Cold Marble Brilliance and other Paris, France Things to Do Tips

Louis XV vowed in 1744 that if he recovered from an illness he would replace the ruined church of St. Genèvieve Abbey with an edifice to the glory of the patron saint of Paris: St. Genèvieve. The Marquis of Marigny was entrusted with the fulfillment of the vow after the king regained his health. The protégé of Marigny--Soufflot--was charged with the plans. Thus began the construction of the Panthéon. Situated on the Montagne St. Genèvieve, it had a commanding view of the city. The overall design was that of a Greek cross with a massive portico of Corinthian columns. Its ambitious lines called for a vast buidling 110m long by 84m wide, and 83m high. No less vast was its crypt.
The foundations were laid in 1758, but due to financial difficulties, it was only completed after Soufflot's death (1780) by his student, Rondelet, in 1789. No sooner completed, than the Revolutionaly government changed its mission from that of a church to that of a mausoleum for the remains of great Frenchmen. Twice since then it has reverted to being a church, only to become again a temple to the great men of France. Among those buried in its necropolis are Voltaire, Rousseau, Mirabeau, Marat, Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and Soufflot, its architect. The remains of Jean Moulin - hero of the French Resistence during the Second World War - were moved here by Charles de Gaulle. We were lucky enough to visit at a time when there weren't a lot of tourists in the building. It was eerily empty, which gave us the opportunity to view the whole building at our own pace. I honestly believe that the Pantheon is the most beautiful building that I have ever seen. I highly recommend going here. Photos are allowed and the crypt is included in your entrance fee.

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Phone: 33 1 43 54 34 51
Address: Place du Panthéon, 75005 Paris

The Louvre, which is famous for great works of art, is much more than just a museum. My suggestion is to enter the museum from its Metro exit. Follow the signs into the reception area and to your left and right as you enter will be queues for ticket machines. Just insert your money and avoid the ticket sellers--the lines go faster for the machines.
There are two kinds of tickets for the Louvre: permanent exhibitions and temporary/permanent exhibitions. If you just want to see the token pieces of art, stick to the permanent exhibitions ticket. It gets you into the three main galleries: Sully, Richeleu, and Denon. Each gallery has its own entrance, but once you get into one with your ticket, you can get to the other two without coming back to the reception area. You may notice that most people begin their visit at the Denon gallery (the Mona Lisa is here). I suggest going to the Sully gallery, which introduces you to the museum with a history of the Louvre and a medieval fortress. The main attractions of the Louvre are in all three galleries, but they are most notably are the Mona Lisa (Denon, on its own wall in a plastic casing, long lines to get into the room) and Venus de Milo (Sully, out in the open among the Greek statues).

The free map of the museum also points out other major pieces in the collection. Other must-sees are the Crown Jewels and Napoleon's Apartments. The Great Drawing Room is remnicent of the amazing rooms within Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle. Plan on spending hours and hours here. There is a lot to see, but it can get a bit repetative after a while. You can take a quick break in any of the cafes. Entrance fees are reduced on Sundays (5 Euro per person).

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This museum was our little gem. On Thursday evenings it is open until 9:45pm. We arrived in Paris on a very rainy day and decided to go here to stay dry. If you are a fan of Impressionistic Art, this place can be like heaven for you. Famous pieces by Monet, Degas, Seurat, Van Gough, and others are on display. Famous works in the collection include: Monet's "Waterlillies," Whistler's "Mother," Van Gogh's self-portrait, and many more. The "Orsay" is not as well known as the Louvre, therefore, you might not find as many crowds here. We spent a few hours here, but for a short trip, you can spend a shorter time and still get a lot out of it. The museum has a reduced price for youths (under 26) and has a restaurant and cafeteria.

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

We made a mistake. We saved the Eiffel Tower for our last day, which turned out to be the most windy day in Europe for years. During poor weather the top platform of the tower is closed. Such was our luck. But since it was our last night in Paris, we had to make the best of it. One good thing about this was that the lines were not long at all. We stood in queue for about 10 minutes, bought our tickets for the second platform (6.90 Euro each) and got onto the lift.
Upon exiting the lift, we realized just how windy it was. We were repeatedly almost knocked off of our feet! The view was lovely though. We were able to recognize all of the sights which we had spent the previous days viewing. We spent our time just walking around the second and first platforms taking pictures and looking at the city lights below. It was quite cold, but we were able to go inside the shops on both floors to warm up a bit.

Besides the visit where we climbed the tower, we did visit the tower a couple of other times. So much so that we learned how to avoid the annoying peddlers below the tower! They sell miniature tower keychains and figures, flying mechanical birds, postcards, roses, and try to paint your picture. They are persistent and rude and became quite the joke with us. It was fun to sit below the tower and watch people being taken in by the peddlers! The tower is also a great place to people watch.

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Address: Trocadero
Directions: You can see it on the horizon from everywhere!

Having seen many cathedrals on our time in England, I wasn't sure that Notre Dame would impress me much. I was completely wrong. This church is honestly like no other. The atmosphere coupled with its myths and legacy make for a magical visit. Entrance to the church is free, but it will be very crowded. We recommend taking the tower tour. The price was a couple of Euro for youths and it was well worth it. You can guide yourself through both towers. When we were there, they were having a special exhibition on Victor Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame," which was very interesting. The view from the walkway between the two towers allows you to view the frightening gargoyles along the edge and also gives you a great view of Paris. We were not able to climb up to the top tower (bad weather), but it is normally part of the tour. I am not sure if this is normally open, but we were also able to go into the bell room, which is the famous bell from Hugo's story. Another feature of the church is under the square. A museum which focuses on the Roman remains under the city is located under the square in front of the church. Luckily we paid the student rate, because it wasn't worth the money. The information given was dry and most of it was in French.

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Address: Ile de la Cité

Another famous landmark in Paris, the Arc de Triomph is a must-see. You can take the metro right to it, climb to the street, and take the underground tunnel to the center of the massive roundabout (11 roads converge on it). The Arc commemorates fallen heros of war, included a "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" (which is now a known soldier, thanks to DNA). You can pay a few Euro to climb to the top of the Arc for an interesting view of the surrounding area.
The Champs-Elysses is a shopper's paradise and also a nice walk for visitors. There are a lot of world-label shops and restaurants all along the street. Walking from the Arc, it is a straight walk all the way to the Obelisk and the Louvre. We munched on some Big Macs (our first beef in months) after a little shopping.

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

The Sacre Coeur will provide you with the second greatest view of Paris. The Metro exit leads you to a street flanked by strange shops which sell their merchandise at super-low prices. Walk up the street (you can see the church from the bottom of it), go through the gate, and you will find yourself at the church. It is a long climb to the top (something like 500 stairs) and the whole way you have to dodge those same creepy peddlers from the Eiffel Tower (except here they will try to make you a friendship bracelet). Along your way up, there are plenty of chances for a rest with the same great view ahead of you. But I must say that no matter how tired or sick you feel (I was VERY sick!) you MUST, MUST, MUST go up to the top to go into this church! It is amazing! There is a painted mural of Christ on the ceiling that is jaw-dropping. There is no photography in the church, but it isn't something that you will be forgetting quickly. The church is on a huge hill, which gets it not quite as high up as the second platform of the Eiffel Tower.

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Website: http://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/

Take the Metro stop of the same name to a small, green, metal building. The entrance fee is a few Euro. After paying, you will proceed down a narrow, winding staircase under ground. The first few areas of the walk are just tunnels, but their eerie darkness gives you the right kind of ambience for what lies ahead. Millions and millions of bones stacked up, put into cross formations, heart formations, and piles of skulls. It is an amazing sight to behold. Unfortunately, there are always a few people who can ruin a visit, like the teenagers visiting while we were there. They picked up the bones and were just generally annoying. However, we were able to get around them and enjoyed the rest of our walk. It can get damp in the corridors and bringing a flashlight is actually a great idea.

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Address: Denfert-Rochereaux

This is the famous cemetery where Jim Morrison of "The Doors" is buried. There are also some other great people buried here, including: Sarah Bernhard, Moliere, Seurat, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and many more. It is quite an interesting place with its above-ground crypts. It reminded us of New Orleans cemeteries. We had a small map of the famous graves, but it was very hard to follow. Supposedly you can get a more precise map from the cemetery office, but we didn't see any. It is very easy to find Morrison's grave though. Just follow the other people (especially teenagers). While this visit was interesting, it wasn't worth all of the trouble getting out to Lachaise. Morrison's grave wasn't nearly as exciting as some people have made it out to be and it was hard to find other people's graves.

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