My Paris Trip - the sights (part 2/7)

**Click on any picture to see a gallery of the post**

(Conciergerie)

To see part 1 go here, it was the phone dump.
I´ll start out by warning you... these posts will be long, in pictures... an overload of pictures. We took a few thousand and it´s pretty hard getting it down to a few dozen a day. If you want more details we'll have to arrange for a chat over tea and macarons so you can see the print album (won't that be a hardship?), but meanwhile... here is my Paris trip, my Paris opinions... starting with sightseeing. Let´s take a walk?

(Conciergerie)

First off, I thought the tourism portion of Paris, + the rich parts, + the nearby cities (I saw Versailles and Chantilly) are breathtaking. You know all those great things people say about Paris? They apply to those places. Like I´ll say in the posts to come, some things just leave you speechless (I literally looked at Notre Dame for about 5 min... just stared... it´s incredible).

(walking to the Conciergerie)

However, I do wish that someone had told me that away from those places... Paris is dirty, stinky and not pretty (note that I don´t say ugly... it´s just not pretty). We like to wander in the cities we visit and we discovered that Paris is not a place to wander or get lost in, instead of bumping into something beautiful you will see the really not pretty. So my advice is stick to the tourism spots. It´s breathtaking.

(stalls next to the Seine river that magically turn into bookstores when opened)

Also, I was warned that Parisians are an impolite lot, they don´t like to speak in English and will be rude. That was proven very wrong in every turn. People were really nice to us, when we explained that "Je ne parle pas français. Je parle anglais et portugais. Parlez-vous anglais?" (I may have written that wrong, but it means 'I don´t speak French, I speak English and Portuguese {sometimes we threw Spanish in there}, and do you speak English?'), when they knew English they would switch nicely, when they didn't we received an apologetic look and continued on.

(laughing at something the hubbie said at Pont des Arts)

But honestly... it´s not Disney World, not everyone is happy all the time, and it´s quite annoying when someone simply assumes you speak a language that is not your country´s mother tongue -- like when people assume Brazilians speak Spanish. No matter where you are, if you don´t speak the native language, don´t assume people will speak yours, make an effort to learn at least a few sentences and that will take you a long way.

(couples put locks on this bridge with their names on it. we even found a wedding proposal. very cool)

Now, back to the sightseeing, we walked an average of 12km per day, saw a lot of stuff, and I´m only giving you the hightlights. You´re welcome. :)

The Conciergerie is a former royal palace and prison, located on the Île de la Cité, near the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. It´s really interesting, cool architecture and you see how prisoners were kept before execution. The Pont des Arts is surreal... it´s oddly fun to see the names and declarations of love of so many people on that bridge. We found everything from simple to detailed locks, tiny to very large, blank, engraved, written, wedding proposals to hearts. It´s a must see.

(outside the Musée du Louvre)

The first thing I´ll say about the Louvre is that unless you plan to spend a full day there (totally possible even in you are like me and aren't really in to the looking at art and sculptures all day) don´t go early. We passed by it in the morning and line was going around the pyramid and beyond, when we came back right after lunch there was no longer any line at all. So don´t suffer through the line, just do something nearby and then come back for the afternoon. And don´t fool yourself into thinking you can spend anything less than 2.5 - 3h in there. It´s just not possible.

The Louvre museum is in the Louvre Palace, which began as a fortress in the late 12th century. The remnants are in the basement and very much worth seeing. After Louis XIV decided to live in Versailles the palace became a place to display his collections, then had other uses until being decreed as a museum in the French Revolution. It opened on 10 August 1793. A little bit of history for you...

(Mona Lisa. Yes, there is a massive amount of people but I refuse to post the same picture everyone posts: a massive amount of people looking at the Mona Lisa.)

Personally I enjoyed the palace more than the art. One of my plans for my next visit to Paris is to walk the palace, looking at the palace and not the art. If you've been there you know that's quite a bit of walking, but I'm sure it will be worth every step because the rooms and areas in the palace are completely different from one another, and are stunning.

(Sacré Coeur from the bottom of the hill)

Sacré Coeur was done on day 3 and we walked all the way to Arc de Triomphe and learned our lesson: the non touristic places in Paris are a no-no. The Sacré Coeur area is an oxymoron. When you arrive near there by metro you arrive at one of the ugliest places I've ever seen (and by all accounts pretty dangerous), and then you look up the hill and see the view in the picture above. Weird.

To make things weirder, up the hill you´re at Montmartre, the 18th arrondissement (neighborhood) in Paris and one of the cutest places you´ll ever have the privilege of walking in. Seriously... the touristic places in Paris are perfection, just don´t leave the touristic limits.

The Basilica is quite nice, and the walk in Montmartre is wonderful. You can eat at a nice restaurant, or have a crepe sitting on some steps (what we did) and enjoy the neighborhood.

(walking around Montmartre)

(walking around Montmartre)

 (There´s a square where local artists sell their art. I still regret not buying the largest painting above. I absolutely loved his work.)

Montmartre is a neighborhood that is all you imagine when thinking of Paris: artists on the streets, people eating tiny food on tables that look out on the street, a violin playing somewhere, an artist sketching or painting in an alley. Seriously... you´re transported into a movie set.

(Arc de Triomphe seen from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées)

The Arc de Triomphe is what makes the walk in Champs-Élysées fascinating, in my opinion. I´m not much of a shopper, especially not full price anything, so taking pictures in front of Louis Vuitton or with the shirtless ripped model at Abercrombie is not my thing. The Arc... well, that´s cool.

The middle of the street is the best place for this picture... just please wait for the light to be red and don´t over think your picture, just snap it and get out fast!

The Arc de Triomphe is the big one, there is a little arch near the Louvre. The arch is in honor of those who fought and died in the French Revolution, and beneath the vault is the tomb of the unknown soldier from WWI.

The names inscribed on the inner and outer surfaces are of the victories and generals from the French Revolution.

(Best travel companion in the world).

The climb is easy but uncomfortable... It's high, but the problem is that the stairs are circular and that messes with my head, I get dizzy, and since I am not fond of tight, enclosed spaces I feel a bit sick, but nothing that the end of the climb doesn't solve. :)

This is the reward. If you ask me, every step is worth this view.

That wraps up the highlights from days 2 and 3. Let me know what you think and come back in a couple of days for part 3.

Thanks for scrolling!

Part 1 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7