We were up about 7am so that we could get to the Louvre early. Breakfast at the hotel and then on the 96 bus to Châtelet on the Seine (well that was our intention but for some reason, the bus didn’t stop despite us pushing the buzzer so we got off over the bridge at Palais of Justice). Had a pleasant walk along the river to the Louvre. Watched some workmen painting this huge Samsung ad on the side of some scaffolding. They were on two cherry-pickers and it’s going to take them ‘forever’. Later in the day when we came past they had only achieved a little more – yes it will take them ‘forever’. Arrived at the Louvre soon after 9am – didn’t even have to queue (that’s the way we like it) which can’t be said for those wanting to get in later in the day.
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| The Louvre |
This place is huge. You could spend days here. Consequently, we picked out the ‘must sees’ and spent about 3½ hours (well I spent 3½ hours, Jill did a bit of sitting for some of it) in the labyrinth of corridors.
As they say, it has to be one of the world's largest museums – over 35,000 objects up to AD 1848 (where Musée d’Orsay takes over). The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace which began as a fortress built in the late 12th century under Philip II. Remnants of the fortress are still visible in the basement of the museum. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace. In 1682, Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his household, leaving the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection. Probably because of this, it was spared much of the destruction of the French Revolution and instead, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum, to display the nation's masterpieces.
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| The Mona Lisa (behind glass) |
Highlights: De Vinci’s Mona Lisa (I’d heard it was tiny and was surprised to see that it was much the size of copies I’ve seen. There was one in the circular stairwell at my high school and she used to watch you all the way up/down the stairs); Venus de Milo (although there were other beautiful figures, just as old and in better condition); The Seated Scribe (one of the most important examples of ancient Egyptian art. It represents a figure of a seated scribe at work and is dated at 2620–2500 BC); The Winged Victory (2nd century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory)); Michelangelo’s ‘The Dying Slave’ (created between 1513 and 1516); Canova’s ‘Psyche and Cupid’; lots of impressive artworks from various masters; and the exquisite Napoleon III apartments. If you could only go to one place in Paris, for me, this would be it. Make sure you do your homework though it is quite overwhelming.
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| Venus de Milo |
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| The Seated Scribe (2620-2500 BC) |
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| Napoleon III appartments at the Louvre |
Had a quick bite of lunch and then a stroll across the river to the Left Bank and the next museum, Musée d’Orsay. D’Orsay is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces (the largest in the world) by such painters as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Fortunately, it was nowhere near as daunting to get around in as the Louvre but again we just did not have the time to do it justice.
Unlike the Louvre where you were able to take photos as long as you didn't use a flash (ignored by some people) at the D’Orsay there were no cameras allowed (hence following photos are not mine). In addition to the art works, the station ballroom restored to its original beauty is just glorious.
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| Outside the D'Orsay |
By this time of day, we were just about museum-ed out so headed off to catch the bus back to Méricourt. Having English pub withdrawal symptoms we called into a ‘Scottish’ Pub (of all things) on the Left Bank for a refresher. Served by a Scandinavian girl with an American accent.
Back to the Hotel for a rest before heading off to Moulin Rouge. Used the Metro to get from Oberkampf (just around the corner) to Blanche Station. Had to make a change on the way but the stations are very well signposted and that wasn’t a problem.
Our original intention was to just go for the show but when we went to get tickets the other day the only options were the dinner show tonight or an 11:30 performance on Sunday. The 11:30 time slot was not a popular choice. We had heard mixed reviews and were hoping for a good night. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The meal, entrée, main and desert were good (not a lot of it but typical of many ‘classy’ restaurants). The show was spectacular – amazing dancing and costumes and the 'filler acts' between dancing - a juggler, gymnasts and a ventriloquist were quite astounding (up with the best I’ve seen). No photos allowed here either (so again the following are not ours). In fact they take your camera and hold it at the cloak room.
All in all a good night.
