Running doing a spiral in the centre of Paris!
Running doing a spiral in the centre of Paris! So many things to discover or see again, to share the history of Paris, to understand the link between historical events and the physiognomy of the city, to have the joy of running together… a pleasant stroll (and the satisfaction of a shared drink in the beautiful garden of the Palais Royal after the effort…). Many thanks to Chrystelle, Eric, Flavien, Jérôme, Justice and Marie! Paris Running Tours: private tours or free outings, stay tuned! See you soon for new themed outings, we are full of ideas to show you around Paris 😀 If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who will take you on the best sight running routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you: Music: Vlad Gluschenko — Harmony License: CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
To celebrate the New Year, we drew 2019 in Paris, follow us!
We wish you a very happy 2019! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who will take you on the best running routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
In front of the Commercial court of Paris with Dave
Dave – Bridge Notre Dame – In the background, on the left, the Commerce Court of Paris and on the right, the Conciergerie Thursday 1st May – 8:03 AM, Monday 12th May – 8:01 AM – Dave comes from the beautiful city of Ottawa in Canada. Two mornings to discover Paris in a sports way. A dive through the different layers of history which offers Paris. Paris is a city which was never destroyed contrary to Berlin (at the end of the war in 1945), Lisbon (earthquake of 1755) or London (fire of 1666), other leading cities. Paris can thus present as well Roman vestiges as buildings of the Middle Age either the numerous royal creations (among others!). Succession of architectural fashions, urbanistic traditions and most of the time a research for urban harmony. See, for example, above, the Commercial court (“Tribunal de Commerce”), in front of which we stopped. Let us look at it just in front: “Tribunal de Commerce” of Paris Something bizarre, no? The dome is not in the center of the building but on the right side! Architect’s whim? No, will of urban harmony. The dome is so placed to close on the South side the perspective of the Boulevard Sevastopol (perspective ended in the North by the train station of “Gare de l’Est”). The Commercial court is finished in 1864 while the Boulevard is inaugurated in 1858. Look at the precise alignment of the boulevard and the court: “Tribunal de Commerce de Paris” and Boulevard Sébastopol Let us pursue our running in the Middle Age Paris, with the magnificent Abbey of Cluny, now the National Museum of the Middle Age (and its Lady and the Unicorn famous tapestries): Dave – “Abbaye de Cluny” and the two old houses of the street François Miron: Dave – “Rue François Miron” Look at the wooden beams of the facade. These facades are rare in Paris. In fact, some old Parisian Middle age houses are hidden by renovations of facade. In 1967, The timber framings which we see here were cleared of the plaster which recovered them. Look at the buildings at the beginning of the 20th century: Indeed, in 1607, protective measures against the fires were decreed, in particular the obligation to cover with plaster timber framings (these measures were strengthened in 1667 because of the big fire of London in 1666!) Now, let us admire the beautiful perspective offered by the Soufflot street: Dave, “Rue Soufflot” (in the background, the Senate and the Eiffel Tower far off) – At the top of the Soufflot street, the Pantheon (The street name is the one of Jacques-Germain Soufflot, architect of the Pantheon) Merci Dave ! The routes of the tours:
A sports and cultural tour of Paris with Ingrid at Christmas
Ingrid – Gallery Vivienne 8:32 AM – Ingrid lives in Uberaba, Brazil. To begin her stay in Paris, Ingrid chose to make a Paris Running Tour. On Sunday morning, two days before Christmas, Paris is quite decorated for the holidays. As we can see above, the beautiful Gallery Vivienne (1823) also respects the tradition. Our run, in this very quiet Paris of a Sunday morning before Christmas, allowed us to see a highly varied Paris: passages (Gallery Vivienne, passage of the “Grand Cerf”, passage of Bourg-L’abbé), the Paris of Napoleon the 1st with the Arc of the Carousel, the modern Paris with the Pompidou Center or the very old Paris with Nicolas Flamel’s house. Ingrid – House of Nicolas Flamel Nicolas Flamel’s house, which dates 1407, is the oldest of Paris (older than those of the street François Miron). Nicolas Flamel was a rich “Bourgeois” who, with his wife Pernelle, made build houses to welcome the poor people. This one, street of Montmorency, is the last existing one. An inscription indicates the prayers that the inhabitants of the place had to make : “We, ploughmen and women living at the porch of this house, which was made in 1407, are requested to say every day an ‘Our Father’ and an ‘Ave Maria’ praying God that His grace forgive poor and dead sinners Amen“. It is at present an inn. Some strides farther, it is the modern Paris which we discover. Ingrid – Centre Pompidou – “The Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt” Piece of Adel Abdessemed Effectively, we find the Pompidou Center, one of the biggest world Contemporary Arts Centers. It welcomes at present a temporary exhibition of the artist Adel Abdessemed. We can see on the square a (provocative?) sculpture representing the headbutt given by the famous football player Zinedine Zidane to an opponent having a little moved words… Ingrid – Arc du Carrousel We have already spoken about the Arc of the Carrousel during a tour with Kristy. Had you noticed the quadriga at the top of the Arc? In fact, the sculpture is a copy. Napoleon 1st had taken the original statue to the Venetians who themselves had stolen it during the sack of Constantinople in 1204 (The quadriga were ordered by Emperor Constantin in 330). With Napoleon’s fall, the original horses were returned to Venice where you can admire them place Saint Marc. To finish, here is a small postcard with other beautiful places seen during our visit: Merry christmas to all! Merci Ingrid ! The route of the tour:
Center of Paris, right bank with Liz and Curt
Curt and Liz – The “Bourse de Paris” 9:12 AM – Curt and Liz are regular runners who live near Boston (USA). We left the Opera to make a big visit, more than 10 miles (16 km) to discover Paris center, on the Right bank side (a good training for the half marathon Curt prepares). Not far from the Opera, we found the “Bourse de Paris”. Ordered by Napoleon the 1st and created by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart, the building called Palais Brongniart (Brongniart Palace), served for a long time as stock exchange, the Paris Stock Exchange, before the transactions were dematerialized since the 1980s. Remember: Now everything is computerized! The “Bourse de Paris” serves now as a conference, receptions, fashion shows, showroom or exhibitions center. Later, we crossed “Le Marais” quarter (Marais=swamp), very quiet on this Sunday morning. No cars! The street belongs to the runners! Curt and Liz – The Marais Sunday morning, ideal moment to run in Paris! How many discoveries by running, the old Paris, the modern Paris, the fashion shops, the museums, the passages… The Marais, the “Passage des Panoramas”, The “Pont des Arts”, The Pyramide of the Louvre The first shop of a very fashionable shoes manufacturer, The Louvre, The river Seine On our way, a couple of tourists asked Liz to photograph them. It fell well, Liz is, among others, a professional photographer! Liz – Louvre and the Arc of the Carousel Merci Liz ! Merci Curt ! The route of the tour :
Two running tours to discover Paris with Jennifer
Jennifer – Louis-Philippe’s bridge 7:02 AM – Jennifer, of San Francisco, runs very regularly. We were able to discover the center of Paris by making two running tours early in the morning: the right bank, the left bank, the shores of the Seine and of course, the Parisian islands, the Island of “La Cité” and the Saint Louis Island. On the photo above, we can see on the left, in the foreground, the Saint Louis Island then, at the bottom, the Island of “La Cité”. Did you know that Paris counted ten islands at the end of the XVIth century? The river Seine – 1550 During our two races, we were able to… Find the Palace of the Legion of Honor: Jennifer – “Palais de la Légion d’Honneur” Paris | “California Palace of the Legion of Honor” San Francisco The museum “California Palace of the Legion of Honor” in San Francisco is a replica of the “Palais de la Légion d’Honneur” of Paris. The facade of the Palace in San Francisco is very visible and highlighted by the very beautiful “Lincoln Park”. We can admire the original Palace in Paris since a more narrow street, the “rue de Lille”. greet Geneviève, noble Parisian Lady who made Attila and his Huns run away in the 5th century and since became the protector of Paris: Jennifer – Geneviève “Eglise Saint Etienne du Mont”, “Jardin du Luxembourg”, “Pont de la Tournelle” Geneviève is always represented with long plaits. Recent artistic style? No, it seems that effectively, during the Medieval period which begins in 5th century, the fashion was with long hair, frequently braided. If you want to discover Geneviève’s life, go on the “Mountain” of the same name in Paris and visit the “Panthéon”, all her life is painted on walls there. visit the Paris of the Middle Ages by going through the “Marais”: Jennifer – “Rue François Miron” – “Rue des Barres” Merci Jennifer ! The routes of the tours :
Discovery of Paris history by running with Felicity
Felicity – The Louvre and the garden of the Tuileries Click on the picture for a larger view 7:58 AM – With Felicity from Melbourne (Australia), we rediscovered the city at a good pace while admiring tracks left by the history on the scene, monuments and buildings of Paris. We crossed The Louvre which made us go back up to 16th century, period when the king François the 1st replaced the ancient fortress by a luxurious residence. Since, during the centuries, the Louvre grew rich of numerous extensions. Of the Louvre, we went through the Garden of the Tuileries, Italian-style garden, begun in the same period by Catherine de Medici. It is an ideal place to run. Look at these trees sized as balls on the photo above. Their shape is created by a probably old technique and still used, as we can see here: We then ran on the Alexandre III bridge, who sent us in 1900, year of its creation: Alexandre III bridge Click on the picture for a larger view Back in the past, at first in Notre-Dame, the construction of which begins in 1163, Notre Dame (and its new Christmas tree) Click on the picture for a larger view then in “Le Marais” district, where we found the most ancient houses of Paris, two medieval “buildings”, doubtless built in the XIVth century and having undergone some renovations (originally, they probably had to possess corbelled constructions as many houses of the Middle Ages): François Miron street Click on the picture for a larger view Merci Felicity ! The route of the tour :