Paris in the Second World War: Private Half-Day Walking Tour

Our LadyThe cathedral of Notre Dame is a masterpiece of French-Gothic architecture and the ceremonial focus of Catholic Paris for the last seven hundred years. The cathedral's immense interior is a marvel of medieval architecture; it holds about 6,000 people. Many individually crafted statues are placed around the outside, serving as column supports and gutters. Among these are the famous gargoyles, designed to let water run off them, and chimeras. As you walk around, try and imagine the exterior and statues as they originally were - bright and vibrant with colour. The cathedral was essentially complete in 1345. You can ascend to the top up a narrow climb of 387 steps. It is possible to view its famous bell and the gargoyles at close quarters, as well as spectacular views across Paris nearer the top. You can see how Paris has grown outwards from its centre - the Île de la Cité. Innovative architectureAlthough it is lauded for its sublime architecture, there are all sorts of minor anomalies as a result of centuries of aesthetic intervention. You enter through trio of main entrances all shaped slightly differently. If anything, however, these differences only add to the cathedral’s charm. As you walk around inside, make sure to take in the beautiful stained-glass rose windows at the east end. Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress. The architects added them to support the fracturing walls around the choir at the east end during its building in 1163.During the Revolution, the cathedral was rededicated to the Cult of Reason, and subsequently to the Cult of the Supreme Being. Many of the treasures of the cathedral were sadly destroyed or plundered.

A place of bloodIf you stroll down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe you’ll find the Place de la Concorde at its foot. It’s difficult to find a corner of Paris that didn’t play a part in the Revolution, and this beautiful square is no different. Once the Place de la Révolution, crowds cheered here as Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, and some 2,500 others lost their heads to the guillotine. It was eventually renamed in 1836 and got a startling new centrepiece to mark the occasion; a 75-foot granite Obelisk, carved from Egyptian stone in the 8th century BC. Part of every époque Two magnificent identical stone buildings lie at the north end. They remain among the best examples of Louis XV architecture, a style renowned for its supreme craftsmanship. Having served as the opulent home of the Duc d’Aumont, the Comte de Crillon and the occupying German HQ, they now house the luxury Hôtel de Crillon.The square was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel in 1755 and was skirted by an octagonal moat between the Champs-Élysées to the west and the Tuileries Garden to the east. Decorated with statues and fountains representing different French cities, the square was initially named Place Louis XV to honour the king at that time, until sentiments changed thirty years later…

A public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde

The Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore may well be the most famous independent bookshop in the world. It is currently in its second incarnation - the original was opened by Sylvia Beach in 1922, and became a regular haunt for a number of aspiring young writers including James Joyce, Ezra Pound and Ernest Hemingway. It closed in 1940 during the German occupation of Paris, but in 1951 George Whitman brought it back to life, opening his new store on rue de la Bûcherie in the 5th arrondissement. As You Like ItApproaching the place today, it has all the dilapidated charm and easy homeliness that you would expect of a Beatnik Parisian cafe. Whitman once described it as a “socialist utopia masquerading as a bookstore”, and it was this freethinking spirit which drew the likes of Henry Miller and Allen Ginsberg through its doors. When the sun is shining, the books spill out into the street, with battered old sets of shelves placed haphazardly around the ornate city drinking fountain in the small plaza adjoining the shop. This is also the venue for regular poetry readings and other literary events, which invariably draw a crowd. Love’s Labours FoundThe weather in northern France doesn’t always oblige, however, in which case everyone piles back inside. Here you will find veritable mountains of second-hand books arranged in some semblance of order, perused avidly by literary enthusiasts of every stripe. You can browse at your leisure, or retire to the cafe for a mug of hot tea and a slice of cake. Be sure to ask about the upcoming event schedule - Shakespeare and Co. usually has something up its sleeve!

Spread out over the 3rd and 4th Arrondissements on the Right Bank of the Seine, Le Marais is an endlessly charming labyrinth of small crooked alleyways where you can easily wander for a day. It is arguably the most historic district in Paris, with more pre-revolutionary buildings left intact than anywhere else in the city. As well as imbuing the area with a strong sense of history, the age of the place gives Le Marais a completely different feel. While Paris is famed for its wide open squares and avenues (think Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées), these were actually only constructed during the rule of Napoleon after the French Revolution. The architecture and haphazard layout of Le Marais is what all of Paris would once have looked like, and so it offers an intriguing insight into the Paris of old. The Spirit of the RevolutionNevertheless, the lack of major world attractions often means that Le Marais is overlooked by visitors to Paris. But what it lacks on this front it more than makes up for in charm, and you can immediately see how its unmistakably Bohemian vibe brought Robespierre, Victor Hugo and Jim Morrison to live here. Particularly worth visiting is the Place des Vosges, one of Paris’ most beautiful parks, built by Henry IV and considered by Napoleon himself to be the jewel of Paris.

An iconic symbol of luxury since the avant-gardists (re)invention of fashion during the 19th century.

One of the most famous streets in Paris, famed for its commercialism.