 | Paris Walking Around Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 166 |  |
A suburb located to the southeast of Paris, France, Charenton-le-Pont lies at the junction of the Marne and Seine rivers. It's such a peaceful place where I've spent some time. Charenton is located next to Bois de Vincennes that allows to its inhabitants to enjoy sunny days next to the small lake. There are many joggers and bicycle riders. Leave a Comment |
Along the Quai de Montebello, just opposite Notre Dame, are the Bookseller's Stalls. Here you can find all sorts of things: old prints and engravings, old issues of "Paris Match", maps, books, comic books, and "odds and ends".
The stalls themselves are essentially boxes bolted to the stone wall of the quai. For the connaisseur, many collector's gems can be found here. Leave a Comment |
The Chateau de Vincennes was the permanent royal residence until the 17th century, before the court moved to Versailles. The royal chambers and beautiful Gothic chapel are all worth seeing; so is the large,impressive museum in the medieval keep.
Beyond the chateau moat lies the Bois de Vincennes - my favourite place to relax. Once a royal hunting ground, it is now a landscaped forest with ornamental lakes and cascades, and a zoo.
At the picture there's my very good friend Didier with a real noble last name, who knows, maybe his ancestors have been living in this Chateau... Leave a Comment |
"The huge Paris world centres twice, thrice daily; it is at the café; it gossips at the café; it intrigues at the café; it plots, it dreams, it suffers, it hopes, at the café." Edward King
The Parisian café was one of the most characteristic and significant aspects of social life during the 19th century. With the rebuilding of the Right Bank by Baron Haussmann during the 1850's, over 20,000 cafes sprung up and it was in the cafés, and on the café terraces, that everyone met to discuss art, theatre, music, politics and the pressing matters of the day.
Most famous cafes are located on St-Germain-des-Prés (Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots) Leave a Comment |
Provins is a step back to the Middle Ages. You have to explore one of the best preserved medieval cities, which UNESCO listed as a World Heritage site in 2001. You will be quite amazed to find such beauty and hospitality, as well as a great deal of French history.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Earls of Champagne made this fortified city their capital, well situated on the way to the Far East. Provins became very wealthy from the merchant activities, bankers, spice trade and the largest cloth fairs in Europe. It has also been said that Thibaud de Champagne brought back the rose flower from Damascus and introduced it here, so Provins might be a very romantic spot to boot. Leave a Comment |
I love exploring Paris and as many times as I've been here there are still areas that I've just slightly skimmed.
I usually grab a good map and figure out my route, what I would like to see, do and explore.
As you can see, I am in deep thought trying to figure out exactly where I wanted to go. We decided to visit the Marais.
I do a lot of walking, and anyone that has traveled with me will attest that all my exploring in a city like Paris is almost always done on foot. You get the best experience of the city when you put your two feet to work. Leave a Comment |
Many roads in central Paris are clogged with traffic and there is a terrible traffic in the gates of Paris during rush hours, sunday evenings, end of Easter, august holidays. So if you have a car try to avoid this time.
Anyway the mayor of Paris has such plan: Four districts in the heart of Paris could be closed to all but local residents' vehicles by 2012. Leave a Comment |
Wallace Fountains are a fast, economical way to quench your thirst. They provide a clean, potable source of water that comes in handy while you're gadding about Paris. The strange thing is, though, that unless you are aware of them they don't really capture your attention, they blend so beautifully into the landscape of Paris. For instance, I had been to Paris twice and had visited Shakespeare & Co. each time and never noticed the tall, graceful one out front. It was only on the 3rd trip, having been made aware of them, that I saw them.
These fountains are just lovely, cast in a pretty green with water running continuously thru the middle (to catch into your water bottle). However, not all of them seem to be working. My last trip I noticed the one in front of Shakespeare & Co. was not running and neither was the one in the Place Emile Goudeau (in Montmartre near the Bateau-Lavoir). The one in the Place des Abbesses and in the Parc Jehan Rictus (both Montmartre) were working perfectly.
The fountains were a gift from Sir Richard Wallace who wanted to provide drinking water to everyone in Paris.
I want to thank VT's own Guyon for writing about it - it was his from his Wallace Fountain tip 2 years ago that I saw my 1st photo of one and he provided the website that listed all the locations.
This website shows a listing of all fountains as well as the history behind them; be sure to print out a copy.
Besides procuring water from them it's just plain fun to seek them out. I used the list before the trip to map out the ones that would be in the areas I planned to visit. Then I made it a point to find them. Rather like a treasure hunt!
Photos: April 2003 & Feb 2006 Leave a Comment |
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The France Miniature world is a world of excitement where you can discover the most famous French monuments.
This is the biggest miniature park in Europe covering a map of France with a surface area of more than 12 acres (5 ha).
- More than 150 French landscapes reconstituted
- 140 representations of the finest monuments in our heritage.
- The longest outdoor miniature railway network.
- 60,000 figurines, 20,000 miniature trees, 5 rivers and estuaries and 10 other rivers and 5 acres of sea.
The park is just 10 km from the Palace of Versailles. You can reach it also from Paris taking the train RER and then the bus. More information: www.franceminiature.com Leave a Comment |
This cast iron structure is called a “Colonne Morris” . Why these are called (in English) Morris Columns, or who they are named after, I do not know. It appears their only purpose is to support streetside advertising posters, so perhaps they were introduced by the Morris Advertising Agency or something? I’ll be happy to be enlightened! They have been a part of the Paris streetscape for many years, however, to the stage that they are almost emblematic of Paris.
Update Thanks to my VT friend Kokoryko, I can now advise that Morrises take their name from a Parisian printer Gabriel Morris, who developed this advertising media in 1850 and they were introduced in 1855-1860 by a specialised advertising company with his name. Some of them rotate and some contain toilets.
Update 2 Further thanks to my VT friend JLBG for reassuring me that Morrises are not going to become extinct and, in fact, are expanding to other French cities. (I had heard they were being progressively removed). |
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on April 4, 2005
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