Culture and Heritage Guide to Paris
Gothic Spires • Limestone Façades • Impressionist Light • Royal Mausoleums • Montmartre Studios • Stained Glass • Boulevard Cafés • Flea-Market Finds • Cathedral Bells • Left Bank Bookshops
KEY DATES IN
Paris'S History
Romans build Lutetia on the Seine islands. Paris's first stones, still standing at the Arènes de Lutèce.
Work begins on Notre-Dame. Gothic Paris takes shape; Sainte-Chapelle's glass follows in 1248.
The Revolution turns the royal Louvre into a public museum. Art stops being just for kings.
Haussmann rebuilds the city: wide boulevards, cream façades, grey zinc roofs. The Paris you picture today.
Notre-Dame reopens after the 2019 fire. Five years of stonemasons, carpenters and glassmakers.
EVERYDAY Paris QUIRKS
👋 Say bonjour first: Walk into any shop or bakery and greet before you ask. Skip it and you're marked a tourist instantly. ☕ Chairs face the street: Café terrace seats point outward on purpose. People-watching is the point, and nobody rushes you out. 🥖 The half-eaten baguette walk: Watch locals tear the heel off a warm baguette before they even get home. Tradition, not impatience. 🤫 Quiet is the default: Metros, cafés and streets run softer than you'd expect. Lower your voice and you blend right in. 💶 Pay into the little dish: That small tray on the counter is where your cash or card goes. Handing it over directly feels off here. 🍷 Ask for the carafe: Say "une carafe d'eau" and tap water arrives free. Order "water" and you'll pay for a bottle.
