By: John Michael Pierobon
Why I Write This
There are a few reasons why I write this. One is to relive my trip to Paris. It was awesome. In writing it I realized I accomplished more than I thought.
People know that I am a world traveler and they sometimes ask me for advice on travel destinations. Hopefully this will help them figure out what to see and do in Paris, and hopefully it provides valuable information.
In researching my trip to Paris I was disappointed with vague and sometimes contradictory information. For example whether the Roissy Bus was included in the Navigo pass. It is. Here I provide specific information.
Prices quoted here are what they were in 2025. In the future they may be higher. Prices for hotel room nights seem to change with every night.
The Genesis
It might have been 1981. I found out my childhood friend Ricardo Valencia was going to tour Europe with his younger brother Roberto. I am not a jealous person, but that struck me as I need to go to Europe.
In 1982 my sister as part of her junior year at Purdue University went to study abroad in Strasbourg. In late July 1983 I flew from Chicago to Luxembourg on Icelandair. There my sister met me and we toured Europe. Seven countries in seventeen days. It was an extremely memorable trip for me, as I can recall many details including the itinerary. We returned back to Chicago on August 11, 1983.
Paris became my favorite city. We spent two days in Paris. Went to the Louvre, to the top of the Eiffel Tower, spent time in the Tuileries Garden, etc. I remember that it was hot at night in Paris.
In September 1988 I told my boss's boss that I spoke French. Actually that was not really true, but my French was better than anyone else in the company. So, I got the assignment to go open the European office Louvain-la-Neuve, which is in Wallonia. Wallonia is the French speaking province of Belgium.
The first thing I bought in Belgium was a Larousee English-French French-English dictionary.
I was in Belgium for five days. I arrived on a Tuesday and on Sunday afternoon I took the train to Aachen, Germany to meet with our German distributor. On the train ride to Germany I felt like such a failure because I could not finish a sentence in French without that dictionary. I was down on myself, until I got off the train in Germany and heard the announcements in German at the train in Aachen. I felt great because I did not understand any of the German and by comparison I realized how much I understood in French.
I went back to Paris several times. In 1989, I made eight trips to Europe; all on business.
On a couple of those business trips to Belgium, I would fly to Paris and arrive Sunday morning. Back then there was on Charles de Gaulle airport. So, I would land at Orly airport. Take the bus from Orly airport, to the nearest metro station. Then take the metro to Gare du Nord. Leave my luggage in a locker and go explore Paris. I would spend the day in Paris and take the four o'clock train to Brussels, and then on to Louvain-la-Neuve.
I distinctly remember landing at Orly airport on Sunday morning, July 16, 1989. It was the Sunday of the bicentennial of the start of the French Revolution. As my airplane was taxiing to the gate I saw two Air Force One aircraft. A man in a suit and tie was standing at the bottom of the staircase to that aircraft. That Sunday, July 16, 1989, I walked across Place de la Concorde and there were no vehicles. It was a surreal feeling. France was in a celebratory mood that day.
I had a first class train ticket with an assigned seat reservation to Brussels that afternoon. Everyone was leaving Paris that afternoon; the weekend was ending. My train was really full; standing room only. I got to my seat, and it was occupied by the train conductor. I tried to argue with the train conductor that I was entitled to that seat because I reserved it. My French, then, although better than in 1988, was not good enough to win the argument. So, I went standing all the way to Brussels.
I was in Paris on November 11, 1989. I wanted to go to the postal museum because my uncle Bill worked at the post office in Memphis. The postal museum was closed because it was Veterans Day. So, since then I felt I needed to return to Paris to go see the postal museum.
In 1989, I spent a half day at the City of Science and Industry, which is a huge museum. I did not have enough time to see it all, so that was another piece of unfinished business.
The last time I was in Paris was February 1990. I have been to Europe many times since, mostly to England. It was time to go back.
The world has changed since then, so I wondered how Paris had changed since the last century.
There were other reasons for going back to Paris, besides being my favorite city. I needed to finish seeing everything at the City of Science and Industry. I had to go to the postal museum because I was not going to be denied a second time. Of course there was need to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower again.
I was going to go the summer of 2024, but I postponed it to 2025 for two reasons. Paris hosted the Olympics in 2024 and it seemed that I was going to be too crowded. The rebuilding of the cathedral of Notre Dame was delayed, and it finally reopened in December 2024.
If I was going to Paris, France, I would make a side trip to Saint Claude in the Jura mountains. That is the town where my father was born. My sister was there and while there met the mayor and obtained my father's birth certificate. A side trip to Saint Claude was added to the itinerary.
The Planning
When to go was influenced by a few factors. One is to get out of the summer heat in Florida. Going to Europe, which is much further north than Florida, where I live, in spring and summer gives me more daylight hours.
I have mango trees in my yard, so I cannot go during mango season because leaving fallen mangoes to rot in the heat only attracts vermin. This year mango season came very early. When mango season is late it extends into July.
I had decided that I was going back to Paris in 2025. I wanted to be in Paris for Bastille Day because I arrived two days past their bicentennial in 1989. I could go early in July, probably July 3, or I could go later in July, probably July 12.
I decided to go earlier in July because of the French Revolution. The French changed the calendar and the names of the months during the French Revolution. The month of Thermidor was the eleventh month of the year in the republican calendar during the French Revolution. It was the second month of the summer quarter and fell in the hottest season of the year. Thermidor started on July 20. I decided that I did not want to be in Paris during the hottest season of the year.
How did I know that there was a month called Thermidor? I knew they did
because decades ago I read a very good book on the French Revolution, of which I do not recall
the title nor the author. In preparing for my trip, I read several books about France. The
two best books were:
I also read books about Vichy France, and the history of Paris, and travel books about Paris.
I read a biography of Napoleon, and A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway.This was very helpful as it made the museums and the monuments more interesting when I visited them.
I know from past experience that for me a trip of ten or eleven days is long enough. Longer than that I get tired. I was originally planning on leaving on July 3 and returning on July 15, but it did not turn out that way for three reasons.
My maternal grandfather was the oldest of seven. His sister Ruth was the youngest of the seven. Ruth's daughter is Kathy, and she is my mother's first cousin. Cousin Kathy is my first cousin once removed and is closer in age to my generation of descendants.
In 2023, I was talking with her about my intent to go to Paris. She mentioned that her youngest granddaughter has always dreamed of going to Paris.
In November 2023, cousin Kathy had a family reunion, in Las Vegas where she lives, of her sons and grandchildren, and I was cordially invited. So I got to meet her family and I had a very good time with them.
While I was in Las Vegas, I showed them pictures of my trip to southern Africa which consisted mostly of photographs of wild animals. Kathy mentioned that her grandson Luke would be interested in going to South Africa, and she reiterated that her granddaughter wanted to go to Paris.
I had been telling my friends and relatives that I was going to Paris in 2025 and asked them if they wanted to come along. No one was saying "yes". They were all giving me polite responses. I am fine with that, as I am perfectly comfortable traveling alone.
I began my planning earnest in September 2024 when I discovered that American Airlines had nonstop flights from Miami to Paris for 19,000 frequent flyer miles plus taxes each way.
For me this figures like a bargain. I equate one frequent flyer mile to one cent. I could go nonstop to Paris and back for the equivalent of US$380 plus US$86.20 in taxes. This was a deal. Booking a trip using frequent flyer miles on American Airlines is fully refundable. So, if I needed to change or cancel my flight there was no risk.
Not knowing exactly which date I would go, I booked several flights. After traveling over 1,185,000 miles on American Airlines, I have a few frequent flyer miles still left in my account.
Not knowing exactly which date I would go, I booked several flights. After traveling over 1,185,000 miles on American Airlines, I have a few frequent flyer miles still left in my account. Book the flight now, as the price will go up.
I called my cousin Kathy to see if indeed her granddaughter would want to go to Paris. She surprised me by saying that she wanted to go, and not her granddaughter.
I was very excited about this news. Someone wanted to travel with me.
I booked Kathy a ticket and paid for it with my frequent flyer miles.
By then I had decided that I would return back to the United States on July 15. I would be in Paris for the Bastille Day parade, and hopefully get home in time to watch the All-Star Game on the evening of July 15.
So my tickets were purchased with frequent flyer miles by the last week of September.
Later on a few things changed. One was that cousin Kathy mentioned that traveling on July 3 was too close to the Fourth of July holiday.
Holiday travel is more chaotic than normal. That was one reason to move the departure date to July 1. Another reason was given to me by my neighbor whose mother-in-law lives in Paris. He said that I should spend more time in Paris. The third reason became evident when I started to figure out what I wanted to see and to in Paris. I needed more time, and I could easily extend my trip by two days and have lots to see and do.
Dates were pretty much set in concrete. Leave on Tuesday, July 1, arrive in Paris on July 2. Depart Paris on Tuesday morning, July 15.
In January 2025, American Airlines decided to eliminate the nonstop from Miami to Paris. I found out about it on the news two days before I was notified by American Airlines. The excuse that American Airlines gave was that Boeing was not supplying them with enough 787 airplanes.
This was a disappointment for me as I have found that I seem to be less tired after an intercontinental flight on a 787 than on other aircraft. I also did not like the fact that I would have to change aircraft as that inserted the risk of missing my connection, something that happened to me the last two times I flew overseas.
I had to call American Airlines because their Web site would not let me make the change to my connecting flight. I wanted to fly to Europe on the same flight as my cousin Kathy so that one of us (most likely me) would not have to wait for the other person.
I had to do this more than once as American Airlines kept changing to their flight schedule at the beginning of 2025.
It was settled. I was going to fly from Miami and have an long layover in Chicago, and meet Kathy in Chicago. She would also have a long layover, but not as long as mine. While waiting for the flight to Paris I could watch baseball on my smart phone. Not a problem.
Booking a hotel was a bit tricky. I have lots hotel points with Marriott, Hilton, and Holiday Inn (IHG). I used Expedia to look for hotels. I also looked into AirBnB and VRBO, but found that I could get a better deal at a hotel, if only they were not sold out months in advance. I was surprised by the fact that they were sold out.
There are a lot of places to stay in and around Paris, but I wanted to stay inside Paris city limits. Yes it is more expensive, but having easy access to public transportation was important.
Now I understand why so many places were sold out. The reason is that they do not allow one to book thirteen consecutive nights. I could make back to back reservation of six and seven nights, but that seemed to be complicated.
Before I could make a definite hotel reservation in Paris, I decided to make several reservations. I would cancel the ones I would not use.
The only IHG hotel that would let me book thirteen consecutive nights in Paris was the Holiday Inn Auteuil. It turns out that it was conveniently located because the metro station was a half a block away. The Lidl grocery store was a half a block away in the other direction. Even if I got desperate, there was a McDonald's across the street.
I wrote to the hotel and they responded. There was a minibar in the room. I do not use the minibar, but it implied a refrigerator, so I could store some food in it. There was a microwave downstairs. They offered a hot breakfast, not just a continental breakfast. I was going to eat well.
I could have stayed at a much more centrally located hotel in Paris, but at twice the price or much higher. A few more metro stops each day would save me at least US$120 a night, or lots of IHG points.
Knowing that I was going to stay at an IHG hotel, I applied for an IHG credit card. The deal gave me Silver status plus 50,000 IHG points for signing up if I would spend US$1000 in the first three months. Silver status let me book four nights with points and pay only for three nights with points. I was staying eleven nights, so I booked eight nights with points and paid for the other three nights with my IHG credit card.
I have several credit cards because each has a special deal. My IHG credit card is for staying at the Holiday Inn. Some of these credit cards have a 3% international transaction fee, others do not. I took with me to France only those credit cards that do not have an international transaction fee. If I were to have trouble with one credit card, I could try to use another.
American Express is not widely accepted in Europe.
Something else that was helpful was the fact that I was walking five kilometers every morning on the beach. I knew there were would be lots of walking and standing in museums during the trip. I prepared my body for this.
Part of the planning is deciding what to see and do, and in what order. In my mind I had a priority list of what I wanted to see. It included Musée de La Poste (the postal museum), the City of Science and Industry, the Eiffel Tower, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Air and Space Museum, the Bastille Day Parade. There were secondary places which included Tour Montparnasse, the castle at Vincennes, Sacré Coeur and the carousel near it, and the Tuileries Garden.
Wikipedia was created since the last time I was in Paris, and it is a wonderful source of information. I searched for a list of museums in Paris.
It turns out there are over 110 museums in and around Paris. Many of these museums I had never heard of. I had to investigate each one of them to figure out if there were going to be of interest to me. Many of these museums I had never heard of.
I made a spreadsheet of these museums. It was important to know what time they opened and what time they closed. Some open at 9:30 am, some open at 10:00 am, some open at 11:00 am. Some close for lunch. Some are closed on Monday, others are closed on Tuesday. Some are open late on a given night. Some were just closed the whole year for renovations.
I also had to figure out how to get to each museum because I wanted to minimize my time getting from one museum to the next.
I discovered the Paris Museum Pass. It gives access to more than fifty museums and monuments. A two-day pass was priced at 70 €. A four-day pass was priced at 90 €. A six-day pass was priced at 110 €. Based on my experience with the FirenzeCard, which I highly recommend, I figured that would be a good deal.
I needed to schedule the museums and monuments included in the Paris Museum Pass I wanted to see within six days. What is not included in the Paris Museum Pass would be scheduled on other days.
I also discovered that some museums belong to the city of Paris are free every day.
Some places such as the Eiffel Tower, Tour Montparnasse, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and Musée de l'Orangerie require advance booking with a specific time. Tickets can be bought in advance, but how many days in advance depends on each venue. I had to keep this in mind.
In 1989 one did not have to reserve a time to enter the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
The hardest part about figuring out an itinerary for my trip to Paris was figuring out how long it would take for me to see each museum or monument.
Ask a search engine and ask ChatGPT. They should give an accurate answer. They provide answers, but they are all different. Ask ChatGPT and it would give an answer. Then ask ChatGPT "Are you sure?" ChatGPT would give a different answer.
I knew "all day" was the answer to how long to spend at the City of Science and Industry because in 1989 half a day was not long enough. I scheduled that visit for Sunday because on Sunday they stay open an hour later.
In figuring out how to get from one museum to the next, I would find other museums on the map. For example, this is how the mineralogy got added to the itinerary. It is near the Marie Curie museum, which has some unusual opening times.
Two museums that were added to the itinerary because they were free and on the way from one place to another were the Musée Bourdelle and the Musée Gustave Moreau.
Two museums that were not on the itinerary because I learned they were closed for renovation were the Louis Pasteur museum and the Pompidou Center.
I asked cousin Kathy what she wanted to see, and she wrote back short list of places. Most made it on the the original itinerary.
The Île-de-France (IDF) transportation system includes buses, trams, light rail (RER), and the subway. It encompasses Paris and its surrounding cities. The city of Paris has its own system, RATP.
IDF and RATP have their own Web sites and their own apps. The RATP Web site is a pain to use, although it has an English version and a French version, because it has to always has to check if I am a human. Of course I am.
I used the IDF and RATP Web sites to figure out how to go from one attraction to the next. I also used Google Maps, although in the past I have known Google Maps to be wrong. The three would usually give me slightly different answers, but they were always close to each other. Within Paris, there are usually a few options to get from one place to the next.
On my smart phone I had downloaded the RATP app, the IDF app, and Google Maps.
The Île-de-France (IDF) transportation system has daily, weekly, and monthly passes.
There is also a tourist pass, but that is not a good deal. Then there is the Roissy Bus. It runs from the Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG), which is located in the town of Roissy, to the center of Paris. One way costs 13 €, but a one day unlimited IDF pass costs costs 12 €.
I was going to take the train from Paris to Saint Claude and back. The rail system in France is run by the state. The SNCF Web site was also very confusing.
For starters, there is a sncf.fr Web site which redirects to https://www.groupe-sncf.com/en. That Web site does not offer tickets. The Web site for train travel is sncf-connect.com. It is in French, and to get to the English version one had to scroll down almost to the bottom to find "Choix du pays" and select the last option. In English or in any other language to look for a schedule or to buy a ticket one has to input first the destination and then the starting point. It continues not to be intuitive.
There were other complications with SNCF train tickets. Some routes you can buy a ticket sixty days in advance, other ninety days in advance, and others 120 days in advance. Train frequency varies by month. In July there are fewer options to get to Saint Claude than other times of the year. Train tickets sell out very quickly, or they do not put all of their tickets up for sale on the first day. This limited my options.
Saint Claude, which is in the Jura Mountains, is close to Geneva, Switzerland. I was going to take the train to Geneva. I found out that the train stopped in Bourg-en-Bresse, a town I had never heard of before. From Bourg-en-Bresse I could go to Oyonnax, and there connect to Saint Claude, but not at night.
I spent most of March 2025, coming up with a full itinerary that would have a full agenda for each day optimized to spend as little time getting from one place to the next and reducing costs.
Tickets to the Eiffel Tower, which is not included in the Paris Museum Pass go on sale sixty (60) days in advance. They sell different kinds of tickets, and the sell out very quickly. They go on sale at midnight Paris time, which was 6 pm my time. Their Web site cannot handle to volume of traffic at that time. It took me twenty minutes to buy my tickets, and I was lucky to get within a half hour of the time slot I wanted. Of course, you can buy tickets for the Eiffel Tower when you get there, but there is a line to buy tickets, and they may be sold out. I am really glad I bought the tickets in advance.
Advance tickets for Notre Dame go on sale two days prior, and are free.
As the date of my trip got closer, I went back and revised my agenda slightly. I double checked everything and made sure there was flexibility. I had plan A, plan B, and plan C, but I know from experience, there are always surprises.
I would check American Airlines flight status for my flights and Kathy's flights to see how often they ran on time. I could tell that delays were common. However, I know that just because the flight is late six days in a row, it may or may not be late on the seventh day.
So I came up with the following agenda. Some events were time specific so I had to be there at that specific time or very close to that time.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
The original agenda (above) differs from the actual sequence of venues that we visited. We spent more time at some places than originally anticipated. Consequently, we did not get to some of the venues, and other venues were added. Fortunately I had built in some flexibility into my plan, and it all worked out.
The actual agenda ended up being like this.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
Rough Start
I had packed the night before so I would be ready for my trip. I packed five pounds of crunchy peanut butter. My second cousin, Sonia, and her family who live in Italy love peanut butter. Peanut butter is extremely expensive in Italy. My plan was to mail the peanut butter from France since and Italy are both members of the European Union. This would reduce shipping costs and customs duty.
Since I had been planning this trip for months, I also had a checklist of all the things I needed to do before leaving.
On the check list was to check to make sure flights were running on time. Cousin Kathy's airplane, which was originating in Chicago, was running late. As the morning progressed, it was running later and later. I told her to call American Airlines and see if they could rebook her because she was going to miss her connection.
She did, and got rebooked. She was going to fly from Las Vegas, where she lives, to London Heathrow on British Airways, and connect from there to Paris. Arriving much later in Paris, but at least she had extra time in Las Vegas instead of sitting in the airport. It turns out that this was the best solution because the original airplane from Chicago to Las Vegas was diverted that day.
My flight was scheduled to leave from Miami at 3:30 pm. I figured it would take an hour to and hour and five minutes to get to the Miami airport from my house. If I request a ride from Lyft at 1:15 pm it would take the driver no more than fifteen minutes to pick me up.
I also know new airport procedures changed the time to check a bag from thirty (30) minutes prior to forty-five (45) minutes prior. This is a change implemented to accommodate inefficient baggage handling. I blame the TSA and the airlines for passing on the cost of my time on to me.
Airlines want you to be at the airport three (3) hours before departure because it does not cost them any money to make passengers wait.
My checklist was almost complete. On it I had to call Lyft at 1:15 pm. I used their app and requested a ride at 1:16 pm. Twenty minutes or so later, I noticed that the driver was lost. The Lyft app lets me call the driver. I placed seven (7) calls to the driver. She did not answer a single call. I tried texting. No response. Realizing that I needed to get another ride, I tried to request another ride from Lyft. That cannot be done. Lyft only lets me request one ride at a time. First I had to cancel that ride, and then request a new, expedited ride, at a higher fare.
Lyft finally arrived at my house at 1:47 pm and at the Miami airport at 2:50 pm. It was too late to check my bag, although I insisted with the American Airlines agent.
Two minutes later I was in the TSA line.
TSA flagged my bag because of the peanut butter which I was taking with me to mail to my cousins in Italy. TSA rules consider peanut butter to be a threat to aviation safety. TSA took their sweet time to get to my duffel bag, and then to tell me the peanut butter could not go.
Back to the American Airlines counter to see if I could persuade them to check my bag. No luck. So, back to the TSA line, where TSA took their sweet time to get to my duffel bag, and the to tell me the peanut butter could not go.
By then it was 3:16 pm. I had cleared TSA and was without my peanut butter. I rushed to the gate. The airplane was still there but the door to the jet way was closed. Flight 3056 departed at 3:25 pm without me. A few minutes later, the American Airlines app changed the departure time of flight 3056 to 3:30 pm so as to keep me from arguing that the flight left early.
Lyft is unreliable and unaccountable. Lyft put a monkey wrench into my carefully constructed schedule, cost me extra money, and nearly derailed a trip I had planned for months.
Plan B
So I missed my flight. I had to get rebooked.
I knew there was a 5:00 pm flight to Chicago. I did not book myself on that flight because I wanted to insure that I had plenty of time so as to not to miss my connection in Chicago. The last two times I had gone to Europe United Airlines and American Airlines had delays due to mechanical problems with the aircraft leaving Florida and I missed my connection.
I also knew there were two flights to Chicago after that. Miami is a hub for American Airlines and having multiple flights to Chicago, another hub for American Airlines, was advantageous. One does not want to miss a flight and be stuck. I always try to avoid the last flight out, for which I have my own three letter acronym, LFO. I always try to avoid the LFO.
I went to the American Airlines customer service counter which was next to my gate. There was a line. While waiting in line I called the American Airlines flight disruption line. Actually I made two telephone calls to them because I was not happy with the first answer, and perhaps trying again I might get someone else on the line who could be more helpful. All I got was more sympathy, but no solution.
The person at the American Airlines customer service counter was not able to solve my problem either.
I was upset at American Airlines for closing their flight early. I was upset at TSA for taking their sweet time to reject my peanut butter, and having imposed their 45-minute check bag rule. I was furious at Lyft. All this added to stress because I could not yell at any of them for I needed the cooperation of American Airlines to get to my destination. It is not good to yell at TSA. It is impossible to talk to Lyft.
A lot of stress and anguish.
However, I had to put that aside and go to the next gate and get put on standby. I did. I heard the woman at the gate say that I was 23rd on the standby list. It helped that I was a lifetime AAdvantage Gold member because I have flown more that 1,185,000 miles on American Airlines. When the screen showed the list of people on the standby list, I was third on the list.
I did not get on. This surprised me because I knew the day before there were seats for sale on that flight.
While waiting for the gate agent to appear for the next flight, I booked myself on two flight to Paris for the next morning. One flight departing from Fort Lauderdale, the other from Miami.
If I was not going to get on the next flight, scheduled to depart at 6:40 pm, I did not want to spend the night at the Miami International Airport (MIA). I had two options to go back home. One was Tri-Rail and the other was Lyft. The Tri-Rail Web site is not friendly to smaller screen sizes.
I had a few options lined up. The flight scheduled to depart at 6:40 pm was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 9:10 pm, and my flight to Paris was scheduled to depart Chicago at 9:30 pm. The arrival and departure gates shown were right next to each other. That later changed. There was hope.
I was first on the standby list. I cleared the wait list and I was assigned a window seat 29F. I boarded the aircraft at 6:18 pm. I told the gate agent of my close connection and she said to mention it to the flight attendant when I got on the aircraft, which I did.
The airplane had liftoff at 6:55 pm. From my window seat I could see the part of the Miami skyline including where the Miami Marlins play.
The flight crew communicated with each other and they were sympathetic and helpful about my very tight flight connection. They told me the gate agent in Chicago would be aware of my tight connect. As the airplane was beginning its descent, they moved me up to a middle seat in an exit row and put my bag up front.
There was an empty seat on the airplane. I got to sit next to a young and very pretty brown-eyed flight attendant. She was working in Miami and was going home to Chicago. She missed her two dogs.
During the flight the pilot announced that it would arrive at the gate a couple of minutes early. Actually the flight did land early, at 8:42 pm, but due to gate congestion, the airplane did not get to the gate until 9:26pm. I was off the aircraft at 9:33 pm.
Near the end of the flight the flight attendant informed me that my connecting flight was now leaving at 11:00 pm. This did not surprise me because I had been checking flight status of my flight to Paris on may previous days and the flight to Paris was frequently leaving late.
The new gate for my flight to Paris was at the end. There was a McDonald's on the way, but it was closed. In fact, everything was closed. I was on the LFO to Paris, and for that matter to Europe. The baseball game I wanted to watch, the Marlins hosting the Twins, had finished.
Looking at the seat map the day before, I was expecting an empty seat next to me. That was not the case. The flight was delayed because of weather in Philadelphia, another hub of American Airlines. American Airlines rerouted several of its passengers to Chicago instead of Philadelphia, and that motivated American Airlines to delay the departure of the flight to Paris.
Then they moved the departure time to 11:30 pm.
I boarded my flight to Paris at 10:47 pm. The flight left several minutes before 11:30 pm. I was a full flight.
Wednesday, July 2Arriving in Paris
My flight landed at Charles de Gaulle airport at 1:45 pm.
I got off the airplane at 2:00 pm. So, it was little over one hour late. The two days prior to my arrival Paris was having a heat wave
with temperatures reaching 100 degrees F. The heat wave was on its way out as I
arrived. However, from the airplane to the terminal building one has to walk
through a glass enclosed passageway which acts like a greenhouse. It took 18 minutes to clear immigration. There was nobody
at customs, so I just walked through. The next thing I needed to do was to buy a Navigo pass for
the week. Navigo is what the IDF transportation calls their daily, weekly,
and monthly passes. I asked four different people where I could buy one, and
was given four different answers. Signage at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport is
poor. I wasted time going back and forth, but I figured that I
had to walk to another building and take the elevator down to buy tickets. They had people to help with the vending machines that sold
tickets, but they were incompetent. I thought that only in America they hire people and do not
train them properly, but I found out that it also happens in Paris. I went into the ticket office, and waited in line. I had to
listen to a man with Brooklyn accent debating with the ticket agent as to whether
to buy the least expensive option, which was what the ticket agent was recommending.
People in line were distracted, and people in front of me were not paying attention
that there was a ticket agent just waiting to help. I got to the ticket agent and he said that I could not buy
a weekly card in the machine, and I needed to get one with a photo ID. There
are plenty of photo booths at the CDG airport. I bought a weekly ticket for
myself and one for my cousin Kathy. The photo booth was a tricky adventure, but eventually I
got my picture taken and was able to pay for it with one of my credit cards. Back to the ticket office and the ticket agent affixed my
photograph to my Navigo card. I showed that I was complying with regulations. I had confirmed that with a Navigo pass one can take the Roissy Bus,
which without a Navigo pass costs 13 € one way. I had originally intended to take
the Roissy Bus, but the RER station was so very close the ticket office. The RER B train filled up and off it went into Paris. I got off.
The RER B train was not air conditioned. I got off at Châtelet - Les Halles.
That place is huge. I was amused there was a Krispy Kreme there. I got out there and
walked towards Rue de Rivoli. I took the 72 bus to the Holiday Inn. The 72 bus moved
slowly with the traffic. The 72 bus crossed the Champs-Élysées, which was
in the process being prepared for the Bastille Day parade. I got to my hotel almost three hours later than I had originally
envisioned. I recognized where to get off because I had seen the image of the hotel
on their Web site. I checked in. I got my room, room 33, and Kathy's room, room 35.
I had both keys. It was about five o'clock in the afternoon. I was not as tired as I thought I was going to be. I think
this is due to the fact that I flew on a Boeing 787 aircraft and I do not get
as tired on them as on other aircraft. I tried to take a one hour nap, and was partially successful. I took the 9 metro, which was just a half block away from the
hotel. Then I walked a few blocks and got on the Roissy Bus. I was the only
passenger. The Roissy Bus route goes through the northern neighborhoods of Paris,
some of which were filled with signs that Paris is not really French anymore.
Lots of immigrants. The Roissy Bus run on time, and I arrived a few minutes before
cousin Kathy's flight from London was due to arrive. Terminal 2C was the first
bus stop. The flight was a few minutes late. Cousin Kathy had to wait for her bag.
Once she had cleared customs, we walked to the Roissy Bus bus stop. The bus came and we got
on. Again, an empty bus. The Roissy Bus made a few stops at other terminal buildings. It
seem like it was going around in circles. The Roissy Bus ends next to Opéra Garnier. A few blocks later we were on the metro towards the hotel. In the end it was a successful day by the fact that we had safely
arrived in Paris, although late due to flight mishaps. It could have been worse, but at least I had planned ahead and had
put contingencies in play to save the day. There was a jar of small chocolate chip cookies at the reception
desk. They came in handy when I arrived as I was hungry. My room had a street view, which was partially obstructed by
scaffolding. I could open the windows. The room had a closet, a safe, a scale
to weigh myself, an iron and ironing board that would not stay up. It had air
conditioning. The room was clean. There were plenty of television channels in
different languages, but I did not really watch television. My room also had a great shower in that the water pressure
was greater than what I have at home, and the hot water got hotter than the
how water in my home. There was a hot breakfast buffet. They were light on fruit.
On the plus side they had blue cheese, and other French cheeses. There was juice
and plenty of croissants. Breakfast was pretty good. After a couple of days, cousin Kathy told me that the hot
water machine for tea and coffee also had a button for cold fizzy water, or eau
avec gaz. I like water with bubbles. Thursday, July 3, started with a visit to the top of Tour
Montparnasse. To get there we took the metro line 9. We got on at the Porte
de Saint-Cloud station which was a half a block from the hotel and took it
towards Mairie de Montreuil. We changed at Trocadéro and took the
metro line 6 towards Nation. We got off at Get off at Montparnasse-Bienvenüe.
We were in the middle of a shopping center. We got out of there and a block away
was the entrance to Tour Montparnasse. We got there a couple of minutes before
they opened at 9:30 am. A few things about Tour Montparnasse. It is the tallest
building (not tower) inside Paris. Tour Montparnasse is 210 meters high. It
is an office skyscraper in the Montparnasse area of Paris. It was the tallest
skyscraper in all of France until 2011. There is an observation deck located on the
56th floor, and there is also a rooftop terrace. It takes the elevator 38 seconds
to get to the top. A few things about Tour Montparnasse. It is the tallest
building (not tower) inside Paris. Tour Montparnasse is 210 meters high. It
is an office skyscraper in the Montparnasse area of Paris. It was the tallest
skyscraper in France until 2011. There is an observation deck located on the
56th floor, and there is also a rooftop terrace. It takes the elevator 38 seconds
to get to the top. After going through a security check and a check to make sure
we had our tickets, we went up the elevator. One can walk around the building on the observation deck
on the 56th floor. There is an exhibit on how Paris has grown over the decades,
and, of course, a shop to sell souvenirs. The exhibit was interesting. There is a photo booth on the 56th floor where you can have
your picture taken with three different Parisian backgrounds. Then we went upstairs to the rooftop terrace. The weather
was perfect; the sky was clear. From here one can see all of Paris. The
difference between the rooftop and observation deck is that one is outside
on the rooftop. Tour Montparnasse has free Wi-Fi. With that, I could
share photographs of the fantastic scenery from the rooftop. The feeling I got from being on the rooftop is that I
need to buy the Tour Montparnasse, live on the floor of the observation
deck and have parties on the rooftop. I think it would be the best place
to live in Paris. We spent about one hour at Tour Montparnasse. Tour Montparnasse exceeded my expectations, and the day
was off to a very good start. Next on the agenda was the Musée Bourdelle. I
put it on the agenda because is was on the way from Tour Montparnasse to
the postal museum, and because it was free. It was also there because it
was open, as it was something to see before the postal museum opened. After leaving Tour Montparnasse we walked a few blocks to
Musée Bourdelle which opened at 10:00 am. Musée Bourdelle is located at 18, rue Antoine Bourdelle,
in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. It is in the old studio of French sculptor
Antoine Bourdelle. The museum preserves the studio of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle,
and has a nice garden with a few of his sculptures. I learned that Antoine Bourdelle became famous because of his
sculpture Hercules the Archer. I saw one version of it is in the Musée Bourdelle
and another in Musée d'Orsay. Musée Bourdelle is very interesting and exceeded my expectations,
and the day continued to be very good. From Musée Bourdelle to Musée de la Poste was a
short walk down the street and to turn to the left. It was a short walk and we
arrived 12:08 pm. We left Musée de La Poste at 1:11 pm. Musée de La Poste is a five storey building. It has
elevators and stairs. The museum shows the history of the mail. It shows mail
routes and uniforms from centuries past. It shows that even centuries ago mail carriers
were chased by dogs. In it is souvenir shop it has the most interesting and
amusing collection of post cards. Of course, one can buy stamps for those
post cards. Musée de La Poste was definitely on my list of
things to see, I am glad I did. On our walk to lunch, I was off one block. I blame it
on Google Maps, which is not always accurate. The good thing is that we
walked by the Église Notre-Dame des Champs. I had to go inside. Notre-Dame-des-Champs is a Catholic church located at 91 Boulevard du Montparnasse.
On the side street, rue du Montparnasse, the church has a rose garden. I had to stop and smell the
roses on my way to eating crepes. I let Kathy choose among the two crepe restaurants I had in mind.
She chose le Petit Josselin because we were on that side of the street. Rue du Montparnasse
is the street for crepes as there were plenty of restaurants serving crepes. We got there at 1:41 pm and left at 2:29 pm after paying the bill.
We had a very nice waiter, and the food was good. Next on the agenda was a museum mostly about two French resistance
heroes of World War II, General Leclerc and Jean Moulin. It was fairly dark inside
the museum, and it was a reminder that war is hell. The museum entrance is located at 4, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, on the prolongation of Avenue du Général Leclerc,
facing the entrance to the Catacombs. We arrived at 2:49 pm and were there for one hour. It was just two
metro stops from le Petit Josselin, but it took twenty minutes to get there because one
had to walk to the metro stop, wait for the metro which takes just a couple of minutes,
and when one gets out of the metro figure out where one is. I put it on the agenda because entrance was free and it was nearby.
I had read books covering the French resistance during World War II. Next on the agenda was the Monet museum, which was far away, but
kind of on the way back to the hotel. So we took metro line 6 towards Kleber.
Change to line 9 at Trocadéro and got off two stops later at La Muette
metro station. The we walked about half a mile to the west through the Jardin du Ranelagh. The museum contains works by other artists besides Claude Monet, including by
Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin, Paul Signac,
and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The Monet museum was put on the agenda for Thursday because
it is open late on Thursdays, but we did not stay there that late. In fact, we
had time to go back to the hotel. So, I asked where the bus stop was, and we
took the bus back to the hotel and rested for an hour. I might have enjoyed the Monet museum more if I was not as tired. We took the bus to the Eiffel Tower. It took longer than expected.
Instead of getting to the Eiffel Tower at 9:30 pm, the time on our ticket, we were almost
twenty minutes late. The bus stop was not that close to the entrance to the Eiffel Tower
so we had to walk what seemed like hundreds of meters. It was a good thing we had our tickets, but there is a much longer
line for those without tickets. The Eiffel Tower is much more popular in 2025 than it was in 1983
and 1989. I was at the top of the Eiffel Tower the day after its centennial in 1989.
When it was built it was considered to be a temporary structure at the edge of town for the
World Exposition of 1889. It is an amazing structure. It was a crowded, and we had to wait our turn to get into the elevator.
Up to the top we went. The elevator has an opening on the top and one can look up for an
unusual view of the Eiffel Tower from the inside. I had been to the top of the Eiffel Tower several times; on the day
after its centennial, during a hail storm, but never before at night. I got to see the
sun set over Paris from the Eiffel Tower. Paris lit up as the dusk turned to night, but it was not as spectacular
as I imagined it would be. The City of Lights was a most appropriate nickname in the XIX
century, but I am living in the XXI century. A more spectacular view of a city lighting
up from dusk turning to night is from the top of Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro because of
the contrast between land and water. Despite the crowd, it was fun being at the top of the Eiffel Tower. At the top of the Eiffel Tower I witnessed a wedding proposal. The
couple were from Israel and had been married for 22 years, but he surprised her by asking
her to marry him again and presented her a diamond ring. At night the Eiffel Tower changes colors and looks spectacular, even up close. From the two lower floors of the Eiffel Tower one can see the people on the ground.
There were a lot of people and taxis. We left the Eiffel Tower at 11:45 pm. We walked across the Seine River to the 72 bus stop.
After a few minutes, we realized that it was too late for the bus, so we had to walk several blocks downstream
along the river to the nearest metro station. It was a bit dark. One hour later we reached the hotel. It was 12:45 am. The first full day as
a tourist in Paris was complete. It was an amazing day! We left the hotel to go to the Sewer Museum at 9:32 am on Friday, July 4,
after having a very good breakfast in the hotel. I do not remember if we took the 72 bus, which
runs along the right bank of the Seine River, or metro line 9. Either way we crossed the
Pont de l'Alma on foot and got to the Sewer Museum at 9:57 am. There was really no place to sit while we waited the few minutes for the
museum to open. Figuring out where the opening was, was a matter of seeing where people were
standing in line. The Paris Sewer Museum, which in French is called Musée des Égouts de Paris
requires a ticket, which I had bought on line, to enter. It opened at 10:00 am. We were given a sheet of paper which acted as our guide, and took the elevator
down one floor. Naturally, the sewer is underground, and this museum is part of the sewer system
of Paris. It is all underground, and fairly well lit, and the interesting stops are numbered so
there is an order to follow. Each stop had a brief description of what we were to see. There are
signs to watch your step where necessary. The museum was interesting for me because I am an engineer, and because my
father, who was an engineered, design the sewer system of the city of Seoul, just after the
Korean War. The museum was interesting for Kathy because her late husband worked on the
drinking water for Las Vegas. It was also interesting because Paris grew and grew for centuries without a
sewer system. Yes, the Seine River was polluted. In the museum one can see the network of
sewers, and how and where the sewer water is treated. Swimming in the Seine River has been banned for over a century, but finally in
2025 people are now allowed to swim in the river. Before we left the Sewer Museum we washed our hands because were strongly encouraged to
do so for sanitary reasons, even if we did not touch anything. We left the Sewer Museum at 11:11 am and walked across Pont de l'Alma. There were a few choices as to which venue to visit next. I let my cousin
Kathy decide, and seeing the dock for the boat ride on the river, she decided to take the
river cruise next. Bateaux Mouches is one of the tour boat operators on the Seine River. It is
one of the oldest operators and one of the biggest. I chose it because it was conveniently
located near the Sewer Museum. So we walked down the ramp to the quay. I bought two tickets. This was one of the
few places that took American Express. We had just missed the boat, but there would be another boat in
a half hour. So we sat and talked. There was a view of the river and of the Eiffel Tower. We got on the boat, and found a seat on the upper deck to get a better view. It was
a sunny day, and I got some sun. I also got to see all the landmarks and under the bridges. The boat went up and down the Seine River in about one hour. A recording on
the load speaker in several languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, etc.)
explained what were all of the landmarks and bridges. Cousin Kathy found the boat ride to be interesting. It is something to do even
if one is not an Olympic athlete. This last sentence is a reference to the fact that Olympic athletes
in opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games paraded on the Seine River. So we walked to the Yves Saint Laurent which is a few blocks away to the northwest from
Pont de l'Alma. When we got to the main entrance to the museum there was a sign that it was closed for
renovations. The museum issued a press release the day of the museum closure, so there was no real
advance notice. It will remain closed until September 15, 2027. The closure was a disappointment. Nearby was an ATM, and cousin Kathy wanted to get some Euros. The ATM machine
did not like her card, so she could not get any cash. This too was a disappointment. In reality, we did not need cash, as every place took a credit card, with one exception later that night. Before getting to the Paris Galliera we walked to the a nearby Franprix to get a soft drink.
Franprix is a very small grocery store. We sat outside the store and had our drink. Then we walked to the
Paris Galliera, and arrived there at 1:45 pm. Paris Galliera is a museum of fashion and fashion history. The downstairs was dark
and cool. One could see how fashion evolved over time. There was even a section of fashion for skiing. Walk out the back of Paris Galliera, cross the street, and arrive at the
Museum of Modern Art of Paris. General admission is free for the permanent collections.
The museum has a guide and a bilingual app. Walk out the back of Paris Galliera, cross the street, and arrive at the
Museum of Modern Art of Paris. General admission is free for the permanent collections. There was an interesting exhibit of children art compiled by Christian Boltanski.
However, I really have to question modern art. It is not my taste. The only
piece of art that I liked there was a piece by Henri Matisse, who I would not consider
as a modern artist because he was born in the XIX century. It was 4:15 pm when we left the Museum of Modern Art of Paris. So
between Paris Galliera and the Museum of Modern Art of Paris we had spend two and a half hours. The river side of the Museum of Modern Art of Paris has a great view of the
Eiffel Tower. We took the 72 bus for a couple of stops to our next venue, the Petit Palais.
The Petit Palace is on the east side of Avenue Winston Churchill, and there is a statue of
Winston Churchill. We entered the museum at 4:42 pm and stayed until they asked us to leave
because they were closing the museum. The Petit Palais closes at 6pm. Built in 1900, it
is the fine art museum of Paris. Free access to the permanent collection. The Petit Palais was much more to my liking than the Museum of Modern Art of Paris.
It is a matter of taste. There is plenty of art work on the ceiling. There is plenty of fine art
throughout the two storeys of the museum. It was the end of the afternoon and it was warm. It was also Friday,
and I decided to make a reservation at Café La Jatte as we set on a bench with
little shade just south of the Petit Palais. This was a frustrating experience,
which after several attempts I gave up, and decided we should go there without a
reservation. Café La Jatte is a restaurant that I ate at either in
September 1989 or November 1989. It has the skeleton of a dinosaur hanging from
the ceiling, which I thought was really neat and created the ambiance. Café La Jatte is not inside the city limits of Paris. It
is in the nearby town of Neuilly-sur-Seine, which is to the west of Paris. Getting there took an hour and a half in part because we had a
long wait for the second bus. Then we had to walk about a half a mile. It is on
the street where Eli Lilly has its French office. Café La Jatte was just as I remembered it. The dinosaur
skeleton was still on the ceiling, but we could not eat in that room. The outdoor
part of the restaurant was open. When we arrived we were asked if we had a reservation. I found
it strange to ask as the entire room with the dinosaur skeleton was empty. It was
Friday night, and the restaurant was not crowded. We had a very good young waiter and the food was very good.
We were there one hour and left at 8:34 pm. They ordered us a taxi which came quickly. Kathy did not
want to take the bus back to the hotel as it would take a while. Kathy paid
for the taxi, but the taxi driver would not take credit card. He would accept
cash in any currency or denomination. So Kathy gave the driver US$40 and he gave
her back ten euros. Given the exchange rate at the time, I think Kathy got a good deal.
We were back at the hotel at 8:57 pm. First stop Saturday morning was the perfume museum which opened at 9:30 am.
We were there for a half hour. It is not that big of a museum, but it is on two floors. The
interesting part of the museum was a stuffed castor, and the windows. There was artwork on
the windows that allowed light in. It was not stained glass. I wanted to go to this museum for two reasons. It was free. The other
reason is that I read a book about the history of perfume. The museum helped me remember
what I had read. It was a good visit. Opéra Garnier is across the square from Musée du Parfum Fragonard.
It opened at 10 am, and there was a line. No one could be admitted past the gate without a ticket.
There was no ticket booth. I tried to buy a ticket with my smart phone, but that was a frustration.
Their Web site has a section for tickets, but that is for buying tickets for a performance, and not
to tour the building. It turns out one has to first establish an account and to do so one has to
provide a lot of personal information. The reason why Opéra Garnier was on the agenda was that it was across
the square from Musée du Parfum Fragonard, and it was something to do before my appointment
at the Breguet Museum. Also, I had read how controversial building this opera house was in the 1870s. Given my frustration, we decided to skip it, and walk down rue de la Paix to
Place Vendôme. Place Vendôme is a square where all the high end stores (Cartier, Charvet,
Dior, Hublot, Louis Vuitton, Mikimoto, etc.) have their shops. While waiting for our 11 am appointment
at the Breguet Museum we stepped in the Charvet and the Mikimoto establishments for a look. Here is
where customer service is what it should be. Place Vendôme also has the Vendôme Column with Napoleon at the top. The Breguet Museum opened at 11 am. They had previously informed me it is no longer a museum,
but they do have some interactive exhibits. They apologized that their air conditioning was not working that day.
It became too hot for cousin Kathy so she stepped outside. After a while, the gentleman who was showing me around
went out and offered cousin Kathy some water. I wanted to visit the Breguet Museum because of a recommendation in a book I read called
Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History. Abraham-Louis Breguet was a genius who came up with many innovations in watch making. It is interesting how watch making evolved over the centuries. In Venice,
for example, there is clock tower, erected so everyone would know what time it was. Then only
the rich could afford to have a clock. Then came wristwatches, and soon everyone could afford
a wristwatch. Today people tell time by looking at their smart phone. I spent 40 minutes at the Breguet store, and it was very interesting. We had a soft drink and then walked to the Tuileries Garden. We walked to the west end of the Tuileries Garden where there is a circular pond.
Here is where children put little sailboats, which their parents can rent, in the water. We pulled
up two chairs to the pond and relaxed for a while. We watched the ducks swim, and the small sailboats
propelled by the wind. I forgot to feed the ducks. The Tuileries Garden is a very big park. It does have an Italian flare to it.
Catherine de' Medici, as queen of France, commissioned a landscape architect from Florence, Bernard de Carnesse,
to create an Italian Renaissance garden for the palace. The Tuileries Garden in a way reminded me of Villa Borghese
in Rome. We walked to the southeast end of the Tuileries Garden to catch our bus to our next stop. We took the 27 bus to the Musée Curie. This is a museum of the works of
Pierre and Marie Curie and their family. It is a small museum, and as such they limit the number
of people inside. One has to wait outside on a bench until someone leaves to enter. The exhibits
are labeled, so one can go through the museum in the intended order. Musée Curie has unusual opening hours; Wednesday through Saturday from 1pm to 5pm,
and closed in August. We left the Musée Curie at 1:42 pm and went to lunch. We split a pizza at a
pizza place on the way to the Musée de Minéralogie. The Musée de Minéralogie was added to the agenda for two reasons.
One is that it is between Musée Curie and the Luxembourg Garden. The other reason is that
my cousin Troy, Kathy's son, is a geologist. It is located on the second floor of one of the buildings
of the École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris. When we got there, we were politely asked if we were seniors, and we
got the senior discount. I am convinced he would really enjoy the Musée de Minéralogie for
it has the largest exhibit of minerals in Paris. The place is huge. It seem to go on forever.
Every possible mineral from every part of the globe was on display. There is also a Minecraft
exhibit. We spend one hour and twenty minutes there. When we left it was 4:00 pm. We walked through the Luxembourg Garden, but did not spend any time there.
However, one can see Tour Montparnasse from the Luxembourg Garden. We did walk by the building
that houses the French Senate. I knew it opened late in the summer, and we could come back to it after our next
stop, but by then were tired. We arrived at Mundolingua at 4:33 pm. We were greeted by a very nice older
French lady who spoke five languages. She had a dog name Sugar. I found it unusual for a
French person to give a name in English to their dog. Mundolingua also has unusual opening hours, like Musée Curie.
Mundolingua is closed on Thursday and Friday. Mundolingua has a ground floor and a basement. The impression I got
was that Mundolingua was the house of a hoarder of stuff about words and languages. We
were the only people there, and yet the place felt cluttered. There were a lot of books
about words and languages. Cousin Kathy remarked that it was not what she had expected.
It is a different kind of museum. We left Mundolingua at 5:47 pm. Mass during the week
A minute later we were at the Church of Saint Sulpice because it is
just one block away from Mundolingua. The Church of Saint Sulpice is famous for its organ and organists.
It is the third largest church in Paris. It is dedicated to Sulpitius the Pious. From the Church of Saint Sulpice it took us almost one hour to back to the hotel. We arrived at 6:52 pm. Sunday morning started with me leaving my bag with Kathy and checking out of
the Holiday Inn. It was the day I was taking the train to go to the town where my father was born. After a big buffet breakfast in the hotel, we got on the metro. Like several museums in Paris, Musée de Cluny-Musée National du Moyen Âge is free on the
first Sunday of the month. It opened at 9:30 am. It is the museum of a very ancient Paris. The current building hosting the
museum use to be part of Paris during the Roman Empire. I found the museum to be very interesting. We were there for about
one hour, and then took the 21 bus to church. The 21 bus left us off on the side of the Église de la Sainte-Trinité and
we went in the side door. The mass had just started. The church was crowded, but not full. It was an
enthusiastic congregation. Mass went for an hour and twenty minutes, which was longer than I expected, because
there were seven (7) baptisms. I greeted the priest as we left the church. We then walked five (5) minutes to Musée Gustave Moreau. Musée Gustave Moreau is dedicated to the works of Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. It use to be his house.
This museum is free on the first Sunday of the month. You still needed to get a ticket to enter, which I had acquired months ago.
Our tickets were for 12:15 pm. We arrived late. It did not matter, there was a sign on the door stating that it was closed
because of staffing shortage. It seemed to me that they closed the museum so someone could go to lunch. We did
not have to wait that long before it opened. The museum has two storey and free Wi-Fi. I did not care for the artwork
of Gustave Moreau. From the Gustave Moreau museum it is a fifteen (15) minute walk slightly uphill
to the Boulangerie French Bastards. It was on the agenda because my Brazilian friend, Carlos E. Tiburcio Ramos,
recommended the place as high end fast food. It is really more of a take out place, but the food was good.
We each ate a sandwich and a drink. We walked to the Saint Jean de Montmartre Church and got there at 2:18 pm. We were
there for about ten minutes. From the perspective of a civil engineer, this is a phenomenal church because it is
a reinforced concrete building. The church was first religious building in France to be built from reinforced concrete.
At that time Paris had no building code for such a structure. The Saint Jean de Montmartre Church has a beautiful stained glass window. We continued walking slightly uphill. We were in the Montmartre section of Paris,
which is on a hill. We arrived at the Montmartre Funicular. For me, funiculars are fun to ride.
For my cousin Kathy, it meant not having to go up and down stairs. There are a lot of stairs from
the base of the hill to the top where Sacré Coeur is. Cousin Kathy was a real good sport about the stairs, as I teased her about it,
and tried to insert some humor into the fact that there are a lot of stairs in Paris. Usually two
or more flights of stairs at every metro stop. Stairs to enter buildings. Many museums did not
have elevators, or in the case of the Arc de Triomphe, were not in operation, so stairs were required
to go from one floor to the next. While cousin Kathy waited in line to ride the Montmartre Funicular, I went over
to see the Carrousel de Montmartre. It was still there. If I were a child, I would want to ride it.
For me it is a landmark at the base of the hill. It is still operational. The line for the Montmartre Funicular moved quickly and when it was our turn up
the hill we went. It was just past 2:40 pm. We got off the Montmartre Funicular at the top and walked towards the
Saint-Pierre de Montmartre church. It had started to rain that was more of a light drizzle.
We got there at 2:50 pm and left ten minutes later. Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is just a half a block away from Sacré Coeur,
and gets very little attention because of this. It is here were the Jesuits got started. It is another
church of Gothic architecture. A block and a half away is the Musée de Montmartre, which use to be
Renoir's house. We got there at 3:00 pm and stayed for almost one hour. The museum chronicles the the Montmartre neighborhood in era of the Belle Époque of Paris.
It has many paintings of artists from the era. There is also the workshop of Suzanne Valadon, who once lived there. There is access to the garden which over looks the Clos Montmartre vineyard.
In the garden there is a swing which inspired Pierre-Auguste Renoir to paint "La Balancoire",
which is on display in Musée d'Orsay. The swing is still there, and I stood next to the swing
where the man in the painting who is looking at the woman is standing. After visiting Musée de Montmartre we walked back to Sacré Coeur, which is
at the front of the hill near the Montmartre Funicular. It was around 4:15 pm and the drizzle was more intense. We had to wait in line
to get into Sacré Coeur, but the lined moved. Sacré Coeur is still one of my favorite churches in the entire world. I like the
architecture, which is not Gothic. It is beautiful inside. Outside it has a fantastic view of Paris,
even on a cloudy, rainy afternoon. We left Sacré Coeur and went to the top of the Montmartre Funicular.
There we bought our metro passes for the next week. Weekly metro passes, are a very good
deal, and run from Monday through Sunday. We waited our turn to take the Montmartre Funicular down, but that
line was very short. At the bottom we walked to the right and for several blocks
slightly downhill to the a bus stop. Cousin Kathy wanted to go back to the hotel. She was tired. We
had accomplished a lot that Sunday. I rode with her on the first bus. We got off
that bus, and her connecting bus back to the hotel was there waiting for her. So
she got on the bus. I had to figure out where I was, and when I did, there was an
entrance to a metro station. I took the metro to Gare de Lyon. I arrived at Gare de Lyon at 6:15 pm. I had two hours until my
train to Bourg-en-Bresse left. I had tome to explore Gare de Lyon. I went into
Le Train Bleu to reconfirm my lunch reservation for Tuesday. Everything was in
order. All the train tracks in Gare de Lyon have odd numbers. The national rail company, SNCF, has free Wi-Fi inside Gare de Lyon,
but it is only good for one hour. I think this limitation is impractical. People do
not want to stay inside Gare de Lyon longer than they have to. It was Sunday evening
and the train station was crowded. I suppose many people come to Paris for the weekend
and take the train home on Sunday evening. My train to Bourg-en-Bresse left on time from track 5 at exactly 8:15 pm.
The train was full. It had an upper deck and a lower deck, and I chose a window on the
upper deck to get a better view. I sat next to a man who had brought his sandwich with him to eat.
Cell phone service on the train was intermittent. I arrived in Bourg-en-Bresse where I was going to spend the night at
The Originals Hotel. They advertise themselves as a boutique hotel. I chose this hotel
because it was the closest one to the train station. Originally I had booked at another
less expensive place about a mile or so from the train station. I would have to walk
there are the bus did not run that late. I arrived in Bourg-en-Bresse at at 10:09 pm,
and I walked into the hotel three minutes later. Being that close to the train station
was the better option. I would go to Saint Claude in the morning. It seemed to me that The Originals Hotel is so named because most
things in that hotel are the original, as in unchanged, as opposed to original meaning
creative. There was a problem with paying with my credit card, but that was resolved
by making two payments in smaller amounts with my credit card. The good thing about the hotel, besides the location, was that it
had a good buffet breakfast. Pets are allowed as a British lady came to have breakfast
with her well behaved dog. I departed from the hotel on Monday morning around 8:15 am. I walked
across the street to the train station and took this photograph. It is of a vending
machine inside the small Bourg-en-Bresse train station selling local cheese. I had to figure out where the bus stop was for the bus to Saint Claude.
I was told to go next door, just to the south, to inquire about busses. I went in there
and spoke with a young woman with the most beautiful eyes. She told me where to go, and
that the bus would arrive at bay A. I was sitting at bay A when I noticed that electronic sign stating
that the train departing to Oyonnax, was leaving in a few minutes. I went back into
the office of the buses, and well, I should have closely read my ticket. Indeed, I
was not to take a bus to Oyonnax, but I was to take the train to Oyonnax and from
there take the bus. It was a very good thing I caught this error before the train
left. The numbering of the train tracks in Bourg-en-Bresse started with 31.
I found this to be as strange as the numbering of the tracks in Gare de Lyon. The train came, and I got on. I got off in the town of Oyonnax. I could not seem to get a consistent answer as to where I was to pick
up the bus to Saint Claude. There were buses parked, but none of those was going to Saint Claude.
I was starting to get a bit worried because it became past the bus departure time. Finally the
bus came down the street and I got on. Very few people on the bus. By the time the bus was getting to close to
Saint Claude, on the bus were me, the bus driver, and the bus driver's friend. The bus driver
was friendly and asked me where I wanted to go. I told him I wanted to go to city hall.
City hall is beyond the bus stop, across the river gorge. He left me off there. I had arrived at the town where my father was born. It was 10:40 am. The post office was right in front of me. I had an envelope with
photographs for my Italian cousins with me that I was able to keep from the peanut butter
confiscation by the TSA. I went to the post office, and they were very helpful, and I
mailed the envelope. One does not get such service inside an American post office. I walked around a bit as I was confused as to exactly where city hall was.
The main square of Saint Claude the post office at the south end, and Boulevard de la Republique
on the west side. On the east side was an amusing statue of a pipe and a diamond. Ten minutes later I saw else that was amusing. In a town know as the
pipe capital of the world, the garbage cans are in the form of large pipe. I walked into city hall, and quickly found the right place. It became
emotional for me, very much more so that I thought it would. Here was the one place where my French did not serve me well. Throughout
my stay in France I was surprised at how good my French was. No one told me to stop speaking
French and switch to English. I could come up with sentences and ask questions in French,
and people understood me. Here was the only time I had difficulty coming up with sentences. The lady, the city hall clerk, was very nice and patient with me, and
quickly got me an official, legal copy of my father's birth certificate. I showed her my American passport, which she thought was beautiful and asked
permission to go show it to a colleague of hers. By comparison the French passport is very plain. Monday was a pleasantly cool day in Saint Claude with a few rain drops.
I had my raincoat with me, so it was not a problem. I walked towards the museums I want to see and found myself in front
of the cathedral at 11:42 am. In front of the cathedral was a small playground. There were three well worn French versions of hopscotch in the small playground. Inside the cathedral was not as ornate as other churches in France, but it was clean. Looking at the front of the Cathedral in Saint Claude, to the right is the Musée de L'Abbaye.
I got there at 11:55 am, and spend one hour inside this museum. It has two parts. This use to be an abbey. This is
logical since it is next to the cathedral. Before that, it was a building during the Roman empire. On the bottom floor
it is an archaeological museum. Above that it is an art museum of local artists. Just past Musée de L'Abbaye towards the back end of the cathedral is the police station.
Beyond that I walked downhill towards the old hospital. My father's birth certificate does not mention if he was
born in a hospital or not, but just in case he was born in a hospital it would be the one I would walk to as it
would have been, if it existed then, the only hospital in the town. I did not go into the hospital. Next to the hospital is the Tacon River, which is more of a creek. The Tacon River
feeds into the Bienne River at Saint Claude. It took me a half hour to walk down the hill to the hospital and back up the hill
to the Pipe & Diamond Museum, which opened at 1:30 pm, although their Web site states that it
opens at 2:00 pm, after being closed for lunch. Everything is in French at the Pipe & Diamond Museum, but a young woman who
was a college student who just started working there got me a piece of paper in English explaining
the mineral exhibits. The first part of the museum is about pipes. The second part of the museum is about diamonds and precious stones and how they
were polished. The diamond industry has left Saint Claude. There are no real diamonds in the museum. I spend an hour and twenty minutes at the Pipe & Diamond Museum. I walked back towards the cathedral, and across the street, in front of the
cathedral is a building that use to be the Banque de France. Today it is the local library,
although they call it a "mediatheque". It is a nice two storey library oriented mostly
to children. In it there were amusing posters from previous pipe exhibitions. It was 3:37 pm when I left the "mediatheque". I walked through
the city, and crossed the bridge over the Bienne River to my hotel and checked in. In walking
through the city I walked all along the Boulevard de la Republique, which was the address my
grandfather gave on my father's birth certificate. Either way I have been as close to where my
father was born as I could be. Saint Claude is a dying town. I walked by several businesses and restaurants
that were closed for good with for rent signs. Even the grocery store, where I stopped to get
my dinner did not seem to be fully stocked. This is also happening in small town America as
well. Between Bourg-en-Bresse and Saint Claude, from the train and from the bus, I could see
small industrial plants, and I wonder how hard it is for them to stay in business, or if the
French state keeps them open. The Jura Hôtel had one advantage. It was right across the street
from the train and bus station. The disadvantage was that it was right next to a tobacco
store. I could not open my window because of the secondhand smoke eminating from the tobacco
store and it clients. My hotel room had a fan. I went to bed early. I left the hotel early Tuesday morning before breakfast. I arrived at the bus stop at 6:37 am. It was a little bit chilly.
The bus was scheduled to depart at 6:45 am. It turns out that I had the same bus driver
as the day before, and a short while later he picked up his friend from yesterday. The
bus was again practically empty. It was a nice ride through the Jura mountains. At Oyonnax I got off the bus exactly where I got on the day before.
I walked a few yards to the train station. The train station had two tracks, logically
numbered 1 and 2. The train was waiting for me, and other passengers. Off it wen to
Bourg-en-Bresse. I had more than one hour wait for the train back to Paris, so I decided
to go explore Bourg-en-Bresse on foot. The first stop was the Originals Hotel because I knew there was a
bathroom upstairs on the first floor. After that I walked slightly downhill to the center of town on
deserted streets. I walked in and around the cathedral, which was the only item
of interest that I could find. The cathedral exterior was under renovation.
Inside it was empty. It is a cathedral of Gothic architecture with beautiful
stained glass windows. On my way back to the train station I stopped and bought a Coca-Cola.
I made it back in plenty of time to catch my train back to Paris. My train back to Paris at left exactly 9:55 am.
The train was full. It had an upper deck and a lower deck, and I chose a window on the
upper deck to get a better view. I sat next to a woman who was using her smart phone
to do some comparison shopping. This was the high speed TGV train, and the screen would display
the speed when it was high. For example 265 km/h. It was full speed ahead for the
first hour. That did not last the entire trip because there was an injury on the track,
and the train came to a complete stop for thirteen minutes. After that it traveled
at less than full speed. As a consequence, the train arrived late. It was scheduled to
arrive at Gare de Lyon at 11:49 am, but it was a few minutes past 1:00 pm when I got off. I had texted cousin Kathy to let her know what was going on
with the train delay. She was to meet me at Le Train Bleu. I rushed off the train and made it to Le Train Bleu. The still
had my reservation. The hostess walked away without me, but then came back and
escorted me to the table where cousin Kathy was graciously waiting for me. Why lunch at Le Train Bleu? Because my friend and schoolmate
Alex de la Cruz recommended it to me. Opened in 1901 it was the iconic Belle Époque
eatery to the elite and wealthy of that time. It is visually phenomenal, decorated with
paintings by some of the most popular artists of that time. I ordered the rabbit because I very rarely get to eat rabbit.
The food at Café La Jatte was better. Because my train was over one hour
late, and because the restaurant was full, I did not have time or inclination to
admire all of the artwork. At Château de Vincennes, there is plenty to see and explore:
The Keep (Donjon): This impressive medieval structure is the centerpiece of the château. Climb to the top for panoramic views of the surrounding area. The Moat: Surrounding the castle, the moat is a picturesque feature. Walk along its banks and appreciate the castle's defensive architecture. The Ramparts: Explore the well-preserved ramparts and towers that offer insight into the castle's historical military significance. The Royal Apartments: Inside the keep, you can visit the royal apartments, which showcase how nobility lived in the past. The rooms often include period furniture and decor. The Chapel: The small chapel within the château is worth a visit for its historical significance and architectural beauty.
Gardens and Courtyards: The landscaped gardens and open courtyards are perfect for a leisurely stroll. Enjoy the serene atmosphere and beautiful views. The Museum of the Château: Learn about the history of the castle and its role in French history through various exhibits and displays. Historical Exhibitions: Depending on the time of year, there may be temporary exhibitions focusing on different aspects of the castle's history or medieval life. Surrounding Park: The grounds around the château are great for a relaxing walk, picnicking, or enjoying the scenery. Next on the agenda was the Château de Vincennes. Located
on the eastern edge of Paris, it is a former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes.
It was a preferred residence of French kings in the XIV through XIV centuries. It is a big castle with
a moat, and it even looks like a castle. It was a relatively short metro ride on line 1 to the Château de Vincennes.
We got off the metro at 2:37 pm, and ten minutes later we were inside. I bought the Paris Museum Pass
so my 144-hour pass started at 2:47 pm. With the admission ticket on gets a tablet computer which is the guide
through this huge castle. One has to leave an identity card as collateral for the tablet.
The tablet guide is very useful, but at times a bit confusing. There were a lot of stairs, as the castle is four storeys high. Every French king had to have a church nearby, and in front of the castle
was the Sainte Chapelle. It seemed to me by now all churches have beautiful stained glass windows,
and the Sainte Chapelle at Vincennes also has beautiful stained glass windows. At the other end of the metro line 1 is the Arc de Triomphe. Originally
Victor Hugo's house was next on the agenda, but we were behind schedule. My train was over
one hour late, and we spend two and a half hours at the Château de Vincennes. We left
there at 5:12 pm. I wanted to get to the Arc de Triomphe by 6:30 pm, at which time every
evening there is a ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We got to the Arc de Triomphe in about forty minutes. To get to the
circle where the Arc de Triomphe is, one has to go downstairs and through the underground
pass to avoid the traffic in the circle. There was a bit of a line to get in. The crowd control person at the
bottom of the Arc de Triomphe apologized that the elevator was not working. This and the
fact that one has to climb 271 steps to the first stage of the Arc de Triomphe was the
reason why cousin Kathy stayed behind and waited for me. I climbed the stairs, and then there are two more flights of 46 and
29 steps to get to the top. At the top one can see all different sides of Paris. I got back down in time for the ceremony for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
There were a lot of people there, so I was not able to get as close as I wanted to. It was a
very nice ceremony featuring veterans and active duty military. We then waited for my cousin Tim, cousin Kathy's oldest son, and his daughter, Elle
to arrive. Not in the original plan, but they had a long layover on their way to India. It was great
to see them again. By now it was past 7:30 pm. We decided to take the to Café La Jatte for dinner. We rode the metro,
and then took a taxi. It took a few minutes to find a taxi that would stop. Our taxi driver
said that he was from Mali, and he looked like he did, but he had never been to Mali. A pleasant
fellow who got us to the restaurant. Café La Jatte was mostly empty the Friday before, but this Tuesday
night it was busy. The room with the dinosaur skeleton was closed. Cousin Tim was gracious
and paid for the dinner. We had a delay in getting a taxi, but the restaurant solved the problem.
We had a grumpy, compared the previous, taxi driver, but we made safely it to the hotel. Cousin Tim and Elle left early the next morning for Charles de Gaulle airport. I woke up the next morning and checked to see if I could get tickets to Notre Dame.
Tickets for Notre Dame go on sale two days prior. Originally I was planning on going to Notre Dame on
Friday, but I saw that tickets were available for that morning. They are free, but they go quickly.
I downloaded tickets for 9:15 that morning. After breakfast, our first stop was the world famous Notre Dame cathedral. There
were two lines, one for people with tickets and one without tickets. There really was no waiting in
line for us because we had our tickets. The line for people without tickets was not long. In 1989,
when I was last at the Notre Dame cathedral there was no line and no tickets were required. Lesson
is that even if you cannot get a ticket two days in advance go early in the morning. There were a lot of people inside the Notre Dame cathedral. It is a big church.
It looked cleaner than what I remembered, and I expected that to be the case as it was completely
refurbished and had reopened the previous December. While it takes about ten minutes to see the insides of most churches, we
spent about one hour inside the Notre Dame cathedral. The outside of Notre Dame cathedral looked magnificent. We left the Notre Dame cathedral and headed to the entrance to the metro station.
Before we crossed the river to the south we saw two policemen mounted on horses in the middle of the
street. We got to Musée Rodin at 11:30 am and stayed there until 12:57 pm. The museum has two parts to it; an inside and an outside. The gardens on the outside
with the sculptures are absolutely beautiful, and they made me forget there was an inside to this museum.
The outside has ducks and many shaded trees which are welcomed on a warm sunny day, which is was. Inside is a two storey building where there were Rodin sculptures and paintings
by Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Outside there were a sculptures in natural settings scattered around the garden,
including "The Burghers of Calais", &#The Kiss" and &#The Thinker". From the Rodin Museum takes ten (10) minutes or about 800 meters because the
entrance to the museum is at the front of Hôtel des Invalides. At this point cousin Kathy decided to go back to the hotel. She had told me
months before that she was not interested in this museum. She would meet me that evening at the
Moulin Rouge. The Hôtel des Invalides houses three museums: Musée de l'Armée,
Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération. Once I showed my Paris Museum Pass, I walked to the left and started my tour
of the museum. I was there until 5:56 pm, when it was closing time. On my way out, in the grass
in front of the entrance to Hôtel des Invalides there was a rabbit. The Musée de l'Armée is huge, especially since I spent nearly
five hours, and I did not get to the Musée des Plans-Reliefs. I did not finish seeing
everything. Carl von Clausewitz, author of the classic book, On War,
would have loved this place. There is everything in it, including a mobile by Alexander Calder,
who was a supporter of the French resistance during World War II. The Musée de l'Armée has every weapon, every uniform, and every artillery
piece that was used in the history of the French army. There is a collection of musical instruments. Musical instruments were
first used by the military to transmit signals. This is the history of the French army, and it show how through the centuries
advances in technology led to better weapons and better artillery. I have to go back to finish the museum. Since I stayed until almost closing time at the Hôtel des Invalides,
I did get to the other venues on the original agenda. I had to be at the Moulin Rouge at 7:00 pm. There was a military ceremony about to start inside Hôtel des Invalides,
and they did not want anyone lingering, not even to look for the rabbit in the grass outside in
front of the building. So, I walked to the nearest metro station. I was going to take metro line 13 to Place de Clichy. The first subway train
came and no one got on because it was absolutely packed with people. So, I waited for the next
subway train to arrive. It was crowded, but I got on. I got to Moulin Rouge and waited for cousin Kathy to show up. She arrived
by taxi, and we were let in. There was a security check, after that we were escorted to our
table. Nothing really happened until 7:30 pm. Then a man on the piano and a woman singer
appeared and they were several songs. I think the music was geared towards people older than me.
This was all while we were having our dinner. Service was great, and the food was not bad. At nine o'clock we were joined at our table by two couples from Poland.
Then the real show started. We were told that absolutely no photography was permitted. The first act, and for me the most impressive one, was a man and a woman
on roller skates on a small circular platform. It was amazing. I can summarize their performance
in one word: trust. There were other acts including one that reminded me of cheerleading
competitions I have seen on television. There was also an amazing contortionist, and there
was a lot of singing and dancing. It was very entertaining. It was cousin Kathy's treat. I would not have
gone there by myself, especially since the tickets were very expensive. We left Moulin Rouge at 10:37 pm. To get back to the hotel we took
metro line 13 metro from Place de Clichy and changed to metro line 9 at Miromesnil.
We arrived at the hotel at 11:23 pm. It took ten minutes longer than the RATP app said it would. Thursday was the day for the Air and Space Museum because on their Web site
they indicate that it is not as crowded on Thursday. After breakfast, we stopped and bought a sandwich because on the Web site
of the Air and Space Museum one can have a picnic on the tarmac. Between the hotel and the
half block to the metro station there is a a grocery store in between two boulangerie. The Air and Space Museum is outside of the Paris city limits, half way
to the Charles de Gaulle airport. It took over an hour to get there. We started with the
metro, but had to change over to a bus to get there. The place to wait for the bus was in
an interesting neighborhood. The Air and Space Museum is a very big. It has three bus stops
and it is where the annual Paris Air Show takes place. It reminded me of a Disney
theme park in that when one waits in line at Disney one thinks one gets to the front
only to turn the corner and see that the line continues. Here I thought I was getting
to the end only to turn the corner and realize that there is a whole lot more to see. The Air and Space Museum has two Concorde aircraft which I went into.
The fuselage is smaller than an Embraer regional jet. We also went through a Boeing 747
which is stripped down so one can see the structural components of the aircraft. There
is also a collection of World War II aircraft. In fact the Air and Space Museum is very thorough. It starts with
Icarus, from Greek mythology, who famously flew too close to the sun. It explains the
development of the hot air balloon. The Wright brothers are exhibited, along with
Santos-Dumont, and many French aviation pioneers. Among them was Jorge Chávez.
I have been to the Jorge Chávez airport too many times. One can feel the fabric of airplane wings and examine the construction
materials of early airplanes, and see many airplane engines. There is a separate hangar for World War II aircraft. One can go inside a vintage American
aircraft of that era housed in that hangar. The Air and Space Museum continues beyond earth with satellites and rockets. We arrived at 10:09 am and left at 3:08 pm. We spent five hours there
including sitting on bench eating our sandwich. If one is not an engineer or an aviation
enthusiast, then five hours is too long. We left the Air and Space Museum and walked to the bus stop. We had
to wait a few minutes for the 350 bus that would take us back to the interesting neighborhood
where we would connect to get to downtown Paris. I took about an hour and a half to get to downtown Paris, near the
Opéra Garnier. Cousin Kathy was tired, and decided to go back to the hotel.
From there I walked a few block until I found the right bus to take me to Musée d'Orsay. Across the street from Musée d'Orsay is the Legion of Honor Museum.
Free to enter. I did not know it was there, and it was a pleasant surprise. So I went in,
and spent almost one hour there. There are medals and medals and even more medals. They have them on display
and even in drawers, which can open and see more medals. Some of these medals are composed
of expensive jewels. Since it is the Legion of Honor Museum there is information about
members of the French Legion of Honor Museum. General John J.Pershing, head of the
American Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War I is one of them. Musée d'Orsay holds mainly French art. It has the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world.
I remember my visit to Musée d'Orsay in 1989 to be exhausting. The place looked just like I remembered, except I did not remember there
was a fifth floor. I spent three hours there, and this time it was not exhausting. There are hundreds of paintings in the museum. There are dozens of painting by Monet and this is one of my favorite. There are dozens of painting by Renoir. There are also new paintings that were recently acquired. One that I really liked was "The Gathering" by Anna Boch. There was also a temporary exhibit by Norwegian painter Christian Krohg. One of Antoine Bourdelle's famous "Hercules the Archer" is on display at the Musée d'Orsay. There are several places to eat inside Musée d'Orsay. From the upper floor one can get a
fantastic panoramic view towards the north of the Tuileries Garden and Sacré Coeur in the background. I left Musée d'Orsay at 8:30 pm and made back by bus to the hotel at 9:12 pm. It took forty (40) minutes to get to the Sainte-Chapelle. We arrived at the Sainte-Chapelle at 9:01 am
because it is one of the very few places that open at 9:00 am. There was already a line to buy tickets, but we had our tickets,
so that was not a problem. We entered, and on the first floor my first impression was to ask myself "Why am I here?"
I was not impressed. I went upstairs and then I understood why people come here. It was the holy chapel of royalty,
and it is famous for its stained glass windows. We spent about forty (40) minutes inside the Sainte-Chapelle and then walked across the street. Across the street from the Sainte-Chapelle is the Conciergerie which was a prison
during the French Revolution. It was Marie Antoinette's prison. The building has beautiful ceilings,
but it is also a gruesome reminder of how awful the Reign of Terror was. Inside the Conciergerie there was a scale model of the Notre Dame cathedral. This
makes sense since the Notre Dame cathedral is nearby. We left the Conciergerie at 11:10 am and proceded to Victor Hugo's house. It took us a half hour to get there. We walked through Place des Vosges, which is a
park and the oldest planned square in Paris. Centuries ago, it was were the wealthy lived. Victor Hugo's
house is at one end of Place des Vosges. In Place des Vosges I saw four soldiers in camouflage uniforms with weapons walking
looking out for a possible ambush. Other than the mounted police outside of Notre Dame two days prior
I had seen no military or law enforcement personnel in Paris. Victor Hugo's house is a two story apartment has Chinese style living room and
medieval style dining room. After leaving Victor Hugo's house we walked into a G20 supermarket to get a snack,
and eating it, before procedding to Musée Carnavalet. On the way to Musée Carnavalet we stopped inside the church of
Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis in the Marais. The dome and the apse look identical to the picture
on its Wikipedia page. There is beautiful artwork inside. We arrived at Musée Carnavalet at 12:36 pm and left at 3:22 pm; spending
nearly three hours in this fascinating museum about the history of Paris. Musée Carnavalet has four storeys. It is a big museum and there is lots
to see. Starting at the basement, it goes through the history of the city of Paris starting before
Roman times and the collections go through the different eras of Paris, through the middle ages,
the Renaissance, the French Revolution, the many changes of the XIX century, and to modern Paris.
It is interesting to see how Paris grew over the centuries. We took the bus and then had to walk to the Musée des Arts et Métiers. Musée des Arts et Métiers is an engineering and science museum. It has an exhibit of Antoine Lavoisier's laboratory. Antoine Lavoisier is considered
the father of modern chemistry, but did not survive the French Revolution. There were many other interesting things on display such as a XIX century wheel chair,
steam engines, a Ford Model T, and aircraft. I learned about the choice of material for common household
items, such as aluminum cans and plastic containers. We were there at five o'clock for that is the time there is a demonstration of the
Foucault's pendulum. We spent nearly two hours at Musée des Arts et Métiers and left at 5:52 pm.
We took the metro and got back to the hotel at 7:00 pm because we stopped at the boulangerie next to the hotel to pick up pizza slices. It was Saturday. We took metro line 9, but this time in the opposite direction to
the Ceramics Museum. We got off at the last stop and walked across the bridge and down the hill
to the Ceramics Museum and arrived at 10:09 am. The Ceramics Museum is a two storey building. It has ceramics from very ancient
times, to today. I learned that the word "porcelain" comes from the french term for a cowrie shell
because of the resemblance of its lustrous transparency to the shiny surface of the shells. I also learned
that the French created their own ceramics industry because they did not want to pay to import porcelain
from China. This was more than two hundred years ago, but the French were interested in technological advances
in manufacturing ceramics. We left the museum at 11:22 am and walked up the hill to take the 171 bus to the end
which is the Château de Versailles bus stop. This was added to the agenda at the request of cousin Kathy after I had obtained the
tickets to the Palais de Versailles for Saturday. They are not open on Saturday, but we walked to the
workplace and looked in. Maison Sanju is famous for the quality of their embroidery and sewing fabrics.
The workshop is located on a side street near the entrance to the Palais de Versailles. We got to
Versailles at 12:09 pm. We then walked to the Gallery of Coaches and arrived at 12:30 pm. The Gallery of Coaches is
only open on Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 pm to 6:30 pm. This is why I had Versailles on the schedule
for Saturday. The Gallery of Coaches is an exhibit of the transportation devices of the era of Louis XIV.
It made me think of how much horsepower and comfort automobiles of today have compared to the most luxurious
coaches of the time of Louis XIV. We left there at 1:00 pm and walked across the wide street to the entrance to the
Palais de Versailles featuring a statue of Louis XIV on a horse in front of it. Our tickets were for 12:30 pm, but it was just past 1:00 pm when arrived at the entrance
into the building. There were separate lines, but they were very lax as far as being on time. Like almost
every venue in France, one goes through a security check. I had been to the Château de Versailles in September 1989, and it was not this crowded.
I do not remember the building being so very big. There were people who worked for the Château de Versailles,
but I found them not to be helpful because of not knowing the answer or providing vague answers. So we followed the
crowd. I also got the feeling the place was run by a corporate entity that was measuring things
it could measure, and not measuring what mattered. It is like they knew they had a golden goose and were
squeezing it. Eventually we walked through the king's bed chamber and the Hall of Mirrors. In the time of
Louis XIV it must have been opulently impressive. Today it is still very impressive. We walked more than a mile to the Petit Trianon building. This is where the French queen had
her retreat. On long walk I say three horses eating pasture. It felt like I in the country. Before we entered the Petit Trianon, we sat at a bench and ate our lunch. Again a security check to enter the Petit Trianon. Between the Petit Trianon and the Grand Trianon, which I did not get to, there is
the enormous field with multiple paths with poor signage. While walking around I saw geese. I walked all the way to the Queen's Hamlet. One cannot go inside. Cousin Kathy waited for me at the Petit Trianon while I walked around. We left
the Petit Trianon at 5:16 pm, and went to the stop of the little train that goes between the Petit
Trianon and the Palais de Versailles. There were people waiting there. However, reading the sign
I noticed that the last run was at five o'clock. So we had to walk all the way back. We walked until we got to a bus stop and took the bus to the RER station in Versailles.
We took the RER, which was not air conditioned, back to Paris, and from there the metro to the hotel.
It was 6:51 pm when we got to the hotel. It has been a long standing tradition for local fire stations to have a huge
party to celebrate Bastille Day. It was Saturday night and I decided to go check out the one in
the 15th arrondissement. These block parties start at nine o'clock and go all night. I took the bus and got there around 9:30 pm. The fire engines were out in
the street and so were the firemen. The line to enter, from what I could see was more than a
block long. Everyone and their neighbor was there and more people were coming. After several
minutes in the line, I decided I did not want to be in such a crowded situation so I walked to
the nearest bus stop and took the bus back to the hotel. In 1989 I had a half a day and I visited the Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.
I did not have time to finish it. So the desire to go back and see all of it was the reason why it was on
the agenda. The fact that it stays open an hour later on Sunday, was the reason to go on Sunday. We left the hotel and took metro line 9 and changed to metro line 7. Our hotel
was at the southwest corner of Paris and Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is at the
northeast corner of Paris. We got there at 9:20 am. We showed or Paris Museum Pass and the staff not sure
what to do with it. They should have given us a real ticket because some exhibits check tickets.
Explaining that we had a Paris Museum Pass solved the impasse. Sunday hours are from 9:15 am until 7:00 pm. However, children exhibits start
at 9:30 am and adult exhibits start at 10:00 am. Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie is very family oriented. There is a
children's bathroom for ages 2 through 7. There is also a special exhibit just for children ages
5 through 10. We got a special ticket to enter the "Argonaute" which is a decommissioned
French submarine. That was very interesting. Imagine living in tight quarters under the sea. Next to the "Argonaute" exhibit is the IMAX theater. There were many interesting exhibits inside Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie.
Some were temporary exhibits such as the one on cat and dog behavior, and the transistor radio. There was
an exhibit on climate, mostly focus on carbon, which I found to be fairly scientific and well balanced.
There was an exhibit on robots, another interactive exhibit on dance, and one on video games. There was a
solar airplane on display. In the basement there is a aquarium. There is also a planetarium that is an auditorium that seats over two hundred people.
The seats lean back. I did not find it that interesting, but it filled up. This indicated to me that
the place is very well attended, but it did not feel crowded at all. Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
is a very spacious place. There are a couple of places to eat inside Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie and
a very reasonably price vending machine. Of course, one can have a picnic outside. We left at 6:20 pm. We had spent the whole day there and I had a wonderful time. We took a twenty (20) minute walk through Parc de la Villette, which is a 55 acre park just behind the
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. We were tired so we did not look for the bamboo or the mirrors or the triangles.
It is very family oriented as there were many families
with children in the park. At the other of the park is the Cité de la Musique and the Zénith.
In between there is a fountain. It was late in the day and the venues were closed. We took metro line 5 and changed to metro line 9 to get back to the hotel. Although the parade did not start until 10:00 am, we left the hotel at 7:48 am because
we were warned that it would be crowded. Getting there early was the only way to get a good view of the
parade. It was crowded. We were also warned the metro stations along the Champs-Élysées were
going to be closed. So, we got off one metro stop early and walked on Avenue George V, past the
Four Seasons Hotel, to the Champs-Élysées. We got a spot to the west of Avenue George V on the south side of the Champs-Élysées.
In retrospect, it would have been better to be east of Avenue George V in order to see the military vehicles that
were pre-positioned on Avenue George V drive onto the Champs-Élysées. The parade starts at the
Arc de Triomphe and goes to Place de la Concorde. The best place to watch the parade was from one of the
balconies of the apartments that overlook the Champs-Élysées. We stood in a fairly shaded spot until about noon. There was plenty of police presence
to control the flow of people and they came to the aid of those that fainted. There were a few that fainted
among the crowd. It seemed to me that a large number of people in the crowd were tourists. Before the parade started, those assembled to take part in the parade sang a few songs.
Then the parade started. There were soldiers marching and many military vehicles. After a while the
fly overs begin. Lots of military aircraft few overhead. The parade ended, and the crowd disbanded. The police indicated where people could
walk to leave the area of the Champs-Élysées. We walked down the middle of Avenue George V where there was no traffic. It was fun
for me to walk down the middle of what is normally a very busy street. It reminded me of the surreal
feeling I had on Sunday, July 16, 1989, the Sunday of the bicentennial of the French Revolution, crossing
the Place de la Concorde when there were no vehicles. Later on we walked down the middle of Rue de la Paix. It too was closed to vehicles. I had tickets for entering the Musée de l'Orangerie at 2:30 pm. With all the streets
closed off, we walked were we could to get there. I spoke with one policeman who told me he did not know how to
get there because he did not live in Paris. We got as far as across the street from the Tuileries Garden, but
that was definitely closed and the police did not know when access would open up. I was not happy with the answer
because we had been walking for well over an hour only to find out there was no access. Cousin Kathy was calm and collected. She did not complain. The Louvre claimed to be open and free on Bastille Day. It may have been opened, but no one
could get to it. Access to the Tuileries Garden was also blocked because of the Bastille Day parade so I was not able to say good bye to it.
It is such a fun place. Frustrated and feeling defeated that I could not use my tickets to Musée de l'Orangerie
we walked back up te middle of Rue de la Paix because it in the direction where I knew there was a metro station open. On my right I noticed the Guerlain store. In 1947 my mother was in Paris and she stopped
into a Guerlain store and tried Shalimar perfume. Since then it was her scent. I had to go into the store
in memory of my mother. They were very nice in that store. Rue Cler was on the agenda at cousin Kathy's request, and since we had not gotten to it,
we went there and walked the entire street. We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant where the waiter was
working very hard. Food was good. After that we made it back to the hotel. Breakfast at the hotel opened at 7:00 am, and we ate a big breakfast because I know that
I do not get enough to eat on airplanes. The night before I had asked the hotel to have a taxi ready for us to go the airport at
7:30 am, and indeed, we left the hotel at that time. Check out was easy. The ride to the airport took 34 minutes we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport at 8:04 am.
The reason why the ride went quickly is because there is a special lane on the highway for taxis and busses. Checking in and going through security was easy and faster than I had anticipated.
Certainly not as chaotic as in Rome or almost all American airports. We checked in and clear security
and emigration, and arrived at our gate in 34 minutes. We had twenty minutes to spare before they started boarding. The flight was completely full. The airplane arrived in Charlotte a couple of minutes early and we got off the airplane at 1:18 pm. We walked through a long hall way to immigration, had our picture taken, and cleared customs in 20 minutes. From there it was a matter of finding our way to the nearest security line so that we could get
to our respective connecting gates. TSA security in Charlotte was very efficient. It was a pleasant surprise to
find out that removing shoes was no longer required in the United States. One does not have to remove their shoes
to go through security in European airports. I said good bye to cousin Kathy, and I proceeded to my gate. American Airlines changed my seat
without asking me, and I got a seat without a window to look out. The flight left a few minutes late and arrived
in Fort Lauderdale a few minutes late. I got off the airplane at 4:46 pm. I got home at 5:41 pm because my Lyft driver took a long time to show up, and then took a wrong
turn on the way home. So he took the long way home. I would have been home twenty minutes sooner had I taken a
regular taxi. It had rained. My house was in good order, and my air conditioner worked.
I was not as tired as I thought I would be. The adventure was over. There were several places on the original agenda that I did not get to because
of lack of time. These included: Musée de l'Orangerie,
Musée des Plans-Reliefs,
Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération,
Cathédrale de la Sainte-Trinité (the Russian Orthodox church),
Musée du Quay Branly,
Cognacq-Jay Museum,
Musée Picasso,
Cité de la Musique,
and the Louvre Museum. Yes, we were so busy we did not get to the Louvre. It is difficult to get tickets to Musée de l'Orangerie as they sell out very quickly,
especially for the first Sunday of the month. The Paris Museum Pass includes Musée de l'Orangerie, but
a ticket is required. We could not get access to Musée de l'Orangerie on 14 July although we had tickets
for 2:30 pm because the streets to it were closed because of Bastille Day. I must have walked passed it as I entered the Musée de l'Armée.
This and the Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération are all inside Hôtel des Invalides. A Russian Orthodox church in a Roman Catholic country is unusual. Although I did not go in it,
I was able to see it from the Seine River and across the river. It looks beautiful from the outside. It sits on
top of very expensive real estate. I did not get to this museum because I spent too much time in the enorrmous Musée de l'Armée.
If it is anything like the one inside the Vatican, it would be very interesting. The Louvre is a five storey building, with two floors under ground. It is huge, for the
building is a block long on each of three sides. Although we did not have time to go into it, we did have
tickets. As we rode the bus around Paris, it did go by the Louvre, and one gets an idea of how long each
block is. I had been to the Louvre in 1983 and had seen the Mona Lisa. In retrospect, I would
recommend going to the Louvre on a Wednesday morning or a Friday morning and plan to stay there all day
until closing. It closes late on Wednesdays and Fridays. There is so much to see, and like most French
museums it is enormous. I had been warned several times about pickpockets prior to my trip and
during my trip. I even heard a warning while at the Eiffel Tower. I was careful not to
have people rub up on me while inside the subway cars. This was a bit tricky since some of
the subway cars were packed. I was conscientious about there may be pickpockets and fortunately
I saw none, and nothing happened to us. The Paris Museum Pass has three options: 48 hours, 96 hours, and 144 hours.
In other words two days, four days, and six days. We bought the 144 hour version of the Paris
Museum Pass for 110 €. Had I bought individual tickets to all the museums that participate
in the Paris Museum Pass it would have cost me a total of 190 €. Keep in mind that I had an ambitious agenda. Cousin Kathy did not go up
the Arc de Triomphe nor to Musée d'Orsay. Although the Paris Museum Pass was a good
deal for her, her savings was not as much as mine. One has to go to a lot of places for the two day and the four day
Paris Museum Pass to pay off. The FirenzeCard for three days in Florence is a better deal. On my two week adventure I spent US$2134.51 plus 174,000 Holiday Inn points plus
88,500 AAdvantange miles. Cousin Kathy spent around US$3600. Keep in mind that we had separate
hotel rooms. I paid for her airfare. She graciously treated me to Moulin Rouge. French women on average are taller than American women. French women are not as fashion conscious as Italian women or Spanish women. The French are more respectful than Americans. Paris is a very family oriented city. The French seem busy with their lives, working to make ends meet. The French like to eat out. For the most part, French museums are enourmous. France is at peace. Otherwise they would not have so much military personnel and materiel
on display during the Bastile Day parade. France is becoming more like America. Paris is a multi ethnic city, just like all large American cities,
with immigrants from everywhere. Case in point were the different receptionists at the hotel in Paris. One was from Sri Lanka,
one was from Serbia, one was from Brazil, and one was actually French. The buffet breakfast staff were from the Indian subcontinent. Even small town France is becoming like America. I saw business closed in Saint Claude, and people
there and in Bourg-en-Bresse reminded me of people in small town America. Weather makes a big difference. Fortunately we had very good weather while in France.
There were a couple of days when it got hot, but it was never very hot. There was plenty of shade; more
so than in Spain where I became a big fan of shade. Fifteen days was too long, and yet not long enough. It was not long enough because I did
not get to several places that were on the agenda. The Louvre being the glaring example. It was too long
in that by Friday, July 11 or Saturday, July 12, I was feeling tired, more mentally than physically. I had
seen and done a lot and I had absorbed a whole lot. I know that eleven days is about right for me, but there
is so much to see and do in Paris. I am glad I stretched it to fifteen days because had I not, I would have
missed out on a lot. Do not be a tourist in a country during their national holidays as many things are closed. Everyone in France takes Visa and Mastercard, including the Catholic church. The one instance when
the taxi driver would not take a credit card, he did accept dollars. There is no need to exchange currency. It can take up to 50% more time to get from one place to another than what all the apps indicate. Good weather makes a big difference. I am glad I took this into consideration when planning my trip. Lyft is unreliable, and accessing their customer service is almost impossible. Bring a water bottle.
Cousin Kathy's Arrival
Charles de Gaulle Airport
Description
The primary and very large international airport serving Paris.
Address
Roissy-en-France, France
Getting there
AA flight 150
Metro
RER B or Roissy Bus
Hours
Open every day
Web site
https://www.parisaeroport.fr/en/passengers/charles-de-gaulle-airport
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_de_Gaulle_Airport
Wi-Fi
WIFI-AIRPORT
Holiday Inn Hotel
Description
The hotel where we stayed
Address
21 rue Gudin, 75016 France
Getting there
From the airport it will take nearly two hours.
take the 351 bus to Place de la Porte de Montreuil bus stop
Walk north 50 meters and enter the metro station
Change to the 9 metro towards Pont de Sèvres
Get off at the Porte de Saint-Cloud metro station
Metro
Porte de Saint-Cloud
Web site
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/paris/parau/hoteldetail
Wi-Fi
Holiday Inn Paris
Tour Montparnasse
Description
Enjoy panoramic views of Paris and the quick (38 seconds) elevator ride to the observation deck.
Address
33 Avenue du Maine, 75015 Paris
Main entrance is at the foot of the tower on the Rue de l'Arrivée side.
Metro
Montparnasse-Bienvenüe
Hours
Open every day from 9:30 am to 11:30 pm
How much time
Allow 1.0 to 1.5 hours
Price
Single ticket € 21.50 online. Higher price on site. Day and night ticket € 32 online.
Tickets
If you are unable to attend on the date and time you have chosen, you can exchange your tickets free of charge by clicking on the following link:
https://tourmontparnasse56.com/exchange
Tickets may only be exchanged once, and must be exchanged before the original date and time. Each ticket can only be exchanged once.
Only "Single Visit" and "Day & Night" tickets can be exchanged.
Web site
https://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_Montparnasse
Wi-Fi
Montparnasse56_Guest
App
Magnicity
Musée Bourdelle
Description
Located in the former studio and workshop of French sculptor Antoine Bourdelle. It showcases
a variety of his works, including sculptures, drawings, and other artistic creations.
Address
18, rue Antoine-Bourdelle 75015 Paris
Getting there
From Tour Montparnasse it is an eight (8) minute walk or 600 meters.
Metro
Montparnasse-Bienvenüe
Hours
Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Last entrance is at 5:15 pm.
How much time
Allow 1 to 1.5 hours
Price
Free. Access to the permanent collection is free.
Web site
https://www.bourdelle.paris.fr/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Bourdelle
Musée de La Poste
Description
The post office museum specializes in the postal history and philately of France.
Address
34 Boulevard de Vaugirard 75015 Paris
Getting there
From the Musée Bourdelle it should be a six (6) minute walk or 400 meters.
Go to the right when exiting Musée Bourdelle.
Take the cross walk on to Rue Armand Moisant.
Walk to Boulevard de Vaugirard and then turn right.
Metro
Montparnasse-Bienvenüe
Hours
Open every day from 11:00 to 18:00 except Tuesday. Last entry at 17:15.
How much time
Allow 1 hour
Price
Single ticket € 5
Web site
https://museedelaposte.fr/fr
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_La_Poste
Museum Guide
https://www.museedelaposte.fr/system/files/Plan-guide-juillet-2024.pdf
Église Notre-Dame des Champs
Description
Catholic church completed i 1876.
Address
91 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris
Metro
Montparnasse-Bienvenüe
Hours
Monday through Saturday 7:30 am - 7:15 pm. Sunday 8:30 am - 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm - 8.45 pm
How much time
Allow 10 minutes
Web Site
https://notredamedeschamps.fr/historique-de-leglise/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame-des-Champs,_Paris
Lunch at le Petit Josselin
Description
le Petit Josselin
Address
59 rue du Montparnasse, 75014 Paris
Getting there
From the Musée de la Poste it should be a ten (10) minute walk or 750 meters.
Go to the left when exiting Musée de la Poste.
Walk towards Tour Montparnasse.
Walk down one block on Boulevard Edgar Quinet.
Turn left on to rue du Montparnasse.
Metro
Montparnasse-Bienvenüe
Hours
12h - 14h30 & 18h30 - 23h
How much time
Allow 1 hour
Yelp Review
https://www.yelp.com/biz/la-cr%C3%AAperie-de-josselin-paris
Web site
https://www.creperielepetitjosselin.fr
Notes
There may be a line to get in. Other crepe places are nearby.
Musée de la Libération de Paris - Musée du Général Leclerc - Musée Jean Moulin
Description
The chronological itinerary of the visit corresponds to the actions of Jean Moulin and Philippe de Hauteclocque in France between the two world wars,
the debacle of June 1940 during the Occupation, the Internal Resistance and the fighting until the liberation of France, of which Paris remained the most powerful symbol.
Address
Place Denfert-Rochereau 75014 Paris
Metro
Denfert-Rochereau
Hours
Open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm, without reservation.
How much time
Allow 1 hour
Price
Free entrance
Web site
https://www.museeliberation-leclerc-moulin.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_Leclerc_de_Hauteclocque_et_de_la_Lib%C3%A9ration_de_Paris_%E2%80%93_Mus%C3%A9e_Jean_Moulin
Notes
The museum entrance is located at 4, Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, on the prolongation of Avenue du Général Leclerc, facing the entrance to the Catacombs.
Take the augmented reality tour of the bunker.Musée Marmottan Monet
Description
Art dedicated to artist Claude Monet. The collection features over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet, including his 1872 Impression, Sunrise.
Address
2, rue Louis-Boilly, 75016 Paris
Metro
La Mulette
Hours
Opens at 10am - 6pm Thursday, to 9 pm (last admission: 8 pm)
How much time
Allow 1 hour
Price
14 € for one
There may be a guided tour in English for 7 € more on Fridays and Saturdays at noon.
Web site
https://www.marmottan.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Marmottan_Monet
Notes
There is a park nearby.
Eiffel Tower
Description
It is the world famous Eiffel Tower!
Address
Champ de Mars, 75007 Paris
Metro
Bir-Hakeim
Hours
Opens at 9:30 am - 11 pm
How much time
Allow 2 to 2.5 hours
Price
36,10 €
Tickets
Buy your tickets online sixty (60) days in advance.
Web site
https://www.toureiffel.paris/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_Tower
Wi-Fi
_WiFi_Tour_Eiffel
Sewer Museum
Description
Explore the underground sewage system.
Address
Alma bridge, Place Habib Bourguiba, 75007 Paris
Metro
Alma-Marceau
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission 4pm)
How much time
Allow 1 hour and 15 minutes
Price
9 €
Web site
https://musee-egouts.paris.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Sewer_Museum
Guide
https://musee-egouts.paris.fr/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Livret_Visite_ENGLISH.pdf
Bateaux Mouches
Description
Lunch and River Cruise on the Seine River.
Address
Port de la Conférence, Pont de l'Alma, Rive droite 75008 Paris
Metro
Alma-Marceau
Hours
Cruise times / schedules : Departures every 30 to 45 minutes between 10:00 a.m. and 10.30 p.m.
How much time
Cruise lasts approximately 1 hour 10 mins.
Price
18 € or 17 €; or 27 € for the cruise and the lunch box.
Tickets
By buying your Bateaux-Mouches tickets directly from their Web site, you can take advantage of an immediate € discount on each adult and child ticket.
Web site
https://www.bateaux-mouches.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bateaux_Mouches
Notes
There is a lunchbox menu.
Look for discount ticket on Groupon
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris
Paris Galliera
Description
Paris fashion museum.
Address
10, Avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie 75116 Paris
Metro
Alma-Marceau
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 6pm (last admission 5pm)
Late-night opening on Fridays until 9pm (last entry 8pm)
How much time
Allocate up to 1.5 hours
Price
12 €
Web site
https://www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Galliera
Notes
Lockers are available on the ground floor and garden level.
Museum of Modern Art of Paris
Description
The Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris is one of the largest museums of modern art in France, showcasing a wide range of XX and XXI century works. It includes artists like Picasso, Braque, Delaunay, and Léger, among others.
Address
11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris, France.
Metro
Iéna
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm (ticket offices close at 5.15pm)
How much time
Allocate 1.5 to 2 hours.
Price
General admission is free for permanent collections. There may be a fee for temporary exhibitions.
Web site
https://www.mam.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_d'Art_Moderne_de_Paris
Guide
https://www.mam.paris.fr/sites/default/files/documents/plan_coupe_musee_2023_web_0.pd
Notes
The museum also houses a café and a bookshop.
Petit Palais
Description
Fine Arts Museum of Paris.
Address
Avenue Winston-Churchill 75008 Paris
Metro
Champs-Elysées - Clemenceau
Hours
Open from Tuesday to Sunday (10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.)
How much time
About 1 to 1.5 hours.
Price
Free access to the permanent collection.
Web site
https://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_Palais
Guide
https://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/sites/default/files/plan_guide_def.pdf
Notes
Café 1902 is suppose to be really good.
Café La Jatte
Description
Dinner with a dinosaur.
Address
60 Bd Vital Bouhot 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
Metro
Pont de Levallois-Bécon
Hours
12h to 15h and 19h to 22h45
How much time
About 1 to 1.5 hours.
Web site
https://cafejatte-restaurant.com/
Musée du Parfum Fragonard
Description
It is a perfume museum
Address
9 rue Scribe, 75009 Paris
Metro
Opéra
Hours
Open everyday 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
How much time
About 30 minutes.
Price
Admission to the Musée du Parfum is free.
Web site
https://musee-parfum-paris.fragonard.com/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Parfum
Opéra Garnier
Description
The famous opera house built from 1861 to 1875 at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III.
Address
Place de l'Opéra 75009 Paris
Metro
Opéra
Hours
Entry from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., except for occasional closures
How much time
About 1.5 hours.
Price
10 € with Gustave Moreau ticket
Tickets
Sixty days out.
Web site
https://www.operadeparis.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_Garnier
The Breguet Museum
Description
Presents an exceptional collection of documents and objects relating to the history of the famous watch company, which was founded in 1775.
Address
6 Place Vendôme, 75001
Metro
Opéra
Hours
Monday through Saturday 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Museum will be available from 11h00. Our appointment is confirmed for 11:30 am.
How much time
About 40 minutes.
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.breguet.com/en/maison/breguet-museum
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham-Louis_Breguet
Tuileries Garden
Description
A big public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.
Address
Place de la Concorde - 75001 Paris
Metro
Concorde or Tuileries
Hours
From 7am to 11pm in June, July and August
How much time
About 30 minutes.
Price
Free
Tickets
Web site
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuileries_Garden
Notes
Feed the ducks.
Musée Curie
Description
A historical museum focusing on radiological research.
Address
1 Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris
Metro
Cardinal Lemoine
Hours
Wednesday through Saturday from 1pm to 5pm. Last entry at 4:30 pm. Closed in August.
How much time
About 30 minutes.
Price
Free
Web site
https://musee.curie.fr/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Curie
Musée de Minéralogie
Description
The largest exhibit of minerals in Paris.
Address
60 boulevard Saint-Michel 75006 Paris
RER
Luxembourg
How much time
Between 1 and 2 hours.
Price
7 €
Web site
https://www.musee.minesparis.psl.eu/Home/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Min%C3%A9ralogie
Guide
https://www.musee.minesparis.psl.eu/Donnees/data15/1568-Guide-de-visite_EN_2022_copyright.pdf
Luxembourg Garden
Description
Known for its lawns, tree-lined promenades, tennis courts, flowerbeds, model sailboats on its octagonal Grand Bassin, and the picturesque Medici Fountain.
Address
10 Rue Servandoni, 75006 Paris
Metro
Saint-Sulpice
Hours
7:30 am to 9:15 pm the first two weeks in July
Price
Free
Web site
https://jardin.senat.fr/en.html
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jardin_du_Luxembourg
Guide
https://jardin.senat.fr/fileadmin/cru-1741249238/Jardin/Brochure_and_map.pdf
Notes
Do not walk on the lawn. Chalets with free public toilets are available in the Luxembourg Garden.
Mundolingua
Description
Dedicated to the world of languages, featuring interactive exhibits about linguistics, language history, phonetics, and the diversity of languages.
Address
10 Rue Servandoni, 75006 Paris
Metro
Saint-Sulpice
Hours
Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 10 am to 7 pm
How much time
About 1 to 1.5 hours.
Price
8 €
Web site
https://www.mundolingua.org/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundolingua
Church of Saint Sulpice
Description
One of tallest churches in Paris and is one of the most popular ones thanks to the novel The Da Vinci Code.
Address
2 rue Palatine 75006 Paris
Getting there
From Mundolingua go one block north
Metro
Saint-Sulpice
Hours
8 am to 7:45 pm every day
9 a.m. (Virgin Chapel)
12:05 p.m. (rear choir)
6:45 p.m. (rear choir)
Sunday mass is also on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
How much time
10 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.paroissesaintsulpice.paris/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Sulpice,_Paris
Musée de Cluny-Musée National du Moyen Âge
Description
One of the richest medieval collections in the world and the famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries.
Address
28 rue Du Sommerard, 75005 Paris
Metro
Cluny-La Sorbonne
Hours
Every day except Mondays, from 9.30 am to 6.15 pm.
How much time
About 1 hour
Price
Free on the first Sunday of the month.
Tickets
Not needed on the first Sunday of the month.
Web site
https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Cluny
Guide
https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/media/documents-pdf/plans-du-musee/plan-guide-en.pdf
Notes
Online virtual tour of the museum
Église de la Sainte-Trinité
Description
Catholic church built in the ornate Neo-Renaissance style with a tall belfry.
Address
3, rue de la Trinité 75009 Paris
Metro
Trinité-d'Estienne d'Orves
Hours
Monday through Friday: 7:15 to 19:45
Saturday: 10:00 to 19:30
Sunday: 10:00 to 20:15
How much time
1 hour and 20 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://latriniteparis.com/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Trinit%C3%A9,_Paris
Notes
Sunday mass is at 11 am
Musée Gustave Moreau
Description
Art museum dedicated to the works of Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. It use to be his house.
Address
14 Rue Catherine de la Rochefoucauld, 75009 Paris
Metro
Trinité-d'Estienne d'Orves
Hours
Open daily except Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
How much time
1 hour
Price
Free the first Sunday of the month, but you need a ticket which you can get in advance online.
Web site
https://musee-moreau.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_national_Gustave_Moreau
WiFi
MOREAU VISITEUR
Password : Bienvenue
Guide
https://musee-moreau.fr/sites/moreau/files/documents/Visitor%20trail%20EN%20-%20updated%202024.pdf
Boulangerie French Bastards
Description
High quality fast food recommended by my friend Carlos Eduardo Tiburcio Ramos.
Address
65 rue Jean-Baptiste, Pigalle, 75009 Paris
Metro
Pigalle
Hours
Monday - Friday: 07:30 - 20:00
Saturday: 08:30 - 20:00
Sunday: 08:30 - 18:00
How much time
10 minutes
Web site
https://thefrenchbastards.fr/en/boutiques
Saint Jean de Montmartre Church
Description
Art nouveau church with stained glass built using reinforced concrete.
Address
21 rue des Abbesses, 75018 Paris
Metro
Abbesses
How much time
10 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.saintjeandemontmartre.com/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Jean_de_Montmartre
Notes
https://www.saintjeandemontmartre.com/histoire-et-architecture
Montmartre Funicular
Description
Funicular that connects the foot with the summit of the Butte Montmartre, where the Basilique du Sacré Coeur is located.
Address
Place Saint Pierre, 75018 Paris
Metro
Funicular base
Hours
From 6 am until 12:45 am
How much time
10 to 15 minutes
Price
Included in the Navigo pass.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montmartre_Funicular
Saint-Pierre de Montmartre
Description
It is the second oldest surviving church in Paris, after the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres. It is one of the two main churches on Montmartre.
Address
2 rue du Mont-Cenis, 75018 Paris
Metro
Funicular gare haute
Hours
Tuesday through Sunday: 9:00 to 18:00
How much time
10 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.saintpierredemontmartre.net/visite-de-leglise/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Pierre_de_Montmartre
Notes
Across the plaza from the church to the west there are a lot of eating places in Place du Tertre.
Musée de Montmartre
Description
The museum was home to many famous artists and writers including Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Address
12, rue Cortot - 75018 Paris
Metro
Funicular gare haute
Hours
Open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last entrance at 5:15 pm
Café Renoir is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m to 5 p.m
How much time
About 1 hour to visit the permanent collection.
Price
15 €
Web site
https://museedemontmartre.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Montmartre
Sacré Coeur
Description
The most impressive church in all of France.
Address
35 rue du Chevalier de la Barre 75018 Paris
Metro
Funicular gare haute
Hours
From 6.30 am to 10.30 pm every day
How much time
About 30 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.sacre-coeur-montmartre.com/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacr%C3%A9-C%C5%93ur,_Paris
Gare de Lyon
Description
Train station to Bourg-en-Bresse
Address
4 Place Louis Armand Paris
Metro
Gare de Lyon
Web site
https://www.garedelyon.fr/tourists/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Lyon
Guide
Map of Gare de Lyon train station.
The Originals Hotel
Description
The hotel where I will be staying in Bourg-en-Bresse.
Address
19, avenue Alphonse Baudin, 01000 Bourg-en-Bresse, France
Getting there
It is across the street from the Bourg-en-Bresse train station.
Contact
Phone: +33 (0)4 74 21 01 21
Email: H0107FD@theoriginalshotels.com
Web site
https://www.theoriginalshotels.com/hotels/bourg-en-bresse-gare-terminus
Bus to Saint Claude
Description
Bus to Saint Claude
Address
12 Avenue Pierre Semard 01000 Bourg-en-Bresse France
Getting there
Exit the front of the hotel and go to left and cross the street, and then go left.
Hours
Bus to Saint Claude leaves at 8:45 AM
How much time
Almost 2 hours
Saint Claude City Hall
Cathedral in Saint Claude
Musée de L'Abbaye
Description
Contemporary art museum in Saint Claude.
Address
3, place de l'Abbaye
39200 Saint-Claude
Contact
(+33) 3 84 38 12 60
contact.musee@hautjurasaintclaude.fr
Getting there
It is across the street from the Pipe & Diamond Museum.
Hours
In July and August open from 10 am to 06.00 pm
How much time
About 1 hour
Price
6,50 €
Web site
http://www.museedelabbaye.fr/home/index.php
Hospital in Saint Claude
Pipe & Diamond Museum
Description
In the 19th century, Saint-Claude became the world center of the pipe industry and a renowned location for gemstone and diamond cutting.
Address
1, place Jacques Faizant
39200 Saint-Claude
Contact
(+33) 3 84 45 17 00
musee.pipe-diamant@orange.fr
Getting there
It is across the street from the Cathedral.
Hours
Open daily from 10 am to 12.00 am and from 02.00 pm to 06.00 pm
How much time
About 1.5 hours
Price
6 €
Web site
https://www.musee-pipe-diamant.com/index_en.php
Wikipedia
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_la_pipe_et_du_diamant_de_Saint-Claude
Jura Hôtel
Description
The hotel where I will be staying in Saint Claude.
Address
40 avenue de la Gare
39200 Saint Claude
Getting there
It is across the street from the Saint Claude train station.
Contact
+33.384452404
Web site
https://www.jurahotel.com/en
Bus from Saint Claude
Description
Bus from Saint Claude
Address
Place de la Gare, 39200 Saint-Claude
Getting there
Exit the front of the hotel and cross the street.
Hours
Bus leaves at 6:45 AM
Bourg-en-Bresse
Train back to Paris
Description
Train from Bourg-en-Bresse to Paris Gare de Lyon
Address
12 Avenue Pierre Sémard, 01000 Bourg-en-Bresse
How much time
1 hour 49 minutes if on time.
Web site
https://www.garedelyon.fr/tourists/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Lyon
Guide
Map of Gare de Lyon train station.
Lunch at Le Train Bleu
Description
The iconic gourmet restaurant inside Gare de Lyon
Address
1st floor in Hall 1 of Gare de Lyon
4 Place Louis Armand 75012 Paris
Metro
Gare de Lyon
Hours
The restaurant is open every day: 11:15am to 2:30 pm - 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm
How much time
About 1 hour
Reservations
Reservation is confirmed for two people at noon on July 8.
Web site
https://www.le-train-bleu.com/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Train_Bleu_(restaurant)
Guide
Map of Gare de Lyon train station.
Château de Vincennes
Description
A former fortress and royal residence next to the town of Vincennes.
Address
Avenue de Paris, 94300 Vincennes
Metro
Gare de Lyon
Hours
Open every day 10am - 6pm
The Sainte-Chapelle is temporarily closed every day during the lunch break between 12 noon and 2pm or 1pm and 2pm
How much time
About 2.5 hours
Price
13 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.chateau-de-vincennes.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Vincennes
Guide
Visit the castle at your own pace, equipped with a tablet and headphones. An immersive audio tour lasting an hour and a half will take you back to the different periods in the castle's construction.
The Revelacio tablet is included in the admission ticket.
A valid identity document (identity card, passport, driving licence, health insurance card, etc.) must be left with you for the duration of the visit.
Visitors can be equipped no later than 1h30 before the castle closes.
Available in 3 languages (French, English, Spanish).
Notes
Luggage permitted: 30 cm x 40 cm x 15 cm.
No baggage deposit is offered within the monument.
enter and leave the castle via the Tour du Village on Avenue de Paris.
Arc de Triomphe
Description
An emblematic monument of French history, offering one of the most beautiful views of Paris and the Champs-Élysées.
Address
Place Charles de Gaulle 75008 Paris
Metro
Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile
Hours
From Wednesday to Monday 10am - 11pm. Tuesday 11am - 11pm
How much time
About 45 minutes to 1.5 hours
Price
16 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe
Guide
https://www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/content/download/9819343/file/EN%20Document%20de%20visite%20ARC%20DE%20TRIOMPHE.pdf?version=26&inLanguage=eng-GB
Notes
Veterans have a ceremony at 6:30 pm every day.
Café La Jatte Again
Description
Dinner with a dinosaur.
Address
60 Bd Vital Bouhot 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
Metro
Pont de Levallois-Bécon
Hours
12h to 15h and 19h to 22h45
How much time
About 1 to 1.5 hours.
Web site
https://cafejatte-restaurant.com/
Notre Dame
Description
The famous cathedral of Notre Dame.
Address
6 Parvis Notre-Dame Place Jean-Paul II 75004 Paris
Metro
Cité
Hours
Monday through Friday 7:50 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday 7:50 AM - 10:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday 8:15 AM - 7:30 PM
How much time
About 1 hour
Price
Free
Tickets
https://resa.notredamedeparis.fr/en/reservationindividuelle/tickets
Web site
https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris
Notes
Free guided tours of the outside that last one hour are on certain days usually at 2:30 pm.
Musée Rodin
Description
The museum featuring the work of the famous sculptor Auguste Rodin is located in a garden and an 18th century mansion.
Address
77 Rue de Varenne, 75007 Paris
Metro
Varenne
Hours
Open every day except Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (last access 5:45 p.m.).
How much time
About 1.5 hours
Price
14 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.musee-rodin.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Rodin
Musée de l'Armée
Description
One of the world's largest collections of art and military history.
Address
129 rue de Grenelle - 75007 Paris
Metro
Varenne
Hours
Open every day in the summer from 10:00 a.m. to 6:0 p.m.
How much time
About 4.5 hours
Price
17 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.musee-armee.fr/en/home.html
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Museum_(Paris)
Moulin Rouge
Description
Home of the world-famous cabaret and its iconic red windmill and vibrant history. Opened in 1889, it became the birthplace of the can-can dance.
Address
82 Boulevard de Clichy, 75018 Paris
Metro
Blanche
Hours
Welcome from 6:45 pm
How much time
4 hours
Price
255 €
Web site
https://www.moulinrouge.fr/en/homepage/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_Rouge
Air and Space Museum
Description
Features an incredible collection of historical artifacts spanning the three branches of flight: ballooning, aviation and space.
Address
3, esplanade de l'Air et de l'Espace 93352 Le Bourget
Metro
Hours
Open every day except Monday between 10am and 6pm.
How much time
About 5 hours
Price
17 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.museeairespace.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_l%27air_et_de_l%27espace
Guide
https://www.museeairespace.fr/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/07/Carnet-de-vol-musee-air-espace-07-2024-UK.pdf
Notes
Bring your own food and have a picnic on the tarmac.
The Flight he exhibition explores the diversity of flying creatures. In light of the scientific, biological, and technological principles that govern the phenomenon of flight, it highlights both the similarities and differences between the animal world and aeronautics.
Legion of Honor Museum
Description
The museum Museum is the seat of the Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit. It is full of military medals and condecorations.
Address
2, rue de la Légion d'honneur 75007 Paris
Metro
Solférino
Hours
Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 1 to 6 pm and until 8 pm on Thursdays.
How much time
About 1 hours
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.legiondhonneur.fr/en/la-grande-chancellerie/le-patrimoine/la-richesse-du-patrimoine/museum-legion-honor-and-orders-chivalry
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_de_la_L%C3%A9gion_d%27Honneur
Musée d'Orsay
Description
The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It has the largest collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist masterpieces in the world.
Address
Esplanade Valéry Giscard d'Estaing 75007 Paris
Metro
Solférino
Hours
Open Tuesday to Sundays, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm and until 9:45 pm on Thursdays.
How much time
At least 3 hours
Price
16 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay
Sainte-Chapelle
Description
A jewel of medieval architecture presenting one of the most complete sets of Radiant Gothic stained glass art.
Address
10, boulevard du Palais 75001 Paris
Metro
Cité
Hours
9am - 7pm
How much time
30 minutes to an hour
Price
13 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass, but you should get your tickets online in advance.
Web site
https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle
Notes
Best to get there early as there is security to go through.
Conciergerie
Description
An UNESCO World Heritage Site, notable for its role during the French Revolution, particularly as the prison for Marie Antoinette.
Address
2, boulevard du Palais 75001 Paris
Metro
Cité
Hours
9:30am - 6pm
How much time
30 minutes to an hour
Price
13 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.paris-conciergerie.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conciergerie
Guide
https://www.paris-conciergerie.fr/en/content/download/9824930/file/CONCIERGERIE_EN-internet.pdf
Victor Hugo's House
Description
The museum consists of an antechamber leading through the Chinese living room and medieval style dining room to Victor Hugo's bedroom where he died in 1885.
Address
6 Place des Vosges 75004 Paris
Metro
Bastille
Hours
10 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Sunday
How much time
Allocate 30 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.maisonsvictorhugo.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maison_de_Victor_Hugo
Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis
Description
The first church in Paris to break away entirely from the Gothic style and to use the new Baroque style.
Address
99, rue Saint-Antoine 75004 Paris
Metro
Saint-Paul
Hours
8 am to 8 pm every day
How much time
10 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.spsl.fr/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis
Musée Carnavalet
Description
The collection of the museum traces the history of Paris, from prehistory to the present way.
Address
23 rue Madame de Sévigné 75003 Paris
Metro
Saint-Paul
Hours
10 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Sunday
How much time
Allocate 3 hours
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Carnavalet
Guide
https://www.carnavalet.paris.fr/sites/default/files/2021-05/depliant_plan_carnavalet_11_1.pdf
Notes
Saturday and Sunday are by far the busiest days.
Musée des Arts et Métiers
Description
A unique journey in the history of science and technology featuring Pascal's calculating machine, Lavoisier's instruments, Blériot's plane, first televisions, cameras and computers, Foucault's pendulum.
Address
60 Rue Réaumur, 75003 Paris
Metro
Arts-et-Métiers
Hours
Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm.
Late night Friday until 9 pm.
How much time
1.5 to 2 hours.
Price
12 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.arts-et-metiers.net/musee/visitor-information
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_des_Arts_et_M%C3%A9tiers
Ceramics Museum
Description
The French national ceramics museum with ceramics from all over the world.
Address
2 Place de la Manufacture 92310 Sèvres
Metro
Pont de Sèvres
Hours
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
How much time
1 to 1.5 hours.
Price
8 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.sevresciteceramique.fr/en.html
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A8vres_%E2%80%93_Cit%C3%A9_de_la_c%C3%A9ramique
Maison Sanju
Description
The Embroidery Workshop
Address
16 bis, rue de la Chancellerie, 78000 Versailles
Metro
RER Ligne C - Station Versailles Rive Gauche - Château de Versailles.
Hours
Monday through Friday 9.30am - 6.00pm
How much time
10 minutes
Price
Free
Web site
https://sajou.fr/en/
Notes
Knock on the windows giving onto the pavement and we will welcome you with pleasure in their workplace, if they are there.
Gallery of Coaches
Description
Majestic coaches and small carriages for Marie-Antoinette's children, sedan chairs and sleds make up a strange and wonderful collection.
Address
Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles
Metro
Hours
Saturday and Sunday 12.30pm - 6.30pm
How much time
30 minutes
Price
Free
Tickets
Need to obtain tickets on line.
Web site
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/great-stables/gallery-coaches
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galerie_des_Carrosses
Guide
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/sites/default/files/carrosses_guide_en_jan-2020-planche_bd.pdf
Booklet
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/sites/default/files/file/2019_galerie_des_carrosses_anglais_hd_web.pdf
Château de Versailles
Description
The magnificent palace and estate king Louis XIV.
Address
Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles
Metro
Hours
9.00 am - 6.30 pm Closed on Mondays
How much time
4 to 6 hours including the Estate of Trianon.
Price
24 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
The ticket includes access to:
the Palace with timed entry;
the Estate of Trianon (Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen's Hamlet and their gardens);
the temporary exhibitions;
the Gallery of Coaches every weekend;
the The Royal Tennis Court from Tuesday to Sunday;
the Gardens, unless there is an event;
the Park.
Need to obtain the ticket online in advance.
Web site
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles
Notes
There is a little train to get around the garden for 9 €.
Rent a bicycle 21 € per half-day (4 hours), or 23 € per day (8 hours). Bike hire points at Little Venice, the Saint Anthony Gate and the Queen's Gate.
Trianon
Description
Châteaus are situated in the northwestern part of the Domain of Versailles.
Address
Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles
Getting there
From Versailles castle
Walk 1.4 miles to the northwest or take the Little Train for 9 €.
Hours
10 am - 6.30 pm Closed on Mondays
How much time
2 to 2.5 hours.
Price
12 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
The ticket includes access to:
the Palace with timed entry;
the Estate of Trianon (Grand Trianon, Petit Trianon, Queen's Hamlet and their gardens);
the temporary exhibitions;
the Gallery of Coaches every weekend;
the The Royal Tennis Court from Tuesday to Sunday;
the Gardens, unless there is an event;
the Park.
Need to obtain the ticket online in advance.
Web site
https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Trianon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_Trianon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hameau_de_la_Reine
Fireman's Ball
Description
Evening dances and parties are organized in local fire stations in Paris.
Address
27 Rue Boursault, 75017 Paris
Metro
Rome
Hours
9 pm to 4 am
How much time
1 hour
Price
Probably a small donation
Web site
https://www.terre.defense.gouv.fr/pompiers-paris
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie
Description
A place of discovery with interactive and fun exhibitions on the development of sciences and technology.
Address
30 avenue Corentin Cariou 75019 Paris
Metro
Porte de la Villette
Hours
Tuesday to Saturday 9.15 am - 6.00 pm and 9.15 am - 7.00 pm on Sunday
How much time
All day
Price
15 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/home/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9_des_Sciences_et_de_l%27Industrie
Interactive Map
https://www.lavillette.com/en/interactive-map/
Guide
https://www.cite-sciences.fr/fileadmin/fileadmin_CSI/fichiers/infos-pratiques/preparer_sa_visite/Plans/2025.02.03_PlanCite_web_EN.pdf
Notes
Be sure to see the Planetarium and the Argonaute submarine. There may be a newer guide available.
Parc de la Villette
Description
A model of humanist architecture, it has meadows, gardens, groves, and an educational farm, where biodiversity is preserved, promoted, and nature is shared.
Address
211 Av. Jean Jaures, 75019 Paris
Metro
Porte de la Villette
Hours
Closed from 1 am to 6 am every day.
How much time
All day
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.lavillette.com/en/les-jardins/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parc_de_la_Villette
Interactive Map
https://www.lavillette.com/en/interactive-map/
Notes
Be sure to see:
Le Jardin des bambous
Le Jardin des miroirs
Prairie du Triangle
Parade on the Champs-Élysées
Description
The grand parade to celebrate Bastille Day, the French National Day.
Address
Avenue des Champs-Élysées Paris
Metro
Franklin D. Roosevelt (may be closed).
Hours
10 pm to noon
How much time
4 hours; get there early.
Price
Free
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastille_Day_military_parade
Tuileries Garden
Guerlain
Rue Cler
Description
One of the most famous market streets in Paris.
Address
Rue Cler - 75007 Paris
Metro
École Militaire
Hours
Open every day.
How much time
It takes fifteen (15) to walk Rue Cler without stopping.
Price
Free
Notes
There is a post office at the south entrance to Rue Cler.
Fly Home
Places I Did Not Get To
Musée de l'Orangerie
Description
An art gallery of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings.
Address
Place de la Concorde (côté Seine) 75001 Paris
Metro
Concorde
Hours
Every day except Tuesday from 9:00am to 6:00pm. Open late until 9:00pm on certain Fridays.
How much time
Allow 1.5 to 2 hours.
Price
Free on the first Sunday of the month, but you need a ticket.
Web site
https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_l'Orangerie
WiFi
Musee_Orangerie_Public
Guide
https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/sites/default/files/2024-05/Plan_Guide_Orangerie_FR_EN_Mai_2024_1.pdf
Musée des Plans-Reliefs
Description
A museum of military models located within the Hôtel des Invalides.
Metro
Varenne
Hours
Open every day in the summer from 10:00 a.m. to 6:0 p.m.
How much time
About 1 hour
Price
15 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.museedesplansreliefs.culture.fr/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_des_Plans-Reliefs
Guide
https://www.museedesplansreliefs.culture.fr/telechargements/depliants/2-depliant-anglais-2023.pdf
Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération
Description
The Second World War in three stages: Free France, Resistance and Deportation.
A museum dedicated to the French Resistance during World War II and showcases exhibits related to the liberation of France, including artifacts, documents, photographs, and personal belongings of resistance fighters.
Address
129 rue de Grenelle - 75007 Paris
Metro
Varenne
Hours
Open every day in the summer from 10:00 a.m. to 6:0 p.m.
How much time
About 1.5 hours
Price
17 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.ordredelaliberation.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_de_l'Ordre_de_la_Lib%C3%A9ration
Cathédrale de la Sainte-Trinité
Description
Russia Orthodox Church.
Address
1 Quai Jacques Chirac 75007 Paris
Metro
Pont de l'Alma
Hours
Open every day 2pm to 7pm.
How much time
Ten (10) minutes.
Price
Free
Web site
https://cathedrale-sainte-trinite.fr/fr/horaires-des-offices/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Trinity_Cathedral_and_the_Russian_Orthodox_Spiritual_and_Cultural_Center
Musée du Quay Branly
Description
Features the indigenous art and cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.
Address
37 Quai Jacques Chirac 75007 Paris
Metro
Pont de l'Alma
Hours
Tuesday through Sunday 10:30am to 7pm. Thursday 10:30 am - 10:00 pm. Closed on Monday.
How much time
2 to 3 hours
Price
14 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.quaibranly.fr/en/
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Quai_Branly_%E2%80%93_Jacques_Chirac
Guide
https://www.quaibranly.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/1-Edito/1-Informations-pratiques/6-Outils-de-visite/Guide_de_visites_des_collections/MQB-G20-1-Anglais-BD-planches.pdf
Musée Cognacq-Jay
Description
Artworks from the XVIII century acquired between 1900 and 1927 by Ernest Cognacq.
Address
8 rue Elzévir 75003 Paris
Metro
Saint-Paul
Hours
10 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Sunday
How much time
Allocate 1 hour
Price
Free
Web site
https://www.museecognacqjay.paris.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Cognacq-Jay
WiFi
A free conexion is available in the whole museum through the network Paris Wi-Fi.
Musée Picasso
Description
Located in the sumptuous Hôtel Salé, the museum holds the most important Picasso collection in the world.
Address
5 Rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris
Metro
Saint-Sébastien Froissart
Hours
9:30 am to 6 pm from Tuesday to Sunday
How much time
Between 90 minutes to 2 hours to discover all of the collections and exhibitions.
Price
16 €
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://museepicassoparis.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_Picasso
Guide
https://museepicassoparis.fr/sites/default/files/2022-04/Plan_muse%CC%81e_UK_MayaRuizPicasso.pdf
Notes
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are the best days to go, especially between 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm, and after 4:30 pm.
Cité de la Musique
Description
Home of the music museum and the philharmonic of Paris.
Address
221 Av. Jean Jaures, 75019 Paris
Metro
Porte de Pantin
Hours
Tuesday to Friday: 12pm - 6pm
Saturday & Sunday: 10am - 6pm
The Belvédère - Philharmonie's rooftop viewpoint Wednesday to Sunday from 12 noon to 8pm, Friday night until sunset.
Media Library is open Tuesday to Sunday: 1pm to 6pm
How much time
1 hour
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9_de_la_Musique
Onlne Brochures
https://philharmoniedeparis.fr/en/programming/brochures
Notes
The Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris is made up of two buildings: Philharmonie and Cité de la musique.
Louvre Museum
Description
The world famous art museum hosting the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa
Address
Palais du Louvre, 75001 Paris
Metro
Palais Royal - Musée du Louvre
Hours
9:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Wednesday and Friday
Closed on Tuesday
How much time
At the very least 90 minutes, but plan for much longer, perhaps all day.
Price
22 € but Free on Bastile Day
Tickets
Paris Museum Pass
Web site
https://www.louvre.fr/en
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre
WiFi
Louvre_Wifi_Gratuit The free Wi-Fi connection last one hour and can be renewed as many times as needed.
Guide
https://api-www.louvre.fr/sites/default/files/2024-06/Web%20-%20EN%20%20LOUVRE_PlanG%20-%2004-2024.pdf
Pickpockets
Paris Museum Pass
Cost
Observations
Lessons Learned