(1) THE LOUVRE
It would take TWO full days to see & fully appreciate everything in this museum/gallery/former palace. Frankly, I have never been so overwhelmed by art and history as I was in the Louvre. Here are some of the edited highlights, including visits with the Mona Lisa & the Venus de Milo.
(2) MONMARTRE
My favourite neighbourhood in Paris. It’s the place where Baron Housemann’s revisioning of Paris into grand boulevards was bypassed, leaving the medieval streets, and the artsy Bohemian atmosphere, intact. Watch out for the Moulin Rouge, the white apartment-style Parisian residence of Vincent Van Gough, the original Monmartre windmills, and the cafe where Amelie herself worked (and where we had a fabulous lunch)…
(3) BASILIQUE DU SACRE COEUR
Finished just before WWI, it was built on peak of the Monmarte hill, offering spectacular views of Paris.
(4) ARC DE TRIOMPHE
Sitting proudly at the western end of the Champs-Elysees, it was much LARGER than I expected…and far more intricately carved. Definitely not something to take for granted on a trip to Paris…
