The weather was surprisingly good today, and so I decided to skip Musée Rodin unless I ran out of things to do. That did not happen -- there are things to see on every street and every corner. I ended up spending 9.5 hours exploring the Right Bank of Paris on foot.
I first made my way to Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in the Montemartre district. This area attracted a number of important artists and writers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name co,es fro, the French word for hill (mont) and martyr. Both Amélie and Moulin Rouge are set in this area.
Sacré-Coeur resides on the top of the hill. Construction began in 1873 and was completed in 1919. The view fro, the top of the hill is one of the best in Paris -- you apparently see for 30km on a clear day. Sacré-Coeur is impressive both inside and out -- sadly no photos are allowed inside but I haave lots of exterior photo. I continued to Pigalle, which is the raunchier cousin of Montemartre and the home of Moulin Rouge, and numerous sex shops and peep shows. For the rest of the anglos out there, Moulin Rouge is named for the red windmill that sits on its roof (moulin is windmill in French).
From there I headed down towards the Seine River and the major sights.
I stopped into a couple of old churches, including the impressive Eglise Trinité. Not on the tourist trail but definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in Paris.
I checked out the Opera House and got sidetracked by Zara and some other boutiques for a bit. I then decided to take a break and have something to eat at the pyramids (the Louvre). The museum was closed today, but there were still lots of people just hanging around and enjoying the day.
Before continuing on to the Islands and the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Paris, I stopped in at Eglise St-German L'Auxerrois. This church sits across from the Louvre and has some amazing artwork under dim lighting. It is also not on the tourist radar screen. Unfortunately, it is on the pervert radar. They are such sharing people. Ewww.
Moving right along.... off to explore the Islands and Notre Dame. Notre Dame is enormous (they have flat screens so people can see what is going on during mass) and is quite stunning. But it was also completely overrun with tourists. When I was done touring the Islands, I decided to head back to my hotel via the Marais and Bastille districts, and then along the canal that passes by my hotel.
Two days in Paris now and I have not technically stepped foot into a museum. That will change tomorrow. I promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment