Sitting at my desk at school, wishing upon half term, I imagined myself strolling through Haussman’s boulevards, the Tuileries gardens and through the great halls of Garnier’s Opera House. That imagined Paris became a reality the moment we boarded the Eurostar, bound for what is often described as Europe’s first modern city.
Having never been on the Eurostar before, this was the first excitement of many. Free from boring airport queues, or struggles to find the terminal, we boarded our train with ease, after a quick scan of our ticket, and Pret breakfast. Before we knew it Dover’s white cliffs turned into Calais’ coastline, and we were Paris bound. After a short walk, and check in to our hotel, we were given time for lunch and were lured into the local pizzeria – perhaps not the most traditional choice, but enjoyable nonetheless. The escargots could wait.
Our next transportational encounter was the Paris metro, notable for its double decker carriages. Trips on the metro turned out to be few and far between however, as experiencing Paris is best done on foot, something that became a defining feature of our trip. As read in my first diary entry, ‘on our feet from 9.00- 19.30, 27k steps’. We certainly did not do Paris lightly.
Our first official day began at Sacre- Coeur, with its stunning vistas extending across the city. From there we explored Montmartre, a formally significant artistic village found on a hill in Paris’s northern 18th arrondissement. True to our cultural experience, we had a French tour guide, offering us a two in one experience of both a French, and history of art lesson. Upon this tour we gained an insight into the beginnings of Cubism, which started in a modest house named The Bateau Lavoir, home to some of our most well-known avante garde artists, such as Picasso and Renoir.
After a packed morning, lunch was a welcome pause. As with lunch most days, we found ourselves sat outside a small French café, with a cup of coffee in one hand and a baguette in the other. Very French! With some free time afterwards we followed our lunch with some vintage shopping, carefully sifting through the rails for some Parisian hidden gems.
The afternoon concluded with a visit to two sculptural museums, most notably the Rodin museum, set amongst beautiful gardens in central Paris. Seeing our A Level sculpture in the flesh really developed our understanding of these pieces, making this visit, along with a lot of what we saw, academically valuable.
Our day ended by walking past the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, where, as classic tourists, we posed in front of its flashing lights.
The following day in Paris was even more demanding than the previous. With a hearty breakfast, we were fuelled for our day which started at Notre Dame. We wondered around the beautiful cathedral, with its recently restored roof, whilst listening to an audio tour which informed us of the building’s history.
Although we were lucky enough to see the ‘new’ Notre Dame, our visit unfortunately coincided with the Louvre robbery, meaning we were unable to visit it. With our amazing staff however, we had an excellent alternative: being guided through central Paris by a true Parisian himself, Monsieur Vincent. This led into our walking tour of the Latin Quarter, where we were able to compare Paris’s medieval streets to Haussmann’s wide boulevards. Our tour ended by touching the foot of a brass statue which, according to myth, ensures high grades in exams. With mocks on the horizon, we are all hoping this turns out to be more than a myth.
Day 3 lived up to the common phrase ‘saving the best till last’. After hearing so much in our history of art lessons at School, we visited the Palais Garnier, its magnificent opulence a hallmark of the Second Empire style. Here we were toured around its grand staircase, and magnificent hall, putting us into the shoes of the Parisian flaneurs who roamed the same floors in the late 19th century. Being in prime retail position, we were allowed a couple of hours shopping before our train home, involving a visit to Galleries La Fayette, the queen of all department stores.
Just four days long, but packed with culture, the Paris trip offered a perfect ‘city break’, allowing us an insight into that city’s cultural past and present. I returned home enriched not only by what I had seen, but also by what I had learned about Paris and her timeline of art.
