an artist’s guide to
PARIS By Catherine Booth
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THE EIFFEL TOWER There isn’t a monument in Paris more symbolic than the Eiffel Tower. Designed by engineer Gustave Eiffel in 1889, this not-to-be-missed monument has been a subject of fascination for artists and photographers ever since. The elegant s tructure stands a lofty 300m above the city of Paris and has become one of the most iconic buildings of the modern era.
CHAMP DE MARS, 5 AVENUE ANATOLE
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RUE DE RIVOLI
MUSEÉ DU LOUVRE Home to Leonardo Da Vinci’s enigmatic Mona Lisa, the Musée du Louvre boasts one of the most enviable art collections in the world. Dating back to the 12th century, the museum first opened on 10th August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings. Wrapping around a spacious courtyard, the ornate palace can be entered through the iconic glass pyramid which leads visitors underground into the museum. Along with the Mona Lisa, the Louvre is home to the icons of French art, including Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People and The Raft of the Medusa, by Théodore Géricault.
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DID YOU KNOW
During World War Two the Nazis used the Louvre Museum as a storeroom for thousands of stolen art from across Europe.
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MONTMARTRE 03
This bohemian village of Montmartre is one of the most famous neighbourhoods in Paris. Known for its cobbled streets crammed with artists and narrow lanes that wind their way up to the white basilica on the hill, Sacre-Coeur, which boasts one of the best views of Paris. Van Gogh once lived on the northern side of the hill, Renoir worked at 12 Rue Cartot, and most famously Montmartre was the place where Picasso painted Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
35 Rue du Chevalier de la Barre
35 RUE DU CHEVALIER DE LA BARRE
PARIS
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is always a good idea
- AUDREY HEPBURN
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ARC DE TRIOMPHE
PLACE CHARLES DE GAULLE
Standing proudly at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is one of Paris’ most iconic monuments. The grand arch, commissioned by emperor Napoleon Bonepart in 1860 to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies at the Battle of Austerlitz 1805 reaches 50m high. Each of the Arc’s pillars presents one of four sculptural reliefs, and this simple but effective design, combined with the Arc’s impressive height, showcases an architectural gem that is typical of 18th-century romantic neoclassicism.
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05 CENTRE POMPIDOU
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PLACE GEORGES-POMPIDOU
Opened in 1977 by President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the Centre Pompidou houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne. As well as being one of the largest museums of modern art in Europe, The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the museum is popular with street performers, miniature carnivals and caricature artists. With regularly changing exhibitions, there is an array of examples from
Dadaism and Fauvism on display. The building was designed collaboratively by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers during the 1970s, and unusually wears its skeleton on the outside. The colour-coded tubes can be seen from the square below, and each portray a different function, with red for lifts, green for plumbing, yellow for electricity and blue for air conditioning.
35 RUE DU CHEVALIER DE LA BARRE
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CAFE LA PALETTE
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Located at the intersection of Rue Du Seine and Rue Jacques-Callot, La Palette is a typically Parisian café that has gained reputation as the designated hang out for French painters and writers of The Belle Époque period. Frequented by artists like Cézanne, Picasso and later Ernest Hemingway, the cafe is decorated with murals, palettes and ceramics, all of which date back to the 1930s.
@cathers_lou