A Week in Paris

Contents

Exploring the City
The Museums of Paris
Relaxing

It had been more than 40 years since our last visit to France. It was time to return. We booked a three week tour with Untours that would include stays in Paris, Provence, and Alsace.

In Paris, Untours provided us with an apartment on the left bank, not far from the Latin Quarter. From the street we accessed a small patio and garden. The apartment itself was well furnished with some rather offbeat items that suited the setting.

The place was surprisingly quiet, given that the patio gave onto Rue Mouffetard, one of the most lively streets on the left bank. We found many good restaurants and interesting cafes along the street. In addition, some of the buildings themselves were intriguing.

Each day on Rue Mouffetard there was an open-air market and numerous other shops where one could buy tasty treats. One evening the cafe patrons were entertained by an American style jazz band; anyone who felt young enough could join in the dancing.

In the opposite direction from Rue Mouffetard is the Jardin des Plantes, a large botanical garden with broad shaded boulevards. The mastermind behind the Jardin was Georges Luis Leclerc, Compte de Buffon, who inspired the later work of Charles Darwin.

The Jardin contained a "hotel" for bees and a small zoo; just walking by we were amused by the animals, including this red panda. Further along we encountered an enormous bear savaging some poor victim.

Next to the Jardin was the campus of the University of Paris. Gordon's early morning run found the science building decorated with a stretch of neon lighting that may, or may not, have represented something.

Our apartment provided a perfect base for exploring the city. After walking through the Jardin one arrives at the sculpture park of the Quai Saint Bernard. The park provides a fine view of the River Seine as background for some intriguing sculptures - for example, this commentary on something or other, and a representation of more traditional French icons.

Nearby was the Grand Mosque of Paris, and the Institut du Monde Arabe. The things that look like space ships contain meeting rooms and auditoriums. The windows of the main building use an ingenious array of shutters to control the light level inside. From the roof of the building one gets a panoramic view of the city.

The sculpture park and Institut du Monde Arabe is the eastern terminus for the Batobus. This is a hop-on hop-off transportation system that provides a convenient way to see the Seine and its bridges, together with noted landmarks along the river. It is also the best way to see some works of sculpture below the bridges.

The Batobus offers interesting views of Notre Dame cathedral (we'll be back there later). Further west the Eiffel tower comes into view. The western terminus is at the tower itself; this was as much as we bothered to see of this particular landmark.

If not using the Batobus, we liked to take early morning walks along the Seine as far as the Latin Quarter. There we found several good restaurants, and had to check out the English language bookstore, Shakespeare and Co.

We enjoyed visiting two churches in the Latin Quarter. Saint Julien le Pauvre is one of the oldest churches in Paris, dating back to the 12th century. Next to the church is a park with a large tree that looks as if it is almost as old. The church is the site for several concerts, and we enjoyed a recital one evening by soprano Edwige Bourdy.

Nearby is the 16th century church of Saint Séverin. The church contains an interesting chapel of contemporary design, and while much of the stained glass is quite ancient, some is very modern.

Directly across the river from the Latin Quarter is the cathedral of Notre Dame. This Gothic masterpiece never fails to impress us. On the north tower are the famous gargoyles. We arrived too late to be able to take the 387 steps to the balcony where they sit. From the Batobus we also saw some interesting statues on the main spire that we had not noticed before.

The interior of Notre Dame is equally stunning. The stained glass and the high altar are dazzling, especially when the sun shines through the windows. Side chapels are replete with beautifully executed sculptures.

Not far from Notre Dame is Sainte Chapelle. It is hard to get a good view of the exterior of this chapel, since it is wholly contained within the Palais de Justice. Inside the chapel, however, the magnificent stained glass and the sculptures give an overwhelming sense of brilliant color. Side panels draw one's attention with beautiful mosaics or cleverly executed reliefs such as this of small carving on a doorway.

The section of Paris across the river from our apartment is the Marais. The Marais has undergone a series of swings in status. Originally a swamp, the area became the site of defensive city walls in the 12th century. Some remains of the wall can still be seen. There are also a few half-timbered buildings from the medieval period.

The Marais became important in the 17th century when Henri IV established his court around the Place Vosges, considered one of the most elegant squares in Paris. The area became even more significant when various nobles built their hôtels - not boarding houses, but mansions where the nobility themselves resided.

The Marais contains a number of interesting churches. Saint Gervais, for example, features the three classic forms of column in a hierarchy of their supposed elegance: Doric at the bottom, then Ionic, and Corinthian at the top.

Beyond the Place Vosges one comes to the Place de la Bastille. The infamous prison is long gone. The area is now used by roller skaters, and is the site of the Paris opera.

We enjoy finding areas for our walks that are off the beaten tourist track. One such area, not far from the Place de la Bastille, is the Canal Saint Denis, which runs through the old warehouse district. Watching a boat navigating the locks brought back memories of our own canal trip in England. The canal provides a good space for dogs and their owners.

Nearby is the Hôpital de Saint Louis. The grounds of the hospital provide space where mothers and nursemaids can take their children to play.

At the end of the canal is a spot where three modes of transportation converge - canal, road, and metro.

On earlier trips to Paris (many years ago), we could not help but notice the widespread but inelegant public toilets. Public toilets are still available, but now they have become high tech, and contemporary urinoirs are up to date. There are even signs to help out those who are in need!

There is such a wealth of museums in Paris that one can only take in a small sample. We enjoyed the Musée de Cluny, or Museum of the Middle Ages, which contains some delightful older items. Examples include this wood carving from around 1500 that shows surprising individuality in the figures, a 13th century statue of Adam with a very large fig leaf, and a sculpture of Christ riding into Jerusalem looking rather like Don Quixote.

Equally interesting is the Musée Carnavalet, which is devoted to the history of Paris. Our favorite section was the room devoted to old shop signs, but also of interest is an area illustrating the period when Chinese decoration was all the fashion.

And, of course, one cannot ignore the Louvre. The museum is so vast that we decided to conserve our energy by visiting only one section, that devoted to ancient Egypt.

While much of the material is familiar, we encountered a few surprises. This harp was unexpected. Some of the sarcophagi reflect an odd sense of humor or a strangely modern character. One small statue we found quite appealing.

We left by the gardens of the museum and headed towards the Rue de Rivoli, where we had an excellent lunch at Angelina's, a very elegant tea room.

From there we walked through gardens of the Tuileries, and back to the Louvre and the Batobus stop by way of Paul Landowski's sculpture Sons of Cain.

There were a few other standard sights in Paris to which we paid our brief respects, but did not linger. We took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, and walked back along the Champs Elysée. We stopped briefly in Montmartre to see Sacre Couer, checked out the mimes, but otherwise found the whole area to be too crowded with tourists.

No matter how interesting it might be, exploring a city like Paris can be exhausting. One of our favorite times during our stay there was an afternoon spent at the Luxembourg Gardens.

Here we watched children sailing their boats, had lunch and observed families on their afternoon out, listened to a concert by the National Police Band, and otherwise simply relaxed.

It will not, we hope, be 40 years before we return. But meanwhile, it was onwards to Province, and to Alsace.

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