Paris1972-Versailles2003

I like to add a second part to this wonderful monument of my eternal Paris using new text and older pictures, I came to see many wonderful things in Paris some like this one not open to the general public and many more times pictures not allowed except on this one. Some lucky residents do visit  like me visiting the Palais Brongniart. Let me tell you again about the Palais Brongniart of Paris, part II.

Actually, at the time I was living there, you can still visited and it is only since 2008 that is off the general public. Once out of the Paris region, and living in the Morbihan Breton, I had the opportunity to visit 4 times already !!! The architect Alexandre Théodore Brongniart was appointed,to do it , and for reference is also the architect of the famous Lycée Condorcet (high school) and of the plans of the Père-Lachaise cemetery of Paris.

The original Palais Brongniart palace was done in a neoclassical style, the building originally appeared as a rectangle 69 meters long by 41 meters wide. Placed on a base of 2.60 meters, it is surrounded by a peristyle composed of 64 Corinthian columns. Its metal roof dates from 1815. In 1902-1907, two short wings to the north and south were added by the architect Jean-Baptiste Clavel, giving a Greek cross plan. On the Rue Vivienne side, the steps are flanked by allegorical statues of Commerce done by Augustin Dumont, and Justice done by François Duret, and on the Rue Notre-Dame des Victoires side, by Agriculture done by Charles Seurre, and Industry done by James Pradier. Inside, the main staircase leads to the floor formerly occupied by the former room of the Commercial Court. On this floor, a glazed gallery overlooks the former large trading room or corbeille room located on the ground floor. Among the decorations, grisailles by Abel de Pujol and Charles Meynier depict cities in France.

A key and essential monument of Parisian heritage, the Palais Brongniart was built by the architect Brongniart at the instigation of Napoleon Bonaparte. By laying the first stone in 1808, the Emperor wanted to bring together all stock market activities in one place, a real innovation at the time aimed at optimizing the existing system. Inaugurated in 1826, the place will indeed be the lung of the financial activity of the 19C, favoring the expansion of the railways, the steel industry, and the great industrial adventures, until 1996, date of the closing of the Stock Exchange at the Palais Brongniart.

It was indeed, the headquarters of the French Stock Exchange for nearly two centuries, the Palais Brongniart now hosts major events in the heart of Paris. This historic site is a privileged place to receive general assemblies, congresses, conferences, conventions, meetings, award ceremonies awards, product launches, exhibitions, receptions, gala dinners and cocktail parties…My trips here were all of the above !

Inaugurated in November 2018, La Place, a new 400 m² space integrated into the Palais Brongniart, is a symbol of the dynamism of Fintechs and a showcase for their innovations. A place open to all, dedicated to sharing major developments that are disrupting uses and revolutionizing the economy. La Place’s mission is to promote meetings between startups, entrepreneurs and investors in the fields of finance, banking and insurance, but also to familiarize the general public with Fintech and new trends in the sector. La Place webpage : https://www.laplace-fintech.com/?lng=en

The official Palais Brongniart : https://www.palaisbrongniart.com/en

The Paris tourist office on the Palais Brongniart: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71378/Palais-Brongniart

There you go, now you have a better idea of the wonders of Paris even if off hands to the public, there are hundreds like these, just to show Paris is a living open air museum and still many secrets.  The area is wonderfully great for walks eat out and even shop; take a look. Hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

This is a very nice garden/park in Paris. I had done a previous post on its history and rides but have found new cuite pictures of my boys and decided to add to my blog. After all, as said, this blog is my life’s history hopefully for a long time more. At the time, the boys were younger, early teens and they love it. I had my world HQ nearby so it was an easy walk there and then took the kids and mom there too. Let me tell you a bit more on the Jardin d’Acclimatation of Paris. Hope you enjoy the post, and thanks for reading me over these years !

As you might know, France has thousands, and Paris hundreds, some are historical wonders, and others follies to sink in, this one is for the dreamer the kid in all of us. I have enjoy each time here even if just for walks on meetings breaks; it is wonderful and it has gotten better over time me think. The pictures are older the text is new.

The Jardin d’Acclimatation garden park for small children offers more than 40 attractions for children from 1 year old, an educational farm and restaurants on the edge of the Bois de Boulogne at the gates of Paris. A total of 42 attractions, including 17 new ones with 4 large roller-coasters, 500 animals (exotic birds, goats, rabbits, mouflons), 16 restaurants and 18 hectares of nature await you. Including the brand new Toupie which opened its doors on April 2, 2022.

Among these, we can dwell on: The steam engine: one of the 4 roller coasters in the park; The Clock Tower: A drop tower for children; Goat River: A Log Circuit; The Big and the Little Carousel; The Gondolas: A Music Express-style ride…pony rides, a zip line and an acrobatic course. It is also possible to visit the large aviary and discover the shows at the Guignol theatre.

The 18 hectares of nature have been redesigned so that the attractions blend into it. It is therefore a green park where nature remains very present that reveals itself to us. Large expanses of grass allow you to relax in the sun, while the small farm invites children to meet the animals.

The Jardin d’Acclimatation emblematic dragon takes on a new face and the roller coaster takes on the appearance of a steam engine. Among the novelties announced, a 12-meter-high bobsleigh, turbine-style aircraft is born as well as flying boats. For a trip back in time, the attractions are designed in a retro-futuristic Steampunk style, a marriage between the world of Harry Potter and that of the Lord of the Rings or even between Jules Verne and Victor Cabret.
In summer, water games are part of the game. So we go to take advantage of the misters and other fountains available to have fun and cool off.

How to get there: Metro line 1, get off at “Les Sablons” station, exit 2, then take rue d’Orléans to the entrance to the Jardin d’Acclimatation 150 meters further on. There are several bus lines such as 43 – 73 – 82 – 93  that I know of and taken elsewhere in Paris. For those bikes there is a Velib station on Boulevard des Sablons. My choice is the Car park VINCI at the Palais des Congrès. Just go over the Porte Maillot and take the Petit Train, and it will take you free witha paid admission, through the woods to the Jardin d’Acclimatation.

The official Jardin d’Acclimatation: https://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/en

The Paris tourist office on the Jardin d’Acclimatation: https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/71282/Jardin-d-Acclimatation

The wonderful Petit Train of the Jardin d’Acclimatation: https://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/en/attractions/le-petit-train

There you go folks,  a wonderful garden park of many family memories and open to all.  The Jardin d’Acclimatation  needs to be visit,  it is great ,and now better than ever. If you have children or young teens this is a must indeed in your travels to Paris.  Again, hope you enjoy the post as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health ,and many cheers to all !!!

Well for lack of a better name or my creative mind ,I believe one word is enough to describe this beauty of a transports hub and gorgeous surroundings in my eternal Paris. Never too far away it from it and one area I have visited zillions of times over the years, even if the transports there have been a lot fewer. This will be in my black and white series, no pictures. Nevertheless, let me tell you a bit more on Châtelet station of Paris !!!

The Châtelet station opened on August 6, 1900, more than two weeks after the first section of line 1 between Porte de Vincennes and Porte Maillot was put into service. The station takes its main name from its proximity to the Place du Châtelet, which is set up on the site of the Grand Châtelet, a former fortress which served as a prison and court under the Ancien Régime (monarchy), before being demolished in 1802 during from the reign of Emperor Napoleon I, In everyday language, the name of Châtelet is today used to designate not only the eponymous square, but also the RER station of Châtelet – Les Halles, or even the whole of the hypercenter of Paris.

The Châtelet station has lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14 of the Paris Metro, located in the 1éme and 4éme arrondissements of Paris. The Châtelet station is the largest underground station in the world ! The network to be served by five metro lines is the nerve center of the Paris metro and is part of a more global exchange hub integrating the Châtelet – Les Halles station as well as the Les Halles metro station. At peak times, you can see up to 120 trains per minute ! The station is located under the huge shopping center of Les Halles, which benefits from the largest cinema in France: the UGC Ciné Cité-Les Halles, with its 27 rooms. This incessant whirlwind even inspired the singer Florent Pagny for his album “Châtelet les Halles” released in the year 2000. (one of my favorite singers, he is now battling lung cancer).

The Châtelet station consists of two parts connected to each other by a long corridor equipped with two conveyor belts. They serve under Place du Châtelet ; Line 7 under Quai de Gesvres ,between Pont-Neuf and Pont Marie; and Line 11 under Victoria Avenue ;terminus preceding or following Hôtel de Ville station. It, also serve, line 1 under rue de Rivoli ; between Louvre – Rivoli and Hôtel de Ville; line 4 under rue des Halles ; between Les Halles and Cité; and line 14 diagonally between these two previous streets, parallel to line 4 ; between Pyramids and Gare de Lyon stations. The station is connected, from the northern part, by another corridor comprising three conveyor belts, to the RER station of Châtelet – Les Halles ; served by lines A, B and D, and through this, at Les Halles metro station on line 4. It is also one of the few major interchange hubs to have no service connection between the various metro lines that intersect there.

A brief introduction to the laberynth of stations here, which I have taken as needed but try to avoid as much as possible and recommend all do, The whole of the Châtelet – Les Halles station is comprise of the following lines

On the Forum side area you have the RER A line St-Germain ou Cergy ou Poissy / Boissy ou MLV Chessy, The RER B line Aéroport Roissy CDG  ou Mitry / Robinson ou St-Rémy, and the RER D line Creil ou Orry-la-Ville / Melun ou Corbeil ou Malesherbes, Also, metro line 4 Porte de Clignancourt / Bagneux – Lucie Aubrac with exits/sorties 1 Porte Marguerite de, 2  Porte Berger Forum,  3 Porte Lescot Forum, Centre Georges Pompidou, 4 Porte Rambuteau Forum , 5 Porte Saint-Eustache Forum, 6 Porte du Pont Neuf Forum, 7 Porte du Jour Forum, 8 Porte du Louvre Forum, and 9 Rue Montorgueil.

On the rue de Rivoli side area you have metro line 1  La Défense / Château de Vincennes, metro line 4  Porte de Clignancourt / Bagneux – Lucie Aubrac, and metro line 14 Mairie de Saint-Ouen / Olympiades, with exits/sorties 10 Place Sainte-Opportune, 11 Rue de Rivoli, 12  Rue Bertin Poirée, 13 Rue des Lavandières ,and 14 Rue Saint-Denis.

On the Seine river side area, you have metro line 7 La Courneuve / Mairie d’Ivry or Villejuif Louis Aragon, and metro line 11 Châtelet / Mairie des Lilas, with exits/sorties 15 Théâtre du Châtelet, 16 Place du Châtelet, 17 Théâtre de la Ville, 18 Avenue Victoria, and 19  Rue Saint-Martin.

A bit more details on the metro lines found at Châtelet station:

Metro line 1 of Paris (see post) ,The first line was done and started on July 19 1900 to be exact on 3 wagons from  Porte Maillot to Porte de Vincennes. This line is almost all underground;   except at  Bastille stop, in 1934 it was extended to Chateau de Vincennes, and by 1937 to Neuilly-sur-Seine. This line is now an automated line without driver that is computer controlled. The Châtelet Metro line 1 stops are : La Défense→ Esplanade de la Défense Pont de Neuilly Les Sablons Porte Maillot→Argentine→Charles de Gaulle-Etoile→George V→ Franklin D Roosevelt→Champs-Elysées – Clemenceau→Concorde tuileries→ Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre → Louvre – Rivoli→ Châtelet→ Hôtel de Ville→ Saint Paul→ Bastille→ Gare de Lyon→ Reuilly – Diderot→Nation→ Porte de Vincennes→ Saint Mandé→ Bérault→ Château de Vincennes.

Metro line 4 of Paris (see post), It links the north and the south of Paris, the line was progressively built starting in 1908 and not all station connected until 1910. Not before complaint from the scholars at the Institut de France of the noise, and the line diverted to Châtelet and ile de la Cité. the line was enlarged in 1977 with the station Les Halles ,dug 30 meters deep to accommodate the RER train line. It has been enlarge with the extention to mairie de Montrouge. The Châtelet Metro line 4 stops are : Porte de Clignancourt →  Simplon →   Marcadet – Poissonniers→  Château Rouge → Barbès – Rochechouart→  Gare du Nord→  Gare de l’Est Château d’Eau →  Strasbourg – Saint-Denis→  Réaumur – Sébastopol→  Etienne Marcel →  Les Halles→  Châtelet→ Cité → Saint-Michel→  Odéon→ Saint-Germain-des-Prés →  Saint-Sulpice →  Saint-Placide → Montparnasse – Bienvenüe→  Vavin →  Raspail →  Denfert-Rochereau→ Mouton-Duvernet →  Alésia → Porte d’Orléans→Mairie de Montrouge.

Metro line 7 of Paris (see post). This line has 18.6 kms, took 70 years to do all stations and is completely underground. It criss cross Paris from north east to south east with 38 stations, the first station was done in 1910 from porte de la Villette to Opéra. It has two directional segments at Mairie d’Ivry and Villejuif-Aragon. The Châtelet Metro line 7 stops/exits are: La Courneuve – May 8, 1945 → Fort d’Aubervilliers → Aubervilliers – Pantin – Quatre Chemins → Porte de la Villette → Corentin Cariou → Crimea → Riquet → Stalingrad → Louis Blanc → Château-Landon → Gare de l’Est → Poissonnière → Cadet → Le Peletier → Chaussée d’Antin – La Fayette → Opera → Pyramids → Royal Palace – Louvre Museum → Pont Neuf → Châtelet → Pont Marie → Sully – Morland → Jussieu → Place Monge → Censier – Daubenton → Les Gobelins → Place d’Italie → Tolbiac → Maison Blanche, Blue branch: Le Kremlin-Bicêtre → Villejuif – Léo Lagrange → Villejuif – Paul Vaillant-Couturier → Villejuif – Louis Aragon, Yellow branch ): Porte d’Italie → Porte de Choisy → Porte d’Ivry → Pierre and Marie Curie → Town Hall of Ivry.

Metro line 11 of Paris (see post), This line is totally underground, and is 6,2 kms long, being the shortest regular metro line. Also,none of its stations have change name since its beginning in 1935. It goes from Chatelet to Marie des Lilas. The station Telegraphe is cement reinforce of more than 20 meters deep, from 1944-45 it was under direct control of the Nazis. The line 11 was the first metro line in the world to have pneumatics material done so in 1956. The Châtelet Metro line 11 stops/sorties are :Châtelet → City Hall → Rambuteau → Arts and Crafts → Republic → Goncourt → Belleville → Pyrenees → Jourdain → Place des Fêtes → Telegraph → Porte des Lilas → Town Hall of Lilas.

Metro line 14 of Paris (see post). This is the most recent line in the Metro de Paris as it opened in October 1998. It bring together Saint Lazare at the train station to Olympiades. It replaces an older line 14 that linked the stations Invalides to Porte de Vanves and eliminated in 1976 while fusion with line 13. The current Line 14 has nothing in common with the old line. It is an automatic line, The Châtelet Metro line 14 stops/sorties are : Saint-Lazare→ Madeleine→ Pyramids→ Châtelet→ Gare de Lyon→ Bercy→ Cour Saint-Emilion→ Bibliotheque François-Mitterrand→ Olympiades.

The Châtelet station is, also , served by the following RATP bus lines : No, 21,  38, 47,  58, 67, 69,  70, 72, 74, 75,  76,  85 ,and 96 , As well as Noctilien night bus lines N11,  N12,  N13,  N14,  N15,  N16,  N21, N22, N23, N24 ,and N122.

The official Paris transports RATP ( Régie autonome des transports parisiens)  :https://www.ratp.fr/en/vos-lignes/vos-stations/chatelet

The official IDF region transports Transilien : https://www.transilien.com/en/page-deplacements

The Paris tourist office on public transports in Paris : https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/how-to-get-to-and-around-paris/public-transport

There you go folks, hope it helps get you thru the Châtelet station of Paris. A wonderful city, I agree, the most beautiful city in the world !!! And public transports to boot; Châtelet is the king of its stations. Hope you enjoy the post as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!