French connection
by Karen Williams
Can
you imagine Paris without the Eiffel Tower? Perish the thought – but it
nearly happened. It was chosen from 700 proposals in a design competition in
1889 to commemorate the centenary of the French revolution. The Eiffel Tower
wasn’t popular with everyone – more than 300 people opposed its
construction, and it was almost torn down in 1909, but was saved because of
its antenna, which was used for telegraphy. This is just some of the trivia
you can find on this website, which has 7,000 pages about everything to do
with Paris. The sections are divided roughly into four: the city, its
culture, tourist information, and Paris Kiosque.
Under the city section you’ll find information about public transport, cafés, images of Paris, theatres, and even the location of the Cartier and Chanel stores if you’re so inclined. The culture section has information about everything from the Eiffel Tower to the Louvre, and information about special expositions, maps, and a calendar of events. Under the tourist information, you’ll find a glossary explaining the structure of the city, with its 20 arrondissements, where the Latin quarter is located, and so on. Paris Kiosque is the electronic magazine of the Paris Pages, and it contains some good reading, not the least of which are the ’Letters from Paris’ (usually expat Americans).
It has archives of previous issues, a guest book, Paris postcards to send to your friends, and much more. Happy Bastille Day. www.paris.org/