Sunday, December 19, 2010

Paris: La Bastille

Paris has a lot to offer to foreign culture explorers. There are many places to discover. Today's destination is the notorious Bastille. 

To get to la Bastille it is more practical to catch the metro from Orly Hotels. The station is Bastille. You will get directly in the centre of Place of the Bastille. Here used to be the horrifying prison, taken over by the rebels and completely destroyed durin the Revolution on July 14th 1789. Now here stands the July Colomn, built to commemorate the memory of all who died in the name of the Freedom. A golden sculpture on the very top of the colomn marks the achieved freedom. 
Instead of the bastille prison you will now find L'Opera de la Bastille. A sparkly modern building all in glass and silver. The opera is one of the most remarkable projects implemented by President Mitterrand in 1989. 
Now you can take a quick walk in the surrounding area. Proceed to Rue de la Roquette. You will gradually get close to the former feminine prison. Public executions took place here, centuries ago. The street is full of original shops and fine restaurants.
A perfect end of this walk amongst the ancient places of terror in the French capital is a peaceful dinner in Hotel Charles de Gaulle or any other hotel offering a panoramic view of Paris. Make this day a good memory.

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