Paris June 2014

By Beatrice Wong
June 25, 2014
10:56 am
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Paris is one of my favorite European cities where I have visited countless times since my university days. My god daughter and her mother, one of my closest friends, live in Paris. I would visit at least once a year if not two or three times just to shop, eat, and most importantly to hang out. This is the first time since the advent of digital cameras that I decided to walk around and photograph some of the more touristy places in the city.

My first stop was to Champs de Mars, the public park in front of the Eiffel Tower, to see a replica of the Eiffel Tower made of red chairs. This 13-meter structure made from 324 red chairs was created to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower. There are a couple of carousels near the Eiffel Tower and I find it strangely mesmerising watching them go round and round.

Pont des Arts also referred to as Love Bridge is where lovers would profess their undying love by writing their names on padlocks, attaching them to the bridge, and throwing the key into the Seine. Soon tourists followed suit and there were street vendors selling padlocks at the bridge. These padlocks seem to take on lives of their own and grew covering the bridge and extended to Pont d’Archeveche and other monuments becoming a dangerous threat of collapse of the bridges.

Update: In June 2015, municipal workers removed 45 tonnes of padlocks from the bridge putting an end to this romantic gesture.

Wedding photo shoot in Paris

Notre Dame is a Catholic cathedral on the Ile de la Cite and is a very good example of French Gothic architecture. Do also visit the Sainte-Chapelle on the island as well. Sainte-Chapelle is a medieval Gothic chapel in the courtyard of the former royal palace. The large stained-glass windows are magnificent.

Notre Dame

Sainte-Chapelle

Ceiling of the Lower Chapel

Interior of Sainte-Chapelle

Stained Glass windows of Sainte Chapelle

Palais Royal is one of my favorite places in Paris. It was originally the private residence of Cardinal Richelieu until he bequeathed the building to King Louis XIII. It is very pleasant to have a coffee in the courtyard, browse the shops along the long galleries or sit in the garden and watch the world go by.

Palais Royal