The Louvre: From Mighty Fortress to Royal Palace to World’s Best-Loved Museum Charles De Gaulle famously had “a certain idea of France.” Arguably, that idea was born nearly a millennium ago at the Louvre. It is the crucible in which the soul of a nation was forged, the sacred shrine that preserves the identity of a people. The Renaissance – the French word for “rebirth” – saw a deliberate reaching back to Ancient Roman ideas, ideals, art and architecture. This is on magnificent display in the Michelangelo Gallery, featuring 3 centuries of Italian sculpture that begin with work by the room’s namesake, two Slaves from the Florentine Master’s collection of unfinished works intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II. And, of course, you can’t talk about the Renaissance without mentioning Leonardo da Vinci. The great man traveled to France in 1518, bringing with him a number of paintings, both finished and unfinished. Among these was the portrait of a young woman we know as Mona Lisa. Her hair falls naturally over her shoulders, her neckline unadorned. It is this simplicity that makes her so endearing. But there is nuance, too, a muted playfulness that dances in her beguiling eyes, and the little lift of one corner of her mouth, an enigmatic not-quite-half-smile that has inspired lovelorn poetry and purple prose for more than half a millennium. The Gothic Glory of France’s Medieval Monarchy: The Sainte-Chapelle and Notre-Dame You journey over the Seine and back in time as you arrive on the Ile de la Cité at the very heart of Paris. You will take a moment to admire the dazzling exterior of the Sainte-Chapelle, commissioned in the 13th century by King Louis IX (later to be canonized as Saint Louis). The Sainte-Chapelle is effective preparation for the jewel of Medieval Paris, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The mists of mystery and history are lifted as your Guide illuminates the story of the most famous of all of Europe’s great Gothic churches, from its consecration in the late 12th century to the recent fire that threatened utter devastation. But like the soul of the city she embodies, Notre-Dame still stands tall and proud. Modern Marvels: The Arc of Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur Completing the journey across the Seine to the Left Bank, you’ll linger over quintessentially Parisian fare in the Latin Quarter, home to one of the oldest universities on Earth. After lunch, you’ll be off for a drive up the opulent Champs-Elysées, standing at the very center of the star is the magnificent Arc de Triomphe, commissioned in the wake of Napoleon’s stunning victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Not far away stands another testament to vision and industry. Firmly rooted in the Earth of History but ambitiously soaring into the skies, the Eiffel Tower is the ideal marriage of form and function, of grace and strength. Standing over all of this, surveilling the city from the very summit of Montmartre, is the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur.
