Having left the Opéra in the afternoon, I made my way to Saint-Germain des Près. Once there I walked along Boulevarde Saint-Germain. There were plenty of food and flower stalls along the boulevard. I came across the Église de Saint Germain des Prés. Unfortunately it was either closed, or I couldn’t find the entrance. I continued along the boulevard looking in windows of pastries and enjoying the atmosphere. I caught the metro back to the Opéra / Madeline to explore some more at night. After the Second World War, the neighbourhood became the centre of intellectuals and philosophers, actors and musicians.... read more

My next stop on the hop-on-hop-off bus and it headed across the Pont Alexandre III and towards the Av. des Champs-Élysées. We turned right and then headed towards Place de la Concorde. At Place de la Concorde we turned left and headed up Rue Royale (Royal Street). At the end of Rue Royal is the Église de la Madeleine (Madeline Church). I also came back after dark to check out the sights again. This time I went into the church and walked around it. L'église Sainte-Marie-Madeleine is a Roman Catholic church occupying a commanding position in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Napoleon's army.... read more

With the sun up and the sky looking boring, I headed back across the river, and saw the lines for the tower were quite short. I decided I would wait and go up! I got the pass to the top and was in the second lift of those that didn’t book. I stopped first at the lower platform and then headed to the upper platform. Constructed in 1889 as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world and is 324 metres tall. The top level's upper platform is 276m above the ground, the highest accessible to the public in the European Union.... read more

I’ve never really liked jetlag, but it was a good thing this morning. I was up long before the sun was, so I headed out to watch the sunrise, and I’m so glad I did. This post and the next one cover the sunrise I saw. Firstly I headed to the École Militaire and Champ de Mars. It was cold and there was frost on the leaves on the ground. The colour in the sky was slowly increasing. I kept walking and got to the Eiffel Tower. Again, the colours in the sky were amazing.... read more

When I left my hotel, I walked, walked and walked some more. I also took just under 400 photos! The average temperature was 5 Degrees C (40F). Places I visited included: École Militaire Champ de Mars Tour Eiffel Seine Right Bank Passerelle Debilly Pont Alexandre III Grand Palais Petit Palais Av. des Champs-Élysées Place de la Concorde Jardin des Tuileries Place du Carousel Pyramide du Louvre and Musée du Louvre Pont Des Arts Pont Neuf Place Dauphine Palais de Justice de Paris Cité Metro surrounds Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Hôtel de Ville I then caught the metro back to Place de la Concorde and walked back up the Av. des Champs-Élysées. By this time I was exhausted and headed back to my hotel. Total Fitbit Steps: 20249 ... read more