Paris Things to Do Tips by Dabs

Musee de Cluny-The Lady and the Unicorn Musée du Moyen Age (Middle Ages) - Musée de Cluny Review

Last visit June 2013

We were staying right around the corner from the Musee de Cluny and as we had Museum Passes I figured we would stop to see the highlight of the museum, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, a delightful series of 6 tapestries, 1 for each of the senses and the last called "A Mon Seul Desir". Unfortunately they are currently off display until November 2013 while the museum undergoes renovation, they are currently in Toyko and will then be sent to Osaka.

Included on the museum pass, an excellent place to buy the pass BTW as this museum was never crowded.

Address: 6 place Paul Painlevé

Directions: Where Boulevard Saint-Michel meets Boulevard Saint-Germain... couldn't be easier. Metro Cluny-Sorbonne (closer) or Saint-Michel (not far at all).

Website: http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/

Musee Rodin Musée Rodin Review

Last visit June 2013

I almost took the Musee Rodin off our list as I heard they had major reconstruction underway in 2013 but it appears that most of the collection is still on display, certainly most of the garden is open and much of the interior. The museum, devoted to the works of French artist Auguste Rodin, is located in the former Hotel Biron near Invalides. The state bought the Hotel in 1911 and Rodin agreed to donate his entire collection of sculptures and drawings along with his photographs and archives if they devoted a museum to him. They did just that although a couple of years after his death.

Although there's quite a bit to see inside, the warmer months are a better time to visit as many of the sculptures are outside in the garden, a nice place to have a picnic lunch amidst some of his most well known works such as The Thinker, The Burghers of Calais, The Gates of Hell and one of his many statues of Balzac. Come to think of it, you might not to gaze upon Balzac while eating, he's definitely someone that should have never been sculpted in the nude!

Directions: Metro: Varennes, Invalides or Saint-François-Xavier

Website: http://www.musee-rodin.fr/

View from the top of the Galeries Lafayette Shopping Review

Once upon a time the best department store free view was from the top of La Samarataine but as they have closed and do not appear to be reopening, the next best free view from on top of a department store is the terrasse level of the Galeries Lafayette near the Opera Garnier although I've also read Au Printemps has a good view from their 9th floor terrace. Next time....

We took the escalator up to the 7th floor, there is an enormous terrace with no charge where you can sit or stand and get a nice view over Paris. There is also a restaurant located on the terrace. The terrace is not open all year long, I believe one of the signs as we were going up the escalator said it opened sometime in May and closes sometime in September.

While you are there, on the ground level in the center of the building, there is a beautiful domed section in cosmetics.

Address: Boulevard Haussmann, 9th

Louvre Louvre Review

Last visit June 2013

Although my favorite art museum in Paris (and perhaps the world) is the Musee d'Orsay, a visit to the Louvre, even for a short bit, is a must see in Paris. The Louvre is a very, very large place and it is quite useful to sit down with the map and figure out where you are going. The massive building now housing the art collection was a palace from the time of Francois I, it ceased being a palace during the French Revolution. Napoleon took it back from the people and restored it to being a palace, he married his 2nd wife Marie-Louise here. Be sure to find David's Coronation of Napoleon should you have an interest in French history.

If your time is short or you have an uninterested non art lover with you, you can make a quick visit to see the must see's, DaVinci's Mona Lisa (good luck getting near to it if it's busy), Venus de Milo, Winged Victory and Michelangelo's Slaves. If your interests are more varied, you'll find Egyptian, Greek, Oriental, Etruscan and Roman antiquities, Italian renaissance paintings, European and French paintings. If impressionist art is your passion, that collection is at the Orsay. If you have several days in Paris and you have a Museum Pass, you might consider making several smaller visits to avoid museum overload.

The Louvre is included on the museum pass, the pass says that there is a special entrance in the Richlieu passageway for card holders, however, the last two times that I've visited, there has been a separate line for pass holders that cuts the queue going through I.M. Pei's glass pyramid. Both times was on a late night, from the website it looks like the Passage Richelieu entrance is only open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Check the website below for current information on opening times, etc. Currently the Louvre is open late on Wednesday and Friday until 9:45pm, closed on Tuesday and free on the 1st Sunday of the month and July 14th (Bastille Day).

Directions: Closest metro: Palais-Royal–Musée du Louvre station

Website: http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en

Musee d'Orsay Musée d'Orsay Review

Last visit June 2013

The Musee d'Orsay is my favorite art museum in Paris, perhaps even in the world as it features my favorite period for art, impressionism, the collection covers the years between 1848 and 1914 and I believe it is the best impressionist art collection in the world. I think I have visited on every one of my 6 trips to Paris, c'est magnifique!

The building itself was built as a train station for the 1900 World's Fair and was opened as the Musee d' Orsay in 1986.

The line for the museum is usually long, I kissed my museum pass as we strolled up to the special entrance and waltzed right in. Worth the price just for that!

I usually walk to the opposite end of the museum from the entrance and take the escalators straight up to the 5th level to the impressionist and post-impressionist collection including many works by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas and all of the other famous impressionist painters. You'll also find many of these same artisits on the ground floor in the pre-impressionist collection.

Closed: Monday
opening hours 9:30am-6pm, Thursday until 9:45pm
included on museum pass (make sure to go to special entrance C to skip the ticket queue), discount rate after 6pm on Thursday, 4:15pm other days

Address: 62 rue de Lille

Directions: Metro: Solferino

Website: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/

Standing on top of the Arc de Triomphe Arc de Triomphe Review

Last visit June 2013

After strolling up the Champs Elysses, head over to the Arc de Triomphe, climb up the 284 steps to find an amazing view of Paris and watch all the traffic driving round and round and round from the 12 streets radiating out from the Place Charles de Gaulle where the Arc sits. There must be an entirely different set of rules for this roundabout as none of the traffic seemed to be doing what it was supposed to, drive here at your own risk!

It was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon, shortly after his victory at Austerlitz, but it was not finished until 1836. He originally wanted it on the site of the Bastille to the east of Paris so his soldiers could "march home through arches of victory", but eventually this site was chosen.

There are four relief sculptures at the base of the Arc commemorating The Triumph of 1810, Resistance, Peace and The Departure of the Volunteers, more commonly known as La Marseillaise. Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and eternal flame commemorating the dead of the two world wars.

Entrance to the top of the Arc de Triomphe is included on the Paris Museum Pass. Do not stand in the ticket line to purchase tickets if you have the pass, this is one place the Paris Museum Pass always saves me time. And don't try to cross the traffic to get there, access is via an underground tunnel, the drivers have enough to worry about without tourists darting through traffic! The Arc is open past normal museum hours, until 10:30pm or 11pm, it's a nice place to visit both in the day and evening hours.

Address: Place Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile

Directions: Metro Line 1, 2, 6, RER A : Charles-de-Gaulle Etoile

Website: http://www.arcdetriompheparis.com/

Conciergerie Conciergerie Review

Last visit June 2013

The Conciergerie is a former palace, then prison, on the Ile de Cite. From the 10th-14th centuries it was the seat of the King of France, it was abandoned in 1358 by Charles V when he moved the palace to the Louvre. It became the first Paris prison in 1391 and, despite it's long regal history, became famous during the time of the French Revolution when many were detained here before being taken to part company with their heads, compliments of Madame Guillotine. The Conciergerie's most famous "guest" was Marie Antoinette, you can see a reconstruction of her prison cell, the place where her cell was located is now the Marie Antoinette chapel.

Included on the museum pass and easy to combine in a morning with Notre Dame and St. Chapelle.

Website: http://conciergerie.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/

Modern art museum in a not so modern city Centre Georges Pompidou Review

Modern art is not really to my liking, I can stomach Andy Warhol or Pablo Picasso or Joan Miro but when I start getting into those sections of the museum where there's a blank white canvas or really, my basic criteria is if I could produce it, with my artistic talents having been arrested shortly after stick figures, that it simply is not art and that someone is having a good chuckle over someone actually paying them for a piece of junk.

But sometimes you have to compromise and go where someone else wants to go, I tried valiantly to not shuffle my feet, groan audibly or scoff outloud. But really the visual assault starts before you even enter the building, the building itself a blight on the otherwise classy city of Paris. And the layout of the art seemed confusing and for such a well known museum, there wasn't any outstanding works, at least not according to my art student niece who was also disappointed.

Address: Place Beaubourg, 75004

Directions: Métro: Rambuteau ; RER: Châtelet-Les Halles

St. Chapelle-Beautiful stained glass chapel Sainte-Chapelle Review

Last visit June 2013

If you are at Notre Dame, St. Chapelle is very close and definitely worth a visit. Work on the two storied chapel started in 1246, built to house the relics of the Passion of Christ. The chapel at that time was part of the royal palace, the original function of the Conciergerie before it became a prison. You have to go through a security line, presumably because the chapel is next to the Palais de Justice, you then enter the lower chapel where the palace staff worshipped. It's beautiful and ornate but nothing compared to the sight you have after heading upstairs to the upper chapel where King Louis IX and his courtiers worshipped, 15 brilliant blue stained glass windows make the walls almost entirely of glass. Try to go on a day when the sun is shining through those glorious windows.

There was a separate line for the Museum Pass after security, on the day we visited the security line was about 15 minutes and the ticket queue looked to be about 15 minutes. If you have time, you can also go visit the Conciergerie next door which is also on the Museum Pass.

Address: Boulevard du Palais

Directions: Sainte-Chapelle is inside the Palais of Justice on Ile de le Cite-- a few minute walk from Notre Dame. Metro : Cite, Staint-Michel, or Chatelet. RER: Chatelet -Les-Halles, Saint-Michel

Phone: 01 53 73 78 50

Website: http://sainte-chapelle.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/

Climbing the Tower-Tours de Notre-Dame Notre Dame de Paris Review

Most recent visit June 2013, the bell tower is currently not open but we did get to go to the top of the south tower

Although many of the figures that you can see from street level on the lower part of the cathedral are true gargoyles, decorative waterspouts used to preserve the building by diverting the rain water away from it, the more photographed figures on the upper levels are grotesques or chimères since they do not function as waterspouts but are still referred to by most people as gargoyles. These famous "gargoyles" don't have any function besides gazing over Paris and forcing tourists to work off a bit of the rich French food by climbing 387 steps for a better view of them.

Climbing to the top of Notre Dame is really the only way to get a good look at these gargoyles, they are located on the Galerie des Chimères (Grand Gallery) that connects the two towers. The climb is broken down into three stages, the 1st stop in a gift shop where you can purchase tickets if you don't have the Museum Pass, the 2nd stop at the Galerie des Chimères and the 3rd stop at the top of the south tower. No elevators to help you out here! Read the signs at the entrance, on two of our visits the 3rd stop wasn't open while we were there, hmmm, did someone decide not to go to work those days? Or maybe a very specialized employee strike?

The current gargoyles on the Galerie des Chimères are not original to the building, they date to the restoration started in 1845 by architect Viollet-le-Duc. Incidentally, Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame was written in 1831 before the renovation by Viollet-le-Duc and one of the original illustrations I saw had a couple of gargoyles on that level, did his illustrations inspire the addition of these gargoyles? Or were these just replacements?

Access to the towers of Notre Dame is included on the Museum Pass but you can't use the Museum Pass to skip the line like you can at other attractions as only so many people can go up at one time. If you get there 20-30 minutes before it opens at 10am, one of you can hold the place in line while the other tours the interior, on our most recent visit in June 2013, we arrived at 9:40am and the line was already pretty long, I think we started climbing around 10:20am.

Directions: The entrance for the visit of the tower is located OUTSIDE of the cathedral, on the left-hand side of the facade, closest metro: Cite

Website: http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/spip.php?article477