Immediately
after I settled down in the apartment, I started my journey of discovering the interesting places in my vicinity and the less-touristy side of Paris.
1. Marche
at rue Bayen (17th Arrondisement)
The first
thing I did after I settled down in the apartment was to explore the
neighbourhood, and what a pleasant surprise to find out that one of the known
weekend street markets in Paris is just
in my neighbourhood. J’etait contente – to see good yet relatively cheaper
(than those in Singapore) market stuff like fresh western fruits and vegetables,
cooked food, cheeses, etc., in other words, stuff that we Asians import.
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| The Saturday street market at rue Bayen (17th Arrondissement). |
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| The cheapest (compared to Asia, US and Australia) yet delicious array of cheeses at the street market. |
2. Walk from along Av des Champs-Élysées (starting from Arc de Triomphe to the corner of Av. Winston Churchill)
This stretch is both a shopper's paradise and a history/culture enthusiast's destination. Arc de Triomphe was built between 1806 and 1836 in honour of those who fought for France during the Napoleonic wars. One can go up to the highest point of the monument for a fee, through the underground metro station of Charles De Gaulle-Étoile.
The walk from along Av. de Champs-Elysées from Arc de Triomphe is a very pleasant walk, with trees in the middle of the avenue and shops lining both sides of the avenue, including the huge Louis Vuitton store (for those who are into designer brands).
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| Along Av. des Champs-Elysées, approaching the imposing Arc de Triomphe |
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| A side street around Arc de Triomphe. |
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| Louis Vuitton store along Av. des Champs-Élysées. |
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| Designer brand stores along Av. des Champs-Élysées. |
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| You know it's a tourist area because Starbucks has a long queue; Parisians don't normally go to Starbucks for coffee. |
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| ...same with Haagen-Daaz |
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| La Durée, the famous French macaron maker. |
After around 20 minutes of walking, you'll hit the round about (rotunda) where metro station Franklin D. Roosevelt is located. Walking farther you'll hit the Jardins des Champs-Elysées just before Av. Winston Churchill, where you will turn right to find the Grand Palais museum and the Petit Palais museum.
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| Grand Palais along Av. Winston Churchill, view from Petit Palais entrance. |
The Grand Palais is more than a hundred years old and is famous for its glass dome ceilings. It is home to various artistic exhibitions activities like exhibitions of fine arts, photography, etc. Its website presents a 30-second virtual tour, highly recommended for any visitor to watch prior to visiting Grand Palais. Click on the following link for the website: http://www.grandpalais.fr/visite/en/#/the-ride/
Originally built for universal exhibitions like the Grand Palais, Petit Palais was later made into a a museum of fine arts (Musée des Beaux-Artes), mainly for the city of Paris.
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| Petit Palais, view from Grand Palais entrance. |
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| Inside Petit Palais |
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| A sweet sight at the Jardins des Champs Élysées |
3. Walk from Parc Monceau to Place De Clichy to Moulin Rouge to
Sacre Couer (Montmartre area, better known as the artists’ enclave)
Interesting
places: Moulin Rouge, Rue Lepic and Rue des Abbesses (two streets to sample
real french gastronomy (Café de 2 Moulins -does the movie Amélie ring a bell?),
Sacre Couer, Le Consulat.
If you live
in the area of Arc de Triomphe or Parc Monceau (8th Arrondissement)
and you like discovery walking, l recommend Parc Monceau as the starting point
of your walk.
Parc Monceau
is an old English-designed park, where Claude Monet painted a series of three
paintings in the spring of
1876. Walk inside the park and get out
to the east side at Av. Velasquez then turn left at Bd Malesherbes. When you reach Bd de Courcellles, turn right
and continue on to Bd des Batignolles till you reach the rotonda of Place de
Clichy. There are some interesting shops and
small parks you’ll discover when you do this walk. Other than that, there is not much
really. So if you’re not into
walking and parks, I recommend starting the walk from Moulin Rouge instead of
from Parc Monceau.
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| Main walking road at Parc Monceau. |
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| A beautiful flower shop along Bd de Courcelles. |
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| Beautiful fresh flowers at Monceau Fleurs. |
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| A lovely small quaint chocolate shop along Bd de Courcelles. |
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| Along Bd de Courcelles; the big white dome at the far middle is the Sacre Couer. |
Place de
Clichy rotunda is where the 8th,9th, 17th and 18th
arrondissements meet. It is interesting
because it still has the old, non-modern, commercial ambiance. It has a big monument in the middle of the
intersection and the area has interesting shops, bars and restaurants.
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| Place de Clichy |
Moulin Rouge
is a short walk from Place de Clichy. Walk along Boulevard de Clichy and right
before reaching rue Lepic, you’ll find the Moulin Rouge. There are no shows at day time but still many
visitors go there to see the place. The area surrounding Moulin Rouge is the
start of a real Parisian non-haute experience.
Moluin Rouge
was built in 1889 as a cabaret. It
currently provides musical dance entertainment to people from all over the
world at tickets starting from €109 (without dinner) and €180 (with
dinner)
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| The Moulin Rouge! |
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| Entrance area of the Moulin Rouge. |
After a stop
at Moulin Rouge, walk a little bit farther and turn left at Rue Lepic, which is
home to Café des 2 Moulins, the café where Amélie worked as a waitress in the movie
Amélie! This could be a good coffee
stop if you walk to this area in the morning.
Walking along this cobblestoned-street with small grocery shops, cafes,
restaurants and bars gives you a nice Parisian vibe different from what you get
along Champs Elysée.
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| rue Lepic where Café des 2 Moulins (where Amélie from the movie Amélie worked as a waitress. |
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| Café des 2 Moulins |
At the end
of Rue Lepic, turn right to Rue des Abbesses where small cafes , restaurants
and bars also line up. Along Rue des
Abbesses is the famous bakery Le Grenier à Pain (38 Rue des Abbesses 75018), whose
outlet manager Djiblil was awarded in 2010 as the Best Parisian Bakery for La
Baguette de Tradition. Not sure how true
is the claim that this bakery used to service the Palais de l'Élysée (official residence of
the President of France). Have a
stop here to eat their traditional baguette before finally ascending to the
Sacre Couer. Expect a queue in this
bakery. In fact, that was how I got to
know the story about this place. I saw a
queue (on a Sunday morning), snapped a photo of it and asked around why there
was a queue, and the rest is history.
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| Le Grenier à Pain (local bakery) along rue des Abbesses. |
With your
stomach filled with baguette, you’re now ready to ascend to Sacre Couer via Rue
de Ravignan. Sacre Couer is a huge
beautiful historical church on top of Montmartre hill at the 18th
Arrondisement, giving a stunning aerial view of Paris.
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| Parisian fashion in a small park at the top end of rue de Ravignan. |
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| Some beautiful houses on a street leading up to Sacre Couer. |
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| Street art sale, on a street further up leading towards Sacre Couer. |
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| One of the small streets leading up to Sacre Couer; seems like this couple are getting (or got) married by themselves :=) |
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| Final approach to Sacre Couer, a view from behind the stunning and imposing structure of Sacre Couer. |
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| The side view of the massive Sacre Couer. |
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| Front lower view of Sacre Couer; performers on this platform are dancing to the tune of Michael Jackson's Black & White (hahaha!) |
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| Free hugs on the steps fronting Sacre Couer. |
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| The City of Paris, viewed from Sacre Couer. |
If you’re
into museums, you may want to pass by Musée de Montmartre (12 rue Cortot)
situated on a street behind Sacre Couer.
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| One of my favourite photo shots in Paris, the street leading to Musée de Montmarte, behind Sacre Couer. |
Taking the
same route back, try passing by Le Consulat (18 rue Norvins). Famous for being a hangout of artists like
Picasso, Van Gogh and Monet, this area is always filled with people, mostly
tourists.
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| Le Consulat, the hang out of famous artists like Monet, Van Gogh, etc. |
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| My first real Parisian meal at Le Vrai Paris restaurant at 33 rue des Abbesses. |
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| An unpretentious wine store along rue des Abbesses with very good wine collection and a cozy drinking area inside. |
4. Latin Quartier
Latin Quartier and Montmartre are my two favourite neighbourhoods in Paris, where there is more authentic French "feel" - there are no modern buildings and many locals (in addition to the tourists) hang out in these areas.
I didn't know about Latin Quartier prior to my arrival in Paris, but was lucky enough to be toured around this quaint and vibrant neighbourhood by a charming Portuguese executive who has lived in Paris for a while. Once I stepped into Latin Quartier, I immediately felt the vibrancy of this bustling district.
If Montmartre was the enclave of world-renowned artists, Latin Quartier was home to musicians, academicians and students, according to my French language teacher. It "was", because according to my teacher, Latin Quartier now is so different from how it was decades ago.
The University of Sorbonne (one of the first universities in the world) is located here. Historical accounts mention that in the university's early years (around 13th century) teachers and students in Sorbonne spoke only one language: Latin. Thus the name Latin Quartier.
Latin Quartier is now also home to an eclectic culture - restaurants and cafes offer food as varied as the nationalities of the visitors to this area! Here is where I ate beef bourguignon.
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| A street in Latin Quartier. |
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| Beef Bourguignon at Latin Quartier. |
For book lovers, a must-visit is the old Shakespeare and Company bookstore at rue de la Bûcherie. When we went inside this small old bookstore, there was a young man (one random visitor) playing the piano at the second floor, which can accommodate a maximum of around 10 people. When he paused from playing, he introduced himself and we all introduced ourselves to each other- we were all from different countries!
By the way, I just learned (after I left Paris) that there are two Shakespeare and Company bookstore. Now this is one more reason to go back to Paris :=)
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| Tip: go before late afternoon to avoid this crowd. |
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| By the staircase, going down from the 2nd level, inside the bookstore. |
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| A reading nook at the 2nd level, inside the bookstore. |
5. Île de la Cité, La Seine (River Seine) and Le Marais
Only one bridge away from the Latin Quartier, Île de la Cité is a small island in the middle of the River Seine (La Seine, as the French would call it) is one of the only two natural islands in La Seine, the other being Île Saint-Louis. It is the heart of Paris and home to most of the oldest bridges and centuries'-old buildings in the city, such as the bridge Pont-de-Neuf, the Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, Palais de Justice, Hopital Hotel de Dieu and Sainte-Chapelle.
Along with Île de la Cité, Le Marais is one of the oldest areas in Paris. Le Marais has small cobble-stone streets and is home to the Jewish quarter. It is now home to hip bars and restaurants and small boutiques.
These historical places are a must-visit, if you are into history and you want to walk on the streets where the 18th century French Revolutionaries used to tread.
Of course, the walk along La Seine would be a must for those who like scenic views and those who are fans of the "Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight" trilogy movie.
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| Part of the faced of Notre Dame Cathedral. |
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| Inside Notre Dame cathedral |
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| Place de Vosges, a 17th century building, one corner of which was a home of Victor Hugo now a museum dedicated to him. |
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| La Seine |
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| La Seine |
Walking along La Seine towards sunset is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things to do while in Paris. More so with an interesting and charming Paris resident. You wouldn't notice the time and physical tiredness when you are talking to someone who knows the nooks and crannies of the area.
La Seine's river banks are more alive on Fridays and Saturday, just before sunset. People just sit on the river banks, with wine, cheese and nibbles. Some of them gather at the banks for dance sessions!
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| Sunset at La Seine... |
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| An enjoyable sight at the banks of La Seine... |
6. L'Opera (Palais Garnier) Guided Tour
This is highly recommended! Much more if you've watched the musical Phantom of the Opera. We were lucky to have a funny lady guide who told us all the gossips about high-society French life when Palais Garnier just opened in mid 19th century.
Don't fail to knock on Box No. 5, the designated place of the Ghost (Phantom) of L'Opera (The Opera). And take time to appreciate the richness and beauty of the stunning le Grand Foyer. The fee for the L'Opera tour with guide is €10.
If you are planning to watch the musical Phantom of the Opera in Broadway (New York), my suggestion is go first to Paris and do the Palais Garnier guided tour, which is what I did. - I just had that indescribable total immersion into the Phantom's broadway musical stage production in New York after having toured the L'Opera in Paris.
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| The main entrance to the theatre, where the haute societé lingered in order to be seen. |
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| Seats inside the theatre. |
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| The theatre stage; the lady on the left is our fantastic guide! |
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| Box No. 5, the place of the Opera Ghost (Phantom of the Opera). |
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| One of the theatre costumes designed by Christian Lacroix |
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| Façade of L'Opera Palais Garnier |
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| Place de L'Opera, view from L'Opera Palais Garnier; on the right is Le Grand Hotel. |
7. Rue Royale: the walk from L’Iglise
Madeleine to Place de La Concorde
L’Iglise
Madeleine (La Medeleine) is an old Catholic church at the southwest-end of rue Champs Elysée, built in
the 1800s. it is known for its big tall pillars lined all around the church. Rue Royale is the street that connects La Madeleine to the east side of Place de La Concorde. Rue Royale is famous, it being the street that separates two identical old impressive stone buildings facing Place de La Concorde, one of which now houses the luxurious Hotel de Carillon.
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| L'Iglise Madeleine |
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| View of Place De La Concorde from la Madeleine. |
Along rue Royale (to the right, walking from La Madeleine to Place de La Concorde) is Le Village Royale, a courtyard that houses several expensive luxury brands. There are interesting (though expensive) retail shops on the small street perpendicular to rue Royale. A walk inside Le Village Royale and this small street is highly recommended.
Place De La Concorde, is the biggest square ("place" in French) in Paris. It has an Obelisk (gift from the Egyptian government) in the middle and is surrounded by a huge garden that houses the Musée de L’Orangerie and the Jardin
des Tuiliries at the end of which is the Musée de Louvre; another huge garden leading to the Palais de L’Elysées (Presidential Palace); and the two historical identical stone buildings, one of which now houses the luxurious Hotel de Carillon.
8. Spend time inside The Louvre museum, not just for Da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting
The Louvre has a lot more to offer than Da Vinci's Mona Lisa painting. In fact, my visit to the Mona Lisa area was a bit disappointing because of the thick crowd I had to wrestle with. Spare one whole day for The Louvre visit, as there is so much to see. And you don't have to worry about lunch as there is a café inside the museum. The entrance fee is €12 (excluding Hall Napoleon exhibitions) or €16 including Hall Napoleon exhibitions. I opted for the €12 entrance fee as there was so much to see.
On the ground floor, there is a good number of very impressive ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures dating back from the 3rd millennium BC. On the 2nd Lower Ground Level -2, Napoleon Hall),at the Richelieu and Sully wings, there are beautiful 14th-19th century paintings.
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| Lobby/Ticket counters of The Louvre museum. |
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| View from inside The Louvre |
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| Unbelievably thick crowd trying to have a shot of the Monalisa painting... |
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| The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese, the biggest painting inside The Louve, hangs right across the Monalisa painting... |
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| An impressive ancient marble sculpture at The Louvre. |
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| Inside The Louvre. |
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| View of the ground level entrance of the Louvre, from inside the Louvre museum. |
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| Unsurprisingly, Paris landmarks, like The Louvre, are a magnet for rich Chinese - for wedding pictorials! |
9. Alternative musées to The Louvre
Musée D'Orsay was the first museum I visited in Paris, upon the suggestion of my host. It has the most number of world-renowned impressionists/post-impressionists works like Monet, Manet, Cezanne, etc. It is much smaller than The Louvre and so it was not overwhelming and tiring, for a starter. It is situated by the Seine River and was built in the demolished rail station Gare D'Orsay. It is very accessible as it has a metro station.
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| Entrance level of Musay D'Orsay |
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| Inside Musay D'Orsay |
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| Façade/entrance of Musay D'Orsay |
The much smaller Musée de L'Orangerie was the second museum I visited. It also has impressionists colections but the highlight is the Water Lilies murals of Monet, which makes it a must-visit museum. Viewing the murals was just breathtaking! I loved my visit to L'Orangerie- it was not exhausting since it was a smaller museum, and more importantly, my eyes feasted on Monet's Water Lilies. I heard that the actual model of Monet's Water Lilies paintings are the gardens of Giverny, a village 75km west of Paris (see http://giverny.org/ ). I didn't have the time to visit Monet's gardens, but I'm eyeing on going there in my next visit to Paris.
I spent half-day at the D'Orsay and another half-day at L'Orangerie, with a bundled discounted ticket that cost €16 euros for the two museums.
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| Entrance of L'Orangerie museum. |
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| I took this photo inside L'Orangerie -art lessons in the West begin in primary years. I repeatedly saw this scene in all the museums I visited in Europe and in the US. |
Centre Georges Pompidou is the museum for you if you are into modern pop art. We were lucky when we visited this museum- there was a special exhibit of Roy Lichtenstein's works. And don't fail to ride the world-famous "caterpillar" escalator (painted red on the photo below)
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| Facade of Centre Pompidou |
10. Palace of Versailles (Chateau de Versailles)
Stunning, royal, regal and majestic - don't miss this just to have an idea of the opulent lifestyle of the past royals. Don't go on a weekend, as you will spend hours queuing before you can finally enter the Palace grounds. And if you go on a weekday, go early in the morning, say 9am. Spare one whole day for this activity as Versailles is outside Paris City Centre and can be reached by train.
http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
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| Approaching Versailles Palace; notice on the left side the statue of King Louis XIV |
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| The first gate at Versailles Palace; the people at the foreground are lining up for the tickets. |
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| The loonngggg and winding ticket queue- this was at 9am... |
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| The second gate, which is off limits to visitors without tickets. |
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| View of the Palace from inside the palace grounds. |
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| Versailles Palace grounds... |
11. Gastronomic experience
My charming guide made me experience a gastronomic journey through Paris' diverse culinary scene. For cuisine traditionelle (French of course), you will never go wrong with Le Wilson, a mid-size restaurant at Place de Trocadero. Trocadero is where you get a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower from a bit of a distance.
For both French and non-French dishes, Latin Quartier is a great place to sample international cuisine. I tried Jewish and French (specifically beef bourguignon) in this area. For the typical Moules et Frites (Mussels with French fries), my charming guide brought me Léon de Bruxelles restaurant along Champs Elysées (this restaurant has other branches in Paris).
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| French cuisine restaurant Le Wilson at Place de Trocadero, very near Eiffel Tower. Diners are mostly locals. |
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| Great Portuguese cuisine at Pedra Alta restaurant in Bolougne-Billancourt area, west side of Paris. |
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| Jewish cuisine at the historic Le Marais area; notice the old stone walls... |
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| Super-delicious chocolate-nutella crepe at Trocadero; a nice stop just before lining up for the Eiffel Tower tickets. |
12. Go up the Eiffel Tower and have a bird's eye view of the city of Paris
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