Paris, France

P.Ou and I went to Paris, France in April 11-17, 2007. Paris is a lovely city with lots of activities for tourists. We followed a guide book called Top 10 Paris to visit 10 highlights and Versailles. We were recommended to buy 5 days, zone 1-3 ticket for public transport and six-day museum passes which we could use them to travel around central Paris on a budget. We stayed in Best Western, Derby Eiffel Hotel in Ecole Militaire which closed to Eiffel Tower and there are many cafés which Parisians like to drink outside from morning until midnight. We ate a couple breakfasts in the hotel, after that we cooked instant noodles and coffee in our room. We also packed our lunch to eat in the park or the places that we visited.
For entertainment venues, we did not go to the famous Moulin Rouge, but we went to sit in the first row of Crazy Horse Saloon. The Saloon has a reputation for putting the most professional and sexiest production with striptease features together with glamorous dancing girls and other cabaret acts.
Except using mass transportation, we used our feet to travel around. I have gained great experience and 6 days in Paris seem to be a short period; I wish I could visit Paris again.

See pictures of this trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/Paris2007

Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Napoleon, but not completed until 1936, due, in part, to Napoleon’s fall from power. We climbed 284 steps to the top of the Arc to see magnificent view of Paris. To the east is the Champs Elisées, one of the world most famous avenues, and to the west is the Grande Arche of La Défense. Beneath the Arc is the eternal flame of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the World War I buried on November 11, 1920.

Musée d’Orsay

This collection covers a variety of art forms from the 1848-1941 period, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography, and is best known for its superb impressionists masterpieces by popular painters such as Monet and Renior. Its setting, in a converted railway station, is equally impressive. Built in 1900, in time for the Paris Exposition, the station was in use until 1939, when it was closed and largely ignored. It was later used as a theatre and as auction rooms, and in the mid-1970s was considered demolition. In 1977, the Paris authorities decided to save the imposing station building by converting it into this striking museum.

From left to right is paintings of Renoir, Monet, Gauguin, and Thomas Couture.

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel), named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, is the tallest building in Paris and one of the most recognized structured in the world. The tower was completed in 1889 as part of the Universal Exhibition. At 320 m (1,050 ft) high, it was the world tallest building until it was surpassed by New York’s Empire State Building in 1931. Despite the delicate appearance, it weighs approximately 10,000 metric tons and engineer was so sound that it never sways more than 7 cm (2.5 in) in strong winds.

Hôtel des Invalides

The “invalids” for whom is imposing Hôtel was built were wounded soldiers of the late 17th century. Louis XIV had the building constructed between 1671-8, and there are still old soldiers housed here, although only a dozen or so compared to the 6,000 who first moved in. They share their home with the greatest French soldiers of them all, Napoleon Bonaparte, whose body rests in a crypt directly below the golden dome of the Dôme Church. Other buildings accommodate military offices, the Musée de l’Armée and smaller military museums.

Musée du Louvre

One of the world’s most impressive museums, the Louvre contains more than 350,000 priceless objects. Built as a fortress by King Philippe-Auguste in 1190, Charles V (1364-80) was the first king to make it his home. In the 16th century François I replaced it with a Renaissance-style palace. The reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV had a major impact on the Louvre and Tuileries palaces. The extension of the west wing of the Cour Carrée under Louis XIII marked the beginning of an ambitious program of work that would be completed by Louis XIV and added to by Louis XV, resulting in the Louvre that we see today. Revolutionaries opened the collection to the public in 1793. Here we can take pictures, with no flash, of paintings except Mona Lisa.

Notre-Dame

Notre Dame de Paris is a Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, the natural island in the Seine within the city of Paris, and is considered the heart of the country, both geographically and spiritually.
After Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII, an army of craftsmen toiled for 170 years to realize Bishop Maurice de Sully’s magnificent design. Almost destroyed during the Revolution, the Gothic masterpiece was restored in 1841-64 by architect Viollet-le-Duc, one of France’s most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means “Old Lady” in French. Some 130 m (430 ft) in length with a high vaulted nave and double side aisles, it also contains France’s largest organ.

Panthéon

Panthéon was originally built as a church, on the instigation of Louis XV to celebrate his recovery from illness in 1744. Dedicated to St.Genevieve, the structure was finished in 1790 and was in intended to look like the Pantheon in Rome, hence the name. During the Revolution it was turned into a mausoleum for the city’s great achievers, but Napoleon gave it back to the church in 1806. It was later reverted to the church once more, before finally becoming a public building in 1885. Beneath the central dome shows the iron sphere from the pendulum which demonstrated the rotation of the earth of Physicist Léon Foucault since 1851. It is also Tomb of Voltaire and Victor Hugo who wrote Les Misérables and the Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Centre Georges Pompidou

It is one of the world’s most famous pieces of modern architecture, the Pompidou Centre opened in 1977, when architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano startled everyone by turning the building “inside out”, with brightly colored pipes displayed on the façade. Designed as a cross-cultured arts complex, it houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne (Modern Art Museum) as well as a cinema, library, shops, and performance space. The outside forecourt is a popular gathering-spot for tourists and local alike.

Sacré-Coeur

The Sacré-Coeur Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica and popular landmark in Paris, dedicated to the Scare Heart of Jesus. The basilica is located at the summit of the Montmartre butte, the highest point of the city and is one of the most photographed imaged of the city. It was built as a memorial to the 58,000 French soldiers killed during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) and took 46 years to build, finally completed in 1923 at a cost of 40 million francs (6 million euros). Priests still pray for the souls of the dead here 24 hours a day. Although the interior is less impressive than many other churches in the city, people flock here for the panoramic views particularly at sunset.

Sainte-Chapelle

The Gothic chapel, built by Louis IX (1214-70) as a shrine for his holy relics of the passion and completed in 1248, is considered the most beautiful church in Paris, not least for its 15 stained-glass windows soaring 15m (50ft) to rose windows which added to the upper chapel in the 15th century. The church was grievously damaged during the Revolution but restored in the mid-19 century.

Château de Versailles

In 1664, Louis XIV turned his father’s old hunting lodge into the largest palace in Europe and moved his court here in 1678. It was the royal residence for more than century until Louis XVI and his queen Marie-Antoinette fled during the Revolution. Touring in the château, we walked through the church, the king and queen’s bedrooms and the highlight is glass mirror panel. The garden of Versailles is quite large so we took a small bus to the Estate of Marie-Antoinette which is on the northeast side of the area. We visited Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon. The Grand Trianon was built in Versailles by Louis XIV, and it was designed to be a place where he and his close family could escape from the hectic life of court at the palace. The Petit Trianon was built by the order of Louis XV for his long-term mistress, Madame de Pompadour, later Louis XVI gave the château and its surrounding park to his queen, Marie-Antoinette for her exclusive use and enjoyment.
It is one day trip from Paris to Versailles; we took train from Gare Montparnasse to Versailles-Rive Gauche, and then walked to the palace.