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Posts Tagged ‘Tour’

The first to fourth arrondissements form the heart of Paris on the Seine River’s right bank and include the two Parisian islands. Les Halles was the city’s central market, covered in 1183. Read Zola’s 1873 novel The Belly of Paris for a timeless picture of this unique setting unfortunately demolished in 1971 and replaced by a huge underground modern shopping center. Chatelet-Les-Halles is the world’s largest underground transportation station. It serves three quarters of a million passengers daily. The Louvre Museum annually greets over eight million tourists, the most of any art museum in the word. Besides Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo it contains another four hundred thousand objects. Be sure to see the Tuileries Garden and the Comedie-Francaise. Nearby is the Hotel Ritz, the last stop for Dodi Al-Fayed and Princess Diana before their tragic 1997 demise.

The second arrondissement is home to Paris’s remaining glazed commercial arcades, Parisian adaptations of Oriental bazaars and souks that form a miniature city free from noise, traffic, and inclement weather in which window-shopping developed into yet another Parisian art form. They evolved (degenerated) into the suburban shopping center. Visit at least one arcade to get a taste of Paris in the days of old.

The Grand Boulevards form a long arc running west to east from the Church of the Madeleine to the Bastille. Once the hangout for Paris’s upper crust they still form a distinctive, often lively part of the city. The actual street name changes from Boulevard Madeleine, to five other names and finally to Boulevard St. Denis. Going east the boulevards traditionally get poorer and arguably more interesting.

The third arrondissement contains the northern sector of the medieval Marais district; the fourth arrondissement contains the livelier southern part. The Marais was marshland first cleared in the Twelfth Century. In the Sixteenth Century the aristocracy built beautiful residences there. The Marais took a real hit when the court moved to Versailles. But this area was not highly affected by Baron Haussmann’s urban redevelopment. You should see the Carnavalet Museum, devoted to the history of Paris. Paris’s oldest square, the Place des Vosges, was built by Henri IV as the Place Royale.

The Ile de la Cite (Cite Island) was already inhabited in the First Century B.C. by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii who gave their name to the city. Georges Pompidou Centre built in the nineteen seventies near the Halles Market and the Marais contains a library, the National Modern Art Museum with works by Kandinsky, Matisse, Miro, Picasso, and much more. You either love the building or you hate it because of its very distinct (ugly) architecture with pipes on the outside.

Charles de Gaulle spoke from City Hall on August 25, 1944 when Paris was liberated. The rue des Francs-Bourgeois with its many fashion stores is one of the rare Paris streets open on Sunday. Even if you don’t regularly tour churches see the French Gothic Notre Dame de Paris on the Ile de la Cite, one of the world’s most beautiful churches. Construction took almost two centuries, and frankly was worth it. During the French Revolution, many of its treasures were either destroyed or plundered. Central Paris is home to several historic churches, but if you ask me none of them are in the same league as Notre Dame de Paris.

There are numerous different types of restaurants in Paris and places that you could choose to eat out at, and many of the restaurants have lots of history and nostalgia, so we thought it would be an idea to focus on one in particular, called the Tour d’Argent.

This is actually the oldest restaurant in Paris and is known throughout the world for its traditional French cuisine and was first opened as an inn back in 1582, with the idea of catering for the aristocrats of the time.

By the early 1600’s it had become so popular that even duels were fought to get a table and savour the delicacies on offer!  Numerous dignitaries and royalty came to eat at the Tour d’Argent including King Louis XIV and the Duke of Morny, who resided at the mansion which is now home to the haute cuisine restaurant called the Taillevent.

But it was in the 19th century that the Tour d’Argent became even more famous when the owner, Frederic Delair created the ritual of the “Canard au Sang”, which is a complex dish known as pressed duck or bloody duck that uses a special solid silver press and it was shortly after devising this now famous recipe, he declared that every duck should bear a number.  For instance, number 328 was served to King Edward VII in 1890.

Andre Terrail purchased the Tour d’Argent in 1910, but the tradition of the numbered duck continued and duck number 40,312 was served to King Alfonso XIII in 1914.  Number 112,151 was served to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1929 and duck number 938,451 was served to President Mikhail Gorbachev in 2001.

The Tour d’Argent celebrated its one millionth duck in 2003 and even today this tradition still continues where you are presented with a card showing what number duck you had for your meal, but this is just one of the reasons why this restaurant has become such a landmark and famous throughout the world.

Now when you enter the Tour d’Argent you will immediately see displays in their small museum of items such as a menu from the maiden voyage of the Normandie through to a table set as it was in the 1800’s.  This is where you would usually be served aperitifs, yet the restaurant dining room is actually positioned on the sixth floor, which was added in 1936, and is accessed via a lift. 

And because of its location with the fabulous views of Notre Dame Cathedral and the boats cruising the River Seine or looking at the shimmering lights of the city and the Eiffel Tower in the distance of an evening, becomes another reason why this Paris restaurant is so popular.

Obviously, because this haute cuisine restaurant plays host to celebrities, presidents, royalty, etc reservations are a must and you will need a healthy bank balance in which to thoroughly appreciate the gourmet dining experience along with their fabulous selection of fine wines, which brings us to another reason for its popularity.

Their incredible wine cellars hold around 400,000 bottles from fine vintages dating back to the 1800’s, rare brandies and even more rare champagnes that date from the 1700’s and the wine list itself is like reading a novel presented with its own stand!  The sommeliers are very knowledgeable and can recommend wines to pair excellently with your cuisine, yet prices can become quite high, with some vintage wines costing thousands of Euros!!  Yet if you are lucky enough, you may even be able to get a tour of the wine cellars before leaving, where a member of staff will escort you down underneath the restaurant and ceremoniously rings a copper bell to announce your arrival prior to entry into the cellars.

For many, to dine at this restaurant is a once in a life time experience, where you make sure you are in your best evening dress and the staff are dressed in tails.  In fact, this is such a traditional restaurant that even today the menu is presented to the lady without the costs and the gentleman has the pricing listed!

But booking a table for lunch is more reasonable than going all out on an evening meal, so if you are on a budget, yet still want to splash out, then this is the option for a wonderful gastronomic experience and a terrific view you will not forget.

Paris is an old city full of intrigue with a long history; it’s location straddling the banks of the river Seine make it a beautiful city to visit. For most people visiting Paris, a short stay is often the way they first see the city; you will however, discover that more time is required to fully appreciate what it has to offer.
It is known for its wonderful buildings, style, excellent food and wine; the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre must not go unmentioned. Visitors to Paris as well as its citizens can travel around Paris easily; the Metro underground train network will probably be the main method as it runs regularly and reaches every part of the city.
No visit would be complete without a trip to the top of the almost 1,000 feet tall Eiffel tower; it can be seen throughout most locations around the city. Illuminated at night it dominates the city’s skyline; it is possible to take organized tours which tell the story of the Tower and the history of France.
A walk along the Champs Elysees is essential when you visit Paris; if you want to see famous, designer label shops and the restaurants, this is the place. When you visit this region of the city you will see it is a much more select area; top class hotels are found here, although if you want to stay at a more reasonably priced hotel, they are available outside of the city center.
The city’s famous museum, the Louvre is huge and worth a visit if you have the time; with almost a third of a million exhibits, you will not be able to see everything in one trip. It would be easy for anyone on a Paris short stay vacation to spend all their time here; some of the world’s most important art collections including the infamous Mona Lisa are on display. Paris has attracted world famous artists for hundreds of years; painters like Monet and Picasso spent many years here and a large number of their art works can be seen in Paris today.
Paris is also the home of the equally famous Arc de Triomphe which Napoleon had constructed in the early part of the 19th century; it provides visitors with a wonderful photo experience because it contains the names of every one of his generals. Many people do not know that an observatory was included in the design which affords great views of the surrounding area; in particular those obtained along the lanes that lead from it.
You will not be at a loss for places to visit whilst in the city; these are however, the most popular with regular tours arranged, many of which are either free or at a subsidized cost. Unfortunately, short stays in Paris can be demanding on visitors; what you aren’t able to this time will have to wait for another occasion.