Walks Through Lost Paris


Book Description

A full-color traveler's volume outlines four walking tours through some of its most significant historical areas, offering insight into how specific regions and buildings have changed, in a resource that provides specific coverage of the work of Georges-Eugne Haussmann. Original.




Walks Through Lost Paris


Book Description




Walks Through Lost Paris


Book Description

When he discovered that the city he lived in for many years was actually entirely rebuilt during the mid–1800s, Leonard Pitt plunged into Paris's history and began photographing what he learned had changed. Eventually, he led tours and gave lectures on the demolition and reconstruction that changed the city forever. Walks Through Lost Paris chronicles Paris's great periods of urban reconstruction through four walking tours. With a special focus on the work of Georges–Eugene Haussmann, this book provides a history of each site along with the motives behind the urban redesign and the reactions of Parisians who witnessed it. Detailed maps take you through a city whose changes were captured by photographers and artists in each stage. Hundreds of color photos, diagrams, and engravings splendidly survey the massive transformation that resulted in the Paris of today.




Paris


Book Description

How would Paris look if images from its glorious past were placed side–by–side with photographs of the city today? In Paris: A Journey Through Time, Leonard Pitt does just this. With a stunning array of archival and contemporary photos he peels away the many layers of old Paris to document the city's transformation with events such as the demolition of a section of rue Beaubourg in 1975 and its eventual reconstruction into modern condos and a shopping center, or the narrow cobblestoned rue du Four becoming the wide, paved street we know today bustling with automobiles and bicycles. Along with these photos from the past and present come detailed maps for walking tours with old schematics and plans for construction that may or may not have been carried out, illustrating the strange ways that a city can develop over hundreds of years. Painstakingly researched, Paris: A Journey Through Time is a tour through Paris, seen through the lens of photographers who lived during each golden age of demolition and construction, and compiled into one tremendous account of the true hidden Paris.




The Most Beautiful Walk in the World


Book Description

Thrust into the unlikely role of professional "literary walking tour" guide, an expat writer provides the most irresistibly witty and revealing tour of Paris in years. In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long-time Paris resident John Baxter remembers his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past. Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite cafés of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-nineteenth-century flâneurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.




City Walks


Book Description







Chronicles of Old Paris


Book Description

Discover one of the world's most fascinating and beautiful cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning the rich history of Paris. John Baxter takes readers through 2,000 years of French history with tales of the kings, queens, saints, and sinners who shaped the city. Essays explore the major historic events from the martyrdom of Saint Denis near today's Abbesses Métro station to the epic romances of Heloise and Abelard, Josephine and Napoleon, and George Sand and Frédéric Chopin. Learn about the labyrinth of catacombs snaking under all of Paris and the artists who called the seedy Montmartre home in the 19th century. Then see it all for yourself with guided walking tours of each of Paris's historic neighborhoods, illustrated with color photographs and period maps.




The Man who Walked Through Walls


Book Description

The excellent Monsieur Dutilleul has always been able to pass through walls, but has never seen the point of using his gift, given the general availability of doors. One day, however, his tyrannical boss drives him to desperate, creative measures — he develops a taste for intramural travel and becomes something of a super-villain. How will the unassuming clerk adjust to a glamorous life of crime? Aymé’s genius lies in imagining the practical unfolding of bizarre and difficult situations. In each story, anarchic comedy is arrested by moments of pathos, only to descend into anarchy and hilarity once more ...




Walking Paris. The Best of the City


Book Description

These handy, take-along walking guides--filled with essential maps, inspirational photos, and insider tips--showcase the world's great cities in a practical, streamlined, itinerary-driven format. The best way to appreciate the city is to walk: it is only on foot that you can explore the lively districts in all their variety and diversity. This volume offers 14 itineraries that will guide you step by step to the most hidden and picturesque corners of Paris. The "Whirlwind Tour" section includes ideas for visiting the entire city in one day or in a weekend, enjoying a solo trip or a family visit with children. The walks through the city, from the Tour Eiffel and Les Invalides to Place du Châtelet and Les Halles, touch on each of the points of interest on the map. The more detailed descriptions offer interesting information about the museums and other sites, including the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Paris, the Musée du Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. Decidedly Parisian, the guide introduces the reader to the more unusual aspects of the city's culture, such as haute couture, art, theatre, and the best of local life, from street markets to minor museums and visits to architectural peculiarities.