Round trip Montmartre-La Seine with Agnieszka
Agnieszka – Pont des Arts 6:50 AM – Agnieszka lives in Manchester (United Kingdom). During her stay in Paris, Agnieszka chose to live near Montmartre. For this morning tour, we decided to go southward to join the river Seine and return to Montmartre by finishing by a sports ascent towards the basilica of the “Sacré Cœur”. On our way back, we crossed several mills: the “Moulin-Rouge” and the two mills which constitute the “Moulin de la Galette” (the “Blute-fin” and the “Radet”). Contrary to the “Moulin de la Galette”, the “Moulin Rouge” was never a real windmill, but from the beginning, a cabaret, this famous cabaret which saw the birth of the “French cancan” and which is always in service. These two windmills served to grind wheat but also to press grape to make wine. Formerly, Montmartre possessed numerous windmills. These two mills are the only remaining ones. Agnieszka – Moulin de la Galette (here the “Radet”) – Montmartre Gradually, the “Moulin de la Galette” was transformed into a cabaret. The ball of the “Moulin de la Galette” was famous and attracted numerous artists. Among them, Auguste Renoir, as witnesses his pictures: “Le bal du Moulin de la Galette”. Bal du moulin de la Galette, Auguste Renoir, 1876, Musée d’Orsay In Paris, works of art are not only in museums: the “Street Art” can be seen almost everywhere. See the one-way street sign behind Agnieszka on the photo near the Mill.Had you noticed this man who takes the white bar? Merci Agnieszka ! The route of the tour:
At the Palais Royal with Ray
Ray – Pont des Arts 6:48 AM – Ray, who lives near Sydney (Australia), on a business trip to France, took advantage of this Saturday morning to do a visit of Paris by running. Ray is an experienced coach who trains high-level athletes (See Ray’s web site). It is thus with a good pace that we went to discover the city. Having run on the left bank, we crossed the river Seine by the “Ile de la Cité” then joined the Palais Royal (Royal Palace), very quiet in the morning. Ray – Garden of the Palais Royal The Palais Royal was built by Cardinal de Richelieu in 1628. The Palace was then called the Cardinal Palace. After the death of Richelieu, the Regent Anne of Austria settled down there. His sons, king Louis XIV and his brother spent their first years there. The period of “La Fronde” (The sling) where the parliament and the noble persons dispute the royal authority, brought the king Louis XIV outside Paris. The Palace of Versailles was one of its biggest creations outside the capital. Palais Royal and Palais Royal’s garden After the Sling and the departure of young king Louis XIV, the Royal Palace witnessed numerous historic periods, the feasts of the Regency at the beginning of the 18th century for example, the debates of ideas and the start of the Revolution of 1789, then with the 19th century, the world of Cafés, houses of games and of prostitution (games and soliciting were forbidden in the 1830s)… Do you remember of the small cannon of the Palais Royal about which we had spoken here? More recently, in 1986, the Palais Royal exhibited a work of modern Art, “Les Deux plateaux” of the artist Daniel Buren, so called the “Columns of Buren”: Ray – Palais Royal – Columns of Buren These columns aroused an important debate within the population and in the media. The work of Art was nearly demolished. Very recently, as seen at the left of the photo above, quite wooden, a new theater appeared, the “Théâtre de l’Ephémère” (Short-lived Theatre), which replaces temporarily the nice building of “La Comédie Française”, currently being renovated. Merci Ray ! The route of the tour:
Under the sign of the French-American friendship with Cori
Cori – Pont des Arts and Louvre 7:10 AM – Cori from New York City (USA), came to Paris for a short stay of three days. Cori however wished to make a long tour in Paris, in spite of the small drizzle we had this morning. We thus made a long loop and crossed Paris since the Arc de Triomphe up to Notre-Dame by way of the Eiffel Tower. We placed our route under the sign of the French-American friendship by beginning the tour with the square of the United States in the 16th district of Paris. We can find a monument there dedicated to this good alliance. It calls back the support of France for the young America, a handshake between Lafayette and Washington : Cori – Square of the United States A little later, we discovered the Eiffel Tower, the head in clouds: Cori – Tour Eiffel Before following the Seine, in particular to cross the Pont des Arts, we met the Quai Branly Museum : Cori – Quai Branly museum The Quai Branly Museum, the museum of the Arts and Civilizations is very recent, it was opened in 2006. Do those who made the race of the 20 km of Paris at the end of 1990s remember that the place was during a few years the place of withdrawal of the race bibs? Merci Cori ! The route of the tour :
A little pause on the Pont des Arts during our long run
On the Pont des Arts 9:30 AM – With Lotte, from Brussels, Belgium, we did a two hours tour, having the opportunity to cross the river Seine six times to widely explore the left and right banks, running also on the two islands, starting near La Bastille going through the Luxembourg garden, crossing the Alma bridge far from La Bastille and coming back admiring many famous places (Champs Elysees, Opera, Notre Dame, Place des Vosges…) Merci Lotte! About the Seine, do you know how the Parisians measure the level of the Seine and the risk of flood? They use the statue of the Zouave of the Pont de l’Alma as you can see in the picture below. Le Zouave du Pont de l’Alma Actually, the Zouave of the Alma bridge does not seriously serve to measure the flood level, the real scale is installed on the “pont de la tournelle”. See also the Pont de l’Alma in 1910 (old one) with the flood: 1910 – The flood at the old Pont de l’Alma (from the left bank) By the way, you can compare the present level in the picture of the Arts bridge above with Lotte and the same picture last August here (see the tunnel left bank). The route of the tour (21 km/~13 miles):
A nice long tour with Brenda and Kevin
On the “Pont des Arts” 8:15 AM – A very long and nice tour with Brenda and Kevin. Let them speak: Here’s our testimonial for your blog: We visited Paris in August 2010, and it was our first time there. We were training for the New York City marathon and wanted to combine a training run with a running tour around the sights of Paris. We contacted Paris Running Tours and they arranged for Jean-Charles Sarfati to take us on a 23 km running tour of Paris. Jean-Charles came to our hotel, where we started our run. He had organized a customized tour/run, whereby he included all the major sights around the centre of Paris. It was fantastic! He told us historical facts about the places we saw and was more than patient to stop, explain and take pictures anywhere we wanted. We saw Place des Vosges, Bastille, Pont d’Austerlitz, Jardin des Plantes, Arenas de Lutece, Pantheon, Jardin de Luxembourg, Senate, Saint-Sulpice, Saint-Germain, Louvre, Tuileries, National Assembly, Invalide, Champs de Mars, Eiffel Tower, Trocadero, Canadian Embassy, Grand Palais, Concorde, Madeleine, Place Vendome, Opera, Palais Royale, Colbert and Vivienne Galleries, Les Halles, Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville, Pompidou Centre, and Archives. Inside “La Galerie Colbert” (The guard at the entrance said: “Walking only” !) It was the best experience during our time in Paris, and Jean-Charles made it extra-special! We have definitely recommended it to all our friends. Thank you, Paris Running Tours. Brenda and Kevin W. Calgary, Alberta CANADA Thank you Brenda and Kevin! The route of the tour: You can display Kevin and Brenda’s tour on a bigger map