paris sights

We had been to Paris before. In the summer of 1999, after completing our undergraduate degrees, we lugged a backpack around Europe for 6 weeks. It was our first time travelling for an extensive period of time -- and together, as well -- and we did what any novice travellers would do: jammed pack the holiday with must-do and must-see things.

This time around, we wanted to see Paris as it is. We wanted to walk and eat, and walk some more. We wanted to sit in cafés and on park benches and watch the world pass us by. We didn't want to rush. We didn't want to follow a schedule.

Our first view of Paris after getting off the train from the airport was Notre Dame:


We meandered with the Seine:


We caught a glimpse of the Louvre:



We saw the gold dome of Les Invalides:


We traipsed around hilly Montmartre:



We visited the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre:

We went into the Musée de l'Orangerie, home to Monet's Nympheas paintings. This was the only museum we went into.



Of course, not seeing the Tour d'Eiffel when in Paris would be wrong. So we made sure that we saw it at least three times during our trip.



Even though, I had achy feet and sore hips, we opted to walk up several hundred stairs to the second landing of the Tour d'Eiffel to get panoramic views of the city:



We walked by the spectacular Opera House in the evening:



We walked along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, poking in shops, on the way to the Arc de Triomphe:


And, finally, catching a view of the Tour d'Eiffel again: