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The Bark De Triomphe
Apr. 15th, 2016 09:02 pmSunday was an exceptionally busy day and we decided to move breakfast half an hour forward accordingly. We were lucky as the weather was absolutely gorgeous, bright sunshine which lasted all day and warm but with a cool breeze, very much a perfect early Spring scene. Matt was due to meet us later on as he wanted to say goodbye to Kate, who was travelling back to Cambridge to start a new job there, so this left the two of us largely alone for the bulk of the day. We decided to take full advantage by attempting to see as many of Paris's famous landmarks as we could in the space of around seven hours. I was surprised just how much we saw.
Our first stop was also the furthest away - the Eiffel Tower. No visit to Paris is complete without seeing this iconic iron spire but having seen the one in Blackpool, I couldn't help but feel that once you have seen one ferric spike you have seen them all. At least, that's what I was saying quite loudly while we were walking around the Tower, despite not really meaning it. We had seen the Eiffel Tower on the horizon a few times - both outside the Louvre and the Pantheon - and lit up in shimmering gold lights was definitely an evocative sight but nothing really prepares you for the close-hand experience. Straddling a park which was the gateway to the 1889 World Fair, it was interesting to note that this landmark was initially very unpopular and had only been meant to stand for around twenty years. Eiffel himself saved it when he realised he could plonk a radio antenna on the top, thus saving his life's work and also a remarkable structure. Alas, being made of iron, it corrodes pretty badly so every day the Tower needs to be assessed for structural damage while it needs to be coated in a special anti-rust paint. It is a remarkable feat of engineering though and the wonder is only magnified when you are standing underneath it, with its four pillars splaying out before you. We could have booked a tour of the Tower along with a view from the top but I had been advised by Matt to avoid the crowds and climb up the Arc de Triomphe instead, which is what we did later in the day. This turned out to be sage advice as 80% of Paris was levelled in the 1850s and rebuilt out of stone, hence the similar architecture around the city and the fact that nearly all buildings (apart from in the distant business district) are fewer than eight stories in height. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why the Eiffel Tower was initially so unpopular but it did mean that climbing the Arc gave you an arguably better city scape as you were just above the roofs with nothing impeding your vision, and not too far not to be able to see any detail. My favourite part of the tower was actually the names of the French luminaries around the top of the base, and we had a good half an hour strolling around the park, observing the Tower from every conceivable angle. As it was such a sunny day, there were quite a few people about, with hustlers selling miniature Eiffel Tower towers and children going on donkey rides. At the far end of the park there was a charity fun run going on, which seemed to entail running as many laps around the park as possible over the course of six days. Advertised as the 'non-stop' run, I decided not to stick around too long in case I ended up having to run myself for the best part of a week.
Stop number two on our whistlestop tour around Paris was the Arc de Triomphe, to which we walked through the imposing Palais de Chaillot, which replaced the old Trocadero Palace on the same site in 1937. Built in a more modern style with sweeping steps flanking a fountain and some cannons ominously pointing towards the Eiffel Tower, it did have a commanding presence overlooking the Seine and did afford us some excellent views of Eiffel's masterpiece. Everyone else had the same idea though and with people taking selfies everywhere, we soon ducked out and headed down Avenue Kleber towards Napoleon's finest mark on the city. Along the way, we stopped off at a rather busy bakery for a snack, with me successfully ordering two toasted brie sandwiches in French without once having to use English. Indeed, the shopkeep and I had quite a nice little chat and I was quite proud of myself afterwards as we munched our rather tasty lunch, with the Arc looming into view. While we did, we encountered a rather rude young lady who wanted to skate past us on her scooter. We let her proceed only to watch her rather hilariously fall over just as we were approaching the Arc. Fashioned as the world's most impressive roundabout outside of Swindon (okay, that's what I fashion it as), finding our way onto this circle of land proved to be tricky, but we did eventually manage to make sense of the confusing brown signs and find the underpass. There was a queue in the subway and it wasn't clear whether we had to pay just go to the foot of the Arc, but as we wanted to climb the damn thing, we waited anyway and soon were at the base of the archway. The Arc only becomes even more impressive the closer you get to it, and the intricate detail of the design is definitely a wonder of archiecture. Built in 1836 to commemorate Napoleon's victory in Austerlitz some 31 years earlier, the arch is truly imposing, with dimensions of 50m by 45m by 22m. The four relief panels, two on each of the towers of the archway, were particularly striking, as was the frieze running around the top of the archway depicting hundreds and hundreds of figures. Underneath the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and having been to similar set-ups in Kyiv, Moscow and London, we are running out of such tombs to visit. The soldier was laid to rest here in 1921 below the eternal flame, which was flickering somewhat impatiently in the wind. By the tomb there were also plaques dedicated to the Frenchmen who lost their lives in other wars too, including some more recent events such as the Korean War. The Arc is definitely a place of military triumph and reverence, and this was undoubtedly displayed everywhere you looked, including on the archway itself which listed names and places of key military victories in the Napoleonic era.
As I have previously mentioned, we wanted to climb to the top of the Arc and so having had a brief look around the monument, we waited in another queue which led into the building itself. As we waited, we admired the view down the Champs-Elysses towards the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre one way and the Avenue de la Grande Armee leading to the Grande Arche in what is now the Central Business District. The Arc de Triomphe is situated on the top of a hill so the views were splendid anyway, made even more so after you traverse the metal detector (with an incredibly jolly and fun-loving security guard) and the 284 spiralling steps up to the top. Interestingly, about three-quarters of the way up, there is a large open space which was planned to serve as a museum, and indeed it still does, with a small exhibition on military uniforms from the First World War. We saw this on our way back down and there were artists' renditions of 24 different types of military dress along with a square plinth in the middle giving further details about all of them. It was the sort of thing that Stray Jim in particular would have liked and it was a shame he wasn't there. Before this, however, I had picked up my gold souvenir coin of the Arc de Triomphe for €2 from one of the machines that seem to be situated at all major historic sites and we had climbed all the way to the top to catch the exquisite views of Paris, particularly up and down the axe historique. As we were just above the roofline in Paris, we could basically see everything and it was a far better view than that afforded from the Eiffel Tower I would have thought. Equally, the view was made better with the Eiffel Tower in it as we could chart our walking progress from it, as well as see this iconic monument on the skyline. Indeed seeing the royal palace, the Louvre, the Tower and the Grand Arche all in one go simply highlighted just how special a city Paris is and it was a privilege to be seeing such exquisite views. We were also lucky that the weather was bright and sunny, thus enabling us to spy into the suburbs and beyond too, and although we didn't get chance to look at the detailed maps dotted around the top of the arch as all of them were occupied by parents with their children, it was definitely value for money climbing to the top.
After our visit to the Arc de Triomphe, I wanted to walk down the Champs-Elysses just to say that I had done it, and so we had a quick stroll down the very top section of it, spying high-end boutique shops and flash Italian cars, particularly Ferraris and Lamborghinis. We also saw quite a few cinemas and noted the huge variety of French language films they were showing, as well as films from North Africa. We also noted that we couldn't see Zootropolis being advertised either, even though all other blockbusters which are out in the UK (specifically Kung Fu Panda 3, which was advertised everywhere, and Batman vs Spiderman) were being screened. This was the case at every mainstream cinema we saw, and put paid to our silly idea of seeing the film in a different language having already caught it three times in English cinemas already. We only had a brief walk down the Champs-Elysses though as we were running low on time and there were plenty of other sights we wanted to see, the next one being La Grande Arche up at La Defense. We could see this modern box-like skyscraper from the Arc de Triomphe as it almost frames the skyscrapers in this part of the city, but we wanted a close-up view of it so we walked to the RER line back at the Arc and hopped on one stop to see this impressive building close-up. Unfortunately, what we didn't realise was that the tickets we had were not valid this far out of town and we couldn't get through the ticket barriers. We tried to find someone to help us but there was no-one on the railway side of the barriers, so we just nonchantly followed a group of five teenagers through the bulky luggage/disabled barrier to get to where we wanted to go. La Grande Arche is just a large concrete box really but is the largest of the three arches on the axe historique. Completed in 1989, aside from the strange design, which is more of a building with a hollow square in the middle rather than an arch, the best thing about it is the views it affords back into the city. Through the skyscrapers and across the leisure/arena area which surrounds La Grande Arche, you can see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and the fact that these three arches are all aligned is something which I find absolutely incredible. When we visited, there was a music festival or something going on in the arena area but the concourse itself was quite sparsely populated, assumedly because this is an office place and thus a Monday-Friday place. However, I do love the pecularly heavy yet giddy atmosphere around skyscrapers, and it was the same here too. Unfortunately, we couldn't experience it for too long though as we had to get back on the train - the Metro this time - and head to our next stop, Sacre-Coeur.
Our first stop was also the furthest away - the Eiffel Tower. No visit to Paris is complete without seeing this iconic iron spire but having seen the one in Blackpool, I couldn't help but feel that once you have seen one ferric spike you have seen them all. At least, that's what I was saying quite loudly while we were walking around the Tower, despite not really meaning it. We had seen the Eiffel Tower on the horizon a few times - both outside the Louvre and the Pantheon - and lit up in shimmering gold lights was definitely an evocative sight but nothing really prepares you for the close-hand experience. Straddling a park which was the gateway to the 1889 World Fair, it was interesting to note that this landmark was initially very unpopular and had only been meant to stand for around twenty years. Eiffel himself saved it when he realised he could plonk a radio antenna on the top, thus saving his life's work and also a remarkable structure. Alas, being made of iron, it corrodes pretty badly so every day the Tower needs to be assessed for structural damage while it needs to be coated in a special anti-rust paint. It is a remarkable feat of engineering though and the wonder is only magnified when you are standing underneath it, with its four pillars splaying out before you. We could have booked a tour of the Tower along with a view from the top but I had been advised by Matt to avoid the crowds and climb up the Arc de Triomphe instead, which is what we did later in the day. This turned out to be sage advice as 80% of Paris was levelled in the 1850s and rebuilt out of stone, hence the similar architecture around the city and the fact that nearly all buildings (apart from in the distant business district) are fewer than eight stories in height. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why the Eiffel Tower was initially so unpopular but it did mean that climbing the Arc gave you an arguably better city scape as you were just above the roofs with nothing impeding your vision, and not too far not to be able to see any detail. My favourite part of the tower was actually the names of the French luminaries around the top of the base, and we had a good half an hour strolling around the park, observing the Tower from every conceivable angle. As it was such a sunny day, there were quite a few people about, with hustlers selling miniature Eiffel Tower towers and children going on donkey rides. At the far end of the park there was a charity fun run going on, which seemed to entail running as many laps around the park as possible over the course of six days. Advertised as the 'non-stop' run, I decided not to stick around too long in case I ended up having to run myself for the best part of a week.
Stop number two on our whistlestop tour around Paris was the Arc de Triomphe, to which we walked through the imposing Palais de Chaillot, which replaced the old Trocadero Palace on the same site in 1937. Built in a more modern style with sweeping steps flanking a fountain and some cannons ominously pointing towards the Eiffel Tower, it did have a commanding presence overlooking the Seine and did afford us some excellent views of Eiffel's masterpiece. Everyone else had the same idea though and with people taking selfies everywhere, we soon ducked out and headed down Avenue Kleber towards Napoleon's finest mark on the city. Along the way, we stopped off at a rather busy bakery for a snack, with me successfully ordering two toasted brie sandwiches in French without once having to use English. Indeed, the shopkeep and I had quite a nice little chat and I was quite proud of myself afterwards as we munched our rather tasty lunch, with the Arc looming into view. While we did, we encountered a rather rude young lady who wanted to skate past us on her scooter. We let her proceed only to watch her rather hilariously fall over just as we were approaching the Arc. Fashioned as the world's most impressive roundabout outside of Swindon (okay, that's what I fashion it as), finding our way onto this circle of land proved to be tricky, but we did eventually manage to make sense of the confusing brown signs and find the underpass. There was a queue in the subway and it wasn't clear whether we had to pay just go to the foot of the Arc, but as we wanted to climb the damn thing, we waited anyway and soon were at the base of the archway. The Arc only becomes even more impressive the closer you get to it, and the intricate detail of the design is definitely a wonder of archiecture. Built in 1836 to commemorate Napoleon's victory in Austerlitz some 31 years earlier, the arch is truly imposing, with dimensions of 50m by 45m by 22m. The four relief panels, two on each of the towers of the archway, were particularly striking, as was the frieze running around the top of the archway depicting hundreds and hundreds of figures. Underneath the arch is the Tomb of the Unknown Solider and having been to similar set-ups in Kyiv, Moscow and London, we are running out of such tombs to visit. The soldier was laid to rest here in 1921 below the eternal flame, which was flickering somewhat impatiently in the wind. By the tomb there were also plaques dedicated to the Frenchmen who lost their lives in other wars too, including some more recent events such as the Korean War. The Arc is definitely a place of military triumph and reverence, and this was undoubtedly displayed everywhere you looked, including on the archway itself which listed names and places of key military victories in the Napoleonic era.
As I have previously mentioned, we wanted to climb to the top of the Arc and so having had a brief look around the monument, we waited in another queue which led into the building itself. As we waited, we admired the view down the Champs-Elysses towards the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre one way and the Avenue de la Grande Armee leading to the Grande Arche in what is now the Central Business District. The Arc de Triomphe is situated on the top of a hill so the views were splendid anyway, made even more so after you traverse the metal detector (with an incredibly jolly and fun-loving security guard) and the 284 spiralling steps up to the top. Interestingly, about three-quarters of the way up, there is a large open space which was planned to serve as a museum, and indeed it still does, with a small exhibition on military uniforms from the First World War. We saw this on our way back down and there were artists' renditions of 24 different types of military dress along with a square plinth in the middle giving further details about all of them. It was the sort of thing that Stray Jim in particular would have liked and it was a shame he wasn't there. Before this, however, I had picked up my gold souvenir coin of the Arc de Triomphe for €2 from one of the machines that seem to be situated at all major historic sites and we had climbed all the way to the top to catch the exquisite views of Paris, particularly up and down the axe historique. As we were just above the roofline in Paris, we could basically see everything and it was a far better view than that afforded from the Eiffel Tower I would have thought. Equally, the view was made better with the Eiffel Tower in it as we could chart our walking progress from it, as well as see this iconic monument on the skyline. Indeed seeing the royal palace, the Louvre, the Tower and the Grand Arche all in one go simply highlighted just how special a city Paris is and it was a privilege to be seeing such exquisite views. We were also lucky that the weather was bright and sunny, thus enabling us to spy into the suburbs and beyond too, and although we didn't get chance to look at the detailed maps dotted around the top of the arch as all of them were occupied by parents with their children, it was definitely value for money climbing to the top.
After our visit to the Arc de Triomphe, I wanted to walk down the Champs-Elysses just to say that I had done it, and so we had a quick stroll down the very top section of it, spying high-end boutique shops and flash Italian cars, particularly Ferraris and Lamborghinis. We also saw quite a few cinemas and noted the huge variety of French language films they were showing, as well as films from North Africa. We also noted that we couldn't see Zootropolis being advertised either, even though all other blockbusters which are out in the UK (specifically Kung Fu Panda 3, which was advertised everywhere, and Batman vs Spiderman) were being screened. This was the case at every mainstream cinema we saw, and put paid to our silly idea of seeing the film in a different language having already caught it three times in English cinemas already. We only had a brief walk down the Champs-Elysses though as we were running low on time and there were plenty of other sights we wanted to see, the next one being La Grande Arche up at La Defense. We could see this modern box-like skyscraper from the Arc de Triomphe as it almost frames the skyscrapers in this part of the city, but we wanted a close-up view of it so we walked to the RER line back at the Arc and hopped on one stop to see this impressive building close-up. Unfortunately, what we didn't realise was that the tickets we had were not valid this far out of town and we couldn't get through the ticket barriers. We tried to find someone to help us but there was no-one on the railway side of the barriers, so we just nonchantly followed a group of five teenagers through the bulky luggage/disabled barrier to get to where we wanted to go. La Grande Arche is just a large concrete box really but is the largest of the three arches on the axe historique. Completed in 1989, aside from the strange design, which is more of a building with a hollow square in the middle rather than an arch, the best thing about it is the views it affords back into the city. Through the skyscrapers and across the leisure/arena area which surrounds La Grande Arche, you can see the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and the fact that these three arches are all aligned is something which I find absolutely incredible. When we visited, there was a music festival or something going on in the arena area but the concourse itself was quite sparsely populated, assumedly because this is an office place and thus a Monday-Friday place. However, I do love the pecularly heavy yet giddy atmosphere around skyscrapers, and it was the same here too. Unfortunately, we couldn't experience it for too long though as we had to get back on the train - the Metro this time - and head to our next stop, Sacre-Coeur.
