We had a nice hotel room in Paris; it was not a 5 star hotel, but the room was clean and we had a nice Parisian street view from our window.
View from my hotel room in Paris
View from my hotel room in Paris
Galeries Lafayette is a huge department store in Paris famous for its fashion and style collections, as well as its spectacular dome.
Les Galeries Lafayette and its famous Dome
We had a bit of extra time after visiting Louvre, and my sister (she visited Paris before) led me to Lafayette, which is just a few blocks away, to have a glimpse at the famous dome. We didn’t have enough time to do have a walk inside the store, but the dome itself was worth a visit.
The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre) is the largest museum in the world, and arguably the most popular as well. Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” probably made Louvre a more famous place than it already was.
The Louvre Pyramid, built in 1989 by architect I.M. Pei
I first saw Moulin Rouge when I was on the bus from Montmartre to Lourve… and I was really surprised. I never knew that Moulin Rouge still exist these days, and I wondered… “Is this THE Moulin Rouge?”
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (means ‘Red Mill’) was built in 1889, and the one I saw is indeed the one that has been running shows for over hundred of years, and still running. It is smaller than I thought, but hey… it’s cool, I visited the Moulin Rouge!
Montmartre means ‘Mountain of the Martyr’; it is the highest hill in Paris. Located at the summit of Montmartre is the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur).
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Panoramic view of Paris, from the 2nd level platform on Eiffel Tower…
Paris city and the beautiful Seine River
2nd day in Paris… we had an early bus tour around the city before arriving at Eiffel Tower (La Tour Eiffel) at around 9.30am. The queue wasn’t very long; we waited for around 15 minutes and managed to squeeze into the elevator and get to the 2nd level of the tower.
Eiffel Tower look golden in early sunshine
There are 3 levels of platforms that are opened to public, and the entrance fees ranged from 4.50€ to 11.50€ for adults (using the elevator); level 1 and 2 is accessible by stairs (over 600 steps) as well, and with cheaper entrance fees. [Entrance fees reference]
The 2nd level platform (~115 metres) offers the best view of Paris, and the perfect range for photographs. [Read my next post for photos of the panoramic view of Paris] The 3rd level is probably too high to see the city in details.
Eiffel Tower is arguably the most visited landmark in the world; it has been visited by 229,623,812 visitors since its opening in 1889 until 2006. [Reference]
The tower (including its antenna) is 324 metres high, and was once the tallest building in the world; it is still the tallest building in Paris.
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We dropped by Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe for a short photo session on our way back from the Seine cruise tour to our hotel.
Arc de Triomphe at night
If I was given the time, I would have climbed my way to the top, which I heard has an excellent panoramic view of the city, especially on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysée.
Too bad it was our only visit to Arc de Triomphe; we had only a short stay in Paris and the famous monument was not the tour’s priority.
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned in early 19th century to commemorate Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, but only completed decades later; Napoleon was already dead before its completion.
Today, the arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and also includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the monument.
The Paris Arc de Triomphe is the most famous of its kind, but the largest Arc of Triumph is in Pyongyang (North Korea), which was built in 1982 and was deliberately built to be larger than the Paris one.