At the Porte de la Muette, on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, stands a prestigious and fascinating residential complex. Three distinct buildings, developed on the garden-city model, occupy an entire block in the 16th arrondissement. Designed by architect Jean Walter between 1929 and 1931, they are considered a fine expression of the Art Deco movement, luxurious, elegant, and distinctly Parisian.

These residences, intended for an elite clientele, were conceived around luxury, with amenities that were advanced for the time like a huge underground garage, central heating plant, rubbish chutes, highspeed elevators, service lifts, and more...

The geometric lines of the Walter buildings define a monumental sense of order. The most prestigious apartments feature elegant private garden terraces. The interiors are distinguished by their exceptional volumes, a marker of their standing, starting at 450 m², with ceiling heights of 4 to 6 metres, and a refined use of noble materials with an impressive attention to detail.

The complex was listed as a historic monument in 2006, and remains one of the most prestigious residential addresses in the capital. Many notable figures have lived here, among them fashion designer Pierre Balmain, businessman Serge Dassault, footballer Samuel Eto'o, and perfumer Pierre Guerlain.

Leaning against the Bourse de Commerce, the Médicis column intrigues with its isolated silhouette. The only remnant of the former Hôtel de la Reine, built for Catherine de Médicis in the 16th century, this pillar reportedly served as an astrological observatory for a woman deeply versed in esotericism.

It was not originally planned in the courtyard's layout, but Catherine insisted on it in order to consult the stars, drawn as she was to astrology and the divinatory arts. Her astrologer Cosimo Ruggieri, whom Catherine consulted frequently, reportedly used the column as an observatory of the stars to carry out his predictions, with a small bridge between the queen's apartments and the tower for easier access.

Drawing on ancient inspiration, the Doric turret rises to thirty-one meters in height. Some see it as a Parisian interpretation of Trajan's Column in Rome. The monogram of Queen Catherine de Médicis, an intertwined C and H, still adorns its lines. The original carved motifs have been partially erased by time and by the chisels of the Revolution. Crowns, broken mirrors, fleurs-de-lys, and cornucopias can be glimpsed more than clearly seen.

Inside is a spiral staircase of 147 steps leading to a small platform, once covered by a glass structure, today replaced by a metal framework. Each corner of the capital marks a cardinal point.

After Catherine's death, and the upheavals of the centuries that followed, the Hôtel de la Reine fell into disgrace. In 1748, it was demolished. But the column had been bought separately by Louis Petit de Bachaumont to save it from destruction, then given to the City of Paris on the condition that it be preserved.

The Médicis column is unfortunately not open to the public, but you can admire it from the outside while strolling through the Les Halles neighborhood.

The Louvre Pyramid was born within the framework of the Grand Louvre project launched in the early 1980s by François Mitterrand and his Minister of Culture, Jack Lang. On July 31, 1981, Lang wrote to the president that “there would be a strong idea to launch: to recreate the Grand Louvre by assigning the entire building to museums.”

At that time, “the Cour Napoléon was an appalling parking lot” and “the museum was handicapped by the absence of a central entrance.” The goal was therefore to modernize the museum and improve access.

To carry out this project, François Mitterrand and Jack Lang called upon the Sino-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei. When he presented his proposal, “a large model placed on the table. On it, the pyramid was placed, everyone was seduced.” The project envisioned a glass pyramid in the center of the Cour Napoléon to create a new entrance for the museum.

However, the public presentation of the model in 1984 sparked intense controversy. According to Jack Lang, “it was an explosion of howls.” Many opponents condemned the introduction of contemporary architecture in the heart of a historic palace, and the project quickly became known as “the pyramid of discord.” The controversy, echoed by the press and several intellectuals, “raged for several years.” This debate illustrated an “eternal conflict between the old and the modern,” similar to those surrounding other major contemporary architectural projects.

To help Parisians visualize the project, an original initiative was implemented in 1985. “Chirac agreed on one condition: that what the pyramid would look like in space be visualized. Three cables were stretched. Parisians, by the tens of thousands, came.” This temporary installation made it possible to represent the future volume of the pyramid in the Cour Napoléon and helped reassure part of the public, who “imagined that the Pyramid of Cheops would be installed.”

Despite criticism, François Mitterrand strongly supported the project and personally followed its development. Construction began in 1985, and the pyramid was finally inaugurated on March 30, 1989.

Thirty-seven years after its inauguration, Ieoh Ming Pei’s work is “unanimously celebrated as a success.” Now one of the museum’s most iconic symbols, it embodies the dialogue between heritage and modernity.

In 1962, André Malraux commissioned Marc Chagall to create a monumental fresco to decorate the ceiling of the Palais Garnier.

Chagall and his small team of painter-decorators set to work on the twenty-four monumental canvases; the project features Godunov, Berlioz, Ravel, Debussy, Wagner, Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, as well as scenes from The Magic Flute, Swan Lake, Giselle, Romeo and Juliet...

The work progressed in complete secrecy, with the press kept at a distance.

Finally inaugurated in September 1964, the work is a true symphony of colors, a tribute by the painter to music, his passion.

Contrary to rumors, the painter did not receive a single cent from the state for this masterpiece: it was Chagall’s gift to the country that welcomed him.

In the bustling Halles district, along Rue Étienne-Marcel, proudly stands the Tower of Jean the Fearless, a true medieval jewel and the only surviving vestige of the great palace of the Dukes of Burgundy.

Built for the Duke of Burgundy, Jean the Fearless, between 1409 and 1411, the tower bears the name of its patron, a powerful prince who wished to embody in stone his seizure of power over the king. To this end, he had a very tall tower built, served by a sumptuous princely staircase, crowned by a sculpted vault unique in France.

Listed as a Historic Monument in 1884, this monumental heritage site offers a climb through five levels, from the upper hall to the mezzanine, passing through the attics and the chamber known as Jean the Fearless’s room. Visitors ascend the great spiral staircase, where the traps intended to deceive the enemy are still visible.

One discovers the masons’ marks carved into the stone, the pit latrines in the chambers, the restored stained-glass windows, and the imposing vegetal decoration of the staircase vault, a true masterpiece of French Flamboyant Gothic sculpture.

Full price: €6 (Self-guided visit including access to the tower and temporary exhibitions.)

When the luxury brand Hermès moved to Paris’s Left Bank in 2010, it chose an exceptional location: the former Art Deco swimming pool of the Lutetia Hotel.

The renowned Hermès house, particularly famous for its silk scarves, handbags, and perfumes, was founded in Paris in 1837. Long established on the Right Bank, near the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées, the brand did not open its first Left Bank boutique until 2010, directly opposite the famous Bon Marché department store.

The store was set up in a highly unusual location: a former swimming pool listed as a historic monument. Built in 1935, it was the private artificial-wave pool of the prestigious Lutetia Hotel next door. At the end of World War II, it served as a reception center for survivors of Nazi concentration camps. It later became a public swimming pool before closing in 1970, and was eventually transformed into the Hermès boutique we see today.

Address: 17 Rue de Sèvres, 75006 Paris

You will find the Saint-Jean-Bosco Church at 79 Rue Alexandre-Dumas in the heart of the 20th arrondissement (the Charonne district). Built between 1933 and 1937, this Catholic church displays an impressive Art Deco style created by the Romanian architect Dumitru Rotter and his son René. It is dedicated to Saint John Bosco (1815-1880), founder of the Salesians.

Inside, you may admire a singular example of Art Deco applied to religious architecture. Wall paintings, frescoes, mosaics, stained-glass windows, and statues. The interior of the church offers an extraordinary diversity of decor, made by the greatest religious artists of the period.

Many people visiting Montmartre pass by the Moulin de la Galette, the restaurant in front of an old windmill, without knowing its history. A working flour mill since 1622, it became a guinguette (dance hall) in 1834.

When the Debray family bought the Blute-fin and Radet windmills on Rue Lepic in 1809, Montmartre was still outside Paris. Even so, Parisians came to enjoy the countryside and eat Mother Debray's galettes, made from rye flour produced at the mill. They were served with milk and later with local wine.

In 1834, the mills were converted into a dance hall. First called the Bal Debray, it became the Moulin de la Galette in 1895. On Sundays and public holidays, Parisians came here to dance.

The site inspired many artists. Renoir painted his famous Bal du moulin de la Galette in 1876, while Van Gogh, Utrillo, and Toulouse-Lautrec also depicted the windmill.

The ballroom later served as a music hall and then as a television and radio studio. Restored in 1978, the windmill is now protected as a historic monument and remains the last windmill in working order in Paris.