HISTORICAL MONUMENTS OF FRANCE

From great places and cathedrals to the tiniest of medieval chapels, Roman remains,
or vestiges from the time of the Industrial Revolution, France has them all. And
that is counting the officially listed historic monuments.

• Northern France - The great gothic cathedrals

- In the 11th and 12th centuries, a new style of architecture developed in the
kingdom of France. In the great cities of the kingdom, Paris, Chartres, Reims,
Amiens, Rouen,
Beauvais, bishops and benefactors vied with each other to put up the finest greatest
cathedrals in the new style, which we now call "gothic". Photo: Notre Dame de Paris.

• The Louvre
- one of the world's great art galleries, with masterpieces such as the
Mona Lisa (which is known in French as La Jocund), and works by
almost all the greatest painters. The Louvre is also a major museum,
with an exceptionally rich collection of antiquities and artefacts,
including Egyptian mummies, Classical bronzes, and artefacts from
round the world. Expect long queues at busy moments, unless you
have a pass.

• The Eiffel Tower

- For 41 years, from its inauguration in 1889 until 1930, the

Eiffel Tower was the world's tallest man- made structure.
That was just one of the many records it has held, or still holds.
Others include the most visited paid- entrance tourist attraction in
the world; and also, one of the most recognized - if not the most
recognized - structure in the world. As a symbol of Paris, it is known
the world over.
The Eiffel tower was designed by one of France's greatest 19th
century engineers, Gustave Eiffel, as a gateway to the Paris Universal Exhibition, marking
the centenary of the French Revolution (1789).
It was originally put up on a 20- year lease, and should have been dismantled in
1909; but by then it had become such a landmark, and so popular, that the Paris city hall
decided to keep it open –a decision that it has surely never regretted.
The tower is built of 7300 tons of pig iron - remarkably little considering the height
of the structure. When designing it, Eiffel - who was creating a structure like none
other before - was particularly attentive to wind forces; sceptics thought that the
tower was
too high, and would be blown over in the first gale. Eiffel proved them wrong, and his
design was so successful that even in the strongest wind, the top of the tower only
moves by about 7 centimeters.