So much to do here. We have a 6-day pass that will allows us to get priority entry into most museums and attractions and to do a one-day hop-on, hop-off bus tour to get an overview of the city. TimeOut magazine will tell us all that there is to know about what's going on in the City of Lights.
Getting oriented:
Paris is organized into 20 "arrondissements" that spiral out from the centre of the city.
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| Map of the arrondissements |
We will be staying in Montparnasse in the 14e arrondissement. Montparnasse is a famous area of Paris for a few reasons.
1. It was the new "Montmatre" (Moulin Rouge) and hangout for intellectuals of the 1920s and 30s, including Jean Cocteau of our beloved Beauty and the Beast and Emile Zola, famed poet for whom the band the Zolas is named.
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| Cocteau loved cats ergo we love Cocteau. |
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| "You look distracted... Is anything wrong?" |
2. This is where the catacombs of Paris are. And yes, we are visiting this.
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| Nightmares come free with a visit to the catacombs! |
3. Montparnasse cemetary is where everyone who was anyone is buried. It's a very peaceful spot and would provide you with lots of photo ops.
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| Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise |
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| The Kiss by Rodin |
Another great area to visit is the 7e arrondissement.
Here we will find -The Eiffel Tower
Napolean's resting place (Hôtel des Invalides)
And some awesome museums -
Musée d'Orsay
Musee Rodin
Musée du quai Branly.
And we can visit the sewers (open Saturday to Wednesday).
The 6e arrondissement is home to St-Germain-des-pres where existential philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and other great minds of the 1940s and 1950s used to hang out.
Susin Nielson says there is still good intellectual spotting to be had at Les Deux Magots. |
| Les Deux Magots in the days of yore. |
The 4th arrondissment is what was once medieval Paris.
Here we have - |
| The Pompidou building's insides are on the outside. |
Place de la bastille (Les Miserables). The Bastille prison is no more, having been stormed by the agitators of the Revolution. In its place is a large square and monument.
Marché aux Fleurs et Marché aux Oiseaux (Birds on Sundays... a bit weird)
Centre George Pompidou - Contemporary Art extraordinaire and very, very cool building.
Les Halles - an 800 year-old food market
Susin has recommended that we visit Musee de la chasse et de la nature, about 3 blocks from the Picasso Museum
And of course there is the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa and a gzillion significant works of art, located in the 1e arrondissement. In medieval times the Louvre was the site of a fortress. It later became the French royal residence until the Sun King, Louis XIV, decided to shuffle his family and court to Versailles. The glass pyramid you see in the photo of the Louvre was very controversial when it was built in 1989. Now it is an iconic structure of the museum and an example of how contemporary and historic architecture can work together, something that the Europeans do well.
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| The Louvre |
Finally, we might visit the Paris Opera for a tour or to see a show.
