La Defense

Bonjour et Bienvenue a Paris!

We spent a lovely four days in this city visiting museums, and the sights Paris had to offer. Although it was chilly most days that didn't stop us from doing a fair amount of window shopping, walking through the beautiful Montmatre neighborhood as well as becoming experts on the Paris subway system. We weren't quite sure what to expect from Paris. We came in with somewhat low expectations and left somewhat surprised. The cafes and restaurants were very quaint bustling with the hub of Paris local life, and although this is a major tourist destination it did not feel overly touristed in most areas (at least not so much in microcenter). As a whole Paris was charming, the Eiffel tower beautiful both day and night. Unfortunately Notre Dame Cathedral was in rough shape after the fire of 2019 and does not allow visitors inside. Judging by the fire damage on the outside it will be decades if not centuries before the cathedral is fully restored to its former self.

The fire of Notre Dame was actually a motivator for us to go on this trip. The history of the world only remains as long as each generation protects it. We've been to many a place that described itself with the phrase, "after the fire", "due to flooding" or something similar. The historical landmarks that we think will always be there will not. Notre Dame reminded us of this while we were planning for this trip. It is not even the latest example of history lost by this generation (Kyiv, Ukraine). Food for thought.

A brief history of Paris... Paris takes its name from the Parisii, a Celtic tribe that established a settlement here in the 3rd century BC on what is now the Île de la Cité. During our travels it appears the Celtic tribes resided through much of Europe as they show up in many cities early histories. In time the Romans built a town here and called it Lutetia, which is Latin for ‘midwater dwelling’. Since Clovis I, King of the Franks, made the city his capital in AD 508, Paris has been a centre of power. Clovis’s Carolingian dynasty ruling until 987 when Hugh Capet was elected ‘King of France’; Capet’s male descendants formed the Capetian line of kings who reigned until Louis XVI was deposed in the famous French Revolution of 1789. After over 800 years of monarchy, Paris lurched between republics, emperors (the three Napoleons), and kings in the 19th century before the Belle Époque era in which Paris flourished as the world’s centre for culture.Read more