Eglise Saint Merri

 The Eglise Saint-Merri is located in the 4th arrondissement near the Centre Pompidou. It is dedicated to the 8th century abbot of Autun Abbey, Saint Medericus or Saint Merri, who came to Paris on pilgrimage and later died there in the year 700. Saint Merri's remains are still in the church's crypt.  The church is home to the oldest church bell in Paris, cast in 1331. It also houses an 18th century organ by master craftsman Francois Henri Cliquot. It is well known among Parisians for its free weekly concerts. 

Hotel de Ville

Hotel de Ville is Paris's City Hall, which is located in the 4th arrondissement. It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357.

Since the French Revolution, the building has been the scene of a number of historical events, including the proclamation of the French Third Republic in 1870, and a speech by Charles de Gaulle on August 25, 1944 during the Liberation of Paris, when he greeted a crowed from a front window. Some of his words have remained famous:

Why do you wish us to hide the emotion which seizes us all, men and women, who are here, at home, in Paris that stood up to liberate itself and that succeeded in doing this with its own hands?

No! We will not hide this deep and sacred emotion. These are minutes which go beyond each of our poor lives. Paris! Paris outraged! Paris broken! Paris martyred! But Paris liberated! Liberated by itself, liberated by its people with the help of the French armies, with the support and the help of all France, of the France that fights, of the only France, of the real France, of the eternal France!

Since the enemy which held Paris has capitulated into our hands, France returns to Paris, to her home. She returns bloody, but quite resolute. She returns there enlightened by the immense lesson, but more certain than ever of her duties and of her rights.

I speak of her duties first, and I will sum them all up by saying that for now, it is a matter of the duties of war. The enemy is staggering, but he is not beaten yet. He remains on our soil.

It will not even be enough that we have, with the help of our dear and admirable Allies, chased him from our home for us to consider ourselves satisfied after what has happened. We want to enter his territory as is fitting, as victors.

This is why the French vanguard has entered Paris with guns blazing. This is why the great French army from Italy has landed in the south and is advancing rapidly up the Rhône valley. This is why our brave and dear Forces of the interior will arm themselves with modern weapons. It is for this revenge, this vengeance and justice, that we will keep fighting until the final day, until the day of total and complete victory.

This duty of war, all the men who are here and all those who hear us in France know that it demands national unity. We, who have lived the greatest hours of our History, we have nothing else to wish than to show ourselves, up to the end, worthy of France. Long live France!

Charles De Gaulle

Notre Dame

Notre Dame, pre- fire. Look at that spire! It was built in 1859, made of lead and oak and was 96 metres high! To rebuild the spire, destroyed by fire in 2019, will need up to 1,000 trees between 150 and 200 years old. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, has indicated that the spire would be rebuilt exactly as it was. According to the Guardian, the trees required must be straight, 50-90cm in diameter and between 8 and 14 metres tall. The cathedral's roof had so many wooden beams that it was called la foret (the forest). 

Centre Pompidou

Centre Pompidou is in the 4th arrondissement and is also known either as the Beaubourg (based on its location) or the 'inside out building' (based on its modern architectural style). It houses the Bibliotheque publique d'information (public information library), a vast public library; the Musee National d'Art Moderne, the largest museum of modern art in Europe; and a centre for music and acoustic research. It was named after the former French President, Georges Pompidou (1911-1974), and was completed in 1977.  From its rooftop, it provides a panoramic view of Paris!  

Rue des Barres

Rue des Barres in the 4th arrondissement is a relatively short pedestrianised street of 130 metres. 'Des barres' refers to a place where mills were located on the Seine. It is listed on one of the oldest plans of Paris and was created as early as 1250. It includes Eglise Saint Gervais, which was built on the foundations of the first known place of worship on the right bank. As an ancient street with a long history, Rue des Barres has a historic atmosphere and rustic attractiveness that is well worth a visit. 

Notre Dame

The Notre Dame, a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Ile de la Cite, remains one of the most recognised symbols of the city of Paris and the French nation. It is considered one of the best examples of French Gothic architecture. With its flying buttress, rib vault and rose windows, the cathedral is hard to miss. While it has been frequently worked on over the centuries (and is currently being repaired as a result of the catastrophic fire in 2019), the first construction of the cathedral can be traced back to 1163. Victor Hugo's famous novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame was inspired by Notre Dame, and it was the venue for Napoleon I's coronation and many of the funerals of the Presidents of the French Republic.

The July Column, Place de la Bastille

The July Column stands at the centre of the Place de la Bastille. The Place is a square where the Bastille prison once stood until the French Revolution, and the famous 'storming of the Bastille' in 1789. The July Column or the Colonne de Juillet commemorates the events of the 1830 July Revolution.. At the top of the column is the Genie de la Liberte (Spirit of Freedom), a gilded bronze sculpture made by Augustin Dumont in 1836. It is an allegorical statue which depicts Liberty with male features, as a winged genius, brandishing a torch in one hand and broken chains in the other, while leaping into the air off one foot. 

Rue Francois Miron

 

The two half timbered houses at number 11 and 13, Rue Francois Miron, have long been considered to be the oldest houses in Paris. They are believed to date back to at least the 15th century. Plaques on the street describe the house at number 11 as the House of the Reaper (A l'enseigne du Faucheur) and at number 13 as the House of the Sheep (A l'enseigne du Mouton). This reflects the practice in the Middle Ages of identifying houses by their shop signs!

Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges, originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris. It is located in the Marais district, and it straddles the dividing line between the 3rd and the 4th arrondissements. It was a fashionable and expensive square to live in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Rue des Rosiers

The Rue des Rosiers, which means "street of the rosebushes", is a winding, pedestrian-only street running through the historic Jewish quarter in the Marais. 

Stravinsky Fountain

The Stravinsky Fountain is a shallow basin of 580 square metres located in Place Stravinsky, between the Centre Pompidou and the Church of Saint-Merri. Within the basin are 16 works of sculpture inspired by the compositions of Igor Stravinsky. 

Jardin de l'Hotel de Sens

The Hotel de Sens dates back to 1519 and combines Gothic and Renaissance styles, with its gables and turrets. It is one of the best preserved medieval residences in Paris. The gardens demonstrate the formal French geometric art of flower beds and hedges. It provides a perfect hidden retreat in the heart of Paris.

Bassin de l'Arsenal

Bassin de l'Arsenal is a boat basin which links the Canal Saint-Martin, and begins at the Place de la Bastille. It is part of the Parisian Canal Network and forms part of the boundary between the 4th and the 12th arrondissements. From the 16th century until the 19th century, an arsenal existed at this location. It is now a marina, for approximately 180 pleasure boats.