France, Paris XXIII: Elysian Fields – Global Prestige
Published: 29.10.2014
After our visit to the second most famous sight in Paris, Arc de Triomphe, we get off the tunnel in the start of the most famous boulevard in Paris, the symbol of prestige, fame, and luxury.
Champs - Élysées or Elysian Fields were created in 1667. It was intended as an extension to beautiful Jardin des Tuileries. The gardens reached to the middle of the present boulevard. A hundred years later it changed as the Elysian Fields was extended to the location of the Arc de Triomphe . Our tour started in this boulevard. Wide street lined with trees had shopping houses on both sides. The shops were usually the most popular fashion, cosmetic, or jewelry brands of the world. On our way we admired and sometimes visited shopping passages with stores like Guerlain, Sephora, legendary Louis Vuitton in the house no 101, or the futuristic house no 42 where Citroen car company displays it’s modern and historical automobiles in very interesting way. There was even other French car company, Renault. It has an atelier in the house no 53.
Champs - Élysées is not only about shops but also about beautiful historic newsstands, art cinemas, luxury restaurants and sweet shops. We also could not resist. As we had no time to visit the cinema, money to eat in luxurious restaurants, we decided to visit a sweet shop. Our was the most famous in Paris - Ladurée. No one living in Paris would doubt its mastery. Ladurée became famous for producing macarons. It is made of two “sponge biscuits” joined with filling. They are very sweet and colorful. We bought six for each of us.
Following this delicious break we passed by cozy coffee shops. Chairs standing in front of them usually faced the street and not each other as we are used to see at home. We stopped in one of them and enjoyed a great cup of coffee. We joined the so called coffee culture that has been in Paris since time immemorial. Interesting to us was Le Fouquet's, a restaurant and coffee shop in one. It was declared a historic sight, every year there ends ceremony of César, the movie awards. Sure, there is a red carpet in front of this place and gold plates with the names of famous actors.
The name Champs - Élysées means a place of final rest for souls of the heroes of ancient Greece. Once, fruits were planted there and vegetables as well. Also sheep gazed upon the fields. Today, the place is a center for shopping that sometimes see unusual events.
That’s why we did not wonder that locals call the boulevard a street of celebrations. Every year, there takes part the last part of prestigious Tour de France. Also important national holidays are celebrated here and usually they include a military parade with jets. And the Bastilla Day and New Year’s celebrations take place here. In 2010, Parisian changed this noisy boulevard to fields. They detoured all traffic. They wanted to remember true origin of food.
This is not our last visit to Elysian Fields. We will explore its streets including the most expensive street in the world , Montaigne, the so called Fire of Reedom. And we will walk along the Seine.
Text and photo: Oskár Mažgút
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