Tom`s travels: Paris (19-23/04/2017)

Having a few days off after Easter we decided to finally visit Paris. We left around midnight with a bus which took around 6 hours to reach the destination. As the bus dropped us in the suburbs of town we decided to head to the center with the metro. We got off at the Chatelet station, right in the middle of the city. The first monument we encountered was the Tour Saint-Jacques, a Flamboyant Gothic tower from the 16th century, and the only remains of the church of St Jacques de la Boucherie which was demolished during the French revolution. Not far, we passed by the Hotel de Ville which was rebuilt in the French Renaissance style in 1873 after it had been damaged during the Paris Commune two years prior. From there along the "quai" we admired the view over the Ile de la Cité with its many bridges such as the Pont Neuf, dating from the 16th century, and the medieval Conciergerie, which was formerly a prison and once part of the greater Palais de la Cité of which just some parts remain. After walking in the area we finally decided to head to the main attraction nearby; the Louvre. As it would open at 9am we decided to head there a little earlier as I had heard most of the time the waiting time was longer than the actualy visiting of the museum, which is really huge. After waiting nearly forty minutes in line we were finally able to enter, just barely managing with our luggage, as we still had it because we would check in our hotel later in the day. We toured the whole museum in around 4 hours, passing by the many collections including the egyptian, near eastern, roman and greek antiquities, european paintings etc. As we had entered there were just a few people but towards midday the interior was packed. So around 2pm we exited, me fully satisfied, while Ania maybe not so much after so long in a museum, and decided to find a spot to lay in the nearby Jardin des Tuileries. We passed the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel, built in 1808 to commemorate Napoleon, and found a sunny spot among the grass where we enjoyed the long waited sunshine and the lunch we had brought with us. After eating we headed further west and reached the large Place de la Concorde, sight of many executions during the revolution. At its north and southern ends stand two nice fountains built in 1840 while at its center stands imposing the Luxor Obelisk, a 3000 year old egyptian obelisk given to the French from the then Ottoman Pasha who took it from the Luxor Temple in 1833. It was then time for check in so we decided to head towards the hotel and leave our luggage which we still had with us. Our hotel, called Hipotel, was very close to the city center (just 45 minutes walking to the Louvre, or 15 by metro), however our stay there wasn't the best. The rooms were quite dirty, the shower which was shared dirty and small and in the end they didn't even let us leave the luggage on the day we left. Nonetheless it was cheap and central so good just for sleeping. After checking in and leaving our stuff in the room, we were back in town and ready to visit the other stuff. We started with the Sainte Chapelle, a beautiful example of Rayonnant Gothic, built under Louis IX rule in the 13th century to host the relics he had acquired in the holy land. The Chapel however suffered damage as many other buildings in the city, during the revolution, and many of its relics were destroyed or melted for gold and silver, while luckily the stained glass survived. It was refurbished and partly reconstructed during thr 19th century and the stained glass put back into place giving its current look. From there, standing on the same island, the Ile de la Cité, we headed to the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Built between the 12th and 14th century it is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture. With flying buttreses, gargoyle statues, stained glass and all that goes with such an architectural style. After visiting the interior we headed uphill across the so called Latin Quarter, passing by the Sorbonne university and reaching the Pantheon. It was unfortunately already closed as it was later afternoon so we visited the nearby church of St Etienne du Mont. Built between the 15th and 17th century in a mostly renaissance style with some gothic parts, such as the nave, the interior was very light and nice to see, as well as some splendid 17th century stained glass similar to flemish examples I had seen before. Just a few blocks from the church, we reached the Arenes de Lutece, the acient roman arean constructed in the 1st century in the roman town of Lutetia, the old name for Paris. From there we took the metro again and headed north reaching the Sacre Coeur. Sitting on top of the Butte de Montmartre, the view from up there was really great particularly in such a clear day as that one. We then entered the Basilica, which being it build at the end of the 19th century, had not a particular historical worth but more of a symbolical one. The architecture is a mix of Romano-Byzantine interpretation and there are many nationalist features such as the statues of Joan of Arc and that of Louis IX. After the visit we headed out and explore the small, nice neighborhood of Montmartre which felt so typically parisian; i guess this is why so many people come to this spot. As the sun was setting down we even managed to see the Eiffel Tower's light show from a really nice perspective. As we were heading down back to the metro and towards our hotel, we managed to walk by the famous Moulin Rouge and the lively neighborhood surrounding it. The next day we were up and about ready to visit the Versailles Palace. We headed to the metro station, got off at Jaures and took the RER line C to Versailles, 20km southwest of the city. After arriving at around 11am, we found the line at the entrance was already quite long and extending around the Cour d'Honneur. In fact, by the time we reached the entrance a whole hour had passed. Luckily entrance was also free as many other museums around the city for under 26. The palace, though very large, is not the largest; that record is held in fact by the Reggia di Caserta which I had previously vesisited, but notheless is a beautiful building from the 18th century. We visited many of the 700 romms part of the complex, including the King and Queen's apartments, the chapel, the beautiful Hall of Mirrors, and the Galerie des Batailles: a long hall portraying paintings of the most famous french battles starting with the Battle of Tolbiac of 496 to the Battle of Wagram of 1809. After the visit of the Palace, we headed out intending to see the gardens too. However, due to the fountain show involving the many water fountains scattered throughout the garden, the entrance was paid and with quite a high price so we decided to skip the visit. We thus headed out and visited the nearby Versailles Cathedral, built during the 18th century in a Neo-classical style. Taking the lice C again, we were back in the city center and headed to see the Pantheon, which this time was still open. Built at the end of the 18th century in a Neoclassical style, this huge building takes inspiration from the more famous Pantheon in Rome. Originally intended as a church it then became, and still is, a mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens. As we entered, entrance as other monuments was free for us, we immediately booked for the tour to head upstairs which was leaving in five minutes. We had a thorough explanation of the building and then ended with a beautiful view from the cupola on top. After seeing the upper part, we descended down where the tombs of many famous individuals such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Sklodowska-Curie etc were situated. After the visit, we eventually met with friends of my grandparents Nanu and Silvia, who have been living in Paris for 15 years and decided to meet us and show us around. We explored the neighborhood around the Pantheon, with Haussmann's buildings which were characterized of iron fenced balconies at the 2nd and 5th floors. We then stopped at a restaurant which our friends knew, called Hippopotamus, and after dinner walked across the Sein and saw again the Cathedral and Town Hall square by night. After thanking Nanun and Silvia and bidding a goodnight, we headed back to our hotel ready to wake up for more stuff the next day. In the morning we started out with the Musee d'Orsay, originally a train station later transformed into an art museum, and now one of the best and most known. The gallery in fact had paintings from important names such as Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, Monet etc. After visiting the museum, we went out, walking along the bank of the Seine and reached the Pont Saint Michel connecting the Ile de la Citè to the left bank. Closing the small square on the southern side, right across the bridge, stands the Fontaine St Michel, a 19th century scenic fountain. Not far we reached and entered the Church of St Severin, a nice gothic structure which arches, flying buttreses and stained glass windows. Up ahead we then reached the Musee de Cluny, which houses the national museum of the Middle Ages. Housed in the former hotel owned by the abbots of Cluny, the structure now holds many objects dating to the Middle Ages, among which are famous pieces such as the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, a series of six tapestries from the 16th century depicting the senses plus love. Below ground level, under the medieval building, stand the wonderfully restored Gallo-Roman baths which also featured some roman statues and artifacts. After the visit to the museum we took the metro and headed to the next site: Les Invalides. After reaching the destination, we first went through the usual securty scan which is now common sight in Paris, and entered the immense building complex dating to the 17th century. When the headed to the ticket office to collect our free ticket for students, and started our visit with the imposing structure of the Dome, or the main church. Inspired by St Peter's Basilica in Rome, it featured a beautiful baroque exterior and interior. As the whole complex of Les Invalides was supposed to be a hospital and retirement home for war veterans, the church now holds the remains of many French military officers. At the center of the the building, stands as the most notable example, the tomb holding the remains of Napoleon made in red quarzite. After seeing the religious building, we headed on and entered the complex of buildings holding the Musée de l'Armée or military museum, holding thousands of object ranging from medieval armours and weapons to guns and rifles of the contemporary wars. Some of the highlights included, the sword of Francois I and the helmet of Henry II. A nice addition was the large room located in the attic and containg the map reliefs of several cities in France made during the 18th century. After visiting the whole complex, as it was closing, we decided to head to the last attraction of the day which had longer opening hours. After taking yet again the metro, we reached our destionation: the Catacombs of Paris. The line to get in took quite a bit, and as there is no guarantee for entering unless you already possess a ticket we were worried we would not make it, but eventually managed to visit them. Considered as the largest cemetery in the world, they were orignally built in the 18th century, as the cemeteries of the city were overflowing and a solution was found to use the underground quarries as burial grounds. It is estimated that a total of 6 million people are buried there, and just a small part of them is open to visitors. The visit undeground took about an hour and really impressed us seeing all those piled up skeletons, sometimes arranged as columns supporting the ceiling. After the visit we decided to head to the last stop for the day: the Eiffel Tower. I was finally able to see it from up close, and as it had gotten dark it looked even more impressive. After buying a bottle of wine from a nearby supermarket, as many others had done before us and around us we took a seat on the large esplanade facing the tower and enjoyed our bottle with a view. The next day waking up a little later in the morning we headed back out in the city to explore further, however, being it our last day and having decided to take the bus back to Strasbourg later in the afternoon we headed for the nearest main metro stop to leave the luggage for the day. We then started the day with a visit to the church of La Madeleine, built in the form of a Greek temple in the 19th century, it commands a nice position near the Tuileries garden. From there a short walk south took us to the Petit Palais, a palace built during the Universal Exposition of 1900 and now housing the Fine Arts Museum of the city. Inside were several paintings and objetcs mostly by french artists. Once finished the visit to the building we went back out in the sun and walked along the quai reaching not much further yet another museum and the last one of the trip: the famous Musée de l'Orangerie. Containing an impressive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings such as the Water Lilies by Monet and other paintings by the like of Cezanne, Renoir and so on. As we had started to get slightly hungry we decided to go back through the meandering streets of the city and find something to eat. We found a creperie in a small place close to the Pantheon which tasted really good and was very cheap. After eating, we walked further, stopping by the Jardin du Luxembourg where a lot of people were enjoying the sunny day at the park. To end the day we decided to head to the Effeil Tower once more, enjoying the sun while having a small picnic there. The weather was very pleasant and we eventually stayed there until it was finally time to go pick our luggage and head to the bus which would bring us back to Strasbourg.