St. Dennis Adventures

I n the 18th century, the bones from all of the city's cemeteries were centralized in unused limestone quarries to become the Catacombs of Paris. The Catacombs were opened to the public at the beginning of the 19th century and have attracted large numbers of visitors. Touring the catacombs is not suitable for visitors of "a ne rvous disposition" and those brave enough to embark on the tour are advised they will cover two kilometers of underground tunnels and descend 130 steps below street level to begin their visit! Entering the Catacombs, vi sitors are surrounded by the remains of six million Parisians, stacked in 780 meters of corridors running under the bustling streets above them. The skulls and bones of the Catacombs are carefully arranged and form decorative facades. The quarry corridors include walls which have been sculpted to look like fortresses, and near the cimetiere des innocents th ere is a chapel. There is a barrel shaped arrangement of skulls and bones i...

During the reign of Louis VII, in 1163, the first stone of Notre Dame Cathedral was laid. An ambitious project that took almost 200 years to complete, it is recognized for its Gothic architecture and its treasury which is purported to house the crown of thorns. The Cathedral is was one of the first buildings to introduce flying buttresses - arched exterior supports to reduce the risk of stress fractures on the walls of the cathedral. The Cathedral is famous for its towers made famous in Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame where its main character was bell ringer, Quasimodo. We took a tour of these infamous twin towers, waiting hours in line to make our way up the spiral staircase that never seemed to end. Our arrival at the top of the tower was well worth it. We passed by an enormous 17th century bell. Weighing in at 13 tons, this bell now rings on special occasions only. The other tower, with four bells, rings out several times a day. We also got a bird’s eye view of the gargo...

Built to glorify the armies of the Republic and the Empire, this monument was constructed in the early 1800s on the Champs Elysees. History documents Napoleon's message to his soldiers is that you will march home through the "arches of victory". During our visit we climbed close to 300 steps to the mezzanine at the top of the triumphal arches. This bird's eye view has twelve avenues that stretch out around it, and the traffic roundabout at its base has at least six different lanes of traffic zig zagging around it. Even at night the traffic is nonstop. At its base is the tomb of the Unknown S oldier. The First World War history books suggest that France's elected officials voted to bring the remains of an unknown soldier to the city's Pantheon but the veteran's associated rejected this choice and chose instead that the grave of the Unknown Soldier be honoured at the Arc de Triomphe instead. Its flame was lit in1923 and remains lit to this day.

We were greeted by a long lineup when we arrived at the Musée D'Orsay but thankfully we had our museum passes so we didn't have too long of a wait! The Orsay is located in a former railway station that was built in 1900. The art in the museum dates back to the same time period and includes impressive paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. It is well known for its extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces - the largest collection in the world - by painters including Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne and van Gogh. The building is a work of art in itself and operated as a railway station until 1939 when its short platforms were no longer suitable for the longer trains that were used for mainline services. When we began our tour of the museum, we arrived at the concourse filled with sculptures. Winding our way from the main floor to the top floor, we arrived at the Impressionist Gallery which displays the masterpieces of the Impressionist...

We visited Auguste Rodin's museum which is housed on the site chosen by the sculptor, where Rodin lived from 1908 onward. The museum collection includes works and documents from his studio and his own collection. Ironically, Rodin failed the entrance examination to art school and took a craftsman-like approach to his work seeking employment from other studios. One of Rodin's most popular commissions was the melting pot of different figures that became the Gates of Hell. Rodin created this monumental sculpture which depicts scenes from Dante's Inferno . Likely one of the most recognized works in all of sculpture, the Thinker , depicts "the contemplation of life's work and the misfortunes of mankind". Seated on the The Gates of Hell, the Thinker watches the scene of the Inferno, brooding in contemplation. His athletic body is rife with tension, suggesting a tough intellectual struggle. During his lifetime, Rodin was compared to Michelangelo and was widely...

Originally built as a church, the Pantheon is now a mausoleum containing the remains of France's distinguished citizens. Napoleon deemed the crypt of the Pantheon of this former basilica to be the final resting place of the great servants of the state. Among those buried here are Voltaire (famous for his advocacy of civil liberties including freedom of religion and the separation of church and state); Victor Hugo (French poet and writer of Les Miserables); Marie Sklodowska-Curie (the first woman to win a Nobel prize for her pioneering research in radioactivity) and Louise Braille (the inventor of the Braille system of reading and writing). More recently, in 2002, guards carried in the coffin of Alexandre Dumas, author of the Three Musketeers, draped in cloth inscribed "One for all, all for one". Another fascinating aspect of the Pantheon is that it house's Foucault's pendulum. First placed here to demonstrate the earth's rotation, the device was designed a...

As its name suggests, the Musée de l'Orangerie is located in a former orangery and is now a gallery of impressionist paintings including the large scale water lily murals done by Claude Monet in 1922. The last of these murals were donated on his death in 1926. It is said that Monet wanted Parisians to have a peaceful haven, writing "nerves overwrought by work would relax there just like the rel axing example of these stagnant waters". The works are inspired by the water garden he created at his property in Giverny. It is said that he wrote daily instructions to his gardener on the design and layout of his property and remained its architect, even after he hired several gardeners.

Across from the green space at the Eiffel Tower is Les Invalides - a monumental building that operates as a hospital and retirement home for war veterans as well as the burial place of some of France's most famous residents. The most notable tomb is that of Napoleon Bonaparte whose grand tomb was placed under the build ing's elaborate dome in 1840. It was 1670 when King Louis XIV determined there was a need to build a home for its wounded and homeless soldiers. One of the most prestigious monument in Paris, it still maintains its initial purpose as a hospital and retirement home, but now the building is also a museum and includes the plans and relief maps that lay out, in great detail, the war fronts - their landscape and geography - which were used to determine tactical strategies to fit in the wars. The courtyard of the Invalides is lined with a battery of French bronze cannons, said to be the jewels of th e artillery collection of the Musee de l'Armee . These trace ...

It is said that the Eiffel Tower was to be a temporary exhibit, constructed for the 1889 World Fair. The tower was a huge success where it's estimated there were a couple of million tourists who visited it during the fair. Although it was supposed to be dismantled t wenty years after its construction, the tower proved to be a valuable communication tool and was used as a radio antenna to support radio and television transmissions. The Eiffel Tour has become a popular part of the Parisian landscape, entering the hearts and souls of Parisians and visitors alike. It is a break taking structure, day or night. Visitors who decide to take an elevator ride to the top will find themselves 1,000 feet in the air taking in the sweeping views of the city. Unfortunately the week were visiting Paris, one of the elevators was not in operation, causing massive queues of up to 6 hours delay.  We didn't wait in the long lines to go up the tower this trip.

The Basilica of Saint Denis is located, coincidentally, in Saint Denis, France. The Basilica is recognized for its gothic architecture and stained glass which was restored in the 19th century. Saint Denis Basilica is often compared to Westminster Abbey in London because it is the final resting place of many French monarchs - all but three of the monarchs of France from the 10th century until 1789 have their remains here. Unfortunately, during the French Revolution many of the monarch tombs were opened, with their bodies removed and dumped in pits. Napoleon Bonaparte reopened the church in 1806, but the royal remains were left in their mass graves until the search began for the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Anto inette. Their remains were found in 1815 and returned for burial in the crypt of St. Denis. In 1817 the mass graves containing all the other remains were opened, but it was impossible to distinguish any individual in the collection of bones. The remains were therefore plac...

Despite the fact that the Louvre has nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 19th century, the building is a work of art in itself. The Louvre began as a fortress in the late 12th century and, in 1682, Louis XIV left for Versailles which left the Louvre primarily as a place to display the royal collection. The Louvre was altered frequently throughout the middle ages and in the 14th century Charles V converted the building into a residence. The Louvre was transformed into a public museum during the French revolution. One of the most popular pieces in the Louvre is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The picture is smaller than expected, is a popular picture for visitors to see, and is protected by bullet proof glass - which make its viewing a little under whelming. One of the most fascinating pieces in the Louvre's collection is the Code of Hammurabi . Dating back to 1772 B.C. this well preserved Babylonian code is one of the oldest known deciphered writings in the world. Ki...

King Louis IX of France built Saint Chappelle or the Holy Chapel to house his collection of relics including the Crown of Thorns. Completed in 1248, this private place of worship has stunning stained glass. Despite its small size, the stained glass interior fills the room thanks to the narrow columns which frame and support the stained glass. It is said that there is close to 6,500 square feet of stained glass in the chapel which recreate figures from the Bible. During the French Revolution th e chapel was converted to office space and filing cabinets lined the stained glass windows, ultimately protecting the glass from the ensuing vandalism. Although most of the relics were lost or destroyed in the French Revolution, the few that remain are now safely stored in the treasury of Notre Dame Cathedral. The Conciergerie is next door to Saint Chappelle. Originally the residence of the Kings of France, this royal residence was used to hold prisoners of the state. Increasingly, it began t...

  It 's not hard to feel as though you're climbing to heaven when you visit Sacré-Coeur. Too big to ignore, this grand Basilica is perched atop Montmartre hill. The inside of the Basilica has massive golden mosaics, vaulted arches, bronzed doors decorated with biblical scenes and stained-glass windows. We stayed for a few minutes of the evening mass before heading outdoors to soak up the view of the Paris skyline at night. The name signifies the “mount of martyrs" because it is said that this is the place of the martyrdom of Saint Dennis, the first bishop of Paris and his companions. The neighborhood of Montmartre stands apart from the hustle and bustle of th e rest of the city. Now home to local street artists, in its day this area of the city was immortalized by infamous artists like Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh and Renoir. This is a fun area to tour the shops, shop for local art and enjoy the local patisseries.

On a small rocky island about a kilometre from the northern coast of France lies the fairy tale castle of Mont. St. Michel. Since the sixth century, monks in search of solitude have lived here.This architectural treasure was declared a historic monument in 1897 and was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. Mont St. Michel has been an important pilgrimage center since A.D. 708 and it is said that monks built on the rock to get as close to heaven as possible. The climb to visit the Abbey was hard work -- to make our way to the top we climbed approximately 900 steps. After making our way to the top, we enjoyed the views overlooking the water of the bay. The mount is best known for the medieval Benedictine Abbey and steepled church that occupies most of this clump of rock jutting out of the waters of the English Channel. The actual abbey of Mont St. Michel is the reason to visit. Saint Michael, whose gilded statue decorates the top of the abbey's spire, was the...