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Bon5941 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.

The time of the Renaissance

Rnavalet In the 16th century, the influence of Italian art gave birth in France to a taste for Antiquity. Everywhere there appeared channeled columns and pilasters, with Ionic or Corinthian capitals, curvilinear or triangular pediments, coffered ceilings, sculptures of worldly inspiration and statues of figures ever more bared, recalling mythology.

The semi-circular arch came back into fashion. It was the time of the construction of the Louvre’s new wing, the Hôtel Carnavalet, the -eustacheHôtel Lamoignon and the delightful Innocents Fountain.

Religious architecture won renown with the church of Saint Eustache or that of Saint-Etienne-du-Mont with its superb rood-screen. Their decoration is rich with the Renaissance, while their structure is still Gothic.

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