We are preparing for our first trip to Paris in March and being two English majors began to read everything wecould get our hands on. Besides the indispensable Fodor's Guide, I also found a wonderful series called The Collected Traveler compiled by Barrie Kerper. Her Paris anthology is informational, inspiring, and fascinating. What reading/guide books would others recommend to prepare for a first visit to the Ville Lumiere?

I don't know how or when the phrase "City of Lights" was coined, but I think maybe it was some English-speaking marketing type, seeking to sell more airplane tickets, hotel rooms or something. <BR> <BR>I have never heard the phrase "Ville Lumiere" in any "francophone" context, and I think no one in France would ever use this expression. <BR> <BR>It is interesting that on a search of Yahoo! the phrase Ville Lumiere yields almost 500 hits - - virtually all of them are individuals' personal travel memoirs pages, or connected to a bus tour or something touristic. <BR> <BR>A similar search on http://fr.yahoo.com (Yahoo! France) yields thirteen hits, none of which appear to be connected to Paris in any way. <BR>

C'mon Rex, you know that it is City of Light, not lights and it has nothing to do with illumination. Wendy, start with "A Moveable Feast" and go from there.

I second "The Moveable Feast" by Ernest Hemingway! Right now I'm reading "The American" by Henry James. You might also want to check out the Travelers' Tales Guides, Paris and France.

Yes, silly me. I knew that didn't sound right. <BR> <BR>As everyone knows, Anchorage, Alaska is the city of lightS - - http://www.anchoragechamber.org/prog..._of_lights.htm - - as this webpage unabashedly proclaims. <BR> <BR>Of course, my point to Wendy was that no French speaker refers to Paris as Ville Lumiere - - with or without an "s", as far as I know.

These search terms have been highlighted: ville lumiere <BR> <BR> LA CAPITALE PLUS QUE JAMAIS VILLE-LUMIERE <BR> <BR> <BR>Aux Galeries Lafayette, on se croirait à Las Vegas. <BR> <BR>Le coup d’envoi avait été donné le 28 novembre 1996 par une étoile du cinéma français (Alain Delon) appuyant sur le bouton déclenchant les illuminations des Champs-Elysées le jeudi 28 novembre 1996. Ainsi étaient officiellement inaugurées les illuminations de Paris pour les Fêtes de fin d’année. Au total quelque 267 rues, avenues, boulevards, places et squares de la capitale française qui ne mérite jamais plus qu’en ces périodes de fin d’années son surnom de “Ville-Lumière”. Considérée comme la “plus belle avenue du monde”, les Champs-Elysées ont été particulièrement soignés: 70.000 ampoules décorent ses quelque 300 arbres plantés le long de ses 2,5 kms, nécessitant pas moins de trente kilomètres de guirlandes et vingt de câbles. Coût total de ces illuminations prévues jusqu’au 6 janvier 1997: 23 millions de FF (dont 1,7 pour les seuls Champs-Elysées) assumés par la Ville de Paris et les associations de commerçants . <BR> <BR>

La Ville Lumiere most certainly was not coined by English marketing majors to sell hotel rooms, the earliest documented uses of this term are indeed by French people. The historian Jules Michelet referred to Paris as La Lumiere du Monde in the 19th century, and the earliest documented use of this exact term in reference to Paris was a book entitled "La Ville Lumiere" by the FRENCH writer Camille Mauclair, published in 1904. He was a Symbolist and both a novelist and critic, I believe, I know he wrote some criticism of music and art. Given this was around the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris and the advancement of lighting in the city (the Eiffel Tower was lit by 10,000 gas lamps at its inauguration in 1889) in general, it is hypothesized by some scholars that this informed his title, although that is speculation; it is also thought to refer to Paris as a source of energy or enlightenment, as a metaphor. I don't know why Rex has to criticize the casual use of this term by Wendy in a light manner, but he obviously knows nothing about its origins, so perhaps should not expound in such a contentious manner on subjects he knows nothing about. It is used by many to refer to Paris, and I have seen numerous uses of it by the French, like for example this web site www.paris-ville-lumiere.com which was created by a French multimedia company, it is written in French, and I know numerous other citations of use of this term by French speakers. As for the original question, here is a selection of some books I have liked, some novels, some nonfiction (you can prob. read summaries and reviews on Amazon or somewhere and see what you might enjoy): First, there is a great series of books called "Travelers Tales" and there is one specifically on Paris, that's great; Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer; Through French Windows by James Corbett (contemrporary French culture and society); Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris; Paris, an Architectural History by Anthony Sutcliffe; A Parisian's Paris by Philippe Meyer; The Left Bank by Herbert R. Lottman (this is really about artists and writers in Paris between the rise of Hitler to the Cold War), and French Toast by Harriet Welty Rochefort (light, nonfiction in the genre of Sedaris although not his style). I'd especially recommend the Travelers' Tales and A Parisian's Paris.

Rex needs to lighten up & get a life OUTSIDE of the web. can you say "pedantic"? <BR> <BR>Glad someone helped this poor woman. I bet she didn't count on getting corrected/publicly embarrassed by such a simple question...

Wendy, <BR>You may have to search a used book store or online at Alibris or perhaps your library, but look for Blake Ehrlich's "Paris on the Seine". In brief, Ehrlich walks every street in proximity of the Seine and describes what happened there, when and to whom. It's a fascinating excursion. Look too for the collection of essays written for the New Yorker over a 50 year period by Janet Flanner. They're "Paris Journals" and cover the period from the mid-twenties to late seventies. Finally, look for Les Guides Bleus "Paris" written in English and published by Prentice Hall. This is the definitive guide to Paris, over 1600 pages long (120 of which are devoted to the Louvre alone; another 27 pages to the residents, famous and not, of Pere Lachaise cemetery). One more book I recommend highly, written by a superb author and brilliant historian is "Citizens" by Simon Schama. It's his history of the French revolution. Reading of the events that transpired then and associating those events with the sites and sights of Paris now will make the city and the experience much more meaningful for you.

<BR>-------------------------------- <BR> <BR> <BR>VILLE LUMIÈRE <BR> <BR>Bien que les célébrations du millénaire soient généralement organisées de façon décentralisée, Paris gardera quand même la vedette pour fêter la bienvenue de l'an 2000. En dehors de plusieurs événements artistiques qui y auront lieu, Paris organisera également d'autres moyens de célébrer l'arrivée du 3e millénaire. La mairie de Paris a choisi le 14 juillet 1999 pour inaugurer un nouveau monument dans la capitale, le Vaisseau 2000. La construction sera realisée par des élèves de sept lycées technologiques et professionels de l'Ile de France et le vaisseau mesurera 16m de long x 5m de large. Le projet a été rendu possible grâce aux donations généreuses de nombreuses organisations. <BR> <BR> <BR>Sur la Place du Palais-Royal, pendant toute l'année 2000, on verra une autre nouvelle apparition sous forme d'un livre géant, mesurant 15m x 20m. Un sujet différent sera abordé quotidiennement et on organisera des tribunes concernant un grande nombre de ces sujetes. Le but du projet sera de rendre hommage au livre dans l'histoire et de provoquer les pensées à propos du futur de la lecture. Conçu pour souligner la réputation de longue date de la ville en tant que centre intellectuel depuis le Siècle des Lumières, le livre sera également une des nombreuses illuminations prévues dans la capitale. En plus d'être le symbole des lumières au niveau philosophique donc, la grande présence physique des lumières rendra Paris la véritable capitale de la lumière de l'an 2000. <BR> <BR> <BR>L'axe centrale de ces illuminations sera le projet de réaménagement de la Seine. Parmi les édifices qui feront partie de cette initiative, la cathédrale Notre-Dame, qui se trouve au bord de la fleuve, sera illuminée de l'intérieur pour mettre en valeur ses rosaces et ses vitraux. Une autre idée pour les bords du fleuve: un sentier pour piétons d'une dizaine de kilomètres qui permettra aux gens de traverser toute la ville. Les célébrations ne se passeront pas que sur les bords de Seine mais aussi sur l'eau elle-même. Cela commencera le 3 septembre 1999 avec un concert flottant qui consistera de vingt barges remplies d'orchestres de percussions. <BR> Quelques mois plus tard l'eau sera couverte de 2000 poissons énormes en métal et plastique. <BR> <BR> <BR>De plus, on a inventé de petits objets flottants qui seront lancés sur la Seine et qui s'allumeront pour créer une couverture d'éclairage. Ces petits lumières seront disponibles aussi au public pour que même les fens puissent être illuminés pour mieux fêter la grande arrivée du millénaire. <BR> <BR> <BR>Kate et Lowri <BR> <BR>

This is Google's cache of http://www.iquebec.com/aventures/par..._lumiere_0.htm. <BR>Google's cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the web. <BR>The page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current page without highlighting. <BR> <BR> <BR>Google is not affiliated with the authors of this page nor responsible for its content. <BR>These search terms have been highlighted: ville lumiere <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR>- Paris ville lumiere - <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> De 1887 à 1889, trois cents monteurs accrobates ont assemblé les deux millions et demi de rivets de la Tour Eiffel. <BR>1910 - la Tour assure le service de l'heure internationale. <BR> <BR>1916 - on y réalise les premières communications transocéaniques par téléphonie sans fil. <BR> <BR>1918 - la radiodiffusion française s'y crée. <BR> <BR>1957 - la télévision y installe son antenne. <BR> <BR>1975 - un point fixe rouge a remplacé le phare tournant dont était équipé le sommet de la Tour. <BR> <BR>Un important laboratoire de météorologie et de navigation aérienne occupe la dernière plate-forme. <BR> <BR>La charpente de la Tour pèse 7000 tonnes. La charge sur le sol est de 4 kg par centimètre carré, soit celle qu'exerce un homme assis sur une chaise. Pour la repeindre, tous les 7 ans, il ne faut pas moins de 50 tonnes de peinture. <BR> <BR>L'oscillation du sommet, sous l'action des plus grands vents, ne dépasse pas 12 cm. La hauteur peut varier de 15 cm suivant la température. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>L'Arc de Triomphe et la place Charles-de-Gaulle qui l'entoure composent l'un des sites les plus prestigieux de la capitale. Douze avenues rayonnent autour de l'Arc; c'est pourquoi la place fut longtemps appelée place de l'étoile. L'Arc de Triomphe évoque l'épopée impériale et abrite la tombe du Soldat Inconnu. <BR>1806 - Napoléon ordonne de construire un arc gigantesque en l'honneur des armées françaises. <BR> <BR>1840 - le char qui porte les cendres de l'Empereur passe sous l'Arc de Triomphe au cours d'une émouvante cérémonie. <BR> <BR>1919- le 14 juillet, les troupes de la Victoire défillent, maréchaux en tête. <BR> <BR>1944 - le 26 août, Paris, libéré de l'occupation allemande, acclame le générale de Gaulle. <BR> <BR>Pour y accéder il y a deux solutions: une première, logique, est d'emprunter le passage souterrain à partir des Champs-Elysées. Une deuxième, plutôt style cascade, est de traverser l'étoile à pied. Essayer vous allez voir! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> Il y a vingt siècles qu'on prie en ce lieu: temple gallo-romain, basilique chrétienne, église romaine s'y sont succédés avant l'actuelle Notre-Dame, fondée par l'évêque Maurice de Sully. <BR>La construction commence en 1163. Les plans originaux sont réalisés vers 1345. Notre-Dame, qui a échappé de peu aux destructions de la Commune et de la Libération de la capitale, est encore aujourd'hui le témoin des grandes heures ou tristes, de l'histoire de Paris. <BR> <BR>C'est vraiment le plus bel édifice religieux de la capitale, un des sommets de l'art français. <BR> <BR>"Emmanuel", le fameux bourdon de la tour Sud, pèse 13 tonnes et son battant près de 500 kg. On dit que, lorsqu'il fut fondu au 17e siècle, grandes dames et femmes du peuple jetèrent dans le bronze en fusion leurs bijoux d'or et d'argent, ce qui lui a donné une grande pureté de timbre. Il sonne lors des fêtes importantes. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> 1 / 3 <BR> <BR> <BR>

DINASTIE DELL’ORO <BR> <BR> I Teatri, sempre pieni, ospitavano nomi leggendari come Isadora Duncan, Anna Pawlova, la già citata Eleonora Duse., e vi si rappresentavano tutti i generi, dalle piacevoli commedie di George Feydeau alle tragedie di Gabriele D’Annunzio. Parigi, la "Ville Lumiere". La Belle Epoque. In queste due parole - che non hanno trovato sinonimo o traduzione diversa - si può ben comprendere l’importanza che la Francia ebbe in questo quarantennio a cavallo tra i due secoli. Parigi fu, indiscutibilmente, la culla, il cuore pulsante della "corsa in avanti" che la società e il costume del tempo stavano compiendo. <BR>Non a caso, per fare un esempio, fu in Francia che nacque quella che è riconosciuta come l’ultima arte creta dall’uomo: il cinema. In quegli anni sembrava che tutto dovesse venire dalla terra dei Napoleoni. E fu lì che, attraversando il Reno, si insediarono le dinastie dell’oro di origine ebraica

Paris ville lumière <BR>et sa région <BR>Actualité, histoire, immobilier, tourisme, sport, loisirs, culture, entreprises locales <BR> <BR> <BR>

I'm entirely happy with my life OFF and ON the web (little of which is evident here). <BR> <BR>Nevertheless, it appears that I may have been wrong about the expression "Ville Lumiere". <BR>

Well done, Rex. And methinks the "pedantic" word may have been fired in the wrong direction. In between the snobby put-downs, there are some interesting books and info here....(in English).

I didn't like the tone of your comments to the original poster, so I pasted in all those exerpts from French (and Ital.) web pp about la ville lumiere. But your last message was graceful. You seem very talented, but you come across much better when not belittling others. (And I should probably refrain from criticizing the criticizer, as well.)

Oldies but goodies to read from an adult perspective maybe? <BR>Les Miserables <BR>Tale of Two Cities

For lighter reading to mix in with the previously mentioned excellent books (I hated Tale of Two Cities as a kid, loved it when I read it as a grownup): <BR>Maigret mysteries by Simenon <BR>HuggerMugger at the Louvre by Elliot Paul <BR>A Place in the World called Paris <BR>Everybody Who Was Anybody <BR>The Three Musketeers <BR>I'll Always Have Paris by Art Buchwald

Well, I certainly didn't anticipate the responses to this post! Perhaps I should have said that we have our degrees in literature and have been gainfully employed for some time. In other words, we are not college students! Nevertheless, thanks for the interesting information and book recommendations. I look forward to more. <BR> <BR>I used the dreaded appellation because I found it in Kerper's collection of essays and liked it. Specifically, it was in an article written by David Downie who has lived in Paris since 1986. <BR> <BR>Has anyone read From Paris to the Moon?

I enjoyed "Le Divorce" by Diane Johnson - light amusing story of young American woman who goes to Paris to help her sister who is married to a Frenchman. Interesting subtext of differences between the French and Americans. <BR>