Culture of Paris
Le Lido, the cabaret-dance hall, for example, is a staged dinner theater spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere.
Haussmann's renovation of Paris during the mid-19th century created many of its wide boulevards and characteristic multi-level housing, often with shops and cafes at the ground level.
Other notable landmarks erected during the 19th century feature elaborate Art Nouveau designs popular during the Belle Epoque, such as the Palais Garnier (Paris Opera) and the Galeries Lafayette shopping center.
Modern landmarks of Paris architecture include the Centre Georges Pompidou, which officially opened on 31 January 1977, and the Louvre Pyramid designed by I. M. Pei, completed in 1989.
L'Officiel des spectacles and Pariscope offer in-depth coverage of the city's cultural events, including extensive listings in the Wednesday editions.
Télif (acronym for Télévision Île-de-France), offers the following local city channels by cable, ADSL or satellite: Paris has seen attempts at "pirate television", through Zaléa TV (TéléviZone d'Action pour la Liberté d'Expression Audiovisuelle) an association of some Paris broadcasters, which disbanded in 2008.
Four other broadcasters share the same channel: Demain IDF, "télévision de l'urbanité et de la diversité" (urban and diverse television); BDM TV, which goes into the neighborhoods to discuss culture and initiatives; Cinaps TV, a collective of scientists and artists whose objective is to create television programming about learning and to encourage curiosity.
Paris's museums and monuments are among its most highly esteemed attractions; tourism has motivated both the city and national governments to create new ones.
It houses many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue.
Paris' newest (and third-largest) museum, the Musée du Quai Branly, opened its doors in June 2006 and houses art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.
With more than one-fourth of prominent composers clustering in Paris in the 19th century, the city has been globally the predominant location for classical music.
Parisians tend to share the same movie-going trends as many of the world's global cities, that is to say with a dominance of Hollywood-generated film entertainment.
Paris is the original home of haute couture, and has long set the trends for fashion in Europe; it remains the second largest industry in France, and is heavily regulated and supported by the government "for its economic and tourist value".
[4] The city has produced many notable design houses, such as Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Chloé, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Lanvin, Céline, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton.
Paris also remains a premier destination for shopping, with streets such as Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and the Champs-Élysées hosting boutiques from designers around the world.
[5] In addition to fashion and leather goods, Paris is home to a number of well-known jewelers, such as Cartier, Boucheron, Chaumet, and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Coty, Chanel, Helena Rubenstein, L'Oreal, Lancôme, Kérastase, Clarins, Sephora, and many other worldwide brands are based in Paris.
Immigrants from former colonies have infused French cuisine with their own traditions, originating in South East Asia, North and West Africa.
Parisian restaurants reflect this diversity, with menus carrying traditional regional cuisine, fusions of various culinary influences, or innovating in the leading edge of new techniques, such as molecular gastronomy.
Le Cordon Bleu, a prestigious culinary and hospitality training institution, opened in Paris in 1895, and now has 35 schools located around the world.
The Paris Jazz Festival centers on concerts at the Bois de Vincennes park in the eastern part of the city.
La Goutte d'Or en Fête held the first week of July, is a rap and reggae music festival.
Nuit Blanche (White Night), a celebration of art, food, and culture, takes place overnight as an annual event in October,[12] the same month as the Paris Motor Show.
