Paris was founded around the end of the third century by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii. The town, as well as the rest of what was once called Gaul, was conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 BC. After the Western Roman Empire fell to the barbarians, the Frankish King Clovis 1st made Paris his capital. Paris began to flower as a major medieval city in the 12th Century. It became a center of culture and learning, not to mention the seat of power of such people as Louis XIV and Napoleon. Today Paris, the largest city on the European continent, is a symbol of ambiance and a kind of culture and good living that attracts millions annually. And, of course, the City of Light is replete with historical attractions of all kinds.

The Louvre

The Louvre started as a fortress around the year 1200. It was gradually built up into a sumptuous royal palace during the subsequent centuries. It was converted to a museum in 1793, in the midst of the French Revolution. It is the most famous museum in the world and contains such masterpieces as Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. It’s collection included Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman antiquities and 35,000 works of art. A day, preferably two or three, should be allocated for a visit.

Tuileries Gardens

The Tuileries is a royal palace nearly adjacent to the Louvre, started by Catherine de Medici in the 16th Century. It was later the chief residence in Paris of Napoleon. Most of the palace was destroyed during the Commune of 1871. The garden that lay between the two palaces used to be a royal retreat, but is now a public park. The Tuileries Gardens are an especial favorite of children for the puppet shows and sail boat models.