Paris

The shimmering white basilica of Sacré-Cœur stands atop the "butte" of Montmartre, where it can be... seen from far away. Until the late 19th century, the city's highest hill was occupied by a couple of derelict monasteries, a few vineyards and some windmills. Then the district's cheap housing was discovered by impressionist painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet, followed by Vincent van Gogh and even later by still penniless Pablo Picasso. The compact Place du Tertre has long become a magnet for tourists, although it is now a temple to the gods of kitsch and commerce. But wander into the small streets around the square and you may find reminders here and there of the former idyll. The architectural highlight of Montmartre is the oriental-looking basilica of Sacré-Cœur, built in 1873 as a memorial to the crushing of the uprising by the Paris Commune. From the steps of the church you have a magnificent view over the rooftops of Paris. more

The long promised and eagerly awaited Musée du Quai Branly not far from the Eiffel Tower opened in June... 2006. This ambitious project of the former French President, Jacques Chirac, is dedicated to African, South Pacific, American and Asian civilisation and art and its permanent exhibition includes over 300,000 objects - jewellery from various peoples, fabrics and handicrafts, statues and sculptures. The result of combining two museums, a magnificent ethnological art and culture collection has been created. Jean Nouvel was the architect of this unusual museum and he also drew up the plans for the Institut du Monde Arabe and the Fondation Cartier. To accompany the exhibitions, various theatre, art and music projects take place that are designed to cover the entire cultural spectrum. The museum is alive - and the architecture also lives up to this claim. The transparent building sits on stilts in a huge garden like a park and has been gradually surrounded by trees and bushes which grow (apparently) wild around it. The search for the entrance is like plunging into a forest - another idiosyncrasy of this adventurous museum. more

Château de Versailles located in the same-named Parisian suburb is probably the best-known castle of... France. The splendid building has its origins in a small hunting lodge of Louis XIII, which Philibert Le Roy extended on the king’s behalf into a three-winged hunting castle in the style of the early French Baroque between 1631 and 1634. Louis XIV loved his father’s castle, and after he had taken over the government in 1661, he used it as a pleasure castle and summer residence. From 1668, he commissioned Louis Le Vau, François d’Orbay, Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Robert de Cotte to rebuild and extend it into one of the largest and most splendid palaces in Europe. Charles Lebrun was responsible for the interior. In 1682, Versailles became the royal residence and seat of the government. Today it is known as one of the highlights of European art of castle building, not at least due to the famous gardens by André Le Nôtre. Since 1979, Versailles has been part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. The outside appearance shows a striking difference in style between the garden façade and the city façade. The latter consists of many single buildings and corresponds to the old style of the original hunting lodge. On the contrary, the impressive garden façade shines in the classical Baroque style. Flatly jutting risalits, adorned with pillars and statues, liven up the rather strict sandstone façades. The “saloon of the ox’s eye” (Salon Oeil de boeuf), the Hercules Saloon as well as the splendid gallery of mirrors (Galerie des Glaces) and the adjacent bedchambers of the Queen and King are among the most significant rooms. With 30 stuccoed ceiling paintings, 357 mirrors and marble pilasters, the 246-ft (75 m) long gallery of mirrors is really impressing - especially the 17 window-sized mirrors, which seem to bring the gardens into the room. The real gardens outside are based on the Petit Parc, which was designed for Louis XIII by Jacques Boyceau de la Barauderie. Their current magnitude is due to the work of André Le Nôtre between 1662 and 1689. Typical of a Baroque garden, the castle park is divided into three areas: the parterres close to the castle, the bosquet and the spacious hunting woods. The facility is crossed by a main axis leading from the city through the castle, the garden and the big channel up to the Grand Parc. Symbolic allusions to the “Sun King” can be found everywhere, just like inside the castle. There are also numerous fountains and several maisons de plaisance: the Grand Trianon, which gave the inspiration to Sanssouci in Potsdam, the Petit Trianon as well as the Hameau de la Reine, which Queen Marie Antoniette designed as a retreat shortly before the French Revolution. The castle with its gardens and museums is open for visitors. From downtown Paris, Versailles can be reached by the RER C in about 40 minutes. The castle entrance is 10 minutes from the station. Tickets are available on site or, in advance, on the internet. more