Paris

· In Paris, as in the rest of France, the New Year, or "St. Sylvestre", starts January 1st and ends February 1st. French people start wishing each other cheerful Bonne Annees and exchanging bises (small kisses on each cheek) at the stroke of midnight January 1st, and mailboxes are flooded with greeting cards and gifts throughout the month. So don't be surprised if you hear wishes for the new year throughout January-- and feel free to return them!
· Champagne or sparkling white wine (not to be confused if you wish to avoid lengthy lectures) is the drink of choice on New Year's Eve in Paris. Vin chaud (hot wine) and cider are other favorites. Of course, if you're celebrating the New Year at a restaurant or party, plenty of non-alcoholic drinks are available at most spots.
· A common Paris treat for the New Year are papillottes, chocolates or other confections that pop like small firecrackers when you tear off the wrapping. You can buy these in any Paris supermarket or confectioner's shop.
· Firecrackers and fireworks can be legally bought and sold in Paris, to the surprise of some. Whether you find it amusing or irksome, be aware that street celebrations often include the launching of small-- or sometimes not-so-small-- fireworks. While these are usually harmless, do be vigilant.
· Contrary to popular belief, there is no "rule" on how to dress for a major event like New Year's Eve in Paris, and while the city counts a greater-than-average number of impeccably-dressed fashionistas, plenty of others hit the town in jeans and warm sweaters to enjoy the New Year. Do make sure you follow any dress codes for individual restaurants, New Year's parties, or other events, though-- it's not unusual for higher-end venues to apply stringent dress codes against sneakers, jeans, or t-shirts at the door.

I Love Touring Paris

The 5th arrondissement is on the Left Bank of the Seine River in central Paris. It is often known as the Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) although it's been a long time since many have spoken Latin there. Its population is slightly under sixty thousand and the district provides almost fifty thousand jobs. It is fairly small; less than a square mile (about two and a half square kilometers). This is one of the oldest districts in all Paris and offers some attractions dating back to the time of the Romans who never called it the Latin Quarter. The Roman town Lutetia was built in the First Century BC. The Arenes de Lutece (Lutetia Arena) once held at least fifteen thousand spectators and considerably fewer gladiators. It was built in the First Century AD and included the longest Roman amphitheater. The 135 foot (over 40 meter) long stage hosted both plays and gladiator fights. There were probably animal cages as well, surely not for the plays. The upper level held the poor, the slaves, and women while the lower level was reserved for the big shots. Just in case the spectators got bored they did have a great view of the Seine River. The city was sacked by barbarians in the year 280 and some of its stone was removed to build up the defenses. The arena was subsequently transformed into a cemetery, and then filled with the construction of city walls in the early Thirteenth Century. The arena was more or less forgotten; nobody knew where it was but neighborhood kept its name. The arena was accidentally rediscovered in the 1860s during the construction of a streetcar depot on the site. The famous Nineteenth Century writer Victor Hugo played a major role in preserving these ruins. The area became a public square in 1896 and is open to the public daily and evenings in the summer. The Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) was established in 1980 by eighteen Arab countries and France. This Institute provides extensive information about the Arab world and promotes its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute also supports cooperation and cultural exchanges between France and the Arab world, especially in science and technology. In 1989 it won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The Jardin des Plantes is France's main botanical garden. It includes an aquarium, and a small zoo founded with animals from the royal menagerie at Versailles (not the two-legged variety). Its gardens include a rose garden, an alpine garden, an Art Deco winter garden, Australian and Mexican hothouses, and a maze. The Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) was founded during the French Revolution. It was quite a center of scientific research. One of the winners of the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, Henri Becquerel, held its chair for Applied Physics when he accidentally discovered uranium's radioactivity. Four generations of Becquerels held this chair from 1838 until 1948, which must be some sort of record. The Musee de Cluny, officially known as Musee National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages) is perhaps the most outstanding medieval building in Paris. It was the town house of the Abbots of Cluny, dating back to 1334 but was rebuilt in both Gothic and Renaissance style starting near the end of the Fifteenth Century. The Musee de Cluny has a fine collection of important medieval artifacts, in particular tapestries, Gothic sculptures, and illuminated manuscripts. Herman Melville mentioned this museum in his famous novel Moby Dick. The Thermes de Cluny are what remains of Third Century Gallo-Roman baths. Its best-preserved section is the frigidarium, the cold-water pool in which bathers dipped to close their pores after enjoyed the hot-water sections. Some of the original decorative wall painting and mosaics remain intact. These baths were poorly defended and probably destroyed by barbarians, those dirty barbarians, towards the end of the Third Century. The Pantheon (from a Greek word meaning all the Gods) was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. It sits on top of Montagne Sainte-Genevieve and overlooks all Paris. While this is a great-looking building the architect died before its completion, and not all his plans were followed. The building was intended to be a church in honor of King Louis XV's recovery, but the French Revolution intervened and the Pantheon was transformed into a mausoleum. In alphabetical order, some of the great buried here include Braille, Dumas, Hugo, Marat (French Revolution leader disinterred after little more than a year), Moulin (French Resistance leader), Sklodowska-Curie, Soufflot (Pantheon's architect), Voltaire, and Zola. The Latin Quarter is home to many universities and other centers of higher education, and naturally scads of bars, bistros, restaurants, and nightclubs. Some schools have relocated to more spacious quarters in other parts of the city or region, surely to the regret of their student population. Of course you don't want to tour Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. My article I Love French Wine and Food - A Maconnais (Burgundy) Chardonnay reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Pate en Croute de Grenouilles au Bleu de Bresse (Frog and Bresse Blue-Cheese Pie). For your second course savor Poulet de Bresse a la Creme-Trompettes de la Mort (Free-Range Bresse Chicken in Creamy Sauce with Horns of Plenty Mushrooms). And as dessert indulge yourself with Ile Flottante (Floating Island, a Meringue Island in a Custard Sea.) Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower, undoubtedly the Paris landmark and must-see monument, is 324 metres high and weighs a total of 10,000 tons. Built for the World Fair in 1889... the tower took two years, two months and five days to complete. You can take the stairs or the lift up. There are souvenir shops and the Altitude 95 restaurant with its decor reminiscent of an airship on the first level, while the second level offers an opportunity to enjoy a gastronomic menu at the smart Jules Verne restaurant, 125 metres above ground level. Once you get to the third and final platform, you’ll be up there among the clouds with an amazing 360-degree view of the city. View http://www.paris.info/

Today, Paris

Paris was in a state of stagnation at the end of World War II. Mass reconstruction of low-cost housing commenced in 1954. The Master Plan for the general organisation and planning of the city and greater area was adopted in 1960. This provided for the construction of the main itineraries, establishment of business and administrative centres as well as the designation of special industrial zones.
Under the Schema Directive, routes for high-speed traffic were established. Paris was endowed with motorway connections, international airports, an excellent hotel infrastructure and other facilities worthy of a truly modern city. In addition, authorities developed a plan to build a huge executive centre at La Defense in 1958. The Montparnasse Tower, which was the first glass structure, opened in 1973. It remains the only large building in the inner city to this day.
Minister André Malraux declared the area of Marais to be a preserved site in order to prevent its destruction. Many other sites in Paris were declared monuments, and those in favour of modernization were very unhappy about the general unwillingness to change the cityscape. This motivated President George Pompidou to create an ultra-modern arts centre in the inner city. This was called the Beaubourg, a splendid block of glass and metal. At that time, it was considered scandalous, but today it is one of the most popular attractions in Paris. What’s more, many of the old Parisian buildings were turned into museums, such as the famous Musee d’Orsay, which opened at the end of 1986, and the Louvre Pyramid was built in 1989. At present, city authorities are planning a new complex consisting of a university building, a Renault museum and a foundation for contemporary art. ( http://www.europe-cities.com/)

Luxury and prestige - what Paris is best at!

by bonapartparisnews.com

People are always asking me if the prices are dropping or going to drop at the moment. Especially those sitting on their hands waiting for their chosen currency to improve or the usual French lament that there is going to be a big crash in the property market. Don't bet on it and if you are after something special (of course all of our clients are) you should know that we have not seen any drop in prices for exceptional products in good areas. They are always quick to sell and the prices are still going up. This also applies to smaller products with charm so hold out for something with the wow factor.
The international buyer is always active in Paris; Russians, Americans and those from the Middle East - and prices in the heart of Paris continue to rise between 5 and 10%. Prices for run-of-the-mill (or just plain ugly of which there are legion in Paris contrary to popular belief) properties have stagnated slightly in the second half of 2007 but good products in les beaux quartiers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, South 17, Neuilly, Boulogne and Saint-Cloud) have continued to perform well.

ILLUMINATIONS OF PARIS NIGHT TOUR

Paris is magical and magnificent by night. Experience it with a drive through the city, while viewing its beautiful and famous illuminated sights and monuments. This is a delightful way to view this romantic city that you will never forget.
Visit Sites Including: Concorde Square, Champs-Elysees Avenue, Arch of Triumph, Eiffel Tower, Invalides Louvre Museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral & Much More!
End of the tour at Opera or Pyramides Square.
Recorded commentary in 15 languages at each departure : English, Mandarin Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Capital city of France

Paris is the capital city of France and is located in Île-de-France region, on the Seine river, with an estimated population of 2,153,600 inhabitants. The Paris region is the France's center of economic activity and also in paris are located the main offices of important organizations such as: UNESCO, NATO, the OECD, the ICC. Paris is not only an economic center but also a learning and cultural city, the fashion of Paris is well known around the world, many famous fashion designers make their events in this city. During the first to fifth century Paris was called Lutetia but after this period it adopted its actual name. Paris is sometimes called 'The City of Light' because its cultural life and intellectual preeminance and also for its beautiful appearance. The French capital is one of the most wonderful cities around the world, a metropolis that satisfied all tourist's expectation and more, Paris has a seductive atmosphere. Paris territory was firstly habitated by a sub-tribe of celtic Senones, the Parisii, settled the area near the Seine River from around 250 B.C. In 1190 was constructed a wall for enclosing Paris, this wall had the Louver as its western fortress. During the late 17th and the 18th cent. Paris acquired further glory as the scene of many of France's greatest cultural achievements: the plays of Moličre, Racine, and Corneille; the music of Lully, Rameau, and Gluck; the paintings of Watteau, Fragonard, and Boucher; and the salons where many of the philosophes of the Enlightenment gathered. At the beginning of 1968, Paris was the scene of serius disorders such as a student strike, in 1971 the Paris's famous central market was dismantled, but there is now located the Paris new metro hub. In 1977 was constructed the Georges Pompidou National Center for Art and Culture, which includes the National Museum of Modern Art. In 1992 it was built Eurodisney in the Parisian suburbs, and the Louver was renovated this year too. Modern Paris is the result of many remodeling and ordering process, at the middle of 19th century occured an urbanisation, new wide roads, neo classical stone buildings, and no more narrow streets, part of this Paris is what we see nowadays, also were constructed higher buildings but there are laws that try to preserve the city historic making difficult the construction of modern edifications within city limits.