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I Love Touring Paris – Latin Quarter (District Five)
District 5 is on the left bank of the Seine in central Paris. It is often known as Latin Quarter (Quartier Latin), but has been a long time since many people have spoken Latin there. The population is just under sixty thousand and the district provides almost fifty thousand jobs. It is quite small, less than a square mile (about two and a half square kilometers). This is one of the oldest districts of Paris and offers some attractions dating from the time of the Romans who never called the Latin Quarter. The Roman town Lutetia was built in the first century BC.
The Arenas of Lutetia (Lutetia Arena) once held at least fifteen thousand spectators and considerably fewer gladiators. It was built in the first century AD and was the largest Roman amphitheater. The 135 foot (over 40 meters) long stage hosted both plays and gladiator fights. There were probably animal cages as well, probably not for construction. The upper level held the poor, slaves and women, while the lower level was reserved for the big boys. In case the spectators got bored that had a great view of the Seine.
The city was sacked by barbarians in 280 and some of its stone was removed to build the defenses. The scenario was subsequently changed to a cemetery, and is filled with the construction of city walls in the early thirteenth century. The arena was more or less forgotten but nobody knew where he was district retained its name. The arena was rediscovered by chance in the 1860s during construction of a tram depot on the site. The famous nineteenth century writer Victor Hugo played an important role in preserving these ruins. The area became a public square in 1896 and open to the public daily and evenings in summer.
The Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) was established in 1980 by eighteen countries Arabic and French. This Institute provides extensive information about the Arab world and promotes its cultural and spiritual values. The Institute also supports cooperation and cultural exchanges between France and the Arab world, especially in science and technology. In 1989 he won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It includes an aquarium, and a small zoo founded with animals from the royal menagerie at Versailles (not the two-legged variety). The gardens include a rose garden, an alpine garden, an Art Deco-style garden in winter, Australia and Mexico greenhouses, and a maze.
The Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (National Museum of Natural History) was founded during the French Revolution. It was a scientific research center. One of the winners Nobel Prize in Physics 1903, Henri Becquerel, held its chair for Applied Physics when he accidentally discovered radioactivity in uranium. Four generations of becquerels held this chair from 1838 to 1948, which must be some kind of record.
The Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages) is perhaps the most outstanding medieval building in Paris. It was the town house of the abbots of Cluny, dating back to 1334 but was rebuilt in both Gothic Renaissance and starting towards the end of the fifteenth century. The Musée de Cluny has a fine collection of medieval artifacts, in particular tapestries, Gothic sculptures and manuscripts lit. Herman Melville mentioned this museum in his famous novel Moby Dick.
The Thermes de Cluny is what remains of the third century Gallo-Roman. His best-preserved section is the cave of ice, cold water pool in which swimmers was reduced to close their pores after enjoyed the hot sections. Some of the decorative wall painting and original mosaics remain intact. These baths were not well defended and probably destroyed by barbarians, the barbarians messy towards the end of the third century.
The Pantheon (from a Greek word meaning all the Gods) was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, patroness of Paris. It sits at the top of the Montagne Sainte-Genevieve, overlooking Paris. While it is a great looking building its architect died before completion, and not all plans were followed. It was meant as a church in honor of the recovery of King Louis XV, but the French Revolution intervened and the Pantheon was transformed into a mausoleum. In alphabetical order, some of the great buried here include Braille, Dumas, Hugo, Marat (French Revolution leader disinterred after little more than a year), Moulin (leader French resistance), Sklodowska-Curie, Soufflot (Pantheon's architect), Voltaire and Zola.
The Latin Quarter is home to many universities and other centers higher education and, of course, lots of restaurants, bars, restaurants and nightclubs. Some schools have moved to more spacious rooms in other parts of the city or region, no doubt to the disappointment of their student population.
Of course I do not want to visit Paris without sampling fine wine and French food. My article I Love French Wine and Food – A Maconnais (Burgundy) Chardonnay wine reviewed and suggested a sample menu: Start with Pate in Grenouilles croute au Bleu Bresse (Frog Blue Cheese Cake-Bresse). For your second course savor Poulet de Bresse a la crème "Trompette de la Mort (Free-Range Bresse Chicken in creamy sauce with cornucopias Fungi). And for dessert, relax with Ile Flottante (Floating Island, an island of meringue in a sea of custard.) Your sommelier of Paris (sommelier) will be happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.
About the Author
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but between you and me, he prefers fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and good company. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com.
Lafite: Falling in Love l Wine Spectator