In a famous poem Victor Hugo asked what humanity would lose should one day the voice of Paris be stilled. No one could seriously imagine a world without Paris, a city of dreams, a focus for all our desires. At least once in a lifetime we should all see this shining, generous "ville lumière", this legendary, eternal city. As Hemingway said it is part of man's education, an introduction to life. Allow yourself to be seduced, enchanted and embraced by its boundless beauty. This is a city that has never spared any expense in maintaining its own reputation and history. To celebrate the centenary of the French revolution it built the Eiffel tower; linking his name with the most controversial architectural project in the capital's history, Pompidou sponsored the bizarre Beaubourg; in his turn Mitterrand lent his support to the great white arch of the Défense project and celebrated the bicentenary of the Louvre by inaugurating a new wing of the museum pierced by the tip of a glass pyramid. The continual evolution in which Paris confidently blends past, present and future is a means of gathering memories, spectres and hopes and of restating its role as the eternal queen and lover.
