France: Paris Oct. 2-4, 2025

We landed in Paris in the early hours of the morning. As anyone who has visited Paris knows, the city is divided into districts known as arrondissements. Our hotel, Europe St. Severin, was in the 5th arrondissement, so we headed there to check-in and leave our luggage.

First thing we did was hit a cafe to enjoy some people watching while caffeinating ourselves for a day of shaking the jet lag. Then we headed toward the Seine for a stroll. There we found a pianist entertaining the crowd.

We crossed the Pont d’Arcole, Paris’s first iron bridge, originally completed in 1856.  It connects the Hôtel de Ville on the Right Bank to the Île de la Cité, providing close views of monuments like Notre-Dame. This location is part of the banks of the Seine, which have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1994. In the background, the architecture of the Île de la Cité is visible, which also includes the historic Pont Neuf nearby.

We had some time to kill before meeting friends for lunch, so we strolled around the 4th arrondissement. There we passed Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Paris, France. It has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 1357.

 The original building was constructed beginning in 1535, but was burned down during the Paris Commune; the current structure was built starting in 1872. It is an exquisite example of French Renaissance architecture. 

A bronze statue of Étienne Marcel, the provost of the merchants of Paris in the 14th century. The bronze statue dates back to the late 19th century.

On the other side, the building’s facade features large banners with artwork by Shepard Fairey, an American street artist. The artwork and banners, which include text like “RESPECT” and “RESIST”, are part of an exhibition titled “From Paris to Belém: 10 years of global action for the climate”. The exhibition commemorates the 10th anniversary of the COP21 and the Paris Agreement on climate change. The exhibition combines science, urbanism, and art to showcase how cities worldwide are addressing climate change. 

Just behind the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Place Saint-Gervais we found Jardin du Souvenir, (Garden of Remembrance, also referred to as the November 13 Memory Garden), a permanent memorial dedicated to the victims of the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks. 

Jardin du Souvenir is designed as a peaceful, living space that transforms pain into a shared memory, open 24/7 for the public to visit, reflect, or simply rest. The design incorporates elements that represent the six different attack sites, using fragmented stone to evoke the event’s brutality while plants symbolize life and renewal.

At the top of the Jardin is the Church of Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais. The current church was built between 1494 and 1657, on the site of two earlier churches; the facade, completed last, was the first example of the French baroque style in Paris. The facade is notable for displaying the three classical orders of columns: Doric at the bottom, Ionic in the middle, and Corinthian at the top. 

Within the the 4th arrondissement lies the Marais district, known for its medieval architecture, charming streets, and vibrant Jewish heritage. We did not explore the entire neighborhood, but we did love this little gem.

We were amused by the high tech public facilities.

Heading to our meeting place on the Île de la Cité (the island in the middle of the Seine in the middle of Paris on which Notre Dame is located), we also passed the Palais de Justice (Palace of Justice), a historic courthouse which is a major judicial center and has been the seat of the French justice system since medieval times. 

Finally it was time to meet up with Jay and Phyllis. We found them in the plaza of Notre Dame standing by the bronze equestrian statue titled Charlemagne et ses Leudes (Charlemagne and His Guards). The statue, completed in 1878, depicts Charlemagne, King of the Franks and the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, on horseback. 

We sat, had another coffee, enjoyed a catch-up, and engaged in the most Parisian activity; people watching.

Having been to Paris before, we had decided against most of the touristy stops. But Notre Dame had burned in April, 2019 and has been rebuilt in the interim, so we all decided it deserved a revisit. Constructed between 1163 and 1260, it is a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, which includes features including rose windows for light from God and flying buttresses to get closer to God. 

The three portals on the western façade of the cathedral each contain the architectural feature known as a tympanum depicting intricate biblical scenes within a pointed Gothic arch. 

The 14th-century stone sculpture known as “The Virgin of Paris,” located on the central portal of the cathedral depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus, is a symbol of hope, faith, and resilience for Catholics.  The sculpture miraculously survived the devastating 2019 fire.

The rose window exterior contains a sculptural group which constitutes the Galerie de la Vierge (Gallery of the Virgin), depicting the Virgin Mary and Child flanked by two angels. 

Inside was the usual throng of tourists.

Hung high above the chapels in the nave are Matisse designed works from 1946, inspired by a trip he took to Tahiti in 1930.  While originally paper cut-outs, these versions are tapestries woven by the Beauvais workshop. These artworks are part of a diptych that explores themes of light and nature. The two originals titled Polynesia, the Sea (bottom) and Polynesia, the Sky (top) are currently part of the art collection at the United Nations headquarters in New York. 

The North Rose Window, built in 1250, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, featuring vibrant, detailed stained glass that depicts religious scenes and stories. This iconic window survived the April 2019 fire. 

Part of the extensive restoration of the cathedral following the 2019 fire includes this ceiling boss depicting the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus. 

The 14th-century choir screen, originally functioning to provide silence for the canons during church services by separating the choir area from the ambulatory, also survived the 2019 fire.  The larger sculpted walls span both the north and south sides of the choir.  Since the fire they have undergone extensive cleaning and restoration. 

The carved and painted sculptures depict scenes from the life of Christ, I have included here a close-up of “The Last Supper.”

 Our Lady of Guadalupe is recognized as the patroness of Mexico and the Americas. She is a venerated Catholic icon representing a symbol of religious faith and unity. The original image is believed to have miraculously appeared on Juan Diego’s mantle (tilma) in Mexico in 1531 as a sign to the local bishop.  

The cenotaph (tomb) of Cardinal Louis-Antoine de Noailles, located within the Chapelle Saint-Louis, features a sculpture of Cardinal Noailles kneeling in prayer. It was sculpted by Louis-Pierre Deseine around 1806, though some sources attribute it to Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume in the 1860s.  Cardinal Noailles served as the Archbishop of Paris from 1695 until his death in 1729. 

The cenotaph of Cardinal Jean-Baptiste de Belloy, honoring the Archbishop of Paris who served from 1802 until his death at age 98, is situated in the Saint Marcel Chapel inside the cathedral.  It was sculpted by Louis-Pierre Deseine in the early 19th century.

The choir organ, the smaller of the cathedral’s two organs and the one typically used for daily services, underwent extensive cleaning and restoration after the fire. 

The high altar, consecrated in 1182, has been a central feature throughout the cathedral’s history and survived the 2019 fire. Following the cathedral’s restoration, a new, modern bronze altar was consecrated in December 2024 for its reopening. 

The high alter contains the white marble Pietà sculpture by Nicolas Coustou, representing the Descent from the Cross.  Commissioned by Louis XIV and completed in 1727, this grouping, along with accompanying statues of Louis XIII and Louis XIV, largely survived the French Revolution and the 2019 fire.  

The 19th-century pulpit designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as part of its gothic revival restoration also survived the fire

One could spend days exploring all the beautiful artwork within the cathedral, but we were running out of steam after our overnight flight. But once outside, we needed to note a few more of the cathedral’s attributes. Gargoyles are functional sculptures designed to divert rainwater away from the cathedral’s masonry to prevent water damage. These figures often take the form of grotesque mythical beings, fantastical animals, or devils, reflecting Gothic architectural traditions. 

 Many of the gargoyles seen today were added or heavily restored during the 19th-century restoration of the cathedral. 

During the 2019 fire, the cathedral’s spire collapsed onto the roof, and the flying buttresses threatened to collapse, threatening the entire building. The iconic spire has been completely rebuilt following its destruction in the 2019 fire and was officially unveiled in February 2024. The new spire is an exact, 315-foot replica of the 19th-century design by architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. The 16 copper statues of the apostles and evangelists that adorned the spire’s base were miraculously removed for restoration just days before the 2019 fire. They were restored and returned to their positions on the new spire in mid-2025.

A new golden rooster weathervane, designed by chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, sits atop the spire. The original rooster survived the fire and has since been restored. The original rooster is now being displayed at the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine. It is currently featured as a centerpiece in the permanent exhibition titled ‘Notre-Dame de Paris, from builders to restorers’. The new rooster contains relics, including fragments of the Crown of Thorns, as a symbol of hope and resilience.

On our way back to our hotel, we passed through Square René Viviani, an intimate garden is located in the 5th arrondissement, directly across from the Seine River and Notre-Dame with a beautiful view of the cathedral.

It was finally time to actually check in to our room and have a bit of a rest. The Europe St. Severin is extremely well located and very cute and clean,

but the room was one of the tiniest into which we have ever squeezed.

After a well deserved rest we set out for dinner. We caught a cab and arrived early, so we strolled around a bit. What really caught my eye were the many sizes, shapes, and forms of the Parisian wrought iron balconies from the quite ornate

and intricate

to the simple

and the very simple

and even different ones on different levels of the same building, but more on that later.

After a most delicious and filling and beautifully presented dinner at Drouant,

we decided to walk back; after all, what is more romantic than Paris at night? And she did not disappoint. We first passed the Louvre, which was eerily quiet without the throngs of pedestrians. This, of course, was two weeks before the jewel heist at the Louvre. The glass structure in the center is the Louvre Pyramid, a modern addition designed by architect I.M. Pei that serves as a main entrance, inaugurated in 1989. 

In the Louvre plaza the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV can be found. This statue is a lead copy of the original marble sculpture created by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which is now housed inside the Louvre Museum. The sculpture depicts the king in the guise of an ancient Roman emperor, associated with figures like Hercules, to project an image of power and a conquering hero. The original statue was commissioned by Louis XIV in 1665 but was not well-received by the king and subsequently altered to depict the Roman hero Marcus Curtius. 

Standing across from the Louvre, in the Place du Carrousel, is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, smaller than the more famous Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, which is located at the other end of the Champs-Élysées.  Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel was commissioned by Napoleon and built between 1806 and 1808 to celebrate his military victories was designed to be the grand entrance to the Tuileries Palace. The monument is part of the historical axis of Paris and is decorated with sculptures and a quadriga (chariot with four horses) at the top. The Eiffel Tower can be seen in the distance peeking from behind.

We reached the Seine where we had a view across from the Institut de France building, also magnificently lit at night. The building is the seat of the Académie Française (French Academy) and other academies that make up the Institut de France. The distinctive dome and neoclassical architecture are prominent features of the Parisian skyline. 

After breakfast at Europe St. Severin, we joined our walking tour of the Latin Quarter, the 5th arrondissement, and our home for the few days. We had been instructed to meet at the Saint Michel Fountain, which had been built in 1869 as a tribute to Saint Michel. But when we got there we found a billboard for Samsung. Sanna our guide for the morning, who originated in Finland, explained that the city of Paris requires all major construction to be covered by a billboard for aesthetics, but also for cost management. The cost of renovating the fountain is estimated at €2.3 million; the revenue generated from the ad: €5 million.

Sanna went on to explain to us that in the 1850s a grand-scale construction and urban renewal in Paris was led by Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann, under the commission of Emperor Napoleon III. It was felt by Napoleon III that the walled medieval streets were too narrow for both carriages and pedestrians. The buildings prior to that time were often made of flammable woods. Also, there was so much excrement due to the emptying of chamber pots from windows, as there was no sewage at the time, and horses defecating in the streets, that high heels were needed to walk in the streets. This massive project, known as the Haussmanian renovation, involved demolishing large parts of the old city to create wide boulevards, parks, and new infrastructure, and the construction of new buildings in the Haussmanian style.  Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, also felt that the narrow medieval streets lent themselves to barricades, as were utilized during the revolution, and widening the streets would make barricades much less practicable. Here in the Latin Quarter, some of the older, narrower streets were left intact.

Haussmannian style is a distinctive architectural aesthetic characterized by uniform, stone-faced buildings with a height of 5 stories (absolutely none higher than 9 stories) with symmetrical ornate façades, mansard roofs with dormer windows, specific street-width regulations, and a distinctive look of slanted zinc roofs and wrought-iron balconies. Cigarette balconies, ie those in front of windows with no space to walk out onto, are purely aesthetic. The typical building is commercial on the ground floor. The first floor is for the public or shared spaces of a wealthy family showcasing high ceilings and intricate balconies. The next level up is generally used privately by the family. The upper-most floors(s) were for the servants and staff. In the days prior to electricity, the upper floors had to be climbed via stairs and were generally more uncomfortably warm in the summer months. Sometimes (as in the building below) there is a floor between the commercial and residential spaces for the clerks of the business to perform their duties.

Sanna took us to see Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookshop. The bookshop was founded by American George Whitman at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, Kilometer Zero, the point at which all French roads begin. Constructed in the early 17th century, the building was originally a monastery, La Maison du Mustier. Since opening in 1951, it’s been a meeting place for anglophone writers and readers, becoming a Left Bank literary institution. When the store first opened, it was called Le Mistral. George changed it to the present name in April 1964—on the four-hundredth anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth—in honor of a bookseller he admired, Sylvia Beach, who’d founded the original Shakespeare and Company in 1919. Her store at 12 rue de l’Odéon was a gathering place for the great expat writers of the time—Joyce, Hemingway, Stein, Fitzgerald, Eliot, Pound—as well as for leading French writers. Beach ran a publishing house and allowed the artists to live upstairs. Beach published Ulysses by James Joyce there. Because of its political influence, the original store had been forced to close by the Nazis during WWII. George Whitman endeavored to carry on the spirit of Beach’s shop, and it quickly became a center for expat literary life in Paris. Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Anaïs Nin, Richard Wright, William Styron, Julio Cortázar, Henry Miller, William Saroyan, Lawrence Durrell, James Jones, and James Baldwin were among early visitors to the shop.

The green fountain in front of Shakespeare and Company is a Wallace fountain, one of several public drinking fountains named after, financed by, and roughly designed by Sir Richard Wallace (1818–1890), an English francophile philanthropist. At the time most of the poor had to pay for water. Moreover, most of the water provided by vendors was drawn from the Seine river and was likely to be dirty, as run-off from streets and many of sewers drained into it. Hence it was safer to drink beer or other alcoholic beverages, which were almost as cheap as water. The temptation to take to liquor was strong among the lower classes, and it was considered a moral duty to keep them from falling into alcoholism. To this day, the fountains are a considerable source of free drinking water for the needy as well as any passer-by. Not only did the fountains accomplish Wallace’s philosophy of helping the needy, but they also beautified Paris.

Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre (Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre) is one of the oldest religious buildings in Paris, with construction on the current structure beginning in 1163. Saint Julien was the patron saint of hospitals and travelers. This site in the Latin Quarter was chosen in the 12th century because it was the intellectual center of Paris at the time. Originally a Roman Catholic church, it was assigned to the Melkite Greek Catholic community in 1889 and serves as their parish church. The building blends Romanesque and early Gothic architectural styles. 

We revisited the Square René Viviani in which stands the oldest tree in the city: “false acacia,” which is a black locust tree brought back from North America and planted in 1601 by royal botanist Jean Robin and is over 400 years old. Despite being damaged during World War I, it continues to bloom annually and is a popular landmark which has become a symbol of the city and a testament to its longevity and resilience. One who touches it is said to have good luck for the remainder of the day.

Sanna next led us to Rue Saint Jacques (St. James Street) and explained that this is a route along the famous pilgrimage Camino del Santiago (St. James in Spanish, home to the Santiago Cathedral) as evident by the Camino scallop-shaped symbol embedded in the pavement.

Above the street on the side of a building facing the scallop is a picture painted and gifted by Salvador Dali in 1966 as a homage to his motherland Spain: a sundial on a face in the shape of a scallop.

Across the avenue stands Église Saint-Séverin (the Church of Saint-Séverin), known for its Flamboyant Gothic architecture, with construction spanning the 13th to 15th centuries, beginning in 1230, then rebuilt and enlarged in the 17th century after a fire.

The church took its name from Saint Séverin of Paris, a devout hermit who lived at the site in the 6th century, and died in about 540. At the end of the 12th century, due to the popularity and growing size of the theology school attached to the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, the students and teachers were relocated to the Left Bank. The University of Paris was founded in 1215. The fame of the university and its teachers attracted students and scholars from across Europe, and a larger church was required. Thus, beginning in a 1230 construction began on a new church and Saint Severin became the university’s parish church.

It features unique architectural elements, including a column sculpted in the form of a palm tree,

and notable historic stained glass windows some of which are from the 14th century

. 

and some from the 1970s.

Flamboyant is a late Gothic style characterized by its highly ornate, flame-like window tracery and swirling, curvilinear designs, as can be seen on the outside of the stained glass window.

The curls actually take on the shape of flames.

As we stood outside the church Sanna told us that originally there had been a cemetery next to the church which had become so over crowded with bodies that local perfumeries and food shops complained of the odor. Louis XVII had the bodies removed, boiled down for candle wax, and then had the bones removed to the limestone quarries, which are now the catacombs of Paris.

In Roman times France was called Gaul. The Romans defeated the local Parisii tribe in 52 BC under Julius Caesar’s command. After conquering the Gallic tribes and founding the Gallo-Roman city of Lutetia, the precursor to modern-day Paris, they established settlements on the left bank of the Seine, which would eventually become the Latin Quarter. The Romans remained for about 400 years, and the area was developed with Roman-style infrastructure. One of the many structures left by the romans are the baths. The entrance to the baths was underground. Over 16 miles of aqueducts were built to carry the water to the city. Wood fires were burned under the floors to heat the water for hot baths and steam rooms. There is a museum to visit the baths, but, having ourselves visited several in Spain, we just took a look from the outside.

Sorbonne Université’s (Sorbonne University) legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when the College of Sorbonne was established as a constituent college of the University of Paris, one of the first universities in Europe. In 1971, the University of Paris, including its humanities and science faculties, split into several interdisciplinary universities. Some, including the University of Paris-Sorbonne, retained the name Sorbonne and premises in the historic centre of the University of Paris. The Sorbonne is one of the most famous and sought after universities in Europe. Marie Curie was its first female professor after her husband was killed in a horse and carriage accident. Historically the students at the Sorbonne speak Latin, giving the quarter its name.

A bronze statue of the 16th-century Renaissance author and philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who invented essay-style writing is located in the Sorbonne quarter. It is popular for students to rub his right foot for good luck before exams.

Pantheon means all gods in Greek. The edifice in the Latin Quarter of Paris was built between 1758 and 1790 at the behest of King Louis XV, who intended it as a church dedicated to Saint Genevieve, Paris’s patron saint, whose relics were to be housed in the church but Louis XV died before its completion. Construction was completed in 1790, a year after the Revolution, at which time France was against religion. The Pantheon was turned into a mausoleum and now contains the bodies of many famous Parisians including Marie Curie, who with her husband Pierre, in 1903 was the first woman to win the Nobel prize. When Pierre was run over by a horse and carriage, his bones were so brittle from radiation exposure that he had too many broken ones to repair. Also buried within are writers Alexander Dumas and Victor Hugo. The mausoleum is also the final resting place for Voltaire and Rousseau, philosophers who had apposing ideas about whether men are born with evil. In 2021 Emmanuel Macron interred Josephine Baker, an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress, here due to her aid during World War II.

We crossed the street to visit Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church. Its construction was begun in 1492 but was not completed until the 1862 resulting in its mix of Renaissance and Gothic (note the rose window) architectural styles. 

The ornate façade includes the famous purple-blue wooden doors and a relief which depicts the stoning of St. Stephen.

The church is famous for its unique, finely carved stone rood screen or jubé, an ornate, typically medieval, masonry partition that divides the nave (where the congregation gathers) from the chancel or choir (where clergy conduct services), the only surviving one of its kind in the city. 

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church houses the shrine of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. It is believed that Genevieve’s prayers saved Paris from being destroyed by the Huns under Attila in 451. As Attila and his army advanced toward Paris, the people were prepared to flee in panic. Genevieve, through a “prayer marathon” of fasting and supplication, persuaded the inhabitants to stay, assuring them of divine protection. Attila’s army unexpectedly changed course, bypassing Paris and marching on Orléans instead, saving the city. During a subsequent blockade and siege of Paris by King Childeric I’s Frankish forces, the city faced starvation. Genevieve bravely led a convoy of eleven barges through enemy lines to Troyes to gather grain and bring food back to the starving citizens. She also successfully interceded with Childeric, and later his son, King Clovis I, persuading them to release prisoners and show mercy to the people. Her intercession was invoked long after her death. The most famous instance was during the 1129 “burning fever” (ergot poisoning) epidemic that swept Paris. After her relics were carried in a solemn procession, the epidemic ceased immediately, and those who touched the shrine were healed. This miracle solidified her status as the city’s primary protector.

The majority of Genevieve’s original relics were destroyed during the French Revolution, but this shrine contains small surviving pieces and the rock upon which her original tomb rested. 

Chapel of St. Genevieve houses a 19th-century altar with a statue of the saint created by Achille Valois in 1823. 

The mural L’Arbre Bleu (The Blue Tree) painted by Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky is located on a building at the intersection of Rue Descartes and Rue Clovis.  Created in 2000 as part of the “Les Murs de l’An 2000” initiative by the City of Paris, it accompanies a poem by Yves Bonnefoy written on the adjacent wall. 

Sanna concluded our walking tour with some anecdotes about Ernest Hemingway, a frequent visitor to the Latin Quarter, living here for a time with his wife. Author of “The Sun Also Rises,” he was one of the most important characters of the Lost Generation. He left Paris in 1928 to cover the Spanish Civil war as a correspondent. He also covered the Normandy invasion. Ernest Hemingway famously “liberated” the Ritz Paris bar on August 25, 1944, arriving with armed Resistance fighters to reclaim his favorite haunt from the Nazis, only to find they had already fled. He celebrated by running up a massive tab for 51 Dry Martinis, solidifying his legend at the hotel. The Ritz bar now has a devoted stool with his name on it. Upon his return to Paris in 1956 he found suitcases filled with his writings and notes which he had left in the 20s. He committed suicide before the publication of his final novel. A quote from Ernest Hemingway’s memoir “A Moveable Feast” is: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Upon completion of the tour, we returned to visit the Pantheon, but it was closed for renovations. The large sign hanging between the columns reads: ‘French justice will no longer be a justice that kills.’

It had started to drizzle, so we headed back to our hotel for a rest. We were so happy our new neighborhood was in the Latin Quarter.

It was still raining later when we decided to head out again. We challenged ourselves into navigating the metro system, which we managed successfully. We noted the entrance to the metro, which did indeed resemble the one we had seen in Montreal over the summer, purportedly a gift from Paris.

We strolled along the Champs-Élysées, ok not really strolled; it was raining and we walked briskly. We made our way to the Arc de Triomphe standing at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle. It was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to honor the victories of French troops and honors those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

The Arc stands 162.5 ft high and beneath lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, featuring an eternal flame that has burned since 1923. The surface of the arch is covered in carvings listing major French victories and the names of military leaders. 

“La Résistance de 1814” (The Resistance of 1814), located on the south pillar, is a sculpture depicting a winged figure representing the nation protecting a family while a soldier prepares for battle. Created by French sculptor Antoine Étex, the high relief commemorates the French resistance to Allied armies during the War of the Sixth Coalition. 

For dinner we joined friends at Le Jardin Saint-Germain for another delicious meal.

In the morning the sun was shining; we decided to do a little touring on our own. We headed toward the Luxembourg Gardens first passing the Place de la Sorbonne, featuring the Sorbonne Chapel, a part of the University of Paris founded in 1253.  The chapel, ordered by Cardinal Richelieu, is a 17th-century architectural masterpiece and houses his tomb. The start of the fall colors were gorgeous.

Upon entering the Luxembourg Gardens we were struck by the number of statues, over 100 throughout the property. This monument is dedicated to Charles Marie René Leconte de Lisle, a prominent French poet and writer from the 19th century.  The sculpture, created by Denys Puech in 1898, features a winged muse embracing the poet. 

 “Le Faune dansant” (Dancing Faun) bronze statue was created by Eugène-Louis Lequesne and unveiled in 1850. 

“L’Acteur Grec” (The Greek Actor), a popular bronze sculpture, depicts an ancient Greek actor and is famous for its lively, almost selfie-taking pose. 

The Medici Fountain was commissioned around 1630 by Marie de’ Medici, the widow of King Henri IV and regent of King Louis XIII.  The fountain is designed in a grotto style with sculptures depicting the mythological scene of Polyphemus surprising the lovers Acis and Galatea.  The fountain was moved stone-by-stone in 1862 during Baron Haussmann’s urban restructuring. Known as one of the most romantic spots in the city, it is a renowned example of Baroque garden architecture. 

The Luxembourg Palace currently serves as the seat of the French Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament.  It was originally built between 1615 and 1645 for Marie de’ Medici to serve as a royal residence.  The building was designed by architect Salomon de Brosse and was heavily inspired by the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. 

The gardens were created in 1612 by Queen Marie de’ Medici to emulate Florence’s Boboli Gardens, and to escape her home in the Louvre, but her son, Louis XIII, later forced her to leave.

Known for its calm atmosphere, the park hosts classic pastimes like sailing remote-controlled boats (a bit reminiscent of Central Park), playing chess, bocce, and traditional puppet shows.

The nearly 60 acre garden is a premier Parisian spot blending French formality with English-style landscapes. It features over 100 statues—including a replica of the Statue of Liberty, historic fruit orchards, the hidden Medici Fountain, and iconic green chairs for relaxing. 

Despite the lateness of the season, there were still plenty of blooms on the numerous plants.

White marble lion statues were sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Henraux as a royal attribute of power within the gardens. 

This statue is part of the “Reines de France et Femmes illustres” (Queens of France and Illustrious Women) series: twenty statues of famous French women situated on the terrace of the Luxembourg Gardens, commissioned by King Louis-Philippe I, which features prominent women from French history.  Featured here is Anne-Marie Louise d’Orléans, known as the “Grande Mademoiselle,” the Duchess of Montpensier, a major figure in French political and social life during the 17th century and one-time owner of the Luxembourg palace. Her statue was sculpted by Camille Demesmay in the 1800s.

Here we found the statue of Marie de Médicis herself, sculpted by Louis-Denis Caillouette and completed around 1847. 

 One of the first queens represented is the Statue de Sainte Clotilde (Statue of Saint Clotilda), a Frankish queen who lived from approximately 475–545. She was sculpted by Jean-Baptiste-Jules Klagmann in 1847. The queen is portrayed in regal attire typical for her time, with her arms crossed, resting her right elbow on a small column. 

There were many queen statues, but I had to include Paris’s patron saint: Sainte Geneviève (419-522) sculpted by Michel-Louis Victor Mercier. 

And finally, I include Valentine de Milan (1370–1408), Duchess of Orléans and daughter of the Duke of Milan, sculpted from white marble by Jean Pierre Victor Huguenin in 1846, not for her but for the beautiful autumnal tree behind her.. 

 

During the French Revolution, the palace was transformed from a royal residence into a crowded prison for aristocrats. After the Revolution, it became the residence of Napoleon Bonaparte, serving as his home when he was First Consul. During World War II, the palace and gardens were occupied by the German Luftwaffe (air force).

The current security is high.

As we had meandered through the gardens, an orchestra had set up in the band stand and now began to play. We rested and enjoyed the music for a while.

As we left the gardens, a sign reminded us that France is celebrating the 150th year of the senate of the republic.

Outside the garden, and actually throughout Paris, the police force is prominent and heavily armed, not surprising considering the history of terrorist attacks in the city in recent years.

We decided to further explore the 6th arrondissement, also known as the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. One of France’s six national theaters, the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe was inaugurated in 1782 and is known for its elegant neoclassical facade and rich history. It is deeply integrated into the cultural landscape of Paris. The banners on the building announce the “New Season” (Nouvelle Saison), highlighting an international cast of directors and performers. 

The popular Maison Sauvage restaurant is highly regarded for its distinctive, seasonally changing floral facade. It is a traditional French cafe frequently enjoyed by locals and tourists on its corner terrace. 

As we strolled around the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district we enjoyed the many galleries

and interesting shops.

This unassuming façade is actually L’Hotel, a 5-star hotel featuring a small indoor pool, a hammam, and a stylish ground-floor bar. It is known as the world’s first boutique hotel and was the last home of Oscar Wilde, who died there in 1900. The plaque on the left commemorates Oscar Wilde, and the building was formerly known as Hôtel d’Alsace. 

We stumbled upon the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine). The academy focuses on advising public authorities on matters regarding medicine, pharmacy, and veterinary sciences. The institution was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII to study issues related to public health and medicine. 

Nextdoor is the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts), specifically the Cour Bonaparte. While primarily a working school, it also functions as a museum and holds exhibitions. Founded in 1648, it is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious fine arts schools. Many renowned artists, including Degas, Renoir, and Valentino, trained here. 

As we entered the 7th arrondissement, behind the Académie nationale de médecine we found the Université Paris Cité Faculty of Medicine (formerly known as the Centre universitaire des Saints-Pères of Paris Descartes University) which houses the Faculty of Medicine for the university and is a major center for medical education. The institution is renowned for medical sciences, biomedical research, law, and other disciplines.  The site is part of the historical legacy of the University of Paris institutions. 

The façade of the building has a series of stone reliefs. This one is entitled “Nymphs of the Miraculous Sources” which depicts mythical figures associated with healing and water.

We continued toward the Seine, across which the Louvre can be seen. The complex was originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century before becoming a royal palace. 

We crossed one of the the Pont du Carrousel to Guichets du Louvre, ornate monumental gates and arched passageways on the south side of the palace, connecting the Seine quays to the Cour Napoléon. Built by architect Hector Lefuel between 1861 and 1870 (during the Second Empire), these grand entrances were designed to open up the palace and allow easy traffic flow into the complex.  Before the Napolean III 19th-century expansion that created these passageways, this area was filled with a maze of smaller, medieval streets and buildings. Today, the Guichets are a major access point, allowing buses, taxis, and traffic to pass through the palace complex rather than driving around it.

The Guichets du Louvre feature elaborate, decorative stonework and sculptures, reflecting the lavish style of Napoleon III’s expansion of the Louvre. “Genius of the Arts Astride Pegasus”, created by sculptor Antonin Mercié in 1877, depicts Apollo riding the mythical winged horse, Pegasus.  Emperor Napoleon III’s coat of arms is also featured in the pediment above. 

The Pavillon Mollien is named after Mathieu Mollien (1758–1850), a French politician and peer who served as the Minister of Treasury under Napoleon I. Designed by architect Hector Lefuel, this section was built to match the opulent, heavy style of the new Louvre expansion in the 1850s. It was famously photographed by Gustave Le Gray to capture the intricate details of its facade. The facade features a prominent stone composition called L’Art et la Science (Art and Science) by sculptor François Jouffroy, completed in 1857. It features allegorical winged female figures representing these two disciplines.

The Cour Napoléon (Napoleon Courtyard) is the central, iconic courtyard of the Louvre Palace. Before the iconic glass pyramid was built in the 1980s, the Cour Napoléon was used as a, somewhat undignified, parking lot for the Louvre. While named after Napoleon Bonaparte, the courtyard as we know it was largely completed by his nephew, Napoleon III, in the 1850s, who finally connected the Louvre to the Tuileries Palace. During the 1980s construction of the underground lobby beneath the courtyard, workers discovered an abandoned, hidden set of rooms containing over 25,000 historical items, which were then incorporated into the new exhibition spaces.

Serving as a historic gateway marking the axis between the Louvre Museum and the Tuileries Gardens is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, formerly the entrance to the now-destroyed Tuileries Palace. Commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 and completed in 1808, this arch was built to celebrate his military victories. The top features a quadriga, which is a copy of the famous Horses of Saint Mark from Venice, originally stolen as plunder.

Triomphe du Carrousel was modeled after the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome and serves as a monumental entrance to the Tuileries Palace. 

We ambled into the Tuileries Gardens and there found the marble sculpture “Caïn venant de tuer son frère Abel” (Cain after killing his brother Abel) which depicts the biblical figure Cain in deep despair and sorrow after murdering his brother, Abel.  The statue was sculpted by Henri Vidal in 1896. 

Theseus Fighting the Minotaur (Thésée combattant le Minotaure) was created by French artist Étienne-Jules Ramey in 1821 and presented at the 1827 Paris Salon. The statue depicts the Greek mythological hero Theseus overpowering the Minotaur, a creature that is half-man and half-bull.  It has been positioned on a pedestal within the Tuileries Gardens since its acquisition by the French state. 

Created in 1892. “Le Centaure Nessus enlevant Déjanire” (Nessus the Centaur Abducting Deianira) by Laurent Marqueste depicts a scene from Greek mythology where the centaur Nessus carries off Deianira, the wife of Heracles. 

After all of our walking, it was time for tea. We waited on a significant line for the historic Angelina café, renowned for its ornate Belle Epoque interior and traditional French pastries. Founded in 1903, the café is famous for its elegant, gilded decor featuring murals and mirrored walls. 

It is particularly celebrated for its signature thick hot chocolate (“Chocolat Africain”) and classic desserts like the Mont-Blanc. 

We ordered the high tea; it did not dssappoint.

As we strolled along Rue de Rivoli we passed the entrance to the historic Librairie Galignani, renowned as the first English bookstore opened in continental Europe. Founded by the Galignani family, the bookstore has a heritage dating back to publishing efforts starting in 1520, with the Paris location established in the early 19th century. The shop is now known for its wide selection of both English and French books, with a particular specialty in fine arts.

We also passed L’Atelier Parfum, a French high perfumery with multiple boutiques in Paris and points of sale worldwide.  This establishment specializes in niche, artfully crafted fragrances using high-quality, natural, clean, and vegan ingredients. 

As it was very late in the day, we stopped along the Seine to enjoy the views and watch the tour boats sail by.