Tag Archives: Georges-Eugène Haussmann

Zinc

Posted on January 24, 2021 by Parisian Fields

So many sights in Paris pique our curiosity and lead us to learn things we would not have learned otherwise. This blog post began as we thought about the beauty of Paris’s zinc roofs. One could argue that zinc roofs … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Early one morning

Posted on December 29, 2019 by Parisian Fields

We do not, as a rule, take early-morning walks in Paris. If we do not have a morning appointment, we tend to dawdle over breakfast, reading and chatting and enjoying the view from the windows. Quick showers are not an … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris gardens, Paris history, Paris hospitals, Paris parks, Paris quartiers, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Vespasiennes: Does a Roman Emperor Deserve This?

Posted on January 31, 2016 by Parisian Fields

Our home offices are in two adjacent rooms. While exploring one of my favourite Paris websites, Paris en Images, I called to Philippa, “What’s a Vespasienne?” and was instantly told, “A public urinal.” There had to be a blog in … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris civic functions, Paris history, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Going, going, gone

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Parisian Fields

In the 1850s, as the old Paris of narrow streets and ramshackle houses gave way to the broad boulevards and uniform apartment blocks planned by Napoleon III and carried out by Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Charles Baudelaire wrote an epitaph for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris bookstores, Paris shops | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Death and taxes

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Parisian Fields

Whenever I buy postcards or other pictures of Paris, I gravitate to anything unfamiliar. So when I was leafing through some inexpensive engravings at an antiques fair on the Place St-Sulpice in June, I was immediately drawn to this one. … Continue reading →

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Buttes Chaumont: The Park for the People

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Parisian Fields

Although it lacks the aristocratic pedigree of some Paris parks, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont in the 19th arrondissement is my favourite. The Bois de Boulogne and the Bois de Vincennes were formerly royal domains for hunting. But the Buttes … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris parks | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Baltard’s Children

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Parisian Fields

It is common among Parisians and lovers of Paris to bewail the loss of the nineteenth-century market buildings at Les Halles. Those pavilions of iron, wood and glass designed by Victor Baltard stood in the heart of the city from … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, Paris markets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A most unusual water system keeps Paris clean

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Parisian Fields

I was alarmed the first time I saw water pouring out of what looked like a sewer grate and onto the road. Now, I watch for such a sight. It is another manifestation of the enlightened engineering, design, and vision … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

A closer look at Parisian streets

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Parisian Fields

Over the past week, I have been pondering a comment made by Adam Roberts, the author of Invisible Paris (one of our favourite blogs), about our post on courtyards. He confessed to having mixed feelings about these interior spaces and … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments