Latin Quarter - Paris

The Latin Quarter is Paris' traditional center of great thinking. Some of the world's most important artists, philosophers, and writers have passed through the area throughout history, frequenting the centuries-old Sorbonne University or the many now-legendary cafes around the area. The Latin quarter retains the nostalgic charm of past ages, while still being an important hub of education and ideas to this day. It's also a lush, picturesque area of Paris, with lots of quiet squares and gardens, winding backstreets, and vibrant open-air markets. The Latin Quarter Walk takes us through the heart of Parisian history and touches on everything from Roman ruins to the great intellectuals of France. Enjoy two of the world's most famous cathedrals, one of the world's most famous universities and Paris' most beautiful gardens. This is where Paris began many centuries ago and continues to be one of the most popular areas of the city. Places to visit are

St. Chapelle

The St. Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX to house Christ's crown of thorns and was completed on April 26, 1248. The stained glass walls are considered to be among the most impressive in the world. Visitors can either visit the church during the day or enjoy a classical concert there in the evening.

Pantheon

King Louis XV vowed that if he recovered from an illness, he would build a church in honor of patron saint of Paris, St. Geneviève. Foundations were laid in 1758, but the building wasn't completed until 1789. In 1851 a French physicist demonstrated the rotation of the earth using a 67 meter pendulum beneath the dome. The Pantheon is the oldest large-scale dome in Rome. It is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. It has been in continuous use throughout its history.
Notre Dame

The most famous cathedral in the world is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Construction began in 1163 during the reign on King Louis VII and has stood as a symbol of Paris for almost nine centuries. On the top of the building sit 13 statues; 12 are the apostles and one is a statue of the architect himself.
Pointe Zero located just in front of Notre Dame, this is the point where from which all distances in France are measured.

Louvre - Paris

LOUVRE
One of the largest and most visited museums in the world, and possibly the most famous of them all. Louvre is one of Paris's must-visit place. The Louvre was built in several stages. It was first built in the 16th century. The name of the main architect was Pierre Lescot. The immense building had 2 courtyards and was 2 stories high. Its architecture combines French and Italian features. About a decade later, Catherine de Medici started with another palace project, the Tuileries on the west side of the Louvre. Later, during the second empire, between 1853 and 1857, the Louvre was massively extended by Visconti and Lefuel.

The latest addition to the Louvre was the glass pyramid entrance, one of the finest examples of a combination of mordern and historic architecture.
The last buildings of the palace were built in the second half of the 19th century. It is only in 1989 that an important addition to the Louvre has been completed – a 70 x 70 meters big, underground reception hall for the visitors of the museum, lit with the natural coming from the glass pyramid built on its roof.
Designed by American Chinese architect Ieoh Ming Pei, the pyramid has a square base with each side 35 meters long. It is covered by almost 700 glass panes and the whole mythology has been created around their exact number (678 according to some people, 666 according to the others), as having a special meaning, or a magic power.

Chris Bickfrod: Paris

Chris Bickfrod made his first appearance on this blog through his work published by The New York Times on Venice's Carnevale. Funding his expenses by working as a wedding photographer mostly in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, he devotes his summers and early winters to traveling to Europe and working on his street photography. He started work on books of Dubrovnik, Venice, and Paris.

In an infrequent departure from my geographical focus, I chose to feature Chris' work on Paris, which is a lovely collection of this city's scenes...combining street photography with its traditional landmarks.

Eiffel Tower - The Tallest Building in Paris

The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.


Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.


When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319m —1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).


The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure including non-metal components is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind.


As demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic meter. The tower has a mass less than the mass of the air contained in a cylinder of the same dimensions, that is 324 meters high and 88.3 meters in radius. The weight of the tower is 10,100 tonnes compared to 10,265 tonnes of air.


The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to access the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. From the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether they have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket.


The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level there are 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress of ascent. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower although some short stretches of the stairway are enclosed.


Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey.


On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.via


Other pictures of Eiffel Tower.