France's Historical landmarks

As France is marking Bastille Day today, its historical landmarks once again come into sharp focus. Mention France and one of the things that will come to mind are romantic notions of travel. This is because its capital city Paris is also known as the city of love. Paris gets its moniker from the native language and beautiful sights. The top tourist sight is the Eiffel tower.

Eiffel Tower

At 324 meters, the iron wrought tower which was built by Gustave Eiffel as the entrance arch for the International Exhibition of Paris in 1889 is still the highest building in Paris.

It is the symbol of Paris and one of the top tourist attractions not only in France but the world having attracted 6.91 million people last year. The tower has three levels with restaurants situated on the first and second levels.

Notre Dame de Paris

How many buildings have been used as the center for literally works and still stand to this day? Well, the Notre Dame Paris is one of those few buildings. It was used in Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame which was published in 1831. Hugo wrote the book to make people understand the value of Gothic architecture which at the time was neglected and destroyed to be replaced by new architecture. This technique worked and the Notre Dame is a testimony; presently it is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture.

With a total surface of 5,500m squared, the building contains the cathedral of the Archbishop of Paris and the cathedral treasury contains reliquary which houses some of Catholicism's important relics like the purported Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True cross.

The cathedral has 10 bells and the largest (Emmanuel) weighs over 13 tons. It is tolled to mark hours of the day and for various occasions and it is always run five seconds ahead of the rest.

Louvre

The museum had been a place for the display of royal collection since 1692. During the French revolution the National Assembly decreed that it be used as a museum to display the county's masterpieces. In 1793, the Lovre opened with an exhibition of 537 paintings most of which were royal and confiscated church property. The collection has increased over time and presently contains more than380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments. These comprise Egyptian Antiquities, Near Eastern Antiquities, Greek, Decorative Arts, Islamic art, Sculpture, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities.

The museum is the World's most visited attracting an average of 15,000 visitors a day, 65 percent of whom are foreign tourists.

Arch de Triomphe

The Arch is a symbol of patriotism in France because it honours soldiers who fought and died in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. Names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on its inner and outer surface and beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the unknown soldier from World War one. The tomb has an eternal flame that burns in memory of the dead who were never identified. This flame was an inspiration for the eternal flame at the grave of the former American President John F. Kennedy at Arlingtion National Cemetery in Virginia.

Prior, Emperor Napoleon had a wooden mockup of the arch constructed when he entered Paris with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria. More so when Napoleon's remains were returned from Saint Helena in 1840, they were passed under the arch enroute to his final resting place in the Invalides.  Every 11th November, a ceremony is also held at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier every 11 November.

The Versailles

If you paid attention during your History Paper Three lessons, then you will remember that the Versailles was the seat of political power from 1682 until 1789 when it was forcefully returned to Paris. It is a symbol of the system of the absolute monarchy.

People visit the Hall of Mirrors ("Galerie des glaces") of the Chateau de Versailles in Versailles

The Versailles was first built in 1623 by Louis XIII as a hunting lodge and was later enlarged into a royal palace by Louis XIV. Over years there have been phases of expansion which led to the inclusion of the king's apartment, king's private apartment, Queen's private apartment,Hall of mirrors, Chapel of Versailles, Royal Opera, Museum of the history of France, the Garden of Versailles. The palace is listed by UNESCO World Heritage site and still serves political function for example heads of state are regaled in the Hall of mirrors.

In 2009 president Sarkozy addressed the global crisis before a congress at Versailles and most recently, president Francoise Hollande gave a speech following the November 2015 Paris attacks at the Palace.

Nimes Arena (Arenes de Nimes)

This amphitheatre is a marvel of Roman engineering and could seat up to 24,000 people in its 34 terraces. It was built during the reign of Emperor Augustus in the first century AD and initially it was for games like gladiatorial matches. However in the sixth century the Nimes Arena began to play a military role and was transformed to a castle fortress to foster this.

The role of Nimes Arena became more elaborate in the 12 century when it became the seat of the viscounty. In the 18 century it became an establishment of a 700 strong village however in 1786 it was restored to its original opulence.

Mont Saint-Michael

This structure sits on a rocky island 84 meters high and it is pure granite, something which has enabled it stand the test of time. Visitors usually flock it to view its Abbey, the church and take a stroll on the ancient streets.  It was declared a UNESCO World heritage historic site in 1979.

The medieval fortress survived many sieges; in the Roman times it was a settlement then it became a stronghold of the Romano-Bretons until it was destroyed by the Franks.

It was revived in the early eighteenth century when a church was built but it rose to prominence with the arrival of Normans when William 1 Duke of Normandy conquered the area and settled a community of Benedictine Monks on the site.

Mont Saint-Michel was attacked by the English during the Hundred Years' War, but never captured, and the site was used as a prison during the French Revolution

Legend has it that a church was built after the Archangel Michael appeared to Aubert, the Bishop of Avranches and instructed him to construct a house of worship. It the middle ages, the site was a prominent site for pilgrims.

Besides its rich history embodied by the different landmarks, France is also a shopping destination, the Cannes festival also attracts a large number of celebrities annually.

 It is no wonder that it was ranked the world's number one tourist destination in 2014 by an annual survey conducted by the Directorate-General for Enterprise in partnership with the Banque de France. The country received 83.7 million visitors with its influx of tourists rise by 0.1 percent from 2013. The tourism sector in France accounts for two million jobs and seven percent of the country's GDP.