Running with Pedro and Juliana on the historic axis of Paris

Pedro and Juliana - On the historic axis of Paris, in the garden of the Tuileries

9:10 AM - Juliana and Pedro are well trained runners from Campinas, near Sao Paulo in Brazil.

We ran all along the river the Seine and for a good part, on the historic axis of Paris.
Historic axis? Yes, it is the name given to the axis which leaves the center of Paris and goes westward.

The history of this axis began when the Capetian kings took the habit to leave the Louvre to go hunting in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, drawing then a way in straight line to the West.
In 1599, king Henri IV created a road on this axis leading of the Louvre to Saint Germain's castle.

This axis is successively fitted out and embellished, by the extension of the Louvre, the garden of the Tuileries, the place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe and now, the Business center of the La Defense with the "Grande Arche".

Discover in detail the historic axis of Paris. Click on the following image. On the obtained page, you can again enlarge the image (a new click on it). Then, take place on the right of the image and with the horizontal-scroll, move on the left (Have a good trip!)

Do you remember the previous article, which speaks about the Baron Haussman who had wished to enlarge the axis eastward?
Do you also remember this running with Amy, where we had made a buckle on the West part of the axis by leaving from "La Defense"?

Pedro and Juliana - Quai d'Orsay

Juliana and Pedro - Champ de Mars and Esplanade du Trocadéro

Merci Juliana et Pedro !

The route of the tour:

Running in Paris at the sunrise, with Denise

Denise - "Quai de l'Horloge" (Pier of the Clock)

6:58 AM - With Denise from Porto Allegre (Brazil), we start running early. We took advantage of the morning light to admire streets and monuments and see the city waking up. While staying near the Seine, we visited the center of Paris by alternating the right bank and the left bank: the Latin Quarter, Saint Germain des Près, the "place de la Concorde", the Louvre, without forgetting the Island of the City (as shown on the photo above, Quay of the Clock, at the foot of the Horloge of the Conciergerie, recently  renovated).

We made a small detour on the "Pont des Arts" to appreciate the rays of the sun enlightening the West of Paris:

Denise - Pont des Arts

A little later, we found the Garnier Opera, quite enlightened by the daylight:

Denise, avenue de l'Opéra

The avenue of the Opera, created during the works of Hausmann, had initially been planned with trees. Charles Garnier, the architect, did not want these trees. He had wished that the sight of his Opera was completely unobstructed. Without trees, the Opera is indeed very visible since the place André Malraux near the Louvre. 

Denise - Mairie of the 1st arrondissement (1st district city hall) and the church Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois

A little farther, we met two buildings. They are alike, right? 
If they have the same architecture, they have nevertheless very different uses. One is a public building: the City hall of the 1st district and the other one, a religious building: the church Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois.
This group owes its existence to a particular history:
August 24th, 1572, in full religious war, bells of this very old church gave the order to eliminate all the Protestants of Paris. This signal was the beginning of the horrible Saint-Bartholomew's massacre.
In the 19th century, town planners made the project to extend eastward the historic axis Louvre-Tuileries-Concorde-Champs Elysées. It should cause the destruction of the church.
The baron Haussman, in charge of the big Parisian works, refused.
Indeed, as he was Protestant, he did not wish that people can interpret the destruction of the church as a personal vengeance. 
He also asked for the construction of a city hall, completely similar to the church, by concern of harmony. He made raise between both buildings a tower-bell to strongly separate the "religion" and the "republic".
Parisians, derisive, called the group "L'huilier et ses deux burettes" (the hand oiler and the two cruets).

We finished our running by way of the Island of the City and the Latin Quarter.
About 11 km, sports and instructive!

Merci Denise !

The route of the tour :

At the "Champ de Mars" with Sylvie

Sylvie - Eiffel tower

8:00 AM - Sylvie from Montreal (Canada) came to Paris for a short stay. We took advantage of this morning run to do a nice visit of Paris. On this Friday morning, the cold weather arrived to Paris. Having dressed our winter runners' clothes, we ran along a buckle of 10 kilometers by way of the "esplanade of the Invalides", the Tuileries, the Champs Elysées.  

At the end of the tour, we passed by the "esplanade of the Palais de Chaillot", one of the best viewpoints to contemplate the Eiffel Tower. After a small break to make a "photo-souvenir", we joined the "Champ de Mars" by way of the Iéna bridge.

In the Champ de Mars, we were welcomed by very nice bears:

Sylvie and the Buddy Bears - Champ de Mars

Bears? The Buddy bears! 
Yes, after Berlin, Kitzbühel, Hong-Kong, Istanbul, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Vienna, Cairo, Jerusalem, Warsaw, Stuttgart, Pyongyang, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Astana, Helsinki, Sofia, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Saint-Petersburg, among others, "United Buddy Bears" settled down in Paris this October. They will stay there until November 18th, 2012.

These 140 Buddy Bears represent the 140 countries recognized by United Nations. They wish to present the art of the tolerance and symbolize the idea of a world in peace in the future.

Sylvie with the Buddy Bear of Canada - Sylvie between the Bear of Georgia and the one of France

Come to Paris to admire these works of Art and Peace united!

Merci Sylvie !

The route of the tour :

Running in October in Paris

Right bank - Far off the Pont Royal (Royal Bridge), Notre-Dame and the dome of the Institute of France

Garden of the Tuileries - Far off, the Louvre

The bridge of "la Concorde" then the place of "la Concorde" and its obelisk, with, far off, on the left, the "Hôtel de Crillon", the "Hôtel de la Marine" on the right and in the center, "La Madeleine"

The "esplanade des Invalides" - The "Hôtel des Invalides"

No matter what month we are, it is always a pleasure to run in Paris!
Come and do a tour, a nice visit while running with Paris Running Tour!