LE LOUVRE & CENTRAL Once on the extreme western edge of the city, the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre are now very much at the centre. What better starting place to explore the surrounding area? To the north, the Grand Boulevards offer some of the best shopping in Paris, running up to the unmissable Opéra-Garnier. To the east find the Bourse de Commerce, the Palais Royal and the National Library. A trip to Paris would not be complete without a visit to the renowned art collection at the Louvre. Miles of gallery bear silent witness to centuries of artistic history as far back as the Egyptian Art of 5000BC. A former medieval fortress it has been a museum since 1793, it’s most notorious picture, the Mona Lisa smirks behind a heavy guard. Emerge from the pyramid to find the acclaimed Jardin des Tuileries, meeting point over the ages for the Parisian ‘haute societé’. Compete for attention with the contemporary sculptures, enthusiastic joggers and pensive intellectuals in the mammoth 28hectare park. From art to couture, dispense your francs along the famous Grands Boulevards (Bd des Capucines, Bd des Italiens, Bd Hausseman), loiter in the stately Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, or browse the markets of Les Halles. Next stop for architectural buffs has to be the Opéra-Garnier, largest opera house in the world and well worth the 14 years it took to construct it. The first brick was laid in 1861 but was slowed down considerably by the discovery of a subterranean water table – the underground lake of ‘Phantom of the Opera’ fame. Architecture Art Shopping Back to Home Page