Paris: Chateau de Versailles

I can understand why Louis XIV decided to move out of the city to this extravagant palace, complete with gardens, lakes, stables, and guest houses. This is where Louis XIV, XV, and XVI lived before the revolution. From the crystal and hand-painted details to the gardens and fountains, it was surely a sight to see - and actually my favorite place around Paris.

The Palace of Versailles and its gardens form one of the most famous world heritage monuments. The old brick and stone chateau of Louis XIII was transformed and greatly enlarged by his son Louis XIV who installed the Court and Government here. The town was built around the Palace and includes churches, town houses, old squares, etc.

Prior to the French Revolution, the Chateau de Versailles estate covered 30 square miles - which is the present area of the city of Paris!! It was surrounded by a wall of 27 miles. Today, it represents just 3 square miles.

Because if it's huge size, there was so much to see. We spent an entire day here, and were still rushed to see everything. We took a little train around the complex to see the different buildings, because walking by foot would have taken too long.

The main gate.

Part of the front of the Chateau,

Back of the Chateau.

Gardens and The Grand Canal. The gardens cover an area of 57 acres with a perimeter of 3.5 miles. The construction lasted 11 years! I read that under Louis XIV reign, the Grand Canal was used as a miniature sea - with 9 ships, a vessel with 32 canons, and gondolas.

The Hall of Mirrors. This room is filled with gorgeous crystal chandeliers and numerous antique mirrors. The paintings on the ceiling illustrate events in the life of Louis XIV, from the time he began to reign in 1661, until the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. The King would pass through the Hall of Mirrors every day on his way to the Chapel. It was also the passageway between the King's and Queen's apartments. The room was used for large receptions and royal weddings. It overlooks the gardens. So it's really the perfect room: beautiful and elegant inside, topped with a spectacular view of the estate.

The Queen's Apartment. It consists of four rooms, and is where the queen lived out her public life. The queen also had private rooms overlooking the courtyards, which allowed her more privacy.

The King's Apartment was just as impressive. It was remodeled several times, but received its final decoration in 1681. The rooms are dedicated to the planets gravitating around Apollo, the god symbolizing the sun (which is Louis XIV's emblem) in Greek and Roman mythology.

I really wanted to see the mistresses apartments as well. But they were closed by the time we got to them. Too bad!

You can see the ancient figure of Apollo, the Sun God, all over the estate. The picture above shows the symbol in a clock.

The Grand Trianon palace was designed and built in 1687 for the purpose of being a recreational residence for Louis XIV and his family. It was used as a retreat at the far end of the park at Versailles; far away from the constraints of power and the crowd of courtiers. It could be reached by boat along the Grand Canal. It was constructed with pink marble... very cute! It consists of two main wings, joined together by a peristyle porch where you can see the beautiful gardens.

Outside of the Grand Trianon.

Porch connecting the left and right wings.
Notice the pretty pink marble. :)

And there was even pink furniture inside!
Pink walls, pink chairs, pink curtains... very cute!

This room above is known as the Cotelle Gallery. It's name comes from Jean Cotelle, who painted the Views of Versailles and Trianon, which decorate the walls. Stunning!

Now on to my favorite part of the Chateau de Versailles: Petit Trianon, also known as Marie-Antoinette's Estate.

The Petit Trianon was built in 1761, and given to Marie-Antoinette by Louis XVI in these terms, "Since you love flowers I am offering you a bouquet, it is the Petit Trianon." It stands in the middle of a "garden of plants."

I was told that the gardeners would change the color of the flowers in the potted plants daily, to match what Marie-Antoinette was wearing that day. You can see the pots in the picture above between the hedges. The Petit Trianon became her favorite place to stay, and I can certainly understand why! It was private, away from the main palace, and beautiful.

Mimi and I are standing on the classical-style Grand staircase.

Ending this post with a picture of a giant antique mirror in Marie-Antoinette's house (with us in the reflection). Oh how many things this mirror would have seen in the past... if only mirrors could talk!

I loved this place. Many more pictures on our shutterfly site!

Paris: The Louvre & Musee d'Orsay

The Louvre and its pyramid are one of the top destinations in Paris. It's one of the world's largest art museums, holding some of the greatest works of all time - including: The Winged Victory and Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The building itself is a historic monument and a central landmark of Paris. It was once Louvre Palace, where the royal family used to live. It wasn't until 1682 that Louis XIV chose to leave the city and live at the Palace of Versailles.

The problem is that the museum is so huge that it's impossible to see everything. There are over 35,000 works of art displayed in the Louvre throughout approximately 652,300 square feet! I read that to devote 30 seconds to each (and ignoring the time taken walking from one work to the next), it would take about thirteen 24-hour days to see each piece. So needless to say, we came up with a game plan before we even entered the museum. There were 3 main things we wanted to see: 1) Mona Lisa, 2) Winged Victory, and 3) the Egyptian exhibits.

Part of The Louvre... it is HUGE!

Glass pyramid entrance in the main court to the Louvre.

Inside the Pyramid - view of the Louvre Museum from underground.

The Winged Victory

Musee d'Orsay was a former railway station, which is now an incredibly beautiful museum filled with impressionist paintings and marble sculptures. We were able to see extensive collections of paintings, including Monet and Van Gogh. There were also numerous sculptures, furniture, and photography exhibits. The interior of the museum is worth the entrance fee alone, and from the top floor you also get beautiful views of the city. There is a restaurant in the museum with huge glass windows overlooking the Seine River. I really wanted to eat here, but we ran out of time... next time!

Inside the museum - love the ceiling.
This picture is from the website http://aforsay.org/

Huge clock on the top floor of the Museum d'Orsay.
Looking out through the hands you can see Sacre Coeur Basilica.

Joe and I are not huge museum people, but I have to say that we really enjoyed both The Louvre and Museum d'Orsay. Stunning buildings, with beautiful art work exhibited in both. It would be nice to go back and spend more time in each.

Paris: Hotel Des Invalides & Musee Rodin

The Museum of Rodin houses the famous statue, The Thinker. Unfortunately the museum was undergoing restoration so we were not able to see any exhibitions; but we were able to walk around the gardens. Below are the two famous statues, The Thinker and the Gates of Hell, which can be found in the rose garden - I bet during the right season, it would be beautiful!

The Thinker

The Gates of Hell

Hotel Des Invalides was completed in the 17th century. It was created by Louis XIV as a home for aged soldiers and disabled veterans. During that time period the huge complex contained homes, barracks, a convent, hospital, and even a workshop. We learned that it housed up to 4,000 residents, who were then supervised by their offers and divided into working companies (so that more able-bodies patients could be guards, whereas others were in charge of tasks such as shoe repair).

Today you can spend well over a day walking around the complex. Part of the buildings are now used as an armory museum, where you can see various collections of suits of armor, uniforms, knives, firearms, cannons, etc. It was quite extensive!... and I was sad to see little suits of armor for toddlers. Apparently it is one of the largest armory museums in the world.

Another portion of the complex includes the chapel and tomb of Napoleon I. Since the buildings are gorgeous, filled with paintings and incredible details throughout, I was actually surprised to see that Napoleon's tomb is very plain - just a ginormous brown sarcophagus sitting directly under the beautiful hand-painted chapel dome. Other members of Napoleon's family as well as many of France's war heroes are also buried here.

The dome of Invalides, under which is Napoleon's tomb.

Looking up - the inside of the dome.

Napoleon's tomb.

Organ in the chapel.

Wow, we went to a lot of places in Paris - this is post #6! Only a couple more to go :)

Paris: Notre Dame & Sainte Chapelle Church

Beginning in 1163, Notre Dame took almost 200 years to complete! It was the largest religious building in western Europe until the mid-13th century. It's Gothic architectural style surely brings mystery to the unique building. It's a Roman Catholic cathedral, made especially famous after Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

The outside - so much detail on the building, it was truly incredible. It's hard to get a picture of it's huge size, but you can kind of see how the building extends quite a ways in the back.

The inside - it was difficult to capture the atmosphere inside because 1) it was extremely large, 2) there was a service going while we were there, and 3) no flash allowed. It fit the Gothic style though - a little dark and gloomy.

We climbed the 387 steps of the winding staircase to the top of the towers for a gorgeous panoramic view over all of Paris. With a baby strapped to my chest, it was an exhausting journey! But well worth it to see the view, and famous gargoyles up close.

A gargoyle on the top of Notre Dame looking out over Paris. There were hundreds of these mysterious stone creatures throughout the top of the cathedral.

Another view from the top, looking down over the back of the cathedral. Of course we took several other stunning photos from the top, you'll have to check out our shutterfly pics to see them all.

Sainte Chapelle Church is located just around the corner from Notre Dame. It was built around 1248 and has two main levels: the first is a plain lower chapel for servants, the second is an elaborate upper chapel which was reserved for the king and court members. The upper chapel is surrounded with beautiful stained glass windows. I read that it retains one of the most extensive collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world. The 1,113 scenes depicted in the 15 stained glass windows tell the story of mankind from Genesis through to Christ's resurrection. It was simply amazing! I can't even imagine how beautiful it would be on a sunny day.

The lower chapel, for the palace staff.

The upper sanctuary, reserved for the king and his family.

Another view of the upper chapel.

Paris: Montmartre, Sacre-Coeur Basilica & Moulin Rouge

Montmartre is a 130-meter tall hill in the northern part of Paris, and is the highest point in the city. Sitting on top of this hill is the famous Sacre-Coeur Basilica, whose huge white domes can be seen from many different places throughout the city.

Here is the distant view of the church from the top of Notre Dame Cathedral. Can you see it way in the distance?


And a closer view...

Sacre-Coeur Basilica is a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Construction of this enormous and beautiful building began in 1875, but it wasn't finished until 1914. It was consecrated after the end of World War I in 1919.

I read that the Basilica has managed to keep its white color despite heavy pollution because of the type of stones that were used for construction - when it rains, the stones react like a bleacher. I thought that was a unique fact.

The interior was huge, but a bit gloomy. Pictures weren't allowed to be taken inside, but I managed to get away with taking the one above. The gold painting on the ceiling was incredible. There are also beautiful stained glass windows on the side walls.

Due to its location on top of Montmartre hill, the church towers over the city. I read that its highest point is even higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Because if it's prime location, spectacular views, and gorgeous architecture, it's one of the most noticeable and visited landmarks in Paris.

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with us this day, it was very cloudy and hazy. Even though we could still see quite a far distance, it wasn't the same as it would have been on a clear sunny day. So we didn't even bother climbing to the top of the dome for the full view and what reviews say are the most "breathtaking views of Paris." This picture was taken outside of the entrance to the church.

The crypt below the church contains numerous statues of saints. I also read that there is a relic that some believe to be the very Sacred Heart (Sacre-Coeur) of Christ. The crypt was very dark and dreary, and to be honest a little bit creepy.

The streets outside the church are filled with tourist shops, local shops, restaurants, cafes, and lots and lots of people. It was a really unique area of Paris, and one of my favorites. I would love to go back on a sunny day!

After visiting Sacre-Coeur, we headed over to the nearby famous Moulin Rouge. I really wanted to go to a show, but unfortunately couldn't convince anyone else to go with me. :( It's pretty expensive, and actually has some bad reviews. So I had to settle for a picture in front of the building.

But if I ever go back to Paris, I'm going to this show!!!

Paris: La Tour Eiffel & Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe are two of the most famous sites in Paris.

The arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate his victories, but apparently he died before it was complete. The Arc de Triomphe stands at the end of the Champs-Elysees, in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle. It stands in honor of those who fought for France, specifically during the Napoleonic Wars. Engraved on the inside are all of the French victories as well as the names of all of the generals. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. Next to the tomb lies the Memorial Flame. It was lit in November of 1923, and since then has never been extinguished. It burns in memory of those who lost their lives and have never been identified.

The Arc is now surrounded by the world's busiest roundabout, the Etoile, which means the star. Above you can see a picture of the Arc at night from the Eiffel Tower and the streets surrounding it look like a star.

The Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance arch to the 1889 World Fair. It was named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel. At that time, it was the tallest tower in the world. It remained the highest tower in the world until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1929.

The tower was originally bright red, covered with an anti-corrosion mix. And there is a small apartment at the very top, where apparently Gustave and his daughter would occasionally entertain guests. We learned that the majority of the public didn't approve of the tower at that time, and thought of it as an eyesore. The city actually planned to tear it down, but after proving to be valuable for communication purposes, it was allowed to remain. Today the tower is widely recognized throughout the world, and one of the most visited paid monuments in the world.

The tower stands 324 meters tall, including the antenna. As I already said in a previous post, we were surprised that the Eiffel Tower is actually brown. The tower has 3 levels - the bottom two levels can be accessed by stairs or elevators, and both levels have restaurants. You have to take an elevator to the very top third level, and the views from up there are spectacular!! There is even a champagne bar at the top. We went at night so that we could see all of the city lights; and for an extra bonus - the tower lights up at the top of every hour for 10 minutes, where thousands of gold lights sparkle. It was beautiful all sparkly!

We were surprised with how big the structure actually is. And considering that Paris is a historic city (no tall skyscraper buildings) it stands out quite a bit. Below you can see Joe & Mike standing next to one of the legs.