Paris, France – Part 2

Author: Molly

Day three we woke up with pretty sore feet but no time to rest!

We made a stop at the Picasso Museum, which is fairly small but interesting, especially as it houses his own collection – pieces he kept with him throughout his life as well as drawings and other personal artifacts.

Next was the Pompidou Center, an oddly constructed building that houses the Modern Art Museum among various other things like a library and theater. This building is about to close for 5 years, so it felt prudent to visit. We weren’t as interested in some of the galleries here, so we didn’t stay for too long.

We planned to visit a public market for lunch, but it was a bit overwhelming. Instead, we opted for a cafe where I had the best pistachio éclair. They didn’t have these two days later, so now I’m on a hunt for something as good.

The afternoon was busy, starting with a visit to Napoleon’s tomb. This area also has extensive military museums, which we started but decided we weren’t in the mood.

It had been a rainy few days and there was finally a break, allowing us a nice walk to the Eiffel tower. We didn’t go up, maybe in the future. Our museum pass did give us access to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, where we waited for dark to get some nice photos.

I mentioned in part 1 that there is a lot of history on the island where Notre Dame and other famous Paris buildings are. On day 4, we went to an archeological site below Notre Dame, found when they started to build a parking lot. This showed the thousands of years of use, including the preserved docks from the 1st century (when the river edge was in a different spot) as well as buildings from Roman baths. This was such an interesting spot, and it was basically empty.

We spent the afternoon hitting a few more spots, including the Hotel de la Marine, the Rodin sculpture museum, and the Pantheon.

I did not want to miss the catacombs, and we finally got to visit on the last night. There are over six million remains in these old mining tunnels, moved from overfilled and unsanitary graveyards throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. There is no identification, and it is an eerie experience to walk through and consider the lives of all these people. I would recommend this stop for its uniqueness and perspective.

Paris couldn’t end on a dark note, so we went up to Montmartre, a neighborhood on a hill that houses the Sacré-Cœur basilica. We grabbed some snacks and hung out on the steps – a seemingly popular activity- overlooking Paris.

A big part of this trip is identifying places we really love and want to return to, and Paris made this list! We had a great time, if you can’t tell by the long winded post.