Paris - Page 2

France

Louvre

Paris Today we got off at the right metro station and had planned a lot of time for the Louvre. It is today the largest and most visited art museum in the world. In the former royal palace, the Palais du Louvre, we walked to the glass pyramid, the main entrance for the museum. Commissioned by former President François Mitterrand, this pyramid was initially as controversial as the Eiffel Tower. The Musée du Louvre is divided into 8 exhibition areas and houses works of art of ancient (Oriental, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman), Islamic and European origin. With about 35,000 works, it covers a period of more than 5,000 years of arts and crafts. Other sections show works of art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, North and South America, among others. In addition, there are changing exhibitions.

Paris We did not know where to start, here one is helpless in the abundance. We had only set ourselves a few important cornerstones: Da Vinci's Mona Lisa of course, and the Codex Hammurapi, one of the oldest written laws, in ancient Babylonian cuneiform. Also the Egyptian section shouldn't be neglected either whose first director was the aforementioned Jean-François Champollion. Thus we shuffled through the masterpieces of the Occident and Orient. In most areas, many visitors scattered over the large exhibition areas. Only in the room with the Mona Lisa was it difficult to fight to the edge of the barrier to make a photo without the back of the head of the person in front 🙂. The painting, which still poses a mystery, is protected by bulletproof glass protected and does not hang freely like many of the other works. There has also been an acid and stone attack on the painting and in 1911 it was even stolen. Only 2 years later it hung again.

La Defénse

Paris In beautiful weather, we took the Metro today to the largest office city in Europe, La Defénse. When we arrived, there was a big demonstration was in progress between the Metro and the Grand Arche. This modern district from the drawing board was laid out in the 1960s. The Axe historique, the historic axis from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Élysées was thus extended to here to the modern Arc de Triomphe, the Grande Arche de la Fraternité. The 110 m high arch made of reinforced concrete, glass and white Carrara marble was inaugurated for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution in 1989 and is used as an office building. The roof of the Ark is a popular vantage point, cultural events also take place on this giant terrace.

Paris On a clear day, like today, it was easy to see from the new to the old Arc de Triomphe. In the light of the sun, the glass facades of the local skyscrapers made quite an impression. Most of the largest French companies are represented there. The name of the neighborhood comes from a monument to soldiers here, in honor of the soldiers who fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. One can explore central parts of the district on foot, all traffic has been moved underground. From the wide boulevard you can see a lot of open-air art, in addition to the glass architectural masterpieces. Les Quatre Temps is also located here, France's largest shopping center.