On the "new Pont des Arts" with Laura

Laura - Pont des Arts ("Bridge of Arts")

8:03 AM - With Laura, from Chicago, we made a long running tour of Paris, a pleasant sporting stroll on a beautiful sunny morning of March.

Do you recognize the "Pont des Arts" ("Bridge of Arts")? Where are the famous padlocks of love?
Until 2015, we could see the "Pont des Arts" overloaded with "padlocks of love".
You probably know the story: two lovers write their names on a padlock, hang it on a bridge and throw the key in the river, thus sealing their love. 

This tradition would come from Italy, from a movie adapted from a novel "Ho voglia di te", where two lovers place their padlock on a lamppost of the bridge Milvius in Rome. Inspired by the movie, the lovers in Rome decorated in their turn this bridge with their own padlocks.
The fashion quickly spread in Europe and mainly in Paris, ideal romantic city. The "Pont des Arts", attractive pedestrian footbridge, was the main target of these padlocks. Transparent panels recently had to replace these padlocks, too heavy for the bridge.

The story of the "Pont des Arts" padlocks in some images of our blogs:

• The beginning of the love padlocks fashion on the "Pont des Art" (some padlocks) 
• The fast growth of the love padlocks on the "Pont des Arts"
• The replacement, summer 2015, by temporary artistic panels

Then, no more padlock on the "Pont des Arts"? No, some smart ones find solutions:

Having left the Pont des Arts, with Laura, we explored "Saint Germain des Près" and the Latin Quarter, the left bank, then the island of "La Cité" and the right bank, the Louvre, the Palais-Royal and the beginning of the historic axis of Paris. A sport visit for sure but with numerous stops to be able to appreciate magnificent Parisian landscapes: :

The Medicis Fountain at the garden of Luxembourg,

Animal statues in the Jardin des plantes,

The "Pont Neuf" and its beautiful view on the Seine,

The pond in the Garden of the "Palais Royal"

In the Garden of the Palais Royal, we found Michel Goulet's new chairs, inspired by the metallic chairs which we usually meet in the Parisian gardens (to know more about it => here):

We returned at a good pace to take advantage of the pedestrian part of the Seine left bank.

The new pedestrian banks between the "Pont Alexandre III" and the "Pont de la Concorde"

Merci Laura !

The route of the 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 :

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:

Around the Louvre with Janaina and Gustavo

Gustavo and Janaina - The Island of the "Cité" seen from the "Quai du Louvre"

7:13 AM - Gustavo and Janaina live in Salvador (Brazil). To visit Paris by running, we chose a beautiful stroll around the Louvre.

We left the Grands Boulevards and went through the "passage des Panoramas" (see the previous post), the "Palais Royal", and then we joined the Louvre, by crossing the Street of Rivoli:

Janaina and Gustavo - The Louvre, entrance to the "passage Richelieu"

The Passage Richelieu connects the street of Rivoli with the Louvre Pyramid and allows to see the beautiful sculptures of the Puget and Marly courtyards (remember the article which speaks about the horses of Marly) :

Gustavo and Janaina - The Louvre, Puget courtyard

After this small break in front of the passage Richelieu windows, we continued our running at the foot of the Pyramid, the magnificent glass pyramid which respects the central space of the Louvre and allows to see the Louvre in its totality:

Gustavo and Janaina - The Louvre and the Pyramid

What was there before the Pyramid? A stand of trees where cars could park. At the foot of the trees, impossible to see all the facades:

The Louvre before 1983

In the same direction, towards the garden of the Tuileries, we had a photo break to take advantage of the view on the Eiffel Tower, the "Musée d'Orsay" and also some statues of Maillol. Look for them in the bushes by enlarging the photo:

Gustavo and Janaina - The Louvre ("Pavillon de Flore"), "Musée d'Orsay", Eiffel tower and Tuileries

We then left the garden of the Tuileries by way of the small tunnel which goes out of the garden by going towards the river Seine. We crossed the Seine by the footbridge Léopold Sédar Senghor and going up the staircases of the bridge, where we enjoyed a beautiful point of view on Notre-Dame:

Gustavo and Janaina - Léopold Sédar Senghor footbridge

On the other side of the bridge, we saw the beautiful Palace of the Legion of Honor, cleaned recently (we had spoken about its replica in San Francisco here):

Janaina and Gustavo - "Palais de la Légion d'Honneur"

Evoking the various places to run, we spoke about the immense and long beautiful beaches of Brazil. In Paris, we also have the opportunity to have some beaches ;) 
At least from mid-July to mid-August, the banks of the "Right bank", in particular, welcome the operation "Paris-Plages":

Gustavo and Janaina - On the "Pont Neuf". Behind, the beautiful "Paris-Plages"sand before the opening

A little farther, near the Louvre, is the Louvre Oratory, with the Statue of the "Amiral de Coligny", whose tragic end reminds us sad moments of the French History:

Gustavo and Janaina - "Oratoire du Louvre"

On our road, we passed by the beautiful "Véro Dodat" gallery and we were amazed by the height of a famous Parisian shoemaker's shoes (see below, near the passage, the Christian Louboutin's first shop):

Gustavo and Janaina - "Galerie Véro Dodat" and a shop of eccentric shoes

 Merci Janaina, merci Gustavo !

The route of the tour:

Snapshots of a first visit in Paris, with Melinda

Melinda - On the bridge of Austerlitz. In the distance, Notre-Dame and Saint Louis Island beautiful houses

Monday 27th May - 12:51 PM, Wednesday 29th May - 6:57 PM - First time in Paris for Melinda from Miami (USA) ! 
What better choice than to start a first stay in Paris doing a visit by running (with Paris Running Tour)? A good way of unwinding legs after a long travel by plane and a first discovery of Paris getting directly into the life of the city.

And why not begin again two days later to discover new paths through Paris?
We thus ran by following two routes which mainly crossed the disctrict of "Le Marais", the Left bank, the island of "La Cité" and the center of Paris around the Seine.

Here is the route (numbers indicate where the photos of this article were taken):

We took numerous photos during our running:

1) "La rue des Barres" (Street of Bars). This name comes because formerly, in the 10th century, on the location of the street, a wall, a fence of wooden bars, constituted a wall protecting Paris:

Melinda - "Rue des Barres"

2) "L'Hôtel de Sully" (The Hotel of Sully). The Duke of Sully, Minister of Finance of king Henri IV, lived in this noble mansion at the end of his life. By crossing the Hotel of Sully, we passed directly from the street Saint Antoine to the "place des Vosges".

Melinda - "Hôtel de Sully"

3) The "bassin de l'Arsenal". Having crossed the place of the Bastille, we met the Basin of the Arsenal, port and canal connecting the river Seine with the Saint Martin canal and which, formerly, was a ditch which filled the moats of the castle of the Bastille.

Melinda - "Port de l'Arsenal"

4) "Pont d'Austerlitz" (Bridge of Austerlitz). See the picture at the beginning of the article.

5) "Cour du Commerce Saint André". Another place which is situated on the plan of the former surrounding wall of Paris, the wall of king Philippe Auguste. This passage, opened in 1776, allows to reach the Café Procope (1686), one of the oldest cafés in the world.

Melinda - "Cour du Commerce Saint André"

Second tour :

6) "Le Tribunal de Commerce de Paris" (Commercial court). This building presents the peculiarity to have a dome placed not in the center, but on the side, in a way that the dome is visible from the Boulevard Sevastopol. The dome closes the perspective of the Boulevard by the South.

Melinda - On the bridge Notre Dame. We can see, on the island of "La Cité", successively,
the Hôtel-Dieu (Hospital), the "Tribunal du Commerce de Paris" and the Conciergerie.

7) On the "Pont Neuf" ("New" Bridge). 

Melinda - Pont Neuf. On left, the "Institut de France", the Eiffel tower and, on right,the "Musée d'Orsay"

8) Colonnade of the Louvre. Summit of the French classicism, the Colonnade of the Louvre was realized at the request of king Louis XIV. The Colonnade of the Louvre served as model to numerous famous buildings, in particular, the Capitol of the United States in Washington, Metropolitan Museum of art in New York and San Francisco War Memorial Opera House.

Melinda - The "Colonnade du Louvre"

9) Alexandre III bridge. The widest bridge in Paris. Built with the "Grand" and "Petit Palais" for the World Fair of 1900. The bridge offers a direct link between the "Invalides" and the Champs-Elysées.

Melinda - the Alexandre III bridge - In the distance, the "Invalides"

10) The Champs Elysées.

Melinda - Champs Elysées, at the end, the "Arc de Triomphe" and far off, the "Grande Arche" of "la Défense"

11) The equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, place of the Pyramids. She is situated not far from the Gate Saint Honoré, where Joan of Arc tried to cross Charles V's surrounding wall to reconquer Paris, occupied at the time by the English. She was hurt by an arrow in the thigh there.

Melinda - Equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, of Frémiet and inaugurated in 1874

12) The Puget courtyard in the Louvre.

Melinda - Puget Courtyard, situated with the Marly Courtyard on both sides of the passage
which connects the Louvre Pyramid to the street of Rivoli

13) Stravinsky fountain. This fountain, fountain Stravinsky or fountain of automatons, was created by the couple of artist Nikki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely in 1983 and evokes the work of the composer Stravinsky.

Melinda - the "Fontaine Stravinsky", on the right George Pompidou Center

Interesting and beautiful discoveries, isn't it?
Merci Melinda !

The route of the tours: