Name: 巴黎。擁抱生活與藝術 (Paris: Embracing Life and Art)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T06:35:14.000Z
Duration: 24 min 57 s
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Hi I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe. This time we're in a city

that puts the sparkle in life like none other...it's Paris. Thanks for joining us!

Few cities have such a rich cultural, artistic, and historic heritage. And few cites are so

confident in their expertise in good living. Paris is understandably a magnet for people

determined to live life to its fullest-and as travelers, we get to share in that uniquely

Returning for another look at this great city, we'll discover a side of Paris few travelers

experience: ride a unicorn into the Middle Ages, take a midnight Parisian joyride, immerse

ourselves in Monet's garden, bask in heavenly light through extraordinary stained glass,

go on a tombstone pilgrimage, and savor the Parisian cafe scene.

Grand as the city is, as we'll see, it's still a collection of smaller communities each with

a charming and uniquely French way of embracing life.

Every neighborhood has a time-honored gathering place. Petanque, also known as boules, offers

the perfect escape for friends. This competitive, yet convivial game, where friends toss metal

balls with the same precision their fathers did, provides the ideal antidote to the pressures

Ahh, the Riviera-on the banks of the River Seine. Each summer the Paris city government

closes an express way and brings a colorful urban beach to its people. They truck in potted

palm trees, hammocks, lounge chairs, and 2,000 tons of sand to create this popular fun zone.

It's a perfect chance to see Paris at play... and play with Paris.

Away from the river, parks provide another peaceful oasis-great for enjoying the moment

And Sundays, a happy horde of roller-bladers-glide through town with a police escort. Young,

old, fast, or slow, it's another way this city has become a playground for its citizens.

And Paris is now enthusiastically bike friendly. Bike lanes are commonplace and bikers are

welcome to use bus lanes. The city's innovative loaner bike program-with hundreds of these

efficient bike racks-lets Parisians make quick one way bike trips rather than bother with

Having all this fun, it's easy to forget that six centuries ago, Paris was a cultural leader

as Europe was awakening from a long medieval slumber.

Just a couple blocks off the river, the Cluny Museum-filling a medieval mansion, takes us

back to Paris in the late Middle Ages. In the 1400s trade was begining to boom and the

Renaissance was moving in like a warm front from Italy.

The Cluny Museum is an under-appreciated treasure. Its rich collection of medieval art offers

a rare peek into that mysterious age. The sumptuous ivory pieces; vibrant enamel work;

and gorgeous statues reflect a surprisingly refined-and far from "dark"-society.

Its centerpiece is a 15th century series of tapestries called "The Lady and the Unicorn."

In medieval lore, unicorns were solitary creatures that could only be tamed by a virgin. In secular

society, they symbolized how a man was drawn to his lady love. In religion, the unicorn

These exquisite tapestries were inspired by both secular and religous traditions. They

give us a look at life-sensual life-from a time when the people of Paris were just stepping

out of medieval darkness. It's a celebration of all the senses:

Taste. A woman takes candy from a servant's dish to feed it to her parakeet.... while

the little dog licks his lovingly woven chops.

Hearing. The elegant woman plays sweetly on an organ, calming an audience of wild beasts.

In this fanciful world, humans and their fellow creatures live in harmony in an enchanted

Sight. The unicorn cuddles up and looks at himself in the lady's mirror, pleased with

what he sees. The lion turns away and snickers. As the Renaissance dawns, vanity is a less-than-deadly

Touch. That's the most basic and dangerous of the senses. Here, the lady "strokes the

unicorn's horn," and the lion looks out at us to be sure we get the double entendre.

Medieval Europeans were celebrating the wonders of love and the pleasures of sex.

The words on our lady's tent read: To My Sole Desire. What is her only desire? Is it jewelry?

Or is she putting the necklace away and renouncing material things? Is it God? Love? The unicorn

and lion open the tent. Is she stepping out... or going in to meet the object of her desire?

Human sensuality is awakening, a dark age is ending, and the Renaissance is emerging.

Another reminder of the sophisticastion of the Middle Ages was the art of stained glass.

To see the best 13th century glass in its glorious original setting, visit the nearby

Embeded in a historic complex of governmental buildings, the church's muscular Gothic buttresses

support the stone roof. The walls are essentially window holders for the church's stained glass.

Stepping inside, you're overwhemled by the most dazzling Gothic interior anywhere. In

the Bible, it's clear: light is divine. Let there be light. In a Gothic church, light

pours through stained glass like God's grace shining down on earth. Gothic architects used

their new technology to turn dark stone buildings into lanterns of light.

In the 13th century King Louis IX obtained the supposed Crown of Thorns. He needed an

appropriate place to house this precious relic. So they scrambled and built this church in

just six years. Because it was built so quickly-with one architect and one set of plans...almost

unheard of in Gothic times, the architecture is unusually harmonious.

The altar was raised up high to better display the Crown of Thorns.

Filling the walls on all four sides, the 15 story-telling panels illustrate Bible passages

from Creation in Genesis to the story of Christ. Remarkably, most of the stained glass here

is original. What you're looking at is exactly what visitors have marvelled at for eight

For a stark contrast in glass, head out to to La Defense- a forest of skyscrapers nicknamed

So often we travelers only hang out in the historic old quarters of Europe's great cities.

To see the contemporary side of Paris-a celebration of modern commerce-hop on the metro and visit

With its striking architecture and 150,000 people a day commuting here to work and even

more to shop and play, it's the engine of a modern-day economic power. Stroll the Esplanade.

The glassy buildings-which house shopping malls with hundreds of stores, convention

centers, and towering corporate headquarters-playfully compete for your attention.

With the social ethic embraced by French society, getting a building permit often comes with

a requirement to fund public art. That's why the Le Defense Esplanade is like an open-air

modern art gallery, sporting pieces that make going to work just a little more fun.

La Grande Arche, inaugurated in 1989 on the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution,

is the centerpiece of this ambitious complex. The arch is big-Notre-Dame Cathedral could

fit under it. Thousands of people work in its 35 stories. And as everywhere here, the

Back in the old center, it's time for a little shopping. Paris is a leader in the fashion

world, famous for its high end design. My Parisian friend, Delphine Prigent, is showing

me how even window shopping some of Paris's many fine boutiques can be a cultural experience.

Rick: These windows, they put so much energy into their windows.

Delphine: Yes, they have to because, you know, like, shopping is, like, a national sport

in France and we call it lèche-vitrine. So lèche-vitrine means window licking.

Rick: Window licking. Delphine: See all these different details

that they put on the window-it's very bright, very colorful.