Canal Saint-Martin

From Joinville it was only a couple of km to the Seine and the outskirts of Paris. It’s a lot more industrial than I expected, with building suppliers and multiple cement works right on the river banks and sand barges going backwards and forwards. The Arsenal Port is at the Bastille on the eastern edge of central Paris and that’s our base for sightseeing from. The first day we walked along the Left Bank from the Natural History Museum to Palais des Invalides not down on the river bank but higher up to see more of the buildings. We passed Nôtre Dame with its scaffolding, Palais de Justice, Monnaie de Paris, Institute de France, Orsay Museum, Legion of Honour Museum, with pictures of medals and names of recipients. We can see the bridges as we leave. We crossed the river using Pont Alexandre III, very ornate with gold leaf statues etc. Walking past Grand Palais and Petit Palais to Champs Elysees. Then down towards Place de la Concorde and our most expensive coffee to date, but it was good. Next we walked through the Jardin de Tuileries to the Louvre for our days cultural dose. The pictures and statues etc were impressive, Mona Lisa a bit of a let down but we’ve seen it now, but I was more taken with the building itself and size of the rooms and halls, the decorative ceilings etc. That said the French Crown Jewels were worth seeing as was Venus de Milo and the Sphinx. After almost 2hours we gave up and headed to the Hotel de Ville and Tourist Information then back to the left side over Isle St Louis and the Latin Quarter to see the Pantheon and surrounding buildings. Teatime and a rest for our feet then bed. There are just so many stunning buildings almost everywhere you look.Read more