Paris, the capital of France. Here are some photos from my recent trip.

A good place to begin is Place de la Bastille, where the famous prison was destroyed by a people who has the potential to turn violent in important hystorical moments. In the center is the July Column.

The neighborhood where I stayed, with the Bastille area in the background.

The opposite view of Bassin de l’Arsenal.

On the Pont Charles-de-Gaulle. The green building is the Cité de la Mode et du Design, near the port d’Austerlitz.

Groupe Le Monde, known for the newspaper, near the Gare d’Austerlitz.

Looking back along the Pont Charles-de-Gaulle, towards Gare de Lyon and its tower.

The Seine River.

Paris relies heavily on tourism by creating a legend – or a mirage – around all things French.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

Hôtel Dieu hospital with the known motto of “Freedom-Equality-Fraternity”, which remains until today an ideal… Hotel in French has multiple confusing meanings: hotel, “hotel de ville” (town hall), “hotel de police” (police headquarters), “hotel du département” (prefecture or county council) or… hospital. Hôtel actually means building and the translation changes by context.

Paris is a place of great spaces; everything is huge and the distances are enormous.

The tower of the… Eiffel Tower… in the distance; it’s the tallest.

A perspective on the Seine and the Notre-Dame cathedral from Quai Henri IV.

The Paris Metro underground station entrance at Bastille.

Paroisse Saint-Paul Saint-Louis.

A typical Parisian street, Rue de Rivoli.

Perspective near the Place des Vosges.

Maison de Victor Hugo, the house where Hugo lived.

Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, lined with trees and red brick houses, built by Henri IV in 1612.

A French garden is always obsessed with symmetry and geometry.

The feeling you get in Paris on the streets in spring…