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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

bite

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