Top Paris Resources


The French will tell you that there is so much more to see and do in Paris than just what you see in the brochure.

Whether its a holiday, on business, or for a weekend break Paris continues to increase in popularity amongst us Brits - and rightly so!

That's why its important to get your travel plans sorted out properly, and in our opinion, flight, holiday and hotel specialists Opodo offer the best service online - but you can find that out for yourself here...


Civil war broke out in France after the assassination of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans by the Burgundian John the Fearless. In the ensuing chaos, the English captured Paris in 1420. In 1422, Henry V of England died at the Chateau de Vincennes, just outside the city.

In 885 the city was faced with a massive Viking invasion force, said to have numbered 700 ships and 30,000 men. Its inhabitants sought the assistance of Robert the Strong, Count of Anjou, and his son Odo, Count of Paris. Odo led the defence of the city in opposition to a ten-month Viking siege in 885 and became co-ruler of the Empire with Charles the Simple. His son Hugh Capet was elected King of France (or Francia - literally the land of the Franks) in 987. He made Paris his capital and founded a long-lasting dynasty, the Capetians.

Under Napoleon's rule, Paris became the capital of an empire and military superpower. He crowned himself Emperor in a ceremony held in Notre-Dame on 18 May 1804. Like his royal predecessors, he saw Paris as a "new Rome" and set about building public monuments befitting the capital of an empire. Some of these were conscious copies of great Roman buildings, such as the Église de la Madeleine.

It was under Napoleon's rule that Paris in its modern form was created. In 1853 he appointed Baron Haussmann as Prefect, charged with modernising the city. This Haussmann did to a drastic extent, demolishing much of the old city and replacing it with a network of wide, straight boulevards and radiating circuses.

During the latter half of the 18th century, Paris became the intellectual and cultural capital of the Western world. It became a centre of the Enlightenment with its salons becoming the centre of the new thinking of the "Age of Reason." This was positively encouraged by the state, with Louis' mistress Madame de Pompadour supporting the city's intellectuals and prompting the king to construct striking new monuments.

A concentration camp was established in the Parisian suburb of Drancy to serve as a waystation en route to Auschwitz. Some 70,000 people passed through the camp. Contrary to later assertions by postwar French governments, the camp was run by the French authorities on behalf of the Nazis until July 1943, and the roundups were orchestrated by the Vichy French police. This was only acknowledged by the French government in 1995 and memorialised only as recently as 2001.

The city was saved, however, by a desperate French effort to reinforce their lines and by a German failure to press home the attack. In the most famous incident of the "miracle on the Marne", as it became known, thousands of Parisian taxis were commandeered to carry soldiers to the front lines. The Germans were pushed back to the Oise some 75 miles away from the city.

 

thomson disneyland resort paris | disneyland paris resort short break | cheap disneyland paris resort ticket | coach holidays disneyland resort paris | disneyland resort paris france | disneyland resort paris park ticket | disneyland resort paris pass | christmas disneyland paris resort | email address of disneyland resort paris | cheyanne disneyland paris resort | birmingham disneyland flight from paris resort | booking disneyland line paris resort | disneyland resort paris deal | discount disneyland holiday paris resort | disneyland eurostar holiday paris resort | disneyland resort paris eurostar | disneyland resort paris home page | disneyland resort paris official | disneyland resort paris official site | detail disneyland paris resort | disneyland mountain paris resort space | disneyland paris price resort | restaurant at disneyland paris resort | cheap flight paris | cheap flight london paris | cheap flight from london paris | cheap flight france paris | birmingham cheap flight from paris | cheap flight manchester paris | cheap edinburgh flight paris | cheap flight from manchester paris | cheap flight madrid paris | birmingham cheap flight paris | cheap flight from paris uk | cheap edinburgh flight from paris | cheap flight glasgow paris | cheap flight france from gatwick paris | bristol cheap flight from paris | cheap flight paris return | cheap flight from glasgow paris | cheap flight paris uk | cheap disneyland flight paris | cheap flight from gatwick paris | cheap edinburgh flight france from paris | bristol cheap flight paris | cardiff cheap flight from paris | cheap flight from heathrow paris | cheap flight from leeds paris | belfast cheap flight from paris | cheap flight hotel paris |

Paris | Paris Resources
Sources of Paris information from the web.