We didn’t actually get to see much of the lights of Paris as it gets dark about 10pm here. But we have seen a lot of the rest of Paris. We had bought a 4 day Paris Pass before we left home and packed a lot into our 5 days here. We had booked an apartment in the Latin Quarter opposite the Sorbonne University through AirBnB. It was great and would recommend it to anyone coming here.
We were close to the Metro but could also walk to the town centre in about 10 minutes. On Saturday, we walked to our apartment on Rue Jussieu from the barge, being diverted by the filming of the new Tom Cruise movie, through the Jardin des Plantes and met our host Corine.
We caught the Metro across town to pick up our Paris Pass and then walked slowly home.
The rest of our afternoon was spent washing, buying some food after a walk around the neighbourhood and planning our next few days.
Sunday we planned to visit the Maritime museum but discovered it was closed for renovation so opted to climb the Arc de Triomphe and then walk down the Champs Élysées to visit the Hotel des Invalides which is now the Museum of the Army.
The magnificent chapel built by Napolean III houses the tomb of Napolean.
You could spend all day at this museum but we concentrated on the exhibits covering the Second World War. The story of the resistance fighters and the free French army were well done. Photos of the 1038 recipients of the Order of Liberation, created by Charles de Gaulle to honour these brave men and women, put faces to the bravery described.
Monday was the day to ride the Big Bus and see the sights. We did the classic route and then the route up to Sacre Coeur for lunch and a look at the artistic region of Montmartre.
From here we went to The Louvre, using the Rick Steve’s audio guide to see some of the key paintings and sculptures. This was in only 1 of the 3 wings of the museum.
Tuesday we walked to the nearby Pantheon, which was built by Louis XV to glorify St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.
It is now the final resting place of France’s most illustrious figures including Jean Moulin, leader of the Resistance that we heard about on Sunday and Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
We then crossed to Ile de la Cite to visit the Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame. The pictures tell the story of these 2 beautiful churches.
It was then on to the Museum of Arts and Crafts which is actually a museum dedicated to inventions and scientific discovery.
This is partly housed in an old church which made for a spectacular backdrop to their Transport section. The audio guide helped us understand the exhibits.
Wednesday was our last full day in Paris and we started with a guided tour of Opera Garnier.
They were working in the stage and auditorium area so the lights were off and we couldn’t see much, however the grandeur of this place is in the foyer and reception halls where Parisians went to see and be seen.
Designer Charles Garnier delivered an amazing building so it was surprising to hear that he wasn’t invited to the opening and had to buy tickets in the back! This is where the phantom of the opera lives and there is indeed water under the building that can be used to fight fires if required.
After lunch in the Tulleries gardens it was off to visit the Musee d’Orsay, home of the impressionists.
This museum is housed in the old Orsay railway station. We sought out Van Gogh’s painting of the church at Auvers sur Oise that we had seen a few days ago.
The day finished with a guided wine tasting in underground rooms and a river cruise on the Seine. We finished the day like a true Parisian, heading out to dinner at 9.30 at a local restaurant.
