PARIS

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel tower is acknowledged as the universal symbol of Paris and France. It was originally designed by Émile Nouguier and Maurice Koechlin. In March of 1885 Gustave Eiffel , known primarily as a successful iron engineer, submitted a plan for a tower to the French Ministre du Commerce et de l'Industrie. He entered a competition for students studying at the university. The winning proposal would stand as the centerpiece of the 1889 Exposition. Eiffel's was one of over 100 submissions. Eiffel's proposal was finally chosen in June of 1886. Even before its construction, the Tower's uniqueness was noticed. The Eiffel tower, was finally inaugurated on March 31, 1889. Currently about 6.9 million people visit the Eiffel tower each year

Centre Georges Pompidou

Centre Georges Pompidou was officially opened on January 31st 1977 by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. The designers of Pompidou are Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Peter Rice.  The Centre Pompidou has had over 150 million visitors since 1977. Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais. In 1997 renovations had begun to drastically change the interior spaces of the Centre Pompidou. The renovations were still preserving the celebrated and original tubular design  The internal refurbishment was mainly done to enable the building to deal with the pressure of increasing visitor numbers. The renovation also developed the centre's capacity to host the performing arts and increased the display area of the Museum of Modern Art.

The Musée d'Orsay

The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine.It started to be constructed in 1897 and was designed by Gae Aulenti, Victor Laloux, and Émile Bernard. The Musee d'Orsay is an art museum for works from 1848 to 1914 and has an emphasis on French Impressionism artwork.  One can walk through the museum room by room. There are sections on Symbolism, Naturalism, Impressionism, Pont Aven School, and Art Noveau to name just a few. The museum is the culmination of nearly ten years of government commitment and dedicated team-work  By visiting this museum it is possible to get some idea of what was happening in France in the fields of painting, drawing and sculpture, opera design, architecture, photography, metalwork, furniture, ceramics and textiles.