Re: Which place is famous in Paris?
Posted 21 July 2011
It isn't just one place, actually. Take your pick:
1. Notre Dame. Each major city is built around its most important church. Most of Paris' history involves Notre Dame in one way or another.
2. The Latin Quarter. The legend says that it's called Latin because of all the foreign students studying at the Sorbonne (going back many centuries) who spoke Latin among themselves.
3. Montmartre. The Martyr Mountain became famous after some of the penniless artists who lived there in the 19th Century became famous or died out, and the place got renovated and repopulated by the wealthy.
4. The Louvre. Because it's the Louvre. Actually, it only became the real Louvre after Napoleon III's architects expanded it.
In reality, though, Paris only became a magnet for so many people in the second half of the 19th Century thanks to Haussmann's reconstruction. For details of THAT story search for "How Paris Was Built" on YouTube.