L'amour de Paris: French artist shows his passion for the city of love by creating huge model in his back garden

By LEON WATSON

In-Seine: Gerard Brion stands on a replica of the Eiffel Tower in his garden where he has built a miniature model of the French capital

Paris is known the world over as the city of love. But one Frenchman has taken l'amour a step further, albeit in a slightly in-Seine way.
Gerard Brion has spent 15 years and clocked up more than 20,000 hours hand-crafting a miniature version of the French capital in his garden using recycled materials.
They included soup cans, baby food jars and other bits of waste that would otherwise be destined for the bin.
But what he created was certainly not rubbish - it is incredibly realistic down to the smallest detail.

Kneeling in front of the Notre Dame, Mr Brion's passion and gift for architecture and drawing date back to his childhood

Mr Brion's model is now a major tourist attraction in it's own right with around 150,000 visitors a year travelling from far and wide to see it.
More than 40 Paris monuments are included in Mr Brion's model, such as the Champs Elysées, Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, the Seine River, and the Eiffel Tower.
The miniature city, which is planted with 400 bonsais, is on a 1:130 scale and set in his garden Vaissac in the South of France.

More than 40 Paris monuments are included in Mr Brion's model, such as the Champs Elysées, Montmartre, Sacré Coeur, Arc de Triomphe, the Seine River, and the Eiffel Tower

Mr Brion sits in the central court of Les Invalides, one of his impressive models that has helps to attract 150,000 visitors a year

Mr Brion in his workshop making one of his miniature buildings


The miniature city, which is planted with 400 bonsais, is on a 1:130 scale and set in his garden Vaissac in the South of France

source: dailymail