I can’t actually remember the year the first time I went to paris but it was in July and was boiling hot !! I stayed in a hotel about 5km from the centre which was a nice walk everyday ! Unless I had painful flipflops on !! Wanted to get a Tuk tuk 🛺 but far too expensive! So it was a cab job some nights!
Anyway il take you through the basics as it won’t really be a day to day situation on this post more of a touristy type post - what to do and see!
Eiffel Tower
Properly one of the most iconic buildings in the world !! It is beautiful and I did love going up there like 3 times haha I think! Wanted to go up at night and in the day !!
You’ve got a couple of options to get up there! You can walk the steps ( which I did twice) or get a lift up! ( which I did in the evening )I couldn’t go up the top top either time I went :( first time it stopped at night and second time it was too windy !! But the views are still unbelievable how ever you see it - let me show you ...
Wikipedia
Constructed from 1887 to 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but it has become a global cultural icon of France and one of the most recognisable structures in the world.[3] The Eiffel Tower is the most-visited paid monument in the world; 6.91 million people ascended it in 2015.
The tower is 324 metres (1,063 ft) tall, about the same height as an 81-storey building, and the tallest structure in Paris. Its base is square, measuring 125 metres (410 ft) on each side. During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for 41 years until the Chrysler Building in New York City was finished in 1930. It was the first structure to reach a height of 300 metres. Due to the addition of a broadcasting aerial at the top of the tower in 1957, it is now taller than the Chrysler Building by 5.2 metres (17 ft). Excluding transmitters, the Eiffel Tower is the second tallest free-standing structure in France after the Millau Viaduct.
The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants on the first and second levels. The top level's upper platform is 276 m (906 ft) above the ground – the highest observation deck accessible to the public in the European Union. Tickets can be purchased to ascend by stairs or lift to the first and second levels. The climb from ground level to the first level is over 300 steps, as is the climb from the first level to the second. Although there is a staircase to the top level, it is usually accessible only by lift.
It’s crazy how different the grass is between seasons !!! Plus it used to be water and fountains where the grass is !!
The Notre Dame
Another iconic building - unfortunately it doesn’t look how I saw it because it had a fire in recent years but it’s beautiful none the less and I got to stand on the star which is the centre of Paris!
Wikipedia
The cathedral's construction began in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the French Revolution; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the cathedral was the site of the coronation of Napoleon I and the funerals of many Presidents of the French Republic.
Popular interest in the cathedral blossomed soon after the publication, in 1831, of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame). This led to a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The Allied liberation of Paris in 1944 was celebrated within Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of centuries of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.[6]
The cathedral is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city of Paris and the French nation. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the Archbishop of Paris (Michel Aupetit). In 1805, Notre-Dame was given the honorary status of a minor basilica. Approximately 12 million people visit Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris.[7] The cathedral was renowned for its Lent sermons, founded by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire in the 1830s. In recent years, an increasing number have been given by leading public figures and state-employed academics.
The cathedral has been progressively stripped of its original decoration and works of art. Several noteworthy examples of Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures and a group of 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces remain in the cathedral's collection. Some of the most important relics in Christendom, including the Crown of Thorns, a sliver of the true cross and a nail from the true cross, are preserved at Notre-Dame.
While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the flèche (the timber spirelet over the crossing) and most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling.[1] Contamination of the site and the nearby environment resulted.[8] Following the fire, many proposals were made for modernizing the cathedral's design. However, on 16 July 2019, the French Parliament passed a law requiring that it be rebuilt exactly as it appeared before the fire.[9] Stabilising the structure against possible collapse is expected to continue until the end of 2020, with reconstruction beginning in 2021. The government of France hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[1
Up next
The Arc De Triomphe
It’s amazing! The traffic around this incredible momentum is scary !!! We did go to the middle first time round !!! Loved taking a moment to think of all the soldiers that risked their lives and some had them taken away from them ...
Wikipedia
As the central cohesive element of the Axe historique (historic axis, a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route running from the courtyard of the Louvre to the Grande Arche de la Défense), the Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806; its iconographic programme pits heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments with triumphant patriotic messages. Inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy, the Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of 50 metres (164 ft), width of 45 m (148 ft) and depth of 22 m (72 ft), while its large vault is 29.19 m (95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The smaller transverse vaults are 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide. Three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch's primary vault, with the event captured on newsreel.[6][7][8]
Paris's Arc de Triomphe was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, which is 67 metres (220 ft) high. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, completed in 1982, is modelled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m (197 ft). La Grande Arche in La Defense near Paris is 110 metres high. Although it is not named an Arc de Triomphe, it has been designed on the same model and in the perspective of the Arc de Triomphe. It qualifies as the world's tallest arch.[9]
Before I carry on showing you the bits you gotta do! Il do some personal stories !
The famous lock bridge
food and drink!
In the restaurants in Paris !! The seating outside is nothing I’ve seen before! You sit next to each other not opposite! Which is quite fun because you get to people watch!! Crazy runner locals etc !!
This is me pretending to read a map! Drinking coffee on a boat cafe ! Looking at the stunning bridge behind me
Gotta try the snails 🐌 when your in Paris guys! Everyone does they are pretty amazing !!!
These are the seats facing outwards, was a great sunset 🌅
Macaroons are a must ... enough said!!! I know you can get them anywhere these days you can’t beat walking the streets of Paris tucking into awesome flavours and colours
Expensive but needed it after the trek up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower !!!
Ok enough about food!!
A few more Musts!
The Moulin Rouge
So I never got a chance to go the first time but did make a pit stop the second time I went :)!! Only from the outside but it’s just iconic from the film that you go see it and the ribs across the road I had before having to get back to the airport !!
Wikipedia
The original house, which burned down in 1915, was co-founded in 1889 by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Olympia. Close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, it is marked by the red windmill on its roof. The closest métro station is Blanche.
Moulin Rouge is best known as the birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, the Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France.
Next I think il do Disneyland
It’s spectacular basically !!! And if you can stay til 10pm and watch the display even better !!!
Basically I’d go !!!
The Louvre is next ...
It’s pretty impressive just from the outside and the surrounding area is just so peaceful and magical ... you need quite a while in there - I didn’t do even half of it ! Very very good museum and worth it !! And you see the Mona Lisa which is silly small and you can’t get close because people are just all over it !! But it’s another ive seen it I can tick it off!
Wikipedia
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as the Louvre castle in the late 12th to 13th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to urban expansion, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function, and in 1546 Francis I converted it into the primary residence of the French Kings.[5] The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection, including, from 1692, a collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture.[6] In 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years.[7] During the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces.
The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, the majority of the works being royal and confiscated church property. Because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum was renamed Musée Napoléon, but after Napoleon's abdication, many works seized by his armies were returned to their original owners. The collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; Prints and Drawings.
Umm walking along the rivers is beautiful too you’ll come across lots of different monuments and churches etc ! It’s a beautiful place ..
That kind of brings me to the end of Paris - I know not very diary entry wise but basically I don’t regret going ! At the time :) it’s beautiful lots of iconic buildings and famous sights
I can’t recommend enough!!
Hope you enjoyed it anyway :)
Thank you for reading 📖
I think my next blog will be on Menorca my favourite place in the world !!! I’ve got to do Canada 🇨🇦 and Australia 🇦🇺 after this and they might take longer as will need to think and look back on those adventures!! But Menorca is next !!
Tune back in to find out why I’ve been back 17 times !!!!
💙 stay safe 💙 stay at home 💙 save lives 💙
Kate x