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Published: August 12th 2013
St. Sulpice Church
Right by Luxembourg Gardens. To me, it doesn't look like a church. Today was a near flawless day of travel. I left Pontorson after a nice breakfast, and playing around with the owner's cute dog, first for Rennes, and then the fast TGV into Paris Montparnasse. Here by 1ish. This is when I got this perfect rhythm down.
Easily found my hotel, which is literally right next to the Luxembourg Gardens, my balcony looks out over it, got situated, and then, with my route down, I started at St. Sulpice Church, which is just up from the Gardens. This place is more like a temple than a church, and is oddly famous for its big fountain in front that appears in The Da Vinci Code. From here I walked up another couple of blocks, crossed the busy Boulevard St. Germain, dropping by St. Germain-des-Pres. I loved this little church because of its painted interior.
Next all the way down Boulevard St. Germain, stopping fast at a Starbucks, to the Cluny Museum, one of the best for Middle Age art. This museum has the original sculptures from Notre-Dame, and the stained glass from Sainte-Chappelle. Well worth the hour or so. The Cluny is literally right by the Sorbonne, the famous university, and
Typical Parisien View
A fountain, pigeons, and that characteristic blue roof-top. Leaving St. Sulpice. a block up from here is the Pantheon, the French version of a temple basically just celebrating themselves. It has a great crypt filled to the brim with famous French throughout the ages, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and many others. I next finally cut through the Latin Quarter, crossed the Seine, and at last made it back to probably my favorite place in Paris, Notre-Dame.
It's not that this cathedral is especially big, it's more that Notre-Dame sits on an island in the Seine, and just glows out across the city. And then the interior is so dark and has organ-like music piping in from unseen speakers. It's hard not to feel the magic of this place. From Notre-Dame I crossed over to the Right Bank, dropped by the Hotel De Ville, Paris' Town Hall, and really ended the day at the great Pompidou, Paris' modern art museum. This is a marvelous place, with incredible views out over the city from its upper floor, and walls filled with modern masterpieces. Walked all the way back to Luxembourg from here, cutting through the quaint Marais neighborhood and the Place des Vosges.
Yes, Paris is exhausting, with tons
Painted St. Germain-des-Pres
Great because people tend to forget Medieval churches were usually painted. of walking. But if you have it well planned, man you can see a lot. And you make great use of the Museum Pass - a card that let's you skip that horrible line at most of the best sights. I've never understood why people don't buy passes like this - I guess some people like standing in place for hours - who knows.
Tomorrow I day-trip in the morning to Chartres, but spend the afternoon and evening back in Paris.
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