Giving the Louvre a Miss

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I'm sure that no matter how many times you visit Paris, there is still lots left to see. This, coupled with the fact that it is the natural first destination when you cross the Channel into mainland Europe, means that any British Inter-railer inevitably spend some time there.

I travelled overnight, but this was before the tunnel had opened, so after a train, a midnight ferry and another train, I arrived in Paris early in the morning, having not had much sleep. It brought back all those horrific memories of my previous Inter-railing experiences (see A Disastrous Start - I'm Not Sure I'm Going to Like Inter-railing). Why am I putting myself through this again exactly?

My last Inter-rail adventure was to mainly Southern Europe, so this was my last chance to see some of Northern Europe before I was too old and no longer qualified for an Inter-rail ticket. At least this time, I was better prepared, I knew what to expect and, most importantly, I had a bit more money to spend - no more nights outside train stations (see A Day of Parisian Culture Followed by a Night on The Streets and Stuck at The Junction).

I found the youth hostel that I had pre-booked, which, unlike the last time I was here, is actually in Paris itself, not in some obscure surrounding suburb.

I left my backpack and went out exploring for the day.

The highlight of the time I spent in Paris this time round was the Musée d'Orsay museum and art gallery, which is in a huge old railway station called the Gare d'Orsay. It was dominated by the old station clock and would have been a stunning train station, but it made an even more stunning art gallery. The art there is relatively modern, so it's not the repetitive collection of religious pictures that they have in the Louvre (with the possible exception of the tiny and besieged Mona Lisa of course).

My advice (for what it's worth) - skip the Louvre and go to the Musée d'Orsay.

With the hostel being close to the centre of Paris, I was able to go out in the evening and take some night photographs. It makes me feel like a complete anorak, but I have been getting more into the travel photography, so I was walking around with a tripod. It's worth it when you get the photographs back though. The Eiffel tower looks pretty dam spectacular during the day, but it’s even better at night.

Before I left, I booked ahead to Amsterdam, but that was for several days later as I was first going down to see my cousin who was living in Aix-en-Provence in southern France.

I came back to Paris in 1993 with my then girlfriend and we actually got engaged whilst we were there. I have also since worked for a French company and one of the tragedies of this is that I had to visit Paris on a regular basis. I have been known to take my camera.

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Photos

Musée d'Orsay View
The view through the external clock.

Gare d'Orsay Clock
The old station clock that dominates the inside of the Musée d'Orsay.

Eiffel Tower
The tower lights as it starts to get dark.

Paris Statue
There were lots of statues like this - I think there was some sort of festival going on.

Louvre
I didn't go in during the day, but it was worth going back to at night.

Arc de Triomphe
Night time traffic.