Monumnets, Museums, and Churches...Oh My!

I'm forgetting the exact number, but I read somewhere that Paris is home to an extraordinary number of museums and monuments. Something like over 180, not including churches. It's really enough to keep someone busy--and walking a ton--for a good period of time!

We didn't make it to everything but did manage to get to a lot of the famous sites. Most will probably be pretty familiar to you....

The Eiffel Tower: What's a trip to Paris without a few trips to the Eiffel Tower? We didn't go to the top, but enjoyed a few strolls around the park and a picnic dinner one evening. The tower was originally built in 1889 for that year's world's fair. Apparently people thought the Eiffel Tower was pretty awful and wanted it removed after the fair...obviously public opinion changed as this is the world's most visited, paid, monument (attracting nearly 7 million visitors in one year).


Hotel des Invalides: Commissioned by King Louis the XIV, the Hotel des Invalides was built as a hospital and retirement community for war veterans. Although it now houses the Musee de L'Armee (the military museum), it still has a wing that continues to serve as a hospital for veterans. The big dome is part of the royal chapel and is now home to vaults and tombs of many French military figures, most notably Napolean Bonaparte.


Arc de Triomphe: Built as a monument to honor those who fought for France. There is a tomb of the unknown soldier underneath the arc, marked by an eternal flame (also apparently the inspiration for the eternal flame on President Kennedy's grave). The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of the Champs Elysees and is in the centre of the convergence of 12 different streets, all forming a massive roundabout (and a reported driving nightmare). Interestingly, the Arc is so big that a French pilot flew his biplane through the arc after WWI.


Place de la Concorde: At the other end of the Champs Elyseses is the Place de la Concorde. Originally, and currently, a pleasant city square, it was used as the location of the guillotine during the French Revolution. Marie Antionette, among many others, was executed on this plaza. Where the guillotine once stood is now the Luxor Obelisk, a 3300 year old Egyptian Obelisk that once stood in front of the Luxor Temple in Egypt and was gifted to France in the 1800s.


Notre Dame: Commissioned in 1160, this amazing Gothic Cathedral was not completed until the mid 1200s. This is truly one of the most awe-inspiring churches I have seen. The architectural design is stunning and made only more impressive to consider that it was entirely built without the assistance of any powerful, modern machinery. The detailing is exquisite and one can just imagine men perched on scaffolding high above the ground chiseling out these magnificent designs.


The Bastille: Although the actual fortress-prison was demolished in 1789, there is a monument here to commemorate the location of the famous "Storming of the Bastille."


In addition to these famous sights, we also enjoyed a few lesser known places as well:

Hotel de Ville (City Hall)
Les Jardin des Plantes (the Botanical Gardens)

Part of the Louvre

Musee de Carnavalet (Museum of the City of Paris)

Musee de Carnavalet

Bust of Victor Hugo, by Rodin
Housed in the Maison Victor Hugo, a great museum and the former home of the renowed Hugo

L'Eglise de la Madeline

Eglise Saint-Augustin de Paris

Just a small taste of some of the beautiful monuments, churches, and museums that cover Paris. Tell me....if you've been to Paris, whats your favorite monument/church/museum? If you haven't been, what's the place you'd most like to see?