Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [82]
PALAIS DE LA DÉCOUVERTE Map
01 56 43 20 21; www.palais-decouverte.fr,
in French; av Franklin D Roosevelt, 8e; adult/senior, student & 5-18yr €7/4.50, under 5yr free; 9.30am-6pm Tue-Sat, 10am-7pm Sun; Champs-Élysées Clemenceau
The Palace of Discovery, inaugurated during the 1937 Exposition Universelle and thus the world’s first interactive museum, is a fascinating place to take kids thanks to its hands-on exhibits on astronomy, biology, medicine, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, physics and earth sciences. The planetarium (admission €3.50) usually has four shows a day (in French) at 11.30am, 2pm, 3.15pm and 4.30pm; call or consult the website for current schedules.
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top picks
ÉTOILE & CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES
Arc de Triomphe (opposite)
Av des Champs-Élysées (opposite)
Petit Palais (left)
Place de la Madeleine (below)
Place de la Concorde (below)
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PLACE DE LA CONCORDE Map
Concorde
Place de la Concorde was laid out between 1755 and 1775. The 3300-year-old pink granite obelisk with the gilded top standing in the centre of the square was presented to France in 1831 by Muhammad Ali, viceroy and pasha of Egypt. Weighing 230 tonnes and towering 23m over the cobblestones, it once stood in the Temple of Ramses at Thebes (now Luxor). The eight female statues adorning the four corners of the square represent France’s largest cities (at least in the second half of the 18th century).
In 1793, Louis XVI’s head was lopped off by a guillotine set up in the northwest corner of the square near the statue representing the city of Brest. During the next two years, another guillotine – this one near the entrance to the Jardin des Tuileries – was used to behead 1343 more people, including Marie-Antoinette and, six months later, the Revolutionary leader Danton. Shortly thereafter, Robespierre lost his head here, too. The square was given its present name after the Reign of Terror in the hope that it would become a place of peace and harmony.
PLACE DE LA MADELEINE Map
Madeleine
Ringed by fine-food shops, the place de la Madeleine is 350m north of place de la Concorde, at the end of rue Royale. The square is named after the 19th-century neoclassical church in its centre, the Église de Ste-Marie Madeleine (Church of St Mary Magdalene; 01 44 51 69 00; www.eglise-lamadeleine.com, in French; place de la Madeleine, 8e; 9.30am-7pm). Constructed in the style of a Greek temple, what is now simply called ‘La Madeleine’ was consecrated in 1842 after almost a century of design changes and construction delays. It is surrounded by 52 Corinthian columns standing 20m tall, and the marble-and-gilt interior is topped by three sky-lit cupolas. You can hear the massive organ being played at Mass at 11am and 7pm on Sunday.
The monumental staircase on the south side affords one of the city’s most quintessential Parisian panoramas: down rue Royale to place de la Concorde and its obelisk and across the Seine to the Assemblée Nationale. The gold dome of the Invalides appears in the background.
Paris’ cheapest belle époque attraction is the public toilet ( 10am-noon & 1-6.15pm) on the east side of La Madeleine, which dates from 1905. There has been a flower market ( 8am-8pm) on the east side of the church since 1832.
CHAPELLE EXPIATOIRE Map
01 44 32 18 00; www.monuments-nationaux.fr; square Louis XVI, 8e; adult/18-25yr €5/3.50, under 18yr free; 1-5pm Thu-Sat; St-Augustin
The austere, neoclassical Atonement Chapel, opposite 36 rue Pasquier, sits atop the section of a cemetery where Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and many other victims of the Reign of Terror were buried after their executions in 1793. It was erected by Louis’ brother, the restored Bourbon king Louis XVIII, in 1815. Two years later the royal bones were removed to the Basilique de St-Denis.