Paris – the magnificent city which differs from other by its unique architecture to admire infinitely. If you want to estimate it from the big height, to see its scope – do it the way many tourists do by means of such remarkable constructions as Tour Eiffel or tour Montparnasse, and in this article we will talk about one more place for supervision over Paris from height.

To see the whole magnitude of Paris, we advise to visit the ornament of Montmartre – Basilique du Sacré Cœur – “sacred heart” from French.

In brief, about this remarkable place. For this purpose we should return to the past (more precisely to the end of the nineteenth century) when the country suffered not the best moment: constant defeats in wars, the most serious political and economic crises, explosive condition of the society. Many Frenchmen prayed God with only one question “what are we suffering for?” and prayers for salvation.

And in this difficult situation a businessman Alexandre Legentil has vowed to the Lord about building of a grandiose cathedral which in its opinion should help to rescue France from ill fate. It was only necessary to be defined with a place of the future building.

And the choice has fallen on the Grand Opéra which was recently a symbol of the French success and prosperity, and at that time – an indicator of awful decline. The given decision has not been apprehended unequivocally in the society, and after long polemic this place has been rejected. However the patron of art did not surrender and has achieved the right to erect church on Montmartre (at its most top) – a place well-known and popular among Parisians.  

Among seventy eight projects the offer of architect Paul Abadie has been chosen. He has suggested building a cathedral in quite unusual for Paris Roman-Byzantine architectural style. The building has been constructed of strong calcareous breed, and has risen up on eighty three meters.

Singularity of new church was characterized by the extended domes, repeating a silhouette of a well-known Basilica of the twelfth century Saint-Front, located in Périgueux.

Behind the cathedral a bell tower has settled down. It has become famous for one of the hugest bells in the Christian world which weight makes twenty tons. It has been presented by inhabitants of the province of Savoie, for as has received the name of la Savoyarde.

A huge staircase runs to the main façade which is decorated by a portico along the edges of which statues of national heroine Jeanne d’Arc and king Saint Louis are installed.

From within the cathedral has been magnificently decorated with mosaic, stained-glass windows which, unfortunately, have been destroyed during the Second World War.

The building work was extremely uneasy, so the cathedral erection lasted long enough, the first divine services have taken place in 1891 year only (the beginning of works is dated 1875 year). The cult of Sacré Cœur has been entered into France by queen Catherine de Médicis in the seventeenth century. From the church point of view it represents a symbol of heart Dominical, stroked with a spear at crucifixion of the Savior and at all times bleeding for the blessing of men.

At consecration the cathedral has received the rank of a Basilica which on Christian terminology speaks about pilgrim mission. And since then thousand of believing pilgrims aspire to Montmartre.

Since the construction, the relation of Parisians to Basilique du Sacré Cœur varied causing irony, genuine admiration. But, nevertheless, at present it is one of cards of Montmartre and Paris, a place from which the unique view on this great city opens.

First of all, let’s specify what “passage” means. In one of historical documents a name passage in Paris used to be exclusively given to walking path which connected two streets. These are such places where numerous shops and restaurants settle down; here enamored gentlemen appoint secret meetings to ladies. For today Paris has six thousand streets, and three tens from them are proudly called passages, however only their tenth part corresponds to the old name.

So, we will return to the object of our narration. Palais Royal along with many things in France has got interesting history. We all know that Cardinal Richelieu was an extremely influential person in the politics of France (and all Europe) in the seventeenth century. And this person constantly changed places, however he could not find really comfortable place for a life for a long time. In the countryside residences he could not show his active nature completely, and to live under the same roof with “the weak” monarch was below his honor, after all the Cardinal, whatever one may say, considered himself the main person in the country.

As a result in 1624 Richelieu has bought an estate of Angennes near the Louvre which at that time already had several buildings, a garden and defensive towers. It could not satisfy him, and he decided to erect a magnificent palace corresponding to the greatness of the Cardinal. The author of the project of this palace was a close friend of Richelieu architect Jacques Lemercier. He has constructed a majestic building fast enough; it has received the first name – Palais Cardinal.

The palace has turned out truly magnificent, it had everything possible to wish, including huge library, own theatre, a real Guards hall. The collection of picturesque paintings of the Cardinal consisted of hundreds of works of such well-known masters as Tiziano, Rafael, Rubens, Leonardo da Vinci, Dürer and others. Besides that, lots of unique sculptures pleasing a look of the owner have been installed in palace forcing to envy its visitors, including King Louis. As the Cardinal was the cleverest and most perspicacious person he understood that “impudence” of such kind can lead to serious problems with the monarch. And to exclude it, he bequeathed his palace to the Royal family after his death.

Louis XIII could not take full pleasure in all delights of the palace as he has lived a year longer than his minister and has left this world in 1643. However, the palace was not empty for long as his widow– Queen Anne d’Autriche has moved in there with the children (future king Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil among them) and her favorite Cardinal Mazarini. So, the palace got a new name of Palais Royal.

Having ascended to the throne, the young monarch has left magnificent apartments which apparently did not cause warm feelings in him, and has presented it to his brother Philippe d’Orléans. The palace was in possession of this clan up to the Great French revolution.

For centuries Palais Royal (or Cardinal) has undergone many changes; however it always remained one of the most magnificent palaces in Europe. Today it is a gorgeous place which is visited by many thousand tourists from various corners of the world every year. We wish you, visiting Paris, come there personally to see all its magnificence.

In this article we would like to pay our attention to such phenomena as old Parisian streets and to tell about most known of them.

One of the most known Parisian streets is Rue de Rivoli which is a symbol of time of Napoleonic Empire. Rue de Rivoli has appeared thanks to Napoleon emperor’s order. He decided to change the shape of the city, having cleaned the ground from monasteries and replaced them with the arcades seen in Italy.

Rue Rivoli takes its beginning from Place de la Concorde, lies along Tuileries, northern part of the well-known Louvre, and reaches Marais.

Rue de Rivoli arcades are well-known all over the world for a long time and attract attention of tourists who are visiting Paris. What is remarkable, the street with the arcades became a place of “pilgrimage” for foreigners in the middle of the nineteenth century most of whom were representatives of the Great Britain. So, during those far times representatives of the British aristocracy without fail included visiting Rue de Rivoli in their schedule of stay in Paris making their continental tourist trips. Standard for the Englishman in Paris of that time was considered to stop in Meurice, to visit English bookshop Galignani every morning to get a fresh release of the newspaper, and for traditional British tea drinking it was nothing better than salon Angelina. All these places have successfully survived centuries and please many tourists till now.

A little to the north from Rue de Rivoli one more well-known street of Paris settles down – street Saint-Honore which is as long as Rue de Rivoli. For walking travelers at all extent of the street, beginning from Madeleine to the well-known Place Vendom, houses of such legendary persons for France, as Molière and Robespierre appear. In the street Saint-Honore there are a lot of famous buildings are situated, among them is one of the oldest drugstores of a city and legendary shop of tobacco products La Civette, hotel Costes highly popular among representatives of Hollywood.

And that important element which makes Rue de Rivoli and Saint-Honore related is the Place Vendom which is in some distance from both streets but invariably associates with them. It has appeared in the second half of the seventeenth century only to be decorated with a majestic statue of “king-sun” Louis XIV on a horse made in bronze. And in a consequence the area has received its statue and many other components, and the recognition of the area as one of the most beautiful in Paris. The local architectural ensemble consists of houses constructed in popular at that time Baroque style which is recognizable for different arches and a great number of penthouses. A remarkable fact is that the word “penthouse” or “mansard” is obliged by its origin to architect François Mansart – the “father” of these constructions. These most beautiful houses continue to please visitors with their magnificence up till now. But the fate of the statue is rather cruel: it has staid for exactly hundred years until the furious crowd of revolutionaries has dumped it from its pedestal in 1792. Today its place is occupied by the well-known column casted out of trophy armory devoted by Napoleon to the victory in the battle under Austerlitz.

Certainly, it is impossible to describe all delights of these places, therefore, visiting Paris, find time and have a look at Rue Rivoli and Sent-Honore, and also the Place Vendom with your own eyes. Believe us, you will not be disappointed!

The capital of France is always ready to please any traveler with the magnificent curve small streets, monumental constructions, grandiose parkways, magnificent restaurants, extravagant little shops, cozy cafes, well-known theatres and concert halls, and at the same time to surprise with the beggars and the homeless, the fallen actors and musicians. All this diversity also makes what we call in a word … Paris! As they say, «to see Paris and to die …»

However, in Paris, as well as in any other ancient city of this planet it is always possible to allocate several peculiar places and sights.

If London is Big Ben or Westminster Abbey, Moscow – Red Square and Vasily Blazhennogo’s Cathedral, then Paris is certainly, Notre-Dame – the Cathedral of ‘Our Lady of Paris’ (in French) which was so beautifully glorified in a novel of the same name by the great son of the French people Victor Hugo. And if you have visited Paris and did not see this cathedral it is possible to tell that you did not see Paris.

Notre Dame de Paris cathedral has huge architecturally-cultural and historical value for France. The beginning of construction of the Cathedral is dated by historians about 1160 year when Paris has received the status of the capital of France. For this reason the erected construction was initially planned as extraordinary grandiose monument of architecture. This is displayed in this masterpiece of the medieval architecture.

Thus, the height of towers erected without additional spikes, makes sixty eight (68!) meters. The chimeras, these centuries-old security guards of a cathedral, still amaze the viewer imagination after its reconstruction in XIX century. The Cathedral consists of five naves under arches of which the French monarchs uplifted their prayers to God on the threshold of military campaigns, marriage and coronation. One of the remarkable facts is that Napoleon has named himself the Emperor of France in this cathedral, having allowed its walls embody another great historical event.

Of course, if to speak directly about architectural features of Notre Dame de Paris it is natural that only three windows from medieval stained-glass (called roses in architectural circles) have remained nowadays. Although the Cathedral was repeatedly exposed to various alterations and reconstruction during its thousand-year history, it remains one of the brightest architectural constructions erected in Europe in the Middle Ages.

In any case, visiting Paris, it is impossible to avoid the Cathedral constructed in honor of the patroness of this city.