How many Arcs of Triumph in Paris? With Adam and Bridget
Adam and Bridget (Philadelphia) began their vacations in Paris with a sport discovery of the City. Paris Running Tours prepared them a tour which included well-known historical places and also spots and buildings less famous but still fascinating. Running while visiting offers the possibility of seeing many district and understanding numerous aspects of the city. The photo above is taken at the start of what we call the “Historical Axis of Paris“. Do you know where exactly is the spot which starts this perspective? We already spoke about this axis during the visit of Juliana and Pedro in 2012. You can also directly look at the track of this axis in the image we created (Click on it for all the details). So, how many Arcs of Triumph in Paris? We can already count one in the photo above: the Arc of the Carrousel. Now let us enlarge the Arc of the Carrousel in the axis of the perspective: What do we see in its center? The Arc of Triumph of Charles de Gaulle square (“Place de l’Étoile”), it gives two Arcs. These two Arcs were built at the request (and for the glory) of Napoleon 1st. If we get closer to the Arc of Triumph, for example in the middle of the Garden of the Tuileries and we look at the center of the Arc of Triumph, we can see far away another Arc, newer this time, The “Grande Arche de la Défense”. It gives three Arcs. Look, in the right of the first photo of the article: This separation marks the city wall of the King Charles V. If you continue on the track of this wall you will join what we call the “Grands Boulevards”. It is precisely the place we are going with Bridget and Adam. The “Grands Boulevards” replace this protective wall created by Charles V and then completed on the West by Louis XIII. Later, the King, saying that he was able to defend his country (and even more…), had this wall destroyed to give what will become “les Grands Boulevards”. To replace the entrances in the North of the City, the Doors of Paris, he had two Arcs built, the “Arc de la Porte Saint-Martin” and the “Arc de la Porte Saint-Denis“: Two additional Arcs, it gives 3+2 = 5! 5? The “Grande Arche de la Défense” not being in Paris, it gives 4. Therefore we have Four arcs of Triumph in Paris. But, by the way, who is this King who built these two “Doors”? You can read “LUDOVICO MAGNO“, Louis the Great, Louis XIV, the Sun King! Admire the sculptures, all for his victories and his glory. He dominates his enemy, buried under the ground, or the defeated peoples come to give him the keys of their cities: Not far from the Grands boulevards, we discover a nicely decorated pediment, with in the vignettes, the five continents and lower, the Prudence which holds the mirror of the Truth: But what is this building? A Bank! Merci Bridget ! Merci Adam ! If you too, you come to Paris, we will be very happy to run with you. Join us and discover Paris with authentic Parisians guides who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
The routes we created for our visitors
VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017
Big thanks to all the runners who came to discover Paris with us in 2016! We wish you all a very happy new year and are looking forward to your visit in 2017. Happy running!
The Parisian running competitions in 2016
A new year for the running competitions in Paris It is always a great pleasure to run on the Parisian roadway freed of cars, to be able to run on the avenue of the Opera or at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, in the woods of Boulogne and Vincennes (which belong to Paris), to go down the Champs Elysées running the first kilometer of the marathon… As every year now, we propose the 2016 list of the Parisian competitions, all those which take place in Paris. DISCOVER THE LIST => HERE
Prepare marathons by visiting Paris
Nicole and Dan with Paris Running Tour – Palais Royal – Photo Frédéric Poirier 8:04 AM – Nicole and Dan live in New York. They are two regular runners. Nicole participates regularly in competitions. On holidays in Paris, Nicole prepares her next races: the Chicago marathon and, three weeks later, the New York marathon. Running so close marathons? Yes, with a non-exhausting good training, it is possible. So what is better than a Paris Running Tour to combine regular training and discovery-visit of Paris? Nicole and Dan – Avenue of New York in Paris Little break avenue de New York. New York, one of Nicole’s objectives. Is there also an avenue of Paris in New York? No, but there is an avenue of Paris in Chicago, Paris Avenue. Let us run in the paths of the garden of the Trocadéro: Dan and Nicole – Gardens of the Trocadéro – In the background, the “Palais de Chaillot” then along the river Seine: Dan and Nicole – Left Bank, “quai Branly” (Branly pier) The perspectives are often very beautiful in Paris, it deserves some stops: Dan and Nicole – “Champs Elysées” (Paris Marathon start!) Nicole and Dan – The “Palais Royal” Nicole and Dan – The garden of the “Palais Royal” Merci Dan and Nicole ! Since then, Nicole realized a time of 3:31 in Chicago then, only three weeks later, 3:40 in New York. Fantastic! Bravo Nicole! The route of the tour:
Some small secrets of the Parisian landscapes, with Kara
Kara – Bridge of the Carrousel 8:01 AM – With Kara, who comes from Atlanta (USA), we ran on an attractive route of more than 9 km and took advantage of the magnificent landscapes offered by Paris, emphasized by the sun which accompanied us this morning: splendid urban landscapes of Paris, buildings and monuments which revealed us small secrets during our running. For example on this photo of the Louvre taken since the bridge of the Carousel: do you see the lantern stands of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières which is at the right of the photo above? Let us look closer: Lantern of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières Golden “N” decorate the balcony of the lantern as on the one of the pavilion which faces it, the pavilion of Rohan. These “N” placed in the end of the Second Empire in the middle of the 19th century, honor the Emperor Napoleon III. But here, on the pavilion of Lesdiguières, these “N” are back to front! We think that the worker who put them, would have inverted them because of his hostility to Napoleon III! This small secret was discovered during the restoration of the Louvre museum in 1985, more than one hundred years after their installation! On the left, the lantern of the Pavilion of Rohan – On the right, the one of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières Not far from there, the famous Bridge of the Arts. Some tourists call it henceforth the “Love Padlocks” bridge*1… Kara – Footbridge of the Arts It is true that it is about one of the most romantic places of Paris, it would be only by its sight on the Island of the “Cité”. But what do we see if we get closer to the Island, behind the place Dauphine? A bird… A bird… It is one of the Imperial Eagles of the Justice Palace of Paris (Imperial Eagles dear to Napoléon the 1st, notice the “N” under the Eagle…): By pursuing our running in the Louvre, we decide to make a photo in the very beautiful squared courtyard (“Cour carrée du Louvre”): Kara – Cour carrée du Louvre Under our feet you can find the first Louvre, the Medieval Louvre, a fort protecting the West of Paris by strengthening the Outer wall of king Philippe Auguste. If you visit the basements of the Louvre, you can see the foundations of the medieval castle. Here is its representation and a photo of its foundations: Medieval Louvre – Foundations By leaving the Louvre, we go through the garden of Tuileries and its numerous statues: Kara – Garden of the Tuileries Notice for example, on the right-hand side of the photo above, the Statue of the Oath of Spartacus: By continuing along the historical axis of Paris, we arrive Place of La Concorde, magnificent place which really deserves a stop. Kara, “place de la Concorde” – In the axis, the Champs-Elysées with the “Arc de Triomphe” To the right, in the entrance of the Champs-Elysées, a rearing horse: one of the Horses of Marly. A copy of which the original is in the Louvre, original now protected from the vibrations provoked by the heavy machines of the National day military parade. Remember this article: Passing in front of the horses of Marly with Mary If we take a close look, we distinguish green flags. They are the flags of the Paris Marathon that took place five days earlier! Merci Kara ! The route of the tour: *1 The City hall of Paris recently decided to forbid the pose of these padlocks on buildings or bridges of Paris because they threaten and damage these Parisian heritage. Artists are requested to find a respectful replacement to these wild poses (Article France 3 – in French).
In Paris, under the pink morning light with Amy
Amy – Pont du Carrousel (Bridge of the Carrousel) 7:03 AM – Amy, from Florida, chose to make an early morning Paris Running Tour in this beautiful day of March 9th. The light was magnificent, giving a beautiful pink aspect to the landscape. At this hour, on Sunday morning, nobody in streets, very few cars, Paris for us alone and some other morning runners. Look at the first picture above, from the “Pont du Carousel”, look at the pink gradation which goes with the sunrise and shines on the river Seine and the buildings of the Louvre. Admire the sight from the “Pont de la Concorde”, on the east side: Amy – Pont de la Concorde – In the background, from left to right : the Tuileries, the Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame, the Institute of France and the “Musée d’Orsay” then, on the west side : Amy – Pont de la Concorde – In the background, a big iron tower ;), the new banks and the “Pont Alexandre III” On Sunday morning, we can even stop in the middle of the road in front of the Champs-Elysées to take a photo without being afraid of cars: Amy – “Place de la Concorde” – The Champs-Elysées, in the background, the “Arc de Triomphe” and far, the “Grande Arche” of “la Défense” While going back to the east, we stop at the entrance of the garden of the Tuileries, to make a small salute to the “Statue of the Fame” which sounds the triumph of the sun in Paris! Amy – Garden of the Tuileries with in the background, from left to right, the copy of the Statue of the Fame, the “Grand Palais”, the Obelisk of Louxor in the center of the “place de la Concorde” A perfect weather, a beautiful light, ideal to run in Paris! Merci Amy ! 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:
London came to run with Paris ! With Hope from City Jogging Tours of London
Hope de City Jogging Tour of London with Paris Running Tour – Louvre Pyramid 10:35 AM – Hope from London (United Kingdom) is the creator of City Jogging Tours of London, one of the first “Sightjogging Tours” in the world. What is better than a visit of Paris while running to share our running tour guides experiences? We thus left Montmartre to make a beautiful stroll… Hope – Montmartre, in the background, the whole of Paris! …by coming down to the South and by way of nice Parisian covered passages… Hope – Passage Jouffroy – Galerie Vivienne …by being amazed by the famous padlocks on the “Pont des Arts”, more and more numerous… Hope – “Pont des Arts” – In the distance, the Orsay Museum and the Eiffel tower …by making a break in the garden of the Tuileries… Hope – Tuileries Garden …by crossing the “Champs- Elysées”… Hope – Champs Elysées – Far off, the Arc of Triumph …to greet Winston Churchill… Hope – Winston Churchill, near the “Petit Palais” … And finally join the Eiffel Tower and the Ecole Militaire (Military school). City Jogging Tours of London and Paris Running Tour If you pass by London, go run a Jogging Tour with Hope and her team! A wonderful stroll in London! One day, Paris will be happy to go running with London… Merci Hope ! The route of the tour:
Paris Competitions News: Ready for the 2013 Paris Marathon?
Champs-Elysées – Kilometer 1 – Just before “place de la Concorde” before turning left to the Rivoli street In spring, strange signs appear on the Parisian road, blue lines accompanied by indications which seem to be coded: “KM1”, “KM2”, “KM3”, etc. These are the kilometric marks of the Paris marathon! In other places, all the miles are indicated too. On the photo above, the first kilometer. Magic kilometer going down the Champs-Elysées. Imagine, you are in the middle of the road of one of the most beautiful avenues and you are running applauded by the crowd! Take care, in spite of the enthusiasm, don’t lose your head. If it seems to be easy, it is because you are running downhill. keep your energy. One kilometer earlier, the start, in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. The mark is already present: The 2013 Paris marathon start at the level of the Marbeuf street Here you are, ready to make a magnificent route in Paris. Find the route in detail by clicking the image below, with a view of monuments, buildings, streets: Having crossed and taken advantage of Paris up and down, here you are, very close to the finish, in the kilometer 42: Avenue Foch – 42th kilometer – In the background, the Arc of Triumph Only 195 meters to go (enjoy it, this moment is extraordinary) and you arrive! Here is the location of the finish, rather discreet for the moment: The finish line ! Behind the Arc of Triumph, the Champs-Elysées from where the Marathon started! We wish you a beautiful Paris Marathon!