Chaillot was a separate village until the 19th century, when it was swallowed up by the growing city and bestowed with wide avenues and lavish mansions during the Second Empire building spree. Its centrepiece is the glorious Palais de Chaillot which stands on top of the small Chaillot hill, its wide white-stone wings embracing the Trocadéro Gardens and its terrace gazing across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. Behind the palace is the place du Trocadéro, laid out in 1858 and originally called the place du Roi-de-Rome (King of Rome), the title of Napoleon’s son. The square is ringed with smart cafés, overlooking the central equestrian statue of World War I hero Marshal Ferdinand Foch. Many of the elegant mansions in this area now house embassies, and there are numerous fine dining spots. To the west are the exclusive residential neighbourhoods of the Parisian bourgeoisie (middle-classes).
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Morning
It would be hard to imagine a better start to a day in Paris than going to the Palais de Chaillot and seeing the perfect view it has across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower . Then tour the fascinating collections of the Musée de l’Homme and, if marine history is your thing, the Musée de la Marine , both in the palace. Outside the palace, take a break in the Café du Trocadéro (8 pl du Trocadéro 01 44 05 37 00) and watch the comings and goings in the square.
Afterwards, head along rue Benjamin Franklin and rue Raynouard, where you will find first the Musée du Vin and the Maison de Balzac. Walk to the far side of the Maison de Radio France building for a brunch or lunch at Zebra Square .
Afternoon
Revived, walk back along the Seine towards the Palais de Chaillot, and head up to the place d’Iéna to the recently refurbished and much improved Musée National des Arts Asiatiques- Guimet for its spectacular Eastern artworks.
By now you will definitely be in need of a rest, so return to the place du Trocadéro for a coffee at the excellent Carette café at No. 4 (01 47 27 88 56). End the day in the peaceful Cimetière de Passy and admire its ornate tombs, before heading back to your hotel.
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The grave of this fairly obscure artist of the 1920s attracts attention because of its immensely powerful sculpture of a man and woman joined together and seeming to soar from the grave to the heavens.
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The French Impressionist artist was born in Paris in 1841, posed for Edouard Manet and later married his lawyer brother Eugène. She never achieved the fame of the male Impressionists, and died in Paris in 1895.
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PosteChic but inexpensive brasserie with a fashionable clientele, offering delicious oysters, snails, and duck in pepper sauce.
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This small cemetery covers only 1 ha (2.5 acres), yet many famous people have been laid to rest here with the Eiffel Tower as their eternal view (see Graves in Cimetière de Passy). It is worth a visit just to admire the striking sculptures on the tombs.
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Occupying the east wing of the Palais Chaillot (built for the Universal Exhibition of 1937), this museum is a veritable ode to French architectural heritage, showcasing its development through the ages as well as contemporary architecture. The Galerie des Moulages (Medieval to Renaissance) contains moulded portions of churches and great French cathedrals such as Chartres. The Galerie Moderne et Contemporain includes a reconstruction of an apartment designed by Corbusier, and B4architectural designs from 1990 onwards. The wall-painting gallery in the Pavillon de Tête has a stunning collection of frescoes copied from medieval murals.
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The French composer (1862–1918) achieved fame through works such as Prélude à l’après-midi d’un Faune and La Mer , and was regarded as the musical equivalent of the Impressionist painters.
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Born in 1766, this historian and friend of Napoleon shared the emperor’s exile on the island of St Helena and recorded his final thoughts. The Comte himself died in Paris in 1842.
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Born in Paris in 1832, Manet became the most notorious artist in the city when works such as Olympia and Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (see Olympia, Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe) were first exhibited. He died in Paris in 1883.
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The lugubrious French film actor known as Fernandel was born in Marseille in 1903 and made more than 100 films in a career that lasted from 1930 until his death in Paris in 1971.
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Restaurant price categories
For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and charges included.
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