The Paris of old stones and dreams
The history of Paris can be read in its stones as well as in books... A monumental condensation of styles which will not leave the attentive stroller unmoved. Antiquity left a heritage of its public baths and arenas to the city. The Middle Ages remains present with the Romanesque bell-tower of Saint-German-des-Près, and the delicacy of the Sainte Chapelle affirms the miracle of Gothic. Paris is also the Classicism of the Grand Siècle, its domes and pediments, its dream of Antiquity already touched by the Renaissance. You will be charmed by the eclecticism of the Second Empire, the thrust of Haussmann’s boulevards, and the metal architecture celebrated by the Eiffel Tower, which spearheaded Art Nouveau. Art Deco did not lag far behind, and its modernity heralded the future concrete-and-glass emblems of a city in constant renewal.
Art Déco
In the thirties, in response to the swell of Art Nouveau shapes and ornaments, the Jazz Age invented Art Deco, a purified style, with geometric shapes bearing the mark of a certain Classicism. Among the best-known examples is the Palais de la Porte Dorée, built for the Colonial Exhibition of 1931, the Palais de Chaillot and the Palais de Tokyo, both inaugurated for the World Exhibition of 1937.
On the Grands Boulevards, the Grand Rex is a splendid example of a cinema that has been “landscaped”: its finely-wrought facade and interior decoration inspired by imaginary cities and towns still bears witness to the audacity of this period.
