Grande Arche – Arc de Triomphe return trip with Maggie
Maggie (in front of the Arc of Triumph) – Champs-Elysées 6:51 AM – Maggie, who lives near Houston, runs very regularly. Early on Sunday, we ran on the West part of the Paris historical axis (map here), from “La Défense” up to the Arc of Triumph. We thus left “La Défense” to cross its esplanade, the city of Neuilly, the avenue of the “Grande Armée” and join the Arc of Triumph on the “Place de l’Étoile” (place of the Star). We went around the “Arc de Triomphe”, admired the other part of the historical axis: Champs-Elysées, far off, the obelisk of “La Concorde” then, at the end, the Louvre (on the photo above, by enlarging it, we can see the Obelisk and the buildings of the Louvre far off). Maggie – The “Arc de Triomphe” On returning to “La Défense”, we were able to appreciate some of the numerous works of art arranged on the Esplanade, as “the pond of Takis” created by Vassilakis Panayotis Takis: Maggie – The “Bassin” of Takis (1988) – The “Grande Arche” of “la Défense” or “Le Moretti” (“Cheminée Moretti”) of Raymond Moretti : “Cheminée Moretti” (1995) “La Défense” is the biggest business center in Europe. On this Sunday morning, the esplanade of “La Défense” was deserted, contrary to the working periods when the paving stone of “La Défense” is full of businesswomen and businessmen who join or leave their offices. La Défense (Click on the picture for a larger view) By the way, do you know why this business area is called “La Défense”? In 1883, the Statue of the defense of Paris was placed on a traffic circle of Courbevoie, one of the cities where is situated the business center. The statue evokes the resistance and the bravery of the Paris defenders during the 1870 French-Prussian war. See below “La Défense” in the debuts of the business center developments (begun with the CNIT): On the left, “La Défense” in 1962 with the statue in the center and the CNIT recently created (1958) On the right, the Statue of “La Défense” still visible on the esplanade and drilling the paving stone. A little run of 10 km through space and time! 😉 Merci Maggie ! The route of the tour:
On the Paris Marathon route with Magdalena
Magdalena – “Lac Inférieur” of the “Bois de Boulogne” – Close to Kilometer 41 (mile 25.8) 9:31 AM – Magdalena, who lives in Poland, prepares the 2013 Paris marathon. It will be her second marathon after the one of Warsaw. We thus chose to follow beautiful portions of the Paris Marathon route by running about 20 kilometers (12.7 miles). We joined at first the magnificent Wood of Boulogne, awaiting the arrival of spring. It is in this wood that are located the last six kilometers of the marathon. For example, very close to the big lake, is the kilometer 41, an important passage! Out of the wood, at the beginning of the avenue Foch, we reach the kilometer 42 of which you can see the track registered on the ground in the photo below (track of the 2012 Paris marathon – find the very fresh mark in this other article of April 2012). The 2013 road markings are soon going to appear… Magdalena – Avenue Foch – Kilomètre 42, à 195 mètres de l’arrivée ! Kilometer 42, only 195 meters to go, Rich in sensations and feelings… Before the “Arc de Triomphe”, is the “triumphant” arrival (we can see the location of the arrival on the photo above, at the green light – click on the picture for a larger view). We then stroll up the avenue Foch to find the Champs-Elysées, located on one of the branches of “the Star”, center of which is the Arc de Triomphe (“Place de l’Etoile”=”Place of the star”). The Paris Marathon starts in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. What a magnificent place to begin a marathon! (See a photo of the start in this other article.) Magdalena – Place de la Concorde – Having left the Kilometer 1 on the Champs-Elysées Champs-Elysées, “place de la Concorde”, the street of Rivoli, the Bastille, the Wood of Vincennes and its magnificent castle, the splendid banks of the Seine, the Wood of Boulogne and the grand finish avenue Foch. Aren’t you tempted by this route? Route of the 2013 Paris Marathon Merci Magdalena ! Good Paris marathon! The route of the tour :
In front of the garden of the Elysée with Meredith and John
Meredith and John in front of the gardens of the Élysée Palace, residence of the President of the Republic. To see the main entrance, on the other side, you can click here 9:07 AM – Meredith and John come from the East coast of the United States (Washington, New York) and are in Paris for a cultural and very sports visit. This Monday, March 4th, we combined a tourist stroll and and “recovery jogging”. Indeed, Meredith ran the day before, the Paris half marathon by establishing a new personal record on the distance. Bravo Meredith! More than 30000 participants at the 2013 Paris Half-marathon! The start. With a close look, you will see 2 Paris Running Tour guides in the foreground, orange and (Paris Running Tour) green T-shirts That is thus, quietly, that we crossed Paris and took advantage of the beautiful morning, second brightened up morning after a very cold and dark winter. Meredith and John – Garden of the Tuileries – On the historical axis: far off the Obelisk of the place de la Concorde and the Arc of Triumph at the end of Champs-Elysées On the photo above, we see clearly the “pyramidion” (pyramid cover cap) at the top of the Obelisk, its gold cover shines as in the time of antique Egypt. Did you also know that the Obelisk of “Place de la Concorde” represented the gnomon (the needle) of a gigantic sundial? Had you noticed these marks on the ground? A gigantic sundial (1999) “place de la Concorde” – Click on the picture to see the details! The hour calculation is not as simple (duration of the day, etc.) By continuing our running, we returned on the historic axis, with in its beginning, the Louvre: Meredith and John – The pyramid of the Louvre It is in this way that we admired the oldest monument of Paris, the obelisk of Concorde (13è century BC) and one of the most modern, the Louvre Pyramid (inaugurated in 1989)! Merci Meredith, merci John! The route of the tour:
Running with Pedro and Juliana on the historic axis of Paris
Pedro and Juliana – On the historic axis of Paris, in the garden of the Tuileries 9:10 AM – Juliana and Pedro are well trained runners from Campinas, near Sao Paulo in Brazil. We ran all along the river the Seine and for a good part, on the historic axis of Paris. Historic axis? Yes, it is the name given to the axis which leaves the center of Paris and goes westward. The history of this axis began when the Capetian kings took the habit to leave the Louvre to go hunting in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, drawing then a way in straight line to the West. In 1599, king Henri IV created a road on this axis leading of the Louvre to Saint Germain’s castle. This axis is successively fitted out and embellished, by the extension of the Louvre, the garden of the Tuileries, the place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe and now, the Business center of the La Defense with the “Grande Arche”. Discover in detail the historic axis of Paris. Click on the following image. On the obtained page, you can again enlarge the image (a new click on it). Then, take place on the right of the image and with the horizontal-scroll, move on the left (Have a good trip!) Do you remember the previous article, which speaks about the Baron Haussman who had wished to enlarge the axis eastward? Do you also remember this running with Amy, where we had made a buckle on the West part of the axis by leaving from “La Defense”? Pedro and Juliana – Quai d’Orsay Juliana and Pedro – Champ de Mars and Esplanade du Trocadéro Merci Juliana et Pedro ! The route of the tour:
Paris Marathon 2012, Kilometer 1, with Sarah
Sarah – Place du Canada 6:56 AM – Sarah from Canada, who works and lives with her family in the Bahamas, has already run several marathons. We went to visit Paris by running on a circuit of a dozen kilometers. Several times, our road crossed the path of the very next marathon of Paris (April 15th), which allowed us to share our experiences of marathon runners. Sarah evoked the magnificent marathon of Nassau, Bahamas, along the sea. Going up to the Chaillot hill, we crossed the Palais de Tokyo, contemporary art museum. Above the entrance is a huge countdown. But what does it count? The artist, Gianni Motti, the creator of this digital clock, appropriates one of the biggest future natural disasters: his “Big Crunch Clock” is the detonator activated “to provoke” the explosion of the sun (planned in 5 billion years by the scientists). This clock deducts the time by tenth of seconds to trigger the 5 billion years “scheduled to trigger the explosion.” Entrance of the “Palais de Tokyo” – Contemporary Art Museum – “Big Crunch Clock” Gianni Motti But let us return to the marathon. By way of the Champs Elysées, we noticed that the kilometric marks on the ground were already there, for example, the kilometer 1 at the bottom of the magnificent avenue, little before reaching the place de la Concorde: Paris Marathon 2012- Kilometer 1 – Champs-Elysées The number which provokes so many feelings to the marathon runners is doubtless “42”. The kilometer 42 is also already indicated, as well as the arrival, a little less than 200 meters farther, in front of the Arc de Triomphe: Paris Marathon 2012 – Kilometer 42 – Avenue Foch (and Mile 26 a little before) Miles are indicated on the route as well such as the mile “26” which is for our English-speaking marathonian friends the “mythical” number (Marathon = 42.195 km or 26 miles and 386 yards). Discover the marathon route here. We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon! Merci Sarah ! The route of the tour :
Passing in front of the horses of Marly with Mary
Les Tuileries – Mary 8:00 AM – With Mary who lives near New York (USA), we chose the circuit of the most beautiful Parisian Palaces: the Ritz, the hotel Meurice, the Bristol, the George V, the Plaza Athénée… The Palaces tour also allowed us to run along one of the nicest routes of Paris, crossing by the “Ile de la Cité”, the Louvre, the Tuileries, Champs-Elysées… On our road, we were able to admire the Horses of Marly* which are in the West entrance of the Tuileries: Coysevox – La Renommée (The Fame) – Mercure (Mercury) and at the Est entrance of the Champs-Elysées: Coustou – Horses of Marly Actually, these statues are copies, originals being in the Musée du Louvre in a gallery visible from the outside. We can see them through a window from the passage between the Louvre Pyramid and the street of Rivoli (passage we took during our running): Le Louvre, cour Marly – Horses of Marly – Originals Those who, children in the sixties, looked at the French television, know well one of these statues. In the time, the programs began only late in the afternoon and were preceded by a TV test card which showed the statue “La Renommée”. The children in wait of emissions had all the leisure to admire it: Merci Mary ! The route of the tour : * Marly, where from come the statues, was one of the favorite residences of the king Louis XIV.
Running in the Champs-Elysées with Françoise and Benoît
Françoise and Benoît – Champs-Elysées 8:59 AM – With Françoise and Benoît of Belgium, we began our run on the Parisian western historic axis. This “royal” way begins in the Louvre with the equestrian statue of Louis XIV, crosses the garden of the Tuileries, continues by the Champs-Elysées, passes under the Arc de Triomphe and continues up to the business district of the La Defense to end at the Grande Arche. We then continued our sports stroll along the Seine on the left bank. In passing on the Pont des Arts, we saw the “beaches of Paris “: Paris-Plages. Paris-Plages is an event which takes place in Paris in summer on the right bank automobile traffic lane: some sand, deckchairs, games, concerts, any sorts of activities and this year, a beautiful sand castle! Paris-Plages Merci Benoît et Françoise ! The route of the tour :
At the Arc of Triumph with Tracy
Tracy – Arc de Triomphe 6:30 AM – With Tracy, of Texas (USA), we ran the most beautiful Parisian Palace tour, admiring, during our running, the Ritz, place Vendome, hotel Meurice hotel, hotel of Crillon, the Plaza Athenée and other beautiful hotels. Of course, we did not forget the magnificent Parisian monuments such as the majestic Arc de Triomphe of which we took advantage quietly in this early hour. It is one of the arcs promised by Napoleon to his troops, as the one of the Carousel that we have already evoked here. Have you ever been at the top of the Arc de Triomphe? The sight on the avenues arranged in the shape of a star (star as the name of the place) is there magnificent. The Champs Elysées seen from the top of the Arc of Triumph, place de l’Etoile (place Charles de Gaulle) Merci Tracy ! The route of the tour :
On the “île aux cygnes” with Sarah
Sarah – Ile aux cygnes 7:41 AM – With Sarah who lives near Chicago (USA), we left the Beaugrenelle district, in the West of Paris, to join the center up to the Louvre, to discover the city, always full of surprises. Do you know that besides the islands “Ile de la Cité” and “Ile Saint Louis”, in Paris, the Seine also accommodates the “Ile aux cygnes” (cygne=swan), artificial island of about one kilometer, an ideal straight line for runners? While passing by the “Champs-Elysées”, we noticed that the preparations for the National Day were quite advanced. The terraces of the presidencial stand, which will welcome the government, at the “Place de la Concorde”, on July 14th, are already installed as we can see on the picture below. Sarah – Place de la Concorde If you come to run at present near the place, very early in the morning, you should see the soldiers repeating the military parade (the marks of alignment are already drawn on the ground on the “Champs-Elysées” and on the place). Seats, barriers, installed in the “Champs-Elysées”, will also serve again for the last stage of the “Tour de France”, on July 24th. The “Champs-Elysées” for the military parade, the “Champs-Elysées” for the “Tour de France”, yes, but what we, Paris Running Tour, like above all, is the start of the Paris marathon! Merci Sarah ! The route of the tour :
Paris Competitions News: Paris Marathon!
Marathon de Paris – Start Sunday, April,10th. 8h45. 35th Paris Marathon*. A very pleasant day of April with a big sun and, no doubt, a too warm weather for the 32 000 marathon runners left for this big crossing of Paris. But also, a big enjoyment for the photographers who took advantage of the beautiful light which flooded Paris this morning. To be able to relive the race (quietly), here are some photo albums of the event: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 and also some videos: v1 v2 v3 v4 v5 v6 v7 v8 v9 v10 v11 v12 v13 v14 v15 v16 * If you want to compete in Paris and if you book a tour with us, tell us and we can show you the route and help you to prepare the competition (the Paris marathon, for example). An advice on these races? Ask us!We can also help you to register. The web sites are often in French (but we can help you if you ask).Of course, if you do not want to compete in Paris and want to fully enjoy sight jogging, we are there for you. We love competition, running, but above all Paris!