W
hen visiting Paris, or ‘La Ville-
Lumiére’ meaning ‘City of
Lights’ as it is often called,
you’re unlikely to leave disappointed. Paris
can be experienced in a variety of different
and unexpected ways so everyone will
have their own story to tell about this City
of Love, with its famous historic landmarks,
namely the Eiffel Tower and Louvre, the
most visited art museum in the world.
Paris is one of those cities that have so
much going on, you can easily drift along
the city’s grand boulevards, turn down the
occasional side street or simply stop for a
drink in one of the small remarkable cafés.
You may even see a very spectacular Fire
and Emergency Rescue exercise going on
where a free-standing turntable ladder is
fully extended in the air with a fireman right
at the top which could be seen as a very
brave thing to do. But generally just about
everyone who visits the French capital will
have the Eiffel Tower on their list to visit.
Interestedly and historically, the name is
actually in the region of Germany (the Eifel
in the Rhineland), from whence the famous
architect Gustave Eiffel’s grandfather came
to settle down in France. This monstrous
yet compelling edifice built by Gustave
Eiffel opened the 1889 World Exhibition
and was only intended to stand for twenty
years but thanks to numerous tourists
loving it and paying good money to climb
it, it has remained as one of Europe’s first
long-distance radio towers.
Walking along the banks of the Seine is
a lovely way to spend your afternoons
especially on a Sunday.The road alongside
the north bank of the river is very busy
during the week, but on Sundays it’s closed
to vehicles, so you will see lots of people
out walking with their dogs, jogging, cycling,
roller-blading or even photo shoots. You
may even see a few street artists roller-
blading past on your walk with some of
them quite interesting to watch. If you’re
taking a stroll from the eastern end of
Ile St Louis, you’ll pass Pont des Arts, a
romantic bridge that crosses the River
Seine where lovers have been attaching
padlocks (love locks) with their first names
written or engraved onto the railing or the
grate on the side of the bridge since 2008.
It’s supposed to be a romantic gesture
that represents a couple’s committed
love. During the summer months in July
and August, some of the pathways are
closed off to make room for Paris Plage
(Paris Beaches) where they import a lot of
sand and create a ‘beach’ for the Parisians
staying in the city. I suppose you could
call it a ‘Seine-side’ holiday as you can sit
on deckchairs, eat ice-cream and even sit
in on a few concerts. If you’re holidaying
at the Bassin de la Villette you can also
borrow books free of charge, play beach
volley, participate in an aqua gym class in
a mini pool, kayak around the lake or just
simply chill and enjoy.
Further up is the Musée d’Orsay where
you’ll find a selection of 19th and 20th
century European art housed in a
monumental, former railway station. The
Orsay station was described as “superb
and resembles a Palace of Fine Arts”
by Édouard Detaille, a French academic
painter and military artist, and designed
by renowned architect Victor Laloux,
complete with a luxury hotel on the left
bank of the Seine. Unfortunately, it was
later deemed obsolete as the platforms
were too short for the new, longer
electric trains. After 1939, it solely served
the suburbs but was used for a variety of
occasions such as a reception centre for
repatriated prisoners and deportees in
1945 by General de Gaulle to announce
his return to politics in 1958, and a film
set for Orson Welles and Bernardo
Bertolucci in the 1960s. In the 1970s it was
decided that the railway station would be
turned into a museum and in the 1980s
the famous Italian architect and interior
designer Gae Aulenti was commissioned
to covert the interior. Gae was
responsible for designing the two towers
at the end of the central aisle, a most
definite strong feature that without
a doubt imposes its presence in the
immense volume of the nave. A hugely
major project; the décor was restored
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