InsideEurope: Tour de Paris

A view of Paris with the La defense in the background

Paris is often called the most romantic city in the world. Also known as the City of Lights, Paris is home to some of the world’s most beautiful architecture, art and monuments. From the iconic Eiffel Tower sparkling in the night, to the magnificent Versailles chateau, to the tree lined Champs Elysees, the crooked streets of St. Germain loaded with delicious patisseries and boutiques full of beautiful shoes, to markets overflowing with fresh produce, brightly colored scarves and fresh cheeses, Paris is one of the most beautiful, bustling and alive cities in the world.

Hurtling through the motorways of Belgium and France, there we were, headed to Paris! Early morning, we entered the sleeping city and Paris looked beautiful under the low light. The buildings showcasing their timeless magnificence and the city, beautifully planned. Our bus finally stopped at the Eurolines bus bay at Gallieni, a huge garage of the Eurolines bus service. From the metro station which was right below, we boarded a train headed to the St. Michel station at the heart of the city, closest to our hotel. As we emerged from the station, the cool early morning air greeted us and we found ourselves next to the Seine river. From one of the numerous bridges across the Seine, we could see the Eiffel tower looming up in the distance, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame rising silently behind, an imposing structure and below us flowed the glassy calm waters of the Seine. Walking down to the famous Boulevard St. Germain and it's bakeries and boutiques, we found our hotel on a parallel road, a minute's walk away. It was a 17th century mansion, turned into a hotel, where everything was antique, the cloak cupboard, the reception desk, and all the crockery, as old as the hotel itself! It was a nice place and I added it my unique hotels list!

One hour later, refreshed and ready to take on Paris, we were headed to the Musée du Louvre. The most famous art museum in the world with about 35,000 pieces of art. Longer than three Eiffel towers laid side by side and with a million sq.ft of open space between it's wings, it is the longest building in Europe. As we entered the plaza, the warm honey coloured marble of the Louvre surrounding us, the main entrance of the Louvre was visible. La Pyramide. The controversial glass pyramid which had become as famous as the Louvre itself. We descended into the new subterranean lobby of the museum, 60 feet below the ground and covering a 70,000 sq.ft. Passages ran in all four directions, the Denon wing, the Richelieu wing and the Sully wing with the fourth going to the famous La Pyramide Inversée. We opted to visit the Mona Lisa first and took the Denon wing.

Me, the Louvre and the la pyramide!

Once a Renaissance palace, The Louvre is now the most famous art museum in the world with about 35,000 pieces of art. Longer than three Eiffel towers laid side by side and with a million sq.ft of open space between it's wings, it is the longest building in Europe. As we entered the plaza, the warm honey coloured marble of the Louvre surrounding us, the main entrance of the Louvre was visible. La Pyramide. The controversial glass pyramid which had become as famous as the Louvre itself. We descended into the new subterranean lobby of the museum, 60 feet below the ground and covering a 70,000 sq.ft. Passages ran in all four directions, the Denon wing, the Richelieu wing and the Sully wing with the fourth going to the famous La Pyramide Inversée. We opted to visit the Mona Lisa first and took the Denon wing.

The Grand gallery. 1500 feet long and wide enough to contain 4 cars laid side by side, the Grand Gallery is known to contain some of the finest Italian art. Taking in the masterpieces of the Italian masters and trying to make out the complex geometric design made by the diagonal oak panels on the floor, we made our way to the Salle des Etats. In her own private cell, behind a thick layer of plexiglass hung the most celebrated painting in the world.

The Mona Lisa. Her mist filled, supernal atmosphere is a tribute to Leonardo Da Vinci's mastery over the sfumato style, in which forms evaporate into one another. Her smile intrigued me, a knowing, secretive smile leading me to believe, as well as many others, that Da Vinci had imbibed a secret in her. But her size was even smaller than expected, smaller than her posters in the Louvre gift shop. The Venus de Milo, The Winged victory, Madonna of the rocks and The coronation of Napoleon were my favourites. The modern, progressive sculptures of the modern world as well as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans were displayed.

Napoleon's quarters. Located in the Richelieu wing, this area was once the quarters of King Napoleon. Untouched Persian drapes, rugs and crockery, magnificent chandeliers and extravagant furniture cast a majestic aura over whole area that was once quarters of the diminutive king. Our last stop in the Louvre was the La Pyramide Inversée, the inverted pyramid that served as a skylight and the small pyramid below it which featured in the climax of Dan Brown's blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. However the smaller pyramid below is not fixed to the ground, which disproves Brown's speculations.

We continued down to the The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel from where the Musée d'Orsay, the Pompidou center, the Musée du Jeu de Paume and finally, the Musée du Louvre, four of the finest art museums in the world, were visible, on at each point on the compass. We took a walk in the famed Tuileries Garden further down, still unable to take our eyes off The Louvre. The Tuileries Garden is a public space and is an icon of Paris. It is quite a nice place to relax and bask under the sun!

Dazzling! -The Eiffel tower

Later in the evening we commuted by the Réseau Express Régional (RER) to the Champ de Mars-Tour Eiffel station. La Tour Eiffel. The Eiffel tower. 1,063 ft tall, 81 storeys high and waiting to take your breath away, the tower was massive and I could feel the 7000 tons of iron on top of me as I gazed up from the bottom. After 2 hours of waiting in line, we made our way to the elevator. The first two levels were accessible by both foot and elevator but the third one was only by an elevator. The ripping wind caught me square as I stepped out on the deck of the third floor. The view was perfect, the skyscrapers of La Défense caught my eye first, far away, the distance did no justice to their size at all! As I looked down below, I appreciated how high up I was. Really high!

The lights began to come on, The Louvre, majestic as ever, the bright Avenue des Champs-Élysées just opposite it, The towers of La Défense came next, pin points of light in the distance and finally came the Eiffel tower!

It exploded in brilliant flashes, like camera shots all over the tower. The tourists below in the Champ de Mars, the long green space flanking the tower, responding with their own camera flashes. The whole area around was filled with bright flashes. I was dazzled by the lights. Paris was lit up completely! The Seine glowing a beautiful orange colour, the streets a vibrant mix of headlights, tail lights and street lights. The powerful beams from the Eiffel tower flashed above us lighting up the foggy night air. The streets of Paris retain their crooked beauty, whether viewed from the ground, the Eiffel tower or a sattelite!

Four hours sped by and I was sad to leave the tower behind, we pledged to return the next evening to observe the lighting of the Eiffel tower from the Champ de Mars, an event not to be missed at all!