Paris is one of those cities that everyone knows about and has an image in their minds about what it’s like. Once you get there you realise just how big it is and how much is there, and that pretty much everyone’s vision of Paris is true. It’s a huge city with something for just about everyone: famous monuments, old churches, luxurious palaces, lots of history, great art, delicious food, beautiful gardens and river scenery. And there’s also the traffic, regular police sirens and yes it can be dirty in some parts. We didn’t think the French were rude, most were quite pleasant and friendly. We were trying to speak French as much as we could so I don’t know if that’s a big factor. We spent a week here and when we left we felt like there was still so much we didn’t see.
We started out catching up Lauren, who I’ve known since uni, and being engineers of course we had to go do a tour of the Parisian sewer system. And yes it was interesting walking around the sewers and learning the history. They’re more modern looking than I expected. It was definitely nicer walking around high and dry rather than going on the boat ride which is what they used to take tourists around in.
Of course we had to go see the Louvre while we were in Paris.
The Louvre is a giant palace filled with paintings, sculptures, crown jewels, luxury items for the French aristocracy, suits of armour for kings as well as a tonne of historical artifacts like Egyptian mummies, Roman gladiator armour, Assyrian temples and much much more. To give you an idea of just how huge the Louvre is, the long side is 500-600m long! I’ve never felt so overwhelmed in any other place than I have there. After a day at the Louvre we were both completely brain dead and could barely string together a coherent sentence.
One of the ‘must see’ attractions of the Louvre is the Mona Lisa. It’s a bit of a zoo in front of the painting, full of people desperate to get a selfie with it. Trying to actually see it is like being in a mosh pit where you need to use your shoulders and elbows to work your way to the front of the crowd.
Or you could go at the end of the day and have a much nicer experience.
A trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Palace of Versailles. It started out as little hunting lodge, then Louis XIV came along and during his long reign he turned it into one of the most luxurious palaces in the world.
Louis XIV loved spending money and extravagant ceremonies. He even had a special ‘waking up’ and ‘going to bed’ ceremony where only very special people were invited into his bedroom to watch him wake up (or go to bed). I don’t think people would be too impressed watching me stumble out of bed in the mornings.
Probably one of the most famous people in French history is Napoleon, and you can go visit his tomb in Paris. And to fully respect the legacy of Napoleon, they give out cardboard Napoleon hats at the ticket office so you’ve got plenty of people wandering around in these black hats, and lots of adults too, not just children.
Bastille Day
On a more serious note, we were in Paris for Bastille Day. While the atrocities were happening in Nice, in Paris we were watching the fireworks display around the Eiffel Tower. The atmosphere in the crowd was relaxed, happy and festive. No one had any idea about what was going on on the other side of the country. It wasn’t until we got home and were getting ready to go to sleep that we saw the news of what had happened. Now, when I look through the photos I took of the fireworks display I get chills. I think about the horror that was going on while I was happily snapping away with the camera. So I’m going to dedicate this final picture to the victims and survivors of the attack in Nice.
Impressive place, I remember when we were there when you were only barely 2 years old.
By the way the sewer looks like movie “ninja turtles”, that is an interesting attraction for you to compare Sydney sewer, ha, ha, ha!
I’m having the same problem in Rome. Too much to see and do, i kind of want to give up. But I have one month here. At least I kind take it slow….
I was in Lyon during the attacks. I was at the fireman’s ball after the fireworks on the Rhône. To say the least the tone was a bit muted. I didn’t realise until the next morning why that was…
I didn’t realise you were going to Rome for so long, I thought you were going to go through the Balkans. While you’re in Rome go check out the Galleria Borghese. You only get 2 hours in there but it has my favourite marble sculpture: The Rape of Persephone. A month is good, you can take your time seeing stuff and not have race around all the time. We like Paris so much that we’re planning on spending a month there from late November to mid-late December. Will you be around then?
Yes I will be there then! I’m there for a month also. I’ll send you an email of dates and such closer to november.
There’s actually a part of me that just can’t be bothered to see everything. I kind of enjoy walking round different neighbourhoods more than being too touristy. I am a lazy tourist but a top notch lady of leisure.