Welcome to Paris
(pronounced /ˈpaɹɪs/ in English) is the capital city of France. It is situated River Seine, in northern France , at the heart of the Île-de-France region (aka "Paris Region"; in French: Région Parisienne or RP). The City of Paris has an estimated population of 2,167,994 within its administrative limits (January 2006).[2] The Paris unité urbaine (or urban area) extends well beyond the administrative city limits and has an estimated population of 9.93 million (in 2005),[3] while the Paris aire urbaine (or metropolitan area) has a population of nearly 12 million[4] and Europe.[5]
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel also known as Chunnel or Eurotunnel is a 50.450 km (31.35 mi) long rail tunnel beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover, connecting Folkestone, Kent in England ( ) to Coquelles near Calais in northern France ( ). The "tunnel" consists of three separate tunnels; two 7.6m diameter single track, single direction rail tunnels which are 30m apart and It was a megaproject with several false starts, but it was finally completed in 1994. It is the second-longest rail tunnel in the world, with the Seikan Tunnel in Japan being longer, but the undersea section of the Channel Tunnel, at 37.9 km (23.55 mi), is the longest undersea tunnel in the world. The American Society of Civil Engineers has declared the tunnel to be Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Cityscape
"Modern" Paris is the result of a vast mid-19th century urban remodelling[citation needed]. For centuries it had been a labyrinth of narrow streets and half-timber houses, but beginning in 1852, the Baron Haussmann's vast urbanisation levelled entire quarters to make way for wide avenues lined with neo-classical stone buildings of bourgeoise standing; most of this 'new' Paris is the Paris we see today. These Second Empire plans are in many cases still in effect, as the city of Paris imposes the then-defined "alignement" law (imposed position defining a predetermined street width)' Paris ' building code has seen few changes since the mid-19th century to allow for higher constructions. It is for this reason that Paris is mainly a "flat" city[citation needed].
Paris' unchanging borders, strict building codes and lack of developable land have together contributed in creating a phenomenon called muséification (or "museumification") as, at the same time as they strive to preserve Paris' historical past, existing laws make it difficult to create within city limits the larger buildings and utilities needed for a growing population[citation needed]. Many of Paris ' institutions and economic infrastructure are already located in, or are planning. The financial (La Défense) business district, the main food wholesale market (Rungis), major renowned schools (École Polytechnique, HEC, ESSEC, INSEAD, etc.), world famous research laboratories (in Saclay or Évry), the largest sport stadium (Stade de France), and some ministries (namely the Ministry of Transportation) are located outside of the city of Paris. The National Archives of France are due to relocate to the northern suburbs before 2010[citation needed]. The need for a larger Paris is largely acknowledged by the French government. As of November 2007, discussions for such a larger Paris have begun, though which suburbs should be included in this larger Paris is unresolved. In any case, such an extension will not occur before the French city-hall elections, scheduled in the spring of 2008.
The Arc de Triomphe is a historical treasury in France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile ( Star Square ). It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The arch honours those who fought for France , particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier.
The Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe historique) — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris . The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail and set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant nationalistic messages, until World War I.
The monument stands over 51 metres (165 ft) in height and is 45 metres wide. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence.[1] Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, and was caught in a newsreel.[2]
This opera house, which was inaugurated in 1989 to mark the bicentenary of the Storming of the Bastille (which sparked the French Revolution) is
History
The Arc de Triomphe is. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon I at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years, and in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria , he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect Jean Chalgrin died in 1811, and the work was taken over by Huyon. During the Restoration, construction was halted and would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1833–36 when the architects Louis-Étienne Héricart de .
The Place de la Concorde is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
The Place was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 as a moat-skirted octagon between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Gardens to the east. Filled with statues and fountains, the area was named Place Louis XV to honor the then king. The Place was showcasing an equestrian statue of the king, which had been commissioned in 1748 by the city of Paris , sculpted mostly by Edmé Bouchardon, and completed by Jean-Baptiste Pigalle after the death of the former.
At the north end, two magnificent identical stone buildings were constructed. Separated by the rue Royale, these structures remain among the best examples of that period's architecture. Initially they served as government offices, and the eastern _disibledevent="French Naval Ministry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Naval_Ministry">French Naval Ministry. Shortly after its construction, the western building was made into the luxurious Hôtel de Crillon (still operating today) where Marie Antoinette soon spent afternoons relaxing and taking piano lessons. The hôtel served as the headquarters of the occupying German army during World War II.
During the French Revolution the statue of King Louis was torn down and the area renamed "Place de la Révolution ". In a grim reminder to the nobility of a gruesome past, when the "Place de Grève" was a site where the nobility and members of the bourgeoisie were entertained watching convicted criminals being dismembered alive, the new revolutionary government erected the guillotine there. The first notable to be executed at the Place de la Révolution was King Louis XVI, January 21, 1793. Other important people guillotined there, often in front of cheering crowds, were Queen Marie Antoinette, Madame Élisabeth, Charlotte Corday, Madame du Barry, Danton, Desmoulins, Lavoisier, Robespierre and Saint Just.
The guillotine was most active during the "Reign of Terror", in the summer of 1794, when in a single month more than 1,300 people were executed. A year later, when the revolution was taking a more moderate course, the guillotine was removed from the square and its name was changed in token of national reconciliation.
The National Library of France traces its origin to the royal library founded at the Louvre by Charles V in 1368. It expanded under Louis XIV and opened to the public in 1692. The library's collections swelled to over 300,000 volumes during the radical phase of the French Revolution when the private libraries of aristocrats and clergy were seized. By an act of the revolutionary French National Assembly, the Library became the first free public library in the world in 1793.
Following the series of regime changes in France, it became the Imperial National Library and in 1868 was moved to newly constructed buildings rue de Richelieu designed by Henri Labrouste.
On 14 July 1988, François Mitterrand announced the construction and the expansion of _disibledevent=1989 href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989">1989, the services of the architectural firm of Dominique Perrault were retained. The construction was carried out by BouyguesBouygues website: Bibliothèque nationale de France</ref>. After the move of the major collections from the rue de Richelieu, the National Library of France opened to the public ,20 December 1996. It contains more than ten million volumes. Those who work in it are not happy with the extremely long distances they have to walk to reach basic functions. It also features a landscaped garden pit at its center that cannot be enjoyed except with one's eyes, and several of the trees need to be supported with rope to prevent them from falling.
Additionally, despite being a library financed at great cost to the public and located in a neighborhood dominated by social housing, none of the material in the library is accessible by the public without paying a fee. Those wishing to visit the library for a single day will be required to pay a fee of 3.30 Euros. Admission to the reading rooms in the research library is restricted to those over the age of 18 and proof of "academic, professional or personal research activities requiring access to the collection" is required. Readers’ cards are issued "after an individual interview with a librarian."
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