Thursday, October 31, 2013

Morning walk in Paris

The best way to explore any city is by walking around with the locals and checking out how the locals live and experience their culture. Hence, we booked for the Sandemans New Paris Free Tour where you would be taken on a guided walking tour of Paris by a trained guide for free. At the end of the tour you may tip the guide whatever you feel it was worth to you.


Our tour began at Fontaine St.Michel. The Fontaine Saint-Michel is a beautiful fountain located in Place Saint-Michel in the 5th arrondissement in Paris. It was constructed in 1858–1860 during the French Second Empire by the architect Gabriel Davioud.


A short walk away was the famous Notre Dame de Paris. Notre-Dame de Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is an historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris.


Then we walked along the River Seine and were impressed by the Académie Française also known as the 


French Academy. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Shut down in 1793 during the French Revolution, it was reopened in 1803 by Napoleon Bonaparte. It is the oldest of the five académies of the Institut de France. The Académie consists of forty members, known as immortels (immortals). The body has the task of acting as an official authority on the language and is responsible for publishing an official dictionary of the French language.


And then we crossed the Love lock bridge to go towards the famous Louvre Museum. To show commitment towards one another, lovers would bring a lock to the bridge, lock their love on the bridge and throw away the key into the Seine!


We walked around the Louvre Museum on the outside listening to the history narrated by our guide. After 


this we walked along Rue Royale to Place de la Concorde which is the largest square in the French capital. The center of the Place is occupied by a giant Egyptian obelisk decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the 


reign of the pharaoh Ramesses II. It was gifted by the Egyptians to the French in the 19th century. The obelisk once was at the entrance of the Luxor Temple. It was brought to Paris in 1833 and three years later, King Louis Philippe had it placed in the center of Place de la Concorde, where a guillotine was during the Revolution.


Along the way we passed the Musée de l'Orangerie which is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. All along the Rue Royale there are sculptures by famous sculptors.


Our walking tour ended at Place de la Concorde and it was time for lunch.

The morning walk in Paris was indeed very educative, fascinating and awe inspiring!


29 comments:

  1. What wonderful captures..The lock and key bridge was just amazing! How serene and magical is Paris through ur lenses

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice pics...Nature at its best. Thanks for sharing !!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I someday really one to visit Paris,As it is know as the Most Romantic and Fashionable City in the World..Nice Captures Deepak.. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Superb...
    So Magiceye goes international... great!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm a big fan of these free walking tours! I did a ton of them, including Sandemans. You've captured the essence of the city beautifully, lovley pictures!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. All the pictures look magical...I guess it was autumn, right?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful pictures each one them captures Paris so well. Those locks on the bridge remind me of threads tied on trees in India. Different cultures similar kind of emotions..

    ReplyDelete
  8. Educative and informative post. OMG such wonderful images! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hari Om
    What wonderful captures Deepak-ji! - I particularly love the Notre Dame shot - that you got there before the trees 'sprung' lends an austerity which suits this incredible structure very well. I don't recall ever coming across the lovelock bridge when I visited back in the 1970s - that is also a fantastic shot!! Think of all the stories contained there....... YAM xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hari Om
      Thank you Yamini ji. The love locks started appearing in the 21st century :)

      Delete
  10. Gorgeous place. Great pics. Can't wait to see Paris. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great pictures! Makes me want to tour Paris!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Magical pictures clicked by a magic eye indeed!:)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Beautiful captures! An yes walking is the best way to explore any city!

    ReplyDelete
  14. great...i loved that anecdote on the lock bridge....very good

    ReplyDelete
  15. loved it Deepak... super awesome! Thank you for sharing... reminded me of all my trips to Paris over the years... :-)

    ReplyDelete

Road tripping in Germany - 7 Black forest

  Bühlertal Our final destination on this road trip before we returned to Berlin was the cherry on the cake, rather the cake itself! Yes, ...