Another fine Paris morning.
We hopped on the Metro… I was beginning to think everything in Paris is about 30 minutes away: a 10 minute walk to the Metro, a 10 minute Metro ride, and a 10 minute walk at the other end… but of course it was a product of where we were staying and where we were visiting.
We were headed to the Carnavalet Museum, which has exhibits documenting the history of Paris. The permanent exhibitions in the museum are free.
Like many public buildings, they do bag checks at the door, using a system called “Vigipirate”, which sounded amusing to us English speakers, but obviously has a meaning in French – it’s a national security alert level.
The museum was excellent, and we wandered around for a couple of hours, and ended up having lunch in the restaurant inside.
After that, some of us went back to the apartment; but M and myself went to a nearby department store.
At the time the trip, the web site of public transport operator RATP listed nearby BHV Marais as having a section of their merchandise. So I eagerly headed in that direction… only to find no, it’s no longer there. (The web site has since been updated.)
Curses! Another location was listed, but some distance away. Something to look for on another day.
Montmarte
Instead we headed to Montmarte, not far from our accommodation, to have an explore. It’s an interesting district on a hill – the name means Mount of the Martyrs, though there seems to be some doubt about its origins.
You can go straight up to the top, via steps or on a funicular (cable pulled railway), but we chose to take the scenic route, zig-zagging our way up along narrow cobble paved streets.
Every so often the bus that passed our apartment would go past. Route 40 has small buses obviously designed to navigate these narrow streets.
Everywhere we’d been so far in Paris had been picturesque, but was doubly so. If it reminded me of the movie Amรฉlie, which is not a coincidence – much of it was set and filmed around here.
(While writing this blog post I dug out the DVD and started watching it again. Marvellous.)
There are a handful of windmills left in this area. They once were working mills. Mill in French is “Moulin” – the most famous windmill being just down the road from here: Moulin Rouge.
This one is Le Moulin du Radet:
Near the top of the hill we found shops and streets packed with crowds. Every so often a parade of convertible Citroens would go past nearby – part of organised joyrides. Very touristy.
We came around a corner and found Sacrรฉ-Cลur – not the private school in Glen Iris, but the grand basilica.
Behind the basilica we found a fabulous view down the other side of the hill to the north, and an amazing water tower, which is apparently still in use.
Then we walked around to the front of the basilica, which has an even better view to the south.
There were crowds of tourists admiring the view, and a van full of police nearby keeping an eye on things – presumably also part of Vigipirate.
Nearby we found the funicular, but it didn’t seem worth catching it down. In fact I’m not even sure it’d be worth it on the way up, unless you had problems with steps. It’s steep, but it’s only a bit over 100 metres as the crow flies.
Turns out it’s not even really a funicular any more. (We were expecting to see actual funiculars later in the trip.)
So we walked down the steps, finding bunches of art students all drawing, taking inspiration from the surrounds.
We headed back to the apartment, then after a rest headed out again.
To the tower
After a another 10 minute Metro ride and quick walk, we headed to Pont Neuf (“New Bridge” – dating from 1607), and caught a boat tour heading along the Seine at dusk. Complimentary champagne? Why yes thank you!
The bridges were lit up, as were some of the buildings, including Notre Dame and The Louvre. Not that I was casing the joint.
Also lit up was a massive iPhone Pro billboard. Hmm, okay. But that’s all right – it was lovely along the river, if a bit chilly as the sun went down.
And then the star of the show: the Eiffel Tower.
It looked fabulous, bathed in light.
And every half hour there’s a sparkly light show.
Turns out individuals can snap photos/video, but the web site says: “The Eiffel Towerโs lighting and sparkling lights are protected by copyright, so professional use of images of the Eiffel Tower at night require prior authorization and may be subject to a fee.“
The boat headed back to base, with happy satisfied tourists on board.
We caught the Metro back (line 7, still every few minutes in the evenings). It had been a good day, and there’d be more Paris tomorrow.
One reply on “Climbing the Mount of the Martyrs”
And notice how the Metro, is “turn up and go”. No need to look for timetables, I’m not sure they are even on platforms. Only ever used the next arrival screens to decide if it was worth pushing on a fullish train with a pusher or wait for the next one.