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00:00I
00:39Raise your travel dreams to their upright and locked positions.
00:43Join us now as we discover the ins and outs of travels in Europe.
01:00Hi, I'm Rick Steves on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where all of France seems to converge.
01:05In this program, we're exploring the historic, artistic, and edible highlights in and around Paris,
01:11the city that many world travelers consider the capital of Europe.
01:17Paris is loaded with great sights, and we'll visit several we haven't seen before.
01:22Then we'll side trip out to Versailles and Giverny.
01:27After climbing a couple of Grand Arches, we'll go local in Village Paris,
01:32and we'll tour subterranean Paris, subways, crypt, and sewers.
01:36We'll play king or queen for a day at Europe's Palace of Palaces, Versailles.
01:42And we'll celebrate the Impressionists' artistic revolution at the Orsay Gallery
01:47before we leap lilies in Monet's own garden.
01:54Paris is built upon a string of monuments and boulevards,
01:57from which much of the story of Europe can be hung.
01:59I'm sitting here in the front yard of the Louvre,
02:02the palace of France's old regime monarchs,
02:05those Louis and Henrys who ruled like gods on earth.
02:08But in 1793, it all came to a bloody end on the Place de la Concorde.
02:13That's where the guillotine decapitated Louis XVI and struck a mortal blow
02:18to the notion of divine monarchy.
02:23Today, the 3,500-year-old obelisk of Luxor,
02:27a gift from Egypt floated here by barge in 1831,
02:31is an ironic record of other kingdoms.
02:36The great obelisk lines up like a gun sight
02:39through the Arc de Triomphe at the opposite end of the Champs-Elysees.
02:47The Champs-Elysees is Europe's grandest boulevard,
02:50a place to be seen ever since Catherine de' Medici
02:53drained the swamp so her carriage could drive through.
02:57In World War II, Hitler's army marched up the Champs-Elysees,
03:01and later, so did the Americans and British.
03:07The Tour de France bicycle race ends here,
03:10as do most Parisian parades.
03:17Today, the Champs-Elysees is lined with elegant shops,
03:20classy cafes, and fast-food franchises.
03:23It still offers a classic,
03:25wow, I'm in Paris stroll.
03:32The great boulevard is crowned by the Arc de Triomphe.
03:36It was commissioned by Napoleon to honor his victory
03:39at the Battle of Austerlitz.
03:49Ironically, it wasn't completed until after his defeat in Russia
03:52and at Waterloo, and his death in exile.
03:57But it's loomed over national processions since 1836,
04:01beginning with the parade which brought Napoleon's remains home to Paris.
04:07Today, the world's largest triumphal arch commemorates French war heroes
04:11and France's unknown soldier.
04:18An elevator leads to the top in a commanding city view.
04:27With 12 converging boulevards, there's no traffic circle more thrilling or more frightening.
04:42To experience, but survive the thrills,
04:45our Parisian friend, Francoise Forsan,
04:47will show us how the locals maneuver this most daunting of roundabouts.
04:53But when you're used to it, it's just, uh, it's just nice and easy.
04:57Well, not nice and easy, but it's, uh, it's a thrill.
05:01We like it.
05:05While Lady Liberty heroically thrusts her sword and shrieks at the traffic,
05:09all of Paris seems drawn into this whirlpool.
05:16Driving on Albu Triomphe is just not a, and not it's a game.
05:19It's just something we have to do.
05:24In contrast to the orderliness of the rest of its culture,
05:28Parisian traffic seems to scream anarchy,
05:31especially if you're an outsider.
05:35A straight line can be drawn from the Louvre,
05:38through the Arc de Triomphe,
05:39to the Grand Arch in modern Paris.
05:41So, the city's grandest boulevard ties its royal past
05:46to its commercial present by passing through the major symbol of its revolution.
05:53If the Arc de Triomphe celebrates nationalism,
05:56built for the victory parades of Europe's first great modern nation,
05:59the Grand Arch of the Defense,
06:01surrounded by the offices of giant multinational corporations,
06:05reflects internationalism.
06:08La Défense, as this business zone is called,
06:11was created to keep those glass and steel skyscrapers in one place
06:15and to save the character of old Paris.
06:18Built on the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution,
06:22the Grand Arch is the pride of modern Paris.
06:26It's big.
06:2738 floors of offices for 30,000 people.
06:31Notre Dame Cathedral could fit under its arch.
06:36While Paris seems to specialize in grand monuments,
06:40quaint slices of the city hide out
06:41just a 10-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower,
06:44like Rue Claire.
06:53With a village ambience,
06:55it's safe, tidy, and very French.
07:07For me, calling this street home for a couple of days
07:09is one of this city's great experiences.
07:21To be sure we get the most out of our French travels,
07:23I've asked my Francophile partner, Steve Smith, to join us.
07:27Steve, his wife and young son,
07:29live part of every year in France.
07:31He's fluent in the language,
07:33knows the culture,
07:34and appreciates the good life.
07:36A la Francaise.
07:39In neighborhood Paris,
07:40shops are run by people who found their niche.
07:44They grew up on croissants and quiche,
07:47strawberries and mousse,
07:48and rotisserie chicken.
07:55Hey, Marie-Alice.
07:56Bonjour.
07:57Bonjour.
07:58Ça va?
07:58Hi, Marie-Alice.
07:59Marie-Alice runs a wonderful little restaurant nearby,
08:01and every morning she does her market chores right here.
08:04Today, she's offered to take a shopping with her.
08:07Après vous?
08:07Oui.
08:09Oh, what do you think, Steve?
08:12If we make that steam and with a good French dressing,
08:15oh, that's beautiful.
08:17Yes, this is a season.
08:19Et des artichauts, Steve.
08:21Oh, ça, c'est superbe.
08:24Oh, regarde ça.
08:25Do you cook many artichauts in your restaurant?
08:27Oui, bien sûr, c'est délicieux.
08:29This is Provence in Paris.
08:32Do you buy it?
08:32Exactly.
08:33Do you want to have snails tonight also?
08:36Oh, and this is typically French.
08:38Why don't we try?
08:39Oh, la, la, la, la, regarde, Steve, regarde.
08:42Ça, c'est merveilleux.
08:44It's really beautiful.
08:46This is the best, you know, of a French cookie.
08:53Voilà.
08:54Un superbe.
08:56This is a very nice duck coming from South of France,
08:59you know, the farm and raised only with corn.
09:02I've never seen it.
09:02Look at that.
09:03Beautiful.
09:04You know, a little bit fat, but that's normal
09:07because to get the meat mild, it has to have fat.
09:12You see, this is good.
09:13It will melt in the oven, and you will see tonight,
09:16I will make you a melting duck in the mouth.
09:19You will see the taste is beautiful.
09:24While Marie-Elise finishes shopping and starts dinner,
09:27we're off to another Parisian monument.
09:29I have to run, excuse me.
09:31Okay?
09:31Bye-bye.
09:32So, I'll see you tonight.
09:33Thanks so much.
09:34Don't be late, because the duck doesn't wait.
09:36Bye-bye.
09:39Just a few blocks from Rue Claire
09:41is the signature landmark of Paris.
09:48The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889.
09:55Its construction was a perfect example
09:58of the industrial exuberance
10:00which characterized 19th-century Europe.
10:07Iron was in.
10:08Big was better.
10:10Europe was like a kid on Christmas morning
10:12with a giant erector set.
10:18Like many grand buildings of that age,
10:20the Eiffel Tower was meant to be temporary,
10:23built to celebrate the 100th birthday
10:25of the French Revolution.
10:27But once it was up,
10:29Paris decided to keep it.
10:36It actually served a function.
10:38It became the tower for Marconi's
10:41newfangled invention,
10:42the radio.
10:44After all,
10:45until New York's Chrysler Building
10:46topped it in 1930,
10:48the Eiffel Tower was the tallest man-made structure
10:51on Earth.
11:00The first level has a restaurant
11:02and an exhibit on the history of the tower.
11:05How high you climb is up to you.
11:07The view from the 400-foot-high second level
11:09is plenty spectacular.
11:13But for another wait-in-line
11:15and more francs,
11:15you can ride to the 1,000-foot top level.
11:25Let's see what magic
11:26Maria Elise has worked
11:27on all those groceries.
11:30This is the kind of restaurant I like.
11:32Small, family-run,
11:34a place filled with hungry locals
11:36eating well.
11:40Steve found this place
11:41a couple years ago
11:42and we keep coming back.
11:46A French-only,
11:48handwritten menu
11:48with a small selection
11:50is a good sign.
11:53The tiny kitchen
11:55keeps many traveling paste buds
11:56happy with delicious treats.
11:59A leg of duck confit
12:02that means preserved.
12:05Here is our fillet of duck
12:08cooked in the oven.
12:11But as you can see,
12:13I kept it pink.
12:16This is leg of duck
12:18with moril sauce.
12:24And Maria Elise's results
12:27are magnifique.
12:34Restaurant Le Serre
12:35is typical of the places
12:37Steve and I recommend
12:38in our guidebook on France.
12:44Tomorrow,
12:45we go underground.
12:52History permeates Paris
12:54and we're going
12:55under the Notre Dame.
12:57I know,
12:58Paris is the city of light.
12:59But let's begin
13:00a medley of underground sites.
13:10We're 20 feet down,
13:12street level
13:121,500 years ago.
13:14Paris was born here
13:16on this island
13:16in the Seine River.
13:18Like many European cathedrals,
13:20Notre Dame sits on the ruins
13:22of an earlier church.
13:25This underground rubble
13:27reminds us
13:27how a tangle of lanes
13:29used to crowd around churches
13:30in medieval times.
13:34Back then,
13:35Paris had a crude,
13:36open sewer system
13:37and you can still see
13:38its shadow.
13:39In the days before
13:40plumbing and toilets,
13:41when people still went
13:42to the riverbank
13:42for the neighborhood well
13:43for their water,
13:44flushing meant
13:45throwing it out the window.
13:46Certain times of day
13:47were flushing times.
13:49Maids on the upper floors
13:51would holler,
13:53look out for the water
13:55and heave it
13:56into the streets.
13:58The neighborhood flusher
13:59would then rinse
14:00the whole mess
14:01down to the mucky banks
14:02of the Seine.
14:04The open sewers
14:05gradually gave way
14:06to an underground system
14:07that you can tour today.
14:10Some people say
14:11this tour stinks.
14:12I like it.
14:14The Paris sewer system
14:15is the biggest of the world.
14:17It's 2,300 kilometers
14:19and if you scratch it
14:20into a line
14:20it could go from Paris
14:21to Istanbul.
14:24These big balls
14:25are used to clean
14:26the bigger sewers
14:26and the idea
14:27is just to throw them
14:28at one end
14:29and they will come out
14:30at the other end
14:30and in the meantime
14:31they will have pushed
14:32all the dirt
14:34and the grits
14:34and the sand downstream
14:36by generating
14:37a flushing action
14:38underneath
14:38because their diameter
14:39is slightly smaller
14:40than the diameter
14:41of the drain.
14:44A few hundred yards
14:45of underground canals
14:46are lined with displays
14:47explaining the evolution
14:49of one giant sewer system.
14:59The liveliest part
15:01of underground Paris
15:02is definitely the metro.
15:04We're zipping out
15:05to Versailles
15:06faster than a speeding taxi.
15:16Versailles was the residence
15:18of the French king
15:19and the cultural heartbeat
15:20of Europe
15:20for about a hundred years.
15:32Louis XIV
15:33spent half a year's income
15:35of Europe's richest country
15:36turning his father's hunting lodge
15:38into a palace
15:39fit for the ultimate
15:40divine monarch.
15:42Then, Louis XV and XVI
15:45spent much of the 18th century
15:47gilding Louis XIV's lily.
15:58Even the gardens at Versailles
16:01were fit for Europe's
16:02king of kings.
16:03This is the backyard
16:04looking up at the palace.
16:13and if you do
16:14an about face
16:15the gardens
16:15keep on going.
16:20The Grand Canal
16:21is a man-made lake
16:22in which the king
16:23sailed a 32-canon warship.
16:26France's royalty
16:26used to float up
16:27and down the canal
16:28in Venetian gondolas.
16:39Historians figure
16:40Louis cleverly used
16:41palace life
16:42at Versailles
16:43to control
16:43or domesticate
16:45his nobility.
16:46Versailles' demanding
16:47social calendar
16:48turned otherwise
16:49meddlesome nobles
16:50into groveling
16:51socialites.
16:55But all this pomp
16:56and ceremony
16:57eventually drove
16:58the royal family
16:59away from court life
17:00at Versailles
17:01to smaller palaces.
17:07And for Louis
17:08one of those palaces
17:09was the Grand Trianon
17:11next to the main palace.
17:12It's as sumptuous
17:14as Louis' bigger palace
17:15but smaller
17:16even with a pink colonnade
17:18easier to call home.
17:21The nearby
17:22Petit Trianon
17:23Marie Antoinette's
17:24favorite residence
17:24is a neoclassical gem.
17:28But palace life
17:29drove Marie Antoinette
17:30further and further
17:31from her blue-blooded reality.
17:33So from here
17:34she escaped
17:35into a pastoral fantasy.
17:37You can almost see
17:39princesses bobbing
17:40happily under the branches
17:41as you walk
17:43through the enchanting forest.
17:45past the white marble
17:46temple of love
17:47to the queen's
17:48fake peasant hamlet.
17:52She spent
17:53her happiest days here
17:54under a bonnet
17:55in the manicured gardens
17:56tending her perfumed sheep
17:58and feeding her ducks.
18:12But storms were brewing.
18:16lavish parties
18:17filled Versailles
18:18while hunger
18:19raged in Paris
18:20a surefire symptom
18:21of a system
18:22in need of revision.
18:24These classic extremes
18:26finally led
18:26to the revolution
18:27in 1789.
18:34The peasants marched
18:35on Versailles
18:36and moved the royal family
18:37back downtown
18:38to the Louvre Palace.
18:40When the king
18:41and the queen
18:41were executed
18:42the people
18:43inherited this huge palace
18:44and a royal collection
18:45of art.
18:46What to do?
18:47Open it to the public.
18:58The Louvre became
18:59Europe's first great
19:00public art museum.
19:02Recent renovations
19:03and the addition
19:04of the pyramid entry
19:05have made the Louvre
19:06even grander.
19:11Along this quarter mile long
19:13grand gallery
19:13hangs just a tiny fraction
19:15of the Louvre's
19:16exhaustingly beautiful collection.
19:24The Nike of Samothrace
19:25commonly called
19:26the winged victory
19:27celebrates an ancient
19:28naval victory.
19:41Venus de Milo
19:43still defines
19:44our concept of beauty.
19:51And Mona Lisa
19:53can't stop smiling.
20:02But one thing
20:03you won't find
20:03at the Louvre
20:04is art
20:05after 1848.
20:07That's at
20:07the Orsay Gallery.
20:09The former Orsay
20:10train station
20:11is now one of
20:12the finest
20:13and most crowded
20:14museums in Europe.
20:16You can bypass
20:17the lines
20:18and save lots of money
20:19by using
20:20a Paris Museum Pass.
20:22Sold at museums
20:23it pays for itself
20:25in about two admissions
20:26and can save you
20:27hours of waiting.
20:29The museum
20:30is organized
20:30to show
20:31a progression
20:31of styles.
20:32In the romantic
20:33mainstream art
20:34of the mid-19th century
20:36we see
20:36Venuses.
20:38Idealized bodies
20:39sweet faces
20:40perfect fantasies.
20:42French upper crust
20:43manners
20:44in the 19th century
20:45called for sex
20:46to be celebrated
20:47as pure
20:47almost divine fantasy.
20:50The French
20:51literally swooned
20:52in ecstasy
20:52before these works
20:53of art.
20:57But change
20:58was coming
20:58in the art world.
21:00Gustave Corbet's
21:01Romans during the fall
21:03really depicts
21:04a contemporary society.
21:06Drunk with success,
21:07burned out on beauty,
21:09a hot tub of hedonism,
21:11ready for a big change.
21:22And waiting in the wings
21:23to make that change
21:25was a small band
21:26of rebels.
21:27Compare
21:28Edouard Manet's
21:29harsh Olympia
21:30to the velvety beauties
21:32we saw earlier.
21:34This was shocking
21:35in its truthfulness.
21:36The pose is classic,
21:38but the sharp outlines,
21:40harsh colors,
21:41and her defiant stare
21:42herald a new age
21:44in art.
21:50Manet and his radical cohorts
21:52insisted on artistic freedom,
21:55even if it meant
21:56being ostracized
21:57by the Parisian art establishment.
22:06Manet's art
22:07was a prime influence
22:08on a small group
22:09of French painters
22:10who came to be known
22:11as the Impressionists.
22:15The Orsay
22:16has Europe's greatest collection
22:18of their paintings.
22:23In the 1870s and 80s,
22:25Manet, Monet, Renoir,
22:27Degas, and company
22:28led the greatest revolution
22:30in European art
22:31since the Renaissance
22:31mastered realism.
22:37The Impressionists
22:38put less stress
22:39on realistic detail
22:41in favor of depicting
22:43light and color.
22:44Their goal?
22:45To catch the feeling
22:47or ambience
22:48of the scene.
22:58Claude Monet
22:59was fascinated
22:59by the fleeting nature
23:01of visual impressions.
23:02He called the style
23:04instantaneity.
23:06One object,
23:07like the Rouen Cathedral,
23:08can be painted
23:09at dawn,
23:10in gray weather,
23:11and in full sunlight,
23:12and actually appear
23:13to be different subjects.
23:19In one experiment,
23:21Monet set up an easel
23:22and painted 50 studies
23:24of the same cathedral
23:25from the same spot.
23:31In his many garden scenes,
23:33Monet tried to capture
23:34the interplay
23:35of light, color,
23:36and shadow.
23:50Many of his best-known
23:52scenes of nature
23:52were painted
23:53in his garden
23:54an hour outside of Paris.
24:00In the sleepy village
24:02of Giverney,
24:03Claude Monet spent 36
24:04of his most creative
24:05and productive years.
24:09Here, he created
24:10an extraordinarily
24:11beautiful garden.
24:20This was Monet's
24:21own impressionist wonderland.
24:24Weeping willows,
24:25lily pads,
24:26and a reflecting pond.
24:32Monet was the father
24:33of 12 and enjoyed
24:35family life in the country.
24:36He lived to be
24:3786 years old.
24:39Some of his finest works,
24:41including the massive
24:42water lily murals,
24:43were painted
24:44in the last decade
24:45of his life
24:45when he was nearly blind.
24:53Today,
24:54his studio at Giverney
24:55is the gift shop.
24:58The paintings on the walls
24:59are reproductions.
25:00The originals are now
25:02in museums
25:02and private collections
25:03all over the world.
25:07But here,
25:08in his country garden,
25:10the presence
25:10of the greatest impressionist
25:12lives on.
25:24In the last few minutes,
25:25we've survived
25:26two revolutions,
25:27one in art
25:28and one in politics.
25:29Thanks for joining us,
25:30and a special thanks
25:32to Steve Smith.
25:33Next time,
25:34we leave Paris
25:35for small-town France,
25:36Champagne,
25:37Verdun,
25:38and the Alsace.
25:39I'm Rick Steves,
25:40wishing you
25:41happy travels.
25:42Au revoir.
25:44Videos of this series
25:45are available
25:46for $24.95 each,
25:48plus $4 shipping.
25:49To order the 60-minute,
25:51two-program tape
25:52on Paris Day Trips
25:53and the Alsace,
25:54or any other tape,
25:56call 1-800-866-7425.
25:59Rick's 500-page handbook,
26:02Europe Through the Back Door,
26:03is $19.95.
26:05Have a credit card ready
26:06and call 800-866-7425.
26:10On the web,
26:11it's Travel Small World.
26:18pourlya Ber.,
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26:18the only thing
26:31that people
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26:37Man allowed
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26:42And it's
26:55Transcription by CastingWords
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