Unfortunately, since my visit was on a Tuesday, Louvre Museum was closed. After spending almost half a day at Eiffel Tower my next 2 destinations were Notre Dame Cathedral and St.Chapelle.
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To begin with there are 2 queues outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, one to visit the main worshipping area another to climb the tower and see everything else except the church.
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Unfortunately I stood in the wrong queue and went into the church when I wanted to go atop the tower. Atleast the security gentleman at the entrance could have told me that Paris Museum Pass holders could stand on the other line for the Catheral Tour when I showed him the pass. He just said, this entry was free! Anyways, no worries, the basic round about in the Cathedral made me happy. The tall stained glass windows were just mind blowing.
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Its a Gothic style cathedral with the its own typical arches! Before 1160, on this place stood various buildings incl a church dedicated to Virgin Mary another for St.Stephen etc. The effort to built this structure was begun by Bishop Maurice de Sully. By 1177, a major except for the high vaults almost rest of the cathedral almost complete. By May 1182, it was taken possession by the clergy and began to function.
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By 1208, the choir was included and many important modifications happened, esp the flying buttress (the stunning Gothic arches that make the ceiling that support the building) rose higher and was built stronger. By 1220, the fabulous facade as we see today was built. The 3 portals are for Jesus Christ in Last Judgement, Virgin Mary and Patron Saints. Just above the portals are the 28 French Monarchs.
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By 1225, the upper portions were demolished and rebuilt incl the circular stained glass windows. By 1245, the towers to hold bells atop the portals were completed. By 1350 all changes were completed and the church remained un-altered till 1780, when it underwent the classical era changes under King Louis VIII. In 1846, the church was restored after it got dilapidated over time, under the architects Jean-Baptiste Lassus & Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
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The stained glass windows here were nothing like I had seen before. It wasn't as huge or as complicated as Bath Abbey, but the sheer number was so many!
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There are several chapels around the altar an each of them had an interesting stained glass window. On the outer side of the altar wall were these relief sculptures of the life of Jesus Christ.
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From there, my next stop was the Archaeological Crypt of Notre Dame. Located just opposite to the Cathedral, its quite literally an archaeological excavation site. Since its all dug up from the ground, its underground! Its the foundation and basic ground structure of an old roman building of 27 BCE that's still intact! Its protected as a Museum now. By 308 CE, this was a proper fort and active city centre with settlement all around.
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There are quite a few cathedrals within France named Notre Dame and infact one of it is under UNESCO, however this isn't! But this stands on the banks of river River Sienne, and 'Banks of River Sienne' is inscribed under UNESCO, for the transformation is shows from 10th C to present era along its banks!
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From there my next stop was Saint Chapelle. Its also a Gothic architecture, built by Saint Louis in 1242-48 CE. He was King Louis when he lived and 30 yrs after in death in 1270, he was canonized and here is the replica of the statue built then. To the left here is the oldest surviving fresco in whole of Paris, of Angel Gabriel, Mary Magdalena and Virgin Mary with infant Jesus!
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The original intent to build this was to store the relics of the Passion of Christ. Here in the 1st floor, are a 15 tall stained glass windows that are just impeccable! 7 of these 15 have been restored after they were damaged in French Revolution.
From there I stopped over at Les Musees de Decoratifs (yes, as a designer, I had to see it for sure) and that was my day in Paris. It was 6 pm by then and I sat down at the Tuileries Garden and it was time for my return journey. Yes, 2 visits to Paris and I haven't seen Louvre yet. Don't kill me....
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Here's a tip or 2: It definitely helps to get a day pass for the Paris Metro at €12.30 for its unlimited travel within zones 1-3 and almost all monuments & places of interest are within this. If you're there for atleast 2 days or more Paris Museum Pass makes sense. If its a day trip, all you can see is a max of 3-4 places At €48, its may prove cheaper to buy tickets individually! Though it says queue can be skipped, the number of people having the pass itself is too many that, that queue itself is pretty long. Unfortunately some places do not provide priority (read, skip queue) entrance to the pass holders incl Tower of Notre Dame as well as Saint Chapelle. Final tip, if you're a vegetarian, skip McD in France!
P.S: I was invited by Paris Dept of Tourism to experience the city for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
Dedicated to Venkat
From there I stopped over at Les Musees de Decoratifs (yes, as a designer, I had to see it for sure) and that was my day in Paris. It was 6 pm by then and I sat down at the Tuileries Garden and it was time for my return journey. Yes, 2 visits to Paris and I haven't seen Louvre yet. Don't kill me....
To Get There:
Nearest railway station: Cite & Saint Michel
Entry Ticket: €10, €8, €10 respectively
Comes as a part of Paris Museum Pass.
Both Museum Pass & Trasport Pass can be bought online in their website
Entry Ticket: €10, €8, €10 respectively
Comes as a part of Paris Museum Pass.
Both Museum Pass & Trasport Pass can be bought online in their website
P.S: I was invited by Paris Dept of Tourism to experience the city for review purpose, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
Dedicated to Venkat