Curiosities of Paris: An idiosyncratic guide to overlooked delights... hidden in plain sight
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Curiosities of Paris: An idiosyncratic guide to overlooked delights... hidden in plain sight
Francophiles and Paris buffs will find something new and fascinating in this timeless guidebook, filed with sites, passageways, hotels, shops, and more
What if—walking around Paris—instead of seeing only the Paris of 2017, you glimpsed Paris in Revolutionary times? Or Paris when it was home to 80,000 horses; or Paris lit by gaslight; or medieval Paris? What if—walking down a block in Paris—you recognized the signs, mosaics, pieces of hardware, and architectural details as relics of many centuries that have stories to tell of past eras? This is what Curiosities of Paris reveals.
Organized by subject—including fountains and wells; centuries-old shop signs; vestiges of wars and ancient Egypt; hotels of legend; remarkable trees; sundials and meridians; equestrian Paris; romantic ruins; unusual tombs, stairways, and passageways; religious relics; mosaics; public barometers and thermometers; and hundreds more urban elements and anachronisms—the book also includes three themed walks (along the city’s ancient walls, in the steps of Quasimodo, and through the French Revolution), as well as an index of street names.
This absorbing compendium is an essential addition to the library of the armchair traveler and flâneur alike.