Page 142 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

The interior of the Panthéon,
looking up into the 43.5-m-
(143-ft-) wide diameter dome

the fountains in Paris. The
central sculpture, by Jean-
Baptiste Carpeaux, which
EXPERIENCE Paris: The Left Bank women holding aloft a globe
was erected in 1873, is made
of bronze. It features four
that represents four of the
continents – Oceania, the
fifth, was left out for reasons
of symmetry. There are some
subsidiary figures, including
dolphins, horses and a turtle.

14 " '
.
Palais du Luxembourg
 F6 ⌂ 15 rue de
Vau girard 75006 q Odéon
W Luxembourg # Hours
vary, check website
∑ senat.fr/visiteor
museeduluxembourg.fr
Now home of the French
Senate, this palace was built
to remind Marie de’ Medici,
Napoleon returned it to the the widow of Henri IV, of her
12 "' Church in 1806, but it was native city of Florence. It was
Panthéon secularized and then desecu- built to a design by Salomon
larized once more, before de Brosse in the style of the
 G6 ⌂ Pl du Panthéon
75005 q Maubert- finally being made a civic
Mutualité, Cardinal- building in 1885.
Lemoine W Luxembourg The façade, inspired by the
Rome Pantheon, features a
@ 21, 27, 38, 82, 84, 85, 89
# Apr–Sep: 10am–6:30pm pediment relief that depicts
daily; Oct–Mar: 10am–6pm the mother country granting
daily ¢ 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec laurels to her great men.
Under the building, the vast
∑ paris-pantheon.fr
crypt divides into galleries
When Louis XV recovered flanked by Doric columns.
from illness in 1744, he was so Many notable French people
thankful that he conceived a rest here, including Voltaire
magnificent church to honour and Emile Zola.
Ste Geneviève, the patron
saint of the city. The French
architect Jacques-Germain 13
Soufflot planned the church
in Neo-Classical style. Work Fontaine de
began in 1764 and was com- l’Observatoire
pleted in 1790 under the  F7 ⌂ Place Ernest Denis,
control of Guillaume Rondelet. av de l’Observa toire 75006
But with the Revolution under W Port Royal
way, the church was turned
into a pantheon – a monu- Situated at the southern tip
ment housing the tombs of of the Jardin du Luxembourg,
France’s great heroes. this is one of the finest of all
142

142-143_EW_France.indd 142 29/01/2019 15:05

EW Must-see / Catalogue template v1.1 – 18th May 2018
Fonts: Aptifer Sans LT Pro, Posterama Text, Soho Gothic
Pro, Soho Pro, ITC Caslon 224