Around the Louvre with Janaina and Gustavo
7:13 AM – Gustavo and Janaina live in Salvador (Brazil). To visit Paris by running, we chose a beautiful stroll around the Louvre. We left the Grands Boulevards and went through the “passage des Panoramas” (see the previous post), the “Palais Royal”, and then we joined the Louvre, by crossing the Street of Rivoli: The Passage Richelieu connects the street of Rivoli with the Louvre Pyramid and allows to see the beautiful sculptures of the Puget and Marly courtyards (remember the article which speaks about the horses of Marly) : After this small break in front of the passage Richelieu windows, we continued our running at the foot of the Pyramid, the magnificent glass pyramid which respects the central space of the Louvre and allows to see the Louvre in its totality: What was there before the Pyramid? A stand of trees where cars could park. At the foot of the trees, impossible to see all the facades: In the same direction, towards the garden of the Tuileries, we had a photo break to take advantage of the view on the Eiffel Tower, the “Musée d’Orsay” and also some statues of Maillol. Look for them in the bushes by enlarging the photo: We then left the garden of the Tuileries by way of the small tunnel which goes out of the garden by going towards the river Seine. We crossed the Seine by the footbridge Léopold Sédar Senghor and going up the staircases of the bridge, where we enjoyed a beautiful point of view on Notre-Dame: On the other side of the bridge, we saw the beautiful Palace of the Legion of Honor, cleaned recently (we had spoken about its replica in San Francisco here): Evoking the various places to run, we spoke about the immense and long beautiful beaches of Brazil. In Paris, we also have the opportunity to have some beaches 😉 At least from mid-July to mid-August, the banks of the “Right bank”, in particular, welcome the operation “Paris-Plages“: A little farther, near the Louvre, is the Louvre Oratory, with the Statue of the “Amiral de Coligny”, whose tragic end reminds us sad moments of the French History: On our road, we passed by the beautiful “Véro Dodat” gallery and we were amazed by the height of a famous Parisian shoemaker’s shoes (see below, near the passage, the Christian Louboutin’s first shop): Merci Janaina, merci Gustavo ! The route of the tour:
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:
Running under the bridge Saint-Michel with Antje
Antje – Under Saint-Michel bridge – In the background, “Notre-Dame de Paris” 7h57 – Antje comes from another great and beautiful European capital, Berlin. She already ran several times the Berlin marathon, one of the fastest world marathons (the last four world records were realized in Berlin). Antje knows well Paris and that is with pleasure and while running that we rediscovered its most beautiful “paths”. A beautiful route of more than 14 km also passing under bridges of Paris as we can see on the photo above. Our running led us of the Eiffel Tower up to Notre-Dame, then up to the Arc of Triumph. This Friday was making the “bridge” between two holidays, May 8th&9th and the weekend so Paris was very quiet, even the Eiffel Tower seemed deserted (at least at 8 am in the morning). Antje – “Champs de Mars” and Eiffel tower Notice the scaffolds which leave the ground towards the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. These temporary elements are of use to the renovation of the first floor. The objective of this modernization project is to make this floor a more attractive place => Click here. Back from Notre-Dame, this time, it is ON the “Pont Neuf”, the New Bridge, that we ran: Antje – “Pont Neuf” – In the background, the “Pont des Arts” (bridge of the Arts) As its name does not indicate it, the “Pont Neuf”, literally “New Bridge”, is the oldest bridge of Paris. As you can read it on the photo, the bridge was built at the end of the 16th century. Yes, “neuf” means “new” (and not “9”). Is the oldest bridge the new bridge? Indeed, at the time of its construction, this bridge was very modern: all in stone, without houses on its edges (at last, we could know that we were really on a bridge while crossing it, impossible with houses!), and with sidewalks! These sidewalks were really new because very rare in Paris at that time… The “Pont Neuf”, already at that time, a beautiful place to stroll, to appreciate the sight and Paris! Farther, we pursued our route along the historic axis of Paris (see here), the Louvre, the Louvre Pyramid and the garden of the Tuileries : Antje – “Cour carrée du Louvre” Antje – Small break near the Louvre Pyramid Antje – In the garden of the Tuileries We then continued our road along the Champs-Elysées to go uphill towards the Arc of Triumph. Uphill? Yes indeed, do you know that the Arc of Triumph is put on what we called formerly the “colline du Roule” (The hill of the Roule). In 1768, this hill was leveled to have a more regular slope towards the Gate of Neuilly. The top of the hill was then 5 meters higher. Paris as flat as Berlin? Hem, not completely… So remember, when you will take the departure of the Paris marathon and will start with the Champs-Elysées, do not run too fast: if it is so easy, it is because you are in descent! Merci Antje ! 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:
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:
Running in October in Paris
Right bank – Far off the Pont Royal (Royal Bridge), Notre-Dame and the dome of the Institute of France Garden of the Tuileries – Far off, the Louvre The bridge of “la Concorde” then the place of “la Concorde” and its obelisk, with, far off, on the left, the “Hôtel de Crillon”, the “Hôtel de la Marine” on the right and in the center, “La Madeleine” The “esplanade des Invalides” – The “Hôtel des Invalides” No matter what month we are, it is always a pleasure to run in Paris! Come and do a tour, a nice visit while running with Paris Running Tour!
By running in the parks of Paris with Scott and Kelly
Kelly and Scott – Luxembourg gardens 8:59 AM – Kelly and Scott live in New York (USA) and usually run in the magnificent park of Central Park. Today, we discovered some of the superb parks of the center of Paris, the Luxembourg gardens, Tuileries gardens and the Palais Royal gardens. The name of “Luxembourg” for the gardens and the Palace (the current Senate) comes from the Duke of Luxembourg, François de Piney who possessed a hotel in this place, in the 16th century. Marie of Medici, the Regent of France, acquired the hotel and built the current Palace in 1615. Did you notice in the background of the above photo, a small dome far off? It is the Paris Observatory, the oldest observatory of the world still in function. It was created in 1667 by king Louis XIV. The Paris Observatory in the continuation of the Luxembourg gardens With the American “Center for Astrophysics”, it is the most important research center in astrophysics and in astronomy of the world. Very soon, the Observatory will open again its doors to the Public, from Thursday, 11 till Sunday, October 14th, 2012 on the occasion of the “fête de la Science“. Of the three parks, which is the most beautiful one? The Garden of the Luxembourg, the discreet Garden of the Palais Royal, or the Garden of the Tuileries, placed on the historic axis of Paris? Impossible to say, they are splendid all three! Let us find the Garden of the Tuileries, a good place to run: Scott and Kelly – the Tuileries gardens and the small garden of the “Palais Royal”, well isolated by the “Palais Royal” palace and the adjacent Galleries: Scott and Kelly – Garden of the Palais Royal On our road, when we discovered a part of Philippe Auguste’s outer wall, a nice runner proposed to take a picture of us: Paris Running Tour, Scott, Kelly – Philippe Auguste’s outer wall (13th century) Thanks to him. A good souvenir! Good runs in Central Park then! Merci Kelly ! Merci Scott ! The route of the tour :
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 top of Montmartre to the Tuileries with Ai
Ai – Palais de l’Elysée (Elysee Palace) 7:02 AM – On early Thursday morning, with Ai, who lives in Seattle (USA), we decided to begin our tour with a sports ascent towards the “butte Montmartre”. Ai generally runs on hilly roads in the region of Seattle. In Paris, the running routes are relatively flat, except for some rare exceptions, as Montmartre. The continuation was easier. At first, the descent led us towards the Elysée Palace, the French Republic president’s residence, then, on the way back, we admired some of the numerous sculptures which decorate Paris, among which the General Lafayette’s statue and his small curiosity, a tortoise who accompanies the steps of his horse… General Lafayette and the little tortoise (click on the image to enlarge it) By continuing our road, we crossed the garden of the Tuileries which abounds in works of art. New creations appear there from time to time, on the occasion of exhibitions temporary like the FIAC which is held from 20th till 23th October in various places of Paris. We were entitled to some previews, of which “Earthlings” of the artist Adrian Villar Rojas, “fallen column” which provokes a funny effect when we meet it for the first time. Earthlings – Adrian Villar Rojas (click on the image to enlarge it) It does not however seem to disturb the sons of Caïn, Paul Landowski’s work, which stands a little farther. The sons of Cain – Paul Landowski (click on the image to enlarge it) Merci Ai ! The route of the tour :
Passing in front of the horses of Marly with Mary
Les Tuileries – Mary 8:00 AM – With Mary who lives near New York (USA), we chose the circuit of the most beautiful Parisian Palaces: the Ritz, the hotel Meurice, the Bristol, the George V, the Plaza Athénée… The Palaces tour also allowed us to run along one of the nicest routes of Paris, crossing by the “Ile de la Cité”, the Louvre, the Tuileries, Champs-Elysées… On our road, we were able to admire the Horses of Marly* which are in the West entrance of the Tuileries: Coysevox – La Renommée (The Fame) – Mercure (Mercury) and at the Est entrance of the Champs-Elysées: Coustou – Horses of Marly Actually, these statues are copies, originals being in the Musée du Louvre in a gallery visible from the outside. We can see them through a window from the passage between the Louvre Pyramid and the street of Rivoli (passage we took during our running): Le Louvre, cour Marly – Horses of Marly – Originals Those who, children in the sixties, looked at the French television, know well one of these statues. In the time, the programs began only late in the afternoon and were preceded by a TV test card which showed the statue “La Renommée”. The children in wait of emissions had all the leisure to admire it: Merci Mary ! The route of the tour : * Marly, where from come the statues, was one of the favorite residences of the king Louis XIV.