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Published: October 12th 2009
Eiffle Tower at Night
We took an elevator to a 360 panorama view of Paris from the 54th floor of the Montparnase Office Tower, the tallest building in France. We had a few days in Paris before we boarded the River Baroness. Our room at the Meridian Montparnasse wasn't ready; so we used a two day pass on an open air "hop on...hop off" bus (the yellow one) and got a great overview of the city with taped commentary. We hopped off at the Louvre, where we were so glad that Zita had steered us to visit Napoleon III's Apartment. Our "fellow travelers" never saw this marvel. We did get to Mona, Winged Victory, Venus and other Louvre highlights. The I.M. Pei glass pyramid reminded us of the Guggenheim - especially regarding the spiral stairways. Notre Dame offered our first experience with Gypsy people trying to trick us out of a few bucks. C'est la vie!
A museum highlight of our trip to Paris has to be the Musée d'Orsay, located in a former railroad station on the left bank of the Seine across from the Louvre. It holds an extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne among others along with an impressive sculpture collection. Our trip to the d’Orsay was the first “included tour” in our River Baroness package. Our guide was wonderful -a Sorbonne
The D'Orsay Museum Was a Train Station
Here's great re-use of a beautiful building. University trained art/history/language major. We had loved the Louvre the previous day; but this was much more intimate. This was our first outing with “vox boxes” sometimes called “quiet boxes.” They allow the guide to speak in a normal voice; and we, the wearers, to hear his/her commentary from across the room.
We literally trekked, partly by Metro, up to Sacre Coeur and Montmartre with its lively art scene. We grazed at sidewalk cafés near the Louvre and at Place Michele, and along the Seine. We took our one taxi ride back to the magnificent Opera House once we had settled in on the boat and before we set sail. This is the site that inspired “The Phantom of the Opera,” one of our very favorite plays.
The Meridian Montparnasse is a convention hotel with strong ties to the tourist industry. It's fine; but we will stay more centrally at a smaller hotel with a little more Gallic charm on our next trip to Paris. The hotel was in a working class/student neighborhood. It was safe and had good access to public transportation. There was interesting people watching from the sidewalk cafes on Boulevard Pasteur and we did enjoy our
Degas Ballerina
Musee d'Orsay had both paintings and sculpture by Degas. And, we learned that his favorite subject matters - dancers and horse racing - were based in rather "personal" relationships between ballerinas and horsemen! 360 view from the Montparnarasse Office Tower (10 Euro; no lines); but it is a bit of a ways from where we really wanted to be in Paris. If you happen to stay at the Meridian Montparnasse; we highly recommend Le Chateau del'Ouest for dinner. It's walkable from the hotel. We savored a wonderful dinner on the protected patio.
NOTE: Click Next for MORE Photos - Paris - so rich in every way - there are 31 photos here!
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Chris W.
non-member comment
I was just talking with my daughter today about her visit to Paris a few years ago (she went for a week all by herself) and she specifically mentioned the D'Orsay Museum as being one of her favorite sites. My husband, sister and I are planning a trip next fall, so I'm very interested in your impressions.