Experience France with Geri: The Orsay Museum

Le Musée d'Orsay gets my vote as one of the most enjoyable places in Paris to spend a few hours. Although most people go to enjoy the beloved Impressionists, I want to take you on a visit to the building itself which has so many stunning points of beauty. I recommend you start your visit in the morning hours soon after opening.

This building was once a railroad station from the 19th century, so as you walk down the center aisle after entering, look up and around at the iron work from the original station, and above all, turn around to admire the beautiful clock over the entrance. Since this article features the building, I will deliberately try to walk you along without mentioning the art works you will stop and see along the route. But as you go down the central hallway, the pre-Impressionists are in little rooms to your left, and dramatic sculptures line the pathway. At the end of the first floor you can walk on a glass floor to look down on a model of 19th century Paris featuring the Opéra and surrounding streets. To the left of this exhibit there is an escalator which takes you up to the Impressionist collection.

Follow the signs “Suite de l'Impressionisme.” Once on the next level, across from the gift shop, don't miss the famous and massive clock on the outside of the building. This is a super photo spot: the shot through the hands of the clock reveals Sacré-Coeur high on the top of Montmartre. From here you will follow the galleries showing the art of the most famous 19th century Impressionist painters and at the end of the galleries there is a tea room. I recommend eating lunch later on in your visit at another spot in the museum, but you should enter the tearoom where there is an exit onto the roof with a fabulous view over Paris. Continue along past the works of Van Gogh, Gauguin and Seurat, and find the room with the pastels of Toulouse-Lautrec, in dim light to protect the colors. As you exit this room you will be in front of a stairway.

Go down three flights of stairs, turn left and walk along the hallway to an elegant room on the right called “La Salle des Fêtes”. This was a room in the hotel which adjoined the Orsay railway station, and carries us back to another time of opulence with its crystal chandeliers and lovely statues.

And finally, go back out of this room and retrace your steps, turning right and following signs to the restaurant where I recommend having your lunch. This is another beautiful room in the style of the period, and it is a real treat to dine in this elegant ambiance. As a P.S., it's good if you can plan it, to visit the Rodin Museum just after your Orsay visit, since both museums are open on Tuesday when all the other French museums are closed. Here you can find an outdoor café for lunch or refreshments. The Rodin is an easy walk from the Orsay.

Experience France with Geri The Latin Quarter Part 3

Remember that the reason this part of Paris is called “The Latin Quarter” is because here are found France's oldest and most prestigious educational establishments. Since medieval times the major schools and universities have been located here, and in that time period, Latin was the language of scholarship. So I thought it would be appropriate to at least walk past and learn a bit about some of the great institutions of learning located in this part of the city. Walking south on the Boulevard St-Michel, you will pass on the left the chapel of La Sorbonne. The Sorbonne dates from the 1100's and is still the seat of learning particularly for the Humanities. There is a very attractive little plaza in front of it with some enticing cafés for having a little something before continuing the stroll. In just another block or two turn left onto la rue Soufflot and you will have in front of you one of the most dramatic sites in Paris, the Panthéon. This beautiful building was completed in 1791 but has an interesting history. Way back in 507 A.D. the king Clovis converted to Christianity and built a basilica on the spot where the Panthéon stands today. Sainte Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who protected the city from barbarians was buried in the basilica in 512. In 1744 King Louis 15 attributed his recovery from a serious illness to the prayers of Ste-Geneviève and decided to have built a prestigious church on the same spot, dedicated to this saint. His chief architect, Soufflot, made the plans—modeled after the Pantheon in Rome--but died before the project was finished. By the time it was completed around the time of the French revolution, it was decided to make of the building not a church, but a national pantheon, as a resting place fit for the great men of France. It is constructed in the neo classical style with grandiose Corinthian columns. So today it stands as a temple to those who have contributed to the glory of France, and across the top it says: Aux Grands Hommes La Patrie Reconnaissante (To the great men, a thankful country). Interred here are many of the most famous French such as Victor Hugo, Pierre and Marie Curie, Alexandre Dumas, Emile Zola, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Louis Braille (inventer of the braille system for the blind). Just a bit to the left of the Panthéon is the lycée Louis Le Grand, one of the most famous lycées which offer preparatory classes for entrance to France's “Grandes Ecoles”, which we will touch on in a moment. And just at the back of the Panthéon is another of these lycées, Henri IV. For both of these high school age schools there are very difficult and competitive requirements for admission. Lycée Henri IV is known as one of the most demanding secondary level schools, and also offers preparatory classes for entrance into the Grandes Ecoles. One hundred percent of its students pass the rigorous baccalauréat exam, while the national average is around 80%. And a student here can brag that he or she attends the same school as some notable alumni such as Guy de Maupassant, de Musset, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone Weil. The Grandes Ecoles are an elite higher education path outside the main framework of the French university system. Admission is by competitive written and oral exams that students usually spend 2 years preparing for, some of them at one of the two lycées mentioned above. Perhaps the most famous and prestigious of these special schools is the Ecole Normale Supérieur, located just a few blocks south of the Panthéon. This is the most selective and most challenging institution of higher learning in France, founded in 1794. It is a national legend and has trained the leading French intellectuals. Among its alumni are Henri Bergson, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Louis Pasteur. All of the French Nobel prize winners across all disciplines are alumni. You can almost feel the intellectual energy emanating from this part of the city. From the Place du Panthéon we will walk to the left of the building on rue Clovis and then turn right on rue Descartes.

Following along on this street we arrive at Place de la Contrescarpe, a youthful gathering spot, in an old part of Paris at the top of what is called the Montagne Ste-Geneviève, one of the highest points in Paris. There is a fabulous restaurant just off the Place on rue Blainville called La Truffière where I always had the farewell dinner for my adult tour groups. It now has a Michelin star and is quite expensive, but will offer you an exceptional dining experience. For the less expensive fare that most of us look for, look no further: just keep walking on rue Descartes which changes name to la rue Mouffetard and you will find lots and lots of little eateries with outdoor dining, especially on a little side street called rue du Pot de Fer. This whole part of town is fun to tour at night, but if you are here during the day, just keep walking down the famous and narrow rue Mouffetard with all its shops and food and especially at the end of the street don't miss the well-loved produce market. The whole area described in this article is usually quite free of tourists, so just enjoy this special slice of the Left Bank.

The Latin Quarter, Part 2: Musée de Cluny - Experience France with Geri

This place is an absolute jewel on so many levels. An intimate setting in a historic building from the 15th century, housing treasures from the Middle Ages, the Musée de Cluny has always been one of my favorite Paris visits. It is located in the same neighborhood as our last visit, right at the corner of Bd. St-Michel and Bd. St-Germain in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Before you even enter, you have before you one of the rare non-church buildings in Paris dating from the 15th century built in what is called secular Gothic. It was originally the home of members of the Cluny religious order.

The Musée de Cluny is now called the Musée Nationale du Moyen-Age. Here you will find a beautiful collection of sculpture, stained glass, and other art objects from the Middle Ages, from around the 12th to the end of the 15th centuries. Another amazing aspect of this museum is that long before it was a house, it was the site of Gallo-Roman thermal baths called the Thermes. This facility, built around 200 A.D. was open to the public, and many of the ruins can be viewed from the street as you pass by. You can also visit the restored baths on the interior of the museum. Another reminder that Paris was a flourishing city almost 2000 years ago! But of all the beautiful objects in the Cluny, perhaps the most compelling is the work called La Dame à la Licorne (The Lady with the Unicorn).

This is a six-panel tapestry housed in its own private room and dates from around 1500.. A tapestry is a woven art form, in this case in wool and silk, and most frequently originating from artists in Flanders, in what is today Belgium. Your first sight of this magnificent work will take your breath away. There are six large panels arranged along the walls, each panel showing a noble lady with a unicorn on her left and a lion on her right. Each panel depicts one of the five senses, and you see a portion of the display at the top of this page. For a detailed look at each panel accompanied by music of the period, see the video included at the end of this blog. The 6th panel is shown just above and is the one that has intrigued people down through the centuries. On the tent above the lady is written “A mon seul désir” (to my only desire). What does it mean? Is it a “6th sense”? She is reaching into a jewel box. Is that a hint as to the meaning of the words? I would be interested to see what my readers think of these words. Please leave your ideas and comments below. I have thought a lot about these words and what they might point to. If we ask ourselves, “what is our only desire?” and look more deeply within, I believe we will find that what humans long for is something way beyond the everyday needs and desires of our lives, something beyond the understandings of our mind. I think we all feel some kind of an attraction to a higher and deeper sense of being, of goodness, truth and beauty. For me, this is said beautifully in the expression “Enchanted by the Mystery.”

Experience France with Geri. Ile de la Cité Part 5—the conclusion

After leaving the magnificent Sainte Chapelle we re-enter the modern world and make a left on the Bd. Du Palais, turning left again on Quai de la Corse and noticing the two remaining towers of the medieval Concièrgerie. The Concièrgerie was a prison in the 18th century and it was here that Queen Marie-Antoinette was held prisoner during the Revolution, before her transfer to Place de la Concorde to be executed. We turn left again on rue de Harley, go up a few steps and enjoy the beauty of la Place Dauphine, a fairly undiscovered and quiet spot in Paris, and a good place to sit and rest for awhile. The lovely stone and red brick town houses that line the square were built in 1607 and one of them houses the restaurant Chez Paul, a Paris classic. At the end of the Place you will notice an impressive statue: the good King Henri II on horseback—and directly behind the statue, steps leading down to the Square du Vert Galant. This is our final destination of the day and where we finally get to eat the picnic delicacies we purchased a few hours ago at the Maubert-Mutualité outdoor market.

As we enter the little park, we are under the famous bridge called Pont Neuf, which, despite its name, “New Bridge” is actually the oldest bridge in Paris, dating from 1607. It was built by King Henri II whose statue stands above it. The bridge crosses the Seine with 12 arches at the river's widest point. All along its length on both sides are a series of grotesque heads, each with a different expression. So we proceed to the very tip of the island and sit on the stones or benches to enjoy our group picnic. It is not against the law in France to consume alcoholic beverages in public, so go ahead and enjoy some wine as we share our various cheeses, pâtés and baguettes. But don't forget to look around you, for this is one of my favorite spots in Paris. First, you have a great seat to watch all the boats floating past, and speaking of boats, the Seine excursion boat company I recommend (because the boats are smaller and this location is easy to access) dock along this quai. In front of you is the lovely pedestrian bridge Le Pont des Arts, a destination not to be missed, especially at night when you get a view of Notre Dame on one side and the Eiffel Tower in the distance on the other. From our vantage point you also see one side of the Louvre across the river and almost directly across from where we are sitting, the former large department store La Samaritaine, a Paris icon.

It was built in the 1920's in art deco style and was previously a very popular site with its roof garden offering one of the best views of Paris. It has been undergoing renovations for several years and when completed will house shopping, food stalls, a luxury hotel, office space etc. Most of the building, which spans two blocks, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. So we come to the end of my favorite day in Paris, our visit to Ile de la Cité. It is a tour lasting about three hours but it took five blogs to share with you all the details. And we did go literally “from one tip of the island to the other” all the way from the Memorial to the deported ones to the picnic spot. Linger and rest in this special place before your afternoon activities. Bonne continuation!