This is a photo of the Panthéon that I took in July of 2013 from the top of the Tour Saint-Jacques. You can see that the Panthéon was undergoing restoration work at that time. The Tour Saint-Jacques had recently been restored as well, leading to the tower being opened up to the public for the first time in many decades.
This is a photo of the Tour Saint-Jacques that I took in July of 2016 from the balcon du Panthéon. The restoration work at the Panthéon had been completed and the "balcony" had been opened to the public for the first time in many decades. There were three hundred stairs to climb at the Tour Saint-Jacques. There were only 200 stairs to climb at the Panthéon. Because the building stands on much higher ground, on the balcon du Panthéon you are higher above sea level than at the top of the Tour Saint-Jacques.
That’s a lot of stairs!
ReplyDeleteJudy
This kind of aerial photo is always interesting in that you find things you didn’t know existed, i.e. that long “building” that seems to begin or end at the Tour and runs parallel to the rue de Rivoli? I have no answer! It is probably the Gare du Nord in the back of the Tower. I assume it is saint Jacques on top of it. Did you go that high?
ReplyDeleteI posted some comments earlier that I have now deleted. One was about that long building. It turns out to be on the rue Réaumur near its intersection with the rue Saint-Denis in the 2ème arrondissement. I use to live just a few steps from there. Walt identified it using Google Maps. The building behind it with the green copper roof is a bureau de poste on the boulevard Bonne-Nouvelle. Now I want to know what church saint Jacques seems to be staring at from the top of his tower.
DeleteSo, what did Google Maps tell Walt about that long building?
DeleteThe long building was the À Réaumur department store, which closed down in 1960. It now houses offices and retail stores. If you draw a straight line from the Panthéon to the intersection of the rue Réaumur and the rue St-Denis, the line passes just to the left of the Tour St-Jacques, as my photo would indicate. Oh, and the church that saint Jaques seems to be staring at is the église St-Laurent on the boulevard Magenta.
DeleteYes, you do need to go back to Sainte-Chapelle. So do I.
ReplyDeleteBettyAnn
That long building might be the Bibliothèque St. Genevieve?
ReplyDelete