... in central Paris. It takes about half an hour to walk from the front of the Musée d'Orsay on the Left Bank over to the Église Saint-Eustache on the Right Bank, at Les Halles. There's a lot to see, and if you are sight-seeing and taking pictures, it would be easy to spend an hour on the walk. That's the Musée d'Orsay on the right. It used to be a train station.
On the way, you can walk past the dome of the Institut de France, where the French Academy and other academies meet. You can cross the Seine on the Pont des Arts, a footbridge. Walk past the huge colonnade of the Louvre until you get to the Bourse de Commerce (the commodities exchange).
Above are two pictures of the Église Saint-Eustache. It was built 1532 and 1630 in the Gothic style, replacing a chapel that dated back to the 1200s. The Michelin Green Guide calls Saint-Eustache l'une des plus belles églises parisiennes. In the second photo above, you see the underground Forum des Halles galérie marchande (shopping center) as it looked in 2006. It has been re-done more recently, and I haven't yet seen the new Forum from the inside.
I've never been in Saint-Eustache, and wasn't even aware of it when I lived there. My French au pair family told me, years later, that whenever they went to church, that's where they would go.
ReplyDeleteHoping the storm doesn't hit you this weekend! I saw some reporting on it last night, on the French channel news.
The wind must have been terrible. I hope things calm down soon, until then I will keep enjoying Paris through your eyes.
ReplyDeleteI love Musée d'Orsay, such a great place to spend a day. The second floor restaurant is just wonderful with its over the top decor and the food is very affordable.
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