Well, what a busy day!! I walked around Paris for about 10 hours and so now cant feel my feet, but there is so much to do here that getting it all done will be quite a challenge. I started off by walking into the city centre from my accommodation and heading to the Conciergerie, which was a former palace and also held prisoners up until the French Revolution. It was here that Marie Antionette was held and led to the executioner, and i was able to actually see the cell where she was kept which was quite interesting. Unfortunately, all the information boards were only in French and so i only had a brief pamphlet to go off, but it was still quite interesting.
From there i headed to Notre Dame, which was surprisingly less impressive than i expected (although after seeing the Koeln Dom i don?t think anything will be as impressive as that was). Nevertheless, it was still interesting to go in and see where all the French kings had their coronations, and also to see the roman ruins which lie underneath the building. From there i was able to walk along the edge of the river Seine to the Musee D Orsay, which holds artworks from 1848 to 1914. This building was originally a train station before it was transformed into a museum and the collection, spread across 5 floors, was quite impressive. It certainly took a while to get through!
After Musee D Orsay, I continued along the Seine until i came to the Pont Alexander (a rather over decorated bridge) where i could turn and go to the Hotel Des Invalides, a building set up by Napoleon to support veterans of his wars who had been injured. Part of the building is still used for this purpose today, but it now also holds a HUGE museum of French military history right from the middle ages to the end of WWII. The building is also attached to Napoleon?s Tomb, which was built for the return of Napoleon?s remains in 1840 and is certainly one of the most impressive buildings i have been in so far.
Once I had managed to get through the Invalides, i was able to cross the Pont Alexander, which led me onto the Champs Elysses (undoubtedly the most famous street in Paris). It is easy to tell once you are on Elysses as you can see the Arc de Triomphe at the end of it from miles away, and this was where i headed now. This monument was an idea of Napoleon?s to commemorate his many victories in battle, although the monument itself wasn?t completed until after his death in 1821. At the Arc you are able to climb the stairs to the top which gives you a magnificent view of the whole of Paris, and i was lucky enough to go up on a clear day which meant i could see from miles. By the time i came down it was about 7pm, so, exhausted, i headed back to my accommodation. Another big day tomorrow when i head to the Louvre!!