subject: Luxury Paris City Guide: Things To See And Do [print this page] A luxury Paris city guide should not only include places to stay and places to eat; it should include some of the fantastic sights of the City of Love that you can only see there and no where else. There are literally thousands of different experiences to be had during a trip to France, and you will want to see the grandest of them while you are in Paris. Everyone knows about the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame Cathedral, but what else is there to see in this grand city other than those? Here are just a few ideas for you that you will not want to miss during your travels to the capital of France.
The Palais Garnier is home of the Paris Opera, and it was founded by Louis XIV in 1669. By orders of Napoleon III as part of the great Parisian reconstruction project, the plan was to build an opera house by someone who would win a competition. This competition was won by a 35 year old unknown architect named Charles Garnier. It took a staggering 15 years for construction to be completed, so you can imagine the grandeur of it. Construction was interrupted several times throughout those 15 years, once by the 1870 War, the fall of the Empire and also the Commune. The Palais Garnier was inaugurated finally on January 15, 1875. In 2000, the facade was completely renovated to reveal once again its stunning colors and golden statues.
If you like creepy stuff, The Catacombs of Paris hold the remains of about six million people. From the end of the 18th century through the middle of the 19th century, cemeteries in the city were closed by reason of insalubrity, so people were then buried here. There are labyrinths of galleries and narrow corridors and everything in between, where visitors find the skeletons laid out in a macabre fashion for sure. There are pillars, bells of subsidence and other quirky things to discover (as if six million skeletons were not enough), and the underground museum restores the history of Paris and is certainly an intriguing trip back in time.
The Holy Chapel, or Sainte Chapelle, is the epitome of high Gothic architecture. It was built by an order of Louis IX in order to put relics from the Passion of Christ in a safe place, it is said. Louis IX was to become Saint Louis, and after he had acquired many relics, among which apparently was the crown of thorns, he decided to have the chapel built so that it would be worthy of such things. It took six years to complete and was finally finished in 1248.
These are just a few of the attractions you may or may not find in a Paris city guide that you should really make an effort to see during your trip.
by: Phoenix Delray
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