On the road

PARIS

Parc des Princes
Construction: the Parc des Princes stadium and velodrome was inaugurated on 18 July 1897 and rebuilt in 1969.
Capacity: 47,229 seats (Ligue 1 versions).
History: The Parc des Princes stadium owes its name to a wooded area located between the Bois de Boulogne and the Porte de Saint-Cloud, which was used from the 18th century onwards as a place for relaxation, hunting and was a favourite walking spot for the king and royal princes. This character was reinforced during the first half of the 19th century when the Parisian bourgeoisie adopted these pleasures, which had previously been reserved for the nobility. Purely natural until 1855, the site underwent its first urban development with the construction of a road, which marked the start of the development of the future Parc des Princes neighbourhood. It seems that the name "Parc des Princes" appeared at this time, taking its name from the Route des Princes and Porte des Princes, which had been in use since the 18th century. Since the 1980s, the Parc des Princes has hosted concerts. These include Michael Jackson, who was the first in 1988 and 1997 (more than 240,000 spectators for four concerts), the Rolling Stones, who played three concerts in 1990, Johnny Hallyday, who celebrated his 50th birthday there in 1993 (four nights in a row) and his 60th birthday in 2003 (also for four nights), U2 (53,519 spectators on 6 September 1997), Robbie Williams, Prince and Iron Maiden.

Eiffel Tower and Champ de Mars
Construction: late 19th century.
Architect: Gustave Eiffel.
History and characteristics: 324 m high, including the television antenna at its summit. Built for the 1889 World's Fair, which celebrated the centenary of the French Revolution. Studies began in 1884 and construction in 1887. The flag was raised at the top on 31 March 1889, two years, two months and five days after work began. Today, it is the most famous symbol of Paris. It weighs 7,000 tonnes without any paint (50 tonnes of paint must be added every seven years). From the third floor, the view stretches for up to 67 km. Behind the tower are the Champ de Mars and the École Militaire.
Trivia: it remained the tallest tower in the world until 1930, when it was surpassed by the Chrysler Building in Manhattan.  

The Louvre
Foundation: converted into a museum in the 18th century. Inaugurated in 1793 under the name Muséum central des arts de la République (Central Museum of the Arts of the Republic). Characteristics: with an exhibition area of 72,735 m², it is now the largest museum of art and antiquities in the world. In 2018, with around 10.2 million annual visitors, the Louvre was the most visited museum in the world (it is the most visited paid cultural site in France). Its collection comprises more than 550,000 works, including some of the most famous pieces: the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, the Crouching Scribe, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Code of Hammurabi.
History: The international renown of the Louvre Museum sometimes obscures the fact that it was originally designed as a palace. Since the Middle Ages, its evolution has been marked both by events in French history and by the succession of architects and decorators who have left their mark on it. A medieval castle, palace of the kings of France, and museum since 1793, the Louvre Palace has developed its architecture over more than 800 years.  

Louvre Pyramid
Construction: completed in 1989.
History: erected in the centre of the Cour Napoléon, the glass pyramid is the work of Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, commissioned by French President François Mitterrand in 1983. Its creator died on 16 May 2019 in New York at the age of 102. A symbol of a museum open to the world, it celebrated its 30th anniversary throughout 2019. Before becoming one of the most admired buildings, it was at the centre of a real dispute between traditionalists and modernists. The introduction of a contemporary element into a context rich in heritage was not accepted... and yet.
Characteristics: replicating the exact proportions of the Pyramid of Cheops at its base, it measures 35.42 metres wide and 21.34 metres high; 95 tonnes of steel and 105 tonnes of aluminium support the entire structure. When we refer to the Pyramid, we think of the transparent structure visible in the main courtyard, facing the Tuileries Garden, but there are in fact five pyramids throughout the museum (including three small ones, skylights and the inverted one visible in the basement). It also recalls the museum's important collection of Egyptian antiquities and the Obelisk, located not far away on Place de la Concorde.

Place de la Concorde
Construction: 1757 to 1763
History: originally called Place Louis XV, then in 1792, Place de la Révolution (after the equestrian statue sculpted by Bouchardon was toppled). Covering an area of 84,000 m², it became the main place of execution during the Reign of Terror, with 1,119 people, including King Louis XVI and his wife Marie-Antoinette, meeting their deaths there.
Characteristics: around the square, eight statues represent eight French cities: Brest, Rouen, Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux and Nantes. Two fountains, inspired by those of Saint Peter's in Rome, were added, the northern one dedicated to river navigation and the southern one to maritime navigation. The pink granite obelisk was given to France in 1831 by Mehmet Ali, Viceroy and Pasha of Egypt. The monument, measuring 23.39 m, was originally located in the temple of Thebes (Luxor). Covered with hieroglyphics recounting the reigns of Ramses II and III, the base describes the technical means and tricks necessary for its transport and erection on the square. The pyramidion (at its summit) has been covered with gold leaf to restore it to its original appearance.
Distinguishing features: the Marly horses are mounted on two columns on either side of the Champs-Élysées. Sculpted by Nicolas and Guillaume Coustou, they were installed in 1795. In 1984, having become fragile, they were replaced by copies made of reconstituted marble. The originals are kept at the Louvre Museum.  

Arc de Triomphe
Construction: 1806 to 1836
Characteristics: The Arc de Triomphe stands in the centre of Place Charles-de-Gaulle. It is located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. Measuring 49.54-m high, 44.82-m wide and 22.21-m deep, it is managed by the Centre des Monuments Nationaux. The monument weighs 50,000 tonnes (actually 100,000 tonnes when taking into account the foundations, which are 8.37 metres deep).
History: Napoleon I, in the aftermath of the Battle of Austerlitz, declared to French soldiers: "You will only return home under triumphal arches." By an imperial decree dated 18 February 1806, he ordered the construction of this triumphal arch dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the victories of the French armies. The construction was completed between 1832 and 1836 by the architect Guillaume-Abel Blouet.
Distinguishing features: The Arc de Triomphe is one of France's most historically significant monuments. Its importance has grown since the remains of the Unknown Soldier, killed in the First World War, were buried there on 28 January 1921. Two years later, André Maginot, then Minister of War, supported the project to install a "flame of remembrance" there, which was lit for the first time on 11 November 1923.
Listed as: Historic Monument since 1896.  

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris
Construction: 1163 to 1330. Restored in the 19th and 21st centuries.
History: Bishop Maurice de Sully decided to build the cathedral in 1160. The project covered 5,500 m² of ground, resulting in the destruction of all the surrounding area. A forecourt was laid out and the work lasted three centuries, during which time the Gothic masterpiece was respected. Destruction, replacements and whitewashing followed until the French Revolution, damaging the building. Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame de Paris (The Henchman of Notre-Dame) (1831) expressed in its own way a return to Gothic architecture and created a movement that culminated in 1844 with Louis-Philippe's decree prescribing the restoration of the monument, entrusted to Jean-Baptiste Lassus and then to Eugène Viollet-Leduc.  Characteristics: 130 m long, 48 m wide, 35 m high under the vault (69 m at the top of the towers), it is dominated by two large quadrangular towers, 69 m high, and is divided into three distinct floors with three portals. Its 45-metre oak spire (80 metres above ground level) was covered with lead (750 tonnes).
Fire in 2019: on 15 April 2019, a major fire broke out inside the roof structure. The flames completely destroyed the spire, the roofs of the nave and transept, and the roof structure. The spire took with it the vault of the transept crossing, part of the north arm and part of a bay of the nave. Hundreds of firefighters worked until dawn to save the overall structure of the building, sparing the two towers, the western façade, the treasury and most of the cathedral's works of art.
Reconstruction: reconstruction began in autumn 2021 on the cathedral site and in numerous art workshops (carpenters, master glaziers, stonemasons, etc.). Among the technical challenges, the frames of the nave, choir and spire were rebuilt identically in solid oak, using more than a thousand specially selected 200-year-old trees from French forests. The overall budget for this phase of reconstruction is estimated at €550 million. €846 million in donations have been collected worldwide, of which approximately €150 million will be used to restore the exterior parts of the cathedral that were severely eroded and affected by various stone pathologies prior to the fire. Notre-Dame reopened to the public on 8 December 2024.
Listed as: Historic monument in 1862. UNESCO World Heritage Site for Paris, Banks of the Seine.

Opéra Garnier
Construction: between 1862 and 1875
History: its construction was directed by Charles Garnier (1825-1898), winner of the Grand Prix de Rome in 1848. It is the thirteenth opera house in Paris since the institution was founded by Louis XIV in 1669. Its construction was decided by Napoleon III as part of the major renovation of the capital carried out under his orders by Baron Haussmann. It became a temple of dance, classical music and opera. Together with the Opéra Bastille, it forms the Paris Opera.
Characteristics: the grand staircase rises to a height of 30 metres and, according to its architect, constitutes the true heart of the theatre. There is a wide variety of white, grey, yellow, green, red, pink and purple marble, and a profusion of colours in the statues: Garnier fought to impose polychromy in his palace against the defenders of monochromy, led by Eugène Delacroix. The ceiling of the Opera House was completely renovated and redesigned in 1964 at the instigation of the Minister of Culture, André Malraux. The creation of the frescoes, covering an area of 220 m², was entrusted to Marc Chagall, aged 77, who took a year to complete his work. Completely disinterested, the painter received no salary. The ceiling is characterised by its bright colours and multitude of details and pays tribute to 14 major composers of opera and lyrical music.
Trivia: the opera house is home to a brigade of 20 firefighters and a police station, which are on duty day and night. There are manual sprinkler stations equipped with hoses throughout the theatre, and most importantly, a water tank that is completely emptied every 20 years (48.27-m long and 37.57-m wide, 2,400 m3, contained around a hundred pillars, giving firefighters the opportunity to draw water from it and contain a fire more quickly and effectively. This tank is the origin of the famous legend of an underground lake mentioned in Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera).
Listed as: Historic Monument since 1923.