I can't believe we are already at the end of our journey through the sites of Paris, the last two days were spent seeing some more of the biggest sites in Paris, as well as a different off the beaten path stop.
As many of you know we are a music loving family with many of us playing the piano, so when I discovered this cool cemetery in my research I knew it had to be something we went to. It was a little off the beaten path, but the use of the Metro in our Paris Passlib pass made it quicker to get to than on foot.
When you get to Pere Lachaise cemetery head to the southwest corner where you can get a map of the who's who in the cemetery. There are many famous folks buried here so you can pick your favorites, but a lot of visitors come to see Jim Morrison, legendary singer of The Doors, as well as writer Oscar Wilde and actress Sarah Bernhardt.
The cemetery is divided in sections with the map indicating where certain people are buried. The composer Chopin was definitely on the list as my daughter and I were playing his preludes on the piano at home, but we also decided to go visit the headstone of
George Bizet who was famous for his opera 'Carmen'.
And when in Rome, we decided to find Jim Morrison's headstone as well which has a barricade around it, and we were stopped by several folks asking where his headstone was, so I guess that explains the guard near his tomb!
With a little history seeking under our belt, we were off to the Louvre with wouldn't be complete without a stop at the
Mona Lisa! She is well protected behind a case of glass and some seriously long lines of viewers trying to capture her picture. We made our way to the front of the line, and snapped a few along with the rest of our thousands of friends!
We were next in search of the Venus de Milo, a famous Greek sculpture dating BC, and new found fact to me is that the artist is unknown.
The Louvre is one of the largest museums in the world, so I don't think you can get through it in one day. We chose to hit the art that we loved the most, being paintings from the baroque and romantic eras, we checked out the Greek sculptures of the gods and goddesses for the kids, and after a little over three hours we had seen all that we came to see for this Louvre trip.
Our final stop for the day was at the museum of Rodin who has a whole museum just of his works, however this was as close as we got to his famous sculpture of 'The Thinker'. The museum was closed for a day long strike of the museum's workers.
Another time I guess!!
It's finally our last day in Paris, we got outside of the city limits to see the Palace of Versailles, former hunting lodge of Louis XIV's father, then turned into the palace we see yet today.
Holy cow the gardens in this place are amazing! As a gardener myself it would be a site to behold to see these gardens at their peak in the summer, but we will settle for our early spring view because this palace is worth the trip. We spent the majority of the day here walking around taking in some of the palace, but really enjoying Marie Antionette's estate.
Our first tour is of the palace which wouldn't be complete without a picture in the
famous Hall of Mirrors
We got the audio tour with admission which was great to learn about all the different rooms in this expansive palace.
Wish these were running!
After visiting many of the gardens, cottages, and the trianon (a place of escape from the palace) and the estate of Marie Antionette, we walked back up to the palace for a close on the day. It was a great finish to the trip.
Thanks for letting me share our journey to Paris with you all, as a recap here are some of the tips that made this trip perfect.
Tip 1:
Consider booking these couple tours in advance to make the most of your time and not wasting it in line. The summit to the Eiffel Tower as well as the Catacombs tour saved us hours in line.
Book the Catacombs Tours and Summit to the Eiffel Tower
Paris Passlib Information
Tip 2:
I highly suggest the Paris Passlib pass which you can purchase for 2, 3, or 5 days. On their website you can see the list of museums and attractions that are included. The pass also includes an hour tour on the Seine River as well as a day on the Hop on Hop off tour bus, plus passes on the metro.Paris Passlib Information
Tip 3:
I had this trip all planned out right down to the very last stop, but my biggest piece of advise after you plan and plan and plan is to be flexible. Between the time difference and the amount of walking everywhere, we needed to be flexible with the schedule, accommodate the kids' needs as well as our own. Some things didn't get seen on the days I had scheduled, and a few things didn't get seen at all like a couple of open air markets, but it was the trip of my lifetime so far, now off to dream of the next one!
Au Revoir!
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