Page 200 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

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Place de la Concorde
If it’s Parisian vistas you’re after, the
place de la Concorde makes a fine
start. From here you can see the Arc
STRETCH de Triomphe, the Assemblée Nationale
(the lower house of parliament), the
YOUR LEGS Jardin des Tuileries and the Seine. Laid
out in 1755, the square was where many
aristocrats lost their heads during the
PARIS Revolution, including Louis XVI and
Marie Antoinette. The obelisk in the
centre originally stood in the Temple of
Ramses at Thebes (now Luxor).
The Walk » Walk east through Jardin des Tuileries.
Jardin des Tuileries
Start: Place de la Concorde This 28-hectare landscaped garden
(h7am-11pm Jun-Aug, shorter hours Sep-May;
Finish: Panthéon c; mTuileries, Concorde) was laid out
in 1664 by André Le Nôtre, who also
Distance: 4.5km created Versailles’ gardens. Filled with
fountains, ponds and sculptures, the
Duration: 3 hours gardens are now part of the Banks of
the Seine World Heritage Site, created
by Unesco in 1991.
Paris is one of the world’s most The Walk » Walk across place du Carrousel onto
the Cour Napoléon.
strollable cities, whether that means
window-shopping on the boulevards Musée du Louvre
Overlooking the Cour Napoléon is the
or getting lost among the lanes of mighty Louvre, with its controversial
Montmartre. This walk starts by the 21m-high glass Grande Pyramide,
designed by IM Pei in 1989. Nearby is
Seine, crosses to the Île de la Cité the Pyramide Inversée (Upside-Down
and finishes in the Latin Quarter, Pyramid), which acts as a skylight for
with monuments and museums the underground Carrousel du Louvre
shopping centre.
aplenty en route. The Walk » Continue southeast along riverside
Quai du Louvre to the Pont Neuf metro station.
Pont Neuf
As you cross the Seine, you’ll walk over
Paris’ oldest bridge – ironically known
as the ‘New Bridge’, or Pont Neuf. Henri
IV inaugurated the bridge in 1607 by
crossing it on a white stallion.
Take this walk on Trip
The Walk » Cross the Pont Neuf onto the Île de
8 la Cité. Walk southeast along Quai des Horloges,
and then turn right onto bd du Palais.

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