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PARIS EN OCTOBRE

My first visit to the French capital

By Jonas Jacobsson

November 10^th, 2014

Foreword

DISCLAIMER: Please forgive me for any names or french spelling that I most certainly will get wrong. ✌

I have been wanting to go here for so long. There have been a couple of things that have “stopped” me from going earlier - you often want to go to distant exotic places and miss out on the the ones that are just in front of you or at least somewhat nearby (it’s roughly a 2,5 h flight from Sweden). Another thing is the language. Well sort of. I really enjoy being in countries and foreign places where there’s a complete mixture of languages being spoken, I really do, as long as you can make yourself understood if you need to go somewhere. Although I speak a bit of German I really rely on my English and Paris (France in genereal) has always been a place that people say “Oh you’re gonna have a hard time not speaking french man…” about which obviously is a huge overstatement but still. It has been something you joke about. A late change of travel company resulted in my mother coming along for a couple of days, which was very convenient since she really enjoys speaking french! The third reason for not going earlier I think has been the romantic factor. You often hear that this is the place for couples and lovers. Not saying that it has been a decisive one, not at all, but I have always multiple destinations I want to go when planning my next trip and I have just thought that I could save this for when the right moment comes along. Cheesy, I know.

Anyway, it was about time I went to Paris.

I sincerely hope you can make it to the end, I have some great stuff I want to show you.

The story will start off with some more touristy places, but make sure you don’t miss out on the black and white street collection near the end, some of which are my favorites from the trip.

WHEN IN PARIS

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That garden + fun facts

Le Jardin des Tuileries

I planned the date (mid-October) carefully in the hope of having some great Autumn colors around me when taking in the city. I was not disappointed. We had some great weather and the city really showed off a magical side. A sunny 17 ℃ walk in Le Jardin des Tuileries was a great start to this trip.

Obélisque de Louxor

That’s the name of the obelisk below, standing majestically on Place de la Concorde, almost perfectly in the middle of a very famous museum we will get to later and the L’arc de triomphe de l’Étoile up on Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The obelisk origins from Egypt where its twin stands proudly outside Le temple de Louxor. Fun fact!

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chillaxing

The French have mastered the art of relaxing.

△

Musée du Louvre

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Just a couple of hundred metes from Le Jardin des Tuileries you will find this very familiar glass pyramid (Pyramide de Louvre) as a symbol and an entrance to the most visited museum in the world - Musée du Louvre. The opening of the museum dates back to late 18th century actually, while the glass pyramid was added in 1988 when architect I.M. Pei designed this piece by order of the former president François Mitterrand.

If you have read the oh-so-famous novel by Dan Brown - yes I’m talking about The Da Vinci Code - you are qutie familiar with the many cultural spots of Paris, especially Musée du Louvre. The museum actually gained a 22 percent increase in visitors in 2005, much thanks to curious tourists having read this very book. Although I really enjoyed the book, my favorite novel with Robert Langdon is by far Angels & Demons.

Musée du Louvre was a great sight still, and the symmetrical nerd inside me had fun trying to get the perfect angle with my 14 mm Fujinon lens.

Some More chillaxing...

…outside Musée du Louvre.

♂ +♀

Yes, the reputation of being one of the most romantic cities in the world is probably true. You’ll see lots of couples solidifying this feeling.

When the sun sets...

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...YOU HEAD UP CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES...

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It’s hard not be amazed by the incredible view up the roughly 2km straight avenue leading up to Place Charles de Gaulle.

Also an excellent spot for selfies we noticed.

...TO l’Arc de triomphe

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Centered in the square with no less than twelve streets/avenues leading up to it, the 50 meters tall monument makes quite the impression. Walking along Avenue des Champs-Élysées up to is for sure a buffet of touristy stuff, but it still feels like it’s okay and part of the experience. It is a symbol extremely well recognized all over the world.
The ceiling (below) of the archway has 21 roses engraved.❁

Triumphant view

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✯

It was not until we reached the foot of the monument that I realized you could actually go up there. For students, like myself, it is completely free of charge and something I recommend doing at dusk for the most beautiful views over the city. You have a free 360 degree view over Paris - the only view beating this may be from the Eiffel Tower (which I will get to later in this story!) or from the hill of Sacré-Cœur. The view above is when you look straight down L‘avenue de la Grande-Armée that heads directly to La Défense which is the big corporate area of Paris. The avenue is named after the great army of France in the Napoleonic Wars.

Turn 180 degrees…

…and this is what you’ll see. The spectacular sight of Champs-Élysées. This is a great place to just relax for a while and take in the atmosphere of the city.

Pearl necklace

That’s how La Tour Eiffel looks at nighttime. Just like a pearl necklace. I would say it’s almost impossible not to notice the sparkling show that sets off every hour during the evening from 7 pm and forward when lights all over the tower starts off blinking in a frantic fashion. It certainly screams for attention and who am I to say no to such an incredible sight?

Standing in Jardins du Trocadéro, which is directly facing the tower from the other side of Seine, gives an awesome perspective over the whole thing as well as being quiet enough for you to appreciate it. Sure there are lots of people here to watch the same thing, but there seemed to be some sort of consensus between everyone and I found most to be in awe of the grand architecture standing in front of them.

“…lights all over the tower sets off in a frantic fashion.”

La tour eiffel

Okay, here’s another fun fact:

The number of stairs to the top are 1665…

…not 1792 (year of the French Revolution) like the French keeps insisting on.

One cloudy evening the lights of the tower illuminated the sky, creating something of an aura around it.

☄

Like a beacon over the Paris sky.

Bright NEW DAY

Yes, they were posing for me…

Green alley

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la seine = ❦ of the city

Like many other cities Paris revolves around the river running through it. Walking along and crossing La Seine is an excellent way of getting to know the French capital, especially when the sun is out shining brightly like this beautiful Autumn day. You can stop watch the endless row of cabinet-sellers that tries to sell tacky souvenirs and magazines to tourists (there are actually some genuine ones as well I noticed!), marvel at the work of local artists and painters or just stroll along the riverside and take in the many spots you’ve seen in movies or heard in history class - like La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris in the first image below.

I hear Quasimodo is till rocking those bells when nobody’s looking, still longing for his Esmeralda.

♥TRUST & ALLOW♥

Pont de l‘Archevêché is the narrowest road bridge in Paris crossing the Seine, but is maybe more famous for the infinite numbers of padlocks covering the sides of it.

Feeling “locky”?

♱

La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

I went up the hill of Montmartre twice where the magnificent La Basilique du Sacré-Cœur is situated, mostly because the weather was not co-operating the first time and I wanted to look out over Paris in sunset as well. At 130 m this is the highest point in the city (excluding buildings naturally) and it offers some great views for sure, just make sure you’re okay sharing this with loads of tourists. This was by far the place most plagued by annoying tourists and as you can see below it was more important playing football and taking group-selfies than appreciating the grand piece of architecture standing behind them.

Well well, I guess that’s 21st century sightseeing, how sad…

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◐

noir et blanc

vie dans la rue

One of my greatest passions is street photography. Here is small treat of what Paris had to offer in that regard.

✶

Colonne de Juillet

Contrast

Each others opposite.

☚ Relax ◆ Stressed ☛

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Palais de Tokyo

…or Site de création contemporaine as it is also known as. An absolute must when in Paris. This is home for the best stuff you can possibly find in contemporary and modern art. The western wing is dedicated to contemporary art and belongs to the French state while the eastern focuses more on modern art and is run by the City of Paris.

Plus, it is located really close to the Eiffel Tower so it would be a real bummer if you somehow managed to miss out on this.

♥

Au Revoir

Footnotes

All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T1, with XF lenses of 14, 35, 56 and 55-200 mm between the 10-14th of October 2014. Processed in Lightroom. Property of Jonas Jacobsson.

Button Label

FootNotes

All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T1, with XF lenses of 14, 35, 56 and 55-200 mm between the 10-14th of October 2014. Processed in Lightroom. Property of Jonas Jacobsson.