Paris

Mar 21-24, 2024
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Springtime in Paris is definitely a concept that we’ve come to embrace, and with the pandemic travel break, it was nice to get back to Paris again in 2024. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep the tradition alive going forward, but it was fun to be back again for a long weekend and once again to find a part of the city we hadn’t explored yet.

Mar 22

After our overnight flight, we landed into CDG airport, under construction. With just short of five months until the Olympics, I was hoping to find an airport more ready for tourists, but after fighting the chaos of the train ticket machines, we abandoned transit for an Uber. Luckily, traffic into the city was light, but we did regret the time we wasted in line. Thankfully, our room was ready when we arrived at the hotel, so we could refresh before heading into the city.

Église Saint-Honoré d'Eylau

The Eiffel Tower with new layers of security barricades

Crazily crowded Seine cruises

Official countdown to the opening of the Olympics that would occur along the Seine

Parisian pigeon

Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Cathedral

More Seine tourist traffic

Pegasus Statue on Alexander III Bridge

Full length of Alexander III Bridge

Petit Palais

Luxor Obelisk in Place de la Concorde

One of two Fontaines de la Concorde

Beginnings of temporary Olympic venue construction in Place de la Concorde

Bassin Octogonal in the Tuileries Gardens

Louvre

Louvre Pyramid

Seine view outside of the Louvre

The "Tree of a Thousand Voices" sculpture, next to Pont du Carrousel

Book stands along the bank of the Seine

Saint-Michel Fountain

Checking on the progress of the Notre Dame restoration

Reconstruction continues

Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation. After seeing the exterior, we visited the interior memorial spaces for the first time

Quick stop for more Olympic ads at Hotel de Ville before continuing to the hotel

Back at the hotel for the evening service, we had a relatively early end of the day.

Mar 23

With another beautiful spring day in Paris, we found ourselves for the first time in the lovely Parc Monceau. We shared the park with morning joggers but also took in the spring flowers. For something truly new, we also made our way to Porte de la Chapelle Arena, which was almost ready to host Badminton and Gymnastics at the Olympics. We also had our first visit to the Carnavalet Museum, which tells the history of Paris.

Blue morning skies over the Arc de Triomphe

Limestone pyramid in Monceau Park

More of the monuments in Monceau Park

More of the park monuments

Exploring more of the park

The underground railway and communication infrastructure

Chapelle Arena just before the skies open

Our first visit to Parish Church of Saint-Paul of Saint-Louis

Louis XIV statue in the courtyard of Carnavalet Museum

Looking towards Parish Church of Saint-Paul of Saint-Louis on our way back from the Carnavalet Museum

Saint Anthony of Padua and child Jesus Christ in Cathedral of Saint Etienne de Meaux

More of Cathedral of Saint Etienne de Meaux interior

Statue du General Charles de Gaulle

Continuing in the same style, the statue of Winston Churchill outside the Grand Palais

More modern "Bouquet of Tulips" with Grand Palais in the background

Protected again from the next round of rain by Chatelet Les Halles glass roof

Church of Saint Eustache

Hotel de Ville fountains

Back at the Seine

Inspecting the complex scaffolding of the Notre Dame fire reconstruction effort

Mar 24

With the construction chaos we found on arrival at the airport, we decided it was easiest just to take an Uber back and leave plenty of time to navigate the terminal.

Our breakfast view from the hotel lounge

When we got to the airport, for our departure, our plane was parked at a terminal whose gate area was still closed for construction. We were loaded onto buses and driven to our plane for our eventual and delayed departure. Thankfully, it was a comfortable flight home after the chaos, and we were back in Toronto for the rest of the work week.