Paris

After flying from London, our plan was to visit Hôtel des Invalides on the first afternoon, principally to see Napoleon’s tomb, and then check out the lines at the Eiffel Tower.

Hôtel des Invalides

Napoleon's Tomb

Hôtel des Invalides

Predictably, the lines were long at the Tower, so we admired it from the ground and saved the top for another day.

Eiffel Tower Support

Eiffel Tower

Day two saw us visit The Louvre, where everyone goes to see the Mona Lisa.

The Louvre

Looking at the Mona Lisa

It would take days, maybe weeks, to see all of the Louvre. Several sections were closed and I got a little lost, but we wandered past Nike several times, saw some of the Egyptian collection, and left by way of the original foundations which was pretty cool.

Nike

After the Louvre, we went to Notre Dame. Deb and the boys saw the inside while I stood in line for the tower steps.

Notre Dame

It's more than 400 steps up to the Galerie des Chimères but it's absolutely worth the climb. Not only do you get marvelous views of Paris, but there are all those fabulous gargoyles.

The Effiel Tower

Gargoyle

Don't visit Notre Dame de Paris without a stop for ice cream at Berthillon. It may very well have been absolutely the best chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten.

On the last day, we dashed to the Eiffel Tower early in the morning to avoid the lines. We didn't avoid them, quite, but we did get to the top of the tower within about 40 minutes or so. The views are spectacular.

The Louvre

Arc de Triumph

But I'm not sure I'd recommend the highest platform if you suffer from vertigo. It's a long way down.

Eiffel Tower: All The Tiny People

After the Tower, we took the train to Versailles. With only one day to explore outside of Paris, it was a toss up between Versailles and Chartres. We figured the boys might be getting a little tired of enormous gothic churches, so we went with Versailles.

Versialles

Versailles Chandelier

Rain threatened, and we've been walking for days by this point, so the gardens, though inviting, were left for another day.

Versailles Gardens

For more pictures, see the Paris set on Flickr.

Next stop, Rome.

Are you going to Paris soon? Would you like some Métro tickets? Through an accident of arithmetic or language, I find myself with eight extra. I have no doubt I'll return to Paris someday, but not in the immediate future. Send me email and I'll be happy to drop them in the mail to you.