The Left Bank IV

The 13th arrondissement is primarily a business and residential district. It is also home to Paris' China Town. If you want to eat or stock up on Asian goods, this is the place to come! There are pastry shops and antique sellers up and down the street near the new Olympiades métro stop.

Frères Tang- The main supermarket found on avenue de Choisy. Access: M14- Olympiades. 
They also have a fast food style restaurant near the Place d'Italie. Access: M5, M6, M7- Place d'Italie.

The Left Bank III

The sights in the 7th arrondissment:

The 7th arrondissment's most famous attration has to be the Eiffel Tower. Built in 1889 by Gustave Eiffel for the Paris World's Fair, it was the largest stucture at the time. While its construction was originally criticized, it has since come to symbolize Paris, and it's hard to imagine the city without it! There are two restaurants in the tower and both are rather pricey! They also have a couple places where you can buy sandwiches and the like, but it will be more expensive than going elsewhere. Access: RER C- Champs de Mars Tour Eiffel, Pont de l'Alma, M6-  Passy, Trocadéro, M9- Trocadéro, Iéna. http://www.tour-eiffel.com/
http://www.restaurants-toureiffel.com/index.html

• Also located in the 7th is the Musée de l'Armée, Hôtel des Invalides. This is interesting for both those interested in military history and Napoleon. In the Grand Coupola you will find the Tomb of Napoleon. In 1840, almost 20 years after the death of Napoleon in Saint Helena, King Louis-Phillipe began his efforts to have Napoleon's body transferred to the Invalides. In 1861, Napoleon was finally laid to rest in his tomb at les Invalides. If you are interested in Louis XIV les Invalides will also be of interest to you. He originally had the Invalides built as a hopital to house wounded soldiers, hence the name. The tomb of Vauban, his chief military engineer best known for his fortifications, is found here. The tomb of Turenne is also found here.

         The Musée de l'Armée displays a wide variety of military equipment from cannons and armor to enigma machines. Access: RER C- Invalides, M8- Invalides, La Tour Maubourg, Ecole Militaire, M13-Varenne. http://www.invalides.org/pages/anglais/menu_ang.html

• The Musée d'Orsay is also located in the 7th. This museum seems to be the most loved by tourists. Many say the it is less daunting and more approchable than the Louvre, so many come here instead of visiting the Louvre. Originally built as a train station, it began its conversion into a museum in 1977 and was inaugurated in 1986. This museum houses art and sculpture dating from the 1840's to the 1910's. Here you can see famous works such as; Moet's Rouen Cathedral, Renoir's Bal du moulin de la galette, Whistler's Whistler's Mother, and works by Toulouse Lautrec. Access: RER C- Musée d'Orsay, M12- Rue de Bac, Solférino, Assemblée Nationale. http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

The Left Bank II

The sights in the 6th arrondissement:

• Place Saint-Michel: The centerpiece of this square is the Saint Michael fountain, built by Gabriel Davioud in the 1850's. Due to its location in the Latin Quater the area surrounding the square is filled with bookstores, notably Gibert Jeune. Access: M4- St Michele, RER B- Saint Michel-Notre Dame.



• Saint Germain des Prés- A nice Midieval church (6th century). At the time of its construction it was located outside of Paris. The tomb of René Descartes is located in the church as well. The area around Saint Germain was also home to the existentialist movement and was frequented by Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Hemingway and Godard among others. This is also the location of several famous cafés: Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore which were frequented by the aforementioned notables. Access: M4: St-Germain des Prés, M10- Mabillon. http://www.lesdeuxmagots.fr/index.php, http://www.cafe-de-flore.com/



• Saint Sulpice- For those that have read, or seen, the Da Vinci code you will probably recognize this church. Originally built in the 13th century, the stucture that you can visit today dates from the mid-18th century. The church houses an impressive organ with over 100 stops and has a long history of ogran music. In 1727 a gnomon was constructed and placed in the church so that the time of the equinoxes could be predicted and then the date of Easter determined. This is the brass line that runs along the floor of the church to an obelisk. Access: M4- Saint Sulpice.



• Luxembourg Palace and Gardens- Bought by Marie de Medici in 1612, the Palace today houses the French Senat and has a rather nice museum. The palace originally housed the cycle of 24 paintings by Peter Paul Rubens on the life of Marie de Medici, these can now be seen in the Louvre. The gardens are done in the French style and has statues representing greek myth and famous individuals as well as the Medici fountain. Access: RER B- Luxembourg. http://www.museeduluxembourg.fr/, http://senat.fr/visite/jardin/index.html (French only).

Paris, Part II- The Left Bank (I)

The Left Bank (Rive Gauche in French) is full of universities and teaching hospitals. It's home to the Latin Quarter as well as the Senate and has more of a residential feel than the Right Bank.

Sights By Arrondissement

5th arr:

Museum of Natural History: M7- Jussieu, M10- Jussieu
1. Jardin des Plantes- A major botanical garden with 4500 different plants all arranged by family. The gardens are part of the larger Museum of Natural History. Both the Mexican Green house and the Winter Garden are closed for renovation until sometime later this year. http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/foffice/transverse/transverse/accueil.xsp?cl=en
2. La Grande Galerie de l'Evolution- Built in 1889 this part of the museum focuses more on the evolution of species and the diversity of living species. The Museum covers 6000m² and has four different levels beginning with the diversity of living species and ending with the evolution of species.
3. Menagerie- A small zoo within the Jardin des Plantes that has a nice array of specimens. http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/foffice/tous/tous/GuideDecouverte/lieuxVisiter/LieuxAVisiter/FLieuAVisiter.xsp?i=1&nav=liste&INFO_ID=22&SITE_ID=10&AE_ID=204&LIEU_ID=210&idx=2&MAN_ID=260
4. La Galerie de Minérologie et de Géologie- The mineral collection that this part of the museum houses is rather interesting. From giant crystals to jewelery, they have quite an extensive collection. The gallery has just reopened after a recent renovation. http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/foffice/tous/tous/GuideDecouverte/lieuxVisiter/LieuxAVisiter/FLieuAVisiter.xsp?i=1&nav=liste&INFO_ID=154&SITE_ID=10&AE_ID=197&LIEU_ID=170&idx=0&MAN_ID=256

• Arènes de Lutèce- A Gallo-Roman arena near the Museum of Natural History. Built in the 1st century AD, it could at one time seat 15 000 people and was used to host gladiatorial combats. The name of the arena comes from the name that the Romans gave to Paris: Lutetia. The arena is open every day from 8:30- 5pm, 9:30pm in the summer. Access: M7- Jussieu, Place Monge; M10- Cardinal Lemoine, Jussieu.
• Saint-Etienne-du-Mont- Church near the Panthéon. This church houses the shrine of Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. It also houses the tombs of Blaise Pascal, Jean Racine. The grave of Revolutionist, Jean-Paul Marat can be found in the church's cemetery. Access: M10- Jussieu, Cardinal Lemoine, M7- Jussieu, Place Monge.
• Panthéon- Construction of the Panthéon was begun in 1758 during the reign of Louis XV, it was initially meant to honor the patron saint Geneviève. Construction did not end until the start of the Revolution in 1789, upon which it was converted from a church to a mausoleum honoring great French intellectuals. Since the Revolution it was twice converted back into a church, only to be changed back into a temple to Great Minds. Some of the people buried within the necropolis are: Voltaire, Hugo, Dumas, Emile Zola, Rousseau and Louis Braille. Under the dome of the Panthéon is the Foucault pendulum. Designed by French physicist Léon Foucault in 1851 to demonstrate the Earth's rotation. The pendulum moves in a clockwise motion at 11° an hour making a full circle rotation in just under 33 hours. http://pantheon.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/?fl_r=4 Access: M10- Cluny-La Sorbonne, RER B- Luxembourg.
• Musée de Cluny- Also known as the National Museum of the Middle Ages it was originally constructed in 1334. This is where you can see the tapestry The Lady and the Unicorn a six part tapestry telling the story of the Lady and the Unicorn. The museum also houses sculptures, illuminated manuscripts and furniture all from the Middle Ages. Also on the ground of the museum are the remains of a Gallo-Roman bath. You can visit the remains of both the frigidarium and the calderium. http://www.musee-moyenage.fr/ang/index.html Access: M10- Cluny-La Sorbonne, Maubert Mutualité.

Next: The Left Bank Part II. I find it easier to break everything down by what's to see by arrondissement due to the volume of things to see.

Paris, Part I

Paris is the capital of France. Located in the North of France, it began its life as a stronghold on an island in the middle of the Seine known as Ile de la Cité (Island of the City). Today Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world, attracting around 40 million tourists every year. People have christened Paris the City of Love and the Eiffel Tower has been its symbol ever since the 1889 World's Fair. Many see Paris as the capital of fashion and flock to the Champs Elysées to browse the chic clothing stores that line the street. However, Paris also has a bohemian side that comes to light in parts of the Left Bank and in Montmartre.

Weather

Paris' location in the North of France gives it extremely varied weather. Fall is cool and rainy with highs averaging in the 40's. Winter is cold and alternates between periods of sun and rain though snow is a rarity. In Winter temperatures average in the 30's and it can be fairly windy, though December brings about Paris bedecked for Christmas. Spring is also a mix of rain and sun, though at this time the temperatures begin to warm up and the trees and flowers are in boom. Spring is the best time to visit, it is just before the influx of tourists so you can still get better deals on apartments and hotels. Summer can get fairly warm and sometimes unbearably hot, however most days will be sunny. Summer also brings about the tourists and in August you can find yourself with not much to do as it is when most of the country goes on vacation.

Getting There

Paris is served by two airports: Roissy- Charles de Gaulle and Orly. The majority of flights originating from the US arrive in Roissy-CDG. From the airport you can either use the train, your hotel's shuttle service, the bus service, an independent shuttle service or you can rent a car.

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/ADP/en-gb/passagers/home/

http://www.parishuttle.com/

Getting Around

The Paris Métro is the best way to get around the city. You can either buy tickets by a "carnet" of 10 or you can buy day passes. There is also the ParisPass which allows you to visit many attractions and use public transportation for free (http://www.parispass.com/). Maps of the métro are available for free at most métro stations as well as Les Galleries Lafayette.

Paris also has a good bus service, though it takes a bit longer to get from point A to point B.

In conjunction the the métro you also have the RER. This is faster than the métro because it has fewer stops, but you can not use it to go everywhere within the city. In the city you use the same ticket as you would for the métro. You need to keep this ticket though or you will not be able to exit the station! Outside of the city you need to buy a ticket to be able to use the RER as the ticket prices vary according to where you plan to go.

It is in general not a good idea to drive in Paris. There is a lot of traffic and it is a hassle to try to find parking. Unless you want to spend most of your time in traffic jams, use the métro.

The taxi is an expensive option to get around the city and standard rules for hailing a taxi apply.

You can also rent a bicycle to get around the city and it is fairly safe to get about the city this way. http://www.en.velib.paris.fr/comment_ca_marche

Coming up: Paris, Part II- The Left Bank!