Villa La Roche is an architectural landmark located in Paris, France. Designed by the famous architect Le Corbusier in the early 1920s, the villa is recognized for its innovative use of space, light, and form. Built as a private home and art gallery for the Swiss banker and art collector Raoul La Roche, the building is a prime example of early modernist architecture.
The villa stands out for its simple, geometric lines and white façade. Inside, visitors can find open-plan rooms filled with natural light. The interior layout features ramps and split levels instead of traditional staircases, creating unique perspectives and movement throughout the house. Large windows and glass blocks were used to maximize sunlight, while built-in furniture and minimalist décor reflect the modernist philosophy.
Villa La Roche was designed not only as a residence but also as a gallery to display Raoul La Roche’s impressive collection of avant-garde paintings. Works by artists such as Fernand Léger and Juan Gris were once exhibited throughout the villa. Over time, the villa became a gathering place for artists, intellectuals, and architects interested in new ideas and design. Today, Villa La Roche is managed by the Fondation Le Corbusier and is open to the public as a museum, showcasing both original furnishings and architectural drawings.
Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_La_Roche
Since 2021 the 18th-century former Bourse de Commerce building has been the Paris home of the art collection of the French business magnate François Pinault, showing a rotating selection of contemporary artworks either newly commissioned or taken from his collection.
The house of the symbolist painter has now become a museum to his life and work.
There are a number of famous occupants, but the real reason to visit this cemetery is to see the ornate tombstones, sculptures, and other sometimes macabre, sometimes touching memorials Parisians have left here for their dead.
Soaring stained glass windows beaming ample light onto the rich primary colours of the tile mosaics on the floor, this photogenic church was built by the French kings to house the relics of the Crown of Thorns. Make sure you go on a sunny day, as the highlight of this small chapel in Rayonnante Gothic style are the large stained-glass windows which soar up to near the vaulted ceiling. Also of interest is the extremely ornate lower level. If it happens to be rainy or cloudy, give Sainte-Chapelle a miss, as the play of coloured lights on the floor is well worth the wait for a sunnier day. As the chapelle is inside the Courts of Justice, there will thus be a security check.
Housed in a former Beaux-Arts railway station (completed in 1900 for the Exposition Universelle, later saved from demolition and converted to its present use), the rambling, open-plan museum is home to the works of the great artists of the 19th century (1848-1914) - Impressionists, post-Impressionists, and the rest - that were formerly displayed in the l'Orangerie. This is perhaps the most spectacular collection of European impressionism in the world—breath-taking rooms full of Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, and many others. Impressionist represent the biggest draw, but there is much more to explore.
An indoor sports arena that seats around 17,000 for sports and slightly over 20,000 for major concerts; formerly known as Palais des Omnisports de Paris-Bercy and Bercy Arena. Home to numerous concerts and major sporting events, most notably the Paris Masters tournament on the ATP World Tour in men's tennis.
The ancient medieval fortress and prison of the city's island, site of some remarkable medieval royal architecture and the scene of Marie Antoinette's imprisonment in the period leading to her execution in 1793; lots of revolutionary associations.
A sculpture by Auguste Rodin in memory of the French novelist Honoré Balzac. The artwork is sometimes considered the first truly modern sculpture.
The museum is located in a 17th century house with a garden, and features the history and culture of Montmartre. Several famous artists had lived in the house including Renoir.
A symbol of Paris and one of the most famous landmarks in the world. Built by Gustave Eiffel in 1887-1889, the tower was almost torn down in 1909 and only saved due to its use as a telegraphy antenna. The queues can be very long. The tower allows online reservations at its website. You can select a date and time frame. If you miss the time on your ticket, you have lost your money. The north, west, and east pillars have elevators that go to the first and second floors; the south pillar has stairs that can be climbed to the second floor. To reach the top floor, an additional elevator ride is required, and the wait for this can be very long as well. Disabled visitors are not allowed beyond the second floor due to safety concerns. Taking the Métro as far as Ecole Militiare and then strolling up the Champ de Mars is a lovely way to arrive at the tower. Another phenomenal approach is to exit the Metro at Trocadero and see the Eiffel Tower from the other side of the Ecole Militaire.
The Palais de Tokyo is Paris's largest specialist contemporary art exhibition venue, owned and operated by the national government. The building dates to 1937 and also includes the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris.
Guimard's own home, built in 1909-12. It is less decorated than Castel Béranger, but still beautifully shaped. Privately owned and not open to the public.
Contained within two historic houses (hotels), the museum explores the history of Paris through objects in over 140 separate rooms.
The Paris Botanical Garden, founded as the royal medicinal garden in 1626 by King Louis XIII's doctor, contains over 10,000 species. The grounds also include a small zoo known as La Ménagerie, and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, which includes the Grande Galerie de l'Evolution (where you can see thousands of naturalized animals from all over the world) and the 'Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée' (same thing, but with skeletons).
The City of Architecture and Heritage, accommodated in the Palais du Chaillot, is a museum and gallery of French architecture. The centrepiece is the spectacular Hall of Casts, a collection of full-size plaster casts of facades, towers, doorways and windows of great buildings from all over France. Architecture of the late 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries is represented by additional galleries of models and images.
An industrial design museum in Paris that houses the collection of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (National Conservatory of Arts and Industry), which was founded in 1794 as a repository for the preservation of scientific instruments and inventions.
Recently reconstructed, the Paris branch of the National Maritime Museum, one of the three museums in the Palais du Chaillot, cannot accommodate any full-size ships, but has a wide range of smaller artifacts, artworks and models, covering both the Navy and commercial shipping.
The magnificent setting of The Phantom of the Opera, the inside is as opulent as the outside. However, since the opening of the Opera Bastille (12th) in 1989, the Palais Garnier has been reserved mostly for dance performances, particularly ballet.
The sleaze of boulevard de Clichy between place Pigalle and place Blanche can provide a moment of distraction. Be warned if you are male it is better to do this in the company of a female fellow traveller, as the clubs often send the girls outside to attempt to physically drag passing men off of the street. These strip clubs are big ripoffs. They tempt you with a free drink for €10 entry; once in the girl who starts dancing orders a couple of drinks (Red Bull) and then before you realise you are presented with a bill ranging from €500-700. They have these big bouncers who threaten/manhandle you till you arrive at some settlement with them. The whole of Pigalle is a rip off, best avoided. The police know about these places but nothing is done.