SCENES of The Great European City of PARIS, Capital of France

A 3 day Parisian holiday in the mild November 2006

 Interesting places to visit, places to stay, good walks

1. First walk-about in Paris in the Plas de Vosges (Place Royale)

2. Church of St-Merry (Merri) and around the Pompidou Centre

3. The church of Sainte-Chappele

4. Scenes of the River Seine - buildings and bridges

5. The Cathedral Church of Notre-Dame

6. Miscellaneous odd bits and bobs in Paris

7. A brief selection of other streets and buildings

8. Musėe du National Moyen Age (Musee de Cluny, Museum of the Medieval Middle Ages) - buildings and stonework

9. Musėe du National Moyen Age - tapestry and stained glass

10. The Eiffel Tower, the Icon of Paris

11. The Louvre buildings and the Opéra de Paris Garnier

12. Galeries Lafayette, The Shop of Paris?

13. Sacrė-Coeur and Montmartre Vineyard

14. The Mosquėe de Paris - Institut Musulman Mosque (Grand Mosque)

15. Scenes of the River Seine - rivercraft

16. Musėe d'Orsay - Museum Art Gallery Paintings Part 1

17. Musėe d'Orsay - Museum Art Gallery Paintings Part 2

OTHER FRENCH PAGES

18. TGV Railway Trip from London to Paris to Chambery

19. The Town of Chambery in the Rhone Alps

Above centre, the Arc de Triomephe, our first site when getting off the airport bus!

Above left, The iconic Eiffel Tower, before queuing at 4pm (1600 hr), got to the top by 8pm (2000 hr)! (see page 10!)

Above right, Sacrė-Coeur from the top of the store Lafayette.

A history of Paris

Here is a deep, sweeping, richly structured history of Paris, from its prehistoric origins to the 21st‑century global capital.
This is written in the same layered, comprehensive style you enjoy — combining political history, urban development, culture, architecture, society, and geography — so you can see how each era shaped the next.

Paris began as a small Iron Age settlement of the Parisii on the Île de la Cité.
It became Roman Lutetia, then a Merovingian and Capetian royal centre, then the medieval heart of learning and religion, then the Renaissance and Baroque capital of monarchy, then the Revolutionary crucible, then the 19th‑century metropolis of Haussmann, and finally the modern global city of culture, fashion, politics, and art.

Paris is a city that has reinvented itself again and again, yet always kept its core identity.

1. Prehistoric & Ancient Paris (Before 52 BC)

The Parisii tribe

• The earliest known inhabitants were the Parisii, a Celtic tribe.
• They settled on the Île de la Cité, a defensible island in the Seine.
• Archaeology shows trade links with Gaul, Britain, and the Rhine.

Paris begins as a river trading post.

2. Roman Paris — Lutetia (52 BC – 5th century AD)

Julius Caesar conquers the region

• The Romans establish Lutetia on the Left Bank (Latin Quarter).
• They build:
  • A forum
  • Baths (Thermes de Cluny)
  • An amphitheatre (Arènes de Lutèce)
  • Roads and aqueducts

A modest but prosperous town

• Lutetia is not Rome or Lyon, but a thriving provincial centre.
• Christianity arrives in the 3rd century (St Denis).

By the 4th century, the city contracts back to the Île de la Cité for defence.

 3. Early Medieval Paris — Merovingians & Carolingians (5th–10th centuries)

Clovis and the birth of Christian France

• Clovis, king of the Franks, makes Paris his capital (late 5th century).
• His conversion to Christianity cements Paris as a religious centre.

Viking attacks

• 9th‑century Viking raids devastate the region.
• Paris withstands a major siege in 885–886.
• The city’s resilience boosts its prestige.

Capetian dynasty begins (987)

• Hugh Capet becomes king and chooses Paris as his base.
• Paris becomes the political heart of France.

4. High Medieval Paris (11th–13th centuries)

A booming city

• Population grows to ~200,000 — one of Europe’s largest cities.
• The Right Bank becomes the commercial centre; the Left Bank becomes the intellectual centre.

Notre‑Dame & Gothic Paris

• Construction of Notre‑Dame begins in 1163.
• Sainte‑Chapelle (1248) becomes a jewel of Gothic architecture.

The University of Paris

• Founded in the early 13th century.
• Becomes Europe’s leading centre of theology and philosophy.

Paris becomes the intellectual capital of medieval Europe.

5. Late Medieval Paris (14th–15th centuries)

Plague, war, and turmoil

• The Black Death (1348) devastates the population.
• The Hundred Years’ War brings English occupation (1420–1436).
• Joan of Arc helps restore French morale.

Urban life

• Paris is crowded, dirty, vibrant, and politically volatile.
• The Seine is the city’s lifeline.

6. Renaissance & Early Modern Paris (16th–17th centuries)

Royal splendour

• Kings build:
  • The Louvre (expanded into a Renaissance palace)
  • Tuileries Palace
  • Place des Vosges (1605), the first planned square

Religious conflict

• The Wars of Religion (1562–1598) tear the city apart.
• The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572) is one of the darkest episodes.

Henry IV & rebuilding

• Henry IV restores stability.
• Builds Pont Neuf (1607), still the oldest bridge in Paris.

Paris becomes a royal and architectural showpiece.

 7. Baroque & Classical Paris — Louis XIII & Louis XIV (17th century)

Urban planning begins

• Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV reshape Paris.
• Major works:
  • Luxembourg Palace
  • Les Invalides
  • Place Vendôme
  • The Observatoire

Versailles eclipses Paris

• Louis XIV moves the court to Versailles (1682).
• Paris remains the cultural and economic centre.

8. Enlightenment Paris (18th century)

A city of ideas

• Salons, cafés, and academies flourish.
• Philosophers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot debate politics and society.

Urban improvements

• New boulevards
• Bridges
• Markets
• Street lighting

Paris becomes the intellectual engine of the Enlightenment.

9. Revolutionary Paris (1789–1799)

The spark of revolution

• The Estates‑General meets in Versailles, but Paris drives events.
• The Storming of the Bastille (14 July 1789) becomes the symbol of revolution.

Terror & transformation

• The monarchy falls.
• The guillotine stands in Place de la Concorde.
• Churches are repurposed; new political clubs emerge.

Paris becomes the laboratory of modern democracy and violence.

 Napoleonic Paris (1799–1815)

Napoleon modernises the city

• New bridges (Pont des Arts, Pont d’Iéna)
• Arc de Triomphe commissioned
• Rue de Rivoli begun
• Administrative reforms

Paris becomes a capital of empire.

1.  Haussmann’s Paris — The Birth of the Modern City (1853–1870)

Napoleon III & Baron Haussmann

This is the most dramatic transformation in Parisian history.

Haussmann creates:

• Wide boulevards
• Uniform façades
• Parks (Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes)
• Modern sewers
• New railway stations
• Grand avenues radiating from the Opéra

Paris becomes the model for modern urban planning.

1.1 The Paris Commune (1871)

1.2 Revolution and civil war

• After defeat in the Franco‑Prussian War, Paris rebels.
• The Commune governs for 72 days.
• Brutally suppressed in “La Semaine Sanglante”.

A deep scar in Parisian memory.

1.3 Belle Époque Paris (1871–1914)

A golden age

• Eiffel Tower (1889)
• Métro opens (1900)
• Grand Palais & Petit Palais
• Montmartre artists (Picasso, Toulouse‑Lautrec)
• Cafés, cabarets, and boulevards

Paris becomes the cultural capital of the world.

1.4 Paris in the World Wars (1914–1945)

WWI

• Paris is threatened but never falls.
• The taxi fleet famously transports troops to the Marne.

WWII

• Occupied by Nazi Germany (1940–1944).
• Liberated in August 1944.

Paris emerges battered but intact.

1.5 Post‑war Paris (1945–1980s)

Modernisation

• New suburbs (banlieues)
• La Défense business district
• RER commuter rail
• Pompidou Centre (1977)
• Charles de Gaulle Airport (1974)

Social change

• Immigration from North Africa, West Africa, and Asia
• Student protests of May 1968
• Cultural diversification

1.6 Contemporary Paris (1990s–present)

A global capital

• Louvre Pyramid (1989)
• Musée d’Orsay
• Bercy development
• Grand Paris Express (ongoing)
• Revitalisation of the Seine quays
• 2024 Olympic Games

Identity

Paris today is:

• A centre of fashion, art, film, gastronomy, finance, and politics
• A multicultural metropolis
• A city balancing heritage with innovation

Final thought

Paris is a city that has never stopped reinventing itself — from Celtic river town to Roman outpost, medieval university city, Renaissance capital, revolutionary battleground, imperial metropolis, Haussmannian masterpiece, and modern global hub.
Its layers of history are visible everywhere: in its streets, its monuments, its river, and its culture.

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