Visiting Paris France

There's lots to see in Paris. We first visited in 1996 and have been back a few times. I've posted some pictures and information of some of the popular sites. Click on the places listed for more information and photos.

Arc de Triomphe

Eiffel Tower

Fontaine de Mers

Le Louvre

Notre Dame Cathedral

Obelisk from Luxor Egypt

Palace of Versailles  (actually in Versailles, not far from Paris)

Pont des Arts (Bridge famous for its "love locks")

Roman Paris (Arena, Baths, and artifacts)

Sacré-Couer Basilica/ Montmartre

Seine River  - worth a cruise

Seine River Paris France

If you have time, I recommend a cruise along the Seine River in Paris, France. Several companies offer short river boat tours. There's also riverboat shuttle service with stops near famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower.

Pont des Arts Paris France

Le Pont des Arts is a bridge over the River Seine made famous by romantics who secured locks to the fencing representing their love-- "love locks."

According to a 2015 CNN story, the practice of placing locks on the fence may have started in 2006 as a result of a novel, which became a film. The weight of the locks caused damage as the number of locks reached some 700,000.

Roman Architecture in Paris

An outdoor arena offers evidence of Roman France, or Gaul as it used to be known. The Roman City was called Lutetia. The old main Roman road is not Rue Saint-Jacques.



There's no charge to walk about this area preserved in a residential neighborhood. A little imagination reminds us of times when people watched others engage in deadly combat. Now it's a play area and worth a quick look (Arènes de Lutèce ). It was rediscovered in 1860 by Victor Hugo.








In addition, there's a crypt by Notre Dame, which contains a view of Roman Baths and artifacts. This find is fairly recent (1960s) and was opened in 1980. And it dates to some 2,000 years ago.
















To find the crypt, go to the front of Notre Dame de Paris cathedral. Here's a link to the website http://www.crypte.paris.fr/en/crypt.

Note: As of early 2020, the crypt is closed to the public because of the cathedral fire. I did not see an indication of when it would re-open.

Palace of Versailles France

Gardens at Versailles, March 2012

The palace is open everyday except Mondays at 9:00 am. See the website for details. A free mobile app is available.

The palace is located at Place d'armes, 78000 Versailles France.

There is an entrance fee for adults. See the website for details.

Everyone wants a photo of the Hall of Mirrors.

It's hard to capture the opulence, but here are a few examples of the art inside. By the way, the place is huge so if you want to see a lot, you may need more than a day.

The closest train station is Versailles Château Rive Gauche. The website says it's a 10 minute walk between the palace and the station. Other stations are less than a 20 minute walk.

A view of the gardens from our first visit in October 1996.

Le Louvre Paris France

Le Louvre is a must see museum in Paris. The grand palace, which houses the museum, dates from the 1100s. The palace was the royal residence until 1870. Inside are vast collections of works from ancient civilizations as well as art from the Middle Ages until 1848. See the website for much more detail: louvre.fr

There are special exhibitions and events, which are on the website. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays as of the date of this post. It is open other days at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 6 or 9:45 p.m. on other days.

There is an entrance fee. Details can be found at the website. It is one of the places included in the Paris Pass.

It is located at 75058 Paris. The close metro is Palais-Royal Musee du Louvre lines 1 and 7

The nearby Tuileries Gardens are open at 7 or 7:30 a.m. depending on the time of year.

Of course, no visit is complete without seeing the Mona Lisa, which can be hard to see when busy.












And there's so much more to see-- a few examples of pictures.















I didn't see enough- I hope to return.

Sacré-Cœur Basilica Paris France

Sacre Couer Paris/ G Sutton 2012

Sacré-Cœur (Sacred heart of Jesus) is a Basilica on Montmartre (Mount of Martyrs) in Paris, France. The hill was an ancient place of worship for Druids and then for the Romans and their gods. Christians also built religious places on this hill.

The current church was built in the 1800s. The official website describes the style as Romano-Byzantine.

In addition to visiting the basilica, the mount offers a variety of eateries, interesting shops along the nearby streets, and great views of the city.

My photos were taken 9 March 2012.

Paris from Montmartre/2012/ G Sutton

Paris view from Montmartre/ 2012/ G Sutton

Fontaine des Mers Place de la Concorde Paris France

Fontaine des Mers/Paris/ G sutton 2012

There are two fountains beside the Luxor Obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, Paris, France. The fountains were completed in 1840 when Louis-Philippe was king.

Obelisk from Luxor in Paris France

Obelisk/ Paris/ G Sutton 2012

The Obelisk is an Ancient Egyptian obelisk taken from the Luxor Temple and currently located at the Place de la Concorde, Paris, France.

Notes

It stands 75 feet high and is made of yellow granite.
 The hieroglyphs say good things about Ramses II
 It is more than 3,000 years old.
 There is another one like it still at the Luxor Temple in Egypt.
 It was placed at its current location 25 October 1836.
 Muhammad Ali Pasha, Ruler of Ottoman Egypt exchanged it for a French clock.
 The fountains on the side date from the time the obelisk was placed on the pedestal.

Arc de Triomphe Paris France

Arc de Triomphe 1996

Arc de Triomphe 2012

The Arc de Triomphe was opened by King Louis-Philippe in 1836. Jean-Francois Chalgrin, inspired by Rome's Arch of Titus, was the architect behind this 50 m high (45 m long, 22 m wide) structure.

The Arc de Triomphe is located at Place Charles-de-Gaulle and close to subway lines 1,2 and 6. It is open most days at 10:00 a.m.. Closing times vary by season.

The Avenue des Champs-Élysées  is a wide avenue running between the Place de la Concorde and the Place Charles d Gaulle.

See the website:  There's also an app, but I have not used it.

Eiffel Tower Paris France

The lines were long and only one elevator was operating the evening we visited the Eiffel Tower so we decided to climb the steps. The view is magnificent. It's well worth the visit to this iconic structure.

Inside the Eiffel Tower

The tower is made of wrought-iron and located at Champ de Mars, 5 Avenue Anatole, in Paris. It is named for the engineer, Gustave Eiffel.

Brief facts:
   984 feet high and 1,063 feet to the tip.
   It was built in 1889 for the 100th year anniversary celebration of the French Revolution
   It took 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days to build it.
   The website claims it is the most visited monument in the world.
   About 7 million visitors come every year.

Tower website https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument

You can learn more and book tickets at the website.

Also, see the Tour Eiffel on Facebook

Obligatory photos





French name: la tour eiffel

Church of Saint-Pierre Caen Normandy France

The Church of Saint-Pierre is a Catholic church on the Place Saint-Pierre in the center of Caen in Normandy, which is in northern France.

The church was founded in the 900s. The current church was built between the 1200s to the 1500s.


Google map reference https://goo.gl/maps/fMNzWexZzh33Zi5s5


Recently, the church was open at 8 a.m. weekdays.

Check the website for more information: https://sites.google.com/site/saintpierrecaen/home

How Well Traveled Are You

According to an Agoda survey reported in 2019, nearly 7 of 10 people surveyed had visited up to 10 different countries (68%).

Who travels the most? The UK has the largest proportion of frequent travelers with 5% having visited more than 31 destinations. Runners up were: Australia 4%, Thailand 3% and the US at 2%.

If focused on the average number of foreign destinations visited, the British visit 12 and the Australians, 10.

When focusing on travelers to 10 countries, those in the United Arab Emirates lead at 92% followed by those in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at 82%.

On a very different scale, a website called MTP for Most Traveled People focuses on visits to a list of places on earth. The count of places is huge. The top three people are Americans who have visited 883, 877, and 877 places on the MTP list. The bottom of the top 10 have been to 793 places.

Since I am writing from the US, I looked at how often Americans see the large expanse of the USA. According to IPSOS 2016 survey, the average American has visited 12 states. Florida is the #1 destination--almost half of Americans visit (48%).

Still another approach is that of the Daily Star. In 2017, Laura Mitchell reported that the average person has visited 7% of the 196 countries on the planet--that's 14%.

How many countries are there?
According to worldometers.info there are 195 countries. The UN identifies 241 countries and territories, but the US recognizes less than 200 nations.

Are you look for a list of countries? The World Population Review lists countries and populations. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/how-many-countries-are-there/

You can also see the UN site for a list of members in alphabetical order: https://www.un.org/en/member-states/