The Timescope blog
Articles by the team that has reconstructed the history of Paris with historians for 10 years. History told properly, anecdotes, and ideas to (re)discover the capital.
Things to do
A one-day walking itinerary from the Lutetia arena to the banks of the Seine, retracing 2,000 years of Paris in order, and ending at golden hour with The Origins of Paris.
October 3, 2026
Things to do
Paris in December 2026 with children: a time-travel walk on the Seine as night falls, Christmas markets, department-store windows, ice rinks and rainy-day plans, from 19 December to 4 January.
October 1, 2026
Paris history
A 20-metre Gallic rampart, burnt, found under the Hôtel-Dieu in 2026: what archaeologists uncovered, the île de la Cité versus Nanterre debate, and what it changes for the origins of Paris.
September 24, 2026
News
For the 2026 Heritage Days, the Élysée screened "Au cœur du Palais" in virtual reality: 300 years of interiors reconstructed by Timescope. What the film shows, how it was made, and where to watch it still.
September 19, 2026
Deep dives
Rebuilding a razed palace, a burnt interior: when there is nothing left to copy, how do you work? Sources, documented equivalents, and the art of owning what you don't know.
September 18, 2026
Things to do
For Halloween, Paris needs no invented ghosts: the Catacombs, the Montfaucon gallows, the place de Grève and the Black Death. All true, all sourced.
September 16, 2026
Things to do
Paris in November 2026: the Armistice ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris Photo at the Grand Palais, Beaujolais nouveau on the 19th, and the Christmas lights.
September 12, 2026
Deep dives
The Turgot map and the Basel plan are gorgeous, but they embellish. What old maps of Paris get right, what they arrange, and how a reconstruction uses them.
September 8, 2026
Paris history
The Île de la Cité around 1400-1431: a palace without a king, four bridges lined with houses, and the English coronation of 1431 told by two eyewitnesses.
September 4, 2026
Things to do
A day-by-day plan for October half-term 2026 in Paris with children: time travel on the Seine, free museums, a science day, a rain plan and Halloween.
September 1, 2026
Things to do
Paris in October 2026: the Montmartre Grape Harvest Festival, autumn school holidays, Halloween in the Catacombs, and the finest light of the year.
August 26, 2026
Deep dives
In the Middle Ages, Notre-Dame's portals were painted and gilded. The evidence, what we really know, and what it changes when you reconstruct the past.
August 17, 2026
Things to do
The best alternatives to the Louvre: the Petit Palais, Carnavalet, Cluny, the Orangerie, and the open-air history museum along the banks of the Seine.
August 6, 2026
Things to do
Paris with teens, minus the sighing: VR time travel at the Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs, rooftops, street art and the tricks that keep everyone happy.
August 4, 2026
Paris history
The French word for strike comes from a Paris square, today's place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville. A sandy riverbank, day labourers, and a word that flipped meaning.
July 28, 2026
Things to do
An authentic 3-day Paris itinerary for first-time visitors: icons in the morning, neighbourhoods at night, and the city's real story where it happened.
July 24, 2026
Deep dives
AI-generated "historical" videos, viral anachronisms, errors that stick: a deep dive, studies included, into what a real historical method changes.
July 22, 2026
Paris history
The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair, marking the centenary of the French Revolution. Competition, outrage, construction: the full story.
July 19, 2026
Things to do
The reopened Catacombs, the crypt of ancient Lutetia, the sewers, quarries and ghost metro stations: what you can really visit under Paris.
July 17, 2026
Paris history
For six centuries, Parisians lived and traded on the city's bridges. Why the houses, what did they look like, and why did they disappear?
July 7, 2026
News
Twelve months after launching on the banks of the Seine, The Origins of Paris passes 35,000 visitors with a steady 4.9/5 rating. A first look back.
June 25, 2026
Deep dives
VR, AR, immersion, metaverse… We untangle virtual reality from augmented reality, with concrete examples and what it changes when you visit Paris.
April 8, 2026
Paris history
What did medieval Paris look like? From the Île de la Cité to Place de Grève, the city's medieval geography, and where to see its traces today.
February 19, 2026
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