Every year, Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to get together with their families over a hearty meal and give thanks for the good things in life. Why not take advantage of this popular holiday to treat yourself to an American-style dinner, before heading off to discover Paris' American heritage and sites?
Many of the capital's monuments and sites are, in fact, representative of the various facets ofAmerican history and influence, from diplomatic relations between the two countries to cultural and artistic contributions. They bear witness to the profound relationship between the United States and France throughout their respective histories.
The American Cathedral of Paris
23 avenue George V
Paris 8
Located in the chic Champs-Elysées district, the American Cathedral of Paris was built in 1881. An Anglican church and the first American Episcopalian church to be built outside the USA, the cathedral was built in the neo-Gothic style to designs by British architect George Edmund Street.
Inside, the 42 stained glass windows are the work of stained glass artist James Bell, based on the theme of the Te Deum. The spire was added later, as were the presbytery and the memorial to the American soldiers who died in the First World War. The cathedral, bell tower and covered gallery are all listed as Monuments Historiques.
The American Church of Paris
65 quai d'Orsay
Paris 7
Why not step through the doors of theAmerican Church of Paris and attend mass... in English? On the waterfront, a stone's throw from the Pont de l'Alma, the American Church was built between 1925 and 1931, following the arrival of many Americans in the capital to work and trade in the early 19th century.
Neo-Gothic in style, the church is open to all who wish to contemplate its stained glass windows and magnificent organs, or attend a mass.
The Statue ofLiberty
On Swan Island
Paris 15
You're probably familiar with New York's Statue of Liberty, donated by France in 1886 to mark the centenary of the American Declaration of Independence, but did you know that Paris also had its own Statue of Liberty? Smaller than its American counterpart, it stands on theÎle aux Cygnes and commemorates the French and American revolutions.
The work of sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and a gift to the City of Paris from the Comité des Américains de Paris, the statue was initially installed on Place des Etats-Unis in 1885, before being moved to Ile aux Cygnes, opposite New York, in 1888.
Place des Etats-Unis
Paris 16
Located in the 16th arrondissement, in the Chaillot district, Place des Etats-Unis takes its name from theformer American Embassy, then located nearby, in this area particularly popular with American expatriates. Inaugurated in 1866 on the site of the former Chaillot reservoirs, it was originally called Place de Bitche - after the Moselle town that resisted the Prussian invasion during the 1870 war - before taking its present name in 1881.
If you speak English, you'll already have understood why the American ambassador wanted to change the name of the place, and why the Prefect of the Seine accepted the name change without batting an eyelid! In 1885, the bronze model of the Paris Statue of Liberty mentioned above was inaugurated, before it was moved.
But other statues can still be seen today on the Place des Etats-Unis, such as Auguste Bartholdi's monument to La Fayette and George Washington, donated by American journalist Joseph Pulitzer, Jean Boucher's Monument aux Volontaires américains de la Première Guerre mondiale, the statue of American researcher and anesthesia pioneer Horace Wells, and the bust of former U.S. ambassador Myron T. Herrick. Herrick, the founder of Neuilly's American Hospital, by Léon-Ernest Drivier.
Square Thomas Jefferson
1place des Etats-Unis
Paris 16
At the end of Place des Etats-Unis, Place de l'Amiral de Grasse pays tribute to the important role played by Admiral de Grasse in the American War of Independence. At the center of this square, the Square Thomas Jefferson features benches and lampposts straight from the USA, as well as railings inspired by those of New York's Battery Park. A little Big Apple in Paris, in short!
There's also a plaque commemorating the attacks of September 11, 2001, alongside a young American red oak planted at the inauguration.
Picpus Cemetery
35 rue de Picpus
Paris 12
This discreet cemetery in the 12th arrondissement is home to the tomb of Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de La Fayette, a major figure in the American War of Independence, during which he fought alongside George Washington.
His tomb is recognizable by the U.S. flag that flies permanently over it. Every July 4, the anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence, the American Embassy lays a wreath of flowers to mark the occasion.
Picpus Cemetery, a secret historic site in Paris
The Picpus cemetery in Paris is a little-known site that nevertheless represents an important part of the capital's history. Listed as a historical monument, it contains the bodies of those guillotined during the Great Terror. [Read more]
Suresnes American Cemetery
123 boulevard Washington
92150Suresnes
Located on the slopes of Mont Valérien, the Suresnes American Cemetery is home to over 1,500 graves of American soldiers who fell for France in the First World War, and 24 graves of unknown soldiers who died in the Second World War. A Wall of the Missing has been erected to perpetuate the memory of the nearly 1,000 soldiers who went missing on the battlefields or at sea during the Great War. It is also the only American military cemetery in Europe to include the dead of both wars.
The cemetery was officially inaugurated by President Woodrow Wilson on Memorial Day, May 30, 1919, in the presence of General Pershing and Marshal Foch. The section dedicated to the Second World War was inaugurated in 1952 with a ceremony led by General George Marshall.
Shakespeare & Company bookshop
37 rue de la Bûcherie
Paris 5
A cult bookshop in Paris opened in 1951 by American Sylvia Beach, Shakespeare & Company is an English-language bookshop that is as much a meeting place for Americans as it is for English... and Parisians who love Anglo-Saxon literature. Throughout its history, it has been a meeting place for many expatriate poets and writers, including Francis Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Henri Miller, William Burroughs and other Beat Generation authors.
Originally, the bookshop was located at a different address, in the Odéon district, where the first edition of James Joyce'sUlysses was published. However, the German occupation marked the end of this first address. Rumor has it that the store was closed because Sylvia Beach refused to sell the last copy of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake to a German officer.
Opposite Notre-Dame de Paris, the Shakespeare and Company Café adjoins the historic English-language bookstore founded by George Whitman. Gourmets and literary souls, you have found your paradise! [Read more]
The American Library in Paris
10 rue du Général Camou
Paris 7
Another reference point for English-speaking readers, theAmerican Library in Paris boasts a collection of over 100,000 books in English. Founded in 1920 in the capital's 7th arrondissement with books left behind by American soldiers after the First World War, the American Library in Paris is the largest English-language library on the European continent.
Throughout the year, cultural events such as conferences, author meetings, screenings and writing workshops are organized and open to all.
Dorothy's Gallery
27 rue Keller
Paris 11
Dorothy's Gallery is arguably the most American of Parisian galleries. Housed in a former 19th-century bakery near Bastille, New York artist Dorothy Polley exhibits artists from all over the world, both well-known and lesser-known, including photographers, painters and sculptors. The little extra? The secret, leafy garden at the back of the gallery.
Harry's New York Bar
5rue Daunou
Paris 2
Located near the Opéra Garnier, Harry's New York Bar is a cult favorite. It was dismantled from 7th Avenue in Manhattan and reassembled in Paris on Thanksgiving Day 1911 by American jockey Toad Sloan and the MacElhone family, who still run the place. The menu features over 350 whiskies and 400 cocktails, attracting a select clientele including Sarte and Hemingway. Harry's Bar was also the birthplace of the Bloody Mary, Side Car, Blue Lagoon and White Lady, to name but a few!
Delightfully old-fashioned, this charming bar with its long mahogany counter organizes its own election campaign. Although fictitious, it has proved to be astonishingly reliable, Harry's having been wrong only twice in 25 elections!
Here are the best addresses for American restaurants in Paris where you can enjoy bagels, burgers, pancakes and competitive ribs! [Read more]
Picpus Cemetery, a secret historic site in Paris
Shakespeare and Company, the most English-speaking bookstore in Paris
American restaurants in Paris
