Day 3: 12 October 2009, Monday
Today, it was just KP and I exploring Paris on our own as QM had to work. For our first stop, we paid a visit to Notre-Dame de Paris, or Notre-Dame Cathedral. This grand, old cathedral is certainly one of the must-visit sites in Paris. The first stone was laid in 1163 and construction took place over the next 200 years. Modifications were made in the 18th century and a major restoration project was carried out in the 19th century. Since then, there have been no further architectural modifications; only maintenance.
You probably know that a major fire on 15 April 2019 severely damaged the cathedral, causing the entire spire to collapse. As of April 2021, it remains closed while restoration works are in progress. We were lucky we got to see the cathedral in its original form during our visit.
Notre-Dame Cathedral is considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. The revolutionary use of the rib vault and flying buttresses distributed the weight of the stone structures to supports on the outside, thereby eliminating the need for traditional walls within the nave (the central part of the church building). This allowed the cathedral to be built higher and the nave to be more voluminous.
Approaching the cathedral from the western façade, we could see how perfectly symmetrical the building was. The two towers cast an imposing presence, rising 69 metres into the sky. The closer we got, the more details came into focus. The intricate sculptures adorning the three portals (entrances) were incredibly beautiful.
The interior of the building was as impressive as its exterior. Inside, we could clearly see how the rib vault design contributed to the verticality effect. The numerous stained-glass windows surrounding the building were breathtakingly beautiful, especially against the morning sun. Even though I am not a religious person, it was a transcendental experience walking through the hallowed cathedral.
After that, we went to search for a place to have breakfast. We walked around Île de la Cité and came across a restaurant called La Rose de France at Place Dauphine, a small public square with cafés and shops. We had good vibes about the restaurant so we went in. It turned out to be the most marvellous breakfast ever. It may not sound like much, but everything about the English breakfast set (€11.70) just seemed perfect at the time – the baguette with jam and butter, the orange juice, the omelette and the salad. We just enjoyed the whole meal tremendously.
Upon finishing our food, we adjourned to a table outside the restaurant to have our coffee. The peculiar thing about Paris is that all the outdoor seats face outwards. So, even though it may be a table for two, the two seats do not face each other, but rather, they both face outwards. I could see the rationale behind this unique arrangement, because it allows the diners to enjoy the scenery outside. It’s great for people-watching too.
Yesterday, QM conducted an “orientation” for us and we managed to cover a lot of ground using the Velib shared bicycles. Today, KP and I would be exploring Paris more in depth, via the Metro and on foot. The nice thing about walking is that you notice more details as you proceed at a slower pace. And without the (self-imposed) pressure of finding a station to return the bicycles before the half-hour grace period was up (so as not to incur additional fees), we could stop by a shop if we saw something interesting, or make detours whenever we felt like it.
As we walked along the river Seine, we passed by some road side stalls selling postcards and old vinyl records. We then saw the grand old building of Institut de France, or the Institute of France. The Institute comprises five academies – language, humanities, sciences, fine arts, and moral and political sciences. The Baroque-style building had a huge cupola and it looked very regal indeed.
Walking further along, we reached Musée d’Orsay, an art museum housed in a former railway station called Gare d’Orsay. We wanted to visit but it was closed. In fact, one thing to take note of is that many museums and tourist attractions are closed one day a week, usually on Mondays or Tuesdays. So, you have to check the opening hours before making a trip down.
We then crossed the river Seine and went to Jardin des Tuileries, or Tuileries Garden. The name of the garden comes from the French word tuile, which means “tile”. This is because the site previously housed tile-making factories before Queen Catherine de Medici bought the land and built her palace and garden in 1564. The palace was subsequently destroyed but the garden remains.
The garden has a regular layout with wide open grass lawns and beautiful trees. Elegant sculptures dot the garden and comfortable deck chairs surround a large round pond called Grand Bassin rond. It would be a nice place to relax with friends on a sunny day.
During our visit, the 38th edition of Festival d’Automne à Paris (The Paris Autumn Festival) was taking place and 12 cute silver sculptures were displayed as part of the festival. Each sculpture represented one month of the year. Hence, KP and I went to find the sculptures of our respective birth months to take photos with them.
At another part of the garden, there were many carefully pruned trees planted in neat rows. The leaves on some of the trees had turned brown and it was very beautiful. Scattered all over the ground were fallen leaves. We saw a lady scooping up some of the leaves before throwing them in the air. It looked like it would make a good photo, so we decided to mimic her. Not sure if we achieved the same effect though!
We then went to Place de la Concorde again and today, we saw the Luxor Obelisk up close. The 23-metre tall obelisk was a gift from Egypt in 1833. On the pedestal are gold-painted diagrams illustrating the complex machinery that was used for the transportation from Luxor to Paris. The four sides of the obelisk are inscribed with hieroglyphs in honour of the Pharaoh Ramessess II. At the top of the obelisk is a gold pyramid cap. It is quite remarkable how the obelisk is over 3,000 years old and it is standing here today, when it used to guard the entrance of Luxor Temple close to 200 years ago.
We continued walking westwards and soon reached Champs-Élysées. Yesterday was just touch-and-go so we devoted more time to exploring the famous shopping belt today. We were not really seriously shopping but it was more of window shopping. KP is a fan of cars, so we popped into the showrooms of Citroén, Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz for a look. The cars on display were incredibly sexy and some were very futuristic.
For me, my playground was the huge Virgin Megastore. I felt like a kid in a candy store – I wanted to explore every aisle and go through every single rack to see all the titles being displayed. There were so many CDs I wanted to buy but they were quite expensive because of the exchange rate, so I didn’t buy anything today. The experience of shopping in a physical CD store is something that I really miss. By the way, all Virgin Megastore outlets in France have closed down since 2013, so these pictures are the only precious memories we have left.
At about 4pm, we paid a visit to Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, or simply, Arc de Triomphe. This triumphal arch was completed in 1836 and it was built to honour those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The detailed sculptures on the Arc’s pillars and façade depict the key historical events. The monument is incredibly beautiful and majestic when viewed up close. It looks even taller than its true height of 50 metres, perhaps because there are no other tall buildings in its vicinity.
After buying our admission tickets (€9.00/S$18.63), we started climbing up the Arc. There is a lift but we chose to take the spiral staircase instead. After climbing the 284 steps, I was seriously panting when we finally reached the top. Perhaps taking the lift would have been a better option! Nevertheless, the view that awaited us was astounding and worth every effort to get there.
Arc de Triomphe stands at the western end of Champs-Élysées, at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, which was historically known as Place de l’Étoile. The French word étoile means “star”, so its historic name translates as “Square of the Star”. The reason for this is because Place de l’Étoile is where twelve straight avenues radiate out from, hence it looks like a star when viewed from above.
From the viewing gallery, we could see clearly how the twelve avenues radiated out from the Arc de Triomphe. From another perspective, it was as if all the major roads in Paris led to the Arc. It was incredible how they planned the city this way. In fact, there was an even larger urban planning design in play.
Paris was planned with an Axe historique, or historical axis, also known as Voie Triomphale, or Triumphal Way. This axis is a line of monuments, buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris to the west. It started with the creation of Champs-Élysées in the 17th century. Today, the historical axis stretches for over 8.5 kilometres (according to Google Maps) from the Louvre museum in the east to the business district of La Défense in the west.
From the top of Arc de Triomphe, we could see the entire length of the Axe historique. From the Louvre to Jardin des Tuileries, to Place de la Concorde with the Luxor Obelisk, to Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe here, and finally, all the way beyond to the Grande Arch at La Défense. It was remarkable.
The other thing that was immediately apparent was the lack of skyscrapers. Most of the tall office buildings are concentrated in the outlying La Défense business district. The heart of Paris is mostly free of high-rise buildings, which allows iconic monuments like the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica to stand out. The lack of skyscrapers is also intentional, but not before the controversy of the Tour Montparnasse building.
In the 1960’s and 70’s, height limits in Paris were relaxed when modernists ran the planning department. After the 210-metre-tall Tour Montparnasse office building was erected in 1973, angry Parisians called it an eyesore on the city’s beloved skyline. In response to the protests, the City Council re-introduced height regulations in 1977: 31 metres in the city centre, and 37 metres on the periphery.
However, in 2010, the height restrictions were relaxed yet again to accommodate Paris’ growing population. Residential buildings could reach 50 metres and commercial buildings up to 180 metres in the outer areas. While the core of the city centre will still remain free of tall buildings, the presence of the skyscrapers in the periphery are likely to blight the skyline. To me, the absence of tall buildings makes Paris unique and beautiful, and I hope it can remain this way.
Following our Arc de Triomphe visit, we went to Galeries Lafayette, one of the most famous department stores in the world. The flagship store at Boulevard Haussmann is an attraction in itself, with its massive glass dome truly a sight to behold. The department store is catered to the well-heeled crowd so we just window-shopped to soak up the experience.
After dinner, KP and I went to a pub to meet Edouard, an acquaintance of mine who “interned” at my company for a short period. We spent a good night chatting over drinks, before finally retreating to QM’s apartment after a long day out. What an eventful day it was!
