In the words of Audrey Hepburn, “Paris is always a good idea.” Throughout the entire city of Paris there’s this culture that you can’t miss. It’s distinct and it’s almost hard to put into words. This Parisian culture you find, cafes with people puffing on cigarettes underneath heaters to keep warm, stands of things selling little odds and ends all across the city from books to flowers to candies, and of course the look. In the movie Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson’s character says, “Paris is beautiful in the rain.” I walked through it in the rain and I can confirm the city is gorgeous in every aspect. It’s pretty when it’s too early and you haven’t had coffee. It’s pretty in the sunlight and at night. It’s pretty when you can’t feel anything because your body aches from walking and all you want to do is lay down. There are a few places in Paris, though, that continuously took my breath away and are a must see during any visit.
Le Marais
Le Marais on Rue des Rosiers.
Le Marais is my favorite part of the city; it’s located in the center in the same area as Notre Dame and has been the heart of the city for over 800 years. While throughout history the Marais has been a symbol of many different things, in fact from the 17th century to the 19th it was the hub for nobility in the city of Paris, today it’s a great place for fashion and experiencing the culture of the city. Le Marais is great because you walk the old medieval streets to experience café’s, boutiques and the gorgeous scenery. Not to mention the vintage shopping is incredible! I only bought a 60’s mod dress for 10€ but I know my friends all got incredible bargains for their own fashion sense at this vintage store called Vintage Désir on the historic Rue des Rosiers. When you walk le Marais you walk through a bunch of time periods all packaged together to create the medieval streets, 17th century homes, 19th century planning and modern store fronts.
Musées
Le Louvre.
I’m the type of girl that if you take me to a museum I might cry. I love museums. They’re such an important part of culture and history, not to mention who doesn’t want to see beautiful art? Paris is home to over 130 museums in the city alone. Not to mention the around 100 surrounding museums in the outskirts of the city and in the rest of the Île-de-France. Le Louvre has to be the first spot on this list, as it’s impossible to see all of the Louvre in a day, in fact to really enjoy every single part of it you’d have to have an entire trip to Paris with your days spent entirely at le Louvre. While the le Louvre is famous for being the home of the Mona Lisa, or La Joconde in French, the Mona Lisa, in my opinion is the most overrated thing in the museum–in fact the room the Mona Lisa is in is surrounded by incredible artwork the architecture of Le Louvre is exquisite as it used to be a Palace at one point. You can even still walk through Napoleon’s chambers there.
Vincent Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles.”
Another favorite is the Musée d’Orsay, which William and Kate are at while I’m writing this–not bitter. The Musée d’Orsay is a museum filled with gorgeous impressionist art. When I was there last week there was an incredible gallery of Van Gogh’s work, which was just a treasure to see. However, it’s filled with lot of other gorgeous famous impressionists’ work. If that’s your kind of art, then it’s the place for you. If you’re into sculpture, there’s the Musée Rodin or if you love the art that came out of Montmatre there’s the Musée Montmatre. There’s an incredible Holocaust Museum dedicated to the Holocaust in Paris called the Shoah Memorial. It’s a definite must see and they’re adding more and more English to it as the years go by but you don’t have to read everything to get the bigger picture. It’s definitely a place to see. My personal favorite Musée was the Musée National du Moyen Âge or Musée Cluny, it’s the medieval history museum located near the Sorbonne. The building is half from the 14th century and half reconstruction. It’s home to the original heads and bodys of the Kings of Israel on Notre Dame that were cut off during the Revolution because they thought they were Kings of France, the famous tapestry series the Lady and the Unicorn, and it’s even currently an archeological dig as it used to be the townhouse for the Cluny Monastery.
The Lady and the Unicorn, a famous tapestry of unknown origins.
Monuments and Food
Okay so these are kind of combined because everywhere you go the food is good! These are my recommendations of monuments and food. On the Île de la Cité right by the bridge to cross onto the Île de Saint Louis, there’s this cute little café with a view of the back of Notre Dame. It’s called the café Esmerelda and I had the most amazing Pizza ever there. I know what your thinking, “why go to France to get pizza?” France is famous for its cheese and let me tell you four cheese pizza in Paris overlooking Notre Dame is a heavenly experience. The cocktails don’t hurt either–it might be a little extra but it’s always worth it. Let me tell you all wine is good too, like I bought a bottle of Rosé for 2€ and was expecting the worst cheap wine but it was good! When in Paris do as the Parisans do and get the wine. For monuments, besides Notre Dame you must see Saint-Chapelle! It’s breathtaking there’s nothing like it in history. It’s one of those palaces that the exterior doesn’t do it justice. All you should know going in is that it was the King’s chapel. While everyone thinks of Paris as the home of the Effiel Tower, there are incredible monuments that get lost behind it in the city like the beautiful Hotel d’Invalides and the Tuileries Garden which leads from le Louvre to the Champs Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. The Moulin Rouge however isn’t accessible to the public unless you plan on paying to go to a show, which supposedly are done very tastefully. Altogether there are hundreds of incredible places to visit throughout the city you just have to keep your eyes open.
Café Esmerleda and Notre Dame.
Versailles
Versailles Palace looking straight ahead at the Kings Balcony.
Okay, so you are reading an article written by a history major with hopes of being a monarchy historian, I’m surprised I made it this far without writing about every single King and Queen of France by now. With that being said, Versailles is a must see. That’s as simple as I can put it. Every single moment there took my breath away. In fact my mom said a picture of me made me look like I’d never been happier, however there’s something so grand and exquisite about Versailles you can’t copy. It’s home of a King who is known as the Sun King, it was made in a way that hadn’t been done before–the King is the center not God. When you walk through the halls of Versailles it’s impossible to not feel overwhelmed with the palace, the gardens; it’s all massive. I do recommend taking the walk out to the Grand and Petite Trianons as well as Marie Antoinette. You really get a sense of how massive and gorgeous it is there. The canal which is so expansive can take your breath away. At Versailles everything was another adventure into the grandiose past of the 17th and 18th centuries. It’s also public so you look around and see locals doing the runs through the gardens that Marie Antoinette used to walk around. It’s this beautiful mix of history and life in France.
Le Jardin of Versailles.
I could go on and on and on about every single item or place I was at in Paris, I won’t though because we’re already so far in and this is almost as long as the essay I have to write for the actual class. Paris is a city of history and joy and it takes your breath away. While writing this two terror attacks happened again this week and my heartaches that a city of such beauty has to experience that pain. No place should but Paris holds a part of my heart now in a way I didn’t think was possible. As cheesy as it is that song from the movie Anastasia is so true, “Paris holds the key to your heart” after you experience it. And these are just places and things that made me love Paris even more.
View from the Effiel Tower of the Left Bank of Paris.
All pictures taken by Ciara Clemons