Ille de la Cite

After our visit to the Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation, we made our way westwards across the Ille de la Cite to check out several Atlas Obscura sites. The first site had a cute backstory. In 1225, two doves nested in the area. Unfortunately, the building collapsed, trapping the female inside. The male dove never left her side, and so the residents freed her and reunited the pair.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/maison-de-l…

Our next stop was the Pont Neuf, the first bridge in Paris. Here, we looked out for some mascarons (ugly faces) on the side of the bridge. These mascarons represent mythical creatures. The park next to the bridge was also the site of the execution of the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. More info on the two sites here:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/mascarons-o…
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/execution-s…

Along our way to Pont Neuf, we walked past the Conciergerie, which is the prison where Marie Antoinette was held while she was awaiting her eventual fate. It is also the venue for Gojira's and Marina Viotti's now-legendary heavy metal-opera mashup of Ah! Ca Ira! at the Opening Ceremony.

After viewing this site, Jeff wanted to track down the remains of the Bastille. He researched and found that some of the remains are at Park Henri Galle. We took the Metro to the park and tracked it down. Interestingly, there was also a couple with two teenage kids looking for the same thing.Read more