Running doing a spiral in the centre of Paris!
Running doing a spiral in the centre of Paris! So many things to discover or see again, to share the history of Paris, to understand the link between historical events and the physiognomy of the city, to have the joy of running together… a pleasant stroll (and the satisfaction of a shared drink in the beautiful garden of the Palais Royal after the effort…). Many thanks to Chrystelle, Eric, Flavien, Jérôme, Justice and Marie! Paris Running Tours: private tours or free outings, stay tuned! See you soon for new themed outings, we are full of ideas to show you around Paris 😀 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 will take you on the best sight running routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you: Music: Vlad Gluschenko — Harmony License: CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en
Time travel with Paris Running Tours
Paris is more than 2000 years of history (even more so, when you think of the canoes discovered in Bercy that date back to the Neolithic period). During our guided tours and thanks to the distance we cover, we can dive into the past and compare the different periods of Paris. Here, with the run done with Katie and Stantton, we have evoked and admired entire sections of Paris’ history. The photos you can see here show the periods from the end of the Middle Ages to the 20th century (but we also discovered, among others, the Paris of the Romans, Lutetia!). Thank you Katie and Stantton! 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 will take you on the best sightrunning routes in Paris and who always have tons of secrets to share with you:
Memories of 2017, very good moments with our visitors (2/3)
Here is the second article of the end of this year serie, which reviews some of the Parisian visits made with our sports visitors. It was a great pleasure to run with Carla, Ashley and Jen from San Francisco, end of September. A good distance allowed us to discover all the diversity of Paris. The following pictures show some aspects of this variety. 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. Enjoy an original private tour, tailor-made for you:
Running 25 km under the sun of Paris, with William
William – Sunrise from the bridge Alexandre III 6h55 – William comes from Dubuque, Iowa. Long distance runner, William chose to run 25 km (15.5 miles) to discover a lot of aspects of Paris. We left early to see the rising sun, magnificent sun which accompanied us during the run and gave us beautiful images of Paris. 25 km allows to see full of beautiful Parisian places, in particular: The Alma bridge and its “zouave” – Remember this visit with Lotte, where we speak about the “Zouave” and the river Seine. William – “Pont de l’Alma” The garden of the Trocadéro and the Eiffel tower William – “Tour Eiffel” The “Invalides” – We also went there during this tour with Sharon. We had evoked the history of these cannons. Look, a small rabbit hardly hidden by the cannons came to greet us. William – “Esplanade des Invalides” – On the right, a little rabbit from the Invalides The Arc of the Carrousel – The “Arc du Carrousel” comes to us from Napoleon the Ist (We had discussed it with Kristy) and the horses are copies of the horses stolen by Napoleon in Venice (their story had been told during the tour with Ingrid). Carrousel? A merry-go-round? Actually, this name is connected to an equestrian show which took place at the time of the king Louis XV. William – “Arc du Carrousel” The French National Museum of Natural History (“Muséum Naturel d’Histoire Naturelle”) whose head office is in Paris, here in the magnificent Garden of the Plantes (“Jardin des plantes”). William – “Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle” – “Jardin des Plantes” The Square of the “Hôtel de Ville” of Paris (The City hall of Paris). Look at the drawing at the ground. We can see a ship. It is the Paris coat of arms. If there is a place where to see the symbol of Paris, it is here, at the “Mairie de Paris”, the Paris city hall! To know more about it about this blazon, read the explanations which we left to describe the running tour with Emily. William – “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” The famous bookshop “Shakespeare and Company”, the Mecca of the Anglo-Saxon culture in Paris, in particular, a meeting place for the American and Anglo-Saxon writers as Woody Allen evokes it in the movie “Midnight in Paris” (see the photo of the movie where we see the character interpreted by Owen Wilson in front of the bookshop): William – Shakespeare and Company – Wallace fountain The magnificent banks of the Seine: William – Saint-Michel bridge – To the left: the island of “La Cité” with Notre-Dame, to the right: the left bank of the river Seine Merci William ! The route of the tour:
Some nice places to run in Paris
Hayley on Paris historical axis, after the Louvre, the Garden of the Tuileries, the “place de la Concorde” and the Obelisk of Louxor, the Champs-Elysées, the Arc of Triomphe and the business center of “la Défense” with its “Grande Arche” 7:30 AM – Hayley, who lives in Vancouver, began her stay in Paris and in Europe by a sports discovery of the city thanks to a 10 miles route in the company of Paris Running Tour. Hayley is journalist for Lainey Gossip and also a personal trainer. We further recommend her article Travelling and weight management. We fully agree her first advice for travelling 😉 => see the web link that comes with it… Thank you Hayley 🙂 Discover with us some beautiful places of Paris, to run (or not) : The “Cours de la Reine” : This beautiful alley created by Marie de Medici in 1618 is a nice place to run, see this beautiful lawn surrounded with majestic trees and which welcomes a number of statues. At Paris Running Tour, we call this perspective “The Alley of the Statues”. On the photo below, we can see successively the monument to the Russian Expeditionary force having fought in France during the World War I, the statue of General Lafayette (do you remember the small little tortoise ?), the statue of the Liberator Simon Bolivar then the one of the King of the Belgians, Albert the 1st. Hayley – “Cours de la Reine” “Place du Palais Royal” : Having passed by the garden of the Tuileries (see the photo at the beginning of this article), having crossed the Louvre by the passage which leads of the Pyramid to the Street of Rivoli, you discover the beautiful square of the Palais Royal. From there, you can join the gardens of the Palais Royal, the beautiful garden protected by the galleries of the Palais Royal. Hayley – “Place du Palais Royal” The “new banks of the river Seine” : We could not resist to the envy to make a small sprint on the 100 meters running track of the new banks of the Seine, small 2 km paradise in the center of Paris for the runners. Not so easy to accelerate after about 6 miles… On our road, we were also able to admire: The “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” (Paris City Hall), which, this day, welcomed the President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German flags joined to the French flags): Hayley – “Hôtel de Ville de Paris” The magnificent front door of the “Petit Palais”: Hayley – Le Petit Palais as well as one of the Parisian Statues of Liberty (discover them here) : Hayley – Statue of Liberty (“Arts et Métiers”) Merci Hayley ! The route of the tour :
Paris Competitions News: Paris Half-Marathon!
Paris Half-Marathon 2010 – Into the starting areas looking forward to the start… On Sunday, March 3rd, 2013, it is the half marathon of Paris, a little more than 21 km (>13mi) for a race in the East of Paris. 40000 runners for this new edition! A beautiful sports route and a good preparation for the next marathon of Paris which will take place on Sunday, April 7th. A sports route but also a beautiful touristic stroll, so, of course, you will see at first and on arrival the magnificent castle of Vincennes, but even if you are in full effort, take advantage of the stroll, raise eyes and look at Paris around you… Maybe it will make your running easier? So don’t miss, for example: Notre-Dame On your road between the 12th and the 13th kilometer, Notre-Dame at your left on the “Ile de la Cité” L’Hôtel de Ville At the 13th kilometer, before turning left, have a look to the “Mairie de Paris”, the City hall of Paris The tracks of the Castle of “La Bastille” Just before the place of the Bastille, between the 14th and the 15th kilometer, on the ground, tracks indicating the locations of towers and walls of the former Bastille castle (if the crowd allows you to see them) You will see many other magnificent and historic places all along the route, take advantage of it (and if you have other remarkable places that you want to share with us, say it in a comment, thanks!). Enjoy your race!
From the Bastille up to “La Concorde” with Jessica
Jessica – Pont de la Concorde 7:03 AM – Taking advantage of a sunny morning, with Jessica of Los Angeles (USA), we crossed Paris from the “place de la Bastille” up to the “place de la Concorde”. Did you know the anecdote which connects both places? Stones of the Bastille fortress destroyed by the revolutionaries served to build the Bridge of “La Concorde”. The Parisian could so walk on one of the strong Monarchy symbols! Having passed the “place de la Bastille” where we discovered on the ground the tracks of the destroyed fort (at the end of the street Saint Antoine), we joined the City hall of Paris: Jessica – L’Hôtel de Ville It is the 1882 “version” of the “Hôtel de Ville” that we can contemplate, the previous one having been burned during the events of the “Commune” in 1871. On the photo, we can notice American and French flags, having been gathered here doubtless to honor the US National Day, the 4th of July. A little farther, near “Les Halles”, we interrupted our running one moment to be able to appreciate the glass roof and the frescoes of the “Bourse du Commerce” ceiling. Former Corn Exchange where cereal were stored and sold, it is now occupied by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris, dedicated mainly to the creation of business companies: La Bourse du Commerce – Paris Our route then led us “place de la Concorde”. The preparations of the French National Day, on July 14th, are nearly finished. We can see on the photo the stand where will sit the President of the Republic and the government members, situated in front of the Champs Elysées where from the military parade will come down. Notice the roof in the colors of the French flag… Jessica – Place de la Concorde We ended our running in “Le Marais” district where we were able to admire the magnificent “Hôtel de Sens”: Hôtel de Sens Jessica is a regular runner, fond of healthy food but also a music composer and a singer : Raelux! Merci Jessica ! The route of the tour :
Four mornings to explore Paris with Sarah
Sarah – Hôtel de Ville 6:30 AM – Sarah of Houston (USA), wished to discover Paris by running four following mornings with Paris Running Tour. It is thus with a big enthusiasm that we investigated the center of Paris as well right bank as left bank (see routes at the end of the post). Did you know that the metric system was set up during the Revolution? The National Convention (constitutional and legislative revolutionary assembly), to generalize the use of the metric system disposed sixteen marble standard meters at the most frequented places of Paris. These meters were installed between February, 1796 and December, 1797. With Sarah, during our explorations, we found both last ones which remain at present in Paris, the one of the right photo being the only one still on its original site: Standard meter Place Vendôme – Standard meter street of Vaugirard On the “grands boulevards”, we discovered two triumphal arches: Porte Saint-Martin – Porte Saint-Denis Yes, before the Arcs of Triumph wanted by Napoleon the 1st, place de l’Etoile and in the Carrousel of the Louvre, Louis XIV ordered the construction of these two Arcs in honor of his military victories (See the inscription at the top of the Arcs: “Ludovico Magno”, Louis the Great). Louis XIV, Sun King did not only make Versailles! The Arc of “La Porte Saint Denis” (“Porte”=door) and the Arc of “La Porte Saint-Martin” are in the location of former fortified doors of Paris, both belonging to the surrounding wall of king Charles V. Indeed, the “Grand boulevards” which we know now correspond to the ancient surrounding fortifications of Paris, built by Charles V, widened by Louis XIII, then destroyed under Louis XIV The word “Boulevard” comes moreover from the word “Bolevers” which comes itself from the ancient Dutch word “Bolewerk” meaning “Ramparts”. From the Charles V’s surrounding wall (1383) to the “nouveau Cours” (1705 ) – Representation of the door Saint-Martin See these trees planted all along the Boulevard. The Parisians called them “boules vertes” (Green balls). Boules vertes = Boulevards! Other origin of the word! Among our other historic explorations, we found the ancient Arenas of Lutetia (Lutetia = Paris before the third century later JC). They were accidentally discovered by chance during works in 1870. These Roman arenas could contain more than 10000 spectators. Under their eyes took place gladiators’ fights, fights of wildcats but also representations of comedies or dramas. Sarah – Arenas of Lutetia Nowadays, it is a quiet place for games of balls or tournaments of petanque. From time to time, theater companies play there. Merci Sarah ! The routes of the four tours:
Paris Arts and Cultural News: the Impressionists at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris
Exhibition: the Impressionists at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris A particularly pleasant April to run in Paris… Take advantage of it, early in the morning to appreciate the beautiful light which is going to invade the city and also a little of the remaining night-freshness. New exhibitions bloom almost everywhere in the city. Do not miss “Paris in the time of the Impressionists”, free exhibition in the City hall of Paris (“Hôtel de Ville”). Numerous masterpieces of the Musée d’Orsay are grouped there under the theme of Paris in the period of the impressionists. These painters accompanied the deep changes of Paris in the 19th century. You will discover there how the city, its streets, the architecture of its buildings were completely transformed. We recommend you this exhibition, it lasts until July 30th, 2011. And why not complete your cultural visits by a sports route of the city with Paris Running Tour and to take advantage “dynamically” of our comments on Paris, its history and its culture?