Paris, as Parisians see it.

There is one of the famous theatres in Passage Choiseul, next to the Choiseul Déco Sté furniture store. The composer Jacques Offenbach founded in 1855 Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens for the performance of operetta. In 1870 the popularity of operetta begun to decline, and the repertoire of the theatre was expanded to include comedies. Offenbach was a conductor of the "Théâtre Français" but wanted to start a new independent career as a creator of what he described as a "new and original" genre of musical performance. He held the first performances in the summer of 1855 at the small Salle Lacaze theatre with a capacity of only 300 spectators. It was a one-act musical buffoonery about two "blind" Parisian beggars. This new musical art soon acquired an international reputation, and Offenbach's admirers soon included Tolstoy and Thackeray. Satirical sketches that only included a few musical numbers become regular performances in the summer of 1855. The season was so successful that Offenbach was able to resign his position as conductor of the Théâtre Français. Offenbach's most famous music, which is undoubtedly has been heard by everyone, was written for the operetta Orpheus in Hell, an excerpt from which can be heard here.

Wealthy Parisien landlord Mallet builds four hôtels in this area at the beginning of the 19th century. Later the Passage Choiseul occupies their territory, including the "Opéra-Comique" nearby Salle Ventadour. The passage was constructed between 1826 and 1827. The author Louis-Ferdinand Céline lived here in the early 20th century. It was the time when the passage reached his great success, and the glass roof was replaced, and facades of shops decorated. The passage later fell into disrepair till the 1970s when Kenzo Takada fashion designer of Japan origin opened his boutique in the passage, which then was relocated to the "Place des Victoires".

House Lully is one of the oldest houses in Paris. His story is linked with Jean-Batiste Lully. He was born in the family of a Florentine miller on November 28, 1632. Jean-Batiste came to France in March 1646 in the entourage of the Duke de Guise as an Italian teacher for the royal niece. Palace intrigues and conspiracies send the niece Mademoiselle de Montpensier to exile in the castle of Saint-Fargeau. Jean-Batiste wanted to stay in Paris, asked to be relieved of his post, and soon began serving at the royal court, composing music for ballets and dancing them with the King and the courtiers. In 1662, Jean-Batiste married Madeline the daughter of composer Michel Lambert. The marriage was made at the request of King Louis XIV, who was tired of stoping the composer for homosexual pranks. Moliere made his debut in Paris in 1658 and five years later conquered the heart of Louis XIV. The King asked Moliere to write a play in which he wanted to dance. Moliere and Lulu worked on the play "Captive Marriage", which began a strong friendship between them. Jean-Batiste received 11,000 Livres from Moliere to buy land and build a building. The beautiful architectural luster, popular during the reign of the Sun King, is visible on the facade, decorated with masks of Bachus and bas-reliefs with the image of musical symbols. On January 8, 1687, conducting his performance "Te Deum" (for you, Lord), Lully injured his leg with the tip of a cane, which at that time beat the beat. The wound developed into an abscess and passed into gangrene. On March 22, 1687, the composer died. This house knows many famous Parisians of the time. Its walls remember musicians, literators, and artists from the beautiful baroque era of the Sun King. The music that Lully composed can be heard today.

Today Le Grand Colbert is a Parisian brasserie that serves traditional dishes of French cuisine managed since 1992 by Joël Fleury, a former member of the Flo group. Initially, during its construction in 1637 commissioned by Guillaume Bauru, Count of Serrant, the building was a mansion. In 1665 it was sold to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the famous minister of Louis XIV, then to Philippe d'Orléans in 1719. In1825 the manor was destroyed to the construction of the current building and the opening of the Colbert gallery. The name "Colbert" was kept until 1900 when it was transformed into a restaurant. In 1985, the National Library of France, the owner of the premises, initiated the renovation of the building in all its original details. We can find in this large room, of an impressive architectural volume, six-meter walls with sculpted pilasters, paintings in Pompeian style, and rare floor mosaics.

The Galerie Vivienne, Located between the Palais-Royal, the Paris Bourse (stock exchange), and the Grands Boulevards, is the covered passage that were once a trendy entertainment place. The passage enjoyed considerable success until the second half of the 19th century. Vivienne gallery lost some of its appeal with the move of the prestigious shops to the Madeleine and the Champs-Élysées, and mainly because of the Architectural Revolution held by Georges-Eugène Haussmann. The gallery was built in 1823 by Marchoux, President of the Chamber of Notaries. Inaugurated in 1826 under the name Marchoux, it was soon renamed Vivienne and conquered the hearts of Parisians due to its unique location. It attracted many visitors with its couture shops, restaurants, wine cellars, bookstores, draper shops, confectioners, and so else.

In 1808, Napoleon I laid the foundation stone of the Palais Brongniart, designed by architect Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart to house the Paris Bourse. In 1563, a "regular place of merchants" was established in Paris. This institute will become the Paris stock exchange. The presence of women was prohibited in the Bourse until 1967. But women are pleasant sellers in the well known small but significant market in front of the Bourse. The hallmark of the market is ethnic street food. The fantastic smell exudes from the Creole and the Moroccan stalls make this market unique food court and invite you to meet another side of Parisien culinary. Le Marché Bourse active Tu: 12:30-20:30 and Fr: 12:30-20:30 On other days, the square in front of the Bourse becomes a place of demonstrations and pillow battles.

The Place des Victoires is a fantastic piece of baroque architecture complex with the circular square at the confluence of six streets. The equestrian monument in honor of King Louis XIV stands at the center of the Place. A marshal of France, François de la Feuillade, Vicomte d'Aubusson, initiated this grandiose architectural project to accommodate a majestic statue of the triumphant king despite the necessary demolishing the old private mansions. The royal architect, Jules Hardouin Mansart, designed the square in 1685, invented the unified façades by choosing colossal pilasters linking two floors, standing on a high arcaded base with sloping slate mansard roofs, punctuated by windows. But architect painted façades on canvas since the building work was incomplete at the time of the unveiling of the monument. Although the extraordinary statue of living king Louis admired Parisians, in 1682, his unimplemented imperial ambitions in Europe have deflated the arrogance image of his majesty at the Place des Victoires and had begun to embarrass Louis XIV himself. The equestrian monument was eventually destroyed in 1792, during the French Revolution. In 1828, King Charles X from the restored dynasty of Bourbon placed at the square the current equestrian statue, which was sculpted in imitation of the famous Bronze Horseman - the monument to Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg where emperor sits on a horse standing on legs. The modern French film "Victory Square" talks about the touching story of the friendship of a boy and a man in which everyone makes his small victories.

Parisians love and respect music. The music school is one of the essential and immersive moments in raising children. The École César-Franck named after César Franck was founded in Paris in January 1935 by a split from the Schola Cantorum after a disagreement over the artistic testament of Vincent d'Indy. This school trained many talented musicians. It was closed in the 1960s. The modest monument in front of the school reminds its glory history.

La Bovida was born in 1921 as a small meat company. Soon in 1925, she teamed up with the Godefroy Spice Shop and formed an excellent firm of quality raw materials and kitchen utensils for true professionals. The Spice Shop gave to Le Bovida its symbol: the Caravelle. Fame and popularity came to La Bovida in 1946, and today every Parisian knows that to buy a good knife, a quality pot, and at the same time a recipe with food, you need to go to this store.

The Church of St Eustache was built between 1532 and 1632. Situated near the site of Paris' medieval marketplace (Les Halles) the first small chapel was funded by a merchant from Les Halles. His name was Jean Alais, he collected a tax on the sale of fish. In 1223 the new church became the parish church of the Les Halles area and received from the Abbey of Saint-Denis relics related to the Roman martyr Saint Eustache. like most churches in Paris, the church was desecrated and looted during the French Revolution. Louis XIV made his First Communion in the church in 1649. Cardinal Richelieu, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (Madame de Pompadour), and Molière were all baptized there; Molière was also married there in 1662. Mozart held his mother's funeral there. Funerals were held at St. Eustache for Queen Anne of Austria, military hero Turenne, and French Revolution leader Mirabeau. Writer Marie de Gournay was buried there.

In 1137, the former marshland in the suburbs of Paris became the Champeaux market by order of King Louis VI. This market has grown continuously and has become the largest market in the city. In 1854, the architect Victor Baltar designed new buildings for indoor markets made of metal and glass (Les Halles). Emil Zola called the market "the womb of Paris." Until the 1960s, life in the quarter was in full swing, without stopping day or night. But due to sanitary and transport problems, the buildings of markets were demolished in 1972. The empty place was dedicated to a large city park, but President Georges Pompidou opposed this project. He feared that thousands of hippies would settle in central park. The mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, and the future President completed the project. Today the place is a park with alleys and playgrounds, as well as an underground commercial center “Forum de Al” (Le Forum des Halles) of four levels, a pool with a tropical greenhouse, cinemas, a children's library, and a music conservatory school. On the lower level beneath the Forum, there is the RER Châtelet - Les Halles railway station - the largest underground station in the world.

The Centre Pompidou is a complex building in the style of high-tech architecture. It is named after Georges Pompidou, the President of France from 1969 to 1974 and was officially opened on 31 January 1977. It was the first example of an 'inside-out' building with its structural system, mechanical systems, and circulation exposed on the exterior of the building. Centre cost 993 million French francs. Renovation work conducted from October 1996 to January 2000 was completed on a budget of 576 million francs. The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the museum is noted for the presence of street performers, such as mimes and jugglers.

We are located in the Jewish quarter of Paris. The quarter began to develop on the site of drained swamps in the 13th century. The Templars drained the swamps and named these places Mare - from the word swamp. Jews settled here after the persecution in Spain, and during the French Revolution, Jews came from the Alsace region and eastern Europe. The main street in the Jewish quarter is Rosier. It has hardly changed since the eighteenth century. Librairie du temple is a bookstore, which offers items related to Jewish culture. Created 30 years ago, LIBRAIRIE DU TEMPLE is a meeting place with Judaism. The bookstore collection consists of books in French, English, Hebrew, Spanish, Yiddish, and Russian. It includes both prayer books, theological studies (tana, Talmud, and Kabbalah), and collections of laws in the form of essays and novels by French and foreign authors. As well as a large radius of study of Hebrew and its development, as well as a department for working with youth. There are also cult objects and a gallery of modern and ancient Jewish art.

Librairie du temple 1, rue des Hospitalieres, Saint-Gervais corner 52, Rue des Rosiers 75004 Paris France

Phone: 01 42 72 38 00 www.librairiedutemple.fr