Paris - Eglise du Dôme Des Invalides - 7me

Plate LVI - Eglise du Dome Des Invalides…

I never realized what a presence Napoleon still has in Paris. Nor how much he continues to be revered in the city, for even today the street signs near his tomb are of a respectful, if sombre, gilt edged black. Certainly, I knew the Arc de Triomphe celebrated his victories, but I was not prepared for how the spirit of the man and of his lieutenants seems omnipresent throughout the streets of Paris.

Dominating the buildings of Les Invalides, and indeed many views across Paris is the gilded dome of the Church of Les Invalides. A chapel, known as the church of St Louis, for the (compulsory) use of hôtel residents, had been constructed as part of Les Invalides in 1679. Louis XIV then had his architect Jules Hardouin Mansart extend the church with a separate royal chapel crowned by this magnificent dome, inspired by St Peter’s basilica in Rome, but interpreted by Mansart with a uniquely French understanding.  Decorated with garlands and floral motifs, the cupola of the dome is surmounted by a lantern and a spire, rising to a height of some 100 metres above ground. Built between 1679 and 1706 many consider this the masterwork of Mansart’s career. 

The church today is the final resting place of French heroes, not surprisingly many of the Napoleonic age.

But beyond all, in a spectacular crypt beneath the massive dome internally decorated by Charles de la Fosse, and surrounded by 12 carved caryatid sentries (the Victories), in a red porphyry outer sarcophagus and six internally layered coffins, since 1840 have lain the mortal remains of Napoleon Bonaparte - the Corsican, the Little Corporal, General, First Consul and  Emperor of France.

Paris - Hôtel des Invalides - 7me

Plate LV - Hotel des Invalides, the Army Museum…

I have for some reason always associated Les Invalides with Napoleon and it is here that many relics of Napoleon’s life can be viewed, including many of his uniforms and personal arms, his deathbed and funeral mask - even the stuffed remains of one of his horses.

But, Les Invalides was first instituted by that philanthropic king, Louis XIV as a home for his disabled war veterans, and still today a part of the hôtel still serves its original purpose. It also now includes a modern military hospital.

Admittedly this is not my brightest shot; I was hurried away from my photo position by an oncoming bridal car, as a wedding procession entered the courtyard.

Many of the complex’s buildings now house displays of the Army Museum of Paris - the museum having been originally established in 1871 as one dedicated to artillerie (meaning weaponry). The collections of the, then separate, Historical Army Museum created in 1896 were merged with those of the artillerie in 1905, forming the core of today’s displayed collections - without question the richest in content in the world.

There are some half a million items in the collection and a tour of the permanent displays (allow yourself a good few hours) takes the visitor through chronological collections down the centuries.  

It is a must for boys - of all ages

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate LIV - A Restaurant Boat…

Walking through the city is hungry work. I took the opportunity of having lunch on one of the moored restaurant boats on the city. Although I am not generally great at spending time on stationery floating objects, I found the experience delightful.

Many of the pleasures of life on the Seine are available to the tourist. The most popular of these are the well known Bateaux Mouches. It is worth taking both day and night voyages along the Seine in these glass roofed vessels. The day trips help with a different city orientation than is gained from the heights of the outlooks afforded by the arches and towers of Paris. The night trips offer dining from gourmet meals to lighter fare, and one probable reason Paris has become known as the city of lights is more than apparent. I would once again take one of these night journeys purely to see once more the spectacle of the Eiffel Tower by night. I cannot imagine how the decision to dim the lights in the interests of ecology has changed this display.

Paris - Pont d’Alexandre III - 7me

Plate LIII - Detail of the Pont Alexandre III… 

Ornate, extravagant, gaudy, exuberant, excessive, showy, remarkable, opulent, lavish, magnificent, flashy, kitsch, over-decorated, and delightful. These are all descriptions I have heard applied to the Pont d’Alexandre III.  And, somehow they all fit - without any contradiction. Personally, I love it.

There is no question that the decoration on Alexandre III is the most memorable of any Parisian bridge, with its Beaux Arts styled lampposts, glistening gilt statuary and sculptures of cherubs and nymphs. As mentioned previously, beneath the ornamentation it is also a notable feat of engineering. The foundation stone of the bridge, named after his father the Russian Tsar Alexander III, was laid by Tsar Nicholas II in October 1896. Although Alexander showed sympathies toward France during the Franco-Prussian war, and was emphatically a man of peace, it was only in the latter years of his reign that he established cordial relations with the French, and this was probably more a result of his increasing alienation from Germany than a genuine wish for alignment with a country he is reported to have regarded as a breeding ground for revolution. Nevertheless, his memory is enshrined in this (choose your adjectives) city landmark.

Paris - Pont d’Alexandre III - 7me

Plate L11 - The Pont Alexandre III and Petit Palais…

Built between 1896 and 1900, to compliment the Grand Palais, and named after Tsar Alexander III, this bridge spans the Seine from the Palais to Les Invalides. A marvel of engineering, the bridge itself is a six metre high steel span construction. Built by engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d’Alby, it is the decorations of this bridge, and its seventeen metre socles counterbalancing the arch’s weight, that command attention.

The many sculptures were contributed by a number of renowned sculptors including amongst others Emmanuel Frémiet. The gilded bronze statues atop the socles are of four Fames - Science, Art, Commerce and Industry.

Behind the bridge, to the centre of the picture can be seen the roof of the apse of the Petit Palais.

Originally planned as a temporary structure, the Petit Palais now houses an impressive art collection, mostly bequeathed to the city by Auguste Dutuit. Works include paintings by Delacroix, Monet, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, along with tapestries, sculptures and manuscripts.

Paris - Pont Alexandre III - 7me

Plate LI - Steps of the Alexandre III Bridge…

With some twenty-eight bridges crossing the Seine in greater Paris, the Pont d’Alexandre III is to many, the most beautiful of them all.  It was here that I really confirmed that Paris was going to consume a fair metrage of film stock, for as soon as I thought I had a picture perfect view of the bridge and had taken a photograph, I’d decide only metres further on that I had been wrong, and only now had the ideal angle.

Of course a few more paces and I’d realize I had been wrong again, or had I?

After a short walk along the quayside of the Seine, mounting the steps on to the bridge I had little idea what visual pleasures lay ahead. In many visits to Europe I have been awed by the time and care craftsmen put in to their work. What will future generations think of the legacy left by the late twentieth century? And will they have the same endurance?

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate L – Life on the River Seine…

The river continues to define the major historical areas of Paris with the central city area, still known as the Île de la Cité, being the religious and administrative hub. The left bank or the Rive Gauche is the centre of artistic and intellectual life, with the right bank or Rive Droit arondissements being the centres of commercial and economic activities. Although these delineations have blurred somewhat over time, they still remain set in the minds of Parisians and their visitors.

As I have said before, one seems to move from one photogenic sight to another within mere metres. It doesn’t take a lot of skill to see that this image was taken very close to the previous one, and yet somehow each of these two pictures seems to capture a different mood of the river.

With the freedom allowed the photographer using today’s digital cameras and their instant image review, the only dilemma I now face is how large a memory card my camera can handle.

It was very different during this visit.

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate XL1X - The River Seine…

The Seine flows through the city like its aorta, and in Paris one is never far from its waters. Life on the river and its immediate surroundings appeals to the romantic visitor in us all. From the tourist laden bateaux mouches (as seen here in the river centre) that ply the waters of the central city, giving an unique view of the attractions along its banks, to the smaller privately owned craft moored along the quays, who in this city has not dreamed of sharing the freedom that the river life suggests. A dinner cruise on a bateau is a treat and the illuminated attractions of the city (if not the cuisine) still endure as a special memory of Paris.

The city started life some 2000 years ago on the island in the river, today known as the Île de la Cité . First known as Lutèce, it was inhabited by the Parisii tribes, which having made it their capital gave the city its modern name. Many of today’s landmark buildings on the island were built above the ruins of much older civilizations, Notre Dame for example was preceded by two earlier Christian churches, and they in turn were said to have been constructed on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter.

The Seine is France’s second longest river after the Loire, but is the main waterway used for inland traffic, and is best known as the river of Paris. It rises near the town of Dijon in the Cote d’Or region of France, and flows to the English Channel near the port of Le Havre - a distance of some 780 kilometres.

Paris - Grand Palais - 7me

Plate XLVIII - The Grand Palace…

I must confess to not giving the Grand Palace the attention it deserved during my first trip to Paris. It was, like Notre Dame, the Comédie Française, and so many European attractions I have visited, also undergoing extensive repairs and renovations.

Built for the Paris exhibition of 1900, despite it’s magnificence it remains overshadowed as a Paris landmark by its predecessor from the exhibition of eleven years earlier – the Eiffel Tower. A façade of classical stone construction, and Art Nouveau glass clad ironwork, the exhibition hall suffered damage from deteriorating eroding ironwork in June 1993. The nave was closed in November of that year. Listed as an historic monument in 2000, extensive structural repairs continued until 2005, and façade restoration continues. The Palace has been saved.

I mentioned the Eiffel Tower, perhaps an unfair comparison but perhaps not considering that the Grand Palace consumed some 500 tons more steel in its construction than the tower, and began with a universal briefing that it should outdo its 1889 rival. The decorative sculptures commissioned for embellishment of the palace are decidedly baroque in style, the most notable being George Récipons quadrigas placed on the corners of the main façade.

A major three year programme to expand the facilities, doubling the floor space, was announced in 2008, meaning that Paris’s premier exhibition venue will regain its crown and set an international benchmark for facilities of this nature.

I must go back and see.

Paris - Luxembourg Palace - 6me

Plate XLVII - The Luxembourg Palace and Gardens...

I arrived here in the late afternoon unaware that the day was going to be a full hour longer than the one before – it was the end of daylight savings, something the September visitor to Paris needs to be aware of. My enduring memory of the day however is how delicious an al-fresco strawberry filled brioche, bought at a nearby patisserie, tasted in gardens of the palace, close to the Medici Fountain. I always find the open air enhances the enjoyment of food, and the air in these gardens proved no exception.

The palace is today the seat of the French senate, and welcomes visitors. The gardens are a popular place for families to spend a day outdoors in the city. Beautifully landscaped, with a twenty five hectare garden of parterres of lawn and gravel, there is also a large pond, popular for sailing miniature yachts and sail boats, an activity that has been seen here for centuries.

Built for Marie de Medicis, mother of Louis XIII the palace is named for the original hôtel on the site formerly owned by the duc de Piney-Luxembourg. Of Italian origin, Marie de Medicis had the palace modelled by her architect Salomon de Brosse after the Pitti Palace in Florence. Little of its original interior and decoration remains today - the series of twenty-four commissioned canvasses by Peter Paul Rubens, known as his Medici Cycle may be seen in the Louvre Museum. Do not miss them as I almost did.

The palace was a museum in 1750 (a forerunner of the Louvre) and was then briefly used as a prison during the Revolution, prison space being at a premium. During the German occupation of Paris in World War Two, Hermann Goering installed himself here exposing the site to potential danger, but at the war’s close, thanks to von Choltitz’ decision to surrender, the palace was safe.

A second smaller palace known as the Petit-Luxembourg is also in these beautiful grounds.

Paris - Cluny Museum - 5me

Plate XLVI - The Cluny Museum…

I am fascinated by the unexplained and the quirky.

This door to nowhere certainly caught my attention. I am sure that somewhere in the history of the occupation of this building by the abbots of Cluny there is logical explanation for its existence, but today it escapes the visitor completely.

For anyone interested in the art of tapisserie a visit to this museum is a must. Officially known as the National Museum of the Middle Ages, it is here that the 15th century tapestry cycle of six tapestries known as the Lady of the Unicorn (La Dame à la Licorne) may be seen. The central and main piece - measuring 3.73 metres by 3.58 - is simply magnificent to behold. Displayed in low lighting to protect the subtle medieval colourings the six works take pride of place in a collection of medieval and renaissance works primarily founded on the collection of Alexandre du Sommerand.

The museum building – the Hôtel de Cluny partially covers the remains of the 3rd century Roman baths the Thermes de Cluny, which may also be visited. Works on display include medieval sculptures and art, illuminated religious manuscripts and the carved heads of the Biblical kings severed during the Revolution from the statues on Notre Dame, and recovered during excavations near the Cathedral.

Paris - Sorbonne - 5me

Plate XLV - The Church of the Sorbonne…

Practically across the road from the Panthéon is (part of) the University of Paris. Whatever French I speak today, I owe in some measure to the ‘Sorbonne’*. My first French teacher, you see, did her post graduate language studies here in Paris - and you can’t get much better than that! Of course it meant that I learned the purest form of the language and even today I am told that I have the accent of a Suisse Romande. I guess that’s good?

Originally a theological college founded in 1257 by Robert de Sorbon, confessor to Louis IX, the College of the Sorbonne became the greatest seat of learning in Europe, and the centre of the University of Paris - with a claimed enrolment of some twenty thousand students as far back as the Renaissance age. The domed Church of the Sorbonne, added in 1637 contains the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, both benefactor and sponsor of the college.  It was suppressed during the Revolution, restored by Napoleon in 1808, and was closed in 1882.  A secular institution since then, the present buildings of the university were completed in 1889. Marie Curie - the first woman Nobel Prize winner - also became the first woman professor at the University in 1908. The Curie Institute, still involved in teaching and research is in close proximity.

The University became a centre of world attention in May 1968 when it was occupied by student radicals during violent protests that spread throughout the Latin quarter of the city - evacuated by order of President Georges Pompidou. Later called the ‘events of May’ this civil unrest would lead to the political demise of General de Gaulle, and to widespread educational reforms.

*Although comprising of a number of colleges, the Universities of Paris today are familiarly referred to collectively as The Sorbonne.

Paris - Panthéon View - 5me

Plate XLV - From The Pantheon, Les Toits de Paris…

Displayed inside the walls of the Panthéon I saw an iron sphere. Weighing some 28 kilograms it had been used by physicist Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault in an 1851 experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the earth.

Suspended on wire from the 67 metre high roof of the central dome of the Panthéon, the experiment started with the sphere, now known as the Foucalt Pendulum, being set in motion swinging in a vertical plane.

Viewed from above it was observed that the plane of the pendulum rotated clockwise at slightly more than 11° each hour due to the earth’s rotation on it’s axis. This was the first recorded ‘laboratory’ proof of this phenomenon.

In quieter moments while his experiment was in progress I imagine this is the view that Foucault and his observers would have contemplated, while looking over the roofs of Paris. Many well known landmarks can today be seen – but it’s strange to think there was no Eiffel Tower there in Foucault’s time.

The view does inspire thinking.

Paris - The Panthéon - 4me

Plate XLIII - The Pantheon…

On the same day that I had climbed the 280 stairs of the Arc de Triomphe, I was again to get some more vigorous exercise on the stairs of the Panthéon. This time I did not count them but similarly, the views over Paris from the dome are a worthwhile reward.

Construction of the Jacques-Germain Soufflot designed Church of Ste Geneviève (patron Saint of Paris) began at the end of the 1750’s, replacing an older church on the site. It was built to fulfil a vow made by King Louis XV after his recovery from an illness in 1744. Deconsecrated during the Révolution it was renamed the Panthéon (from the Greek word meaning every god) and dedicated as a memorial to all great Frenchmen. The building, in the Neoclassical style, is cruciform in outline and is covered with an imposing domed roof, visible across the city.

The interior is magnificently decorated with fresco paintings and mosaics depicting scenes from French history. Externally the building is distinguished by columns surmounted by pediments housing Pierre-Jean David d'Angers statues of many post-revolutionary heroes. Twice re and deconsecrated the now state owned Panthéon is again a mausoleum and memorial to the heroes of France, many of whom are interred within the vast crypt necropolis below the former church’s nave. These include Voltaire (whose brain is said to be housed in the Comédie Française), Jean Jacques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola, Louis Braille, Pierre and Marie Curie, and notably - reinterred here in 2002, 132 years after his death - Alexandre Dumas.

AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE.

Paris - The Paris Métro - 4me

Plate XLII - The Paris Metro Trains…

For my trip to France I had obtained an international drivers license. I was being optimistic, brave or foolish – perhaps all three for I would not dare take on Parisian drivers – to start with they drive on the wrong side of the road.

Fortunately Paris has one of the most advanced public transport systems I have encountered anywhere in the world. There is no question - every site featured in this blog would have been less accessible without the marvelous Métropolitain underground transportation system or simply the Métro.  There are 16 major lines with fast and frequent trains throughout the day, and much of the night. The renowned Métro map or Plan de Métro, each line colour coded, and freely (in both senses of the word) available throughout the city has become a model for underground systems elsewhere in the world. Although somewhat stylized (and not a perfectly scaled representation of the surface position of its stops) it is intuitive to read and extremely user friendly. The Métro service is augmented by the Réseau Express Régional or RER which extends beyond Greater Paris into Parisian suburbs, and the two services are extremely well integrated with transfer points at major stations.

If all roads are said to lead to Rome, all lines it would seem lead to Châtelet–Les-Halles, said to be the busiest underground station in the world. Perhaps my previously mentioned routing faux pas on day one can therefore be excused. State owned, and already subsidized by the French government, a variety of short to longer-term tickets, such as the Carte Hebdomadaire, or Carte Orange (which also include the use of bus services), make travel on the Métro possibly the best value for money available in the city. Ask about them. Along with a reported five million other users every day, I loved the trains – one whiff of that distinctive scent of ‘Eau de Métro’ and you’ll know you’re in Paris.

Paris – Métro Bastille - 4me

Plate XLI - Metro Station Bastille…

Although the majority of métro stations are underground, there are a few exceptions, Bastille being one of them. (It is the reason I was able to record at least one métro with ‘le little camera’). Named after the fortress that offered the exact opposite of light, air and the freedom to come and go at will there’s a certain irony in that!

Unlike the tube stations of the London Underground, no two Paris Métro stations look alike, each having a very distinctive atmosphere which, through instant recognition, makes the metro system very easy to use once you have covered a few routes. And, of course the iconic Métro map has become the design standard for all other world subway systems.

The two stops that stand out the most in my memory are Rivoli, where the smart ambience promotes the neighbouring Louvre museum, and Bastille - partly for the reasons mentioned above, but also because of the colourful tiled mosaic depiction of the most notable historical event in the area, the Storming of the Bastille – symbolising the demise of the rule of the Ancien Régime.

Vive, La République!

Paris - Opéra Bastille - 4me

Plate XL - Opera Bastille…

My favourite performance of music by the often sombre German composer Wagner is conducted by a Frenchman. Listen to ‘Boulez Conducts Wagner’ and you’ll understand why.

France’s Théâtre National Populaire owes its continued existence mainly to one man - actor and director Jean Vilar.

Anyone who knows or cares about dance is familiar with the name Maurice Béjart and with his unique convergence of classical, jazz and modern choreography.

As you’ll shortly see there is a link between these three men of the arts.

On 14th July 1789 (commemorated in modern times as France’s national day), the notorious mediaeval Parisian fortress prison and symbol of repression known as the Bastille was stormed by a mob in the opening days of the Révolution. Famously, only a scant few prisoners were found to be incarcerated within its walls. For over a century the site of the destroyed Bastille was later occupied by a train station, built in 1859 and closed at the end of 1969.

On July 13th 1989 a new building was inaugurated on the site with a concert conducted by Georges Prêtre, and featuring Placido Domingo and Theresa Berganza. It was the Opéra Bastille, first proposed in a report submitted to French President Francois Mitterand in 1968 and promoted by Boulez, Béjart, and Vilar.

Finally built to a design by architect Carlos Ott, Opéra Bastille has since 1990 been home to the Théâtre Nationale de l'Opéra, formerly based in the better known Opéra Garnier (home to the legendary Phantom).  

During opera seasons the cultural juxtaposition found at this modern French centre for the performing arts, facing onto a nearby fast food outlet serving the 'take-away' feeding tourist hordes that frequent the city and crowd the opera steps to eat, creates an interesting mix of customers as patrons of the Opéra in evening finery sidestep the casually attired visitors.

Pommes frites, anyone?

Paris - Place des Vosges - 4me

Plate XXXIX - Place des Vosges…

One of the guide books I consulted recommended this area for the quaint shops in the vicinity of the Place des Vosges, and especially for Jewish delicacies. I must confess I never saw them, but then maybe quaint is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe it’s just that I’m not Jewish – or both.

With steeply pitched roofs of blue slate and walls of sandstone quoined red brick, the buildings surrounding the square (and unusually, it really is a square - reputedly the oldest in the city) provide a shaded walk along the vaulted arcades. It is a beautiful place, with open lawns and shade giving linden trees.

Madame de Sevigné (the legendary Parisian beauty and letter writer) was born here. Victor Hugo lived here. Over the years so too did Cardinal Richelieu, Duc de Sully, Marion Delorme and Georges Dufrénoy.

Originally known as the Place Royale - even though no royal ever took up residence – the building pictured here is known as the Pavillon de la Reine. The département of the Vosges, a region of eastern France noted for its granite and red sandstone formed mountains was the first to contribute taxes to the Revolutionary army campaigns, and it is for Vosges this former royal square now remains named. The present buildings, each house front identical, date from 1612 and replaced the Hôtel des Tournelles, demolished by Catherine de Medicis during her reign. The public may still visit the former home of Victor Hugo, best known for his works The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Les Miserables.

And who knows, maybe there also is a quaint gefilte fish and chop-liver bagel shop somewhere around here?

Paris - Hôtel de Ville - 4me

Plate XXXVIII – Hotel de Ville…

It’s a Hotel, but you can’t stay here. 

For the visitor unfamiliar with the French language the titles that the French give to their buildings can be a little confusing. Often what the English call a Hall the French call a hôtel. But they also call a hotel a hôtel. You ought to understand that!!  So don’t try to reserve a room at the Hôtels de Ville or des Invalides (or several others) for you will not be welcome overnight. At many other hours of the day however you will be – and you should go.

The Hôtel de Ville in Paris is the City Hall. Housing the office of the mayor, it is the administrative centre of the city. It stands on the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, formerly known as the Place de Grève. There was at one time in the area a Seine river port at this location, and the original building here known as the House of Pillars (Maison aux Piliers) was bought in 1357 by Étienne Marcel, the mayor (known at the time as the provost of the merchants and lynched by a mob outside the hall in 1358). The original City Hall replaced this house during the reign of Louis XIII in 1628, although its planning started in the middle 1500’s under Francis I. The site of many Revolutionary events the Hôtel de Ville (along with all its public records) was destroyed in a fire by extremists during the Paris Commune in 1871.

The rebuilding of the Hôtel was to last from 1873 to 1892; the new interior being a completely new design, although the exterior (built within the remaining shell of the old building) is a close copy of the 16th century original. Murals, paintings and sculptures decorate the façade and interiors, featuring many famous Parisians, and executed (a good word choice - for many public executions took place outside the Hotel) by leading artists and sculptors of the day. Statues of Art and Science by Jules Blanchard flank the main entrance.

Paris – Bouquinistes - 4me

Plate XXXVII - The Bouquinistes…

There is no certainty of how long the bouquinistes have been a part of Parisian city life. Some sources say since the nineteenth century, others claim from the sixteenth. It’s not important, for they are there today, and they will still be there tomorrow. There is no English word for these characters found mainly on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. Booksellers (the closest I can think of) work at FNAC or maybe at WH Smith. The bouquiniste is altogether something different. Their wares have changed over time, and today they stock compact and digital video discs (and no doubt electronic video games or, even i-Apps for all I know).

But, it is for the plethora of old postcards, posters, paintings, or pamphlets and of course those books and books and more books that you’ll want to find them. (Be warned though that their wares are mainly in French). No matter the weather, by law the licensed bouquiniste must open for business four days of every week. Those pesky intermitted Paris showers are countered with a clear plastic sheet, but they rarely stay on too long - and often trade will still be conducted beneath these temporary protective shelters. Some 250 or more of these intrepid souls are housed in wooden stalls, dotted all around the embankments of the Île de La Cité, their displays overloaded with “des choses intéressants” and if like me you love to browse the printed records of mankind, you’ll lose yourself for hours seeking out that special “je ne sais quoi”.

Maybe you’ll find it here.

Today.