Palais de Chaillot is another complex built for the World's Fair in Paris. The palace buildings, surrounded by the Trocadero Gardens, stand opposite the Eiffel Tower, on the other bank of the Seine.
Like the tower, Palais de Chaillot was subjected to merciless criticism and accused of monstrous bad taste. For Parisians in 1937, such severity of lines and monumentalism were too unusual, especially when examples such as the Louvre, the Grand Opera, and Notre-Dame de Paris were always before their eyes.
Palais de Chaillot consists of two pavilions curving around a park with fountains. They are connected by a terrace that offers the best view of the Eiffel Tower in the city.
Palais de Chaillot is definitely worth a visit: its architecture may not be the most impressive in Paris, but it houses interesting museums. The Museum of Monumental Art displays models of all the famous monuments and buildings of France.
The National Maritime Museum is dedicated to shipbuilding and seafaring. Among its 3000 exhibits are models of a wide variety of vessels, including the legendary Titanic, as well as antique maps and navigational instruments.
The Museum of Man will appeal not only to anthropologists, but also to anyone interested in the history of human development. It houses about half a million exhibits, from Paleolithic figurines to Rene Descartes's skull and specimens from old cabinets of curiosities.
The beautiful Trocadero Park is home to one of the world's best aquariums - CinéAqua, where about 10000 sea and river creatures live.
