At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Paris gained much cultural influence thanks to the World Exhibition and its pavilions, each more flamboyant than the last. Visitors from all over the world, dressed up, strolled from the Alexandre-III bridge to the Eiffel Tower. On Sundays, gamblers and elegant women traveled by carriage to Longchamp or Auteuil racecourses. The City of Light became a symbol of luxury and of the French art of living. Lines 1 and 2 of the Metropolitain were built, making it easier to get around the city. The quays of Bercy, where wine barrels were stored, were also in full swing. Merchants and beggars crossed path at the Halles de Paris, a huge market also known as the "belly of Paris", counting hundreds of market porters looking very impressive in their working clothes, transporting food for the entire population. Life was very hectic, both day and night. It was truly quite a Belle Epoque!
The Eiffel Tower and the Trocadero from the Champ-de-Mars. Paris (7th district), circa 1890.
Photo Neurdein
40x50 print cm.
The old Trocadero Palace. Paris (XVIth district), around 1890
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
1889 Paris World's Fair. View of the central dome taken from below the Eiffel Tower. Paris (7th district), 1889.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. The Eiffel Tower. Paris (7th district), 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
1889 Paris World's Fair. View of the central dome taken from below the Eiffel Tower. Paris (7th district), 1889.
Photo Neurdein
40x50 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. The Eiffel Tower, the Water Department pavilion - Worthington and the Globe Céleste. Paris (7th district), 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. The Roux-Combaluzier and Lepape elevator of the Eiffel Tower. Paris (7th district), 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Construction of the metro. One of the sides of the box of the Place Saint-Michel station, before the sinking of line n°4 (Porte de Clignancourt - Porte d'Orléans). Paris (5th district), 1905.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Construction of the metro, Porte d'Orléans - Porte de Clignancourt line. Assembly of the box for the Saint-Michel station. Paris (5th district.), July 6, 1906
Photo Charles Maindron
30x40 print cm.
Construction of the metro, Porte de Clignancourt - Porte d'Orléans line. State of the work at Place Saint-Michel and Rue Danton. Paris (6th district), July 1906
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Construction of the metro: from the left bank upstream, Austerlitz viaduct, general view of the work. Paris (13th district), December 3, 1904.
Photo Musée Carnavalet
30x40 print cm.
Panorama on the Avenue Kléber taken from the Arc de Triomphe. Paris (16th district), 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
The Arc de Triomphe and the Champs-Elysées. Paris (8th district), 1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 print cm.
Draping of the bodice, Maison Worth rue de la Paix, Paris (2nd district), 1907.
Photo Jacques Boyer
40x50 print cm.
The Bir-Hakeim bridge and the Eiffel Tower. Paris (16th district), 1908.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Flood of the Seine river quai de la Rapée. Paris (7th district), January 1910.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Bouquinistes, quai de Conti. Paris (6th district), around 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Place de la Concorde, Paris (8th district), ca. 1890-1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 print cm.
The ticket offices of the Louvre. Paris (1st district), ca. 1890-1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Woman taking a carriage. Paris, 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Group of walkers on the Alexandre III bridge. On the left in the foreground, the Italian pavilion, in the background the Turkish pavilion. Paris (7th district), 1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
50x50 print cm.
Child playing at the great basin of the Tuileries garden. Paris (1st district), ca. 1894-1895. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Collection Roger-Viollet
30x30 print cm.
Gingerbread fair or Foire du Trône. The Corvi circus. Paris (12th district), ca. 1894-1895. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Panoramic view of the Turkish and American pavilions, perspective on the Seine from the Invalides bridge. Paris, 1900.
Photo Neurdein
100x38 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Panoramic view from the Alexander III bridge. Paris, 1900.
Photo Roger-Viollet
100x38 print cm.
Lunch on the grass, the day of the Grand Prix de Longchamp. Paris (16th district), 1895. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Léon & Lévy
40x40 print cm.
Grand Prix at the Longchamp racetrack. The display of the winners. Paris (16th district), 1895. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Léon & Lévy
40x40 print cm.
Children attending a performance of Guignol in the Luxembourg Gardens. Paris (6th district), 1898.
Photo Ernest Roger
30x30 print cm.
The Senate and the Luxembourg basin. Paris (6th district), April 1895.
Photo Henri Roger
30x40 print cm.
Total eclipse of the sun. Paris, April 17, 1912.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Police officer Place de l'Opéra. Paris (9th district), circa 1910.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Coachman of the Compagnie générale des voitures de Paris. 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Coachman of fiacre or horse-drawn cab. Paris, around 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
The sculptor Gustave Michel (1851-1924) in front of the model of one of the statues of the allegorical group "Les Nautes" of the Bir-Hakeim bridge. Paris (16th district), April 18, 1905.
Photo Charles Maindron
30x40 print cm.
Camelot demonstrating chemicals. Paris, 1909.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
"Don't get married without consulting the love barometer". Camelot using an X-ray machine to predict the future. Paris, 1909.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Couples at the 14th of July ball in front of the Pantheon, rue Soufflot. Paris (5th district), 1912.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Sizaire and Naudin cars at the Vélodrome d'hiver. Paris (15th district), 1909.
Photo Roger-Viollet
30x40 print cm.
Fencing in Montmartre. Paris (18th district), 1900.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Bowling in the Jardin de Paris, 1909.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Vendeur de journaux devant un omnibus. Paris, 1899.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Cyclist reading the newspaper "Le Vélo". Paris, around 1900.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Driver of a carriage reading "L'Auto". Paris, 1900.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Modiste reading the newspaper "Le Petit Parisien". Paris, 1899.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Elegant girls at the Auteuil racecourse. Paris (16th district), March 1912.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 print cm.
Elegant women at the Longchamp racecourse. Paris (16th district), 1912.
Photo Maurice Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Elegant woman in the Bois de Boulogne. Paris, around 1910-1912.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 print cm.
Child in a slum. Paris, around 1900.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 print cm.
Savoyard chimney sweep. France, 1907.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Fort des Halles and merchants at the Halles Centrale. Paris (1st district), 1900-1905.
Photo Paul Géniaux
40x50 print cm.
Remover. Paris, 1907.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Small ragmen on the Zone. Paris, around 1900.
Photo Collection Roger-Viollet
30x40 print cm.
Sandwich men at rest. Paris, around 1900.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 print cm.
Soup vendor on the floor of the Halles Centrale de Paris (1st district), around 1900
Photo Neurdein
30x40 print cm.
Loading baskets at the Halles centrales, in front of the Saint-Eustache church (1st district), around 1900.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Raccommodeur de paniers. Paris, 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Cabaret du Lapin Agile. Parisian artists, including Poulbot, Dufy, Barrère, Neumont, Roubille, listening to Father Frédé (on guitar). Paris (18th district), around 1905.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 print cm.
Transporting barrels of wine to the Bercy warehouses. Paris (12th district), around 1903.
Photo Maurice Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Filling wine at the Bercy warehouses. Paris (12th district), around 1905.
Photo Maurice Louis Branger
30x40 print cm.
Shepherd selling the milk of his goats. Paris, 1911.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 print cm.
Unloading fish at the Halles centrales. Paris (1st district), around 1900. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 print cm.
Wholesale at the Halles centrales, weighing of the meat. Paris (1st district), around 1900. Detail of a stereoscopic view.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 print cm.
The forts of the central Halles, known as Halles de Paris. Paris (1st district), end of the 19th century.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 print cm.
"Strong with flour". Paris, around 1900.
Photo Paul Géniaux
30x30 print cm.
The carreau des Halles, in front of the Saint-Eustache church. Paris (1st district), 1910.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
40x50 print cm.
Murat, Fort des Halles. Paris (1st district), 1906.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x30 print cm.
Pictures from the album of the construction of the Eiffel Tower, step by step, for the 1889 Paris World's Fair. Views of the Champs-de-Mars photographed from one of the towers of the Trocadero Palace. Paris (16th district). Views of May 10, Oct 14, Dec 26, 1888, and of the completed tower March 31, 1889.
Photo Théophile Féau
24x36 print cm.
Pictures from the album of the construction of the Eiffel Tower, step by step, for the Universal Exhibition of 1889. Views of the Champs-de-Mars photographed from one of the towers of the Trocadero Palace. Paris (16th district). View of the completed tower: March 31, 1889
Photo Théophile Féau
18x 24 print cm.
1900 Paris World's Fair. The moving sidewalk and the pavilion of Italy. Paris (7th district), 1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 print cm.