Place de la Madeleine • Rue Royale • Place Vendôme • Obelisco da Place de la Concorde
Mapa do bairro de la Madeleine
Estátua de Shiva Natardja, Senhor da Dança, Mmusée Guimet, Foto Jean-Pierre Dalbéra CCBY Este é um bairro elegante e relativamente novo, como outros da zona oeste da cidade. Hoje é bastante central, mas na Idade Média sequer ficava no perímetro urbano parisiense; pertencia à cidadezinha de Ville l’Éveque. A região só começou a ser valorizada no final do século XVII, quando Luís XIV mandou construir a Place Vendôme. Um século mais tarde, outra grande praça, a Luís XV (atual Place de la Concorde), foi construída ali perto, à beira do Sena, ao lado dos Jardins des Tuileries.
Desde o Segundo Império, a arquitetura do bairro foi padronizada com os mesmos prédios clássicos haussmannianos. A Place de la Madeleine e a rue Royale datam dessa época. No final do século XIX, a região assumiu uma vocação comercial que perdura até hoje; nela concentram-se grandes grifes, hotéis e restaurantes chiques e sofisticadas lojas dos mais variados produtos. Place de la Madeleine e Rue Royale.
A praça grande e elegante, em cujo centro está a igreja de la Madeleine, tem um comércio fino e variado. Ela é um dos maiores paraísos gastronômicos do planeta: as lojas Fauchon e Hédiard, os restaurantes Lucas Carton e Caviar Kaspia, o chocolatier Marquise de Sevigné e muitos outros estabelecimentos de dar água na boca ficam lá.
Links afins Atrações, dicas
Rue Royale
Entre a Place de la Madeleine e a Place de Concorde, numa localização privilegiadíssima, fica a Rue Royale, uma das mais chiques de Paris, onde o comércio é tão sofisticado quanto na Madeleine, com a vantagem de que ela é ainda mais bonita e agradável para passear. É lá que ficam o lendário restaurante Maxim’s e a antiquíssima confeitaria Ladurée. Mesmo que você esteja de regime e não queira ou não possa comprar nenhum artigo de luxo, vai adorar ir da Madeleine à Concorde a pé e conhecer um lado muito elegante de Paris.
Madeleine
(igreja) A igreja de Ste-Marie de la Madeleine, ou simplesmente Madeleine, como todo mundo a chama, é uma das mais famosas igrejas parisienses. Com seu frontão triangular e 52 colunas coríntias de 20 metros de altura, ela mais parece um imenso templo da Grécia clássica do que uma igreja católica. Uma curiosidade: repare que ela não tem nenhuma cruz no alto. Sua construção começou em 1763, durante o reinado de Luís XV, mas a planta original foi substituída pouco depois por outra, quando um novo arquiteto resolveu derrubar tudo e recomeçar os trabalhos, desta vez com um projeto neoclássico, semelhante ao do Panthéon. Com a Revolução, os trabalhos foram mais uma vez suspensos até 1806, quando Napoleão os retomou visando a transformar o edifício em um Templo da Glória em homenagem a seu exército. Em 1837, por pouco a Madeleine não virou uma estação ferroviária, até que em 1842, passou finalmente a ser uma igreja. Ao visitá-la, aproveite para desfrutar a vista da escadaria do lado sul: você verá a rue Royale, a Place de la Concorde, o Sena e, mais longe, do outro lado do rio, a Assembleia Nacional.
Place Vendôme
Concebida em 1685, durante o reinado de Luís XIV, pelo arquiteto Jules Hardouin-Mansart, essa praça é um dos endereços mais chiques do mundo. Nela ficam lojas das mais caras e elegantes grifes, além do lendário Hotel Ritz, onde se hospedam a nobreza europeia, artistas famosos, ministros de Estado, milionários e outras personalidades do mundo todo. A princesa Diana e seu namorado estavam hospedados ali quando saíram de carro na madrugada, numa corrida em alta velocidade que os levou ao acidente fatal. No local da praça, havia antigamente a residência do Duque de Vendôme.
Os trabalhos de construção começaram com as fachadas e as arcadas padronizadas, mas foram interrompidos por falta de dinheiro. Inicialmente, apenas a estátua equestre de Luís XIV pôde ser inaugurada. Somente mais tarde, durante a regência do Duque de Orléans, graças a uma hábil manobra especulativa do banqueiro escocês John Law, as obras puderam ser terminadas. A enorme coluna central, de mais de 43 metros de altura, foi construída durante o reinado de Napoleão para comemorar suas vitórias militares. Durante o século XIX, a cada mudança política, uma estátua diferente era colocada no alto dessa coluna. Primeiro, foi Napoleão vestido de imperador romano; em 1814, foi a vez de Henrique IV; no reinado de Luís XVIII, uma gigantesca flor-de-lis e, mais tarde, sob Luís Felipe, mais uma vez Napoleão, mas de sobrecasaca. A estátua que existe hoje é uma réplica da primeira.
Place de la Concorde – A mais bela praça de Paris? Para muitos, sim. Leia a página sobre la Place de la Concorde.
Musée de l’Orangerie
Fundado em 1927, o museu recebeu em 1965 a coleção Walter-Guillaume. Além de acolher exposições temporárias, tem um acervo permanente de pinturas do período de 1880 a 1930 de artistas como Renoir, Cézanne, Modigliani, Picasso e Matisse. Mas pode esquecer tudo isso: todo mundo vai lá para apreciar as embasbacantes Nymphéas, de Claude Monet, pintadas no jardim de sua casa em Giverny, que ocupam salas inteiras. Imperdível. Musée de l’Orangerie
Jardins des Tuileries
Os Jardins de Tuileries, na Rive Droite, entre o Louvre e a Avenue des Champs-Elysés, bem cuidado e repleto de estátuas é um lugar apreciado por parisienses e turistas, quando querem dar uma pausa em suas andanças. Nossa sugestão, se você for visitar o Louvre, dar uma espiada no Jardin. Saiba mais sobre o Jardin des Tuileries
Musée du Jeu de Paume
Jardins des Tuileries O Museu do Jeu de Paume, nos Jardins des Tuileries, do lado oposto ao Musée de l’Orangerie, fica em um edifício construído no reinado de Napoleão III. Durante muito tempo, o Jeu de Paume foi o mais importante museu parisiense de arte impressionista, até a transferência de seu acervo para o Musée d’Orsay, em 1986. Hoje em dia, lá são realizadas apenas exposições temporárias. Confira a programação. Musée du Jeu de Paume
Rue St-Honoré
A St-Honoré, que começa no bairro de Les Halles com um comércio menos pretensioso, vai se tornando mais luxuosa à medida que se aproxima do Palais Royal e atravessa a av. de l’Opéra. No tringulo formado pelas praças da Madeleine, da Concorde e Vendôme fica a parte mais elegante da rua. Juntamente com a praça Vendôme e a rua Royale, ela reúne algumas das principais lojas de grifes famosas, joalherias e grandes nomes da alta costura.
Concorde's last commercial flight: How Jeremy Clarkson, David Frost and Jodie Kidd flew on its final journey from New York to London on this day 20 years ago - three years after Air France crash that killed all 109 people on board
Total of three Concorde planes touched down at Heathrow on October 24, 2003
One from New York was the final commercial fight and had celebrities on board
Two other Concorde planes had already landed just minutes earlier. One carried competition winners from Edinburgh, and the other had taken invited guests around the Bay of Biscay.
There to greet them were thousands of Britons with waving Union Jacks, symbolising the pride of a nation that had been enraptured by the technological feat of supersonic travel.
Not on the agenda that day was the devastating Concorde crash in July 2000 that killed all 109 people on board.
Operators British Airways and Air France had blamed the end of Concorde on a downturn in demand and the fact it was hugely expensive.
The last Concorde flight took place in October 2003. Pictured are the flight crew from the last flight leaning out of the windows of the cockpit
On board for the journey from New York to London Heathrow were 100 lucky celebrities, including Jeremy Clarkson (above), Jodie Kidd (right) and the famed TV interviewer David Frost
It was the end of an era that had promised so much, not least London to New York in less than three hours. Twenty years ago today, Concorde made its final commercial flight. Above: The plane takes off from New York
Largely forgotten though was the tragedy three years earlier that helped seal the project's fate: the devastating Concorde crash during take-off from Paris in July 2000 that killed all 109 people on board
2003: Concorde airplanes are celebrated during last passenger flight
Concorde made its maiden flight on March 2, 1969, from Toulouse Airport. It was flown for 27 minutes by test pilot Andrew Turcat.
Concorde: Key stats
Average cruise speed: 1,320mph (Mach 2.02).
Typical take-off speed: 250mph (220kt).
Max take-off weight: 185,070kg (408,000lb).
Cabin width: 2.63m (8ft 8in).
Height: 11.30m (37ft 1in).
Wing span: 25.56m (83ft 10in).
Length: 62.10m (203ft 9in).
A little more than a month afterwards, a prototype piloted by test pilot Brian Trubshaw took off from the British Aircraft Corporation’s (BAC) site in Filton near Bristol.
The jet made a short trip to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, bringing commercial travel one step closer.
Prior to the maiden flight, the coalition of two governments and two aircraft makers - British Aircraft Corporation (now BAE Systems) and Sud-Aviation, a precursor to Airbus - had encountered a series of hurdles and differences.
Even the aircraft's name, which means 'agreement' in both languages, was a sticking point: English-style 'Concord' or 'Concorde' in French?
Britain's technology minister Tony Benn settled the dispute in 1967, keeping the 'e' for 'excellence', 'England', 'Europe' and 'Entente cordiale', as he said.
Concorde had four Rolls-Royce Olympus engines that burned 6,771 gallons (25,629 litres) of fuel every hour.
They enabled it to reach a cruising velocity of 1,350mph, twice the speed of sound.
The plane's most distinctive feature - its pointed nose - drooped downwards during take-off to allow for better pilot visibility.
Actress Dame Joan Collins boarding the last flight of Concorde from JFK to Heathrow
The last British Airways Concorde lands at London's Heathrow Airport Friday October 24, 2003, on the day that the world's first supersonic airliner retired from commercial service
'On the edge of space!': Last Concorde flight takes off
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Two other Concorde planes had already landed just minutes earlier. One carried competition winners from Edinburgh, and the other had taken invited guests around the Bay of Biscay. Above: The three planes on the runway at Heathrow
Plane-spotters line up to buy souvenirs beside the runway on the day Concorde was being retired
e last ever British Airways commercial Concorde flight touches down at Heathrow airport
The last ever British Airways commercial Concorde flight touches down at Heathrow airport
Concorde was retired from service in October 2003, with British Airways and Air France blaming a downturn in passenger numbers and rising maintenance costs
Its triangular 'delta' wings were also instantly recognisable and offered stability and efficiency.
Innovations born with Concorde advanced aeronautics, including the weight-saving aluminium for the body and the first ever use of electronic controls to replace manual ones.
According to BAE Systems, the estimated final overall cost of developing the Concorde was around $1.6 billion.
Its inaugural scheduled passenger flights were on January 21, 1976: the Paris-Rio route operated by Air France and London-Bahrain by British Airways.
But tickets did not come cheap. A return London-New York ticket in 2003 cost around £8,300 pounds ($11,960).
That meant that it was largely the preserve of the very wealthy, or the very famous.
Regular passengers included Joan Collins, Sir Paul McCartney, Diana, Princess of Wales and David Frost.
On the 2003 flight, passengers famously claimed Jeremy Clarkson launched his glass of champagne over Piers Morgan's lap.
Jock Lowe, who was the longest serving Concorde pilot, said flying the aircraft was 'like driving a sports car compared with a normal car'.
Pictured are the crew of the first ever Concorde flight. They were Michel Retif, flight engineer, Andre Turcat, captain, mechanical engineer Henri Perrier, and Jacques Guignard, co-pilot
It was until several months later on October 1, 1969 that Concorde first went supersonic during a test flight in Toulouse
The first ever Concorde flight takes off from Toulouse Airport exactly 50 years ago today on March 2, 1969
Concorde welcomed the Queen on several ocassions. She is pictured left in 1977 reading newspapers during her flight home from Bridgetown, Barbados after her Silver Jubilee tour of Canada and the West Indies. Pictured right is Her Late Majesty and Princess Anne touring a Concorde cockpit
In 1996 to mark the 50th anniversary of London's Heathrow Airport a British Airways Concorde took part in a fly past with the RAF's Red Arrows
Barbara Harmer, from Bognor Regis, flew into the record books when she became the first woman to operate a Concorde in 1993
John Tye said flying Concorde was 'a real privilege'. Mr Tye, pictured, now a training captain on the Boeing 777, said Concorde was a 'masterpiece of engineering' and 'one of the world's most beautiful creations'
The final Concorde, Flight 216, takes off from London's Heathrow Airport, en route to its birthplace Filton in western England, November 26, 2003
On July 25, 2000, Concorde's tragic defining moment came, when New York-bound Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take off from Paris
Along with everyone on the plane, four people died on the ground. Most of the passengers were German tourists
For her 80th birthday, the Queen Mother was treated to a flight on a British Airways Concorde in 1980
The Duchess of York, who became the first female Royal to gain a private pilot's licence, went on the flight deck of a Concorde supersonic jet during a visit to Heathrow Airport in 1987
The Daily Mail produced a souvenir edition that told readers where they could see one of the three last Concorde planes before they touched down at Heathrow
The Daily Mail's tribute to the incredible plane, which was a British-French project
The last of the Concordes and where to find them
CONCORDE NUMBER
REG
FIRST FLEW
LAST FLEW
WHERE IT IS LOCATED NOW
001
F-WTSS
2nd March 1969
19th October 1973
Museum of Air and Space, Le Bourget, France
002
G-BSST
9th April 1969
4th March 1976
Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, England
101
G-AXDN
17th December 1971
20th August 1977
Imperial War Museum, Duxford, England
102
F-WTSA
10th January 1973
20th May 1976
Musée Delta, Orly Airport, Paris, France
201
F-WTSB
6th December 1973
19th April 1985
Airbus Factory, Toulouse, France
202
G-BBDG
13th December 1974
24th December 1981
Brooklands Museum, Weybridge
204
G-BOAC
27th February 1975
31st October 2003
Manchester Airport, England
205
F-BVFA
27th October 1976
12th June 2003
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Chantilly, Virginia
206
G-BOAA
5th November 1975
12th August 2000
Museum of Flight, East Lothian, Scotland
207
F-BVFB
6th March 1976
24th June 2003
Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, Germany
208
G-BOAB
18th May 1976
15th August 2000
Heathrow Airport, London
209
F-BVFC
9th July 1976
27th June 2003
At the Airbus Factory, Toulouse, France
210
G-BOAD
25th August 1976
10th November 2003
Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, New York
212
G-BOAE
17th March 1977
17th November 2003
Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados
213
F-BTSD
26th June 1978
14th June 2003
The Museum of Air and Space, Le Bourget, France
214
G-BOAG
21st April 1978
5th November 2003
Museum of Flight, Seattle
215
F-BVFF
26th December 1978
11th June 2000
Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris
216
G-BOAF
20th April 1979
26th November 2003
Aerospace Bristol, England
He continued: 'The most exhilarating part was the power you had on take-off. The acceleration was really quite special.'
A Concorde timeline
November 1956: A UK committee featuring representatives from aircraft and engine manufacturers as well as government officials is established to analyse the feasibility of a supersonic airliner.
November 1962: A draft treaty is signed by the UK and France to commit to jointly building a supersonic airliner.
March 1969: A Concorde prototype flies for the first time, from Toulouse in the south of France.
January 1976: British Airways and Air France launch commercial Concorde flights.
January 1980: British Airways takes delivery of its seventh and final Concorde.
July 1985: Singer Phil Collins performs at Live Aid concerts in the UK and US on the same day by flying on Concorde.
February 1996: The fastest transatlantic crossing by an airliner is recorded by Concorde on a New York to London flight which took just two hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds.
July 2000: An Air France Concorde en route from Paris to New York crashes shortly after take-off due to an engine fire, killing all 109 people on board as well as four people on the ground. The Concorde fleets of British Airways and Air France are grounded pending an inquiry.
November 2001: Transatlantic Concorde flights resume from London and Paris following a safety upgrade.
April 2003: It is announced that Concorde will be taken out of service due to a sharp dip in passenger numbers amid global economic problems and the aftermath of September 11.
October 2003: Concorde touches down for the final time after a special flight from London Heathrow to Airbus UK's Filton airfield in Bristol.
Former British Airways captain John Tye previously described being 'glued to the TV' when the maiden flight happened in 1969.
He went on to fly the 100-seater aircraft between 1998 and 2000.
The pilot explained how it required 'absolute precision' and would push through the sound barrier while causing 'nothing more than a ripple on 100 glasses of champagne'.
He added that said Concorde was a 'masterpiece of engineering' and 'one of the world's most beautiful creations'.
On July 25, 2000, Concorde's tragic defining moment came, when New York-bound Air France Flight 4590 crashed shortly after take off from Paris.
Along with everyone on the plane, four people died on the ground. Most of the passengers were Greman tourists.
After the crash, the Concorde fleets of British Airways and Concorde were grounded and an inquiry took place.
In November 2001, flights did resume following a safety upgrade, but the superfast plane was ultimately doomed.
In April 2003 it is announced that Concorde would be taken out of service due to a sharp dip in passenger numbers amid global economic problems and the aftermath of September 11.
The final ever non-commercial Concorde flight took off from Heathrow on November 26, 2003.
It made the short journey to Filton, Bristol, where the plane first took to the skies.
During the flight, it swooped low over Bristol's Clifton Suspension Bridge in what marked one final flourish of the great plane.
Once at Filton, it was installed in an exhibition at what is now called Aerospace Bristol.
In 2016, its wheels turned for the final time when the plane was moved so it could be installed in a new purpose-built hangar.
The 17 Concorde jets that survive are now dotted around the world, either on display in museums or in storage.
Besides the one in Bristol, British Airways has a Concorde at its engineering base at Heathrow Airport.
The area is not open for visitors, but some passengers are able to see it when they land at the west London hub.
There is also a fleet of three British development Concordes, which are at Fleet Air Arm Museum in Somerset, Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire and Brooklands Museum in Surrey.
Share or comment on this article: Concorde's last commercial flight: How Jeremy Clarkson, David Frost and Jodie Kidd flew on its final journey from New York to London on this day 20 years ago - three years after Air France crash that killed all 109 people on board
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