In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at 300m. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a temporary structure to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution. And since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring symbol of the city of Paris. The Tour was originally built for the 1889 Exposition. This steel construction defied all traditional rules in architecture.

Arc de Triomphe
From the Place de la Concordeall the way to the top of the Champs-Elysees, you will discover the Place de l'Etoile which is known today as the Place Charles de Gaulle. And, at this busy Place lies the Arc de Triomphe.

In 1758, several plans were drawn up, such as a bizarre one suggesting to build a gigantic elephant housing ballrooms and theatre in the midst of the square. However, the plans appeared a bit too ambitious. However, as Napoleon Bonaparte had other ideas, he built a monument for the glorification of his Grande Armée, a triumphal arch in classical style - the Arc de Triomphe.

The Arc de Triomphe and its massive piers are decorated with bas relieves depicting scenes from the revolutionary era (including the First Empire). To the right, on the side facing the Champs Elysees is the Marseillaise by Rude (the departure of the volunteers to the front in 1792); to the left is Napoleon's Triumph of 1810 by Cortot. The resistance of 1814 and the peace of 1815 are on the other side, modestly facing away from the city.

Champs Elysées
The glamour of the Champs Elysées, particularly its upper end, may not be quite what it was, dominated as it is by airline offices, car showrooms and bright, light shopping arcades. But there's still the Lido cabaret, Fouquet's high-class bar and restaurant, plenty of cinemas and outrageously priced cafes to bring the punters in. At Christmas this is where the fairy lights go and on December 31 everyone happily jams in, in their cars, to hoot in the New Year.

Under the auspices of Bishop de Sully, the construction began in 1160 and was completed around 1345. During the construction many events occured such as in 1297, the King Louis IX was canonized as St. Louis, and in 1304, Philip the Fair celebrated his military victory by riding his horse up and down the aisles in the Notre Dame. By the 17th century, it was very fashionable to loathe the Notre Dame.

In the eighteenth century, alot of the medieval glass was removed simply to make the building lighter, and medieval fittings and furniture were often replaced by those in later styles.
However, it was not until the French Revolution in 1793, when the Parisiens took a disliking to anything that was "royal" that they destroyed the statues and stripped all "anti-republican" art from inside as well as outside. And, in the following year, the French revolutionary government outlawed religion and Notre Dame was officially renamed as the Temple of Reason.

For some time, the French revolutionary government held propaganda shows in the building.

Yet, it was in 1802, when Napoleon ruled France that he reintroduced Catholicism with a solemn ceremony in the newly rechristened cathedral. Here is where he crowned himself emperor.

Place St-Germain-des-Prés, with such popular places like the Deux Magot café and Café Flore and Brasserie Lipp not far.

The riverside part of the the neighbourhood is divided lengthways by the rue St-André-des-Arts and the rue Jacob. It is full of bookstores, art galleries, antique stores, cafés and restaurants. Take a look into the courtyards and the side streets. The houses are four to six stories high, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century, and painted in infinite gradations of grey, pearl and off-white.

Historical associations are legion. Molière started his career in rue Mazarine. In the rue Visconti Racine died, Delacroix painted and Balzac's printing business went bust. In parallel rue des Beaux-Arts, Oscar Wilde died, Corot and Ampère, father of amps, lived, and crazy poet Gérard de Nerval walked a lobster on a lead.

In 1981 President Miterrand initiated a rehabilitation project called Le Grand Louvre. The visible part of this iceberg like building-site, being the Glass Pyramid designed by famous architect Ieoh Ming Pei, opens the outstanding perspective toward the Grande Arche de la Défense with the Arc de Triomphe in the middle. The Pyramid gives now access to the main entrance, letting a delightful golden light filter through the glass surface illuminating the floor below.

The huge renovation of Le Grand Louvre which started in 1983 leads to an increase of 22 000 square meters.
The basement is now occupied by the remains of the medieval castle originally a big keep part of the defensive wall built under Philippe August in 1190 which have been excavated and displayed below the Cour Carrée. Under the glass pyramid leading to the main entrance of the Hall Napoléon starts the shopping gallery leading to several restaurants and cafeterias of the Galerie du Carrousel under the reversed pyramid.

The conversion of this abandoned train station, the Gare d'Orsay, into the Musee d'Orsay marked a major advance in the reorganization of the different collections. The museum is devoted to all art forms from the second half of the 19th century (painting, sculpture, architecture, music and items trom everyday life). Significant Impressionist and neo-lmpressionist works are on display, as well as the creations of the more conservative academic school that was also known as Pompier in France. Art-Nouveau objects and blue-prints complement the collections.

The collection is made up mostly from the late works of the Louvre and the Impressionist paintings from the nearby museum Jeu de Paume. You can also find works from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth, chronologically bridging the Louvre and the Pompidou.

Displayed on the ground floor, are earlier works devoted to sculpture with Dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms which are filled with works by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, Corot and peasant paintings. In the last room, you can find such works by Courbet. And if you like Monet, there is a room dedicated to him. Other artists are present such as Bazille, Delacroix, Puvis de Chavanne, Degas and Gustave Moreau.