Paris 2017

Paris - Je t'aime!

  From 28th December 2017 to the 2nd January 2018, I went to Paris for my New Year's holidays. The last time, I've been to Paris was in 2004 for my France exchange during school. So I was quite excited to spend some time in France again, also for improving my French. Moreover, I was invited to a private New Year's Party by my friend and colleague from the university, who's originally from Paris. 

  On Friday, I went to the Catacombs of Paris. There was a long queue of people in front of the Catacombes, so that I had to wait for five hours. The most annoying thing was, that it was rainy, windy and cold. But finally, it was really interesting, but also a little bit scaring to see the underground ossuaries, which hold the remains of more than six million people in a small tunnel system. and was created for eliminating the overflowing cemeteries from 1785.

  After leaving the Catacombes, I went to the Tour Montparnasse, a 210 m high office skyscraper, constructed between 1969 and 1973. Luckily, the sky brightened up, so that I could go to the roof-deck of the building to see around Paris at night.

  The next morning, I had to wake up very early for taking a bus to the Mont Saint-Michel, which was around 4 hours away from Paris, located about one kilometre off the country's northwestern coast in the Normandy. The abbey has been protected as a French monument historique since 1862 and the whole Mont Saint-Michel and its bay are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1979. It is visited by more than three million people each year, so it's one of the most famous landmarks in France. When I arrived at the Mont Saint-Michel, there was low tide, so it wasn't possible to see the whole island surrounded by water, but nevertheless, the view was breathtaking. It took me around three hours to walk around the whole area for exploring every pathway and the whole abbey, before I had to take the bus back to Paris.

  The morning of the 31st December started with sunshine, so that it was a pleasure to walk around the city to visit the most important sightseeing places. I started my walking tour at the City Hall in the 4th arrondissement, also called Hôtel de Ville. Then, I walked to the famous Notre-Dame de Paris. The Cathedral is one example of French Gothic architecture, which was built between 1163 and 1345. Moreover, the Cathedral Treasury contains some of Catholicism's most important relics like the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross and one of the Holy Nails. When I arrived at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, there was a religious mass, so it was great that I had the chance to join a church service before walking around the Cathedral.

  After the round tour inside the Notre-Dame Cathedral, I continued my tour in the Latin Quarter of Paris, where I could see the Panthéon and the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, a church, located on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, which contains the shrine of St. Geneviève and which was built between 1494 and 1624. But for me, the most impressive church was the Roman Catholic Saint-Sulpice in the Odéon Quarter, which is the second largest church in Paris. It's not only fascinating because of its architecture, it's also surrounded by a great atmosphere. For example, in front of the church is the Fontaine Saint-Sulpice, which was constructed between 1843 and 1848 - with the four statues of the French religious figures Bossuet, Fénelon, Fléchier and Massillon -  by the architect Louis Visconti.  

  Then, I took some time for relaxing by walking around Le Jardin du Luxembourg. It was created by Marie de' Medici in the beginning of 1612. As widow of King Henry IV of France, she also constructed the Luxembourg Palace as a new residence, which is today's meeting place of the French Senate. Moreover, there is the Medici Fountain and more than hundred statues, containing twenty figures of French queens and famous women like Anne Marie Louise of Orléans or Anne of France.   

  The next place on my route was the Hôtel des Invalides, a building complex, which includes museums and monuments, related to the military history of France. For me, the most impressive part of this complex was the Dôme des Invalides, built between 1679 and 1708. At the beginning, it was used as a church, but the Dôme des Invalides was reconstructed as a tomb of French war heroes, especially for Napoléon Bonaparte.

  Finally, I arrived at the Effiel Tower, the 324 m tall landmark of Paris, constructed from 1887 til 1889. At ther beginning, I wanted to go up, but when I saw the crowd of people, I decided to continue my walking tour around the city, because I already stayed on top of the Eiffel Tower during my France exchange and moreover, I was on the Tour Montparnasse before too. Then, I took another way back to the hostel, including many sightseeing places.
   
  At first, I went to the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, where the names of some great battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are engraved as well as a list of French victories and the names of the military leaders of the French Revolution and Empire. On the top terrace of Arc de Triomphe, I had an amazing panoramic view, where I could see the Eiffel Tower and the Avenue des Champs-Élysée. After walking the 1.9 kilometres of the avenue, I arrived at the Place de la Concorde in front of the Tuileries Garden. I was impressed by the Egyptian obelisk, which is decorated with hieroglyphics. The obelisk was a gift of the Egyptian government to France in the 19th century and marked the entrance of the Luxor Temple in the past. But there are also two beautiful fountains on the Place de la Concorde, designed by Jacques Ignace Hittorf. 

   Since it was already too late to go inside the Louvre, I just made a relaxing promenade in the Jardin des Tuileries, a public garden, which was opened around 1667. It was also created by Catherine de' Medici. Unfortunately, I also couldn't visit the Louvre on New Year and on the 2nd January - a Tuesday - because the Louvre was closed. It's a pity, that I missed the chance to see the Mona Lisa and other artistic works. But I have a reason to visit Paris soon again to make a museum tour. 

   In the evening, I met my colleague, who is originally from Paris. We both went to a New Year's party of her friends. For me, it was a great chance to speak and improve my French by talking with her friends. We had a great buffet of food and we drunk a lot of wine and champagne for glinking glasses. After a long party night, I arrived back at the hostel at 7 am.

   In the afternoon of the 1st January, I made a tour to the Montmartre. The Montmartre is a 130 m high hill in the 18th arrondissement and gives the name to the surrounding district. The first place, I visited there, was the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. The white-domed Catholic church was constructed by Paul Abadie and completed in 1914. Luckily, I could join a holy mess again for getting a New Year's blessing. Montmartre is also known as nightclub district. So I also decided to take some pictures of the Moulin Rouge at night. 

   On the departure day, I went to the Montmartre district again, because it's also known for its artistic history. A few streets away from the Sacré-Cœur is the Place du Tertre. The place is full of artists, who are doing different kinds of arts. But I was impressed by those artists, who made very beautiful portrait paintings of the people. Then, I went to the Wall of Love - Le mur des je t'aime - a love-themed wall in the Jehan Rictus garden square, which was created by Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito in 2000. The phrase "I love you" is written down in 250 languages. It seems like a symbol, that the languages represent all people from different nations and that it's possible to love a person, no matter, from which country they are and that it's possible to live in peace, because all people can understand this phrase of love.

  Before leaving Paris, I made a street art tour in Belleville, which was once an independent commune and was annexed by the City of Paris in 1860. It's located in the neighborhood of the Montmarte. Since my hostel was located in Belleville, it was quite easy for me to find some great colourful corners and streets, full of street arts. On one wall, there was a graffitti of the sentence: "La vie est trop courte, dis lui que tu l'aimes." - Paris je t'aime!