Running in January in Paris
Champ de Mars -Far off, the “kiosque à musique” (banstand) Champs de Mars – Far off, the “École Militaire” (Military School) Champs de Mars – Alley Thomy-Thierry Champ de Mars – Far off, behind the Eiffel Tower, the “Palais de Chaillot” (Trocadéro) Running on the snow near the Eiffel Tower… 🙂 In October! In January! No matter what month we are, it is always a pleasure to run in Paris! Come and do a tour, a nice visit while running with Paris Running 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:
At the “Champ de Mars” with Sylvie
Sylvie – Eiffel tower 8:00 AM – Sylvie from Montreal (Canada) came to Paris for a short stay. We took advantage of this morning run to do a nice visit of Paris. On this Friday morning, the cold weather arrived to Paris. Having dressed our winter runners’ clothes, we ran along a buckle of 10 kilometers by way of the “esplanade of the Invalides”, the Tuileries, the Champs Elysées. At the end of the tour, we passed by the “esplanade of the Palais de Chaillot”, one of the best viewpoints to contemplate the Eiffel Tower. After a small break to make a “photo-souvenir”, we joined the “Champ de Mars” by way of the Iéna bridge.In the Champ de Mars, we were welcomed by very nice bears: Sylvie and the Buddy Bears – Champ de Mars Bears? The Buddy bears! Yes, after Berlin, Kitzbühel, Hong-Kong, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Vienna, Cairo, Jerusalem, Warsaw, Stuttgart, Pyongyang, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Astana, Helsinki, Sofia, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Saint-Petersburg, among others, “United Buddy Bears” settled down in Paris this October. They will stay there until November 18th, 2012.These 140 Buddy Bears represent the 140 countries recognized by United Nations. They wish to present the art of the tolerance and symbolize the idea of a world in peace in the future. Sylvie with the Buddy Bear of Canada – Sylvie between the Bear of Georgia and the one of France Come to Paris to admire these works of Art and Peace united!Merci Sylvie !The route of the tour :
A touristic half-marathon with Eva and Christian
10:04 AM – Eva and Christian are fast marathon runners who live near Copenhagen (Denmark). They are also triathletes who have already participated in Iron Man Triathlons (swimming 3.8 km, bike 180 km, Running 42.195 kilometers or 26.2 miles). On this Friday morning, without any performance objectives, we chose to quietly visit Paris while running, however on a good distance to be able to admire as much places as possible. We finally ran 21 km, the distance of a half-marathon. Do you remember Lady Geneviève, the protector of Paris, whom we evoked recently during our Paris visit with Jennifer. You can see her to the left of the photo above, she looks to the east of Paris, the east where from came Attila and his Huns at the 5th century and Geneviève did not let them get into the City. Of the bridge of Sully, we went place of the Trocadéro, to join the Palais de Chaillot, palace built on the hill of the same name for the 1937 World fair. It is one of the best points of view on the Eiffel Tower. “To deserve the view”, we took a “small ascent” which leads to the (no so high) top of the hill… However with a small break to have a little bit different souvenir of the big tower: Back to the east, in full Latin Quarter, here is the Sorbonne, the famous and very old university of which the history begins in the 13th century. The chapel of the Sorbonne which we see on the photo below was created during the 17th century. Along the way, following the river, we wondered if it was possible to swim in the Seine. Yes! Of course! On the occasion of the Triathlon of Paris! Look at these videos: Your next triathlon in Paris, Eva and Christian? Next edition: July 2013… Merci Eva ! Merci Christian ! The route of the tour : 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 always have tons of secrets to share with you:
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 :
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 :
A long sunny tour with Colin
Colin – Place de l’Alma 8:00 AM – With Colin, we had decided to run a long tour along the Seine. A beautiful morning, the sun was with us. Colin comes from Australia but works in India. Long distances enthusiast, Colin intends to run his first marathon in Bombay, a rather difficult marathon because of the heat and of the humidity We thus left by following the Seine on the left bank, by greeting for the first time the Eiffel Tower. We then crossed the river by the “Ile de La Cité”, admired Notre-Dame and joined the right bank to make a small break in the Louvre. Colin – Rue de l’Université, Notre Dame, Le Louvre Having crossed the garden of the Tuileries, arrived in front of the Obelisk of the place de la Concorde, we evoked the time of the Pharaoh Ramses II. With such a light, we owed have small breaks to photograph the Eiffel Tower, and it is by the bridge of Bir-Hakeim that we returned on the left bank. Colin – Obelisk of “la Concorde”, Trocadéro, Bridge of Bir-Hakeim But, what is this flame place of the Alma, which we can see on the photo at the top of the article? The plate indicates: “ The Flame of Liberty. An exact replica of the Statue of Liberty’s flame offered to the people of France by donors throughout the world as a symbol of the Franco-American friendship. On the occasion of the centennial of the International Herald Tribune. Paris 1887-1987. “ In 1989, the United States offered this flame to France, to thank the French companies which realized the restoration of the Statue of Liberty on the occasion of its centenary. As its replica, the Flame in New York, lit at the origin from the inside, is now gilded and lit from the outside. Numerous visitors think that this flame was built in homage to Lady Diana, died during her accident in the tunnel of the Alma, situated under the monument. The flame can effectively remind the song of Elton John written in homage to the princess: “Candle in the wind”. Even if Lady Diana is officially commemorated in a small garden in “Le Marais”, we can often see around the Flame of the Freedom, numerous bouquets, photos or messages. The tunnel of the Alma is also the passage of the Paris Marathon (soon, April 15th!). In this place, the race gets closer to the 29th km (18 miles)! Good race to all the runners who will run the Marathon of Paris! Merci Colin ! The route of the tour:
From the Eiffel Tower toward Notre-Dame by the Louvre with Marnie
Marnie – Tour Eiffel – Notre Dame de Paris 7:31 AM – It is with a good pace that we went through the banks of the Seine with Marnie, who lives in Washington (USA) and who did several marathons (including Boston). We ran westward to take advantage of the morning sight on the Eiffel Tower: nobody on the esplanade of the Trocadéro early in the morning! We then followed the Seine to join Notre-Dame, also for us only. With no more difficulties, we finished our tour running by the Louvre. Marnie – Le Louvre What a pleasure to run in Paris while ways are clear! The Louvre has a long history: it was at first a watchtower used by the Franks to attack the island of “la cité” in the 5th century, later the fort created by king Philippe Auguste in the 12th century, then the luxurious Royal residence and finally the public museum decided by the Revolution. Every period made its contribution to the construction and to the extensions of the Louvre, the quite last creation being the Louvre Pyramid of the architect Ming Pei in 1983 (Pyramid which replaced bushes and parking lot then in the center of the Louvre). We can admire numerous details of the facades of the Louvre and sometimes original ornaments as this small locomotive for example: Le Louvre Yes, this part was created during the extension of the railroad in the 19th century! Merci Marnie ! The route of the tour :
Two mornings in the discovery of Paris with Jason
Jason – Place de la Concorde 8:50 AM – Friday and Saturday – Jason, who lives in Brooklyn (NY – USA), chose to discover Paris by running two following mornings. The first day, we explored the island of La Cité, the Louvre, the Palais-Royal, the place Vendôme, the place de la Concorde to return along the Seine. We finished our running in the Arenas of Lutetia; gladiators fought there when Paris was a part of the Roman Empire. The next day, we ran Left bank, crossed by the Pantheon, the garden of the Luxembourg, crossed the residence of the Prime Minister: Matignon, admired the Rodin museum since the street, and joined then the Invalides and the Eiffel Tower then returned by the boulevard Saint Germain. Jason and a well-known tower in Paris Our route brought us to cross the limits of Paris in the Middle Ages, the Louvre which was a fort intended to protect the western edge of the city and the surrounding wall of king Philippe Auguste some vestiges of which there are still in the current Paris, as the wall that we can see street Clovis (5th arrondissement): In the 12th century, Paris represented a small portion of the present Paris, surrounded by Philippe Auguste’s wall (in yellow on the image) and protected by the Louvre, a fort in the time (in blue): Click on the image to enlarge it By getting closer, we can see some places where we can find the old and still visible wall nowadays: Click on the image to enlarge it Merci Jason ! The routes of the tours:
Morning workout and visit of Paris
Brandy – American Church – Eiffel tower 8:02 AM – Brandy from San Francisco (USA) prepares the next half marathon of San Francisco. What is better than a visit of Paris while running to continue the training? We thus left the street of Rivoli to join the Seine having crossed the Tuileries and the “place de la Concorde”. On the bridge of the “Invalides”, we had the opportunity to admire the American church and the Eiffel Tower. We continued our tour on the left bank and then crossed the island of “La Cité” to return to the start by the Louvre and the “place Vendôme”. On our way, the American Church: On the photo above with Brandy, we can see two “peaks”, the Eiffel Tower, of course, but also the American Church. This church presents a neogothic style; it is nevertheless recent, it was built and ended in 1931 by the architect Carol Greenough. The American Church of Paris Merci Brandy ! The route of the tour: