Paris 2015 Day 5: Canal Saint-Martin
The July Column at the Place de la Bastille. This is the place where once the Bastille prison stood which was stormed on 14 July 1789. It is now the French National Day. The original building was completely destroyed.
Closer look at the July Column. The 47 metres high column marks the events of 1830 when one king fell and was replaced by another one during the July Revolution (sorry, my knowledge about French history is a bit sketchy).
The newly built Opéra Bastille, home of the Paris National Opera, also at the Place de la Bastille. Verdi or Schönberg, why choose?
Extension of the opera building complex down the road.
The street that leads to the southern entry of the Place des Vosges.
A very pretty (literally) square surrounded by 36 similar designed houses. It was completed in July 1605.
Equestrian Statue of Louis XIII.
It is one of the five royal squares. A nice place to take a break.
Victor Hugo lived in the house No.6 from 1832 to 1848. It is now a museum devoted to him. Cardinal Richelieu lived at No. 21 in the early 17th century.
The arcades around the square.
Back at the Seine, another picture of the stalls.
The Hotel de Ville that we have visited before in the evening. It houses the city's local administration.
The numbers I've seen vary, but there are at least 146 statues part of the facade. Unfortunately, another exhibition with tents on the square before the building again obstructed the view.
The 52-metre high Tour Saint-Jacques. Shortly before the trip I had read that on selected days they recently began to allow a few people to climb the tower. "A few" on this case means, 17 per hour, 136 per day. So it didn't seem like a good idea to try to do that. However, when I passed the tower that afternoon, a few students were sitting at a table handing out leaflets and they assured me that if I come again the next morning it would be possible to get to the top. Apparently, it is not yet widely known that you can climb the tower. Though you have to be in decent shape to use the narrow stairs. Of course, I was tempted to return the next day. But it didn't really fit into the schedule of the rest of the trip.
The Fontaine des Innocents, built in 1550.
Saint-Eustache, a church built between 1532 and 1633.
Stained glass windows inside the church.
The organ. While we there someone actually played. I'm not a church goer. But listening to an organ played inside a church is always nice experience.
Some more impressions from inside. Again, many of the interior shots weren't taken by me.
Chapel of the Virgin Mary.
The Bourse de commerce building next to the church. It once was a commodity exchange. Now it is home of a French group promoting commerce and industry. They also hold exhibitions inside.
Sculpture nearby. The whole area is called Les Halles. It is home of a giant, mostly underground, shopping complex which is undergoing a multi-year renovation. Much of the area is fenced off.
Side view of Saint-Eustache.
A building that caught my eye.
That afternoon a "refugees welcome" demonstration took place at the Place de la République. So traffic was a bit congested.
For the evening we took a trip to Stalingrad. Which is a metro station close to the northern end of the Canal Saint-Martin.
The Rotunda de la Villette, situated between the Bassin de la Villette and the Canal Saint-Martin.
The Bassin de la Villette is the northern extension of the Canal Saint-Martin.
It's an artificial lake that then leads to the Canal de l'Ourcq, a one hundred kilometres long canal that leaves Paris to the west.
At the strand there are cafés, restaurants and movie theatres.
We didn't go further north, but took the way back south along the Canal Saint-Martin.
The canal has a number of locks.
Which are, as we all know, popular places for skipping stones.
It didn't seem overly dirty at the time. But a recent decision to drain the canal for another cleaning operation is understandable.
In general, from what I've read, I was expecting the area to be more lively. Parts of the area along the canal were even a bit shady. One reason why it was so quiet was probably the weather. We had to pause the walk for a while because of a rain shower. The only time we encountered rain during our stay.
Our walk ended close to the Place de la République where the canal goes underground for two kilometres. Then we took the metro to do a little more nighttime sightseeing. First stop, the Opéra Garnier. Which looks great at night.
Looks like there's an intermission.
The Pont-Neuf metro station.
The Monnaie de Paris/Paris mint is nearby, so they decorated the station with large reproductions of various coins.
Pont Neuf at night.
And a nighttime look at the Notre Dame cathedral.
It makes sense to have a restaurant with that name in that area.
Closer look at the July Column. The 47 metres high column marks the events of 1830 when one king fell and was replaced by another one during the July Revolution (sorry, my knowledge about French history is a bit sketchy).
The newly built Opéra Bastille, home of the Paris National Opera, also at the Place de la Bastille. Verdi or Schönberg, why choose?
Extension of the opera building complex down the road.
The street that leads to the southern entry of the Place des Vosges.
A very pretty (literally) square surrounded by 36 similar designed houses. It was completed in July 1605.
Equestrian Statue of Louis XIII.
It is one of the five royal squares. A nice place to take a break.
Victor Hugo lived in the house No.6 from 1832 to 1848. It is now a museum devoted to him. Cardinal Richelieu lived at No. 21 in the early 17th century.
The arcades around the square.
Back at the Seine, another picture of the stalls.
The Hotel de Ville that we have visited before in the evening. It houses the city's local administration.
The numbers I've seen vary, but there are at least 146 statues part of the facade. Unfortunately, another exhibition with tents on the square before the building again obstructed the view.
The 52-metre high Tour Saint-Jacques. Shortly before the trip I had read that on selected days they recently began to allow a few people to climb the tower. "A few" on this case means, 17 per hour, 136 per day. So it didn't seem like a good idea to try to do that. However, when I passed the tower that afternoon, a few students were sitting at a table handing out leaflets and they assured me that if I come again the next morning it would be possible to get to the top. Apparently, it is not yet widely known that you can climb the tower. Though you have to be in decent shape to use the narrow stairs. Of course, I was tempted to return the next day. But it didn't really fit into the schedule of the rest of the trip.
The Fontaine des Innocents, built in 1550.
Saint-Eustache, a church built between 1532 and 1633.
Stained glass windows inside the church.
The organ. While we there someone actually played. I'm not a church goer. But listening to an organ played inside a church is always nice experience.
Some more impressions from inside. Again, many of the interior shots weren't taken by me.
Chapel of the Virgin Mary.
The Bourse de commerce building next to the church. It once was a commodity exchange. Now it is home of a French group promoting commerce and industry. They also hold exhibitions inside.
Sculpture nearby. The whole area is called Les Halles. It is home of a giant, mostly underground, shopping complex which is undergoing a multi-year renovation. Much of the area is fenced off.
Side view of Saint-Eustache.
A building that caught my eye.
That afternoon a "refugees welcome" demonstration took place at the Place de la République. So traffic was a bit congested.
For the evening we took a trip to Stalingrad. Which is a metro station close to the northern end of the Canal Saint-Martin.
The Rotunda de la Villette, situated between the Bassin de la Villette and the Canal Saint-Martin.
The Bassin de la Villette is the northern extension of the Canal Saint-Martin.
It's an artificial lake that then leads to the Canal de l'Ourcq, a one hundred kilometres long canal that leaves Paris to the west.
At the strand there are cafés, restaurants and movie theatres.
We didn't go further north, but took the way back south along the Canal Saint-Martin.
The canal has a number of locks.
Which are, as we all know, popular places for skipping stones.
It didn't seem overly dirty at the time. But a recent decision to drain the canal for another cleaning operation is understandable.
In general, from what I've read, I was expecting the area to be more lively. Parts of the area along the canal were even a bit shady. One reason why it was so quiet was probably the weather. We had to pause the walk for a while because of a rain shower. The only time we encountered rain during our stay.
Our walk ended close to the Place de la République where the canal goes underground for two kilometres. Then we took the metro to do a little more nighttime sightseeing. First stop, the Opéra Garnier. Which looks great at night.
Looks like there's an intermission.
The Pont-Neuf metro station.
The Monnaie de Paris/Paris mint is nearby, so they decorated the station with large reproductions of various coins.
Pont Neuf at night.
And a nighttime look at the Notre Dame cathedral.
It makes sense to have a restaurant with that name in that area.