It’s been rain­ing almost non-stop across France ever since I got here, so when I woke up to a sunny day, I had to take the chance and head out to Paris. I decided to see how far I could get on foot from Gare Montparnasse, my goal being a cross­ing of the Seine.

Paris is divided into arrondiss­ments or dis­tricts, spi­ral­ing out­ward from the Louvre like a snail shell, with each one hav­ing a char­ac­ter­is­tic feel. I began my walk in the 14th arrondiss­ment, and trav­eled north.

After about four kilo­me­tres, the stiff­ness in my legs told me I should head back. But Paris is dense and full of cul­ture and his­tory at every turn; on every block over there’s some­thing that catches the eye, and you never want to turn around.

Fountain of Saint Michel

Fontaine Saint-Michel, located in the 5th arrondissment.

embrace in the garden

I love how the girl has her leg draped over his. Where else in the world would one expect such pub­lic dis­plays of affection?

oysters

 

stores in Gare Montparnasse

Stores at the top of Gare Montparnasse.

shoes on tree grate

 

walking the streets

 

hanging emblem

RF, for République française.

Paris buildings 1

 

crossing the street

 

michel-ney-statue

 

palais de justice

Palais de Justice.

Paris buildings 2

 

Hotel Sorbonne

Hotel Sorbonne.

postcard stand

 

waiting to cross

 

reading and walking

 

Paris streets 1

 

Paris streets 2

I find these roads very con­fus­ing, as street names are marked on build­ings instead of signs, and branch out in sev­eral strange direc­tions. The roads are fre­quently far from being eas­ily nav­i­ga­ble crosses.

La Tour Montparnasse

La Tour Montparnasse, right next to Gare Montparnasse, is a tower that dwarfs every other build­ing (as it’s the tallest build­ing in France) in the 14th arrondiss­ment. I thought I’d be okay with find­ing my way back as long as I could see the tower, and I could just walk towards it to get back to the train sta­tion. The prob­lem is that the streets are so nar­row, even build­ings that are only two sto­ries tall can block the view.

pointing at poster

 

The Jardin du Luxembourg

This gar­den is the largest pub­lic park in France, and actu­ally the gar­den of the French sen­ate. It’s a mas­sive area with a plethora of land­marks and sev­eral sec­tions, many of them large expanses of grass for peo­ple to relax and socialize.

gates of the Jardin du Luxembourg

The south­ern gates of the garden.

talking on the benches 2

 

fountain of the observatory

Fontaine de l’Observatoire, one of the south­ern­most points of the garden.

table tennis table

There are even sev­eral pub­lic table ten­nis tables, though they’re made out of con­crete, with metal nets.

deer sculpture

 

garden path

 

talking on the benches 1

 

garden basin

This basin is right in front of the Senate, and has sev­eral dozen chairs out for peo­ple to sit and relax.

boat vendor

There’s also a foun­tain and pond in the cen­tre, with a boat ven­dor who rents out small sail­boats for chil­dren to play with in the fountain.

Medici Fountain

Medici Fountain. I have no doubt this looks nicer in the fall than at any other time of year.

lion sculpture

 

Greek actor statue

 

senate side

Luxembourg Palace, in the north part of the gar­den, which houses the French Senate.

senate detail

 

The Seine

birds over the Seine River

 

Quai Saint Michel

 

boat on the Seine river

 

rue de la Cité

 

Seine River 1

 

Seine River 2

 

newsstand

These mag­a­zine stands were set up along the side of the Seine, each green box being per­ma­nently affixed to the wall. I won­der if ven­dors have to apply for per­mits, as there’s only a lim­ited num­ber of each.

Seine River 3

 

Seine River 4

 

The Latin Quarter

The Latin Quarter is sup­posed to be a favourite of Paris’s stu­dents and intel­lec­tu­als, being home to a num­ber of build­ings for higher education.

Michel de Montaigne

A statue of Michel de Montaigne, located in the mid­dle of a very unas­sum­ing street. The bright pol­ish of his right foot comes from stu­dents touch­ing it for good luck before an exam.

Église Saint-Séverin

Église Saint-Séverin

Hotel de Ville front

Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Paris.

Hotel de Ville detail

 

Hotel de Ville statues

 

Hotel de Ville

 

Notre Dame de Paris, front

Notre Dame de Paris.

Notre Dame de Paris, statues

 

Europe 2010 travel diaries