Center of Paris, right bank with Liz and Curt

Curt and Liz - The "Bourse de Paris"

9:12 AM - Curt and Liz are regular runners who live near Boston (USA). We left the Opera to make a big visit, more than 10 miles (16 km) to discover Paris center, on the Right bank side (a good training for the half marathon Curt prepares).

Not far from the Opera, we found the "Bourse de Paris". Ordered by Napoleon the 1st and created by Alexandre Théodore Brongniart, the building called Palais Brongniart (Brongniart Palace), served for a long time as stock exchange, the Paris Stock Exchange, before the transactions were dematerialized since the 1980s.
Remember:

Now everything is computerized!
The "Bourse de Paris" serves now as a conference, receptions, fashion shows, showroom or exhibitions center.

Later, we crossed "Le Marais" quarter (Marais=swamp), very quiet on this Sunday morning. No cars! The street belongs to the runners!

Curt and Liz - The Marais

Sunday morning, ideal moment to run in Paris! How many discoveries by running, the old Paris, the modern Paris, the fashion shops, the museums, the passages...

The Marais, the "Passage des Panoramas", The "Pont des Arts", The Pyramide of the Louvre
The first shop of a very fashionable shoes manufacturer, The Louvre, The river Seine

On our way, a couple of tourists asked Liz to photograph them. It fell well, Liz is, among others, a professional photographer!

Liz - Louvre and the Arc of the Carousel

Merci Liz ! Merci Curt !

The route of the tour :

Two running tours to discover Paris with Jennifer

Jennifer - Louis-Philippe's bridge

7:02 AM - Jennifer, of San Francisco, runs very regularly. We were able to discover the center of Paris by making two running tours early in the morning: the right bank, the left bank, the shores of the Seine and of course, the Parisian islands, the Island of "La Cité" and the Saint Louis Island.

On the photo above, we can see on the left, in the foreground, the Saint Louis Island then, at the bottom, the Island of "La Cité".

Did you know that Paris counted ten islands at the end of the XVIth century?

The river Seine - 1550

During our two races, we were able to...

• Find the Palace of the Legion of Honor:

Jennifer - "Palais de la Légion d'Honneur" Paris | "California Palace of the Legion of Honor" San Francisco

The museum "California Palace of the Legion of Honor" in San Francisco is a replica of the "Palais de la Légion d'Honneur" of Paris. The facade of the Palace in San Francisco is very visible and highlighted by the very beautiful "Lincoln Park".  We can admire the original Palace in Paris since a more narrow street, the "rue de Lille".

• greet Geneviève, noble Parisian Lady who made Attila and his Huns run away in the 5th century and since became the protector of Paris:

Jennifer - Geneviève "Eglise Saint Etienne du Mont", "Jardin du Luxembourg", "Pont de la Tournelle"

Geneviève is always represented with long plaits. Recent artistic style? No, it seems that effectively, during the Medieval period which begins in 5th century, the fashion was with long hair, frequently braided.  If you want to discover Geneviève's life, go on the "Mountain" of the same name in Paris and visit the "Panthéon", all her life is painted on walls there.

• visit the Paris of the Middle Ages by going through the "Marais":

Jennifer - "Rue François Miron" - "Rue des Barres"

Merci Jennifer !

The routes of the tours :

Place des Vosges with Anne and Niels

Anne et Niels - Place des Vosges

8:08 AM - It was a great pleasure to meet Anne and Niels from Denmark again. We had run together during a rather cold March, two tours in Paris, for the greater part on the left bank.

This time, in this warm day of August, we chose the right bank and followed the plan of the ancient Paris surrounding wall of King Louis XIII, path which constitutes largely what we name "Les Grand boulevards".

To join the Grand boulevards, we went through some of the numerous covered passages of Paris, in particular the "passage des Panoramas":

Anne and Niels - Passage des Panoramas

Deserted passage on a Sunday morning and thus usable by the runners!
The passage of the Panoramas is one of oldest covered passages of Paris, created in 1799 and doubtless inspired by the oriental souks... The name "panoramas" comes because the main entry was framed by two towers where were exposed panoramic landscapes representing big cities, panoramas.


On the Grand boulevards, we admired two big triumphal arches commissioned by king Louis XIV: the "Porte Saint-Martin" (1674) and the "Porte Saint-Denis" (1672).
Both arcs were built to the glory of Louis XIV and of his victories and replaced the fortified doors become useless, Charles V's wall being replaced by the Boulevard.

Anne et Niels - Porte Saint Denis

We then left the Boulevard to find the "Place des Vosges":

Anne et Niels - Place des Vosges

Look closer at the Louis XIII's statue. To replace the former bronze statue, melted during the Revolution, the sculptors chose the marble, indeed much heavier...
The statue threatening to collapse in its center, it was decided to place a trunk under the horse's belly. It gives a very strange look to this equipage, slowed down in its center by a tree trunk!

Merci Anne et Niels !

The route of the tour :