Discovery of Paris history by running with Felicity
Felicity – The Louvre and the garden of the Tuileries Click on the picture for a larger view 7:58 AM – With Felicity from Melbourne (Australia), we rediscovered the city at a good pace while admiring tracks left by the history on the scene, monuments and buildings of Paris. We crossed The Louvre which made us go back up to 16th century, period when the king François the 1st replaced the ancient fortress by a luxurious residence. Since, during the centuries, the Louvre grew rich of numerous extensions. Of the Louvre, we went through the Garden of the Tuileries, Italian-style garden, begun in the same period by Catherine de Medici. It is an ideal place to run. Look at these trees sized as balls on the photo above. Their shape is created by a probably old technique and still used, as we can see here: We then ran on the Alexandre III bridge, who sent us in 1900, year of its creation: Alexandre III bridge Click on the picture for a larger view Back in the past, at first in Notre-Dame, the construction of which begins in 1163, Notre Dame (and its new Christmas tree) Click on the picture for a larger view then in “Le Marais” district, where we found the most ancient houses of Paris, two medieval “buildings”, doubtless built in the XIVth century and having undergone some renovations (originally, they probably had to possess corbelled constructions as many houses of the Middle Ages): François Miron street Click on the picture for a larger view Merci Felicity ! The route of the tour :
From the Eiffel Tower toward Notre-Dame by the Louvre with Marnie
Marnie – Tour Eiffel – Notre Dame de Paris 7:31 AM – It is with a good pace that we went through the banks of the Seine with Marnie, who lives in Washington (USA) and who did several marathons (including Boston). We ran westward to take advantage of the morning sight on the Eiffel Tower: nobody on the esplanade of the Trocadéro early in the morning! We then followed the Seine to join Notre-Dame, also for us only. With no more difficulties, we finished our tour running by the Louvre. Marnie – Le Louvre What a pleasure to run in Paris while ways are clear! The Louvre has a long history: it was at first a watchtower used by the Franks to attack the island of “la cité” in the 5th century, later the fort created by king Philippe Auguste in the 12th century, then the luxurious Royal residence and finally the public museum decided by the Revolution. Every period made its contribution to the construction and to the extensions of the Louvre, the quite last creation being the Louvre Pyramid of the architect Ming Pei in 1983 (Pyramid which replaced bushes and parking lot then in the center of the Louvre). We can admire numerous details of the facades of the Louvre and sometimes original ornaments as this small locomotive for example: Le Louvre Yes, this part was created during the extension of the railroad in the 19th century! Merci Marnie ! The route of the tour :
Left bank, at the level of the ancient city with James
On the left bank – Notre-Dame – James 10:02 AM – With James, from Chicago, starting on the Island of Saint Louis, we ran on the centre of Paris finishing on the left bank of the river Seine, at the level of the ancient city… As us (James and the Paris Running Tour team), if you are interested by the Roman Lutecia (name of Paris at the Gaul and Roman periods), at the foot of Notre Dame, you must visit the Archaeologic Crypt (just under the square of Notre Dame). You will find the ruins of the Roman constructions and many information on how Paris evolved in time. Some information here (in French) and a brochure (in English) here. Go there! Merci James! The route of the tour: Display James’tour on a bigger map