La Louvre, once a Parisian fortress along the Seine, is arguably the most prominent museum in the world. We chose a guided tour, which gave us much information regarding many famous sculptures and paintings, including Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa.
Ten million people visit La Louvre each year. The major museums, the Palais Royal, and the Tuileries Garden are all in walking distance. They attract many tourists, but not in the same way as American theme parks and neon spectacles. The guillotine was moved from its normal area at the Louvre (then a fortress) to the place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded in front of their Royal Palace.
Well so much for blood and guts. We still had time to travel further up the Seine to la tour Eiffel. A friend of mine, knowing I was going to Paris, asked me to find out if that fellow Eiffel ever finished his tower. I can honestly say George, “All the steel work is done”. My preconception was ‘tourist trap’. However, I was impressed with this massive structure, which was the tallest in the world when it was built in 1889. Eiffel’s tower won first prize at the Centennial World Fair winning over other proposals such as a giant guillotine. La tour can be seen from most anywhere in Paris.
We thought we were good enough to take the local transportation now, taking the city bus from la tour Eiffel to Luxembourg Gardens, However, we took a wrong turn when we left the bus. It took re-direction from a local policeman to finally set us on our path back to our hotel in the Latin Quarter.
Ten million people visit La Louvre each year. The major museums, the Palais Royal, and the Tuileries Garden are all in walking distance. They attract many tourists, but not in the same way as American theme parks and neon spectacles. The guillotine was moved from its normal area at the Louvre (then a fortress) to the place de la Concorde, where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were beheaded in front of their Royal Palace.
Well so much for blood and guts. We still had time to travel further up the Seine to la tour Eiffel. A friend of mine, knowing I was going to Paris, asked me to find out if that fellow Eiffel ever finished his tower. I can honestly say George, “All the steel work is done”. My preconception was ‘tourist trap’. However, I was impressed with this massive structure, which was the tallest in the world when it was built in 1889. Eiffel’s tower won first prize at the Centennial World Fair winning over other proposals such as a giant guillotine. La tour can be seen from most anywhere in Paris.
We thought we were good enough to take the local transportation now, taking the city bus from la tour Eiffel to Luxembourg Gardens, However, we took a wrong turn when we left the bus. It took re-direction from a local policeman to finally set us on our path back to our hotel in the Latin Quarter.
J. & M.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the HIstory Lesson. Very interesting.
Have A Nice Weekend.
Verna