Paris



"It wasn't really Paris, it was more… it was more the world as I want to see it."

- Elizabeth

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It is one of the many interests of Elizabeth, and is mentioned, and even seen, in parts throughout the game.

BioShock Infinite


When Booker DeWitt sees Elizabeth for the first time in Monument Tower, he witnesses her open up a Tear to an alternate version of Paris in 1983. The Tear is open only for a short time, as Elizabeth is forced to close it to escape an oncoming fire truck. Paris is mentioned frequently throughout the game, mostly by Elizabeth, who has a romantic obsession with it. In her tower, she was exposed to Parisian art, architecture, literature, and fashion via books or by peeking through Tears. On the airship The First Lady, Booker tells Elizabeth that he is taking her to Paris.

Burial at Sea - Episode 2
"If you ask me, some things are best kept in dreams…"

- Parisian Man

At the beginning of Burial at Sea - Episode 2, Elizabeth experiences a dream wherein she is living in Paris circa 1912. She explores the sunny city, encountering unlikely personages such as famed artist Georges Seurat and even the fictional character Cosette from Les Misérables. The dream becomes outlandishly romantic as Elizabeth continues on. At one point she asks a bookstore clerk for a copy of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, but the clerk replies the book hasn't been written yet. A French song, La Vie en Rose by Édith Piaf, initially heard from a phonograph, is soon hummed or sung aloud by a crowd of French citizens and fills the air. It is even chirped by a bluebird that perches on Elizabeth's finger.

Elizabeth is then surprised to find Sally, who loses a balloon and runs after it. As Elizabeth pursues Sally, the dream rapidly deteriorates into a nightmare, as the sky clouds over, rain falls, and the city itself takes on an increasingly sinister appearance as the streets lie empty and in ruin. While progressing through the nightmarish version of Paris, the city seemingly closes off behind Elizabeth if she turns back. When Elizabeth finally catches up to Sally, she experiences visions of the girl locked in a vent and screaming in pain as the heating increases. Elizabeth exclaims regret for abandoning Sally before reawakening in Rapture.

Œuvers Distinguées
Œuvers Distinguées (English: Distinguished Oeuvres) is a bookstore in Paris, neighboring Le Triomphe. If Elizabeth chooses to enter, she will be greeted by the shopkeeper who promotes his store as containing every book desirable at a reasonable price. Elizabeth asks if he has The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, but he does not, as the book has not been written yet. The bookstore is fairly small with a view to the locked garden at the Bookstore's backyard. The store is filled with bookshelves and books. A cat rests on the mat and a bird sits in a cage.

After Elizabeth meets Sally and the whole area turns nightmarish, the bookstore is seen on ablaze, with books covering the entrance.

Le Triomphe
Le Triomphe (English: The Triumph) is an À la carte brasserie in Paris, neighboring Œuvers Distinguées. As Elizabeth walks past the restaurant, the maître d'hôtel, standing by the outdoor seating, will greet her. The interior of the restaurant is inaccessible, but Elizabeth can approach the people sitting in the fenced and awning-covered exterior of the restaurant. The outdoors has three tables, two of which are taken by loving couples, enjoying wine. One couples greets Elizabeth as they see her, while the man at the other table expresses his love to his wife, over a bottle of Verse Moi L'Ivresse, Bordeaux.

After the area turns into a nightmare the restaurant is abandoned (except for a single crow sitting on the fence), leaving only two toppled tables. The restaurant is partly on fire, caused by the blazing bookstore next door.

Menu du JourMenu of the Day [sic]:

EntréeAppetizer [sic] Plat (Au Choix)Meal (of your choice) [sic] Dessert
 * Salade NiçoiseNiçoise Salad [sic]
 * Risotto aux ChampignonsMushroom Risotto [sic] - 6F 00
 * Côte de Bœuf et sa RatatouilleRib Steak with Ratatouille [sic] - 7F 50
 * Tarte aux PommesApple Pie [sic] - 4F 50

Behind the Scenes

 * The cinema seen when Elizabeth opens the Tear in BioShock Infinite is at the time showing "La Revanche du Jedi," which translates to "Revenge of the Jedi," the original title for the real world film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.
 * There are a few hidden messages in the nightmarish version of Paris that speak to Elizabeth's past and foreshadow her future and events in the Burial at Sea - Episode 2 DLC. These include the Lutece twins' empty rowboat floating down the river, profile silhouette photos of Columbia, Daisy Fitzroy, the Luteces, Booker DeWitt, and Elizabeth herself, Sally's doll head rolling down a set of stairs, a blurred painting of Booker revealing the location of the Ace in the Hole, the ace card which blows in front of her as she runs through the streets, a billboard for lobotomy (along with a restraint bed, restraint chair, and medical tray), a wind chime made of wrenches, and the Statue of Columbia from Monument Island in the form of a fountain. If the player were to turn around and head back immediately after confronting Sally, they would see that only empty cages are left scattered in the "L'oiseau ou la Cage" booth.
 * The Paris in Burial at Sea - Episode 2 is the first time in the series that live cats and dogs are seen, as only deceased ones can be found in Rapture and Columbia.
 * Two baby carriages can be found in the city. The carriage is an exact replica of the one found outside the Kashmir Restaurant in BioShock.
 * The song played in Paris in Burial at Sea - Episode 2 is "La Vie en Rose", by Édith Piaf.
 * The 1983 version of Paris is, technically, an anachronism. The Eiffel Tower is seen at night with it's famous golden lights on. The "golden lights" were only installed two years later, in 1985.
 * The paintings found in the beginning of the Paris sequence in Burial at Sea - Episode 2 belong to various Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists including, Georges Seurat, Édouard Manet, Paul Cézanne and Claude Monet. In fact, the first two painters that greet Elizabeth are Claude Monet (the man that offered the painting) and Georges Seurat.
 * The real world paintings are the following:
 * Alfred Sisley - Boat in the Flood at Port Marly (1876)
 * Claude Monet - Water Lilies (1916)
 * Édouard Manet - A Bar at the Folies-Bergère (1882)
 * Georges Seurat - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1904)
 * John Singer Sargent - Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1892)
 * Paul Cézanne - Still Life with Apples (1893–1894)
 * Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Luncheon of the Boating Party (1880–1881)
 * William Glackens - At Mouquin's (1905)
 * In addition to the various Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists and paintings present in Elizabeth's Paris dream sequence in Burial at Sea - Episode 2, several scenes in this introductory level are meant to be reenactments of real life paintings. The recreations include Paul Cézanne's oil painting The Card Players, and Édouard Manet's paintings The Garden of Pere Lathuille and In the Conservatory.