Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Paris monument map locates the top 20 Paris monuments. This list of great monuments includes the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Sacré-Coeur, Notre-Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Sainte Chapelle, Les Invalides, Palais de Chaillot, Le Panthéon. Click on the anchor to get detailed information and pictures of these great city monuments. More Paris maps.
Created and financed by the LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Guerlain, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy), the Fondation Louis Vuitton encourages and promotes artistic creation both in France and internationally.
In 2006, Fondation Louis Vuitton commissioned a beautiful monument located in Jardin Acclimatation, a tiny amusement park in Bois de Boulogne. The Fondation Louis Vuitton is the most spectacular monument in the city since the Eiffel Tower. It marks the entry of the City of Lights into the 21st century. Fondation Louis Vuitton was designed by architect Franck Gehry, a Pritzker prize winner living in Los Angeles. Franck Gehry is most of all known in Europe for the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. He has designed the Cinematheque Francaise in the city. His words:
"I dream of designing a magnificent vessel for Paris that symbolizes France's profound cultural vocation"
Sainte-Chapelle was built in 1246 to host the Christ' Crown of Thorns. A gothic chapel, built in Ile de la Cité, the largest island in town, it has 15 colorful stainglasses.
King Saint Louis bought the Christ's Crown of Thorns from Constantinople, nowadays Istambul. The King commissioned Sainte-Chapelle as the crown's schrine in his Cité Palace, nowadays the Conciergerie. In 1806, the Crown was transfered to Notre-Dame Cathedral where it can be seen every first friday of the month.
Built in the 18th century, the Panthéon was originally a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. French King Louis XV vowed in 1744 that, if he recovered from his illness, he would replace the ruined church of the Abbey of Saint Genevieve with a monument worthy of the patron saint of Paris. The king regained his health. Architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot was chosen and the construction began in 1758. Due to financial problems, work proceeded slowly. The church was finally completed in 1790, during the early stages of the 1789 French Revolution. The French revolution closed down most churches and turned many of them into civil buildings. Sainte Geneviève Church was turned into a memorial for famous French people, a place to burry exceptional Frenchmen. The plan is a Greek cross with massive portico of Corinthian columns. The building is 110 meters long by 84 meters wide, and 83 meters high. The spectacular dome reaches a height of 83 meters. The portico has 24 large Corinthian columns. The inscription above the entrance reads “To great men, the grateful homeland”. The large crypt accommodates the vaults of great French public figures, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin, Louis Braille, Jean Jaures and Soufflot, its architect.
Locate most city top sights on the Paris Arrondissement map, the city administrative subdivisions.
Explore the most exclusive district of the city with streetview on Champs-Elysées map.
Discover the fabulous Seine river banks and its many famous sights with streetview on Seine river map.
Discover Montmartre and Sacré-Coeur on Montmartre map.
Locate and view the top museums on Paris museum map. Louvre Museum, Orsay Museum.
Locate the top gardens, parks, Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes on Paris garden map.
Locate and view Disneyland top attractions on Disneyland map.
