La Tour Eiffel                                               Notre Dame                                                    L'Arc de Triomphe

What sight first comes to mind when you think of Paris?  Is it the Tour Eiffel that looms above the Parisian landscape as a kind of symbol of Paris?  Or is it the Arc de Triomphe that presides magestically over the Champs Elysées?  Or perhaps it is Notre Dame, immortalized in Victor Hugo's classic novel  (and popularized among the kiddie population by Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame)?

Whatever your choice may be, all of the monuments constitute an amazing manuscript in stone, documenting the cultural and historical development of France through the ages.

Tour the sites:
Navigate your way through the following monuments and then return to this site, using the back button.
 
 

There are numerous art museums in Paris, all with a lure of their own, such as the Orangerie, with its spectacular Monet water lilies, or the Picasso museum that houses a fabulous collection of the master's drawings, paintings, and sculptures.  But the two most important museums are the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. Both buildings are of interest for their architecture as well as for the masterpieces within.  Before becoming the world's largest art museum, the Louvre was the home of kings until the 17th century.  Before becoming the center of impressionist art, the Musée d'Orsay was a train station.  Both buildings have retained some of the splendor of their first incarnations.

Visit the Louvre at:  http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm

a.    Go to the Greek and Etruscan collection and view the Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo in the
       Greek art of the 3rd-1st century B.C.
b.    Go to the Painting collection, 19th century French, and view the paintings of Louis David,
       Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix, and Théodore Géricault.

Visit the Musée d'Orsay at:  http://www.musee-orsay.fr:8081/

Select French or English as the language of your tour.
Go to the collection and view paintings by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat, Cézanne, and Van Gogh.
 
 

With the exception of soccer (le football), some rugby and basketball, the French tend to participate more in individual sports:  skiing, mountain climbing, cycling, sailing, wind surfing, tennis, etc.  Schools do not have sports teams and so students go to clubs for sports and extracurricular activities.
 
 

The two sporting events that engender "super bowl" fever according to American measures are the Le Tour de France and la Coupe du Monde (or the European Cup in the World Cup off years.)

LE FOOTBALL

In preparation for the 1998 World Cup that was hosted by France, Paris erected a colossal new stadium, which ended up being a kind of gigantic trophy, since the French team won the cup.  They are also the champions of Euro2000.

To read more about Euro 2000, go to its official web site: www.euro2000.org
 

LE TOUR DE FRANCE

From early to late July, all of France is caught up in the grueling bicycle race, the Tour de France.  Each year the course changes somewhat, sometimes veering off into neighboring countries, but it always ends up in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe.