I didn't do much outdoorsy stuff on the recent trip to Paris, most of my time was spent in galleries, but I thought I'd share a few photos of a grey and chilly city.
The Paris Opera is one of those buildings that just screams opulence from every crevice and carefully cleaned stone. It's lit up at night, which is a slight hint that Paris is proud of it. I've never been inside but I'd like to go in one day - they probably do tours. This photo was taken from a traffic island that is also one of the entrances/exits from the Opera Metro station - one of the all-too-brief moments without a stream of traffic honking its way in front of the building.
It doesn't take much to make me happy and this extraordinary 'crown' made me happy. It's outside the Comedie Francais, one of the old theatres of Paris and covers the entrance to the local Metro station. When we went back on the way to the Pompidou Centre after dark I was disappointed that it wasn't lit up, what a grand vision that would've been.
The Louvre is an old and impossibly grand palace, the kind of place that probably couldn't be built today because of the sheer size and expense, a big 'fuck off' statement to the world. The Pyramid is new and is probably one of the main symbols of modern Paris. It's now the main entrance to The Louvre, going through security and then descending by boring old escalator or by a spiral staircase. If you look in the centre of the photo there's a box-shape that is the robot that cleans the Pyramid. As well as being the entrance to The Louvre, it's also one of the entrances to a large underground shopping centre.
The Christmas lights of the Galeries Lafayette attracted me from afar. The building fills a full block behind the Opera and it was covered in lights, very carefully switching on and off to create a magical and spectacular light show. The windows were all decorated with Christmas scenes presided over by a small gingerbread man, sometimes with a hoarde of teddy bears to do his bidding or join in the party, all moving and held up by thin wires, a most unexpected sight. The Galeries Lafayette fully puts to shame the measly and rather boring lights on the main department stores on Oxford Street. I loved the Lafayette lights but cringe at the carbon footprint, but you can't have it all.
A view from the top of the Pompidou Centre at night, with the golden glow of the Eiffel Tower in the distance with it's spotlight slowly twirling round over the city keeping an eye on things. It's a very flat city, with almost all buildings being about five stories high, so things like the Eiffel Tower and the odd office block on the outskirts really stand out, as does the hill of Montmartre.
The Pompidou Centre at night, with the glass escalator on the outside rising up five floors to a viewing area from which you can see Paris stretching away into the distance. The ground floor seems to be just an empty space where you can buy tickets to the galleries above. The ground isn't grass, it's cobble stones but the external lights seem to have coloured it green.
Here's a glimpse of an autumnal Tuileries gardens that run along the side of the Seine from The Louvre to the Champs d'Elysses. It's a big public space with statues and fountains dotted around, but we only cut through to get to the nearest bridge over the river to get to the Musee d'Orsey. The Eiffel Tower is in the background. I've only ever seen the gardens in spring or autumn so would like to see it in full summer growth and colour some time.
The Paris Opera is one of those buildings that just screams opulence from every crevice and carefully cleaned stone. It's lit up at night, which is a slight hint that Paris is proud of it. I've never been inside but I'd like to go in one day - they probably do tours. This photo was taken from a traffic island that is also one of the entrances/exits from the Opera Metro station - one of the all-too-brief moments without a stream of traffic honking its way in front of the building.
It doesn't take much to make me happy and this extraordinary 'crown' made me happy. It's outside the Comedie Francais, one of the old theatres of Paris and covers the entrance to the local Metro station. When we went back on the way to the Pompidou Centre after dark I was disappointed that it wasn't lit up, what a grand vision that would've been.
The Louvre is an old and impossibly grand palace, the kind of place that probably couldn't be built today because of the sheer size and expense, a big 'fuck off' statement to the world. The Pyramid is new and is probably one of the main symbols of modern Paris. It's now the main entrance to The Louvre, going through security and then descending by boring old escalator or by a spiral staircase. If you look in the centre of the photo there's a box-shape that is the robot that cleans the Pyramid. As well as being the entrance to The Louvre, it's also one of the entrances to a large underground shopping centre.
The Christmas lights of the Galeries Lafayette attracted me from afar. The building fills a full block behind the Opera and it was covered in lights, very carefully switching on and off to create a magical and spectacular light show. The windows were all decorated with Christmas scenes presided over by a small gingerbread man, sometimes with a hoarde of teddy bears to do his bidding or join in the party, all moving and held up by thin wires, a most unexpected sight. The Galeries Lafayette fully puts to shame the measly and rather boring lights on the main department stores on Oxford Street. I loved the Lafayette lights but cringe at the carbon footprint, but you can't have it all.
A view from the top of the Pompidou Centre at night, with the golden glow of the Eiffel Tower in the distance with it's spotlight slowly twirling round over the city keeping an eye on things. It's a very flat city, with almost all buildings being about five stories high, so things like the Eiffel Tower and the odd office block on the outskirts really stand out, as does the hill of Montmartre.
The Pompidou Centre at night, with the glass escalator on the outside rising up five floors to a viewing area from which you can see Paris stretching away into the distance. The ground floor seems to be just an empty space where you can buy tickets to the galleries above. The ground isn't grass, it's cobble stones but the external lights seem to have coloured it green.
Here's a glimpse of an autumnal Tuileries gardens that run along the side of the Seine from The Louvre to the Champs d'Elysses. It's a big public space with statues and fountains dotted around, but we only cut through to get to the nearest bridge over the river to get to the Musee d'Orsey. The Eiffel Tower is in the background. I've only ever seen the gardens in spring or autumn so would like to see it in full summer growth and colour some time.
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