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Tips 1 - 10 of 21 Paris Things to Do
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Notre Dame was the first place I wanted to see in Paris, why? It must be the most recognized church in the world, I had seen it on postcards, calendars, in news; read about it in history books and in novels and I wanted to see it in person. Of course I didn’t look for Quzimoto ringing the bell, but the stairway to the bell tower makes for an interesting climb, especially if you must squeeze by someone going in the other direction. The view of Paris is phenomenal from its top. From there you can see the architectural details up close, pretty amazing. The westside with the rose window, looks so formidable, but the flying buttresses softens its look while they are actually strengthening the structure.
Conceived by Maurice de Sully, It took 200 years to build this gothic masterpiece starting in 1163. There had been a temple to Jupiter, a Christian basilica and a Romanesque church on the site before this massive building was built. Alterations have been made over the centuries due to plundering during the French Revolution and destruction from bombs to the tombs and stained glass. At one time it was actually used as a warehouse for food and grain storage.
A restoration program was started in 1845 and lasted for 23 years. Another restoration was started in 1991 and on one visit I saw it shrouded with scaffolds, but in 1998, after the restoration, it looked much more colorful and the details were much more pronounced.
Road distances in France are calculated on the basis of the "0 km" marked on the square in front of the cathedral
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Address: Place du parvis de Notre Dame , 7500
Directions: Ile de la Cité Metro stop - Cite RER - Châtelet-Les Halles, Saint Michel-Notre Dame Busses - 21, 24, 27, 38, 47, 85, 96
Website: http://www.paris.org/monument/ndame/
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Gustave Eiffel invented and built this controversial icon in 1889 for a world’s fair to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French revolution. It was originally intended only to stand during the world’s fair. It took 2 years to build it and it weighs 9550 tons. There are 1,652 steps to the platform if you want to climb it, thankfully there are elevators, the originals, to take you to the top. From the 1,000 platform you will can gaze over Paris and if it’s a clear day, you will be able to see up to 50 miles away.
Don’t miss the a museum on the first platform, it tells you all about the history of the building. Also note the etchings on the steel beams, this is something you don’t see in pictures. At night (see photo) it’s lit up like a Christmas tree.Metro station: Bir Hakeim Opening hours: daily from 9.30am to 11.00am and from 09.00am to midnight in July and August. Prices: 1st floor 170 feet = 21FF 2nd floor 350 feet = 43FF Top floor 830 feet = 60FF Free for children under 4 years old For a virtual tour from the tower check out the interative website below - fantastic views of Paris!
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Phone: (33) 1 44 11 23 23 from France:
Address: Champs de mars 75007 Paris
Directions: Trocadero
Website: http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/
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Louvre: The Louvre History
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In it’s 800 years, the building site was a medieval fortress, a palace of the kings of France, but a museum for the last two centuries.
François I began a collection of art with 12 paintings from Italy. These included works by Titian, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci, the most famous being the Joconde - or Mona Lisa. The royal collection grew and by the reign of Louis XIII, numbered roughly 200 pieces. Henri II, and Catherine de Médicis continued to enlarge the collection, as did others. When Louis XIV died in 1715, there were 2,500 pieces of art and objects.
Until the Revolution, this collection was strictly for the private pleasure of the Court. Finally, the idea of a museum (originating with Louis XVI) was realized on 10 August 1793, when the Musée de la République opened to the public.
Napoleon greatly increased the collections with pillaging from the countries he conquered, but most of these were returned in 1815 after his defeat at Waterloo. Under Louis XVIII the Venus de Milo was acquired (for 6000F) shortly after it was rediscovered on the Island of Melos in 1820.
During the years 1981-1999, the French took on an ambitions project of enlarging and modernizing the Louvre which doubled it in size. Sino-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei took over the first major part of the modernization concept for the museum. His project, which involved the construction of a huge pyramid in the center of the cour Napoleon caused considerable controversy. The Pyramid was finally approved 1985.
The Richelieu Wing - which had ``temporarily'' housed part of the Ministry of Finance since the 18th century - was opened in 1993
Today, the catalogue lists nearly 300,000 works, only a fraction of which are on display at any one time. . .
The Louvre is free the first Sunday of the month and always free for 18 yrs & younger.
Admission price for all exhibits is 13 euros.
Open every day except Tuesdays, from 9am to 6.45pm (9.45pm on Wednesdays and Fridays).
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Phone: +33 1 40 20 53 17
Website: http://www.louvre.fr
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I wouldn't advise taking a picture like I did. The cars "zoom" down the Champs Elysees and if I would have fallen, I don't think they would have stopped! LOL
The Champs-Elysées, also named "La plus belle avenue du monde" in French (the most beautiful avenue in the world). The Champs Elysées (Elysian fields) were originally nothing but fields, until Marie de Medicis decided in 1616 to put up a long tree-lined pathway. In 1667, the Tuileries was extended and the Champs-Elysees became a very fashionable place to walk. In 1724, the avenue was extended up to Chaillot hill, now the site of the Arc de Triomphe and the Etoile In 1828 they added footpaths and the fountains. Today, the Champs Elysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, with its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops. At the very heart of Paris, it is one of the most symbolic places in the city.
The New Year's eve gathering, the 14th of July military parade as well as the arrival of the Tour de France cycling race are some of the regular events along "Les Champs".
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Built in 1900, the Orsay was originally the Orleans train station. After it was abandoned and nearly torn down they transformed this building into a first-rate museum.
Some of this artwork that is viewed here was once in the Louvre, then sent to the Jeu de Paume art museum at the end of the Tullelries. I had seen some of the Impressionist work at the Jeu de Paume, but here in the Orsay it has a better home. The Orsay is 102 foot high by 450 feet in the main hall with great use of glass to light all the exhibits.
The museum is devoted to all art forms from the second half of the 19th century (painting, sculpture, architecture, music and items from everyday life). Significant Impressionist and neo-impressionist works are on display, as well as the creations from the more conservative academic school that was also known as Pompier in France.
Displayed on the ground floor, are earlier works devoted to sculpture with Dance. The hall has two rows of smaller rooms which are filled with works by Daumier, Millet, Rousseau, and Corot. In the last room, you can find such works by Courbet. And if you like Monet, there is a room dedicated to him. Other artists present are Bazille, Delacroix, Degas and Gustave Moreau. On the second floor you can see such popular art of the nineteenth century and rooms with furniture and decoration by Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas, Sisley and Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec.How to get there Metro line 12: Solférino, Assemblée Nationale Bus : 24, 63, 68, 69, 73, 83, 84, 94. RER C : Musée d'Orsay Opening Tuesday to Sunday open 10AM - 6PM Tursday open until 9.45PM Sunday : 9AM-6PM. Closed on Mondays, 1st January, 1str May, 25th December. Free the first sunday of each month
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Address: 1, rue de la Légion-d'Honneur
Directions: Across the Seine from the Louvre
Website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/
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The Palais de Justice is a huge turreted gothic building stretching the entire length of Ile de la Cite. This site has actually been inhabited since Roman times as the governer's residence.
As you can see it's gated off with no place to enter, however when it's open (Monday - Friday 10 am - 5 pm) citizens and tourists are allowed to view the trials. Napoleon can be thanked for this, his legacy of the French judicial system.
It's my son in the picture he wanted to see the Paris courthouse as he was returning to the US to start law school.
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Phone: 01 44 32 50 00
Address: Metro Line 4 : Cite
Directions: by Notre Dame
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I was on a Bateau Mouches cruise down the Seine. I didn't know that there was a replica of the Statue of Liberty standing proudly in the middle of the river, obviously this was something I had missed in the tour books. It made me feel very endeared to the French and heard myself saying "Viva la France". It was a great reminder that the Statue of Liberty standing in the New York harbor was a gift from France and that this gift has become the becon of freedom that the US has always stood behind. This Lady was also the first thing immigrants saw when arriving by boat, it filled them with hope for a better life. Viva la France!
This state of Liberty was a gift to France from the US in 1885 and faces the original in New York.
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Directions: In the middle of the Seine near the Maison de Radio
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We made a visit to the outside of the Moulin Rouge, deciding it was just a tourist trap. Last year on our "Travel Channel" in the US there was a special about the Moulin. Now, I wished I would have spent the money to see this flamboyant show. The ladies and gents, from around the world, who are allowed to peform here are carefully selected for their height and their dancing ability. The costumes cost thousands. The dancers go through rigourous training and some learn to perform in the giant aquarium. Las Vegas has an abundance of dancers and shows, but there is still something special about seeing the cancan at the Moulin Rouge.
This building was erected in 1885 and turned into a dancehall in 1900. Only the red sails outside date from the orginal nightclub.The Moulin Rouge is open 7 nights a week, 8 pm to 2 pm. Elegant attire required
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Phone: 01 46 06 00 19
Address: 82 Blvd de Clicy 75018
Directions: Place Blanche
Website: http://www.cofrase.com/moulin_rouge/indexuk.htm
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On one of my visits to the Jarden des Tuileries was trying to get a picture of this man who looked very much like Jacques Cousteau. He didn't want his picture taken and kept moving away from my pointed camera. I finally pretended I was going to the water fountain and turned quickly and took this picture - now is this really Jacques Cousteau or just a camera-shy Parisian?
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Address: Place du Louvre
Directions: Metro: Tuileries,Concorde
Website: http://www.louvre.fr
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This place is very busy when the tourists are in season, people crossing every which way to get to the wonders of Paris.
The Place de la Concorde, which is the largest place in Paris, is situated along the Seine and sits between the Tuilerie Gardens and the beginning of the Champs Elysées. It was completed in 1763 thanks to Louis XV who of course had it called Place de la Louis XV.
During the Revolution it became the Place de la Revolution and in its center stood the guillotine that executed in the likes of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre, and 2800 others between 1793 and 1795. It is said that the smell of blood was so strong that a herd of cattle refused to cross the place. After the Revolution it had several changes of name: place de la Concorde, place Louis XV again, place Louis XVI, place de la Chartre, and once again place de la Concorde to symbolize the end of a troubled era..
The place today maintains the same general appearance that it had in the eighteenth century except the statue of Louis XV was removed during the Revolution. In its place is an Obelisk, a gift from the viceroy of Egypt..
Stand in the middle of Concorde and you will see it’s octagon shape; in the center are two fountains and at each corner of the octagon is a statue that represents French cities; Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Brest and Rouen. The Horses of Marly monument is a copy, you’ll see the original in the Louvre.
The buildings surrounding the place de la Concorde are; on the north the Hotel Crillon and Hotel of the Navy Minister, the east side is the Jeu de Paume and L’Orangerie of the Tuileries, the west being the beginning of the Champs Eysees and the south is the bridge of the Concorde built by Perronnet between 1787 and 1790.
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Address: Metro 1, 13 : Concorde
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Join a Discussion égouts
(1 replies, Saturday, Jul 26, 2008, 12:34 PM UTC) Budget room near St. Germain or Latin Quarter
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(3 replies, Thursday, Jul 24, 2008, 7:04 PM UTC) Be the first to reply to these questions Hotels in Montmarte area
(no replies yet, Sunday, Jul 20, 2008, 8:54 PM UTC) Thanks to you all.
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 Comments for Goner about Paris | | | | |
Herkbert Sat Dec 9, 2006 16:35 UTC
Hi Nancy.. Great pictures and I really liked your travelogues. Happy travels.. Tom | matcrazy1 Fri Mar 11, 2005 15:48 UTC
Great page and travelogues. I love that intro picture of Gargoyle on Notre Dame :-). I must revisit Paris to take the same picture, I see. | pepples46 Wed Sep 15, 2004 04:29 UTC
ah you're working!! I'll be back Nancy |
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