Paris Trip – Walking the Il de la Cite

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As you know, I went to Paris this Spring.  And now I’m finally blogging about it.  First I blogged about my experience at Laduree.  Then I blogged about Pierre Herme.  Now I’m going to start blogging about my sightseeing experiences during the trip.  You know I first had to write about macarons though, so now that that’s out of my system…. onto Day 1.

The first day in Paris was what I call zombie-day.  Zombie day is when you get off the 12 hour plane flight (if you’re flying from the West Coast), go to your hotel, shower, and walk around the city like azombie because you’re so tired and jet-lagged.

 

Well, walk we did!!

First up, we headed to St. Chapelle, which is the most beautiful church ever. It was built from 1239 to 1248 for one of the King Louis.  St. Chapelle cathedral is located on the Il de la Cite, just down the way from Notre Dame.

 

What’s amazing about this church is the beautiful stained glass that seemingly reaches to the heavens.

 

 

What’s amazing is that the stained glass is original and has survived through all of these years!!

 On our way to Notre Dame cathedral we tried to go to the Marche aux Fleurs (the flower market), but on Sundays it turns into an aviary.  We did find some flowers though…

 An art nouveau metropolitan sign…

Next, we waited in line to see Notre Dame Cathedral.  I don’t have a picture of the front of the cathedral- you all know what it looks like.

To enter the cathedral, you pass by these *massive* doors.  How beautiful is the scrolling ironwork on them??

… and then you see this sight.  Whoa.  Hard to believe that this was built starting in the 1100s.  It was built form 1163 to 1345.  Almost 200 years!

 People still attend mass weekly in this cathedral.  I would too if I lived nearby!  It is so amazing.

Everyone always talks about the Rose Window, which is pictured below.  But frankly, I think the stained glass of St. Chapelle is prettier and you can see it better.  The Rose Window is situated really high up so you can barely make out any scenes on it!

After our tour of Notre Dame, we strolled along the Seine River.  It was such a beautiful day.

We then headed over to Ile St Louis to famous ice cream maker, Berthillon.  Waited in a long line there but it was worth it!  I’ll blog about it later.

We walked down these cute little crowded streets, trying to stay awake and enjoy the scenery.  My favorite thing to do in Paris is to take a stroll, get a pastry, and sit in a park and people watch.  C’est la vie!

And that concludes our first day in Paris!  We followed this self-guided walking tour.  In Summary, it was a short day because we only had the afternoon to explore.  We headed to the heart of the city and visited St. Chapelle cathedral and Notre Dame cathedral.  Both of these are must-visit.  Notre Dame is free admission and St. Chapelle is available through the Museum Pass (which I recommend).  We then strolled along the Seine, enjoyed world-famous Berthillon ice cream, then called it a night… and woke up at 3am the next day. Whoops!

Notre Dame with the River Seine

If you’ve missed a Paris trip post, catch them ALL RIGHT HERE!

 

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