I had never heard of this place prior to the visit, but our tour guide told us that it’s a wonderful place, that there’s a saying which if Jesus is to be born onto earth again, it will be at St Paul.

The statement might be over-exaggerating, but St Paul was a lovely place indeed. The fortified village structure was something that I had never seen before; and its environment, the narrow streets and stony buildings were simply mesmerising.

The only regret I had, was that we were not able to spend much time there to fully appreciate the place. Back then, I had vowed to visit the place again… I am not so sure about the feeling now, but at that moment, I think I was in love with St Paul de Vence.

Photo of Saint Paul de Vence

Photos at Saint Paul de Vence

We had a night visit to Monaco, which was about an hour journey from Nice. The bus dropped us by the famous F1 tunnel (tunel); we walked by some buildings and gardens on our way to the Grand Casino of Monte Carlo.

It was just a short tour at Monaco… honestly I can’t remember much of it besides some of its stories and the casino, the cruises and boats at the harbour, and the song we played on our bus journey (Kenny Roger’s “The Gambler”).

Monte Carlo Casino at Place du Casino

Le Grand Casino de Monte-Carlo

The Monte Carlo Casino, sometimes referred as the Grand Casino, or simply The Casino, is arguably Monaco’s biggest attraction. The casino was built in 1878, and has featured in numerous movies, including the recent Bond’s movie, “Casino Royale”.

Me and my sister paid 10 euro each to get into the casino area; it’s not really an entrance fee as we were handed with wager chips of equivalent value. The casino was not as grand as I anticipated, probably because we didn’t have the time to wander the whole casino area. I preferred casinos that are a bit noisier and crowded, more Vegas style.

One thing that you shouldn’t miss at the Monte Carlo is its toilet. Even if you are not a gambler, remember to use their toilet (and the flush)… it’s a wonderful bit of experience.

Some history and background of Monaco

Monaco has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297, when François Grimaldi seized the fortress of Monaco from a rival Italian faction. Disguised as a Franciscan monk, he successfully led a small army into the fortress reclaiming it in the name of the Pope.

According to our guide, Monaco got its name from the monk disguise, as a Franciscan monk is known as Monaco in Italian. There are however another saying that Monaco already got its name before the Grimaldi’s reign, that the Monaco-monk is merely coincidence.

You can read more history of Monaco from Monaco’s Official Site and Wikipedia.

Some people are confused with Monaco and Monte Carlo… fact is Monte Carlo is just one of Monaco’s 5 wards (quartiers), namely Monaco-Ville (the oldest part of Monaco), Monte Carlo, La Condamine, Fontvieille and Moneghetti. Monte Carlo is probably the most famous area for foreigners, for being the location of the famous casino.

Monaco is an independent country, but is closely linked with France in their administration. Monaco has a small troop of soldiers, as France is responsible for its defence for both nations’ interest.

Boats at the La Condamine harbour (left); and the Prince’s Palace across the harbour

I was not too impressed by the Palace. Set aside its history, the only thing that worth mentioning is perhaps its enormous size. There might be some interesting stuff in the palace, but I didn’t have much time to explore it… we were just stopping at Avignon for lunch and a short break as we were heading for Nice.

Photo of Palais des Papes

History of the Palace

Avignon became the residence of the Popes in 1309. The current Palace was a reconstruction of the old bishops’ palace; the reconstruction was initiated by the 3rd Avignon Pope, Pope Benedict XII (1334-42), and continued by his successors to 1364.

Besides serving as the Popes’ Palace, the building was also built as a fortress.

The last Pope that stayed in the Palace was Pope Gregory XI; he decided to move back to Rome in 1377 and died in 1378.

Papal Schism

The death of Pope Gregory XI has led to Papal Schism (or Western Schism) which saw a split within the Catholic Church. Pope Urban VI was elected as the successor, but his dignity and capability was soon questioned by some cardinals. Majority of the cardinals then removed themselves from Rome and elected Pope Clement VII, whom re-established a papal court in Avignon in the same year.

The Papal Schism lasted almost 40 years (1378-1417), by the end of the era, there was 3 men simultaneously claimed to be the real Pope (Rome, Avignon and Pisa). The papacy was continued by the Roman line in the end.

Photos of Palais des Papes

L’Hôtel des Monnaies, a 17th century hotel just opposite the palace

The cathedral was built in 12th century; the most prominent feature of the building is the gilded statue of Virgin Mary on top of the tower.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame des Doms d’Avignon and its Virgin Mary statue

Photo of Basilica de Fourvière

Fourvière is the site of the original Roman settlement of Lugdunum in 43BC, or in simple words… it is the place where Lyon was founded.

Basilica de Fourvière was not built in that era though; it was built built between 1872 and 1896 instead.

I guess most visitors would tour the basilica at day time, but it should be a good idea to check the basilica at night as well…

Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon

Château de Versailles in early morning

Photos of Château de Versailles

We were the earliest group of visitors; in fact we were so early that we had to wait for half an hour before we were allowed to get inside of the palace.

Versailles is said to be the most luxurious palace in the world, and I think it’s probably true… as most of the rooms show amazing craftsmanship, and are decorated with gold, crystal chandeliers, paintings and antiques.

The famous Hall of Mirrors (La galerie des Glaces); too bad that large section of the hall was closed for renovation back then… I couldn’t feel the glamour that was often said about it

Art gallery in the palace

The palace witnessed some important historical events. The huge maintenance cost of Versailles and luxurious lifestyle of the royals was one of the main factors that triggered the French Revolution, which witnessed the beheading of Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette.

The ceiling of Versaille’s chapel

The palace also witnessed the signing of Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which officially ended the World War I between the Allied & Associated Powers and Germany.

Besides the palace building, Versailles’s garden is also a huge attraction for tourists. Read my next post for some pictures from the garden.

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.

Eiffel Tower’s structural view from
the ascending elevator

History of Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower started its construction in 1887 and completed in 1889. The tower was built in conjunction to the World’s Fair in Paris in 1889, the Exposition Universelle.

The name Eiffel Tower was derived from Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the tower, who was assisted by Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre in constructing the iron structure.

The construction of Eiffel Tower created strong reactions from Parisians, claiming that the design was ugly and distaste to French art… but nothing could stop the construction of the tower.

Eiffel Tower was supposed to be torn down in 1909; it was initially built to be easily dismantled at the beginning. However, at that time, the tower’s antenna was heavily used for communication (telegraph) purpose, thus putting off the dismantle plan.

Besides, Eiffel Tower was already a prime tourist attraction back then, bringing in huge economic value for Paris and France… and Parisians began to accept the tower as a symbol of modernization. Given all the circumstances, the Eiffel Tower was destined to stay as a permanent icon for Paris.

(left) On the 2nd level platform of Eiffel Tower; it seemed like a sunny morning, but it was quite chilly… I was regretting that I wore just a t-shirt; (right) true color of the tower

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.

Photo of Notre Dame de Paris

Prior to the visit at Notre Dame, all I wanted from Paris was to ascend Eiffel Tower and have a peak at Mona Lisa at the Louvre… but I changed the idea after seeing the cathedral up close.

The carvings and sculptures on the wall of Notre Dame were simply amazing. I used to think that Notre Dame is just an old and huge cathedral; I never perceived that it would be a masterpiece of art and architecture. The experience really opens my mind that there must be lots of places and stuff (besides Eiffel and Mona Lisa) in Paris that would enlighten me during the tour.

Sculptures above the entrance at western facade of Notre Dame

We were just on time to enter the cathedral as it was closing in another half an hour, and how lucky we were. My sister was charmed by the lovely Rose Windows, but I was simply stunned by the enormous size of the cathedral… it simply took my breath away as I never thought that a church could be that huge.

Enormous interior of Notre Damel

Even though I am not a religious person, I felt so calm and peaceful inside Notre Dame. It was a wonderful experience, and a great place to kick-start my journey in Paris.

Rose Window inside Notre Dame

Notre Dame – random facts

Notre Dame means ‘our lady’ in French. The construction of the cathedral was started in 1163, and was only fully completed in 1345.

Notre Dame was almost destructed in early 19th century due to disrepair. Victor Hugo then wrote the famous “Hunchback of Notre Dame” which played a part in raising interest to restore the Gothic cathedral, which finally happened in 1845.

Notre Dame is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral these days.

[More pictures of Notre Dame at my next post]

Photo of the Stonehenge

The Stonehenge was first erected more than 5000 years ago and being re-modified (categorized into 3 phases in general) until the most recent at around 1600BC.

There are a number of hypothesis for Stonehenge, but nobody really knows who and why they built the monument. The stones are said to be arranged astrologically and the general belief is that it was built for worship purpose.

My sister who visited the site earlier had warned me that the stones are much smaller than expected… it’s true. Stonehenge isn’t as gigantic as I anticipated, but it’s still pretty huge though. Set the size aside; I was really glad that I was able to see Stonehenge with my own eyes, it was a wonderful feeling.

What I didn’t expect was that the location of Stonehenge is actually pretty close to a highway (you can see the cars from the site). Modern development vs. prehistoric monument… such irony.