A Weekend in Paris

Travel notes

Population recorded at publication: 2,181,371

Language: French

Currency: euro

We did our favourite thing again and decided to make the most of a weekend in Paris. Built on the Seine in the middle of the Paris Basin, this world capital of fashion and luxury is also called the City of Light, or Ville Lumière. Its Latin motto, 'Fluctuat nec mergitur', means 'tossed by the waves, but does not sink'. During the Second World War, German forces occupied Paris on 14 June 1940. The city was liberated on 25 August 1944 by the French 2nd Armoured Division and the United States Army.

The two airports discussed in this post are Orly and Charles de Gaulle. We flew in and out of Charles de Gaulle. With only backpacks and no suitcases, we could go straight through passport control and look for transport. We saw signs for buses near the tourist information desk, where we bought tickets to the city. I think they were €12 each. We boarded outside door 11 on the right and reached the centre in about an hour, seeing the surroundings as we travelled. That was largely why we avoided the Metro: underground, you miss the view.

Before I begin, I should say that Paris is famous for art, history and literature, but this wasn't really an art-focused trip. We had only two days, and as first-time visitors wanted to see the main sights at a fairly superficial level. One thing became clear: Paris is not somewhere you visit only once! We left a more detailed, artistic exploration for future trips. With that explained, let's begin 😊

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Notre-Dame was our first stop. On an island in the Seine, this cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary is an outstanding example of French Gothic architecture and a symbol of Paris. My original account said that when it faced demolition in the early 19th century, Victor Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame to help save it, with public support preventing its destruction. It was very popular with visitors, and we saw long queues outside.

Pont des Arts—the Arts Bridge

This small bridge over the Seine was built between 1981 and 1984. From 2008, couples began attaching padlocks to its railings and throwing the keys into the river. The authorities removed the locks because their weight threatened the bridge, so sadly there are no locks in my photograph.

The Louvre Museum

Cross the Pont des Arts, turn left and walk about 100 metres, and you will see it on your right. Go through and a large square opens up: the Place du Carrousel, where the Louvre stands. There is also another of Napoleon's triumphal arches, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, designed to commemorate his victory. The Louvre opened in 1793; my notes described it as France's first state museum and the world's most visited art museum. Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is here. You need serious time to explore, and entry is beneath the pyramid in the square.

The triumphal arch opposite the Louvre

Place de la Concorde

This square at the beginning of the Champs-Élysées was described in my notes as France's second largest after the Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux. At its centre stands the 23-metre Luxor Obelisk from Egypt. The square is also known for the executions once held here. Muhammad Ali Pasha wanted to give France one of the 3,300-year-old obelisks. A French ship arrived in Alexandria in August 1832 to collect it, bringing it to Paris in 1833. Three years later, King Louis-Philippe had it placed here. Its original pyramid-shaped top is thought to have been stolen in the sixth century; France added a recreated top in 1998. There was also a Ferris wheel opposite the obelisk when we visited.

Place de la Concorde

The Luxor Obelisk

La Grande Roue Ferris wheel

My original notes described a 100-metre Ferris wheel built in 1900, which retained the title of the world's largest until the 1980s, and associated it with Place de la Concorde. This is the historical description recorded in the original post, rather than a verified identification of the wheel pictured.

The Champs-Élysées

Named after the Elysian Fields of Greek mythology, this is one of the most famous avenues in Paris and the world. It is long and broad, lined with internationally known luxury brands. Uphill it leads to the Arc de Triomphe; downhill, to Place de la Concorde. Christmas was approaching when we visited, and a Christmas village stretched along it. On both sides were gift stalls, food and drink, French cheeses and wines, especially mulled wine. We had a lovely time and really liked the avenue. Walking down from the Arc de Triomphe, you pass famous shops, restaurants and cafés.

The famous French snails—not my style or choice at all!

Mulled wine

The Eiffel Tower

First we went up to the Place du Trocadéro for a view of the Eiffel Tower. It looked magnificent from there. We chose to see it at night, saving daylight for day two. It is enormous and very beautiful, with a light show every hour. You can take a lift up, but the weather was awful and cloudy, so we decided the view wouldn't be good and left that for another visit 😊 The tower is named after Gustave Eiffel, whose company built it. My notes gave its height as 324 metres and width as 124 metres. It became a worldwide symbol and a magnet for tourists, reaching a total of 200 million visitors in 2002. Eiffel's company built it between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 Paris Exposition, marking the French Revolution's centenary. In the account I recorded, 3,000 workers spent 26 months joining 18,038 iron pieces with 2.5 million rivets, with no deaths—remarkable for the conditions of the time. The tower wasn't universally liked: some Parisians considered it an embarrassment, and artists compared it to a giant street lamp or factory chimney that would spoil the city. Artists and writers campaigned against it and signed public statements. Today, by contrast, it is widely admired, and Parisians call it the Iron Lady. Initially Eiffel had permission for only 20 years, so it was due to come down in 1909. Its height proved useful for communications, including transatlantic communication in the new century, and it was allowed to remain. What an irony: something once considered shameful became a global symbol and a source of tourism income! There are long queues, so I recommend booking online in advance, as with other major sights. The ticket choices I described were a lift ticket to the summit—first to the second floor, then another queue and lift to the top—or a lift ticket just to the second floor. I noted a price of €14.50 per person. The original post links to the Eiffel Tower website for information and tickets.

Place du Trocadéro

Luxembourg Gardens

Our second day began at Luxembourg Gardens. The large palace opposite the pond was built as the Palais du Luxembourg and is now used by the French Senate. These were once its gardens. It was commissioned in the early 17th century for Marie de' Medici, Henry IV's widow, and modelled on Florence's Palazzo Pitti to remind her of home. Although she had already been exiled by its completion in 1631, it remained a royal palace until the Revolution. Winter made the gardens a little subdued, but I loved the peaceful atmosphere, especially the symmetrically arranged trees opposite the palace.

Saint-Sulpice Church

Paris's second-largest church after Notre-Dame had free entry when we visited. It is associated with the 'Rose Line' in The Da Vinci Code and the belief mentioned in my notes that this line through Paris was the world's first prime meridian. You can reach it with a short walk after leaving the lower gate of Luxembourg Gardens.

A boat tour

One of the best ways to get to know a city is a boat tour. The boats here were good, and the broad, long Seine offered clear views of French architecture. There were many boat-tour sellers along the river, with tickets available from booths like these.

We entered through the red section and went through to another boat behind it.

Where and what to eat

Paris was extremely expensive, and French cuisine seemed rather overhyped to me, so I didn't feel especially drawn to it. Tiny pieces of meat with elaborate sauces and grand descriptions aren't really my thing. Of course, taste is personal: these are just my opinions. On our first morning we had the famous French croissant and coffee at Boulangerie La Parisienne, a bakery with a café feel. It wasn't dramatically different, but seemed lighter and pleasant. There was a queue outside. We also ate at Café di Roma, an Italian restaurant on the Champs-Élysées, and it was very tasty. On day two, we snacked in the Christmas village I mentioned, eating crêpes and drinking mulled wine.

Boulangerie La Parisienne

Now for the positives and negatives:

The positives

The city is unmistakably artistic and historic. I hardly noticed a new building: the old architecture felt impressive and high-quality everywhere.

The Eiffel Tower is beautiful in its own right and worth seeing.

For anyone interested in art, literature and museums, Paris is exceptional.

It is a city you can explore on foot, with an extensive, easy-to-use Metro.

There are so many visitor attractions.

There are very stylish restaurants and cafés.

The negatives

It is very, very expensive, particularly food and drink.

We had considerable language difficulties. People we spoke to often continued in French even though I didn't understand it. I couldn't work out why they wouldn't speak English, and I didn't feel particularly welcomed as a visitor. I had also heard people say tourists weren't especially liked, though that was hearsay and this was my own experience.

The city is beautiful, but perhaps because it was winter, I didn't find it as warm or welcoming as I expected. Would I return? Yes, especially in summer. It was so cold and rainy that I felt I hadn't fully experienced it.

The opera house

The French National Assembly

Don't forget a fridge magnet and a little Eiffel Tower as souvenirs 🙂

Source consulted: Wikipedia

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