s right bank and has 35,000 works of art. This is also ten times that number of historical exhibits in 8 sections on an area of over 70,000 square metres.
Annually, over 9.5 million visitors go through its doors and no museum worldwide gets more. The building was originally a 13th Century castle and for a while, it was the Royal residence until the Palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIV in 1682.
Jardin du Luxembourg
This relaxing garden was created by the widow of Henry IV of England, Marie de Medici, four centuries ago. The centrepiece is the Medici Fountain designed in Renaissance fashion by Tommaso Francini who came here especially from Florence. Victor Hugo’s ‘’Les Miserables’’ featured the Garden extensively.
Moulin Rouge
This cabaret theatre in Pigalle below Montmartre is arguably the most famous theatre in France, even Europe. The daily show features dancing girls, and the can-can originated here. It opened at the end of the 19th Century and it is still going strong.
Cafe Culture
The French are known for their wide boulevards and relaxing cafes. It is something that they took to their colonies worldwide. If you go to Indo China or the former French colonies in Africa, you will see some of the culture they took with them. In a busy city, what better way to relax than to sit with a drink and watch the world go by?
Typical Parisian Building
The centre of Paris has many terraces, sometimes apartments, often living accommodation above retail shops and cafes. Some buildings have been converted into hotels and guests houses. These ‘’alleyways’’ and narrow streets are in sharp contrast to the wide boulevards found elsewhere in the City.
The Metro
The roads in Paris are busy. At different times of the day, and at weekends, getting around Paris can be slow. The answer to speed up your journey time is to use the Paris metro. It opened in 1900 and there are 225 kilometres of underground track on 16 different lines with over 300 stations.
The Bike is Popular with the Locals
There is a network specifically for bikes in Paris. The wide boulevards have made cycle tracks easy to establish yet the narrow streets are not suitable. Cycling to work is a feature of Parisian life but it is not something that is advisable for visiting tourists as French drivers are impatient at times.
Conclusion
Paris is a wonderful city. These photographs show much of the appeal of Paris, yet it does not even cover all the opportunities. You enjoy sport, primarily soccer and rugby union, and shopping. Paris is not a cheap city, but its attractions deserve your spending a little more there than you would in similar cities around Europe.