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:
A big Running Tour of 18 miles (29 km) with Alina, one thousand discoveries in Paris!
Alina – Running in the “Jardin des Plantes” (Garden of the Plants) 9:05 AM – Alina, from New York, in the midst of preparations for a marathon, wished to visit Paris but fully respecting her training plan. This day, a long run was planned: we ran 18 miles (29 kilometers)… Ideal to see Paris! Paris is vast and rich in interesting places. What do we see in Paris by running on a long distance? Water: the Ourcq Canal, the Saint Martin Canal, the “Bassin de l’Arsenal”, the river Seine… The river Seine squares: the “Place de la République”, the “Place des Vosges”, the “Place de la Bastille”, the “Place de la Contrescarpe”, the “Place de l’Alma”, the “Place de la Concorde”, … “Place de la Concorde” museums: the National Museum of Natural History, the Army Museum (Invalides), the Rodin Museum, the Guimet Museum, the Galleria Palace, the Palace of Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art, the “Petit” and “Grand Palais”, the “Jeu de Paume”, the “Orangerie”, the Louvre, the Grévin Museum, the Orsay Museum… bridges: the Bridge of Austerlitz, the Bridge of Carrousel, the Royal Bridge, the Bridge of “la Concorde”, the Alexandre III Bridge, the Bir Hakeim Bridge, the Bridge of “l’Alma”, the Bridge of Arts… the “Pont des Arts” (in the background, the Museum of the Louvre) famous boulevards and avenues, numerous statues, splendid monuments, secular churches, beautiful covered passages… parks and gardens: the “Buttes Chaumont”, the garden of Luxembourg, the “Champ de Mars”, the gardens of the Trocadéro, the “cours de La Reine”, the garden of the Tuileries, the garden of the Plants where we greeted some animals: Alina and the Stegosaurus of the garden of the Plants Alina and the Mammoth of the garden of the Plants and of course the “Tour Eiffel”! Paris is beautiful and has so many amazing aspects! Merci Alina ! The route of the big tour:
A magnificent dawn in Paris with Marnie
Marnie – “Pont Louis-Philippe”, on the left, “Ile St-Louis”, in the background, “Ile de La Cité” and Notre-Dame 5:52 AM – Marnie lives in Singapore. After having run several half marathons, Marnie prepares a marathon she will run this autumn. How to prepare a marathon while visiting Paris? A long tour with Paris Running Tour! Ideal to discover the city while doing our training. We thus traveled on a circuit of more than 18 km kilometers, with an amazing Parisian landscape parading under our eyes. We discovered a totally deserted Paris, embellished by the magnificent light of the rising sun. Deserted Paris? A start before 6 am + on Sunday + August! The Parisians went on holiday, tourists still sleeping, well parked cars. Paris only for us! Look on how the “Place de la Concorde” is deserted and beautiful in all the splendor of this summer morning: Marnie – “Place de la Concorde” Nobody in front of the “Palais de Justice” either… The Sainte Chapelle and Conciergerie, which surround it, are still in the quiet before the arrival of the visitors during the day. Marnie – The “Palais de Justice” of Paris, on the left, the “Sainte Chapelle”, on the right, the “Conciergerie” We ran along the river Seine which we crossed several times to benefit from beautiful points of view on Paris: Marnie – “Pont Neuf”, in the background, the “pont des Arts” Marnie – Footbridge Senghor, on the left, the Louvre, on the right the “Musée d’Orsay”, in the background, Notre Dame On the new banks of Paris, we made a little sprint to test the new new athletic track of one hundred meters: Marnie – New banks of Paris, athletic track of 100 meters Souvenir photo on the Esplanade of the Trocadéro, the best point of view to see the Eiffel Tower: Paris Running Tour – Marnie – The Eiffel tower – On the left, the dome of the Invalides Merci Marnie ! 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!
Grande Arche – Arc de Triomphe return trip with Maggie
Maggie (in front of the Arc of Triumph) – Champs-Elysées 6:51 AM – Maggie, who lives near Houston, runs very regularly. Early on Sunday, we ran on the West part of the Paris historical axis (map here), from “La Défense” up to the Arc of Triumph. We thus left “La Défense” to cross its esplanade, the city of Neuilly, the avenue of the “Grande Armée” and join the Arc of Triumph on the “Place de l’Étoile” (place of the Star). We went around the “Arc de Triomphe”, admired the other part of the historical axis: Champs-Elysées, far off, the obelisk of “La Concorde” then, at the end, the Louvre (on the photo above, by enlarging it, we can see the Obelisk and the buildings of the Louvre far off). Maggie – The “Arc de Triomphe” On returning to “La Défense”, we were able to appreciate some of the numerous works of art arranged on the Esplanade, as “the pond of Takis” created by Vassilakis Panayotis Takis: Maggie – The “Bassin” of Takis (1988) – The “Grande Arche” of “la Défense” or “Le Moretti” (“Cheminée Moretti”) of Raymond Moretti : “Cheminée Moretti” (1995) “La Défense” is the biggest business center in Europe. On this Sunday morning, the esplanade of “La Défense” was deserted, contrary to the working periods when the paving stone of “La Défense” is full of businesswomen and businessmen who join or leave their offices. La Défense (Click on the picture for a larger view) By the way, do you know why this business area is called “La Défense”? In 1883, the Statue of the defense of Paris was placed on a traffic circle of Courbevoie, one of the cities where is situated the business center. The statue evokes the resistance and the bravery of the Paris defenders during the 1870 French-Prussian war. See below “La Défense” in the debuts of the business center developments (begun with the CNIT): On the left, “La Défense” in 1962 with the statue in the center and the CNIT recently created (1958) On the right, the Statue of “La Défense” still visible on the esplanade and drilling the paving stone. A little run of 10 km through space and time! 😉 Merci Maggie ! The route of the tour:
On the Paris Marathon route with Magdalena
Magdalena – “Lac Inférieur” of the “Bois de Boulogne” – Close to Kilometer 41 (mile 25.8) 9:31 AM – Magdalena, who lives in Poland, prepares the 2013 Paris marathon. It will be her second marathon after the one of Warsaw. We thus chose to follow beautiful portions of the Paris Marathon route by running about 20 kilometers (12.7 miles). We joined at first the magnificent Wood of Boulogne, awaiting the arrival of spring. It is in this wood that are located the last six kilometers of the marathon. For example, very close to the big lake, is the kilometer 41, an important passage! Out of the wood, at the beginning of the avenue Foch, we reach the kilometer 42 of which you can see the track registered on the ground in the photo below (track of the 2012 Paris marathon – find the very fresh mark in this other article of April 2012). The 2013 road markings are soon going to appear… Magdalena – Avenue Foch – Kilomètre 42, à 195 mètres de l’arrivée ! Kilometer 42, only 195 meters to go, Rich in sensations and feelings… Before the “Arc de Triomphe”, is the “triumphant” arrival (we can see the location of the arrival on the photo above, at the green light – click on the picture for a larger view). We then stroll up the avenue Foch to find the Champs-Elysées, located on one of the branches of “the Star”, center of which is the Arc de Triomphe (“Place de l’Etoile”=”Place of the star”). The Paris Marathon starts in the middle of the Champs-Elysées. What a magnificent place to begin a marathon! (See a photo of the start in this other article.) Magdalena – Place de la Concorde – Having left the Kilometer 1 on the Champs-Elysées Champs-Elysées, “place de la Concorde”, the street of Rivoli, the Bastille, the Wood of Vincennes and its magnificent castle, the splendid banks of the Seine, the Wood of Boulogne and the grand finish avenue Foch. Aren’t you tempted by this route? Route of the 2013 Paris Marathon Merci Magdalena ! Good Paris marathon! The route of the tour :
In front of the garden of the Elysée with Meredith and John
Meredith and John in front of the gardens of the Élysée Palace, residence of the President of the Republic. To see the main entrance, on the other side, you can click here 9:07 AM – Meredith and John come from the East coast of the United States (Washington, New York) and are in Paris for a cultural and very sports visit. This Monday, March 4th, we combined a tourist stroll and and “recovery jogging”. Indeed, Meredith ran the day before, the Paris half marathon by establishing a new personal record on the distance. Bravo Meredith! More than 30000 participants at the 2013 Paris Half-marathon! The start. With a close look, you will see 2 Paris Running Tour guides in the foreground, orange and (Paris Running Tour) green T-shirts That is thus, quietly, that we crossed Paris and took advantage of the beautiful morning, second brightened up morning after a very cold and dark winter. Meredith and John – Garden of the Tuileries – On the historical axis: far off the Obelisk of the place de la Concorde and the Arc of Triumph at the end of Champs-Elysées On the photo above, we see clearly the “pyramidion” (pyramid cover cap) at the top of the Obelisk, its gold cover shines as in the time of antique Egypt. Did you also know that the Obelisk of “Place de la Concorde” represented the gnomon (the needle) of a gigantic sundial? Had you noticed these marks on the ground? A gigantic sundial (1999) “place de la Concorde” – Click on the picture to see the details! The hour calculation is not as simple (duration of the day, etc.) By continuing our running, we returned on the historic axis, with in its beginning, the Louvre: Meredith and John – The pyramid of the Louvre It is in this way that we admired the oldest monument of Paris, the obelisk of Concorde (13è century BC) and one of the most modern, the Louvre Pyramid (inaugurated in 1989)! Merci Meredith, merci John! The route of the tour:
A sports and cultural tour of Paris with Ingrid at Christmas
Ingrid – Gallery Vivienne 8:32 AM – Ingrid lives in Uberaba, Brazil. To begin her stay in Paris, Ingrid chose to make a Paris Running Tour. On Sunday morning, two days before Christmas, Paris is quite decorated for the holidays. As we can see above, the beautiful Gallery Vivienne (1823) also respects the tradition. Our run, in this very quiet Paris of a Sunday morning before Christmas, allowed us to see a highly varied Paris: passages (Gallery Vivienne, passage of the “Grand Cerf”, passage of Bourg-L’abbé), the Paris of Napoleon the 1st with the Arc of the Carousel, the modern Paris with the Pompidou Center or the very old Paris with Nicolas Flamel’s house. Ingrid – House of Nicolas Flamel Nicolas Flamel’s house, which dates 1407, is the oldest of Paris (older than those of the street François Miron). Nicolas Flamel was a rich “Bourgeois” who, with his wife Pernelle, made build houses to welcome the poor people. This one, street of Montmorency, is the last existing one. An inscription indicates the prayers that the inhabitants of the place had to make : “We, ploughmen and women living at the porch of this house, which was made in 1407, are requested to say every day an ‘Our Father’ and an ‘Ave Maria’ praying God that His grace forgive poor and dead sinners Amen“. It is at present an inn. Some strides farther, it is the modern Paris which we discover. Ingrid – Centre Pompidou – “The Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt” Piece of Adel Abdessemed Effectively, we find the Pompidou Center, one of the biggest world Contemporary Arts Centers. It welcomes at present a temporary exhibition of the artist Adel Abdessemed. We can see on the square a (provocative?) sculpture representing the headbutt given by the famous football player Zinedine Zidane to an opponent having a little moved words… Ingrid – Arc du Carrousel We have already spoken about the Arc of the Carrousel during a tour with Kristy. Had you noticed the quadriga at the top of the Arc? In fact, the sculpture is a copy. Napoleon 1st had taken the original statue to the Venetians who themselves had stolen it during the sack of Constantinople in 1204 (The quadriga were ordered by Emperor Constantin in 330). With Napoleon’s fall, the original horses were returned to Venice where you can admire them place Saint Marc. To finish, here is a small postcard with other beautiful places seen during our visit: Merry christmas to all! Merci Ingrid ! The route of the tour:
Running with Pedro and Juliana on the historic axis of Paris
Pedro and Juliana – On the historic axis of Paris, in the garden of the Tuileries 9:10 AM – Juliana and Pedro are well trained runners from Campinas, near Sao Paulo in Brazil. We ran all along the river the Seine and for a good part, on the historic axis of Paris. Historic axis? Yes, it is the name given to the axis which leaves the center of Paris and goes westward. The history of this axis began when the Capetian kings took the habit to leave the Louvre to go hunting in the forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, drawing then a way in straight line to the West. In 1599, king Henri IV created a road on this axis leading of the Louvre to Saint Germain’s castle. This axis is successively fitted out and embellished, by the extension of the Louvre, the garden of the Tuileries, the place de la Concorde, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc de Triomphe and now, the Business center of the La Defense with the “Grande Arche”. Discover in detail the historic axis of Paris. Click on the following image. On the obtained page, you can again enlarge the image (a new click on it). Then, take place on the right of the image and with the horizontal-scroll, move on the left (Have a good trip!) Do you remember the previous article, which speaks about the Baron Haussman who had wished to enlarge the axis eastward? Do you also remember this running with Amy, where we had made a buckle on the West part of the axis by leaving from “La Defense”? Pedro and Juliana – Quai d’Orsay Juliana and Pedro – Champ de Mars and Esplanade du Trocadéro Merci Juliana et Pedro ! The route of the tour: