Paris: Stories from the City

We explore Paris’s Roman roots and its creation on an island in the Seine where magnificent medieval churches Notre Dame and Saint Chapelle were constructed.

Paris has been patronised by several grand builders who have left equally grand landmarks. The most famous are Louis the 14th, Napoleon and later his nephew, Napoleon the 3rd.

Despite multiple occupations by the English, Prussians and Germans in World War 2 much of Paris’ post medieval architecture has been preserved heightening the city’s cultural and historical legacy.

In the 20th century, fashionable Paris pioneered the Impressionist and modern art movements.

We visit the art districts of Montmartre and the city’s famous and evocatively located cemetery where great artists, politicians and world leaders are buried. We explore the stories behind the great buildings of Paris’ most famous architectural eras including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and Versailles.

Episode 1: ”City of Kings” charts the city’s growth from ancient times until the end of the Ancient Regime. where Kings Louis the 9th and Louis the 14th embraced and encouraged a high culture still associated with Paris today.

Episode 2: City of Revolutions: Despite ongoing violence, protests, invasion and a civil war, Napoleon and his nephew Napoleon the 3rd were great builders who set about re-inventing the city in the 19th century. creating a model city copied throughout Europe and the world

Episode 3: The Secular City: After the overthrow of Emperor Napoleon the 3rd, Paris re invented itself again in the wake of the Paris commune riots. The revolt against religion found its voice in heroes such as Victor Hugo who were celebrated in great secular monuments such as The Pantheon. Bohemian Paris became a magnet for impressionist artists. But in the late 20th and early 21st century the Government’s policy of Secularism has alienated religious migrant communities who have taken refuge in the satellite cities beyond the Peripherique