Paris Châtelet-Les Halles

Chatelet-Les Halles is perhaps Paris's most densely touristed area. And that's saying something. From the commercial indulgence of the Place Vendome, to the mind-numbing grandeur and beauty of the Louvre, to the bizarre trends on display at Les Arts Decoratifs, the 1er and 2ème arrondissements have it all!

Jardin des Tuileries, place de la Concorde rue de rivoli (☎01 40 20 90 43), Covering the distance from the Louvre to the place de la Concorde (and the Jeu de Paume and L'Orangerie), the Jardin des Tuileries are a favorite hangout for Parisians and tourists alike. The garden was originally built for Catherine de Medici in 1559, when she moved to the Louvre after the death of her husband, Henri II. The original designer was Italian Bernard de Carnesse, who modeled his masterpiece on the gardens of Catherine's native Florence, and the garden was used mostly for royal occasions. About a hundred years later, Louis XIV's superintendent, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, assigned the task of recreating the Tuileries garden to Le Notre (of Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versailles fame), the grandson of one Catherine's gardeners. Straight lines and sculpted trees became the decorative preference for this majestic plot of land, and several generations of kings employed the new and improved Tuileries for massive parties. You don't want to miss the beautiful views of Paris from the elevated t Free entry. Open daily Apr-May 7am-9pm; June-Aug 7am-11pm; Sept 7am-9pm; Oct-Mar 7:30am-7:30pm. English tours from the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. Amusement park open July to mid-Aug. Wheelchair access.
Église St.-Eustache, 2 rue du Jour (☎01 42 36 31 05; www.saint-eustache.org), There's a reason why Richelieu, Molière, Louis XIV, and Mme. de Pompadour achieved greatness in their lives: they were all baptized and/or received communion in the truly awe-inspiring Église de St-Eustache. Construction of the Gothic structure began in 1532 and dragged on for over a century due to lack of funding. The situation was so dire that its head priest sent a letter to the Les Halles community (which was at that point almost entirely Catholic) soliciting money for the project. Construction was essentially completed in 1633, and the church opened in 1637. In 1754, the unfinished Gothic facade was demolished and replaced with the fantastic Romanesque one that stands here today; in this sense, the Church's dysfunctional building process ended up working in its favor. The chapels contain paintings by Rubens, as well as by the British artist Raymond Mason's seemingly misplaced relief, “Departure of the Fruits and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris,” commemorating the closing of the Audio tours are available in English; the suggested offering is €3. A piece of identity is required to use one of the guides. Open M-F 9:30am-7pm, Sa 10am-7pm, Su 9am-7pm. Mass Sa 6pm, Su 9:30, 11am, 6pm
Les Arts Decoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli (☎01 44 55 57 50; www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr), The fashion-conscious among our Let's Go readers could easily spend a full day perusing the Musée des Arts Decoratifs. It itself houses four different museums, in addition to many smaller exhibits: Arts Decoratifs (Interior Design), Mode et Textile (Fashion and Fabric), Publicite(Advertisement), and the Musée Nissim de Camondo. The former three are dedicated to some funky, haute couture design that the average tourist has probably never experienced. In the Arts Decoratifs, you'll find sheep-shaped chairs, elephant-shaped fountains, and chairs whittled into the form of birds. The Mode and Textile Museum has exhibits on the evolution of fashion from the 1970s to the 1990s, featuring smaller exhibits on prominent fashion designers, including Yves St.-Laurent. The Advertisement Museum features, you guessed it, lots of ads. Fashion-conscious types balance their time in the museum between scrutinizing the exhibits and findi Audio tour included. Musées Rivoli (Arts Decoratifs, Mode et Textile, Publicite) €9, reduced €7.50. Musée Nissim Camondo €7, reduced €5. Tu-W 11am-6pm, Th 11am-9pm, F-Su 11am-6pm. Last entry 30min. before close. Takes credit cards.
Comédie Française, Salle Richelieu, Place Colette, Southwest Corner of Palais-Royal (☎08 25 10 16 80; www.comedie-francaise.fr), In 1680 Louis XIV ordered that Paris's two most prominent acting troupes, that of the Hôtel Guénégaud and that of the Hôtel de Bourgogne, merge into the Comédie Française. They were lodged originally at the former acting troupe's original location. After the Revolution, in 1799, the government provided for the troupe to move into its legendary location Palais-Royal's Salle Richelieu. Molière, the company's founder, collapsed on stage here while performing in “Le Malade Imaginaire,” and died several hours later. The chair onto which he collapsed is still on display, along with several busts of famous actors crafted by equally famous sculptors. Visconti's Fontaine de Molière is only a few steps from where Molière died at no. 40. Today, the Comédie Française also has locations at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier and the Studio-Théâtre. Visits not available; you have to get tickets to one of the shows to see the Salle Richelieu. Spectacles €6-47. Cheapest tickets are available minutes before the show, so try going on a weeknight Spectacle start times vary. Takes credit cards.
Eglise St-Eustache, 2 Rue du Jour 01 42 36 31 05 (www.saint-eustache.org), There's a reason why Richelieu, Molière, Louis XIV, and Mme. de Pompadour achieved greatness in their lives; they were all baptized and/or received communion in the truly awe-inspiring Église de St-Eustache. Construction of the Gothic structure began in 1532 and dragged on for over a century due to lack of funding. The situation was so dire that its head priest sent a letter to the Les Halles community (which was at that point almost entirely Catholic) soliciting money for the project. Construction was essentially completed in 1633, and the church opened in 1637. In 1754, the unfinished Gothic facade was demolished and replaced with the fantastic Romanesque one that stands here today; in this sense, the Church's dysfunctional building process ended up working in its favor. The chapels contain paintings by Rubens, as well as by the British artist Raymond Mason's seemingly misplaced relief, “Departure of the Fruits and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris,” commemorating the closing of the Open M-F 9:30am-7pm, Sa 10am-7pm, Su 9am-7pm. Mass Sa 6pm, Su 9:30, 11am, 6pm.
Place Vendôme, pl. Vendôme North of the Jardin des Tuileries, Pl. Vendôme was originally intended by Louis XIV to house the French treasury, embassy, and Royal Library. While there is probably more money walking around the pl. Vendome than there is in any treasury in the world, its modern day uses are more commercially motivated; Dior, Cartier, and Bulgari all hold real estate for their jewelry operations on the place. The swankiness of this locale is truly remarkable; this is probably where those girls from MTV's “My Super Sweet Sixteen” came to shop. Despite its more frivolous modern day uses, the Place Vendome's beauty and history must not be neglected; a large sculpture stands tall in the middle of the Place, depicting Napoleon dressed as Caesar. Made out of the bronze from the cannons he captured at the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon modeled it after Trojan's column in Rome. While the statue's location and details changed a bit during the tumultuous days of the Revolution, it today remains
Jeu de Paume, 1 pl. Concorde 01 41 850 890 (www.jeudepaume.org), Originally designed to house Napoleon III's jeu de paume courts (an ancestor of tennis) in 1861, the building was transformed into an art museum in 1909. During World War II, the Nazis used the building as a the storage area for confiscated paintings by Jewish artists. The space functioned as an Impressionist art museum from 1947 until 1986, when the Musee d'Orsay stole many of its paintings. In 1990, French politician Jack Lang started an initiative to open the Museum back up, this time as an abstract art space. Since then, it has become dedicated exclusively to the portrayal of photography. Exhibits are entirely rotating; the museum closes for an often significant time between exhibits, so make sure to check the website before visiting. Takes credit cards.
Musée de l'Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries 01 44 77 80 07 (www.musee-orangerie.fr), Once the greenhouse of the Jardin des Tuileries, l'Orangerie opened as a museum in 1927. Today, it is one of Paris's finest, housing a terrific list of works by Impressionist and post-Impressionist painters like Monet, Matisse, some guy named Pablo Picasso, and Renoir. Since its conversion into a museum, L'Orangerie has been home to Picasso's “The Nymphs” collection, and in the 1960s it received the collection of renowned art collector Paul Guillaume. This impressive list probably explains why it's impossible to enter the Museum without waiting, even on weekdays. On weekends, the wait can last up to two hours, and on Free Sunday (the first Sunday of every month), show up at 9am or roast in the sun for most of the day. In any event, the wait to enter the Museum will definitely figure into your memory of your time at L'Orangerie. The Museum is also fresh off some 2006 renovations, which were designed to increase the amount of natural light inside. Takes credit cards.
Palais-Royal, 25 Rue de Valois 01 42 96 15 35‎ Palais Royal is located a block north of the Louvre along rue St-Honoré. The building was originally constructed to be Cardinal Richelieu's residence between 1628 and 1642 by Jacques Lemercier. Richelieu died the same year that the palace was finished, and after Queen Anne d'Autriche lived there, the Palace was home to the exiled Queen of England, Henrietta Maria. Louis XIV was the first king to inhabit the palace. In 1781, a broke Duc d'Orléans rented out the buildings around the palace's formal garden, turning the complex into an 18th-century shopping mall with boutiques, restaurants, theaters, wax museums, and casinos. Its covered arcades were even a favorite of local prostitutes. On July 12, 1789, angered by the dismissal of Louis' reform-minded finance minister Jacques Necker, 26-year-old Camille Desmoulins leapt onto a cafe table here and urged his fellow citizens to arm themselves, shouting, “I would rather die than submit to servitude.” After Desmoulins pulled out his guns, the Wheelchair access.
Fontaine des Innocents, Pl. Des Innocents Built to commemorate King Henri II's entry into Paris in 1549, Lescot's fountain was heavily influenced by the Renaissance Italian work done for Francis I at Fontainebleau. What is perhaps more interesting is the story of what happened to the Fountain after it was built; today, the Fontaine des Innocents is the lone remnant of the Église and Cimetière des Sts-Innocents, which once bordered Les Halles. In 1787, the cemetery of Saint-Innocent was demolished to rid the area around the church of the smell of rotting corpses. The corpses were moved to the Catacombs. Originally built with only three facades, the fountain received a face-lift when it was moved after the destruction of the cemetery to its new location at the place des Innocents; Augustin Pajou added a fourth facade. Today, cruddy benches are available as a post for your enjoyment of the Fountain's aesthetic beauty, but don't try climbing on it. In such a crowded area, you will get flic'd (a verb for encountering the French pol
Eglise St-Germain L'Auxerrois, 2 pl. du Louvre 01 42 60 13 96 (www.saintgermainauxerrois.cef.fr), The Church boasts an unsavory, yet juicy, historical vignette. On August 24, 1572, the church's bell sounded the signal for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. The street along which the Church sits is named for one of the Massacre's first victims, Admiral de Coligny, who fell at the hands of a foot soldier of the Duc de Guise moments after the bell's sounding. Thousands of Huguenots were hacked to death by a mob of Catholics and the troops of the counter-reformist Duc de Guise, while King Charles IX shot at the survivors from the palace window. Today, visitors are allowed inside the Church to view the violet windows or listen to Sunday evening vespers before mass. Having undergone several different renovations over the years, the church combines Roman, Gothic, and Renaissance architectural and decor styles. Don't miss the super throwback 15th-century wooden statue of Saint-Germain.
Bibliothèque Nationale: Site Richelieu, During renovations entrance at 5 Rue Vivienne 01 53 79 59 59 (www.bnf.fr), Site Richelieu was the main branch of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (National Library of France) until 1998, when most of the collection was moved to the Site Mitterrand in the 13ème. Now, the heavily secured Site Richelieu (between bag checks and an uncommon number of security guards by French standards, they've got it covered) houses various valuable wares: stamps, coins, photographic art, medals, maps, and manuscripts. Getting access to the reading rooms upstairs is notoriously difficult, so for the average tourist, it makes sense to just stick to the exhibits. The Galerie Mazarin and Galerie de Photographie host excellent temporary exhibits of books, prints, lithographs, and photographs taken from outside artists, as well as its permanent collection. While the Site Richelieu is normally thought of as a coin collection, don't be too quick to stereotype it as a traditional museum; exhibits are often a bit more risqué, like a summer 20 Galleries open only when there are exhibits Tu-Sa 10am-7pm, Su noon-7pm. Takes credit cards.
Bourse de Commerce, 2 Rue de Viarmes 01 55 65 55 65 (www.ccip.fr), Today, the Bourse du Commerce is Paris's main commodities trading building. While its modern-day suit-and-tie uniformed business people are a bit dull, the building's history is far from boring. In the late 15th century, a convent of repentant sinners, headed by King Charles VIII's confessor, Jean Tisseran, occupied the site. Catherine de Médicis threw them out in 1572, when a horoscope convinced her that she should stop construction of her home at the Tuileries and build her palace at the Bourse instead. Louis XV later replaced the structure with a grain market, which it remained until 1889, when it was transformed into the commodities market that it is today. The iron-and-glass cupola, built in 1782 by architects Jacques-Guillaume Legrand and Jacques Molinos, was much admired at the time across the world, notably by then U.S. Ambassador Thomas Jefferson. It forms a tremendous skylight, allowing sunlight to flood onto the ceiling's frescoes. Occasional exhibits; check the website or c
Galéries et Passages, Back in the 19th century, Paris's 15 passages were the world's first shopping malls. The second quarter of the 19th century saw the dawn of haute bourgeois consumer culture; in order to satisfy and nurture this growing demand, entrepreneurs started building passages in alleys all over central Paris. Americans appropriated and corrupted this innovation, coming up with the bright idea turned social problem, the super mall. Surely the pioneers of Paris' passages had no idea that Americans would expand on their idea, only to have France appropriate the bastard child of the passages, the super mall, across the nation. Today the galleries that surround the Palais Royal are the most famous in Paris. The passages house upscale clothing boutiques, cafes, gift shops (several sell antique postcards), antique bookstores, and tons of Indian restaurants.