A G: Paris Day 2 by Aaron, Paris Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, Conciergerie, Le Pantheon, Museum de Orsay

Paris Day 2, Paris Notre Dame 巴黎圣母院, Sainte-Chapelle 圣礼拜堂, Conciergerie监狱, Le Pantheon万神殿, Museum D'Orsay 奥赛博物馆

~ Aaron

Paris Notre Dame

Left: Sainte-Chappelle, Right: Palace de Justice

The Pantheon

Louvre on the other side of the Seine River

walking from the Pantheon towards Musee de Orsay

Love locks from Pont des Arts

a bridge link Louvre & Musee de Orsay

Watching beautiful sunset on Grand Palais at Pont des Arts

My 2nd day in Paris was a very fascinating day. The Notre-Dame in Paris is a very tall structure that is famous due to a novel by Victor Hugo that took place there. Sainte-Chapelle is a lovely little church besides the Notre-Dame. The Conciergerie was a prison during the French Revolution. The Pantheon has some famous people’s graves, and plenty of architectural story. These helped me learn a lot in this day.

On the Ile de la Cite (a small island), the Notre Dame of Paris, the Palais de Justice (law court), the Sainte-Chapelle (church), and the Conciergerie (prison) lie. The Ile de la Cite is one of two remaining natural islands in the Seine River in Paris.

A model of Paris Notre Dame

At the entrance of

Paris Notre Dame

At the entrance of

Paris Notre Dame

Giant rose windows

Big rose stained

glass window

Big rose stained

glass window

Big rose stained

glass window

Paris Notre Dame

A statue

Paris Notre Dame architecture, H. L. de Qvelen

The Notre-Dame may be the most famous church in Paris. There are many stained glass windows inside the church. It has huge rose-shaped stained glass windows, which offer a beautiful sunset through them. The church has a long history, starting from 1160s when the building of Notre-Dame just started. The construction of Notre-Dame went in phases, but not very regularly. It was in the 1860s when the most recent construction project was completed.

Statues

The side entrance
to the bell tower

Paris Notre Dame

Climbing up

spiral staircases

to the bell tower

You can wait in a line for a hour, and be able to climb up to see the view from the top of Notre-Dame. A set of spiral staircases can lead to a few panoramic views and chimeras at the levels a few stories above the ground. To the west, there is the Sainte-Chapelle, Hotel-Dieu, and the Palais de Justice. The north shows views of the Saint-Jacques Tower and Sacre-Coeur. The Ile Saint-Louis and Bibliotheque Nationale lie to its east. The south of Notre-Dame contains very old houses, churches, and the Pantheon.

At the starting point

Ready to climb up

bell tower

Eiffel Tower &

Seine River

viewed from

bell tower

Viewed from

bell tower

Beautiful scene of Eiffel Tower

Great Bell Emmanuel

Chimeras

At the top of

bell tower

At the top of

bell tower

At the top of

bell tower

Entering the place

holding Great Bell Emmanuel

At the entrance of Paris Notre Dame

Paris Notre Dame

Viewing from the bell tower

Chimeras

There is a gallery for chimeras, strange stone beasts on the Notre-Dame. There are figures with creature heads and human bodies, and others with parts from all sorts of animals! These are also portrayed in the Disney film: Hunchback of Notre-Dame. They are so famous, they are the church's feature!

Left: Sainte-Chapelle, Right: Palais de Justice

Outside of

Sainte-Chapelle

Outside of

Sainte-Chapelle

Inside of

Sainte-Chapelle
1st floor

Inside of

Sainte-Chapelle
1st floor

Copy of the stone statue with

traces of color from Sainte-Chapelle
1st floor

Remains of elements of the

upper parts of Sainte-Chapelle

Remains of elements of the

upper parts of sainte-Chapelle
1st floor

Remains of elements of the

upper parts of sainte-Chapelle
1st floor

15 giant stained glass windows showing bible stories

2nd floor of Sainte-Chapelle

2nd floor of

Sainte-Chapelle

2nd floor of

Sainte-Chapelle

2nd floor of

Sainte-Chapelle

The place holding Crown of Thorns

now, it's showing at Paris Notre Dame

The giant stained glass windows

on 2nd floor

At the entrance of

Sainte-Chapelle

15 giant stained glass

windows plan

The Sainte-Chapelle was once part of a very powerful building (the seat of royal power) from the 900s to the 1300s. It is now just a small, but tall chapel open to visitors. It was built between 1242 and 1248 to hold the artifacts of the Passion of Christ. The Crown of Thorns, the most famous of the artifacts, was bought in 1239 for a very large price. Sadly, most of the stuff in it is now in Notre-Dame for exhibition. There are some statues on the lower chapel, as well as some frescos and wall paintings. The upper chapel is much more beautiful than the lower one. The upper chapel has 15 giant windows; all of them stained glass. The 1,113 scenes show the story in the Bible. A board shows all the window's different stories.

Palais de Justice

next to Sainte-Chapelle

Inside of Palais de Justice

The Conciergerie and the French Revolution

Those who lived at the end of 18 century open spoke of an endless

crisis to describe their era. On the verge of bankruptcy, kingdom of

France was also weakened by deep tensions. Eager to make reforms,

successive ministers faced much opposition.

a cell of Conciergerie

Marie-Antoinette in the Conciergerie

The Conciergerie

The Conciergerie was a prison during the time of the French Revolution. The most famous of all the prisoners in the Conciergerie is Marie-Antoinette, the last queen of France. She was the Queen of France during the time of the French Revolution, and was eventually judged for high treason and beheaded. The hall of soldiers in the slightly underground building is a special example of Gothic architecture. The kitchens were used to prepare meals for the king’s workers. The Conciergerie is a museum for the French Revolution now. The fall of the royal family of France changed life in France. Many opponents of the revolution were imprisoned in the Conciergerie. The walls in a special room feature the names of all the over 4,000 people tried by the revolutionary court. The Conciergerie is a very important building for France.

The Pantheon

Painting Le Martyre de Saint Denis

at the entrance of the Pantheon

According to Christian tradition, Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. Denis is said to have picked his head up after being decapitated, walked ten kilometres, while preaching a sermon of repentance the entire way, making him one of many cephalophores in hagiology.

at the crypt of the Pantheon

Tomb of Victor Hugo

at the crypt of the Pantheon

Tomb of Victor Hugo

at the crypt of the Pantheon

La Convention Nationale

at the entrance of

the Pantheon

A la Gloirie

des Generavx

de la

Revolvtion Francaise

Bible story wall painting

at the Pantheon

Monument a Jean-Jacques Rousseau

by Albert Barsolome 1907

Valmy by Jules Desbois 1913

The interior of

the Pantheon

The interior of

the Pantheon

The interior of

the Pantheon

La Convention Nationale

at the entrance of

the Pantheon

Dome of the Pantheon

The Pantheon was originally built as a church for St. Genevieve and to hold her artifacts. After many changes, it now is as a building containing the remains of many famous French citizens in the crypt (lower part), and an upper part, the gallery, with pretty architecture. Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is buried in here, with Marie Currie (discovered radioactive waves) and Louis Braille (invented Braille for the blinds). King Louis XV promised in 1744 that if he recovered from his illness, he would replace the ruined church of the Abbey of St Genevieve with a new one. He did recover, and made Abel-Francois Poisson, Marquis de Marigny help him fulfill his promise. Its use has been varied for a long time, until it reached today’s use as a museum. The museum has many different works of art in the building. The big space in the Pantheon contains a few paintings or sculptures every corner. The paintings are detailed, and the sculptures are very realistic.

Wall paintings and statues

close to the Pantheon entrance

The pendulum clock hanging

from the dome of the Pantheon

Our lovely hotel, Novotel Paris

This day in Paris was fabulous. The Notre-Dame has plenty of fame due to The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. The Sainte-Chapelle was a very powerful building until it became a chapel. The Conciergerie is a very interesting museum with lots of information about the French Revolution. The Pantheon has a fantastic architectural design and lots of knowledge is contained inside. It is nearly impossible not to learn something new in these places!