The Paris Itinerary

Saturday the 27th. We reached Gallieni, the main bus stop towards the east end of Paris. First thing wee needed to do was, buy the metro pass valid for two days and then go to the hotel near Gare du Nord(the main railway station) and check in.

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur, Montmartre
The first place we visited was the Sacred Heart church on Montmartre hill. After reaching there we did not take the funicular railway that takes one uphill but decided to walk all the way since it was only morning and we were all beaming with energy.
The church is built in the 'Romano-Byzantine' architectural style. This place is associated with the beheading of Saint Denis who after his beheading is believed to have picked up his head and walked to the place is now called by his name. Paintings of this incident can be found in the Musée de Montmartre - a museum, which has paintings of several artists, very close to the church. The name 'Montmartre' means 'Mount of the Martyrs' which signifies the martydom of Saint Denis and his companions. Later the place was visited by many other saints including Saint Joan of Arc. The view of Paris from the Montmartre hill is amazing.


Palais Garnier (Paris Opera)
The Palais Garnier is a thirteen century theatre and regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time. It is named after its architect Charles Garnier.
(Left : The entrance, Right : Ceilings)


Arc de Triomphe

Our third visit was to the Arc de Triomphe(left).
It lies in the west end of the inner Paris north of river Seine.
This 50 meters high arch is the second largest triumphal arch in the world. It was built in 1806 by Napolean Bonaparte. It is believed to be built in Neoclassical version of the ancient Roman architecture. There is a tomb of the unknown soldier(right).
From the top, one can get a beautiful a beautiful view of the city as thirteen roads lead to this arch. I did not go to the top but have seen phptographs of this in numerous tourist guides. For the pedestrians there is a subway however from the Metro station Charles-de-Gaulle. Ended the first day's adventure with a visit to the Tour Eiffel.









The next day was reserved for the Louvre. I probably would not say anything about it at all. That is a picture of me at the grand entrance of the World's largest museum.