In 1675, Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli was inspired to open a coffee shop by an Armenian immigrant named Pascal who was selling lemonade and coffee at a kiosk in Paris. Pascal’s attempts at running the small business were unsuccessful, so Procopio…

Parc du Champ de Mars lies in the neighborhood of Les Invalides, in the 7th arrondisement a neighborhood once ruled by the people society had forgotten in the 17th and 18th centuries due to hospital located within the neighborhood to care for the…

The Musée d’Orsay, located on the Left Bank of the Seine in Paris, is a truly unique museum. Built in the late 1800s as a railroad station, the museum impresses its visitors not just for the art collection, but for the building’s architecture…

Born on December 4, 1750, Henri Grégoire grew up in a lower-class family as a son of a tailor in a small village called Vého. He entered into the Jesuit College of Nancy from 1763 to 1768, then went onto the seminary of Metz from 1769 to 1771. After…

Palais de Chaillot was built atop the foundation of the former Palais du Trocadero. Palais du Trocadero was constructed for the 1878 World’s Fair. It was also a large winged structure, however, unlike the Palais de Chaillot, the center of the…

When Nicholas and Pernelle married in 1368, Pernelle had been previously divorced, twice, thus she brought the wealth that allowed them to play a big part in philanthropy. Throughout their marriage, the couple owned several properties that serviced…

The Fondation Louis Vuitton was the vision of architect Frank Gehry whose original sketches for the project resembled scribbled chaos more than the glass beauty that the structure ended up being. Positioned in the Bois de Boulogne, the Fondation…

The church began as a humble oratory in the sixth century then morphed into a chapel and later a basilica. Nothing remains of the eleventh century structure after it was attacked by Vikings and was rebuilt in the thirteenth century. Three quarters…

Named after the French commander Pierre Denfert-Rocheeau who organized the defense during the France-Prussian War at the Siege of Belfort, the Place dates back to the 18th century through a series of letters that refers to the site as being part of…

Parc André Citroën was built in 1992 in the 15th Arrondissement on the South bank of the Seine river. The park was built on a former Citroen automobile factory, and named after the company’s founder, Andre Citroën. The park was designed with the…