|
The Gare Saint Lazare and the Place de l’Europe : the Impressionnists quarter !
The embodiment of modernity and freedom regained, the Gare Saint Lazare and Place de l´Europe district was renovated by baron Haussmann in the XIXth century and was a favourite area of the Impressionists. Manet had his studio on rue Saint Petersbourg and painted « le chemin de fer » (18 72), « La rue Mosnier aux drapeaux » (renamed since rue de Berne). Gustave Caillebotte painted « Le pont de L’Europe », « Rue de Paris par un temps de pluie », which, incidentally, shows the hotel America Opéra (corner of rue de Turin and Clapeyron). Monet placed his easel inside the stationand produced a remarquable set of 11 paintings « La gare Saint-Lazare » (1877). Following Manet, the young impressionnists ( Monet, Seurat, Renoir, Sisley, Caillebotte, Fantin Latour... ) met at Café Guerbois (on rue des Batignolles).
The right place for ballet and music !
The hotel is 10 minutes walk from the famous Opéra Garnier (with its wonderfull red and gold hall and its ceiling painted by Chagall), housing the Paris National Danse School. Nearby are the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (located since 1911 on 14, rue de Madrid), a proud successor to the Singing and Declamation School founded in 1672 by Lulli, Louis XVI´s music master, and the rue de Rome, the headquarters of musical instrument makers and dealers as well as musical score publishers (like the renowned « La flûte de Pan » 49-53, rue de Rome).
The right place for gourmet food !
One of two organic food markets in Paris takes place every Saturday morning (9 am - 1 pm) on Bd des Batignolles, between Place de Clichy and rue de Rome. Every other day (except Mondays) you can enjoy the markets on rue Lepic (Métro Blanche) or rue Lévis (Metro Villiers). Around the hotel, a score of restaurants catering for every style and budget will make your stay an unforgettable gourmet experience !
The Opéra quarter
 The Opéra quarter, with its grand avenues, luxury boutiques, cafés and terrasses, bears the mark of the Second Empire and the urban renovation carried out by Baron Haussmann in the second half of the XIXth century. The broad elegant boulevards made Paris the luxury capital of Europe. The Opéra quarter admirably represents Paris, City of Lights. Today, it´s a busy banking district and its many cinemas, theatres, cafés and restaurants make it a very animated area.
Montmartre
The 130 meters high Montmartre hill overlooks Paris. Its name means "Mont of the Martyrs" (St-Denis, bishop of Paris, the archpriest Rusticus and the archdeacon Eleutherus were allegedly beheaded there around 250 AD). A Benedictine convent settled on the hill in the XIIth century (near today´s rue des Abbesses) and became the seat of a powerfull abbey. The Montmartre hill was a centre of the 1871 Commune uprising and the rebels occupied it until the 23 may. The end of the XIXth century saw Montmartre become the artistic and Bohemian centre of Paris. From Berlioz to Picasso or Aristide Bruant, the famous songwriter of the "Lapin Agile" cabaret, great artists made Montmartre internationnaly famous.
The Place de la Concorde
Under the french revolution,this large square was where capital punishments were carried out in public. This is were King Louis XVI, Danton, Robespierre and many others met their fate on the Guillotonne during the darkest hours of the Revolution. It was renamed Place de la Concorde in 1795 as a sign of national reconciliation. In the same spirit, King Louis-Philippe intended to bring together Royalists and Republicans when he chose to erect a politically neutral monument in the center of the square : Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from the Vice-roy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali. The 3000 year-old granite monolith covered with hieroglyphs travelled for two and a half years to reach Paris. A crowd of 200 000 people welcomed it as it reached its final destination on 25 October 1836.
The Champs-Elysées
 in 1804, Napoléon I organised a magnificent reception on the avenue, celebrating his wedding to Marie-Louise. At the end of XIXth century, the Champs-Elysées gardens welcomed strollers enjoying displays of new, state-of-the art technologies. The Bal Mabille, the Lido, the Café des Ambassadeurs, the Fouquet´s, the Panorama as welle as the numerous theatres presented the latest inventions, like the motorcar or the cinema, to passers-by.
The Louvre Museum
 Covering over 40 hectares on the right bank of the Seine, in the heart of Paris, the Louvre Museum offers 60 000 sq meters of exhibits covering 11 thousands of years of civilisation and culture.
The Eiffel Tower
 Erected on the bank of the river Seine by Gustave Eiffel the Eiffel Tower was the star of the 1889 Worl Fair. Over 300 meters high, it offers a unique panoram of the city.
 |
