Sights in France
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Académie du Spectacle Équestre
The attractive town of Versailles, crisscrossed by wide boulevards, is another Louis XIV creation. In the late 17th century the three wide thoroughfares that fan out eastwards from place d’Armes in front of the château – av de St-Cloud, av de Paris and av de Sceaux – were separated by two vast stable blocks. One stable block called the Grandes Écuries (Big Stables) is the stage for the prestigious Académie du Spectacle Équestre. The crowds dash here. In addition to its 45-minute morning training sessions, the academy presents spectacular Reprises Musicales, for which tickets sell out weeks in advance; call for information and reservations. Training sessions and…
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Librairie les Alizés
At 74 rue du Cardinal Lemoine is the 3rd-floor apartment where Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) lived with his first wife Hadley from January 1922 until August 1923. The flat figures prominently in his book of memoirs, A Moveable Feast, from which the quotation on the wall plaque (in French) is taken: ‘This is how Paris was in our youth when we were very poor and very happy.’ Just below the flat was the Bal au Printemps, a popular bal musette (dancing club), which served as the model for the one where Jake Barnes met Brett Ashley in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. It is now the bookshop Librairie Les Alizés, specialising in new and secondhand books by American…
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Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
This triumphal arch, erected by Napoleon to celebrate his battlefield successes of 1805, sits with aplomb in the Jardin du Carrousel, the gardens immediately next to the Louvre. The arch was once crowned by the ancient Greek sculpture called The Horses of St Mark’s, ‘borrowed’ from the portico of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice by Napoleon but returned after his defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
The quadriga (the two-wheeled chariot drawn by four horses) that replaced it was added in 1828 and celebrates the return of the Bourbons to the French throne after Napoleon’s downfall. The sides of the arch are adorned with depictions of Napoleonic victories and eight pink-marble…
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Les Arènes
Nîmes’ magnificent Roman amphitheatre, the best preserved in the whole of the Roman Empire, was built around AD 100 to seat 24,000 spectators. It’s easy to forget, as one marvels at the architectural accomplishments of the Romans, what a nasty streak they had too. The arena hosted animal fights to the death, stag hunts, man against lion or bear confrontations and, of course, gladiatorial combats. In the contemporary arena, it’s only the bulls that get killed. An advance of a kind, you might say.
There’s a mock-up of the gladiators’ quarters and, if you time it right, you’ll see a couple of actors in full combat gear slugging it out in the arena.
Buy your…
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Unité d'Habitation
Visionary architect Le Corbusier redefined urban living in 1952 with the completion of his vertical, 337-apartment ‘garden city', Unité d'Habitation , also known as Cité Radieuse (Radiant City). Along its darkened hallways, primary-coloured downlights create eerie tunnels leading to a minisupermarket, architectural bookshop and panoramic rooftop ‘desert garden'.
Even if you're not staying at the onsite Hôtel Le Corbusier, you can arrange to visit this tour de force, including its private apartments, or dine at its restaurant, with sweeping views of the Mediterranean - and of the proliferation of high-rises that Le Corbusier inspired. Catch bus 83 or 21 to the Le…
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Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation
In the courtyard in front of the Musée Municipal de l'Évêché, an excavation project has revealed the archaeological remains of buildings that once occupied the site, including some Gallo-Roman ruins. Eventually it's hoped that the remains will be open to the public, but while the work's going on, the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation has been moved to the Chapelle de la Règle, behind the botanical gardens.
It's worth taking a stroll over - the museum contains some moving accounts of the exploits of the Resistance and the suffering of deportees during the war, supported by some fascinating wartime memorabilia, including photos, letters, diaries and…
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Musée des Confluences
The incredible Musée des Confluences, a spacey science- and society-focused museum is as much stunning piece of contemporary architecture as museum. It is housed in a futuristic steel-and-glass transparent crystal topped by a floating 'cloud'. Inside, three of the 10 vast exhibition areas grapple with eternal questions like 'Where do we come from?', 'Where are we going?' and 'Who are we and what are we doing?'.
Remaining spaces home in on hot issues of the future - cloning, genetically modified organisms, global warming and so on. Two auditoriums, a café, restaurants, shop and riverside garden complete the ambitious cultural ensemble, the creation of world-famous…
reviewed
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Abbaye aux Hommes
Caen's two Romanesque abbeys were founded in the mid-11th century by William the Conqueror and his wife, Matilda of Flanders, as part of a deal in which the Church pardoned these fifth cousins for having semi-incestuously married each other. With its magnificent and multiturreted Église St-Étienne, the Abbaye aux Hommes is near the western end of rue Écuyère. This was William's final resting place, though the original tomb was destroyed by a 16th-century Calvinist mob and, in 1793, by fevered Revolutionaries – a solitary thighbone is all that's left of Will's mortal remains. Today, the 18th-century convent buildings house the town hall, and tours of the abbey run at…
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Basilique St-Rémi
This 121m-long former Benedictine abbey church, a Unesco World Heritage Site, mixes Romanesque elements from the mid-11th century (the worn but stunning nave and transept) with early Gothic features from the latter half of the 12th century (the choir, with a large triforium gallery and, way up top, tiny clerestory windows). It is named in honour of Bishop Remigius, who baptised Clovis and 3000 Frankish warriors in 498. The 12th-century-style chandelier has 96 candles, one for each year of the life of St Rémi, whose tomb (in the choir) is marked by a mausoleum from the mid-1600s. The basilica is situated about 1.5km south-southeast of the tourist office; take the Citadine…
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Musée des Beaux-Arts
In a resplendent 1878 belle époque villa, the Musée des Beaux-Arts displays works by Fragonard, Monet, Sisley and Rodin, as well as an excellent collection of Dufy works.
Fauvist appreciators will relish a roomful of Raoul Dufy's works. Also impressive are sculptures by Rodin, and some late impressionist pieces by Bonnard, Monet and Sisley. Local lads Jules Chéret (1836-1932), the 'Father of the Poster', and Alexis Mossa (1844-1926), who painted truly hideous symbolist works, also feature. The latter is more famous for adding wildly decorated floats to the Nice Carnival than for his watercolours. From the bus station, take bus 38 to the Musée Chéret stop outside.
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Îles du Frioul
A few hundred metres west of Île d’If are the Îles du Frioul, the barren dyke-linked white-limestone islands of Ratonneau and Pomègues. Sea birds and rare plants thrive on these tiny islands (each about 2.5km long, totalling 200 hectares). Ratonneau has three beaches. Boats to Château d'If also serve the Îles du Frioul (€10 return, 35 minutes).
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Cathédrale St-Étienne
As delicate as Chantilly lace, the golden spires of this Gothic cathedral crown Metz' skyline. Exquisitely lit by kaleidoscopic curtains of 13th- to 20th-century stained glass, the cathedral is nicknamed 'God's lantern'. The Gothic windows, on the north transept arm, contrast with the Renaissance windows on the south transept arm.
Notice the flamboyant Chagall windows in reds, yellows and blues in the ambulatory, which also harbours the treasury. The sculpture of the Graoully ('grau-lee'), a dragon said to have terrified pre-Christian Metz, lurks in the 15th-century crypt. The cathedral looks its most radiant on a bright day and when floodlit in the evening.
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Conciergerie
The Conciergerie was built as a royal palace in the 14th century, but later lost favour with the kings of France and became a prison and torture chamber. During the Reign of Terror (1793–94) it was used to incarcerate alleged enemies of the Revolution before they were brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal, next door in the Palais de Justice.
Among the almost 2800 prisoners held in the dungeons here (in various ‘classes’ of cells, no less) before being sent in tumbrels to the guillotine were Queen Marie-Antoinette (see a reproduction of her cell) and, as the Revolution began to turn on its own, the radicals Danton, Robespierre and, finally, the judges of the Tribunal…
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Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame
Occupying a cluster of sublime 14th- and 16th-century buildings, this museum harbours one of Europe's premier collections of Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance sculptures (including many originals from the cathedral), plus 15th-century paintings and stained glass. Christ de Wissembourg (c 1060; room two) is the oldest work of stained glass in France.
Hollywood gore seems tame compared to the tortures back when Hell really was hell. Sure to scare you into a life of chastity is Les Amants Trépassés (the Deceased Lovers; room 23), painted in 1470, showing a grotesque couple being punished for their illicit lust: both of their entrails are being devoured by dragon-headed…
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Centre des Monuments Nationaux
The aristocratic mansion, Hôtel de Sully, dating from the early 17th century today houses the headquarters of the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, the body responsible for many of France’s historical monuments; there are brochures and lots of information available on sites nationwide. Here you’ll also find the Jeu de Paume – Site Sully, a branch of the more famous Galerie de Jeu de Paume, with excellent rotating photographic exhibits. Visiting both galleries costs €8/4. The Hôtel de Sully bookshop is excellent, and the two Renaissance-style courtyards are worth the trip alone.
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Forêt de Fontainebleau
This 20,000-hectare Forêt de Fontainebleau, which begins 500m south of the chateau and surrounds the town, is one of the prettiest woods in the region. The many trails - including parts of the GR1 and GR11 - are excellent for jogging, walking, cycling, horse riding and climbing. The area is covered by IGN's 1:25,000-scale Forêt de Fontainebleau map. The tourist office sells the Guide des Sentiers de Promenades dans le Massif Forestier de Fontainebleau, whose maps and text (in French) cover almost 20 walks in the forest, as well as the comprehensive La Forêt de Fontainebleau, published by the Office National des Forêts, with almost three dozen walks.
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Musée du Quai Branly
No other museum in Paris provides such inspiration for travellers, armchair anthropologists and those who simply appreciate the beauty of traditional craftsmanship. A tribute to the incredible diversity of human culture, the Musée du Quai Branly, which opened in 2006, presents an overview of indigenous and folk art from around the world.
Divided into four main sections – Oceania, Asia, Africa and the Americas – the museum showcases an impressive array of masks, carvings, weapons, jewellery and more, all displayed in a refreshingly unique interior without rooms or high walls. Be sure to check out the temporary exhibits and performances, both of which are generally…
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Église St-Eustache
This majestic church, one of the most beautiful in Paris, is just north of the gardens next to the Forum des Halles. Constructed between 1532 and 1637, St-Eustache is primarily Gothic, though a neoclassical facade was added on the western side in the mid-18th century. Inside, there are some exceptional Flamboyant Gothic arches holding up the ceiling of the chancel, though most of the ornamentation is Renaissance and even classical. Above the western entrance, the gargantuan organ, with 101 stops and 8000 pipes dating from 1854, is used for concerts (long a tradition here) and at Sunday Mass at 11am and 6pm.
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Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine
Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, in the Palais de Chaillot’s eastern wing, is a mammoth 23,000 sq metres of space spread over three floors and devoted to French architecture and heritage. The highlight is the light-filled ground floor, which contains a beautiful collection of 350 plaster and wood moulages (casts) of cathedral portals, columns and gargoyles, and replicas of murals and stained glass originally created for the 1878 Exposition Universelle. The views of the Eiffel Tower from the windows are equally monumental.
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Musée Départemental de l’Oise
The outstanding Musée Départemental de l’Oise is housed in the former bishops’ palace with its distinctive round bastions just west of Cathédrale St-Pierre. It has sections dedicated to archaeology, medieval wood carvings, French and Italian paintings (including a number of gruesome 16th-century works depicting decapitations), ceramics and art nouveau. Highlights include the Dieu Guerrier Gaulois de St-Maur, a slender and aristocratic-looking Celtic warrior made of hammered sheet brass in the 1st century AD; the early-17th-century funerary monument of nobleman Charles de Fresnoy; and a wonderfully complete, late-19th- century art nouveau dining room.
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Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul
Troyes' most important house of worship, 114m long, incorporates elements from every period of champenois Gothic architecture. The Flamboyant west facade, for instance, dates from the mid-1500s, while the choir and transepts are more than 250 years older. The interior is illuminated by a spectacular series of some 180 stained-glass windows (13th to 17th centuries) that shine like jewels when it's sunny. Also of interest: a fantastical baroque organ (1730s) sporting musical putti (cherubs), and a tiny treasury with enamels from the Meuse Valley. Back in 1429, Joan of Arc and Charles VII stopped off here on their way to his coronation in Reims.
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Téléphérique du l'Aiguille du Midi
Year round the Téléphérique du l'Aiguille du Midi links Chamonix with the Aiguille du Midi; its halfway point, Plan de l'Aiguille (2317m) is an excellent place to start hikes or paraglide in summer. Be prepared for long queues, especially in summer when you need to obtain a boarding card (marked with the number of your departing and returning cable-car cabins) from the ticket desks in addition to a ticket. Making advance reservations on the 24-hour phone number incurs an around booking fee. The ascent is not recommended for children aged under two. Even in summer the temperature rarely rises above minus 10°C at the top - so bring warm clothes!
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Pont Valentré
The six-span Pont Valentré, on the western side of the city, south of the train station, is one of France's most iconic medieval bridges. Built as part of the town's defences in the 14th century, the parapets projecting from two of its three tall towers were designed to allow defenders to drop missiles on attackers below. On the bank opposite the bridge, numerous Roman coins have been found at the natural spring known as the Fontaine des Chartreux, dedicated to the city's Gallo-Roman goddess Divona, which still supplies the city's drinking water.
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Musée de la Défense
A trip to this space located just below the Espace-Info information centre is a real highlight. Drawings, architectural plans and scale models trace the development of the district from the 17th century to the present day. Especially fascinating are the projects that were never built: the 750m-tall Tour Tourisme TV (1961) by the Polak brothers; Hungarian-born artist Nicholas Schöffer’s unspeakable Tour Lumière Cybernetique (1965), a ‘Cybernetic Light Tower’ that, at 324m, would stand at the same height as the Eiffel Tower; and the Tour sans Fin, a ‘Never-Ending Tower’ that would be 425m high, but just 39m in diameter. Ouch.
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Mémorial de la Shoah
Established in 1956, the Memorial to the Unknown Jewish Martyr has metamorphosed into the Memorial of the Shoah – a Hebrew word meaning ‘catastrophe’ and synonymous with the Holocaust – and an important documentation centre. The permanent collection and temporary exhibitions relate to the Holocaust and the German occupation of parts of France and Paris during WWII; the film clips of contemporary footage and interviews are heart-rending and the displays instructive and easy to follow. The actual memorial to the victims of the Shoah stands at the entrance, where a wall is inscribed with the names of 76,000 men, women and children deported from France to Nazi extermination…
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