France: Paris
The First City
No country is so centered on one city as France. It’s as if the culture of the entire US were determined by New York City or Chicago.
On Parisian Streets
Miscellaneous
The DeCaux toilet
Public urination has always been a problem in Paris. An early solution was placing open-air pissoirs on the streets, a cheap-to-build way of providing relief for men.
Today, this automated street toilet, which cleans itself after every user, caters to men and women equally.
Bâteaux-Mouches
These “bug boats” cruise the Seine to give visitors a leisurely view of a city that centers on this river.a
Jardin des Tuileries
After the Revolution, an old tile factory was razed to be replaced by thos ‘people’s garden’ to be freely enjoyed by all Parisians. The design, buy Andre LeNôtre (monument below) though formal, encompasses works of art from heroic statues to experimental pieces.
Le Métro
Paris is still adding to one of the world’s oldest subway systems. R: One of the artistic station entrances designed by 20th Century artist André Guimard.
Not all Metro lines are underground. Bottom: an elevated line leaves the Gare d’Austerlitz near the Salpetriëre Hospital.
France’s hall of heroes
Between 1758 and 1790, Jean-Germain Soufflot designed a church to be consecrated to St. Geneviëve. But when the anticlerical Revolution intervened, the structure was repurposed as the Panthéon, a hall of national heroes.
The crypt and the pendulum
L: This spot is where Foucault hung his famed pendulum, which proved the rotation of the Earth.
Below: Many of France’s national heroes are entombed in the crypt under the ground floor. Here are the tombs of Voltaire and Marie Curie.
La Défense
On the site of a former military base, this Paris neighborhood outside the peripheral ring highway is dedicated to modern architecture.
Notre Dame
France regards this church as its national cathedral.
Rose windows
The rose windows of Notre-Dame are thought to be the highest development of this art.
Montmartre
This old neighborhood…
Sacré-Cœur
The church of Montmartre
