Auguste Marie Joseph Jean Leon Jaures was a French politician and leader of the nation’s Socialist Party in the early 1900s who was assassinated due to his opposition to conflict with Germany in World War I. Jaures was shot twice while having dinner inside the Cafe du Croissant (still operating today as Bistro du Croissant) at 146 Rue Montmartre in Paris’s 2nd Arrondissement. Continue Reading →
Parisian houses are notoriously small. But what is deemed the smallest structure in all of the City of Light is miniscule even by Parisian standards–just 1.10 meters wide and 5 meters high. Continue Reading →
The Musee Carnavalet chronicles the history of Paris from its founding in 250 B.C. to today’s 21st century center of business, art and culture. The collection is massive, and only a fraction is on display in the museum’s nearly 100 rooms. The museum houses 2,600 paintings, 20,000 drawings, 300,000 engravings, 150,000 photos, 2,000 sculptures and countless other items of historical significance. Continue Reading →
An unusual thing that I love about Paris is its iconic green, blue and white street signs. At the top of each is the district (called Arrondissement, and there are 20 of them in Paris) in which the street is located. Then comes the street name. And for my favorite part, the bottom of the sign contains information about the person for whom the street is named, if applicable. You get a mini-history lesson on most street corners! Continue Reading →
Today, Paris’s Eiffel Tower turns 125 years old. I can’t imagine there’s a monument anywhere in the world that is as recognizable as La Tour Eiffel or as indelibly linked with a nation’s culture as is this wonderful French monument created for the 1889 World’s Fair (and which was supposed to be torn down two decades after the event ended). The tower is beloved by both the French and by visitors from around the world. Check out these 40 little-known facts about the Eiffel Tower as well as some of the hundreds of photos I’ve taken of La Tour over the years. Continue Reading →