http://www.allparisguide.com Paris Travel Guide : What to visit and What to see in Paris! Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:32:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en One of the world's largest in this field, its extensive collections of weapons, armor, flags, uniforms and paintings trace the evolution of warfare from prehistoric days to World War II. Inevitably, Napoleonic relics abound but other periods such as the Second Empire and both World Wars are equal well displayed. ... http://www.allparisguide.com/musee-de-larmee/ The sewers (égouts), Pont de l'Alma, Quai d'Orsay have, for some bizarre reason, become a popular tourist destination. One of Haussmann's greatest accomplishments, this vast 1,305 mile underground network which also contains telephone wires and electricity cables can be seen on a guided tour that includes a film and photographic display. http://www.allparisguide.com/les-egouts-de-paris/ Near Melun, 28 miles southeast of Paris, lies Vaux-le-Vicomte, one of France great baroque châteaux. Its colorful history, apart from its face, is so extraordinary that it needs to be known beforehand.  The land itself was bought in 1641 by Louis XIV's power-hungry minister of finance. Regent of France until ... http://www.allparisguide.com/domaine-de-vaux-le-vicomte/ A magnificent vast forest of 42.000 acres, once a royal hunting ground, surrounds the marshy terrain of the château, number two in the French royal domain stakes  after Versailles. Apart from touring the imposing palace, visitors can indulge in horseback riding, cyclin, rockclimbing, or simply walking in the forest. Only ... http://www.allparisguide.com/chateau-of-fontainebleau/ Nearly 2000 acres of park and playground make up western Paris's lungs, well frequented on weekends by the better-heeled inhabitants from nearly Neuilly and the 16th arrondissement. A favorite medieval hunting ground, in the 18th century it became an aristocratic leisure ground. Finally, Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann gave the ... http://www.allparisguide.com/bois-de-boulogne/ Densely inhabited by successful literati and a cosmopolitan breed of wealthy business people, the Ile Saint-Louis has become an exclusive residential area inevitably frequented by tourists. One long street that runs from end to end is a mass of restaurants and shops more geared to foreigners than to locals , ... http://www.allparisguide.com/ile-saint-louis/ Historically the heart of Paris, the Ile de la Cité boasts three major monuments : Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Conciergerie. Also strong on government buildings such as the Palais de Justice, the Hôtel-Dieu and the Préfecture, the result is a bizarre mixture of the sublime and the banal. Some residents ... http://www.allparisguide.com/ile-de-la-cite/ Paris's oldest bridge, the Pont-Neuf, is also its most famous. Built to facilitate the king's journey between the Louvre Museum Palace and the abbey of St-Germain-des-Prés, its innovative, houseless design was controversial. Flamboyant as ever, Henri IV inaugurated it in 1607 by galloping across on his charger; and today his ... http://www.allparisguide.com/pont-neuf/ Tranquilly cradled at the heart of Paris, St-Germain-des-Prés remains eternally magnetic for the visitor and resident alike. Modern incursions are rare and the atmosphere still has something of the Paris of history, literature, and cinema. The pace seems more leisurely than on the other side of the river, cafés still ... http://www.allparisguide.com/saint-germain-des-pres/ Following world tradition, Paris has its very own Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement, spreading south from the place d'Italie through the rue de Tolbiac to the Porte de Choisy. Asians are now said to constitute 10 percent of the population of this arrondissement, and China is by no means the ... http://www.allparisguide.com/chinatown/