Walking Through Paris
WALKING/HIKING — By Estrella Azul on July 2, 2011 at 01:55By guest blogger Estrella Azul. Photos © Estrella Azul, with Ian Fraser where specified.
WALKING THROUGH PARIS is amazing! The city is divided into 20 arrondissements (administrative districts or, less formally, neighborhoods), each having its own attractions and special charm.
I took full advantage of the walkability of the city and spent almost the whole time doing so during my short weekend in Paris.
Jardin des Tuileries - Photo © Ian Fraser
After arrival on Friday afternoon my friend and I went for a long walk. We saw the Louvre from afar, strolled down Champs Élysées, marveled at the Arc de Triomphe, walked over to the Eiffel Tower, passed the Invalides and the D’Orsay Museum, to name just a few.
View of Obélisque de Louxor from the West fountain in Jardin des Tuileries
Noticing the little things . . . some of the pedestrian signs cracked me up. Never in my life have I seen a man on a pedestrian sign wait with his hands on his hips.
The city is so stylish that their McDonald’s “M” on Champs-Élysées is white instead of yellow. Apparently the yellow sign was considered tacky, so even McDonald’s plays dress up in Paris.
While you may think my mind is in the gutter, I’ll just go ahead and say it: some of the statues seem pretty inappropriate for public display from specific angles.
And you know how you sometimes wish you could just pull over at the corner? Well, people here actually do it, so you need to watch out for cars when crossing the road—you might not see oncoming traffic on account of the awkwardly parked cars on street corners.
Musée du Louvre - Photo © Ian Fraser
After dinner we decided to walk back to the Louvre and take some pictures.
That turned into a walk to the Notre Dame, as well, for more night shots.
Notre Dame - Photo © Ian Fraser
On Saturday we visited the Eiffel Tower in the morning. The view is breathtaking!
From the top of the Eiffel Tower, or even while simply criss-crossing the Seine River, there’s so much to see—the architecture all around is astounding!
The view from Tour Eiffel that took my breath away
Noticing the architectural details of the buildings, it’s safe to say that most streets downtown harbor a range of buildings dating from various centuries: the modern buildings have gradually developed out of the earlier styles. Palaces and mansions have been transformed into shops, hotels and apartments.
Despite the extensive parks, gardens and wide avenues, the city also provides a labyrinth of narrow streets, some of which are so small they appear on no map.
I suspect what seemed to be a street when I started walking down it was actually just a space between two massive buildings—probably why I could barely squeeze myself out at the other end!
Basilique Ste-Clotilde, Flamme de la Liberté, Le Mur pour la Paix,
Hotel de Ville, École Militaire
I really wanted to see the Flame of Liberty—an exact, gold-plated duplicate of the flame carried in the hand of the Statue of Liberty in New York City—so on Saturday afternoon we walked over to see that.
It would’ve been a good idea to check where it was sooner, so we could swing by when we were walking back to the hotel earlier from the Eiffel Tower. But this way we got some lovely sunset shots and then more night shots of this part of the city on our long walk back from dinner.
Basilique Mazarin, Louis XIV, Hotel les Invalides,
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Assemblée Nationale
Sunday was mostly spent in the colossal Louvre. Ironically enough, as opposed to walking about in the city, inside the museum we got lost a few times.
Later, we walked over to Notre Dame to listen to an organ recital while visiting the church. Afterward, we strolled around some more before heading back to the hotel.
Charming carousel in Place de Hotel de Ville
For me, experiencing the city by foot was more fun than I could have hoped for. How could it not be, when charming carousels throughout Paris’ streets and squares give the city an extra touch of magic?
——
Estrella Azul is a young emerging writer, passionate about reading, floral art and photography, with an artistic personality and a soulful outlook on life. To read more of her creative writing, her thoughts and daily happenings, visit Life’s a stage – WebBlog©.
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34 Comments
Twitter: wordsxo
says:
I love Paris! My teen daughter and I went a few years ago, and walked a lot of the same paths you did (we also took the Metro a lot which we loved too). We were there for a week, and we took a spreadsheet with us to make sure we went to every place we wanted to see…we lost count of all the museums we went to! It was a fantastic trip, as I see yours was. Love your photos, and thanks for some wonderful memories as well!
Julia recently posted..1 in 140 Million
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
So great to read my article brought back wonderful memories of when you visited Paris!
It’s good you had a week there. My total of two and a half days felt like way too short a trip, and I haven’t even reached 40% of my list of things to visit, but it was amazing nonetheless.
Walking is something I enjoy (mostly because I find that flying is the only traveling means I don’t get motion sickness from) so I only took the metro twice. I didn’t care for it much.
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment, it’s so nice to interact with someone else who visited Paris and loved it
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
Twitter: AnnHolly
says:
Hello Estrella! Another great post! You really brought Paris to life. How wonderful to walk the city. I suspect you got a better taste in two days than a lot of folks.
The signs were cute! I’m a McDonalds fan – and when hubby and I recently traveled, we took pics of every one we went to…they are the same, but all different! I love the idea of the “waiting pose”! I suspect it’s more accurate than most!
Ann recently posted..Grilled Pizza with a Whole Wheat Crust
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Thank you, Ann!
That’s right, walking contributes to a better taste of the true essence of a city. Plus the hotel location was outstanding so that helped in not having a need for public transit.
I smiled at your collecting McDonald’s signs, I like how taking photos of something that’s the same but still all different makes us see that difference.
And yes, hands on hips is a perfect way to describe (waiting at stop signs an account of) Paris traffic
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
*on account of
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
Hi Estrella…lovely post and awesome pictures…We went to Paris on our honeymoon in autumn and spent the entire week walking around most of the time…used the metros occasionally…and it was one of the loveliest weeks of my life! Your post and the great pics brought it all back so beautifully! Thank You!
Roona recently posted..We really don’t need to live in the past…
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
It makes me so happy that the post and photos brought back such lovely memories of your honeymoon – I can imagine how wonderful it would be to spend the honeymoon there (I felt the same way though it was far from a honeymoon or anything resembling that)
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
A splendid tour of Paris! I want to climb into your suitcase because you always have such lovely holidays.
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Thanks, Carrie! So glad you enjoyed it.
I suspect the reason behind these lovely holidays was my making up for the fact that I haven’t had a holiday in 5 years before last summer
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
We were in Paris for a notable anniversary last year. Loved to return there through the blog, Estrella. Thanks for posting.
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
I was honored to guest post, so thank You for reading!
Glad to read you visited (and returned to through my post) Paris for an anniversary – it is called the city of Love after all
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
Thank you for the lovely tour of Paris. [BIG SMILE}
PS: The idea of you almost being captured by two buildings just lying in wait for the unsuspecting walking tourist was hilarious. Glad you outsmarted them. I always say that carrying a big tub of butter in your purse at all times comes in handy more often than most people think it will….
karenfrommentor recently posted..Sorting….
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment, you’re very sweet
PS: now why did you have to go and tell everyone what I have in my purse? At least you didn’t tell them about the… Oh… Now you almost made me admit to it
Estrella Azul recently posted..Walking is fun everywhere
Ah, brings back memories. Our tour guide told us the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe is the most dangerous traffic circle in the world. Glad you survived it! Beautiful pictures and a lovely tour. Too bad you only had a few days.
~jon
J. M. Strother recently posted..Ud Watan – a Dragon Gates story
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Thanks Jon, glad you liked the tour and photos
The traffic circle around the Arc was avoided by approaching it through an underpass tunnel. However, the traffic near the Obelisque was terrible and the stop lights weren’t functional… it took quite a while to cross the road there…
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
One woman on our tour took her son to see the Arc on their own during some of our open time. She did not realize there was a tunnel. They crossed the circle at street level! Our tour guide was surprised they survived.
~jon
J. M. Strother recently posted..Ud Watan – a Dragon Gates story
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Wow, so am I!
After our crossing near the Obelisque, I suspect drivers there figure they’re on a dodgem ride…
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
Really lovely photos. Looks like you had a fabulous time!
India Drummond recently posted..The Perfect Online Avatar
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
India, thank you! Nice to see you here, and I’m so glad you liked the photos
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
Hello Estrella!
A beautiful tour of Paris, amazing images!
Thanks for sharing with us.
All the best
Marinela
short poems recently posted..Not every smile is secreted from the heart
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
It was my pleasure to share with everyone, it makes me so happy that you (all) liked the tour of Paris.
Thank you for stopping by, Marinela!
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
Twitter: JanelGr
says:
I especially love the nighttime pictures! What a magical weekend you had!!
Janel recently posted..New Story at STR
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
It felt magical! The night shots are my favorite as well
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
WOW! Gorgeous pictures. I love, love, love walking vacations.
j recently posted..Halfway Through A Year Of Fearless Love
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
Thank you so much, j! I love walking, anywhere, and to be able to do so in Paris was just like the cherry on top
Estrella Azul recently posted..Wizard Rock Love
cheers for this romantic description of a few days in Paris! nice article with some great pics, but it would be nice if you added some price info (like the cost of a beer, or a meal, bus ticket etc.) just a thought for your future articles
keep up the good work
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
I’m working on a couple more articles about Paris, will see if I can add some price info (just for you)
Thank you for reading and leaving a comment, Calin!
Estrella Azul recently posted..Highly Practical Shelf
We were there for a week, and we took a spreadsheet with us to make sure we went to every place we wanted to see…we lost count of all the museums we went to! Thank you for the lovely tour of Paris. She did not realize there was a tunnel.
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
I love that you lost count of all the museums you went to, I can’t wait to be able to go back and stay for at least ten days and get to visit everything I had on my list
Estrella Azul recently posted..My name is Estrella and I am a writer
Good overview of Paris! One of the great things about travelling is how it opens your mind to new interpretations of old things that you think you knew and new points of view!
Twitter: EstrellaAzul
says:
I also love that about traveling
Thanks!
Estrella Azul recently posted..It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas