Under the Eiffel tower with Rachel

Under the Eiffel Tower - Far off the Palais de Chaillot and the garden of Trocadéro

7:32 AM - Rachel, from Wales, is a regular runner with very good results... After the running tour in Paris, she arrived recently second woman of a half marathon.
At present, she prepares for the next London Marathon.
In this beginning of March, the sun is with us for an attractive tour of Paris by running.

Look at the photo above, we are just under the Eiffel Tower. Early morning in March, the place is very quiet. Compare with the crowd that we can find on Easter Mondays for example or on a summer weekend there... Running early morning in Paris is a delight!

Far off, on the other side of the Seine, we can recognize the majestic "Palais de Chaillot" which was built for the World Fair of 1937, last World Fair in Paris.

The Palace of Chaillot replaced the Palace of Trocadéro built in the same place, that time for the World Fair of 1878:

Aerial view of the "Palais du Trocadéro" - 1934

By the way, do you know what "Trocadéro" means?

It is a fort which is situated in Cadiz in Spain and the place of a French victory; France came to help Spain to restore the absolute monarchy in 1823 (the king Louis XVIII reigns at that time in France).
The Palace of the Trocadéro built in 1878 (and then the "Place du Trocadéro") owes its name to a royalist victory!

We went for running early, accompanied by the rising sun which lit for us the magnificent monuments of Paris:

The Arc de Triomphe. We are in his shadow, the sun beginning to light the Champs-Elysées

Palais Galliera
Museum of the fashion with until, August 23rd, 2015, the exhibition dedicated to Jeanne Lanvin

The Eiffel tower - We are at the "Palais de Chaillot"!

The Alexandre III bridge with in the back the statue symbolizing the France of the Renaissance. At the top  of the pylon, one of the four Fames: The Fame of the War. 
These four statues were covered with gold leaves in 1989.

The Bridge of the Arts and in the back, the "Galerie du bord de l'eau" of the Louvre - The "Pont des Arts", known these last years for all the padlocks which where put there by the loving tourists, is at present protected by wooden panels. These panels covered by graffitis spoil a little the beauty of the place. It should be temporary.

The Palais Royal and its famous Columns of Buren ("Les deux plateaux"). The "Théâtre Ephémère" (short-lived theater) now disappeared. This wooden theater had welcomed temporarily the troop of the "Comédie Française" during the works of the "Palais Royal". We can see again the garden of the "Palais Royal" through the columns.

The Garden of the Tuileries - Our shadows are still very long!

Merci Rachel ! 
We wish you a great London Marathon!

The route of the tour:

Some small secrets of the Parisian landscapes, with Kara

Kara - Bridge of the Carrousel

8:01 AM - With Kara, who comes from Atlanta (USA), we ran on an attractive route of more than 9 km and took advantage of the magnificent landscapes offered by Paris, emphasized by the sun which accompanied us this morning: splendid urban landscapes of Paris, buildings and monuments which revealed us small secrets during our running.

For example on this photo of the Louvre taken since the bridge of the Carousel: do you see the lantern stands of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières which is at the right of the photo above?
Let us look closer:

Lantern of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières

Golden "N" decorate the balcony of the lantern as on the one of the pavilion which faces it, the pavilion of Rohan. These "N" placed in the end of the Second Empire in the middle of the 19th century, honor the Emperor Napoleon III.
But here, on the pavilion of Lesdiguières, these "N" are back to front! We think that the worker who put them, would have inverted them because of his hostility to Napoleon III!
This small secret was discovered during the restoration of the Louvre museum in 1985, more than one hundred years after their installation!

On the left, the lantern of the Pavilion of Rohan - On the right, the one of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières

Not far from there, the famous Bridge of the Arts. Some tourists call it henceforth the "Love Padlocks" bridge*1...

Kara - Footbridge of the Arts

It is true that it is about one of the most romantic places of Paris, it would be only by its sight on the Island of the "Cité". But what do we see if we get closer to the Island, behind the place Dauphine? A bird...

A bird...
It is one of the Imperial Eagles of the Justice Palace of Paris (Imperial Eagles dear to Napoléon the 1st, notice the "N" under the Eagle...):

By pursuing our running in the Louvre, we decide to make a photo in the very beautiful squared courtyard ("Cour carrée du Louvre"):

Kara - Cour carrée du Louvre

Under our feet you can find the first Louvre, the Medieval Louvre, a fort protecting the West of Paris by strengthening the Outer wall of king Philippe Auguste. If you visit the basements of the Louvre, you can see the foundations of the medieval castle. Here is its representation and a photo of its foundations:

Medieval Louvre - Foundations

By leaving the Louvre, we go through the garden of Tuileries and its numerous statues:

Kara - Garden of the Tuileries

Notice for example, on the right-hand side of the photo above, the Statue of the Oath of Spartacus:

By continuing along the historical axis of Paris, we arrive Place of La Concorde, magnificent place which really deserves a stop.

Kara, "place de la Concorde" - In the axis, the Champs-Elysées with the "Arc de Triomphe"

To the right, in the entrance of the Champs-Elysées, a rearing horse: one of the Horses of Marly. A copy of which the original is in the Louvre, original now protected from the vibrations provoked by the heavy machines of the National day military parade. 
Remember this article: Passing in front of the horses of Marly with Mary

If we take a close look, we distinguish green flags. They are the flags of the Paris Marathon that took place five days earlier!

Merci Kara !

The route of the tour:

*1 The City hall of Paris recently decided to forbid the pose of these padlocks on buildings or bridges of Paris because they threaten and damage these Parisian heritage. Artists are requested to find a respectful replacement to these wild poses (Article France 3 - in French).

A big Running Tour of 18 miles (29 km) with Alina, one thousand discoveries in Paris!

Alina - Running in the "Jardin des Plantes" (Garden of the Plants)

9:05 AM - Alina, from New York, in the midst of preparations for a marathon, wished to visit Paris but fully respecting her training plan. 
This day, a long run was planned: we ran 18 miles (29 kilometers)... Ideal to see Paris!

Paris is vast and rich in interesting places.
What do we see in Paris by running on a long distance?

Water: the Ourcq Canal, the Saint Martin Canal, the "Bassin de l'Arsenal", the river Seine...

The river Seine

squares: the "Place de la République", the "Place des Vosges", the "Place de la Bastille", the "Place de la Contrescarpe", the "Place de l'Alma", the "Place de la Concorde", ...

"Place de la Concorde"

museums: the National Museum of Natural History, the Army Museum (Invalides), the Rodin Museum, the Guimet Museum, the Galleria Palace, the Palace of Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art, the "Petit" and "Grand Palais", the "Jeu de Paume", the "Orangerie", the Louvre, the Grévin Museum, the Orsay Museum...

bridges: the Bridge of Austerlitz, the Bridge of Carrousel, the Royal Bridge, the Bridge of "la Concorde", the Alexandre III Bridge, the Bir Hakeim Bridge, the Bridge of "l'Alma", the Bridge of Arts...

the "Pont des Arts" (in the background, the Museum of the Louvre)

famous boulevards and avenues, numerous statues, splendid monuments, secular churches, beautiful covered passages...

parks and gardens: the "Buttes Chaumont", the garden of Luxembourg, the "Champ de Mars", the gardens of the Trocadéro, the "cours de La Reine", the garden of the Tuileries, the garden of the Plants where we greeted some animals:

Alina and the Stegosaurus of the garden of the Plants

Alina and the Mammoth of the garden of the Plants

and of course the "Tour Eiffel"!

Paris is beautiful and has so many amazing aspects!

Merci Alina !

The route of the big tour:

Parisian perspectives with Karine

Karine - Le Pont Neuf (the New bridge)

7:00 AM - Karine, runner from Quebec, chose to make a Paris Running Tour to prepare the half marathon of Montreal, very close, and also, of course, to take advantage of the sports visit to discover the charm of a Parisian circuit.

What beautiful perspectives offered by the morning sun! Look at the photo above with the light beginning to enlighten the "Pont Neuf" (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris (See this article).

We left early on this Sunday. At the start of the running, it was still dark. The silhouette of the Eiffel Tower appears in the dawn...

Karine - Alexandre III bridge

... as the Louvre, while the morning comes:

Karine - The Museum of the Louvre seen from the left bank

Still running towards the rising sun, we reached the Latin Quarter to meet the Sorbonne University:

Karine - "Rue Saint Jacques" - The University of the Sorbonne (and its observatory)

The Sorbonne goes follows the "rue Saint Jacques", former Roman way. The building which we see is the third version of the Sorbonne and dates of the 1880s. The Sorbonne University was established in the XIIIth century by Robert de Sorbon. It is in the heart of the Latin Quarter. 
Latin Quarter? 
Hispanic district? No, no!
In the Middle Ages, the students already came from the whole world to study there (among them, Dante, Erasmus). To speak together, a single shared language: the Latin! The passers-by eventually called the district Latin Quarter.

A little later, we cross the "Pont des Arts" (bridge of the Arts), considered as one of the most romantic of Paris (remember the Padlocks...)
What amazing perspectives on this bridge!

Karine - Pont des Arts - Click to enlarge this panorama

On the North side, the Louvre and the entrance of the "Cour Carrée" (Squared Courtyard), on the South side, the Institute of France, on the West side, the Orsay museum and the "Grand Palais" far off and lastly on the East side, the Island of "La Cité", which cuts the river Seine with the point formed by the "Square du Vert Galant".

Later by leaving the Louvre, we discover the perspective onto the Opera of Paris, the Garnier Opera. The architect Charles Garnier had refused to see trees along the Avenue of the Opera so that the perspective onto his Opera is not spoiled.

Karine - "Avenue de l'Opéra"

On our way back, we cross the "Place de la Concorde", look at both photos below, perspective onto the North and perspective onto the South:

Karine - "Place de la Concorde"

The church of "La Madeleine" and the National Assembly seem to be reflected. 
This was intentional. In 1806, Napoleon the 1st adopted the project of creation of a new facade for the former Palace of Duchess Louise of Bourbon, become "Assemblée Nationale" (National Assembly).
This new Colonnade (link in French)  of the facade reminds by its columns the facade of the Madeleine which faces it.
A new axis is given to the facade forming an angle to the original axis of the Bourbon palace and finally, columns are raised by the steps of an impressive staircase so that the Bridge of "La Concorde" does not mask the sight on the bottom of the colonnade.

Paris, always in the search for the harmony!

Merci Karine !

The route of the tour :

Postcards of an early morning running in Paris with Diana

6:35 AM - Diana, Australian runner, came to settle down with her family for some time in France. What better way to begin the visit of Paris than a very early morning run?

Here are some postcards of our cultural and sports visit:

We enjoyed very much running on the "Pont des Arts" (Bridge of the Arts):

Merci Diana !

The route of the tour:

A magnificent dawn in Paris with Marnie

Marnie - "Pont Louis-Philippe", on the left, "Ile St-Louis", in the background, "Ile de La Cité" and Notre-Dame

5:52 AM - Marnie lives in Singapore. After having run several half marathons, Marnie prepares a marathon she will run this autumn. How to prepare a marathon while visiting Paris? A long tour with Paris Running Tour! Ideal to discover the city while doing our training.
We thus traveled on a circuit of more than 18 km kilometers, with an amazing Parisian landscape parading under our eyes.

We discovered a totally deserted Paris, embellished by the magnificent light of the rising sun.

Deserted Paris? A start before 6 am + on Sunday + August! 
The Parisians went on holiday, tourists still sleeping, well parked cars. Paris only for us!

Look on how the "Place de la Concorde" is deserted and beautiful in all the splendor of this summer morning:

Marnie - "Place de la Concorde"

Nobody in front of the "Palais de Justice" either... The Sainte Chapelle and Conciergerie, which surround it, are still in the quiet before the arrival of the visitors during the day.

Marnie - The "Palais de Justice" of Paris, on the left, the "Sainte Chapelle", on the right, the "Conciergerie"

We ran along the river Seine which we crossed several times to benefit from beautiful points of view on Paris:

Marnie - "Pont Neuf", in the background, the "pont des Arts"

Marnie - Footbridge Senghor, on the left, the Louvre, on the right the "Musée d'Orsay", in the background, Notre Dame

On the new banks of Paris, we made a little sprint to test the new new athletic track of one hundred meters:

Marnie - New banks of Paris, athletic track of 100 meters

Souvenir photo on the Esplanade of the Trocadéro, the best point of view to see the Eiffel Tower:

Paris Running Tour - Marnie - The Eiffel tower - On the left, the dome of the Invalides

Merci Marnie !

The route of the tour: