Our final day in Paris was relaxing and filled with great anticipation for our last big hurrah that night! After both our previous trips to Paris, I'd said that I wished we had gone out at night to see the city when it's really glowing. But we were usually too tired to stay up late after long days of sight seeing (dark isn't until after 10:00 PM), so we never did. But this trip I was determined to see why Paris is called "The City of Lights." So we scheduled a two hour after dark tour with a really cool company that gives tours in old Citrons (it's a type of car that's no longer made; it kind of looks like a VW Bug.) The car is an "open top" which makes the sightseeing even better!
To help pass the time until the tour, we spent the morning relaxing at the Tuileries Garden and hunting down the best macarons in the city, located at Pierre Herme. Tammy fell in love with the delicious sweet treats in Rouen, early in the trip, and really wanted to sample the best ones when we got to Paris. So we found one of the Herme shops and sampled several. They were beautiful - so light and tender and not overly sweet! And the bright colors are part of what makes them such a great treat! The store was just beautiful with all the macarons lined up by color!
After this little snack, we headed back to the hotel to pack everything up for the flight home and grab some dinner before our car tour. We were so antsy while we waited those last couple of hours, but our guide showed up right on schedule at 9:30 PM and we were off to see the lights! This particular company hires university students to take tourists on these tours, and our guide was a law student named Marcel. He was from the south of France and has been in Paris for three years at the university! He spoke English quite well, and he was really bright and interesting to talk to!
It doesn't really get completely dark in the summer until about 10:00 PM, so the first 30 minutes were kind of in the twilight, between daylight and darkness. As a result, the first few sights we saw weren't quite as dramatic because it was still light, but by 10:10 PM, it was dark and the lights were shining brightly against the black sky! We saw so much of the city in those two hours; it was just amazing! We started by driving all the way up to Sacre Coeur, we ended with the Eiffel Tower, and we saw just about every other major and minor Paris sight in between! It was absolutely fantastic! I think Marcel pointed out 34 sights in all, and we hit all the best arrondissements (neighborhoods) of Paris, including the Marais, St. Germain, the Latin Quarter, Montmartre, and the Cite.
In order to see 34 sights in two hours, the car has to keep moving at a steady pace, so we weren't able to pull over and take pictures. I was able to snap a few good ones while we were at stop lights, but the large majority of the following pictures are from the internet . I know it's not quite as cool since they aren't our own pictures, but it's the only way I can show you all the beautiful sights that we were lucky enough to see. In a way, I was kind of glad that I couldn't take very many pictures because I got to really enjoy the beautiful lights without being as distracted by the camera. So here are a few of the highlights . . .
Pont Alexandre III (Alexander III Bridge) - The bridge is absolutely extravagant and ostentatious, with its lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses. It was finished around1900 and is named after Tsar Alexander III, who created the Franco-Russian Alliance in the late 1800s. His son Nicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. This is my favorite bridge in the city because it's so beautiful! It's truly a piece of art!
The Basilica of Sacre Coeur - One of the most beautiful churches in Paris because of its location up on top of Montmartre (a hill in the north of Paris). The view of the city is incredible from up here!
Place Vendome & the Napoleon Column - Place Vendôme was designed in the early 1700s as a monument to the honor Louis XIV, the Sun King. Later, Napoleon erected the large column in the center of Vendome to celebrate his victory at Austerlitz; its veneer of bronze plates is made out of cannons taken from the Russian Army.
The Louvre Museum - its U-shaped building was formerly a palace of Louis XIV. The large pyramid was added in the 1980s because of problems with the Louvre's original main entrance, which could no longer handle the enormous number of visitors on an everyday basis. Now, tourists enter through the pyramid, descend into the large underground lobby, and then head back up into the main Louvre buildings to see the artwork.
Pont St. Michel - another beautiful bridge over the Seine River. It connects Place St. Michel on the Left Bank to the Ile de la Cite (where Notre Dame is located).
Notre Dame - absolutely beautiful at night! It just glows under the soft golden lighting!
Hotel de Ville - This building houses the city's administration, including the Mayor's office. It's absolutely beautiful, both in the daylight and at night.
Place des Voges - This gorgeous square was built in 1604 when King Henry IV built a Royal pavilion at one end. He then ordered all other buildings bordering the square to follow the same design. The result is spectacular! It's a perfectly symmetrical square surrounded by buildings with red brick and white stone facades and hundreds of colonnade pillars. The park in the middle is the perfect finishing touch!
Place de la Concorde - This is one of the largest public squares in Paris. It was created under the reign of Louis XV, and it was originally named Place de la Louis XV. During the French Revolution his statue was torn down and the area was renamed "Place de la Révolution". The new revolutionary government erected the guillotine in the square and it was the site of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette's executions. After the Revolution was over, it was renamed Place de la Concorde in a spirit of reconciliation. The current centerpiece, a giant obelisk, was a gift from Egypt in 1836. It once stood at the entrance to the Luxor Temple.
Musee d'Orsay - This is the museum I told you about earlier that's located in a former train station that was going to be torn down. It's a fantastic sight at night to see its lights reflecting off the river!
The Arc de Triomphe - It stands in the middle of the Place Charles de Gaulle at the top of the Champs-Élysées. The Arc honors those who died in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars. The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on it. Beneath, lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.
Our last sight of the night was the Eiffel Tower! No explanation needed. It's beautiful beyond words when it's all lit up! We saw this at about 11:40 PM and then it was back to the hotel where we said goodbye to Marcel.
Here are a few final pictures of The City of Lights. We had an amazing trip and we're so thankful we were able to see all these wonderful places. Au revoir!
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