We continue our views of #vued’optique published by #Laurie&WhittlePublishers. We look at 6 different city prospects. We start in France and of course with Paris.We see a scene of the river Seine as it divides to bypass the Ile de la Cite. It is considered to be the epicentre of Paris and the site of Norte-Dame Cathedral. The bridge seen connects the Ile Saint-Louis to Ile de la Cite. I am not quite sure why the horsemen are riding down the ramp into the river. From here we move to the Chateau de Versailles. We look down towards the palace. It was the royal residence until the French Revolution in 1789 and is located some 12 miles from Paris. A place of great events in history. Marie Antoinette married here, the Peace of Paris (1783) was signed here as well as the Proclamation of the German Empire and the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI. It is now a Unesco World Heritage site and welcomes close to 8 million tourists a year. We now take to the water and visit the city of Naples. If Italy is a boot then Naples is it’s ankle. Nearby sits Mount Vesuvius, a still active volcano, which destroyed the city of Pompeii. The city is a focal point of art and architecture, Neapolitan cuisine which includes pizza. We board our ship again and sail out of the Mediterranean to the Portuguese city of Oporto.A coastal city located in north-west Portugal. It is known for its’ bridges, the Ribeira (riverside) district, and its narrow cobbled streets. The city is also known as Porto – a mistake by the English in pronunciation led to the Oporto name. The city lies at the mouth of the Douro River. It is the second largest city in Portugal and is famous for port wine created in 1678. We re-board our ship to sail up the coast to the city of Amsterdam. This capital city of the Netherlands is famous for its elaborate canal system, its narrow houses with gabled facades, its artistic heritage. The Rijksmuseum holds works by Rembrandt and Vermeer and a visit to the Van Gogh Museum would be special too. A visit to the Anne Frank house would not be amiss and there are many small eccentric museums to visit. And we board again to set sail for distant Bombay. Today, this city is called Mumbai and lies on India’s west coast. It is a financial centre for India, it’s largest city, and the centre of the Bollywood film industry.

All the above vue d’optique were printed in 1794 and are hand-coloured. Some show there handling more than others but you can see why people would view them – to travel to places they might never get to.