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Classy Paris
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I went to Paris for work in early November to do some training and attend some meetings as there were a number of people in Paris from all over Europe due to the Cartes conference which is a huge event, held every year in Paris.
I arrived early on Sunday so that I could see some of the tourist sites around Paris, especially the Palace Versailles which I have read so much about, having studied history at Uni in my first degree.
Right aligned photo tag:
The Palace of Versailles began as a modest hunting lodge. Then Louis XIV enlarged and enrobed the old lodge, turning it into the great Chateau we know today. In 1837, Louis-Philippe converted the whole deal to a museum of French History.
And world war I was ended here with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
I bought a 5 day train travel pass as it was the cheapest way to get from my hotel (near work) and to the Cartes conference centre. On the way to Versailles I met up with a few people from Brighton - we had lunch together in Versailles & plan to meet up in the new year, during one of my regular visits to Brighton.
The Palace Versailles was even grander than I hoped it would be and is definitely worth another visit when I next go back to Paris in the summer. I didn't get a chance to visit the gardens, which was ok as the fountains are switched on only in the summer which make the whole thing much more spectacular. I have seen a number of other palaces such as Buckingham Palace in London and Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna and nothing compares to Versailles in its size, sophistication and culture, not even close.
I caught the train back into Paris and went for a walk down the Champs des Elyses.
Everyone always told me its a must do when in Paris & I couldn't understand why walking down a street is such an important thing to do. It's such a classy street with all the famous brand names such as Louis Vuitton
. There was a queue of people waiting to get in - the queue was short so I waited and it was worth going in to have a look. Definitely a place for the rich and famous as the simplest of things is soooo expensive, as the girls would know (love).
Further up the Champs des Elyses is the Arc de Triomphe
which started in 1806 when Napoleon commissioned Chalgrin to build an arch to the glory of the French Army. Construction on the Arch began in 1806, restarted in 1825, and was not finished until 1836. The Arc de Triomphe is built on the model of ancient Triumphal Arches, but it stands alone because of its monumental size: 50 meters tall and 45 meters wide.
Walking down the Champs des Elyses reminded me of football (ok so I'm a fanatic about football, including watching the Australian World Cup qualifier in Uruguay in Nov 2005) in that the class and sophistication is how the French play their football, so different to the Italians! Maybe I'm still getting over how we lost to the Italians in the World Cup last year!
The Arc de Triomphe commemorates all the French troops who have died in the most famous French battles around the world and is quite a sombre place - well worth a visit. You can also climb to the top, for a small fee, and have a good view of Paris.
My next place to visit was the Eiffel Tower
which I felt was nothing special. There were long queues so I didn't bother waiting in the cold night, each to their own I guess.
I then went to the Notre Dame cathedral
which is a great building, unfortunately I had only recently seen the Vatican a few weeks beforehand, which its probably unfair to compare it to.
Construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone& construction was completed roughly 200 years later in about 1345.
My final tourist location was the Louvre
The Louvre Museum is one of the largest, oldest, most important and famous art gallery and museum in the world. The first royal "Castle of the Louvre" was founded in the centre of Paris by Philip Augustus in 1190, as a fortified royal palace to defend Paris on its west against Viking attacks. In the 14th century, Charles V turned it into a palace of the arts, but Francois I and Henri II tore it down to build a real palace.
The existing part of the Châteaux du Louvre was begun in 1535 and was added to over the next 300 years. Modern extensions include the Louvre Pyramid which is a large glass pyramid commissioned by then French president François Mitterrand, and inaugurated in 1989. Among the thousands of priceless paintings is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, probably the most famous painting in the world.
Unfortunately it was closed by the time I arrived. Just walking around the outside was worth a visit and I'm told it takes 2 days to have a decent look in the Louvre.
The rest of my time was spent working which included a number of fine dinners with fine French wines - life is meant to have its little pleasures to enjoy!
I enjoyed Paris much more than Rome and will be a place I go back to visit later in the year.
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