Eurotrip Part 2
Central Paris
Paris: Outer Paris |
Central Paris |
Eiffel Tower |
Paris Transportation
Amsterdam: Urbanism |
Transportation
Bonus: TBD
In my
first thread, I showed you the more local side of Paris. Now here's its central city core.
Let's start with some basic Paris geography. You probably already know this, but just in case: The Seine River runs through the heart of Paris, and splits the city in two. Most of the major tourist sites are along the banks of the Seine, or nearby. In the very middle of it all lies Île de la Cité, the small island that's the heart of the city.
As an urban waterfront, the Seine is wonderful. We Americans usually like to line our waterfronts with either parks that separate the city from its water, or big touristy marketplaces that are overwhelmingly commercial and often a little obnoxious. The Seine in central Paris strikes a wonderful balance. Only a busy street separates the first row of buildings from the corniche wall, while a lower level walkway provides a narrow park-like escape.
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There are several actual parks and gardens, including some big ones. But they don't completely define the waterfront.
Either bank of the Seine is lined with small vendor kiosks. They sell books and tourist tchotchkes, ranging from wall-sized prints of historic maps to plastic key chain Eiffel Towers.
When not in use, the kiosks close right up.
In the middle, Île de la Cité, and its most well-known landmark, the Notre Dame cathedral.
But La Cité is not all landmarks. It also has some normal city blocks.
We visited La Cité on one particular day specifically to see its weekly bird market. I'm a bird owner and for the record, these birds all look a lot healthier and happier than your average pet store bird in the US.
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From Île de la Cité, cross this little bridge and find yourself on Paris' other main island, Île Saint-Louis.
It's packed.
There are any number of bridges from the two islands onto the mainland, but the most well-known, and I admit my favorite (perhaps because we have nothing so old in America), is the Pont Neuf. "New bridge" is an ironic name, as it's Paris' oldest.
On the mainland, the bustling city core.
Seen
Phantom of the Opera?
Back to the Seine, to stroll its banks. You can't beat this.
I was surprised to discover the Seine in central Paris is still a functioning port, though not a large one. Who knew?
There are bridges of every shape and material.
The dome is the Grand Palais, a museum.
It's pretty beautiful.
Directly across the street from the Grand Palais is the Petit Palais.
And directly across the Seine from the two palaces, the Hôtel des Invalides, the French military museum:
Together, the palaces and Les Invalides mark the beginning of Paris' monumental and tourist core. Next to Les Invalides is the Bourbon Palace, home of the French National Assembly.
Back across the Seine, directly across from Invalides, is Place de la Concorde, where the aristocracy was guillotined during the French Revolution. The large obelisk is from ancient Egypt, and is the spoils of imperialism.
Concorde marks the entrance to Les Tuileries, a half-mile-long garden that's part Central Park and part National Mall. Except where American big city parks try to mimic nature, Tuileries fully embraces the fact that it's built by humans for human enjoyment. Instead of rolling lawns and informal groves of trees, there are straight rows of immaculately-pruned trees, and fountains surrounded by chairs and tables. So it's called a
garden instead of a
park.
I'm not down on American parks. They're good too. But I think we're a little quick to insist that Frederick Law Olmsted had the right answer for every location. It'd be nice to have more spaces like this too.
The arch in that last picture is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, not to be confused with the larger and more famous Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.
The Arc de l'Étoile is at the opposite end of Champs-Élysées, 2 miles away:
I was going to show the Louvre next, but what the hell. Let's do l'Étoile and Champs.
Between Place de la Concorde and the larger Arc de Triomphe runs Champs-Élysées, one of the most famous and expensive streets in the world.
At the end, the Arc de Triomphe.
Beyond that, La Défense.
OK. Back down Champs and through les Tuileries, to the entrance of the Louvre. Of course I went to the Louvre. As a resident a city that's also overrun by tourists, I'm sympathetic to Parisians' scorn for visitors who only go to the tourist areas. But can you imagine visiting Paris for the first (and maybe only) time and not seeing the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, or any of the other famous sites? No. Gotta do it.
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You are allowed to take pictures inside, as long as you don't use a flash.
Don't forget to look out the window.
... Or up at the ceiling.
It's not all paintings. They have 5,000 year old pots.
And you may have heard, they have this too. Tourists are required to take at least one picture of the Mona Lisa or they must pay an extra tax at the airport.
It's meta.
Right outside the Louvre is Pont des Arts, better known outside Paris (to Parisians disdain) as the love lock bridge. Attaching a padlock to the railing to symbolize partners' love is an adorable expression of public art, but it may be too much of a good thing and is
causing problems here.
For the last stop in this thread, we cross Pont des Arts and enter the Latin Quarter, Paris' university district.
Perhaps you've heard of some of the schools?
The Latin Quarter is also known for its narrow and twisty streets.
At its center, bustling Saint Michel Place.
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This thread is so long already, I'll save the Eiffel Tower for the next one.
So goodbye for now, from the Champs-Élysées:
Not sure the French authorities would appreciate that...
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