La Belle Epoque

La Belle Epoque was so named in retrospect to describe a kind of Golden Age that existed in Europe between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the begiining of WWI (1871-1914). It was characterized by a flowering of arts of every kind, optimism and colonial expansion.It was the time of the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergère. The Eiffel Tower was built and Haussmann renovated Paris to turn it into one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Colette, Proust and Zola wrote of these times. The impressionists and Pre-Raphaelites painted while Debussy, Strauss and Ravel composed music.