Paris1972-Versailles2003

I have many pictures on these sights so will do this update on several previous posts in my black and white series, no pictures. This is my version of my eternal Paris. Long yes but Paris is worth it all, me think, You can print and use it as a guide for sightseeing in the beautiful eternal Paris, Therefore, here is my big task to tell you about the most beautiful City in the world, Paris, what else !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I

Paris brings back many memorable moments of my family life. Of course, it’s everybody’s capital city, beloved city, love city, and in addition nostalgia sets in with me as I met my future wife there on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and at the now former Bistro Romain resto near the Arc de Triomphe lol! That was 36 years ago. Of course, we lasted for 28 as she passed away in 2018 from cancer, sadly for me, Martine will always be remembered lovingly. Paris is indeed eternal for me. Since that moment in September 1990 when we met we have come back many lost count , many times, and eventually I came to worked in the city for almost 10 years, leave again and visit again now several times a year as permitted. Paris, we will always have Paris,  always nice looking at you !!!

We came in by our usual entry on the Porte Dauphiné and into Avenue Foch to the Arc de Triomphe , where we got in right from Wagram or you can come in on the side street rue de l’étoile. Great!!! We ,then, set out to walk Paris. The best way to see the city, you walk and walk!! Coming right at the Arc de Triomphe, the emblematic arch on the grand Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Then move over to fancy avenue George V,and the shots of the Tour Eiffel, and the Seine river. I did pass by the American Cathedral at avenue George V that now the renovation is over and looks great, had several meetings there. I was curious heard about it and went by the American Legion Pershing Hall at rue Pierre Charron.  Oh boy and do I have been inside on many occasions for many activities some of them mentioned here.  We had good views on a sort of cloudy day to the Assamblée Nationale, Invalides, Ecole Militaire, Eiffel tower, and passing the glorious Grand and  Petit Palais was awesome.  I went to see my old job for several years there now the Westin I was in the transition from the Intercontinental hotel (the L’Inter as we called it) and had my lunch breaks out at the Café l’Imperiale on rue Rouget de Lisle where the employees entrance to the hotel is still today.

Museums are wonderful exponents of life in Paris. It showcase the culture and way of life of its people and often of others interelations with France. It is one of the main attractions for visitors to Paris. First, there is the Paris Museum Pass, With the pass you can enter for free without waiting in line and as many times as you wish in more than 60 museums and monuments in the Paris region. You may have to go thru security lines on them but they go quickly and certainly more quicker than buying individual tickets for them. You have choices of 2, 4 or 6 days passes, with the prices correspondingly. You can purchase the pass at the museum and monuments included in the pass ; at the tourist office of the city of Paris, 25 rue des Pyramides   1éme, the tourist desks at the airports CDG ; Orly airport , and FNAC stores such as Champs-Elysées,Saint-Lazare, Ternes, and Forum Les Halles, as well at Disneyland Paris main entrance. Also, at Versailles tourist office avenue de Paris.  The official Paris museum pass : https://www.parismuseumpass.fr/en/pass

The city of Paris has join several other cities to issue a Paris Pass card offering unlimited access to more than 50 tourist attractions and museums in Paris, while avoiding the queues. This pass will also allow you to travel stress-free thanks to unlimited access to public transport included in zones 1 to 3. This card is aimed at a very specific audience: if you want to explore Paris and discover every nook and cranny of the city, this card will help you save big. If you hesitate between buying this card or the Paris Museum Pass combined with the Paris Visite card for transport; it will depend on whether you plan to use the tourist bus, take the boat on the Seine or make a few additional visits (Opera, Wax Museum, Espace Dalí…). The official Paris Pass Card: https://www.parispass.com/

By purchasing the Paris Visite card, your trips will be made easier since it includes the Paris Visite pass. You can therefore take unlimited public transport in zones 1 to 3 of Paris. The RATP Paris Visite card on transports : https://www.ratp.fr/en/titres-et-tarifs/paris-visite-travel-pass

Of course, only went to Paris by train on business, when with the family trip I did the car, king of the road, Paris is a piece of cake if you learned to drive in the NJ/NY area USA ! As I, My most used parking has been the parking Saint Lazare, entrance with car at 29 rue de Londres, and entrance on foot by 10 place Budapest as part of the network EFFIA , The official EFFIA on Saint Lazare parking : https://www.effia.com/parking/parking-paris-gare-saint-lazare-effia

You have bountiful places to see the beauty of the City such as the Musée du Louvre and its pyramid , located in the middle of the Napoleon courtyard It houses the main entrance to the museum. The Orsay Museum along the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Orsay train station, built by Victor Laloux from 1898 to 1900 and converted into a museum by decision of the President of the French Republic, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Its collections present Western art from 1848 to 1914, in all its diversity: painting, sculpture, decorative arts, graphic art, photography, architecture, etc. The Eiffel Tower is a puddled iron tower 324 meters high (with antennas) , at the Champ-de-Mars park on the banks of the Seine Its official address is 5, avenue Anatole-France. It has become the symbol of Paris and a leading tourist site. The Palais de Chaillot is located on the Chaillot hill , place du Trocadéro-et-du-11-Novembre ; home to several museums including the Musée de l’Homme, de la Marine in its west wing, the Théâtre national de Chaillot, as well as the City of Architecture and Heritage in its east wing ,the Musée des monuments français, the école de Chaillot and French Institute of Architecture.

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur) of Montmartre, known as the National  Wish, located at the top of the Butte Montmartre, in the Clignancourt neighborhood or quartier , the sanctuary of Eucharistic adoration and divine mercy and property of the Archdiocese of Paris. The construction of this church, both a political and a cultural monument, follows the post-war period of 1870. There is a famous Carrousel  my kids love it each time we mentioned it. it dates from the 18C! Ideally located on Place Saint-Pierre, and you might notice it in the popular film Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. Notre-Dame Cathedral, is one of the most emblematic monuments of Paris and of France, and the World. It is located on the Ile de la Cité ; dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Begun at the instigation of Bishop Maurice de Sully, its construction spanned more than two centuries, from 1163 to the mid-14C. On the evening of April 15, 2019, a serious fire broke out. The promise of president Macron was kept now fully open to the world again. The Saint-Eustache Church is located 146 rue Rambuteau in the 1éme arrondissement in the heart of the Halles neighborhood or quartier. The Sainte-Chapelle, also known as Sainte-Chapelle du Palais, is a palatine chapel built on the Ile de la Cité, at the request of Saint Louis in order to house the Holy Crown of Thorns, a piece of the True Cross, as well as various other relics of the Passion that he had acquired from 1239. The Saint-Germain-des-Prés Abbey ,which includes the current Saint-Germain-des-Prés Church, is a former Benedictine abbey in Paris , located 3 place Saint-Germain-des -Pres Founded in the middle of the 6C under the name of Sainte-Croix and Saint-Vincent Basilica by the Merovingian king Childebert I and Saint Germain, bishop of Paris, it owes its current name to the latter.

For sightseeing around Paris and the Seine see these : Bateaux Parisiens are an institution in Paris , my favorite ,my first taste ever with the Seine river back in 1972 (hint:blog title). It has been my favorite always. Day or night cruises, Lunch or Dinner, Enchanted cruises for children, romantic cruises for all. You get in at Port de la Bourdannais just off the Eiffel tower on the river Seine down the stairs to your right. The perennials on the block or how river cruising was started by the Bateaux Mouches ,lunch and dinner cruises, night and day cruises, you get on board at Port de la Conférence, Pont de l’Alma. The old fashion way of navigating the rivers anywhere, the Canal Saint Martin experts Canauxrama, 2,5 hrs of cruise into parc de la Villette, full day cruise to guinguette country (french country music), and now the Seine river cruises. You get it at port de l’Arsenal at the bassin de la Villette, 13 quai de la Loire. The ride on the bridges of Paris by the Vedettes du Pont Neuf, at the square du vert galant near pont neuf of course. Batobus is a noble concept of taxi on the river, you can get on and off all along its route per day. 9 stops on the Seine river to discover Paris. Take at port de la Bourdannais  near Eiffel tower on the river go down to your left. Paris Canal, is a newer concept to take you beyond the city into the river Marne, and Canal de l’Ourcq, as well as Canal St Denis, etc, you can on it at bassin de la Villette ,19 quai de la Loire, or quai Anatole France just next to musée d’Orsay boat ramp, or inside the parc de la Villette in front of the folies des visites du parc. Vedettes de Paris , take it at the port de Suffren, near Eiffel tower once go down on the river stairs to your left. Its a ride under the bridges of Paris on the Seine, very nice indeed. France Tourisme, visit Paris main monuments, diner cruise on the Seine, or Eiffel towers restos ,also booking for cabarets such as Lido and Moulin Rouge. One stop shopping. Also, tours all over France . Its at 6 rue Amiral de Coligny, 75001 or 33 quai des grands Augustins, Paris Authentic, a special way to see Paris in a 2CV car Citroën with chauffeur or driver. Many wonderful surprising places to go. You will be pickup at your hotel or train station in Paris for the ride, enjoy it ,its unique! Les Cars Rouges, tourist coach/bus  service  for visiting Paris in English or Spanish. The original tour in double decker buses.  They have change name to the Big Bus Paris.

The Grand Palais there was an event on the story of video games at the galerie sud-est. Great it is stronger now these video games lol! A wonderful retrospective on Spanish paintings from Zuloaga to Velazquez was held at the Musée de l’Orangerie in the jardin des tuileries. There was a great showing of Chinese history at the Louvre , every day from 9h to 18h except tuesdays, with night admission to 22h on wednesdays and fridays. You go in by the pyramide du louvre  cour napoleon .The program is call “La Cité Interdite”  or the forbidden city. At the Musée du Luxembourg, you saw the “3Cézanne et Paris” expo !

The famous Lido cabaret is right on the Avenue. However a whole lineup of dinner spectacle and champagne are in order for the New Year . Usually, will see this different year 2020. The wonderful stores on the avenue of historical significance after all the tourists walked by, are the Arcades des Champs-Elysées there since 1927; deco is Paris turn of the century inside, worth a detour from walking the avenue.  You continue onwards to the Concorde and pass the Galeries des Champs. Moving right alone you reach on the same side of the street towards Concorde, the Galerie du Claridge; well for us was a fixture as there is the FNAC store and our boys went crazy for games, dvd,cd accessories when in town lol! In all , a shopper’s paradise!

But we continue, into the great Jardin des Tuileries, this my boys played when young and me work just across it so it was my time off relaxation place and what a place with our great gardener André le Nôtre! The short story goes that Catherine de Médicis who was the queen regent at the time passed by and saw a dirty terrain with a tile factory (most now still covered the Louvre fortress museum); and she saw a very small plot of land well lawn and trim trees. Curious she asked who did it and they went to get the young men, admitting that it was him who did it she asked if he can do the whole terrain like that, and he said yes. Well ,the young boy was born there in a shackle, his name André Le Nôtre who later became the grand gardener of France from here to Versailles and onwards. Always nice stories!!

From the garden and my job there was an easy 5 minutes walk to the place Vendôme another jewel of Paris and a pleasure to walk it again.  However, right in the garden are two of the best museums of Paris. The  Museum of Jeu de  Paume, great contemporary modern museum , and the Museum of the Orangerie, right alone the Seine river; here you see the great work of Claude Monet ,Nymphéas!! Do take a look at the obelisk of Luxor in the place de la Concorde a gift from Egypt, and the wonderful fountains of the rivers and the seas or fontaines des fleuves et des mers. I could not help it but passed by Pizza Pino resto on the avenue, a regular meeting place for business lunch in town, and the best look from the Pont de la Concorde to the Pont Alexander III and the gorgeous Seine river. Paris is eternal! Then , I took my usual stroll thru Paris, the walk was from the porte Maillot to Concorde by metro then walk from there to gare St Lazare . Came by my wonderful place de la Madeleine, department stores, and the Church of the Madeleine, my old neighborhood where I once worked.  Wonderful to walk Paris again, a walkers’ paradise indeed. Do it…..!!!!

We continue to my first working train station in Paris, the Gare Saint Lazare many many times by here from Rive Droite in my Versailles ! Continue to the Square d’Estienne d’Orves and the magnificent Church de la Sante Trinité built between 1861 and 1867 (was a side trip for eating spots and visit) .It has a belltower bells high of 65 meters with 90 meters long and 34 meters wide, Not to mss the Théatre Mogador at no 25 Rue de Mogador built in 1919, Continue to the Church Saint Louis d’Antin and the Lycée Concorcet (of many passing in front of it). Here from 1781 to 1783 Brongniart built the convent , and chapel that by 1862 the chapel becomes the Parish Church Saint Louis d’Antin and the convent is tranformed into the high school or lycée Condorcet where Goncourt, Marcel Proust, Paul Verlaine, Stéphane Mallarmé and Eugéne Sue amongst other ,studied ! Not far from here you find the ultimate honor of seeing the Chapelle Expiatoire by the will of king Louis XVIII done between 1815 and 1826, On the same spot where the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were dump by the revolutionaries,on what was the old cementery Madeleine,that open in 1720 where 3000 victims of the French revolution were interred, such as the Swiss Guards , Louis-Philippe d’Orléans (father of later king Louis Philippe I and known after the revolution as Philippe Egalité), Danton, Lavoisier, Camille and Lucile Desmoulins etc The Chapel is on the Square Louis XVI, one of only five name after the defunct king.

You continue on the Théâtre Athénée built in 1906 , a bit further you reach the Théâtre Edouard VII that has taken since 1984 the name of Sasha Guitry, You have by here the Olympia music hall, and finally cross over to the Madeleine that on my walks to work had to go around it zillion times ! It was given to the clergy of Paris and opened as the Church de la Madeleine with its 52 corinthians columns high of 20 meters, The church has 108 meters long, 43 meters wide and 30 meters high, It dominates the place de la Madeleine the starting point of the grand boulevards as above. A bit further you reach the Church Notre Dame de l’Assomption, 263 Rue St Honoré built between 1670 and 1676, It has a cupola of 26 meters and was the parish church until 1840, It later was given to the Polish community of Paris since 1850, Here the funerals of Lafayette in 1834 and Stendhal of 1842 were held, I walked by it every day to work !

And you reach the wonderful sublime Place Vendôme, my criss cross walking it for work are memorable ! It is 213 meters long, 124 meters wide on 20k square meters of land, Created by Jules Hardouin-Mansart and done between 1686 and 1720, The obelisk done on request of Napoléon I to pay homage to the Grand Army after their triumph at Austerlitz, Austria and was done in 1806,from melted iron of canons weapons taken from the enemy in this battle finished in 1810, You can come into the Rue de la Paix, the most expensive in Paris, and awesome to have walked it for two years daily ! It was clear in 1806 to link Vendôme to the Opéra ! Before called rue Napoléon !

Former marshy area dedicated to crops and livestock, the Marais is inscribed between the Bastille République and Hôtel de Ville. It was a very much thought out place since the times of Charles V in the Hôtel Saint Pol, and later Charles VI resided at the Hôtel des Tournelles where Henri II was wounded while in a tournament gave his last breath in july 1559. The Golden age of the Marais starts with Henri IV decided a royal square or Place Royale, the future Place des Vosges. The French revolution give a fatal blow to the development of the neighborhood and it was finally save from the Second Empire (Napoléon III) on the work of Baron Haussmann, the Marais becomes industrial. Thanks to the work of the ministry of culture this neighborhood was save under the direction of André Malraux from 1962.

I start our walks by the wonderfully beautiful Hôtel Carnavalet Renaissance 16C, renovated in 1660, and known as the home of Marie de Rabutin Chantal, Marquise of Sévigné that lived it from 1677 to 1696,It was eventually acquis by the city of Paris in 1866 and by 1880 transformed into a museum on the history of the city from its origins to today. It has been expanded by the acquisition of the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau built around 1689 by/for Louis Michel Le Peletier Saint Fargeau who voted the execution of Louis XVI and was assassinated by a body guard of the king on the eve of the king’s execution January 20 1793.

You follow up on the square Léopold Achile where you can see a peach flower tree planted early in the 20C. Followed by the square George Cain that covers the old gardens of the Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau and where you see the orangery and you can see a fig tree of 6 meters! Follow this up you see the Hôtel de Donon built in 1575 and since 1988 houses the museum Cognacq-Jay that was originally in the bd des Capucines and given to the city of Paris in 1928 by Ernest Cognacq who was the founder of the Samaritaine dept store. The museum is dedicated to the 18C with decorative arts and furniture from the period. At 1 rue de la Perle you see a mansion built in 1686 for M Cognacq.

You continue on towards the old musée de la Serrure-Bricard, that showed rare pieces of roman keys, and locks as well as gothic and renaissance, It was built between 1656 and 1660 (unfortunately museum closed). Follows up with the Hôtel Salé built by a rich men in the salt business and house since 1985 the Musée Picasso. You then reach the old Archives Nationale that takes the square around the rue des Archives, rue des Quatre-Fils, rue de Vielle du Temple, and rue des François-Bourgeois. The Hôtel de Rohan-Strasbourg house the archives since 1927, The archives nationales has since been moved (see post), However, by no 58 rue des Archives you see a fortified portal with two shave towers as the only remains of the Hôtel de Clisson (b, 1371-1375) and the last witness to administrative architecture of the 14C in Paris. The Hôtel de Soubise house the archives since 1808 ( archives has been moved see post) as per the wishes of Napoléon Ier. The mansion has an impressive facade of 56 columns given to a cour d’honneur with 62 meters long and 40 meters wide. This mansion also housed the old musée de l’Histoire de France since 1867(museum now closed).

The rue des Blanc-Manteaux finished in 1690 has a classic facade coming from the city church (Barnabites) built in 1707 demolished by Haussmann in 1863. You reach the square Charles Langlois dominated by a beautiful purple maple and a gnarled paulownia . In the corner with rue Vieille du Temple and rue Francs Bourgeois you see the pretty Hôtel Hérouet built in 1500 but very much damaged by the bombings of 1944 and completely rebuilt since only original is the small tower, Here you into the rue des Rosiers and you are in another world, the heart of the Jewish quarter, the old rounded road of the wall of Philippe Auguste already hosted a Jewish community in the 13C, You see many beautiful buildings of the 18C, picturesques boutiques,and restaurants.

The rue François-Miron has two medieval houses on wood all restored at nos 11 and 13,, By no 68 you see the Hôtel de Beauvais built between 1655 and 1660 for Catherine de Beauvais a protegé of Anne of Austria, This hotel received a young Mozart in 1763 for several months,the young genius at 7 years old show up in Versailles where he will produced the first four sonates. Along the road, we reach the Hôtel de Sens built between 1475 and 1507 for the bishops of Sens of which the bishophic of Paris belongs until 1622. The mansion was greatly restored in the 20C but rest one of the best witnessed of medieval architecture in Paris. The old home of the queen Margot became in ruins when the city of Paris purchase it and after restoration open in 1961 as the Library Forney that was created in 1886 and dedicated to arts decoratives and techniques.

We reach the marvelous Village Saint Paul an urban isle save from demolition and now fully restored. There is a huge fleas here four times a year. Follow on rue des Jardins de Saint Paul you can admire the chevet back of the Church Saint Paul-Saint Louis and some remains of the wall of Philippe Auguste as two towers from the 12C. The Hôtel de Sully considered one of the prettiest of the Marais built in Renaissance style from 1624 that was greatly embellished by Minister Sully of Henri IV. The orangery has an outlet to the Place des Vosges the old Place Royale of Henri IV that takes its current name by Napoléon Ier deciding in 1800 to name it in the name of the department that first pay their taxes. The square is surrounded by 36 pavilions on arcades or 9 on each side in brick and stone such as the Pavillon surélevé du Roi at no 1 and facing it that of the Reine at no 28 , In the center the square Louis XIII has 1,3 hectares and was created by Louis XIV with plants and trees in 1783 before change to public garden in the end of the 19C. There is an equestrian statue of Louis XIII at center done in 1829 to replace a bronze statue put in 1639 by Richelieu and put down at the French revolution. The place des Vosges had many known residents such as the birthplace of Madame de Sévigné in 1626, and lived by Bossuet, Rachel, Alphonse Daudet, and Théophile Gautier, This without mentioning the most famous me think Victor Hugo that lived here from 1832 to 1848 at No 6 second floor (3rd US) of the Hôtel Rohan-Guéménée acquired by the city of Paris in 1873 and transformed into a museum in 1902 for the centenary of his birth.

We go on the wonderful walks of my eternal Paris into the small charming Place du Marché Sainte Catherine a great place for a break, The before mentioned Church Saint Paul Saint Louis done by the Jesuites in the 17C. The first stone was place by Louis XIII in 1627 and by 1641 Richelieu does the first Mass. It has an important relics such as the hearts of Louis XIII and Louis XIV ! And very famous speakers such as Bossuet and Bourdaloue as well as assisted by Madame de Sévigné. The baroque facade on three levels that hides a dome of 55 meters.

And some if not all Paris Christmas market and children’s playgrounds. Ready for this year! Of course verify before coming for dates and hours. Amongst the lighting the most beautiful me think are those by the Champs-Elysées, Montmartre, bd Saint Germain, rue de Richelieu , Place Vendôme ; Forum des Halles, et Tour Eiffel. These are Marché Paris Champs Elysées Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8éme. Village du Père Noël de Saint-Germain-des-Prés  along boulevard Saint Germain, 6éme. Village de Noël de Montparnasse  at the foot of the Tour Montparnasse,and inside the shopping center. 15 éme, Marché de Noël de Notre Dame  Notre Dame, Square Viviani / quai de Montebello, 4éme. Marché Noël at Auteuil, Fondation d’Auteuil  40, rue Jean de La Fontaine,  16éme. The Marché de Noêl Alsatian at the Gare de l’Est.Marché de Noêl BHV  Authentic snow-covered wooden cabins take place all along the rue de Rivoli. Marché de Noêl in the parvis de l’Hôtel de Ville: Located in the heart of Paris, the forecourt of the Hôtel de Ville houses wooden chalets surrounded by a pine forest. The Marché de Noêl at Champ de Mars Christmas village, and a beautiful ice rink of 300 m² (skate rental paying/ glove compulsory). The Marché de Noêl at Montmartre- Abbesses,  The Marché de Noêl under the Canopée des Halles await you in the Chatelet-les-Halles district to share with you the magic of the holidays in Paris. The Marché de la Défense ; Parvis de la Défense, Puteaux (92). The Marché de Noêl à Beaubourg 

There you go folks , some oldies but goodies from the most beautiful city in the world, i say it many times I know ::) And the most visited by UN-WTO standards! Paris we will always have Paris. Well , what can I say. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the most beautiful City in the world, Paris, what else !!! as I.

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