In Paris, there are no less than 170 theaters and over 134 museums so when it comes to culture and entertainment, you can bet there is something to see matching your personal preferences, including festivals, art exhibits and many other cultural events taking place in the city all year round. However, based in those preferences, you must plan carefully to pick the right services including accommodations closer to the places of your personal interest, although if you cannot afford a room in the Champs-Elysees, there are beautiful hotels alongside Paris riverbanks and across the city’s départements (boroughs.)

Travelers hive Paris boutiques, departments stores, and shopping malls wanting to take back home the latest fashion designer clothing and original perfumes and fragrances at reduced prices. Food and wine is also another exciting activity and a unique opportunity to enjoy them in the cradle of the French cuisine, nevertheless as a top-notch capital city, restaurants offer to visitors international and regional cuisine.

Lovers of simple life can find a haven of quiet a peaceful life at the tea restaurants that also serve taste salads and sandwiches with your cup of tea. Open-air cafés in Paris are called Open-air “guinguettes” and besides picturesque offer exquisite liqueurs as coffee companion.

Cafe bars in Paris are more popular during daylight that piano bars that are populated during the Parisian nightlife, when other shows wink at you inviting to the Crazy Horse Paris, Moulin Rouge and other burlesque shows famous all over the world since more than one hundred years.

Other venues to enjoy Paris night time include the Académié de lá brirë, performing acts at the Cite de la Musique (City of Music), and comedy acts at Lane Rouge. If you travel with a group of friends or your family, remember to ask your travel agent for group passes available for visiting stadium, monuments, museums and other venues at a reduced price. In Paris, a single pass can grant you access to over 50 different places and events!

Paris daylight or nightlight walk tours takes you straight to the Place de la Concorde, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, Eiffel Tower, the Palais Royal, its monumental fountain, the historic Le Jardin des Tuileries, and Musée du Louvre with its Pyramide Inversée (Inverted Pyramid). The Louvre was built in 1793 and houses some of the most important fine art and painting collections of all the times.

The Gates of Paris
Two triumphal arches, at the Porte Saint-Martin and Porte Saint-Denis, were commissioned by Louis XIV to commemorate his military victories. Ever since 1670, reinforcement of France’s northeastern borders had allowed the removal of fortifications surrounding Paris, and this circumference was transformed into verdant promenades. During the centuries that followed, they were to become the “grand boulevards” of Paris.

Symbolically marking the entrances into 17th-century Paris at the sites of the old toll-gates, these two triumphal arches served only an ornamental function. Their sculptures and bas-reliefs celebrated the King as a head of war.
History of the Porte Saint-Martin

Porte-Saint-Martin, Théâtre de la, Paris, celebrated playhouse, built in 1782 to replace the Opéra, which had been burnt down. The opera company remained there until 1794, and the building was apparently not used as a theatre again until 1810, when one of the first plays to be presented was a melodrama by Pixérécourt. In 1822 an English company appeared unsuccessfully in Othello and in 1827 Frédérick played for the first time with Mme Dorval, whose career was to be linked spectacularly with the Porte-Saint-Martin. The great days of the theatre were in the 1830s, when it saw the first night of the elder Dumas’s Antony and Le Tour de Nesle and Hugo’s Marion Delorme and Lucrèce Borgia; but with the decline of Romantic drama the fortunes of the theatre also declined and in 1840 it closed after the banning of Balzac’s Vautrin. When it reopened it had no settled policy, but continued to present revivals and commonplace and lachrymose melodramas such as Dennery’s Marie-Jeanne; ou, La Femme du peuple (1846), in which Mme Dorval made her last appearance. It was burnt down in the rioting of 1870 and rebuilt on the original plans, but somewhat smaller. It had a further moment of glory in the 1880s when it was acquired by Sarah Bernhardt, who had appeared there 18 years earlier in the fairy-tale play La Biche au bois and now returned in a revival of Meilhac and Halévy’s Frou-Frou. In 1898 the record run of Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac again made the theatre one of the most popular in Paris. Because of its great size it was later unable to compete with the cinema, and from 1936 to 1978 it was devoted almost entirely to musical comedy. Marcel Marceau then took it over as a base for his École de mimodrame. It housed the Comédie-Française when the latter was strike-ridden, and in 1989 staged an adaptation of Camus’s novel La Peste.
Construction of the Porte Saint-Martin immediately followed that of the Porte Saint-Denis in 1674, and it was likewise paid for by the city of Paris. A Latin inscription at the summit of the south façade proclaims, “To Louis the Great, for having vanquished the German, Spanish, and Dutch armies: the Dean of the Guild and the Aldermen of Paris.”

The two bas-reliefs on the south façade represent the taking of Besançon (see Province of Franche-Comté) and Louis XIV in the act of crushing the Triple Alliance. The north façade depicts the taking of Limbourg and the defeat of the Germans.

Although Louis XIV favored living at Versailles, he championed the urban development of Paris, instituting a Department of Roads to ensure that city streets were cleaner and well-lit.

Historical factoid: Saint-Martin once had its own métro stop, situated between Strasbourg-Saint-Denis and République. It was closed at the beginning of World War II (September 2, 1939) and reopened upon the Liberation of Paris (August 25, 1944). However, it was soon shut down again — this time permanently, judged to be too close to its neighboring stations. Saint-Martin is the largest of all closed métro stations in Paris, and still features the old porcelain tiled advertisements on its walls. In recent years, it has been put to use to house some homeless souls during the coldest winter months.

Perhaps frenetic is the best word to describe architectural and arts activity in Paris during the last two decades. While Mitterand was in office, the French government instituted a series of grand projets, thereby assuring that Paris would become the focus of international attention. A number of new museums were created, in part to relieve the Louvre of its overcrowding, and to establish thematic exhibits, typified by such locales as the Institut du Monde Arabe.

For those who plan to visit many monuments and museums during your séjour à Paris, Discover France offers the “Museums and Monuments Card” (Carte Musées et Monuments), valid for unlimited visits and priority access to approximately 70 locations in — and near — Paris. It can also be purchased at the Paris Tourist Office (127, avenue des Champs-Elysées), at its reception offices in certain Paris train stations, at the Eiffel Tower, in the major Métro stations, or at most of the 70 attractions. Cards are available in denominations valid for either one, three, or five consecutive days.

Since Parisians regard museum-going as a normal cultural pastime, most often indulged in on weekends, you should try to visit most exhibits on weekdays, if possible. Of course, if budgetary constraints are an issue, Sundays are often half-price and sometimes free. Private art galleries usually cost nothing, and the free views of Parisian architecture offer a grandiose experience in themselves, while the many street artists provide itinerant amusement.

The Salon Chopin, situated in the Bibliothèque Polonaise de Paris (6, quai d’Orléans, 75004), is a room dedicated to the memory of the composer, Chopin, containing personal memorabilia, paintings, manuscripts, documents, and music. Public access is limited to four guided tours on Thursdays or by appointment.

Three times the size of the Centre Georges Pompidou, the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie is a massive monument with walls of glass, which would seem almost unapproachable if not for its Géode, a bubble of reflecting steel that seems like it was dropped from an intergalactic game of boules into a pool of water. Within the Géode, half the sphere consists of the largest projection screen on the planet. The Cité was built in 1986, with a futuristic rooftop lighting system designed to follow the sun across the sky. The permanent Explora show whisks visitors through 323,000 square feet of “space, life, matter and communication” exhibits, featuring scale models of satellites, planes and robots. A number of multimedia shows take place both in the second-floor Planetarium and the hemispherical cinema of the Géode, which are very popular with children. (Admission free with the card.)

Though it originally served as the royal tennis court, built under Napoleon III, the Jeu de Paume was converted into a museum at the beginning of the 20th century. As the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, it inherited an important collection of Impressionist paintings in 1947. Alas, this collection was transferred to the Musée d’Orsay in 1986. Recently, it has been converted to a showcase for contemporary art and photographic exhibits.

Drawing on various Parisian museums (including the Louvre) for its permanent collection, the Institut du Monde Arabe (Institute of the Arab World) was opened in 1987, and features 242 south-facing windows equipped with electro-photographic diaphragms, which react to the sun to create an atmosphere reminiscent of Arab musharabia scenes. Since its inception, the museum has struggled financially, waiting for the project funds originally pledged by 20 Arab countries. (Admission free with the card.)

Originally built in the 12th century as a royal fortress and palace for Philip II, the Louvre evolved into an immense complex of buildings erected over a span of four centuries, and is now one the world’s great art museums. A full week’s tour could not do justice to its daunting collection of masterpieces and antiquities, though the star attractions are fairly well indicated, so that a hurried tourist can manage in an hour’s visit to ogle the Venus de Milo or squint at the Mona Lisa (La Joconde), protected behind a thick pane of glass since her unfortunate slashing. Much ado has been made about the museum’s controversial new glass pyramid entrance, which was designed by I.M. Pei and railroaded past opposition from (former mayor) Jacques Chirac — and a whole chorus of architectural traditionalists — by then-president François Mitterand during the period of grands projets. (Admission free with the card.)

Founded in 1794 and established in the abbey of St-Martin-des-Champs, the Musée National des Arts et Métiers is a “depot of new and useful inventions”. Marvel at the unique collection of 80,000 objects and 15,000 drawings, a testament to the ingenuity of humankind and the pioneering spirit of the industrial revolution. The museum recently underwent restoration work as one of a spate of major State building projects. (Admission free with the card.)

Situated in the Latin Quarter, the Musée de Cluny is a flamoyant Gothic structure built atop the ruins of second century Roman baths. The Hôtel de Cluny is one of the oldest residences in Paris, with stone and brick walls of the Roman frigidarium easily visible from boulevard Saint Michel. An impressive number of statues from Notre Dame cathedral are found inside the museum, in addition to many medieval tapestries, the most famous being the Lady and the Unicorn. (Admission free with the card.)

Approximately 2.5 million visitors throng to the Musée National d’Histoire Naturelle each year. On a par with the British Museum in London and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the museum maintains vast collections, spanning botany, geology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology. The children’s favorites, naturally, are the dinosaurs.

Around 1873, at the end of the Second Empire, the Impressionist style was adopted by a number of Parisian artists, who banned the somber grey from their palettes and, instead, utilized the bright, clear colors that were to characterize this “new school” of painting. Works by painters such as Cézanne, Derain, Monet, Renoir, Rousseau and Soutine may be viewed at the Musée de l’Orangerie des Tuileries, located on the south side of the Tuileries terrace and overlooking Place de la Concorde. The Walter-Guillaume collection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century masters also contains numerous paintings by Matisse, Modigliani and Picasso. It is a private collection, inherited by the state with the stipulation that it should always stay together, which is why none of these pieces were moved to the Musée d’Orsay. (Re-opened to the public on 17 May 2006, following six years of construction work.)

After falling into a state of disuse as a railroad station, the Beaux-Arts style Gare d’Orsay was renovated to become the spanking new Musée d’Orsay, marking a major reorganization of Paris’ art collections. The sumptuous museum houses paintings and sculpture from the 1848-1914 period, bridging the gap between works at the Louvre and the Centre Beaubourg (Pompidou Center). Pivotal canvases by Manet and Impressionist masterpieces from Degas, van Gogh, Monet, Pisarro and Renoir may be viewed here, as well as Rodin sculptures, lots of Toulouse-Lautrec at his caricatural night-clubbing best, photography, architecture and literature of the nineteenth century. (Admission free with the card.)

Opened in 1985 in a renovated seventeenth century Marais mansion (Hôtel Salé) lushly decorated with stone carvings and wrought iron fixtures, the Musée National Picasso contains an unparalleled collection of paintings from all periods of Picasso’s career. Acquired by the State as part of a deal with Picasso’s heirs in lieu of inheritance taxes, the collection spans six decades of creativity, including the unabashedly ribald pictures the artist produced in his later years, as well as some fine sculpture. (Admission free with the card.)

Perhaps best known for his rendition of “The Thinker”, Auguste Rodin was one of France’s foremost sculptors during the latter 19th and early 20th centuries. One of Paris’ most pleasant museums, the Musée Rodin now occupies the stately Hôtel Biron’s house and gardens in the Faubourg St-Germain, where the sculptor once lived. Since Rodin left all his works to the State, visitors will find all their favorites there, such as the famous Kiss, the moving Cathedral, the elaborate Gates of Hell, the final proud portrait of Balzac, and the eternally absorbed Thinker. (Admission free with the card.)

Situated in the center of Paris, close to the Champs-Elysées, the Palais de la Découverte is Paris’ original science museum, housing works and designs from Leonardo da Vinci’s extraordinary inventions onwards. Replicas, models, audio-visual material and real apparatus are used to bring the displays to life. A permanent display covers man and his biology, light, and the principles of thermo-dynamism. Also offered are scientific experiments for budding genetic engineers, lectures, planetarium shows, scientific films, as well as a number of temporary exhibitions and children’s activities.

A post-modern architectural showcase which some find fascinating and others abhorrent, the Centre Georges Pompidou serves as a heavily frequented cultural hypermarket. Nicknamed Beaubourg for the ancient neighborhood it now occupies, it attracts an average of 26,000 visitors daily, some of whom come solely for the ride in its glass-enclosed elevators or its breathtaking view of Paris. Housed within this complex you will find temporary exhibitions in the Grandes Galeries, or the superb collections of the Musée National d’Art Moderne. Treat yourself to art from all the “ism” periods: fauvism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, nouveau realism, as well as abstract and Pop Art. On the ground floor, the cinémathèque offers up an excellent film programme daily, while dance performances and concerts take place in the basement.

Luxembourg PalaceDuring the 19th century the palace was extensively remodeled: the garden facade was added (1836-41) by Alphonse de Gisors, and a cycle of paintings (1845-47) by Eugène Delacroix was added to the library. The building was a prison during the Revolution, used for the peace conference of 1946, and now houses the French Senate.

The Palais du Luxembourg in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, north of the Jardin du Luxembourg, is the seat of French Senate.

The formal Luxembourg Garden (French: Jardin du Luxembourg) presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model boats. In the southwest corner, there is an orchard of apple and pear trees and the théâtre des marionnettes

The Luxembourg Palace lies in beautiful surroundings in the northern part of the Luxembourg Garden. The palace which was originally built for King Louis XIII’s mother, is now the seat of the French senate.

The Luxembourg Palace was never used by the mother of King Louis XIII, and remained empty for a long period. The palace has since then among other purposes served as the residence of Napoleon Bonaparte and the head quarter of Herman Göring.

During the 20th century the palace went through a substantial renovation, and the now famous Luxembourg Garden was added to the property.

Luxembourg Garden
A real Parisian favorite, the Jardin du Luxembourg is a magnificent, harmonious 25-hectare green oasis on Paris’ fashionable Left Bank. The formal gardens are populated with many statues (including one of Sainte-Gèneviève, patron saint of Paris), fountains and beautiful flowers. In the southwest corner, there is an orchard where several hundred species of apple and pear trees blossom each spring. Children love the park, too, especially for its parc à jeux (playground) and the théâtre des marionettes (puppet theater); they can also rent boats and sail them in the glassy ponds. Sunday afternoon band concerts draw a crowd in the summer. The sprawling grounds are usually animated by lovers, students, chess aficionados, games of boules, and tennis players.

Nearby the Luxembourg Garden, the lively student area known as the Latin Quarter — with the Sorbonne University and the Odéon Theater — was the scene of the spectacular 1968 student riots which disrupted traditional French society.

To the west of the Luxembourg, and communicating with it through interior courts, the sixteenth-century original hôtel of the duc de Piney-Luxembourg was rebuilt during the same years, the smaller palace now called the Petit-Luxembourg; it is composed of two main blocks, or corps de logis separated by a courtyard that is entered through a grand convex portal flanked by Tuscan columns. Since 1958, the Petit-Luxembourg has been the official residence of the President of the French Senate (président du Sénat) .

Marie de Médicis passed it to the Cardinal de Richelieu, who occupied it while his own grand palace, the Palais-Cardinal, (which became the Palais-Royal after Richelieu deeded it to the Crown), was constructed in the rue Saint-Honoré. Once there, he ceded the Petit-Luxembourg to his niece the duchesse d’Aiguillon. By inheritance it passed to Henry III Jules de Bourbon, prince de Condé, whose widow Anne, princesse palatine de Bavière, made it the habitual residence of her widowhood, making adjustments to suit her status that included the grand staircase and salon by Germain Boffrand (1709-1713 and adding another hôtel for her household, with her kitchens and stables, on the other side of rue de Vaugirard; an underground passage linked the two residences.