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Musee de Cluny
Was once a medieval monastery, built on the ruins of a vast third-century
Roman bathhouse. Today, it is a museum
of medieval antiquities. The remains of the bathhouse
can be seen just behind the museum.
Place St. Michel
Place St-Michel is the busiest spot in the Latin Quarter with
its pink marble fountain, built in 1860, surrounded by cafes facing
the Seine and Notre Dame. The Paris Commune of 1871 began here,
as did the student uprising of 1968.
Jardin du Luxembourg
Jardin du Luxembourg is the most loved park in Paris. It is large
and has fountains, flowers, statues, tennis courts, concerts in
the summer and on Sunday, Tai Chi. Within the park is located the
Palais du Luxembourg, home to the French Senate. Next to the senate
is the Musee du Luxembourg, which often has art exhibitions. Nearby
on rue de Fleurus lived Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B.
Tokas who opened their home to many famous expatriates, writers
and artists, including Hemingway and Picasso.
The Pantheon
Constructed by Louis XV in 1744 in gratitude for recovering from gout,
this massive temple to the great men of France houses the bodies of
Voltaire, Rousseau, Mirabeau, Marat, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and
Jean Moulin (hero of the French Resistance during WWII).
Notre-Dame de Paris
The Cathedral
of Notre Dame de Paris dates back to 1163 but was not
completed until 1345. It is one of the masterpieces of Gothic art
in Western Europe. Its facade, the soaring Gothic ribbed vaulting,
its huge light-filled interior and awe-inspiring stained glass windows
are magnificent artistic achievements. The square in front of the
Cathedral is called the Place du Parvis. In the center is a plaque
from which all road distances in France are measured. Of course,
this is the setting for Victor Hugo’s ‘The Hunchback of
Notre Dame’.
Rue de Buci
Rue de Buci is a pretty little marketplace surrounded by cafes
and restaurants and leads into rue de Seine which is filled with
galleries all the way to the river. On rue Mazarine was the theatre
where Moliere made his first appearance as an actor and opened a
theatre, the Comedie-Francaise. The oldest cafe in Paris, founded
in 1686, ‘Cafe Procope’ is in the same street.
La Sainte Chapelle
See the exquisite stained glass windows of this small 12th century
church built by Louis IX to house what he believed to be a part of
the Cross and for which he paid more than the church itself. Try to
visit on a sunny day when it looks like a ‘jewel box’.
Rue Jacob
On rue Jacob is the house and studio, now museum, where Delacroix
lived and where he was frequently visited by George Sand and Frederic
Chopin. Richard Wagner also lived on Rue Jacob, as did Thomas
Jefferson when in Paris. At #7 Racine lived when young; Richard
Wagner resided at #14 from 1841 to 1842; Ingres once lived at
# 27 and Hemingway occupied a tiny upstairs room at #44. Natalie
Barney’s former residence is landmarked but not open to the
public. In the garden you can see a small Doric temple bearing
the inscription A l'Amitié, "to friendship."
Off Rue Jacob is one of the most charming squares in Paris, Place
de Furstenberg.
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