Revisiting an old Favourite

Monday October 10th
In Which we Revisit an Old Favourite

The first time I came to Paris I quickly fell in love with the area around Montmartre and Sacre Coeur Cathedral. I also discovered that the very best time to enjoy this place is early in the morning. If you wait till after 10 am you will quickly be swamped by the teaming hordes of tourists with their dreaded selfie sticks. It then loses all its magic and just becomes another circus.

Maggie and I decided to catch the bus from the Sorbonne to Clignancourt and then walk up to the summit of the Butte Montmartre. It is easy to find the cathedral as all you need to do is to keep walking uphill. Since Sacre Coeur is built on the top of the hill, you can be sure that you will eventually get there. You will also find yourself climbing lots and lots of stairs, but that is OK. All worthwhile things in life should be earned. Although there is a funicular railway to the summit, that should only be for the aged and infirm. . Everyone else should definitely walk to the top.

When you do reach the top of the front stairs you will be rewarded with one of the best views of Paris you can get anywhere. In fact I much prefer it to the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower as it provides a much more intimate panorama of the nearby streets and rooftops. Stretched out before you are the higgledly piggledy streets that make Paris so darn confusing for the first time visitor. Look higher and you will see hundreds of chimney pots adoring every building in sight. Look further afield and you can see the famous large buildings along the Seine - the Musee D'Orsay, the Grand Palais, the Louvre - and of course the Eiffel Tower itself.

Tucked in behind the cathedral is the artist precinct known as the Place Du Tertre. Here you can always find artists willing to sketch your portrait for a few Euros, or sell you a painting of Montmartre for a few more. It is in this area that I found a little coffee shop with a tiny verandah tucked behind a grape vine. I have made this little cafe a mandatory stop on every subsequent visit to Paris and it is has become a favourite place for Maggie as well. It is a wonderful place to enjoy a coffee and indulgent cake while quietly watching the bustling crowds just a few metres away.

After a lovely time at the cafe we began our long walk back to the left bank. Of course we could have caught the metro or bus, but we decided to walk instead. This gave us a good opportunity to revisit some other favourite places along the way. Our walk eventually brought us back to the Louvre and the magnificent Tuileries Gardens. I stopped here for a little while to watch the Gypsy thieves at work. I know it sounds a bit voyeuristic, but I do find human nature fascinating. Observing the way the Gypsies go about their scams and then magically disappear any time a policeman or security guard appears, really have to be seen to be believed. Of course the Gypsies always reappear just as quickly when the threat has passed by.

The GPS told me that I had walked just over 10 km by the time that I arrived back at my hotel in the Sorbonne. It had been a perfect way to spend my final day in Paris. Tomorrow Maggie and I will be catching an early train to St Malo, where we hope to spend a very quiet 4 days.En savoir plus