Page 166 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

164  FR ANCE AND THE L OW C OUNTRIES

Paris Exhibition by Azéma, Louis-
Hippolyte Boileau, and Jacques
Carlu. It is adorned with
sculptures and bas-reliefs, and
the pavilion walls are inscribed in
gold with words composed by
the poet Paul Valéry. The square
between the two pavilions is
highly decorated with bronze
sculptures, ornamental pools, and
shooting fountains. Steps lead
down from here to the Théâtre
National de Chaillot, famous for
its avant-garde productions.
The Cité de l’Architecture
et du Patrimoine is a vast
Trocadéro fountains in front of the Palais de Chaillot complex and information
center incorporating Viollet-
o Musée du Quai building, raised on stilts, is a le-Duc’s original Musée des
Branly sight in itself: the ingenious use Monuments Français (1882).
of glass allows the surrounding
The Musée de l’Homme, in
37 Quai Branly. Tel 01-56 61 70 00. greenery to act as a natural the west wing (closed until mid-
q Alma-Marceau. W Pont de l’Alma. backdrop for the collection. 2015), traces human evolution
Open Tue–Sun. & 0 = 7 through a series of anthro-
∑ quaibranly.fr pological, archaeological, and
p Palais de Chaillot
ethnological displays. Next
Built to give the arts of Africa, Place du Trocadéro 17. q Trocadéro. door is the Musée National
Asia, Oceania, and the Americas W Trocadéro. @ 27, 30, 32, 63, 72, 82. de la Marine, devoted to
a platform as shining as that Museums: Open Wed–Mon. & 8 French naval history.
reserved for Western art, this Aquarium: Tel 01-40 69 23 23. The centerpiece of the lovely
museum boasts a collection of Open daily. Closed Jul 14. & Jardins de Trocadéro is a long
more than 3,000 objects. It is ornamental pool, bordered by
particularly strong on Africa, With its curved colonnaded statues. The gardens themselves
with stone, wooden, and ivory wings, each culminating in a vast are perfect for a quiet evening
masks, as well as ceremonial pavilion, this palace was designed stroll. Also here is the Aquarium
tools. The Jean Nouvel-designed in Neoclassical style for the 1937 de Paris – Cinéaqua.
Baron Haussmann Arc de Triomphe 12 avenues
A lawyer by training and civil servant forming a star
by profession, Georges-Eugène U (étoile)
Haussmann (1809–91) was E A
appointed Prefect of the Seine AVE DES CHAMPS ELYSEES R C
in 1853 by Napoleon III. For A V E D E F R I E D L A N D A
17 years Haussmann was M
responsible for the urban V E A V E D ´ i e N A
modernization of Paris. A V E H O C H E A
With a team of the best
architects and engineers,
he demolished the
chaotic, insanitary streets A V E D E W A G R A M E A V E K L E B E R

of the medieval city and P O I L
created a well-ventilated L A C E D E L ´ E T
and ordered capital in a
geometrical grid. He also M A C — m A H O N T
increased the number of O A V E V I C T O R H U G O
streetlights and sidewalks, R N A V
giving rise to the cafés that A V E C A E
enliven modern Parisian E F O
street life. The plan involved A V A V E D E L A G R A N D E A R M E E C H
redesigning the area at one end
of the Champs-Elysées and creating
a star of 12 avenues centered around
the new Arc de Triomphe.

For hotels and restaurants see pp206–8 and pp209–11

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