Paris, a muse of Hemingway and Balzac, and a blissful oasis of impressionist paintings and love songs, breathes life into every traveler as he takes stride in the cobblestoned streets Saint-Germain and feasts the eyes on Backlit silhouette of Notre-Dame which transcends cliché.
In Victorian era, Paris looked like a dreamscape abundant with wealth and opulence. Those with enormous wealth, would shamelessly expose their possessions to each other, and to the unwashed masses, in the Bois de Boulogne parade between 2:00 and 4:00 pm.
Below is an old footage of Victorian Paris that was taken between 1896 to 1900. If you notice with a fine-tooth comb, you will see:
0:08 – Notre-Dame Cathedral in the year 1896
0:58 – Alma Bridge in the year 1900
1:37 – Avenue des Champs-Élysées in the year 1899
2:33 – Place de la Concorde in the year 1897
3:24 – Passing of a fire brigade in the year 1897
3:58 – Tuileries Garden in the year 1896
4:48 – Moving walkway at the Paris Exposition in the year 1900
5:24 – The Eiffel Tower from the Rives de la Seine à Paris in the year 1897
You will marvel at the dignified behavior and the the manner of dressing of the inhabitants. This footage shows the most high-brow and culturally stung places of the city.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame:
This cathedral’s architecture draws cues from the French Gothic architecture. The iconic façade and rose windows are the magnet to massive crowds.
Alma Bridge:
This is a road bridge in Paris which is located across the Seline. The bridge was named to commmorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean war and was inaugurated by Napoleon III.
Avenue des Champs-Élysées:
This 1.9 km long and 70 metres wide bridge runs between Place De La Concorde and the Place Charles De Gaulle, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. You will find a series of theatres, cafes and luxury shops around this place. The annual Bastille Day Military parade also takes place here.
Tuileries Garden:
This is a public garden located between the Louvre and the Place De La Concorde. The beautiful park was open to the public in 1667 and people thronged there massively after the French revolution.
Moving walkway at the Paris Exposition:
The Moving Walkway is also known as an autowalk. There is a slow moving conveyor mechanism at play behind this which transports people across a horizontal or inclined plane in a short to medium distance. These walkways can be availed by simply standing on them.
The Eiffel Tower:
There is no one that doesn’t know about Eiffel Tower of Paris. In fact, this is the main public attraction of this city. The wrought-iron lattice tower is located on the Champ De Mars and was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel. The bridge was constructed from 1887 to 1889 and went on to become a global cultural icon.
In the video, you will notice how different the city looked from now and how it evolved over the time. We must say that no other city can match the standard of Paris in terms of its architecture.
