Paris

At the end of 2021, we decided to celebrate the New Year in Paris. We walked around the city a lot; we visited the Louvre, crossed the Pont Neuf, and walked along the Champs-Élysées all the way to the Arc de Triomphe. We went up to the Sacré Cœur on Montmartre and saw the Moulin Rouge. We also discovered small, cozy restaurants, such as a small Asian place called Metou, which unfortunately has since closed, although their food was divine. We even stopped by the Monnaie de Paris, where we admired the history of the French Mint and the huge collection of European coins, and midnight caught us outside on the street, in the flowing, celebrating crowd.

The history of Paris began with the Celtic tribe, the Parisii, on the island of the Seine, whose settlement was then turned into a city called Lutetia by the Romans. But the real rise came in the Middle Ages, when, under the Capetian kings, Paris became the true center of the country. It was then that Notre-Dame was built and the Sorbonne was founded, making the city a stronghold of religion and science.

Later, during the Renaissance, the magnificent face we see today began to take shape. The Louvre, which was originally just a fortress, was transformed into a royal palace, and the first serious stone bridges were built, such as my favorite, the Pont Neuf. Although the kings later moved to Versailles, Paris remained the intellectual center: in the coffee houses, the great men of the Enlightenment debated freedom, preparing the ground for everything that came after.

Then came the Revolution of 1789, which turned everything upside down and made Paris a symbol of modern democracy. After the destruction of the Bastille, Napoleon took control, wanting to carve a kind of “new Rome” out of the city. He also commissioned the Arc de Triomphe to proclaim French glory, and it was during his time that the great urban planning projects that laid the foundation for today’s monumental skyline began.

In the mid-19th century, Baron Haussmann completely reshaped the city: instead of narrow, dark streets, he dreamed of wide avenues like the Champs-Élysées. At that time, during the Belle Époque, Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge became the center of the artists and bohemian world, where the Impressionists created the special atmosphere that we still seek today.

In the 20th century, Paris survived wars and occupation, and then became a city of freedom and existentialism. Today, alongside history, there is also modernity, such as the glass pyramid of the Louvre or the Pompidou Center. Paris is a perfect meeting of past and present, capable of offering something new and unforgettable with every visit.