Haussmann’s major works, half a century after the First Empire, have somewhat overshadowed the fact that Napoléon, first as consul and then as emperor, took a very close interest in our capital and endowed it with many technical and monumental creations: the sewer network, water supply, new cemeteries, but above all numerous buildings, places of power and prestige: Arcs de Triomphe, columns, Paris’s great east-west axis, fountains, the development of the Louvre, etc.
When we mention or admire these monuments, we most often forget that their construction was often underpinned by Napoléon Bonaparte’s obsession with a mysterious symbolism, no doubt brought back from Egypte after the 1798 campaign. This route will lead us to decipher their meaning, in the reflections of imperial glory, through “the first capital of the Universe” (his own words), from rue de Rivoli to La Madeleine, passing by a few beautiful private mansions. This tour will also be an opportunity to revisit the complex figure of Napoléon, his life, his reforms, his victories as well as his military defeats, his exile on Sainte-Hélène… A fascinating walk at the heart of French history.
Price: €18/person
Source: paris.fr — photo: slp