The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and châteaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which amounted to a total of over €27 million per year in 2017. Most of these prizes are awarded by the institute on the recommendation of the académies. read more…
The Musée de la Franc-Maçonnerie (French Museum of Freemasonry) is a museum of Freemasonry located in the 9th arrondissement at 16, rue Cadet, Paris, France. It is open daily except Sundays and Mondays; an admission fee is charged. The closest métro station is Cadet. read more…
The Place Dauphine is a public square located near the western end of the Île de la Cité in the first arrondissement of Paris. It was initiated by Henry IV in 1607, the second of his projects for public squares in Paris, the first being the Place Royale (now the Place des Vosges). He named it for his son, the Dauphin of France and future Louis XIII, who had been born in 1601. From the “square”, actually triangular in shape, one can access the middle of the Pont Neuf, a bridge which connects the left and right banks of the Seine by passing over the Île de la Cité. A street called, since 1948, Rue Henri-Robert, forty metres long, connects the Place Dauphine and the bridge. Where they meet, there are two other named places, the Place du Pont-Neuf and the Square du Vert-Galant. read more…
Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marnedepartment in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 5.3 kilometres (4 mi) from the centre of Paris. Paris’s main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the commune and now extends into the northern parts of Ivry. Asian commercial activity, especially Chinese and Vietnamese, has greatly increased in Ivry-sur-Seine during the past two decades. The commune contains one of the highest concentrations of Vietnamese in France, who began settling in the city in the late 1970s after the Vietnam War. read more…
The Paris Observatory (French: Observatoire de Paris), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Bank of the Seine in central Paris, but most of the staff work on a satellite campus in Meudon, a suburb southwest of Paris. The Paris Observatory was founded in 1667. Construction was completed by the early 1670s and coincided with a major push for increased science, and the founding of the Royal Academy of Sciences. King Louis XIV’s minister of finance organized a “scientific powerhouse” to increase understanding of astronomy, maritime navigation, and science in general. Through the centuries the Paris Observatory has continued in support of astronomical activities, and in the 21st century connects multiple sites and organizations, supporting astronomy and science, past and present. read more…
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