Planning on
visiting France? While you’re at it why not take a look of some of sights in
France that is deeply attached to this country’s rich and long history. So here
they are:
The Eiffel
Tower – If you were to
ask anyone what symbolizes France or say the country’s name, the answer that
you will get and the first thing that they think is the same: the Eiffel Tower.
Built during the 1889 World’s Fair and standing at 1063 feet, everyone thought
the Tower would be a failure in both artistic and architectural sense, but
thankfully its engineer Gustave Eiffel stuck to his guns in the face of
criticism and today the critics are singing a different tune. If you feel
hunger pangs while touring the Tower its two restaurant the Le Jules Verne and
the Le 58 Tour Eiffel will be more than happy to serve you.
Musee du
Lourve - The Lourve
Museum as it is called in English is France’s most premier museum that has a
lot of regular visitor all year round. As well as being a museum, it is
historic monument that houses a lot art and historical pieces that have been
accumulated through gifts and donations. If you’re an art lover make it a
priority to see the Lourve, need I say that the world-famous painting, the Mona
Lisa is housed within?
Arc de
Triomphe – This
structure is used to honor French soldiers who fell in battle. You can see in
its outer and inner surface the inscribed names of French generals as well as
the French military victories. The monument was commissioned by Emperor
Napoleon but it took two people to oversee the Arc’s completion because its
original architect Jean Chalgin died and his work was taken up by Jean-Nicolas
Huyot. There have been many famous marches beneath it, Germans in 1871, French
in 1919, Germans again in 1940 and French again in 1944 and 1945 accompanied by
their American and British allies. One minor tidbit about the Arc, bleach was
used to clean it when the soot blackened in the 19602
Palace of
Versailles – If you’re
going to pick a palace that symbolizes opulence at least in France, the Palace
of Versailles is your primary candidate. Originally a hunting lodge, the Sun King,
Louis XIV, decided to renovate the place. Through the efforts of hired help
like painter-decorator Charles Lebrun, architect Louis Le Vau and landscape
architect Andre Le Notre the simple chateau would later become the central hub
in which the power of France would radiate. For a building that symbolizes the
extreme power of the Ancien Regime and the system of absolute monarchy as well
it was left relatively intact by the instigators of the French Revolution who
hated anything that was attached to the old government, their decision was to
turn the place into a warehouse for confiscated artwork taken from the nobles
and the church. Today it being renovated and restored as it has becoming one of
the country’s foremost tourist attractions. Its famous Hall of Mirrors still
serves a political function.