Architecture now – aargh! or wow! ?

& a neighborhood that changes while keeping what counts

: The Pompidou Center, example of architecture that is admired and opposed.

Many visitors, like many Parisians, criticize the city's major construction of the late 20th century. But the Eiffel Tower met with the same opposition.

At the end of a general tour, we may visit Opéra Bastille, because the inside is revolutionary

and the rarely-visited area, fascinating

After the (excellent) official guide conducts the tour, we explore a neighborhood Dickens immortalized in "A Tale of Two Cities", by setting ferocious Madame Defarge, who knits while the guillotine falls, and her wineshop in what was then a slum. We explore an area that still evokes the 18th century.

Yet this is where a graphic novel sets a story about yuppies, because the new Opéra has made "Bastille" trendy. We can introduce you to its cafés, restaurants and dance halls.