Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [6]
For clubbing, music and nightlife links Click here. Blogroll to tune into politics, fashion/kitchen gossip, happenings and bags more in the capital (in English):
Chocolate & Zucchini (http://chocolateandzucchini.com) Food-driven blog by a 28-year-old foodie called Clotilde from Montmartre.
Le Blageur à Paris (www.parisblagueur.blogspot.com) On-the-ball, engaging and inspirational snapshots of Parisian life from one of the city’s most enigmatic bloggers, a 32-year-old French fille called Meg Zimbeck.
Paris Daily Photo (www.parisdailyphoto.com) An image a day with detailed comment, enjoyed by 2000-odd a day, from friendly Eric in the 9e arrondissement.
Petite Brigitte (http://petitebrigitte.com) ‘Inside Paris: Gossip, News, Fashion’ with a savvy Parisian gal in St-Germain des Prés.
Secrets of Paris (www.secretsofparis.com) OK, OK, she writes for lots of our competitors but this site is a great resource, full of venue recommendations, lots of great bar/nightlife info.
The Paris Blog (www.theparisblog.com) Insightful portrait of Parisian life by a blogger collective.
Voice of a City (www.voiceofacity.com) Eurostar-vetted voices blog about their Paris.
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BACKGROUND
* * *
HISTORY
EARLY SETTLEMENT
INVASIONS & DYNASTIES
CONSOLIDATION OF POWER
A CULTURAL ‘REBIRTH’
REFORM & REACTION
ANCIEN RÉGIME & ENLIGHTENMENT
COME THE REVOLUTION
LITTLE BIG MAN & EMPIRE
THE RETURN OF THE MONARCHY
FROM PRESIDENT TO EMPEROR
THE COMMUNE & THE ‘BEAUTIFUL AGE’
THE GREAT WAR & ITS AFTERMATH
WWII & OCCUPATION
POSTWAR INSTABILITY
CHARLES DE GAULLE & THE FIFTH REPUBLIC
POMPIDOU TO CHIRAC
PARIS TODAY
ARTS
LITERATURE
PHILOSOPHY
PAINTING
SCULPTURE
MUSIC
CINEMA
THEATRE
DANCE
ARCHITECTURE
GALLO-ROMAN
MEROVINGIAN & CAROLINGIAN
ROMANESQUE
GOTHIC
RENAISSANCE
BAROQUE
NEOCLASSICISM
ART NOUVEAU
MODERN
CONTEMPORARY
ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING
THE LAND
GREEN PARIS
URBAN PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
MEDIA
FASHION
LANGUAGE
TIMELINE
* * *
HISTORY
With upwards of 12 million inhabitants, the greater metropolitan area of Paris is home to almost 19% of France’s total population (central Paris counts just under 2.2 million souls). Since before the Revolution, Paris has been what urban planners like to call a ‘hypertrophic city’ – the enlarged ‘head’ of a nation-state’s ‘body’. The urban area of the next biggest city – Marseilles – is just over a third the size of central Paris.
As the capital city, Paris is the administrative, business and cultural centre; virtually everything of importance in the republic starts, finishes or is currently taking place here. The French have always said ‘Quand Paris éternue, la France s’en rhume’ (When Paris sneezes, France catches cold) but there have been conscious efforts – going back at least four decades – by governments to decentralise Paris’ role, and during that time the population, and thus to a certain extent the city’s authority, has actually shrunk. The pivotal year was 1968, a watershed not just in France but throughout Western Europe.
Paris has a timeless quality, a condition that can often be deceiving. And while the cobbled backstreets of Montmartre, the terraced cafés of Montparnasse, the iconic structure of the Eiffel Tower and the placid waters of the Seine may all have some visitors believing that the city has been here since time immemorial, that’s hardly the case.
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EARLY SETTLEMENT
The early history of the Celts is murky, but it is thought that they originated somewhere in the eastern part