Rajeev's World: Panoramas Of Paris... Part I

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Panoramas Of Paris... Part I

After visiting the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur and the Pigalle district, we headed to the Tour Montparnasse, a 210-metre tall, 59-storey office building located in the Montparnasse district.

Tour Montparnasse offers panoramic views of Paris city - the 56th floor and terrace on the top floor, are open to the public for viewing the city.

Tour Montparnasse is located close to the TGV train station, Gare Montparnasse and is built on top of the Montparnasse – Bienvenüe metro station...

The name Montparnasse has interesting origins. Students in the 17th century came to the hill here to recite poetry. They nicknamed the hill after "Mount Parnassus", which in Greek mythology was home to the nine goddesses of literature, science and arts - Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope, Terpsichore, Urania, and Melpomene. Over time, Mount Parnassus came to be called as Montparnasse...

Tour Montparnasse was constructed from 1969 to 1973 and was the tallest building in France when it was completed. The tower's rather simple architecture and monolithic appearance make it out of place in Paris's urban landscape. The construction of the building led to such a consternation among Parisians that two years after its completion, the construction of buildings exceeding seven storeys high in the heart of Paris was banned. Parisians disliked the building so much that they said that the view from the top is the most beautiful in Paris, because it is the only place from which the tower cannot be seen!

A beautiful evening in Paris...

But, I can see the shadow of the Montparnasse...

Wonder if that's ugly?

The Montparnasse cemetery...

The Pantheon is right there in the centre of the frame...

Église Saint-Sulpice de Paris right in the middle - the church was made famous by Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code!

The grand lady of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, with Champs de Mars and the École Militaire on the bottom of the frame...

The Champs de Mars park, named after the Campus Martius ("Mars Field") in Rome, a tribute to the Latin name of the Roman God of war, Mars. These lawns were formerly used as drilling and marching grounds by the French military...

The École Militaire was designed as a complex of military training facilities and an academic college for cadet officers from poor noble families. The school was founded in 1750, after the War of the Austrian Succession, by Louis XV. The building was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and construction of the École Militaire buildings went on between 1752 and 1760. The institution admitted Napoleon Bonaparte in 1784. He graduated from here in only one year instead of the usual two...

Right behind the Eiffel Tower lies the Grande Arche, one of the iconic buildings of La Défense area...

The golden dome makes the Les Invalides stand out...

Palais du Luxembourg and the palace gardens in the middle of the frame...

Palais du Luxembourg and the dome of La Sorbonne on the top right of the frame...

The Pantheon again...

A view of Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, on the summit of the Montmartre...

Rue de Rennes...

The Beaux-Arts style bridge, Pont Alexandre III, with its four gilded pillar lamps in the centre of the frame. The pillars depict cherubs, nymphs and winged horses. The bridge was built between 1896 and 1900 and was named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892...

Right above the Pont Alexandre III is the Grand Palais, to the left and the Petit Palais to the right...