Paris - Summer 2010

L'Ile de la Cité

After arriving at Charles De Gaulle airport after an hour and 20 minutes of travel, we picked up our luggage and reached the hotel HOTEL QUALITY OPERA SAINT LAZARE. It took almost more time to get here than to fly; after all, we had to take the shuttle from terminal 3 to terminal 1, then the train and finally the metro to the Europa station, but after that it was always easy to reach any place we wanted to visit by public transport. Once we had settled our luggage, we reached our first destination: at noon we were at Notre-Dame. After visiting the cathedral we ate our first baguette and then, staying on the Ile de la Cité, we headed to St Chapelle and the Conciergerie. Then we crossed to the other side of the Seine and took a stroll through the Latin Quarter, where the venues, especially restaurants and bistros, are buzzing.

After visiting the church of St Severin we headed toward the Sorbonne university until we reached the Panthéon. After a tour inside, we visited the church of St Etienne du Mont located beside it, truly very beautiful, then returned to the Latin Quarter for dinner and went back to the hotel early since our energy was starting to run out.

The Eiffel Tower

Wake-up at 8:00, we go out and head to the Louvre. After having breakfast at a nearby café we headed to the museum but gave up on entering because there was a line hundreds and hundreds of meters long. So we headed to the Musée D'Orsay, where we got in within a reasonable time. This is probably the most interesting museum in Paris. Small and housed inside the old station along the Seine, it holds the paintings of the greatest Impressionist masters. After finishing the visit we ate an excellent baguette and headed to the Esplanade des Invalides. This immense construction contains the military museum, but we only passed through it, reaching the Dome, the church beside it famous for its golden dome and because it contains Napoleon's tomb.

From there we headed to the Tour Eiffel, crossing the gardens and going up after a long wait, which is however worth it to be able to see the whole city from above. Finally we returned to the Latin Quarter by metro, visited the historic Shakespeare bookstore before dinner and then went back to the hotel.

The Louvre

This morning we moved faster to avoid yesterday's line at the Louvre; in fact, arriving around 9:00, we got in after 10 minutes. This museum is immense; it's unthinkable to see everything, so like us, prepare at home a list of the things that interest you and then with the map it will be easy to visit them. We started with the Italian paintings, where unfortunately everyone goes only to see the Mona Lisa without even noticing that they pass by so many other paintings of immense value… you need patience... Then we visited the sculptures, in particular Cupid and Psyche, the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. Finally we couldn't miss the Etruscan section, the Egyptian one and the Mesopotamian one.

After 4 hours we came out, grabbed an excellent baguette at a takeaway nearby and then took a stroll through the gardens of the Royal Palace, admiring the famous courtyard with white and black columns of various heights. From there we headed toward the Champs Elysées, first crossing all the gardens from the Louvre to the obelisk, visiting the Orangerie museum where we admired Monet's Water Lilies, finally arriving worn out at the Arc de Triomphe. Of course we didn't miss a stroll through the shops, then by metro we headed to the St Germain dè Pres neighborhood where we visited the church, some stalls and various shops, reaching the Latin Quarter on foot. After dinner we headed to the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, which is at the tip of the Ile de la Cité, and there we took the boat and enjoyed the evening cruise on the Seine, truly spectacular and very romantic.

Finally back to the hotel, this time a bit later than usual but it was worth it.

Versailles

We dedicated this day to visiting Versailles. After an excellent breakfast at a pastry shop near the hotel we headed to the St. Lazare station and took the train. After a trip of about 1 hour, we arrived and immediately bought tickets at the first shop. We took the complete package that also includes transport with the little train both ways, with a tour of the town. Once we reached the palace we were struck by its majesty: after a long line we picked up an audio guide and began the long tour through the most famous rooms, passing through the king's chapel, the 7 salons dedicated to the planets and then the most sumptuous ones, that is the Hall of Mirrors, the Salon of Peace, the Queen's, up to the Hall of Battles. Going down we passed through the apartment of the king's Dauphin and then went out to admire the famous Gardens.

Here among grand fountains and immense parks we ate the usual filled baguette and then headed 'on foot' toward the Grand and the Petit Trianon: these are 2 other palaces, the first the king's, the other the queen's, where they went to live to have some privacy when the palace filled up with subjects. Once out of the palace we took the tour of the town with the little train to the station and returned to Paris, where we headed to the Pompidou Museum. It's a contemporary art museum with strange sculptures outside and lots of young people from various cultures, some of whom perform to earn a little money… we only took a peek inside and out, then we left for the Latin Quarter, having an excellent dinner at a brasserie and returning to the hotel utterly exhausted.

Montmartre

After having breakfast we headed to the Opéra and, while waiting for it to open, took a stroll through the Lafayette department stores. The Opéra is truly very beautiful, the halls are highly decorated, the marble shines in a play of lights and colors and the theater has a very colorful ceiling. From there we went to the Place de la Bastille where only a large obelisk remains, then we headed to the Place des Vosges, the oldest in Paris, where we visited Victor Hugo's house. Then we went to the Picasso Museum which unfortunately we found closed for renovations, so we headed toward Montmartre, the neighborhood once populated by the most famous artists, which is on the hill of Paris. After an endless spiral staircase we came out of the metro and headed to a bakery to grab a baguette; being quite hungry we also ate a kind of calzone and a little pastry… all very good.

From there we went down to see the famous Moulin Rouge, one of the symbols of Paris, then admiring the various shops we climbed up to the Sacré-Cœur Church, from which you can admire the whole city. Going down we took a stroll to admire the street artists and their paintings, very interesting but really very expensive, then we returned to the Latin Quarter, had another excellent dinner at the brasserie from the day before and then went back to the hotel.

Back home

Last day, we packed our bags and looked for a café to have breakfast, and since it was Sunday and also Ferragosto, it was difficult to find one open. In the rain we headed to the metro and then to the airport, departing on time and returning home happy to have visited a truly romantic city rich in culture.