Paris: The City of Light, Love, and Revolution
Paris
The City of Light
The City of Love
The City of Revolution
My Experience in Paris
Palace of Versailles
This grandiose palace had much more humble beginnings than the building we see today. This building actually started as a small hunting lodge for King Louis XIII in 1624. Later, his son Louis XIV loved the area so much that he decided to expand the chateau to something much greater. After becoming King, he began extensive building projects on it to make it a place of leisure and entertainment. Eventually, it became the main residence of the French Court and Government. It was expanded until his death in 1715 when his son King Louis XV abandoned the site and moved the government back into Paris. It wasn’t until seven years later that he returned to Versailles and continued the previous work as well as begin creating his own vision of more intimate, private chambers within. Eventually, King Louis XVI took the reigns and fell in love with the palace. He supported even further expansion of the grounds and spent most of his time there, even though most of the government had been moved back to Paris by this time. Throughout the centuries, Versailles has been abandoned and remodeled to what stands today. Touring the grounds showed just how rich and ornate it was during these times.
The Eiffel Tower
The most famous landmark in Paris, and most hated my Parisians. This structure was originally designed and created for The World’s Fair of 1889. Gustave Eiffel was the main engineer and namesake of the tower. It took just over 2 years to build and was only supposed to be temporary for the fair. However, it has withstood the test of time and lasted through leaders who wanted it gone, such as Adolf Hitler. Now you can see it throughout the city and even go up the tower to see amazing panoramic views of Paris. The river Seine is also a popular place to view the tower.
The Louvre
The Louvre was originally built in 1190 as a fortress to protect the city from invasions. When the growing masses of Paris could no longer be contained within the walls, they were taken down and the fortress became a residence for the royal monarchy. By 1793, the Louvre was turned into a museum. The pyramids in the courtyard were added in the 1980’s to increase visitors. The museum now contains some of the most famous art in the world, including the popular (but tiny) Mona Lisa.
The Catacombs
Walking through these haunting hallways and seeing such old construction and bones was terrifyingly beautiful! This entire system had a very unique start. When Paris was first being built, limestone was used for many of the buildings since it was so abundant in the area. So the people would dig huge queries into the earth to mine the limestone and use it in construction. Fast forward to the 1800’s, there was a problem in the city: the cemeteries. The cemeteries were getting so full and overcrowded that the town started digging huge mass graves to throw the freshly dead into. This was wildly unpopular; Not only were the graves disturbed and unmarked, but they were causing widespread illness from the conditions surrounding them. Eventually, they came up with the perfect solution… They could transfer the skeletal remains from the cemeteries into the tunnels! So, they began digging up the cemeteries and transferring the remains over. They even created an Ossuary within the tunnels which was used up until a few years ago for church services on November 1st. It is believed that the skeletal remains of 6-7 million Parisians are down there now.
Throughout history, many groups and underground societies have found ways into the tunnels to hold parties, raves, concerts, and other events. Even full blown restaurants have been found. Many, many more similar areas have never been discovered by the public’s eye. It is an absolute dream of mine to be invited to an event in the underground tunnels of the catacombs to party or eat or dance amongst the bones of lost Parisians.
Now, a specific section of the catacombs is open for the public where you can walk amongst walls of different bones, some even forming designs. (I call the heart “Love You to Death”) You can easily find the website to purchase tickets before hand and experience it for yourself. Touring the catacombs was an unreal experience. This was probably my favorite part of the entire trip!
Around the City
There were so many beautiful sites to see just walking around the city. I went to the Moulin Rouge which is a famous cabaret where you can enjoy dinner and an exciting show. It cannot be missed by anyone going to Paris. I also went on a few cruises of the Seine river which was a unique and beautiful tour of the city’s waterfront.
My Final Thoughts
Paris was honestly amazing and everything I had hoped for when booking the trip. Public transportation was abundant and easy to navigate. I got a week-long pass since I stayed for 5 days and it was well worth it. The city is beautiful with amazing sites and restaurants on every corner. I never got bored and could go back and find more new interesting things to see and do. Besides being a little underprepared for the colder weather (which is my own packing brain’s fault) it was beautiful and I couldn’t have been happier with my experience!
Thank you for reading and happy traveling.
Date Visited: October 29 - November 1, 2019
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