Paris 6: Montmartre, Palais Garnier, and the Arc de Triomphe

Montmartre is an area of Paris set on a hill with a great view of the city. One of the main attractions of the area is the Sacre Couer cathedral.

It was cloudy and rainy the morning we went, but the view from the steps of the cathedral was still great!


The reason I wanted to go to Montmartre was to see Artist's Square. Several very famous painters worked there once upon a time (Van Gogh, Picasso, Pissarro, Matisse, Renoir, Degas) and the artist tradition persists. I think it's mostly a tourist thing now, but who cares. It was very quaint and wonderful.

I bought a watercolor from a little Asian dude. Caitlin had her portrait done by an old woman in the back corner. Cait took pity on her--there were tons of people offering portraits and no one was hiring the little old lady way in the back. Turns out there's a reason, the picture looks nothing like Cait. More like Shelbey. But even then, no.

Montmartre is totally classic Paris. Cobblestone streets, beautiful windows, pretty signs, cafes...


... souvenir shops, Italian "magicians," thieves...

We encountered a few tourist cons in Paris. First, the black dudes with the string. They grab your wrist and start weaving a bracelet on your wrist, then expect you to pay for it when they're done. I should have taken a picture--they literally blocked the top of the staircase at the base of Sacre Couer. I'd read that the best method for avoiding their deceit is to keep your hands in your pockets and say NO forcefully. I did that, and one of them tried to pull my arm out of my pocket. A swift elbow jab got rid of him.

Then there are the students with "petitions," who are straight up trying to rob you. They are mainly gypsy girls, and they walk up to you waiving a pen and clipboard to sign. They cover your view of your purse with the clipboard and take your stuff. Or their accomplices take your stuff when you're distracted. I don't know how the Parisian police aren't all over this.

We met Shelbey in the afternoon to tour the Palais Garnier. We didn't get to see the underground lake (which really exists!), but we did get to see the interior. The Palais is where the residents of Versailles went for a special night out at the opera. You saw Versailles... if "home" is decadent, so is "special occassion."

I thought this place was amazing. If it looks familiar, perhaps you've see The Phantom of the Opera. The play takes place in the Palais Garnier, though it has never been performed there. Shelbey says the French hate musical theater and wouldn't see it. But there were posters all over the metro advertising Batman, The Musical. If they like that, they could handle Phantom.

The Phantom's booth has a plaque on it, I'm sure they got tired of Americans asking which one it was.

We all thought this hall was more amazing than Versaille's Hall of Mirrors. It was gilded and ornate from top to toe.

I loved these little art-deco rooms just off the main stairs.

That night was probably my favorite night in Paris. I know it was Todd's favorite. We went to the Arc de Triomphe where there was some kind of memorial ceremony taking place. There were floral tributes at all of the memorials we visited-- I assume many were leftover from Remembrance Day.


We walked every step to the top of the Arc-- there are long, winding staircases in the legs of the tower. The view from the top was beautiful!

While we waited for the Eiffel Tower lights to sparkle at the turn of the hour, we looked down the Champs Elysees and watched the traffic driving around the Arc roundabout. There are no traffic rules and the drivers are kamikaze. It's quite entertaining. Dad was giving a play-by-play commentary as we watched scooters, bikes, tiny cars missing each other by inches. I really wanted to rent scooters and drive around Paris, but not after seeing that!

The lights on the Eiffel Tower sparkle every evening on the hour (until midnight, I think).

It is just as wonderful as it sounds.

After that, we walked down the Champs to a cute little Christmas Market. It was so great! We had good food and some French hot chocolate, which is more like hot semi-sweet pudding. We just walked around eating and looking at the little shops, it was perfect.