PARIS: LES INVALIDES AND MUSEE D'ORSAY ~ Beautiful places of Barcelona and Catalonia

domingo, 23 de agosto de 2009

PARIS: LES INVALIDES AND MUSEE D'ORSAY

As soon as I realized in the morning that it would be a lovely day, I decided to come back to Les Invalides to admire the golden dome shinning in the sunshine and other places of Paris which had really impressed me.

So, during the fourth day, I came back to Les Invalides, I visited le Musée d'Orsay, I discovered a romantic parc called Buttes Chaumont and I visited the luxurious mansions of Le Marais around the extremely symmetrical Place des Vosges.

Star sights of this day in Paris:

Les Invalides and Le Pont d'Alexandre III
Arc du Carrousel and Pyramid du Louvre
Musée d'Orsay
Parc de Buttes Chaumont
Opera
Place Vendome
Le Marais, Place des Vosgues and Place de la Bastille
Centre Pompidou at night

Day 4

Les Invalides and Le Pont d'Alexandre III

Beyond Le Pont Alexandre III over the Seine, Le Grand and Le Petit Palais appear in Les Champs Elysées

In 1670, Louis the 14th decided to erect a building able to house disabled soldiers, or those too old to serve in his armies, whose design is a reminder of the Escorial palace by Philippe II (Spain)

An overall view of L'Esplanade des Invalides, with Le Pont Alexandre III, which links this esplanade with Le Grand Palais and Le Petit Palais in Les Champs Elysées

The construction of the military complex was over in 3 years only and the first residents entered as soon as October 1674. The life of the 4000 residents (end of the 17th century) was ruled in the same way as in barracks and monasteries. The soldiers were divided into companies and worked in workshops, making uniforms, shoes, tapestries and book illumination, so as to fight idleness

The fantastic Dome of L'Église des Invalides over the tomb of Napoleon

Inside this church I could see spectacular paintings like this one

The Tomb of Napoleon impressed me a lot because is much bigger than what I had never expected. When I think about this tomb, the church with its dome and Les Invalides on the whole, I realize what Napoleon means for french people

From Les Invalides to Le Musée d'Orsay

The Eiffel Tower looks wonderful from L'École Militaire beyond the green esplanade of Le Champ de Mars in Paris

I could enjoy the view of La Place de la Concorde when I was going from Les Invalides to Le Musée d'Orsay

Musée d'Orsay

The building of Le Musée d'Orsay originally was the Orsay railstation in Paris. This wonderful building located in the left bank of the Seine was restored and turned into one of the best museums in impressionism painting

Inside Le Musée d'Orsay I was really impressed by the beauty of this building, specially the ceiling and the clock

Bedroom in Arles, one of the most known paintings of Van Gogh

La Seine flows between Le Louvre and Le Musée d'Orsay, from whose terrace I enjoyed this view

The fabulous clock of Le Musée d'Orsay. This clock struck the hours also in the former station which was in this building before the museum

From le Musée d'Orsay to Le Parc de Buttes Chaumont

L'Ile de la Cité with the bell towers of Notre Dame appear in the background between the waters of The Seine

The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which is about 20m high, is richly decorated in rose marble on the columns and the front paneling. It is composed of threes arches: a big one and two little ones. The arc is surmounted by a group of men on horses underneath of which, one finds the names of the battles and treaties of Napoleon. It is part of the so-called Grand Ax of Paris which consists of the Grande Arch de la Defense, the Arc de Triomphe at Etoile, the Champs-Elysees, the Obélisque de Luxor at the Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and continues on to the Louvre

The pyramid of the Louvre, and the Louvre itself have something that fascinates me

Parc de Buttes Chaumont

Inaugurated during the World Fair of 1867, the Buttes-Chaumont is the archetypal Haussmanian park and one of the finest in Paris. It has age-old trees, sophora, old plane and chestnut trees and a rich birdlifeWith its cliffs, belvederes, suspension bridge and lawns the park is quite unlike any other

In the East side of the city, there is a place both charming and surprising, the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. I was really charmed by a rich and varied landscape (rocks, waterfalls, caves, footbridges, lawns....) and surprised by the abrupt relief of the park. An ideal place where you can have a romantic break in the green

Buttes-Chaumont park, in the east of Paris extends over an area of 23 hectares. It was built at the wish of Napoleon III, who, as with Montsouris park in the south wanted to provide the working classes with a green area. It was laid out on the bare heights -'monts chauves' (bald mounts) hence the name 'Chaumont'; between 83 and 101 metres high, it makes up the most westerly promontory of the hills of Belleville

I was really charmed by a rich and varied landscape (rocks, waterfalls, caves, footbridges, lawns....) and surprised by the abrupt relief of the park

As you can see, this park is an ideal place where you can have a romantic break in the green

Opera

The building of the Opera is one of the most glamorous places in Paris. When you contamplate this building you realize that it is a really beautiful building

Place Vendôme