A trip to Paris was always on my agenda right from my childhood days. My fascination with France and Paris in particular was primarily due to it's reputation as the most cultural and romantic of all cities in world. It is also said to be the city of lovers…the most romantic place on earth, and French is the language of love. With so much love flowing around we were destined to visit Paris some day or other. We spent days looking for the best flight and hotel deals and booked our 2 day holiday for Paris. Finally one fine afternoon we landed at the Charles de gaulle airport at Paris. Our first encounter with Paris was not so nice. The airport was looking pretty dirty and messed up. Determined not to have this first experience spoil our impression of Paris we ignored it and quickly forgot about it. We were told that if you don't know french, communication can be a challenge and by now we had realized that it was indeed true. At some of the places we felt that as if people are deliberately trying to avoid speaking English despite knowing it. Having known about the long history of enmity between France and England we assumed that probably it has to do with this historical discord between the two countries. We decided to use the Paris metro to travel to our hotel which was in central Paris. Finally after struggling for about 2 hours and getting lost at a few places we managed to reach the hotel. By this time it was late afternoon so we decided to cover the Eiffel Tower straightaway as we were keen to get a view of Paris in evening.
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| At the base of Eiffel Tower |
When we first arrived at Eiffel tower we were pretty disappointed by looking at this ugly and dull looking iron structure standing tall in the afternoon sun. The 300m high Eiffel Tower is probably the most famous landmark in the world, and is the capital’s most visited attraction. The cast-iron tower was built for the 1889 World Fair and the centenary of the 1789 Revolution and was named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel. It took over two years to construct using some 18,000 pieces of metal and 2,500,000 rivets. It was the tallest structure in the world until New York’s Empire State Building was constructed in the 1930s. There was a long queue to get to the top of the tower and there is a series of interconnecting lifts which get you to the top. They do have stairs as well in case you want to get a little more adventurous. There were long queues all over and by the time we got to the top it was sunset time. Once you reach the top you feel the vibrations and shaking's of the tower as it's an iron structure. We could see lovely views of the city from the tower and even tried to identify a few attractions we had planned to visit next day. We could also see amazing view of the scene river just below the tower, the clear blue water and many cruises going on the river.
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| The Glittering Eiffel Tower |
By the time we got down the tower and it was pitch dark and the Eiffel Tower was completely transformed. It was densely illuminated by bright lights from top to bottom and we were completely mesmerized to see a different Eiffel Tower glittering like gold. We were told that some 20,000 flashbulbs light up the edifice at night. There were some moving searchlights at the top which were continuously revolving and it's visible from quite a distance.
We decided to go for a cruise of the seine river next and as the darkness engulfed Paris it was truly metamorphosed into the city of romance. There were lot of floating boat hotels parked on both sides of the river and we could see people dining and dancing on those boats. The cruise boat had search lights fitted on both sides and there were historical building brightly illuminated wherever we went. All these cruise boats take a circular route from the Eiffel Tower, down past the Louvre Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, botanical gardens then back up the other bank past Musee D'orsay. Unfortunately I don't have much photos from this trip but I've some nice videos which I'll post some time later.
We decided to spend our next entire day exploring the historical and cultural attractions of Paris atop an open top bus. Our first halt was the Louvre which is one of the finest museums in the world of art and holds treasures from the Egyptians, Etruscans, Greeks, Romans, Middle Eastern and Islamic cultures. With more than 8 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum worldwide.
Our main intent at Louvre was to catch a glimpse of the famous painting of Monalisa. We barely had enough time to just locate the painting catch a quick glimpse and come out. We were a bit disappointed to see the painting as it was beyond our understanding as to why is this painting so famous. In fact there were many much more enticing and spectacular paintings spread all around the museum. In fact more than the museum artifacts we liked the entrance of the museum which is built as a glass pyramid. The pyramid and the underground lobby beneath it were created because of a series of problems with the Louvre's original main entrance, which could no longer handle the enormous number of visitors on an everyday basis. Visitors entering through the pyramid descend into the spacious lobby then re-ascend into the main Louvre buildings. The construction of the pyramid triggered considerable controversy because many people felt that the futuristic edifice looked quite out of place in front of the Louvre Museum with its classical architecture.
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| The glass pyramid entrance - Louvre Museum |
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| The Inverted Pyramid |
The Inverted Pyramid (visible in the picture on left) is a skylight constructed in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall in front of the Louvre Museum in France. The Inverted Pyramid figures prominently on the concluding pages of Dan Brown's international bestseller The Da Vinci Code. The protagonist of his novel, Robert Langdon, reads esoteric symbolism into the two pyramids: The Inverted Pyramid is perceived as a Chalice, a feminine symbol, whereas the stone pyramid below is interpreted as a Blade, a masculine symbol: the whole structure could thus express the union of the genders.
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| Fountains in Concorde Square |
Our next halt was the Concorde square (Place de la Concorde) is one of the major public squares in Paris. There are two famous landmarks which you can see in these pictures below: The fountains and The Obelisk. The two fountains in the Place de la Concorde have been the most famous of the fountains built during the time of Louis-Philippe, and came to symbolize the fountains in Paris. Both fountains had the same form: a stone basin; six figures of tritons or naiads holding fish spouting water; six seated allegorical figures, their feet on the prows of ships, supporting the pedestal, of the circular vasque; four statues of different forms of genius in arts or crafts supporting the upper inverted upper vasque; whose water shot up and then cascaded down to the lower vasque and then the basin.
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| Obelisk visible on extreme left |
The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramesses II. It is one of two the Egyptian government gave to the French in the 19th century. The obelisk itself is a yellow granite column which rises 23 metres (75 ft) high, including the base, and weighs over 250 metric tons (280 short tons).
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
Our next halt was Arc de Triomphe and we could find similarities to our own India gate or gateway of India after looking at it. Under the Arc de Triomphe lies the grave of an unknown soldier. Napoleon ordered its construction in 1809 as a monument to the Republican armies. The arch is 50m high and 45m wide and bears the names of Napoleon’s victories, and is decorated with a frieze of battle scenes and sculptures.
Our next halt was the famous Notre Dame Cathedral which is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. It was constructed between 1163 and 1334, with a huge investment of time and money which was a reflection of the city’s prosperity at the time. It was plundered during the French Revolution and since the 19th century, restoration works have been going on to restore its former glory. It was here that Henry VI was crowned, Napoleon declared himself Emperor, and it also hosted the beatification of Joan of Arc. There was some choir which was in progress inside the cathedral and we were enthralled by the mystical music flowing around. (A choir is a musical ensemble of singers.)
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| Sacre Coeur church |
Finally we headed towards our last halt for the day which was Sacre Coeur church. The Sacre Coeur church is perched atop the highest point in Paris and affords spectacular views of the whole city, and is a favorite among artists who spend hours painting the perfect picture of the city. The church is crowned by a distinctive 83 m dome, and a 84 m high bell-tower shelters an 18.5 ton bell with a 850 kg clapper. By this time we did not have any energy left to climb all those stairs to reach the church so we just spent some time on the stairs itself.
And our next halt was .... well it''s something you should really go and experience. Any guesses? Oh yes I'm talking about the traditional Paris cabaret. Some of the most famous cabarets worth mentioning are Lido de Paris, Le Moulin Rouge, Crazy Horse Paris etc. The Lido which remains the most popular of all has hosted a score of renowned performers over the years, from Elton John to Shirley Mac Laine. The mainstay revue, famed for its elaborate, elegant costumes and multicultural twists, features 60 dancers, 600 costumes and 23 different sets. For romantics, no visit to the city of lights would be complete without a night at the original Moulin Rouge cabaret which has inspired scores of Hollywood homages. One of the racier traditional Paris cabarets, the Crazy Horse prides itself on its distinctly burlesque aesthetic and more contemporary style. Crazy Horse is strictly for adults, whereas older teenagers might be brought along for a show at the Moulin Rouge or Lido.
Paris remains one of the attractions which has something for everybody. The city remains a favorite destination for tourists looking for a historical, cultural or romantic experience. It's an equally exciting destination for honeymooners as well as couples trying to rejuvenate their romance. Au revoir Paris and I'll be back someday for sure.
