Page 136 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Paris

134  P ARIS AREA B Y AREA

i Banque
antique glass and silverware
were on display. Nowadays, chic de France
shoppers flock in droves to the
designer boutiques that are 31 Rue Croix des Petits Champs
75001. Map 12 F1. q Palais Royal.
here, such as Chanel, Dior and Open for Sat morning tours led by the
Eric Bompard Cashmere, or they Paris Historique historical society, tel:
stop by for a coffee break in the 01 48 87 74 31. Open to the public
upmarket café Le Village. 10am–7pm for Heritage Days in Sep.
Founded by Napoleon in 1800,
Colonnaded entrance to the Village Royale u Place Vendôme France’s central bank is housed
in a building intended for quite
y Village Royal 75001. Map 6 D5. q Tuileries. different purposes. The 17th-
Perhaps the best example of century architect François
75008. Map 5 C5. q Madeleine.
Galerie Royale: Open 8am–8.30pm, 18th-century elegance in the
boutiques 10am–7pm Mon–Sat. city, the architect Jules Napoleon’s statue in
Closed public hols. Hardouin-Mansart’s royal Place Vendôme
square was begun in 1698. The
This delightful enclave of original plan was to house
18th-century town houses academies and embassies
sits discreetly between the behind the arcaded façades.
Rue Royale and the Rue Boissy However, bankers moved in
d’Anglas. The Galerie Royale is and created opulent homes.
the former home of the Duchess Miraculously, the square has
d’Abrantès. It was converted in remained virtually intact, and is
1994 by architect Laurent home to jewellers and bankers.
Bourgois, who has combined Among the famous, Frédéric
both classical and modern Chopin died here in 1848 at
elements in superb style. The No. 12 and César Ritz
village was formerly the home established his famous hotel
of glassworkers and silversmiths, at the turn of the 20th century
and for a while examples of at No. 15.

Formal Gardens in Paris For the past 300 years, the main
formal gardens in Paris have been
open to the public and are a firm
fixture in the city’s life. The Jardin
des Tuileries (see p132) is a beautiful
extension of the Louvre, with
ongoing replanting; the Jardin
du Luxembourg (see p174), the
private garden of the French
Senate, is still beloved of Left
Bankers; and the Jardin du Palais-
Royal (see p131) is enjoyed by those
who seek peace and privacy.
French landscaping was raised
to an art form in the 17th century,
thanks to Louis XIV’s talented
landscaper André Le Nôtre, who
created the gardens of Versailles
(see pp250–51). He achieved a
brilliant marriage between the
traditional Italian Renaissance
garden and the French love of
rational design.
The role of the French garden
architect was not to tend nature
but to transform it, pruning and
planting to create leafy sculptures
out of trees, bushes and hedges.
Complicated geometrical designs
that were created in beds and
The South Parterre at Versailles (see pp250–51) paths were interspersed with

134-135_EW_Paris.indd 134 03/04/17 10:56 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm