It was built for the Exhibition held in Paris in 1937. Its architects were Boileau, Azema and Carlu, who planned the present building on the site of another previous structure, the Trocadero. Of the latter, built by Napoleon for his son, the King of Rome, only the plans by Percier and Fontaine remain.

Palais de Chaillot consists of two enormous pavilions which stretch out in two wings, united by a central terrace with statues of gilt bronze. From here a vast and splendid complex of terraces and stairways, embellished with fountains and jets of water, slopes down to the Seine.

The two pavilions, on the front of which are engraved verses by the poet Valery, today contain the Museum of the Navy, the Museum of Man and the Museum of French Monuments.

MUSEUM OF THE NAVY

This is one of the richest museums of its type in the world. It contains models of ships, original objects, souvenirs and works of art linked to the sea. Among these are the models of Columbus’ ship, the Santa Maria, and the ship La Belle Poule, which brought back to France the ashes of Napoleon from St Helena.

MUSEUM OF MAN

This contains important collections of anthropology and ethnology, illustrating the various human races and their ways of life. In the gallery of paleontology, there are some very famous prehistoric discoveries: the Venus of Lespugue, made from mammoth’s ivory, a cast of the Hottentot Venus and the Hoggar frescoes.

Particularly rich are the collections from the American continent, including Pre-Columbian, Maya, Aztec and Toltec art. From Asia there are Siberian, Mongolian, Chinese, Tibetan and Indochinese objects, besides evidence of the civilisations of Polynesia, the Easter Islands, Java and Malaysia.

MUSEUM OF THE FRENCH MONUMENTS

Born in 1880 from an idea of Viollet-le-Duc, it offers a vast artistic panorama from the Carolingian period on. The works are grouped according to regions, schools and periods, so that the visitor can study the evolution, characteristics and influence of each style.

In the sculpture section, the works include Romanesque, Gothic (statues from the cathedrals of Chartres, Amiens, Notre-Dame and Rheims), Renaissance (works by Jean Goujon and Germain Pilon) and modern (Rude, Pigalle, Houdon).

Also in the complex of the Palais de Chaillot is the Theatre de Chaillot, situated below the terrace, with a capacity of 3000 persons. In 1948 and in 1951 -1952 it was used for the third and fourth sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

In a grotto in the garden is the Aquarium, in which the life of most of the freshwater fishes from all over France can be observed. The gardens slope gently down to the Seine, which the Pont d’lena (1813) crosses here. Adorned with four equestrian groups at the ends, the bridge links Place de Varsovie to the other bank, dominated by the Eiffel Tower.

The Jardin des Plantes or Botanical Gardens, dates back to 1626, when Herouard and Guy de la Brosse, the doctors of Louis XIII, established the Royal Garden of Medicinal Herbs, opened to the public in 1650.

Its collections of plants were enriched by Louis XIV’s first doctor, Fagon, by the botanist Tournefort, by the three Jussieu brothers, who travelled the world in search of new plants, and above all by the great naturalist Buffon; the latter made the greatest contribution to the gardens, enlarging them as far as the Seine and building the galleries, the maze and the amphitheatre.

At the time of the Revolution, the gardens came to house the National Museum of Natural History. As a result of the work of many eminent scholars, this has become one of the richest and most varied museums in the world.

Visit to the gardens

After passing through the gate, we reach the Botanical garden, its vast flower beds divided by wide paths.

Here are the School of Botany, containing more than 10,000 species of plants, all methodically classified; the Winter Garden, with tropical plants; the Alpine Garden, with collections of plants from the polar regions, the Himalaya Mountains and the Alps. Museum of Natural History.

This is on the other side of the path on the left and contains various sections: Paleontology (fossils, prehistoric animals, casts of extinct species). Botany, Mineralogy (precious stones, minerals, meteorites) and the hunting collections of the Duke of Orleans. In the Zoology gallery are important skeletons, shells and stuffed animals.

Near Jardin des Plantes, on the other side of the Glasshouses (containing plants from South America, Australia, etc.), is the Maze, with its rare plants, including the cedar of Lebanon planted in 1734 by Bernard de Jussieu.

Also worth visiting is the Menagerie, with its wild animals and bird, including elephants, monkeys and so on. MOSQUE – Near the gardens, with its entrance in Place du Puits-de-l’Ermite, is the Mosque, an unusual corner of the Orient here in the middle of the ancient heart of Paris which cannot fail to attract the tourist’s attention.

The Mosque has an interesting courtyard in Hispano-Moorish style, a patio inspired by that of the Alhambra at Granada, and a prayer chamber adorned with precious carpets. ARENES DE LUTECE (Lutetia Arena) – Its entrance at no. 49 Rue Monge, this is the Roman arena of the ancient city.

The exact date of the construction of this Gallo-Roman monument is not known, though it was probably in the 2nd or 3rd century. It was destroyed by the barbarians in 280 and rediscovered only in 1869. At the beginning of this century, it was restored and opened as a park.

The arena had the functions of an amphitheatre, where circus games took place, and also of a theatre. The seating section was elliptical in form, with 36 rows of seats, many of which are now lost. The platform on which the stage was and the circular track around the amphitheatre are still visible. ST-NICOLAS-DU-CHARDONNET – Dedicated to St Nicholas, patron saint of the boatmen, it was built in the Baroque style between 1656 and 1709.

On the exterior, the side door, carved from wood after a design by Le Brun, is outstanding. Interior. In Jesuit style, it has three naves with chancel and ambulatory and contains many works of art. In the first chapel on the right, a work by Corot depicting the Baptism of Jesus; in the ambulatory, in the second chapel on the right, the funeral monument to the Solicitor General Jerome Bignon; in the second chapel to the left of the apse, the tomb of the painter Le Brun and his wife, by Coysevox.

Another work by Charles Le Brun, St Charles Borromeo, is above the altar.

At the beginning of the avenue are the celebrated Horses of Marly, by Guillaume Coustou. From here to the Rond-Point of the Champs-Elysees, the avenue is flanked by a vast park.

As we walk along it, on the right is the Theatre des Ambassadeurs-Espace Pierre Cardin, on the left the Ledoyen restaurant from the time of Louis XVI. In Place Clemenceau is the bronze statue of this famous politician who led France to victory in 1918.

At this point the panoramic Avenue Churchill begins, with the Alexandre III Bridge and the Invalides in the background. On each side of the Avenue Churchill are the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, two imposing buildings with large colonnades, friezes and sculptural groups, erected for the World Fair held in Paris in 1900.

 ROND-POINT of the Champs Elysees - This important intersection is at the end of the park zone of the Champs-Elysees; the square, about 150 yards wide, was designed by Le Notre. On the right is the headquarters of the newspaper Le Figaro, on the left that of Jours de France. This is the beginning of the wide street (its two footpaths some 25 yards wide and the roadway more than 30) along either side of which are the offices of airlines, banks and automobile showrooms. There are three large covered galleries, the Galerie Elysees-La Boetie at no. 54, the Galerie Arcades at no. 76 and the Galerie Point-Show at  no. 66

On the ground floor, on the other hand, most of the rooms are dedicated to the Revolution and the First Empire.

Among the museum’s most interesting relics are the bill of indictment of Louis XVI and the key of the Temple in which the royal family was imprisoned, the dressing table and chair used by Marie-Antoinette in the Tower of the Temple (on the table are perfume bottles and a miniature of the Dauphin which the queen made during her imprisonment), the shaving plate and razors of Louis, a game of tombola and an exercise book belonging to the Dauphin, a model of the guillotine, the page of the appeal which Robespierre was signing when he was arrested (the first two letters of his surname and his bloodstains can still be seen), the sword and epaulettes of La Fayette, and the Phrygian cap and pike belonging to Lefebvre.

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This was called the “Versailles of the middle ages” and its history is closely linked to the history of france. The forest of vincennes was acquired by the crown in the 11th century and philippe auguste had a manorhouse built there, to which louis ix added the chapel.

The castle, built by the valois, was begun by philippe vi in 1334 and completed by charles v in 1370: in this period the keep, part of the chapel and the surrounding walls were constructed.

In 1654 mazarin (who had become governor of vincennes two years before) commissioned le vau to erect two symmetrical pavilions for the king and queen. From the beginning of the 16th century up until 1784, the monarchs preferred versailles to vincennes, and the keep, where they had previously resided, became a state prison.

In 1738 it became a porcelain factory (transferred to sevres in 1756), and napoleon i converted it into a powerful arsenal, where in 1814, under its governor, general daumensil, it opposed a heroic resistance to the allies. It was modified by louis-philippe, who made it a rampart in the city’s defences, and then its restoration was begun by viollet-le-duc under napoleon III.

Unfortunately the castle was seriously damaged on 24 august 1944, when the germans blew up part of its fortifications and set fire to the king and queen’s pavilions.

The castle is built in the form of a great rectangle, surrounded by a deep moat and formidable walls, on which there are towers which have been reduced in height.

The entrance tower, the Tour du Village, is the only one apart from the keep which has not been lopped: it is 138 feet high and although the statues which adorned the outside of it have been lost remains of Gothic decoration above the entrance portal  can  still  be seen.

On the west side stands the magnificent keep, the sturdy but graceful lines of which convey the essential idea of 14th-century military art. The tower is 170 feet high and has four semicircular turrets at the corners. It too is surrounded by a wall and has its own moat; around the top of the wall runs a covered passage.

In the centre of the side opposite the entrance, the south side, is a tower called the Tour du Bois, lowered by Le Vau and transformed into a monumental entrance. In the moat on the right, at the foot of the tower called the Tour de la Reine, is a column indicating the exact spot on which the Prince of Conde, Duke of Enghien, was executed on 20 March 1804, accused of plotting against Napoleon. 

The last side of the castle has five towers, all lowered in height. 

Visiting the interior. The huge courtyard is entered via the Tour du Village. At the end on the left is the Chapel.

THE CHAPEL

Begun under Charles V in 1387, it was completed under Henri II in about 1522. In the Flamboyant Gothic style, it has stone rose windows and fine openwork on the facade. The spire has unfortunately been lost.

Interior

It is without aisles and is illuminated by large windows around the base of which runs a fine frieze. The stained glass, much restored, dates from the middle of the 16th century and depicts Scenes from the Apocalypse. In a chapel is the tomb of the Duke of Enghien. 

In front of the chapel stands the KEEP, which since 1934 has contained a historical museum. Its three floors thus have on display relics of the kings and of great figures who lived there. The floors are all laid out in the same way: they have a vast vaulted hall with a pillar in the centre and four small rooms in the corners, originally for private use but later converted into cells.

From the terrace there is a splendid view of Paris, the wood and the surrounding areas. Also in the courtyard are the two pavilions of the King and Queen. In the first, on the right, Mazarin died in 1661; the second is now occupied by the  Historical Section of the Navy.

FOREST

The Bois de Vincennes, extending over 2300 acres and the largest in Paris, was given to the city by Napoleon III to be transformed into a public park.

This vast area includes, in the western part, the Lac des Minimes, a picturesque lake with three small islands; the nearby Indochinese Temple, erected in memory of the Vietnamese who died in the first world war;
The Tropical Garden, with its entrance at no. 45 Avenue de la Belle Gabrielle; and the Floral Park, in which hundreds of different types of flowers bloom all year round and which also contains the exotarium, with tropical fish  and  reptiles.

ZOO

Its main entrance is in Avenue Daumensil. It is one of the finest and largest zoos in Europe: it has an area of 42 acres and contains 600 mammals and 700 birds. There is also a large artificial rock 236 high, on which the mountain sheep are kept.

MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AND OCEANIAN ART

The main entrance is at no. 293 Avenue Daumensil. The building which contains the museum was constructed in 1931 for the Colonial Exhibition. The various sections of the museum include African Negro sculpture, the indigenous art of the French colonies and the economic and social life of the African countries.

In 1677, the building was rented by the writer Marie de Rabutin, better known as the/ Marquise de Sevigne, and in the 19th century the Museum was opened, containing historical documents of great importance and rarity related to the history of Paris, seen through its historical figures, monuments and costumes, from Henri IV to our own time.

Passing through the main entrance (16th century — the lions and the cornucopia on the keystone were carved by Jean Goujon), we reach the courtyard, in the centre of which is the bronze statue of Louis XIV, by Coysevox (1689).

The building at the end is still in Gothic style, while the reliefsof the Four Seasons are Renaissance, the work of the school of Goujon.