Travel Itinerary

Begin with I. M. Pei’s 1989 pyramid, then trace the palace’s metamorphosis from fortress to royal palace to world-class museum.

Stroll the uniform cast-iron arcades—Napoleon’s 19-century commercial artery—and note the rhythm of segmental arches and mansard roofs.

Walk the central alley that links palace to Place de la Concorde, observing André Le Nôtre’s 17-century landscape geometry.

Finish with the 3,300-year-old obelisk framed by 19-century fountains—an open-air lesson in Egyptian revival and urban planning.

Ascend Chalgrin’s 19-century monument for a 360° lesson in Haussmann’s star-shaped urbanism radiating below.

Examine Lavirotte’s flamboyant 1901 apartment façade—whiplash lines, sculpted animals, and polychrome tiles—just off the Champ de Mars.

Study 19-century iron lattice innovations from the esplanade and second-floor galleries; note wind-resistant truss design and riveted assembly.

End with symmetrical gardens and an unobstructed frame of the tower—perfect for twilight shots and reflections in the fountains.

Explore Charles Garnier’s 1875 Beaux-Arts jewel: grand staircase, baroque exteriors, and modern ceiling by Chagall overhead.

Ride escalators through the 1912 stained-glass dome, an engineering feat in steel and glass that crowns a Parisian shopping temple.

Circle the square to decode standard 19-century typologies: cut-stone base, iron balconies, mansard zinc roofs, and rhythmic chamfered corners.

Climb the 272 steps for a lesson in Romano-Byzantine white travertine and sweeping vistas of Haussmann’s chessboard below.

Wander past 18-century cottages and artists’ easels, ending with café terraces under strings of lights.

Start day five with a façade of 240 photo-sensitive moucharabieh panels—an elegant fusion of traditional Islamic brise-soleil and high-tech 1980s design.

Ride escalators through color-coded structural tubes, experiencing Rogers & Piano’s 1977 high-tech inside-out aesthetic.

Follow the 1825 canal to study swing bridges, brick warehouses, and recent urban renewal that mixes industrial heritage with contemporary cafés.

End beneath Johann Otto von Spreckelsen’s 1989 white marble cube, perfectly aligned with the historic 6-km axis from the Louvre, symbolizing Paris’s architectural leap into the late 20 century.