PARIS
anectorial : 003
As I sit here, full of envy because of a friend who is
just about to leave to Paris, city of lights, my memory takes me back to few
years back when I roamed the city... (by dk)
| Notre Dame: | Perfect
place to start from the religious center of Paris: Beautiful view of Seine
River and roof top of the most famous cathedral in the world, worth every
387 steps |
| Sq. de I'lle de France: | Found
it accidentally and will always cherish my visit: bold and powerful memorial
sunken underground, meets Seine at a corner |
| Pompidou Center: | Birth
of Renzo Piano's career (and Richard Rogers), with wonderful exhibits and view of
Paris |
| La Défense: |
You must see it to believe this modern mega-monument, a window to the
suburban Paris and beyond: make sure to spend sometime in the museum at
its top and its enormous void below |
| Villa Savoye: | Most
famous international style villa designed by Le Corbusier *RER exit: Poissy and bus 50 direction La Coudraie and exit Lycée Le Corbusier (right infront of the house) |
| Arc de Triomphe: | Center
of Paris, beginning of Champs-Elysées with historical museum
above and get ready to shop! |
| Louvre: | Modern
monument and an end of the "Axis", an invisible giant underground
space by I.M. Pei *metro exit: Concorde (and start walking east towards Louvre for ceremonial walk through the Jardin des Tuileries) or exit Palais-Royal Musee du Louvre (if you are lazy) |
| Beaux Arts: | The
first architecture school, intellectual heart of Saint-Germain *simply walk south, over Pont du Carrousel onto Rue des Saints-Péres |
| Eiffel Tower: | Slight
detour to the west side of Paris: suggest elevator up but walk down to admire
its construction/view, and eat if you have money to spend *metro exit: Trocadero for a picturesque view and walk over Pont d'léna (just follow the tower) |
| Maison Roche: | Le
Corbusier Foundation where you can find everything about his work and locations *metro exit: Jasime, walk north on Rue de L'yvette, left on Rue du Docteur Blanche and left on to a small road, Square du Docteur Blance to its end 8-10 Square du Docteur Blanche 75016 Paris tel 42 88 41 53 fax 42 88 33 17 hours vary, so double check |
| Le Sacreé Coeur: | Watch
out for bizzaros, but a beautiful view of the entire Paris city below and an
interesting public transport system below the hill, fantastic eateries *metro exit: Abbesses, just look up towards east |
| St. Denis Cathedral: | North
end of the Paris metro and the beginning of the Gothic Cathedral *metro exit: Saint-Denis (notice an interesting bridge intersecting a neighboring building as well) |
| Parc de la Villette: | Interesting
future-urban-park designed by Bernard Tschumi *metro exit: either Porte de la Villette and walk south or Porte de Pantin and walk north, just follow the red follies |
| Arabic Center: | Its
famous facade doesn't really work, but it's still a mesmerizing and elegant
place *metro exit: Jussieu and walk around the Science building towards the Seine and corner of Saint-Germain, can't miss it |
| National Library: | Dominique
Perrault's four transparent towers elevated from Seine River and sunken
garden in between, elegant *metro exit: Quai de la Gare situated along the Seine |
| American Center: | Gehry's
first attempt (you can tell) to build in Paris *metro exit: Bercy or walk across Pont de Bercy from the National Library, next to a sports stadium |
| Salvation Army: | One
of the unknown Le Corbusier's work ground floor is open to the public but
you can go up stairs at your own risk; I did *RER exit: Masséna (walk along the train tracks, up north to Rue Cantagrel: large building on your right with vibrant colors over the entry) or just walk south along Seine from the National Library |
| Chartes Cathedral: | 30
minute south of France from Gare Montparnasse *you don't need a map, just get off the train station and start walking up the hillside |
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NOTE: There are hundreds of other places that were not mentioned here, that will make a book (maybe later I will write one). For now, you can visit Paris Online and find other wonderful spaces in Paris... so no hate mail please. However, if you are going to be in Paris for about a week and want to see spaces and constructions that bring life to urban space, this list will suffice. SUGGESTION: buy a good map of Paris that includes all public transportation at a tourist information center, eat a good hearty breakfast, buy a packet(s) of 10 tickets (a Carnet) to save $ to eat/shop, and start walking!! |
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